Exterior Floors Research Articles

Experimental investigation of wind impact on low-rise elevated residences

The vulnerability of low-rise residential buildings to extreme wind events, such as hurricanes, is an escalating concern due to the frequent failures and losses. Elevated low-rise structures are constructed to reduce the hydrodynamic load from surges and flooding during hurricanes. However, due to the current lack of information, wind loading on elevated coastal structures is not adequately addressed in current international guidelines. To address this knowledge gap, large-scale experimental studies were conducted to precisely determine wind effects on elevated houses with different numbers of stories and varying stilt heights. In this study, comparisons are presented on various tested configurations to show the effect of elevating residential houses on the resulting wind loads. In particular, this work investigates the peak pressure coefficients and wind forces on the building roof, walls, and floor underside. The experimental program was supplemented by numerical simulations using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to assess the airflow around the model and the role of the air gap underneath the floor on altering the aerodynamics. Local peak pressure patterns and wind loads for structural design were analyzed with a view to the development of building code provisions. The recommended external pressure coefficients for the exterior floor surface are compared to those for a flat roof surface of a low-rise building.

A Sensitivity Analysis for Thermal Performance of Building Envelope Design Parameters

Sensitivity analysis is crucial in building energy assessments. It is used to determine the major variables influencing building thermal performance, using both observational research and energy simulation models. This study investigates the most influential envelope design parameters on the thermal performance of a typical residential building in Budapest, Hungary. Sensitivity analysis is used in conjunction with the IDA-Indoor and Climate Energy (IDA-ICE 4.8) simulation tool to assess the effects of 33 envelope design parameters for energy consumption and carbon dioxide concentrations. The input parameters include thickness, materials, density, specific heat and thermal conductivity of the basement, exterior floor, interior floor, exterior wall, interior wall, roof, ground slab, glazing type, and infiltration rate. The results show that exterior floor materials have the biggest impact on annual delivered energy for heating and cooling, whereas the density of all structural elements and thickness of the basement, exterior floors, interior floors, and walls have minimal effects on energy consumption. It is also shown that the impact of all investigated parameters is not sensitive to the carbon dioxide concentration in the building. The authors consider that the findings of the paper assist designers to assess the performance of existing buildings and more efficiently generating alternative solutions in the energetic retrofitting of existing and energy design of new residential buildings.

A study on Carbon Fiber Based Polymer Rein Force composites

Functional compounds are materials with mechanical integrity, whose functional properties can be achieved, enhanced orenhanced by a combination of two or more components. ... Non-functional carbon material and two- and three-dimensional materials. Energy conversion and storage materials and structures. Compounds are generally characterized compounds (CAMCs). Polymer Matrix - Polymer matrix compounds (PMC) can be divided into three subtypes: thermoses, thermoplastic and rubber. A polymer is a large molecule formed by repeating structural units bonded by covalent chemical bonds. Structural compounds are engraved products made of plastic, wood, glass or carbon fiber materials. Developed or extruded products have applications such as exterior floors, rails, fences, natural wood, cladding, sidewall, molding, trim and window or door frames. Structural compounds are engraved products made of plastic, wood, glass or carbon fiber materials. Developed or extruded products have applications such as exterior floors, rails, and fences, natural wood, cladding, sidewall, molding, trim and window or door frames. A particle is not a long dimension. Particle compounds the particles of one substance are scattered in the the second object team. Particles can have any shape and size, but generally spherical, a particle composite is classified as a group of suspended particles. Particles can have any shape, size or structure. Examples of well-known particle composites are concrete and particle board.

Study of the operative conditions and the optimum amount of municipal incinerator bottom ash for the obtainment of ceramic floor tiles.

The idea of reusing municipal incinerator bottom ash (MIBA), the residue from incinerating municipal solid wastes, fits nicely in a circular economy scheme, which leads to an avoided impact of landfill disposal, and at the same time reduces the demand of natural resources. Past studies have attempted to add 20 to 60% MIBA for ceramic production, and resulted in some inspiring success. Focused on delivering quality interior and exterior floor tiles meeting industrial standards, this study investigated the operative conditions and the optimum amount of MIBA in the mix. In this study, only the kaolinite clay and MIBA were used. Before making specimens, raw materials of clay and MIBA underwent SEM, EDS, and TCLP tests to determine their chemical contents. Six sets of specimens with different replacement levels of MIBA (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 30%) were then prepared. These specimens were fired at 1000°C, 1050°C,1100°C, and 1150°C and the products underwent a series of mechanical tests to verify their performance. NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy) were also used to determining the organic compound structure after each specimens' crystallization. Research results showed that proper mix of MIBA up to 20% could result in quality tiles complying with specifications for interior and exterior flooring applications at certain kiln temperatures, while the specimens with 30% MIBA failed to meet either bending strength or size shrinkage requirement at all four kiln temperatures, and could not deliver a satisfactory result.

An integrated optimization and sensitivity analysis approach to support the life cycle energy trade-off in building design

The building design process plays a central role in efforts to implement energy-efficient practices. However, unilateral design choices based solely on reducing operational energy use can significantly increase a building’s embodied energy and life cycle energy use as there is a trade-off between embodied and operational energy. To support such trade-off problems, multi-objective optimization represents a useful approach that produces a set of optimal solutions from where a solution can then be selected and progressed within the design process. Selecting one solution from the set of optimal solutions can however be a challenging task as each solution has the potential to be chosen as the optimum. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore how solutions from a multi-objective optimization approach can be analyzed further to provide information to decision-makers when selecting the optimal design solution. An approach is proposed where the integration of post-optimization sensitivity analysis into a multi-objective optimization approach aims to support decision-makers in analyzing the optimal solutions provided by the optimization process. The applicability of approach is demonstrated using a case of a multifamily apartment building located in Sweden, where the aforementioned trade-off is explored for a set of energy efficiency measures. Thereby, a diverse range of optimal solutions that could result in up to 4520 GJ life cycle energy (LCE) savings relative to the case building’s initial design was initially identified using the multi-objective optimization. These solutions were then subjected to a sensitivity analysis where the results indicated that in general the lowest and highest sensitivity in terms of LCE use belonged to the insulation thicknesses in roof and walls, respectively. Furthermore, the thickness of exterior floor insulation yielded the greatest variation in the sensitivity. The findings of case study indicate that the post-optimization sensitivity analysis can add valuable information that complements the results obtained using a multi-objective optimization approach. Consequently, it can support decision-making on how to progress with the design in terms of what design parameters have a negligible or significant impact on the objectives when they are varied, thus facilitating prioritization.

Structural response of steel-concrete composite floor systems under traveling fires

An investigation was carried out to examine the structural response of two steel-concrete composite floor system under traveling fires. The thermal-mechanical analyses were performed using the finite element software ABAQUS, where the traveling fire exposures were defined using the improved Traveling Fires Methodology. Essential factors influencing the fire resistance of the composite floor systems, namely the fire rating and fire protection scheme of the passive fire protection were varied in this study. The composite floor systems were also exposed to an ASTM E119 standard fire and two natural fire exposures applied to a corner compartment. The results showed that fire insulations derived from prescriptive approaches may not provide adequate safety under traveling fires. Through a performance-based design procedure, improved performance under traveling fires was achieved through better allocation of the fire protection. Specifically, insulation from the interior floor beams were removed and applied to the girders and exterior floor beams. This fire safety solution is economical when compared to the simultaneous increase of fire protection of all floor beams and girders, typical of a prescriptive design approach.

Lightweight design and sound insulation characteristic optimisation of railway floating floor structures

The sound insulation performance of extruded panels used in railway vehicles is critical to control the interior noise, especially in the case of floor panels. To reduce the mass of floating floors and increase its sound insulation performance, a lightweight design instruction approach has been proposed based on the vibration response of each component of the floating floor structures. The total height, length, thickness of the top layer, thickness of the ribs, and thickness of the bottom layer in the typical cross section of the exterior floor are used as variables; the mass of the typical cross section and the averaged sound transmission loss (STL) results in 1/3 octave bands centred from 400 to 3150 Hz are used as the optimisation targets; the optimal result of the smallest mass and the largest averaged STL are achieved in commercial software VA One and Isight. The effect of this optimisation scheme on the sound insulation performance of the floating floor is analysed based on the verified STL prediction model. After this optimisation, the results indicate that the mass of the exterior floor structure is reduced by 15.2% compared with the original exterior floor structure, and the averaged STL in 1/3 octave bands centred from 400 to 3150 Hz and the weighted STL of the floating floor are increased by 0.8 dB and 1 dB, respectively.

Classification of Parameters Affecting Impact Resistance of Natural Stones

Abstract This study used various test methods to analyze the impact resistance of marble, limestone, and travertine to determine their breaking potential when they are used for interior and exterior floor covering. A total of 17 kinds of natural rocks (7 marbles, 5 travertines, and 5 limestones) were categorized according to their commonly used geological formations and were subjected to various characterization tests (mineralogical and petrographic characteristics, chemical properties, as well as physical and mechanical properties). The rupture energy caused by an impact on natural rocks was determined according to the BS EN 14158 standard, whereas restitution coefficients were determined according to the BS EN ISO 10545-5 standard. The impact resistance, rupture energy, and restitution coefficient of polished natural stone plates that were used in the tests were statistically analyzed. The parameters that affected these variables of natural rocks were plate thickness, mineralogical and petrographic characteristics, and physical and mechanical properties. Finally, the potential fractures of the specimens were classified based on impact resistance, rupture energy, and restitution coefficient.

Резвость лошадей русской рысистой породы в зависимости от возраста пола и экстерьерных особенностей

Резвость лошадей русской рысистой породы в зависимости от возраста пола и экстерьерных особенностей

Technical Note: Statistical analysis of defects of tiles´ joints

The present article addresses tile joint defects in interior and exterior floors and walls. It begins with a classification of tile joint defects along with their likely causes, establishing a correlation matrix between the two sets of parameters. This is followed by the identification of the flaws found most frequently in this type of cladding, based on field data collected during 88 inspections of tile joint material. The statistical analysis of these data is shown in the form of charts representing the frequency of joint defects, their causes and the interrelationships between the two. The field work confirmed the high frequency of joint defects in all types of tiling. This conclusion underscores the need for proper joint design and maintenance planning (including periodic inspection and repair as appropriate) to guarantee the durability of this type of cladding.

Casa-estudio de Luis de Pablo - Madrid – España

The site is slightly rectangular of about 1,000 m 2 , near the Sierra de Guadarrama. The house is designed according to an axial pattern: - guests area with three bedrooms; couple's bedroom and toilet; - living area and eating zone; - private studio, with bedroom and bathroom in upper floor. A swimming-pool with a recreation area in the open air and a garage under the living area complete the building. The walls are constructed of precast concrete cross-split units, with insulant and gypsum plaster division. The floors are of reinforced concrete with acoustic absorbing cladding; flat roofing of galvanized sheet; interior floors of moquette and exterior floors of lightweight concrete tiles. The windows are externally of anodized aluminium and internally of formica with aluminium edges.