Energy Efficient Building Materials Research Articles

The knock-on effects of green buildings: high-rise construction design implications

PurposeThe aims and objectives of this research are to establish whether or not the transition into green building in high-rise construction is practical. This is after considering several perspectives including financial, economic, environmental, and social. This subsequently leads to an evaluation on whether or not the continuation with a standard conventional build of high-rise buildings remains to be the most feasible option. Such objectives, therefore, aim to allow for validation of how and why high-rise construction designs are impacted through green buildings effects.Design/methodology/approachThrough six defined steps, the methodology commences with an introductory section of what it means to build green. This section is further broken down to evaluate what factors are involved in constructing a green building. Furthermore, the life cycle energy (LCE) is used as a framework to evaluate the knock-on effects of green buildings and subsequent high-rise construction design implications.FindingsThrough defining the ongoing relationship of green materials and sustainable design, various implications for high-rise constructions were discovered. First and foremost, it was determined that the LCE is the central consideration for any high-rise building design. In evaluating the LCE, and overall operating energy of the 50-year cycle of a building was carried out. As the results showed, the operating energy represents around 85% of the total energy that is consumed at the end of the 50 years cycle of the building. Precise LCE calculation can lead to a more efficient design for high-rise buildings. As a result, an increased understanding of the current status of green buildings within the construction industry is paramount. This understanding leads to a better insight into the contributing factors to green building in high-rise construction and the construction industry in general.Originality/valueThe potential contribution that can be gained from this research is the awareness that is raised in the research and development of green buildings in high-rise construction. This can be achieved by using certain materials such as new energy-efficient building materials, recycled materials and so on. This research will contribute to defining a new way of sustainable buildings, particularly for high-rise construction. The outcome of the research will be beneficial for practitioners such as design engineers and other related professions.

Valorisation of stranded Laminaria digitata seaweed as an insulating earth material

In Normandy, the marine macroalgae become a large problem when the retreat of the tide leaves large quantities of stranded seaweed on coast. These stranded seaweeds can be toxic during their degradation in addition to creating odor problems. Consequently, their elimination has become a major problem and their recovery an emergency. In this work, we proposed to use the stranded seaweed in the building construction at a large scale. We investigated in particular the performance of insulated walls based on lightened earth incorporating reed and stranded Laminaria digitata seaweed at different substitution level. The compressive strength and the hygrothermal properties of the earth insulated walls specimens were carried out. Our results show that the incorporation of seaweed in lightened earth improves both its heat storage capacity and its level of insulation without compromising its compressive strength. The most efficient seaweed content for improving the thermal insulation of the material seems to be 20%. Indeed, the addition of 20% of Laminaria digitata decreased the thermal conductivity by 34% at 20 °C in comparison with standard cob. For this mixture, the specific heat capacity value is around 800 J.kg−1.K−1 at 20 °C, which are very high compared to that of the only earth-fiber specimen (400 J.kg−1.K−1). These increases in mechanical and hygrothermal performance of insulating cob material incorporating seaweed will lead to a reduction of the cob walls thickness and therefore to the development of sustainable energy efficient building materials with a low environmental impact.

Performance of Pellucid Concrete by using Optical Fibers

Energy efficient building and aesthetic view are the vital knot for infrastructure. Now engineers have developed smart translucent concrete(STC) using glass optical fibers (GOF). It can able to transmit light from one phase to the other phase of the wall. Smart translucent concrete is also known as pellucid concrete. Pellucid concrete reduces the consumption of electricity. Source of light can be taken from natural sunlight and artificial light source from LED having 20w. In this investigation, incorporating optical fibers in various diameters are 1.5 mm and 2.5 mm. Concrete cube with provision of hole for providing glass optical fiber and arranged in equal spacing of about 15 mm and 25 mm. In this experiment, analysis the performance of smart translucent concrete in the aspect of strength and luminance. The light intensity from the specimen can be measured with a help of photometer. It is an energy efficient building material innovated in recent years.

Investigation of Thermal, Mechanical and Transport Properties of Ultra-Lightweight Foamed Concrete (ULFC) Strengthened with Alkali Treated Banana Fibre

Traditionally, Ultralightweight Foam Concrete (ULFC) is primarily used to replace filling excavations, ditch restoration and underground channels, because of their high porosity, water absorption and low strength. Yet, ULFC is characterized by excellent thermal properties and could be an alternative for sustainable energy-efficient building material. This study investigates the properties of an ULFC strengthened with alkali-treated banana fibre. The low density ULFC of 600kg/m3 was fabricated and strengthened with alkali-treated banana fibre. Fibre volume fraction of 0.25%, 0.35%, 0.45% and 0.55% were compared to the unreinforced specimens, serving as the control specimen (no fibre addition). Mix proportioning of 1:1.5:0.45 of cement, sand, and water was respectively adopted throughout the mix. The alkali treated banana fibre strengthened ULFC was tested for compressive strength, sorptivity and thermal properties. Morphology of the treated fibre and ULFC composites was studied using SEM micrograph. The result depicts that ULFC exhibited the optimum compressive strength of 1.1604N/mm2 with the fibre volume fraction of 0.35%. Sorptivity or rate of water absorption was testified to upsurge, after 24 hours duration at fibre volume fraction of 0.55%, recording a 56.12% increment compared to the control specimen. The finding displays that at the highest-fibre volume fraction of 0.55%, thermal conductivity and diffusivity decrease by 13.17% and 28.16%, correspondingly, whiles the specific heat capacity increases to 37.17% all compared with unreinforced specimens. SEM images reveal that the presence of lumen and the nature of porous and fibrous alkali-treated banana fibre. Hence, it is endorsed that ULFC produced with alkali-treated banana fibre should be utilized as an infill material for composite system.

Sustainable composite material based on surface-modified rape straw and environment-friendly adhesive

An energy efficient and sustainable composite building material based on rape straw and environment-friendly adhesive is designed. Bone glue with sodium lignosulfonate is used as the binder. Rape straw particles are modified using water and sodium hydroxide treatment. A wide range of functional properties is analyzed, and a detailed characterization of microstructure is performed. The experimental results show that the surface treatment by both water and sodium hydroxide improves the interface adhesion between rape straw and bone glue. The primary consequence is then an increase of both bulk- and matrix density, as compared with the reference material. The best mechanical properties are achieved for the water-treated samples. The sodium hydroxide treatment is found to influence negatively sorption isotherms and to cause greater swelling in a comparison with other composites. The effect of straw surface treatment on thermal and water vapor diffusion properties is not evidenced. The significant swelling of all designed composites at the relative humidities higher than 75% limits their practical applications. They are supposed to be used in dry environments, typically for cladding and insulation in construction, or for packaging purposes.

Effectiveness of using visualization technologies in construction

This article describes the relevance of using 3D visualization technology for construction projects. Despite the fact that the construction industry is not knowledge-intensive and is rather conservative in the implementation of innovations, these technologies can increase its competitiveness and ensure sustainable development of the country’s economy. Advanced technologies allow increasing the company’s revenues, reducing the cost of production, increasing the competitiveness and image of the company. They help to maintain current market positions and conquer new market segments. The use of innovations in the construction industry helps to optimize the use of the entire resource potential of the enterprise, increase the efficiency of using its labor, material, financial and information resources, reduce the cost of construction and installation work, accelerate the speed of information exchange and improve marketing activities. Innovations in the construction industry are introduced at all stages of the life cycle of a construction object: at the stage of project investment, design of a construction object, use of resource-saving and advanced construction technologies, use of energy-efficient building materials, application of innovations in marketing, production organization and personnel management. 3D visualization technologies play an important role in the management of construction stages and design of construction objects. However, today, not enough attention is paid to the economic assessment of the effectiveness of using 3D visualization technology for a particular enterprise. In this regard, the degree of elaboration of the topic is insufficient, and the research topic is relevant.

Impact of phase change materials on lightened earth hygroscopic, thermal and mechanical properties

Climate change is leading construction engineers and building stakeholders to improve materials thermal insulation and heat storage capacity. The development of energy efficient building materials with a low environmental impact is a real challenge. In this sense, earth-based materials are known worldwide and have been used since thousands of years. These materials present many advantages but their deployment on a large scale, while respecting the operative standards, is still limited.Considering lightened earth, present work aims to improve their thermal properties by using phase change materials (PCM). The incorporation of PCM in construction materials has aroused great interest due to their capacity to store thermal energy.In present study, mechanical, hygrometric and thermal experimental studies were carried out on soil-fiber-PCM mixtures. The PCM incorporation showed an interesting improvement of the lightened earth thermal properties and a deterioration of the hygrometric properties while keeping their mechanical properties relatively unchanged.

SYSTEMATIZATION OF APPROACHES TO THE SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM OF ENERGY SAVING IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

The information on existing energy-efficient building materials and constructions on the basis of the accumulated experience of operation is analyzed; collected and systematized according to certain priorities requirements for building materials and structures, the order of their design and operation; the classification of energy saving methods is formulated, substantiated and offered for use; recommended a number of technical solutions to achieve energy savings in the construction of residential and public buildings. Possibilities of using highly effective foreign additives in concretes prepared with the use of local materials are considered, features of preservation of properties of concrete mix during transportation, time after laying of concrete in a timbering in various temperature conditions (summer, winter and off-season), use of vacuum processing are studied and investigated. which is aimed at further improvement of organizational and technological solutions for the construction of load-bearing structures of monolithic buildings. The recommendations on regulation of technological parameters of erection of responsible bearing designs, reduction of terms of construction, labor intensity and cost of works are reduced. Imperfect design solutions, outdated standards, defects in construction and operation lead to excessive heat loss in buildings. Architectural and construction systems of the new generation provide ample opportunities for organizing the interior of residential buildings, hygienic quality, safety and comfort of housing, as well as increasing energy efficiency and reducing material consumption of construction through technical re-equipment of existing housing and creating new production technologies.

Preparation and properties of ready-to-use low-density foamed concrete derived from industrial solid wastes

Foamed concrete is widely used as a highly energy-efficient building material. However, low-density foamed concrete requires increased amounts of Portland cement or steam curing to meet engineering requirements. This is due to inadequate compressive strength and long setting time of Portland cement. In this study, we investigate a method for preparing green, high strength, low-density foamed concrete, which is ready to use without the application of heat or pressure. First, a sulfoaluminate high-activity material (SHAM) was prepared using red mud, aluminum dust, flue gas desulfurization-gypsum, and carbide slag. The SHAM was used to produce ready-to-use low-density foamed concrete (RLFC). RLFC with a dry density of 615 kg/m3 had a compressive strength of 4.11 MPa and a thermal conductivity of 0.1638 W/m·K. Addition of 0.2 wt% hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) as foam stabilizer, increased the compressive strength by 27.22% to 5.22 MPa, which was 3.48 times the compressive strength specified by the relevant Chinese standard (1.5 MPa). To further enhance the practicality, other solid wastes (limestone tailings and gold tailings) were blended with SHAM to prepare the RLFC. RLFC prepared from SHAM, limestone tailings, gold tailings, and HPMC in the match ratio of 54:6:40:0.11 (wt%) delivered dry density, compressive strength and thermal conductivity values of 612 kg/m3, 2.37 MPa and 0.1556 W/m·K, respectively. This study provides a low-cost and highly promising method for preparing low-density foamed concrete, which not only consumes a large amount of industrial solid waste but also avoids depletion of resources and generates profits.

Lightweight and low thermal conducted face-centered-cubic cementitious lattice materials (FCLMs)

Lightweight and thermal insulative cementitious materials with large porous structures for improving energy efficiency have rapid development currently. However, the design of cementitious materials for energy-efficient building system in terms of low thermal conductivity, excellent mechanical properties and lightweight remains a crucial challenge in construction & building fields. Recently, the polymer-based lattice-inspired structures fabricated by 3D printing technology (3DPT) show a rapid development that achieves a balance of thermal and mechanical properties due to their ordered and large-scale cellular architecture. In this work, a novel category of lattice-inspired cementitious lattice materials was first proposed for applying in the energy-efficient building systems by integrating the 3DPT and traditional casting technology. Taking face-centered cubic (FCC) lattice as an example, the advantages of the proposed fabrication technology and FCLMs are follows: (i) ultralight weight; (ii) enhanced ductility of brittle cementitious materials; (iii) low thermal conductivity. Through the structural and material design, the proposed fabrication technology could effectively overcome the current issues of 3DPT, such as the weakness of interlayer performance and low accuracy (Extrusion-based 3DPT) as well as limited feasible materials (Powder-bed-based 3DPT), in the civil engineering. Statement of SignificanceHow to design cementitious materials for energy-efficient building system in terms of thermal conductivity, mechanical properties and lightweight requirement remains a crucial challenge in construction & building fields. Inspired by the low thermal conductivity and lightweight structure of metamaterials in the previous researches (Song et al., Materials & Design, 2019. 173: 107773-86; Nicholas et al. Nano letter, 2018. 18: 4755-61), here a novel category of lattice-inspired cementitious materials with ordered porous structures has been proposed for energy-efficient building materials with lightweight, low thermal conductivity and good mechanical properties characteristics.Additionally, recently there is increased interest to use 3D concrete printing technology (3DCPT) to automatically manufacture complicated and customized structure. However, currently, 3DCPT encounters many sticky issues, involving that (i) weak interlayer performance induced by cold joints between layers; (ii) deformation under self-weight due to the low yield stress of fresh mix; (iii) probable shrinkage under the low water/cement ratios typically used in printed mortars; (iv) geometrical instability owing to creating suspended structures. It is not a trivial to directly print cementitious porous materials, and therefore this work also achieved a breakthrough in developing cementitious porous materials combining advanced SLA 3D printing and traditional casting technology for the first time. It is worth mention that compared to Extrusion-based 3DCPT and Powder-bed-based 3DCPT, the advantages of the manufacture technology include that (i) automatically printing 3D complex structure; (ii) Optional cementitious materials; (iii) Good interlayer performances of prepared materials.We expect that the proposed design idea and novel manufacture strategy could serve as the guideline to develop material-structural-functional integrated energy-efficient building materials combining 3D printing technology, advanced structure design and high-performance cementitious materials.

Thermal properties of calcium sulfoaluminate cement-based mortars incorporated with expanded perlite cured at cold temperatures

Reducing the thermal conductivity of cement-based building materials can alleviate the energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that are related to space heating in buildings. The objective of this study is to incorporate expanded perlite into calcium sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement-based mortars to develop a novel building material that has low thermal conductivity for applications in cold regions. These mortars were cured at 23 °C and cold temperatures (0 °C and −10 °C), and experiments were conducted for thermal properties (i.e., thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and heat capacity), unconfined compressive strength (UCS), density, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results showed that CSA cement-based mortars gained UCS rapidly even at −10 °C owing to a fast hydration reaction, and an exponential decrease was found in UCS with an increase of the aggregate replacement ratio by expanded perlite. Thermal properties of CSA cement-based mortars were mainly affected by aggregate replacement ratios, while curing temperatures and ages had a negligible influence. For example, thermal conductivity decreased exponentially from 0.97 ± 0.01 to 0.13 ± 0.002 W/mK when the aggregate replacement ratio increased from 0% to 100%. It is of note that the thermal conductivity of CSA cement-based mortar without expanded perlite was 0.97 W/mK, being 47% lower than that of ordinary Portland cement-based mortar (1.83 W/mK). In summary, incorporating expanded perlite into CSA cement-based mortars reduced their thermal conductivity, showing their huge potential as energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly building materials.

Comparison of Energy Efficiency of traditional Brick Wall and Inco- Panel Wall: A Case Study of Hotel Sarowar in Pokhara

Energy efficiency is understood to mean the utilization of energy in the most cost-effective manner to carry out process or provide a service, whereby energy waste is minimized, and the overall consumption of primary energy resources is reduced. Various measures can be employed to attain energy efficiency in building such as reducing demands for heating, cooling, lighting, consumption for office equipment and appliances demand, reducing energy requirement for ventilation, using energy efficient building materials.
 An energy efficient home is designed to keep out the wind and rain while reducing energy waste. Modern homes are built with variety of different materials. They are no longer built using only bricks and mortar. A wide variety of energy efficient building materials are now available. Recycled Steel, Insulating Concrete Forms, Plant-based Polyurethane Foam, Straw Bales, Structural Insulated Panels, Plastic Composite Lumber, Vacuum Insulation Panels, Inco-panel are among alternatives available.
 Among those various wall materials, energy performance analysis in terms of heating and cooling load is done in this thesis. For this study, under construction Hotel Sarowar is chosen for analysis. This study compares heat transfer on the building when Inco-panel is used as wall material and conventional brick masonry is used as wall material. The heat transfers through those walls are calculated using MS Excel and ANSYS Software.

Thermophysical properties of sustainable cement mortar containing oil palm boiler clinker (OPBC) as a fine aggregate

This study investigated the thermophysical properties in terms of thermal conductivity, heat capacity, thermal diffusivity, density, compressive strength, water absorption, and sorptivity of cement mortars containing different percentages of oil palm boiler clinker (OPBC). The normal sand was replaced by 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of OPBC. Furthermore, the relation between the thermal properties of mortar containing various amounts of OPBC with its physical properties has been discussed. The results indicated that 100% replacement of sand by OPBC decreases the density, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity of cement mortar around 16%, 72%, and 76%, respectively. Moreover, the findings revealed that the specific heat capacity of the mortar increases by around 41%, while the sand is replaced by OPBC in 100%. Based on the findings, the usage of OPBC as fine aggregate affects the thermophysical properties of cement mortar due to the higher porosity of OPBC in comparison with normal sand. Therefore, it can be concluded that OPBC mortar can be used as a sustainable and energy-efficient building material due to its decent thermal properties.

Sarooj mortar: From a traditional building material to an engineered pozzolan -mechanical and thermal properties study

Developing new energy efficient building materials to reduce the carbon footprint is now the core of sustainability in construction and an essential factor of life cycle assessment (LCA). The extensive and increasing usage of conventional concrete, mortar, plasters and various cement-based materials is only one of the many factors contributing towards urban thermal discomfort caused by urban heat island phenomena and the poor thermal insulation of ordinary cement mortar. Not only this, the wide use of concrete and mortar in construction increases the consumption of their primary components mainly -Portland cement-requiring a large consumption of energy and causing a significant rise in CO2 emissions.Embedding natural and artificial cementitious/pozzolana materials in today's cement-based building materials has become a common practice. Cementitious and Pozzolanic materials are known to provide an added value to mortar/concrete not only in terms of mechanical and durability properties but also in energy efficiency and enhancing sustainability. Sarooj is a local term describing an artificial cementitious and pozzolana material obtained by traditional calcining of the raw clayey soil. Although its usage is nowadays very limited, Sarooj has been used in Oman and other neighboring countries for centuries, in various buildings and defense structures. The main objective of this research is to transform the traditionally produced Sarooj into an engineered binding material and hence investigating its physico-mechanical and thermal properties. The raw soil used to produce the traditional Sarooj was employed to engineer a modern “Sarooj” under controlled energy processing (grinding and calcination) conditions. The raw clay minded from specific location was ground first to a fine powdered material and then subjected to full characterization. The physical and chemical characterization indicated that the raw soil is suitable for producing a cementitious/pozzolanic calcined clay. The thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis of the clay used reveal that only a moderate temperature of around 800 °C is required for its calcination which preserves energy and reduces CO2 emissions compared to 1600 °C to produce clinker cement. The strength development showed a slow early-age reactivity but an appreciable enhancement in long-term which demonstrates a remarkable latent hydraulic potential of the clay used. It was also found that adding an optimum amount of the calcined clay enhances the thermal properties. The annual energy performance of a typical housing in the hot climate of Muscat, Oman, was evaluated using DesignBuilder software, a whole-building simulation tool. The simulation results showed insignificant savings in annual energy consumption when the developed mixes are used as plastering materials. The clay alkali-activated with NaOH has, however, showed great potential to enhance the mortar's long-term strength. Using locally engineered cementitious material in a partial replacement of Portland cement can further enhance durability and sustainability by reducing the manufacturing energy of the produced building material such as mortars and plasters.

3D face-centered-cubic cement-based hybrid composites reinforced by tension-resistant polymeric truss network

After 30 years of development, 3D printing technology (3DPT) is becoming increasingly popular in civil engineering field. However, weak interlayer performance and lack of reinforcement significantly limit its application. Nowadays, structural-functional integrated energy-efficient building materials, theoretically requiring a balance of mechanical properties and thermal resistance, are an emerging interdisciplinary research area in civil engineering field. This work proposed a novel digital cement-based manufacture technology by integrating 3D printing technology with casting technology. By incorporating tension-resistant polymeric truss network (PTN), a category of 3D face-centered cubic-inspired cement-based hybrid composites (FCHCs) is proposed. Results show the printed PTN can effectively improve the tension-resistant capacity of cement mortar. The FCHCs not only exhibit a multiple cracking damage characteristic but also a low thermal conductivity compared to traditional cement-based materials. A building energy simulation program was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of FCHCs on the energy savings. It is found that 34% heating energy could be saved for FCHCs building.

Технологии пролонгации межремонтных сроков отдельных инже-нерных систем после капитального ремонта жилищного фонда

Regional programs for major repairs of common property in apartment buildings have been implemented on a large scale for more than 5 years. For example, the regional program in the city of Moscow includes more than 28 thousand apartment buildings with a total area of more than 200 million m2. Improvement of housing conditions is the most important factor in improving the well-being of the population and should be considered not only as a combination of factors formed in the construction process (availability of residential premises, level of improvement), but also as a set of services provided in the field of operation. Currently, the use of energy-efficient building materials and technologies with extended service life is of particular importance for the safe and reliable operation of the facility.

Sustainable and Renewable Energy Strategies in Residential Buildings in Akure, Nigeria

Given the rising demand in building services and high level of energy consumption in buildings, sustainable issues have remained top agenda in developmental discuss. This study examines the level of adoption, barriers and willingness to adopt renewable energy and sustainable building strategies in Nigeria. The mean score ranking technique was employed to rate the relative weight of level of adoption of sustainable strategies considered. Natural lightning, shading devices, locally sourced materials, energy efficient lighting LED and photovoltaic solar panel were the most adopted strategies by professionals. Adoption of renewable and sustainable building strategies was constrained by lack of training, lack of expertise and financial scheme. Willingness to adoption the renewable energy and sustainable building strategies, were most pronounced with respect to renewable energy practices. However, the paper suggests that transition to the use of energy efficient and sustainable building materials as evident in top ranked efficient strategies. Finding contributes to empirical benchmarking for sustainable environment while policy options towards adoption were proffered.

A Taguchi approach for optimizing the mixture design of cold-bonded PCM aggregates

ABSTRACT Energy efficiency and waste recovery have vital importance for a sustainable environmental progress. This study contributes to both issues considering three different aspects which are (i) production of an energy-efficient building material, (ii) utilization of waste materials inside the produced composites, and (iii) use of an eco-friendly production method. The first part of the research explains the design, optimization, and performance of cold-bonded lightweight aggregates. By-products such as fly ash (FA), ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) were utilized to manufacture these aggregates. Taguchi method was employed in the experimental design of the aggregate composition. Factors influencing the engineering properties of aggregates and their contribution ratios were investigated using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Binder composition was found to be the most important factor influencing physical properties, while the curing time was the dominant factor effecting the strength of the aggregates. Optimal values of the factors were determined, and in the second part of the research, aggregate mixture design was enhanced using a microencapsulated phase change material (PCM) for a better thermal performance. The effect of different PCM ratios to the engineering properties of the produced pellets was studied experimentally.

Influence of particle grading on the hygromechanical properties of hypercompacted earth

Civil engineering research is increasingly focusing on the development of sustainable and energy-efficient building materials. Among these materials, raw (unfired) earth constitutes a promising option for reducing the environmental impact of buildings over their entire service life from construction to demolition. Raw earth has been used since old times but only recently has acquired prominence in mainstream building practice. This is mainly because of the development of novel methods to enhance the mechanical, hygroscopic and durability properties of compacted earth without increasing carbon and energy footprints. In this context, the present paper studies the dependency of the strength, stiffness, moisture capacity and water durability of compacted earth on particle grading. Results indicate that the particle size distribution is a key variable in defining the hygromechanical characteristics of compacted earth. The effect of the particle size distribution on the hygromechanical properties of compacted earth may be as important as that of dry density or stabilisation. This study suggests that a fine and well-graded earth mix exhibits higher levels of strength, stiffness, moisture capacity and water durability than a coarse and poorly-graded one.

Preface

The 4th International Conference on Innovative Materials, Structures and Technologies (IMST 2019) took place on 25-27 September 2019 in Riga, Latvia. The conference was organised by the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Riga Technical University in cooperation with Brno University of Technology in Czech Republic. Following the established tradition, the aim of the conference was to promote and discuss the latest results of industrial and academic research carried out in the following engineering fields: analysis and design of advanced structures and buildings; innovative, ecological and energy efficient building materials; inspection, assessment and monitoring methods; construction technology and project management; sustainable and safe transport infrastructure; waste management; civil engineering education and BIM.The conference provided an excellent opportunity for researchers, representatives of the industrial community, engineers, managers and students to share the latest achievements, discuss recent advances and highlight the current challenges. IMST 2019 attracted over 120 scientists from 22 countries. After rigorous reviewing, 78 technical papers were accepted for publication in the conference proceedings. On behalf of the organizing committee I would like to thank all the speakers, authors, session chairs and reviewers for their efficient and timely effort.Finally, I would like to thank all those who helped to make this event happen. Special thanks go to prof. Diana Bajare, Daira Toma and Laura Vitola for their major contribution to organizing the conference.Dr. Sandris RučevskisEditor-in-ChiefFaculty of Civil EngineeringRiga Technical UniversityList of Editors, Organizer and Supporters are available in this pdf.