Floor Tiles Research Articles

Comparative life cycle assessment of flooring options for sustainable buildings

Purpose This study aims to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of Marble-stone and Kota-stone flooring options widely used for buildings in India. The study discusses the possibility of carbon sequestration through Bamboo cultivation in India. Design/methodology/approach The study has followed a standard life cycle assessment (LCA) framework based on ISO 14040 guidelines. Three distinct phases have been compared on midpoint and endpoint assessment categories – raw material, polishing and disposal. Primary data has been collected from the construction site in India, and secondary data has been collected from the Ecoinvent 3.0 database. Previous studies have been referred to discuss and calculate the area of bamboo cultivation required to sequestrate the generated carbon from the flooring. Findings The study has found that endpoint category damage to resources, and midpoint categories of climate change, metal depletion and agricultural land use are highly impacted in building floorings. The study has also found that the Marble-stone floor generates higher environmental impacts than the Kota-stone floor in most of the midpoint and endpoint impact categories. This difference is significant in the raw material phase due to the different compositions of stones. The study also found that Bamboo has excellent potential to act as a carbon sink and mitigate the generated carbon. Research limitations/implications This study excludes human labour, cutting and distribution of floor tiles made of Marble-stone and Kota-stone. The researcher can use the study to evaluate, compare and benchmark the various building flooring options from the environmental perspective. The study aids to the body of knowledge available on the various building flooring options by presenting the LCA or the environmental impacts generated by two flooring options. It is expected that the architects and builders can use these results to develop carbon-neutral buildings. This study provides a methodology for governments, constructors, builders and individuals to evaluate, compare and benchmark the various construction materials from the environmental perspective by computing the environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of the materials. Originality/value This study compares two widely used building flooring options using the LCA methodology and evaluates the potential of bamboo cultivation near the buildings for carbon sinks. The study is unique because it shows the environmental impacts of two flooring options and the carbon sequestration method to mitigate/absorb the generated environmental impacts in or around the building itself through bamboo cultivation. This study may set the foundation for carbon-neutral buildings.

A Mock-up Laboratory for Arousing Public Awareness on the Use of Quiet Methods for Domestic Renovation

Owing to the compact living environment in Hong Kong, multi-storey buildings and multi-flatted settings are very common, giving rise to easy transmission of renovation noise from one flat to many other flats in the same residential building. The problem is particularly serious as refurbishment works are frequent and they often involve noisy demolition of wall / floor tiles and other works with concrete removal such as channelling for concealed conduits. This paper will describe the design and operation of a mock-up laboratory for simulation of renovation noise transmission and arousing public awareness on the importance of reducing such disturbance by demonstrating the noise annoyance caused by typical renovation activities and the noise reduction and other benefits from quiet tools. This laboratory is intended for visits by relevant professionals and designers in the field of construction, practitioners in the renovation industry, and people from the academic sector. Technical findings on the various demonstrations will also be presented.

Utilization of various ceramic waste as fine aggregate replacement into fly ash-based geopolymer

This study aims to utilize a range of ceramic waste to replace sand as a fine aggregate in fly ash geopolymer. Ceramic waste aggregates comprised of brick (BR), floor tile (FT), roof tile (RT), and sanitary ware (ST) have been employed for river sand replacement at 0 %, 25 %, and 50 %. The development in compressive strength was investigated on geopolymer mortar at the ages of 7, 14, and 28 days. The results showed that incorporating FT, RT and ST aggregates exhibited comparable and even higher compressive strength than natural sand. The optimum compressive strength was achieved at 47.4 MPa for 50 % ST specimen, accounting for a 17.52 % improvement. The microstructure revealed that ST aggregates exhibited better interfacial transition zone (ITZ) than sand aggregate, thereby increasing the compressive strength of geopolymer mortar.

Footstep-powered floor tile: Design and evaluation of an electromagnetic frequency up-converted energy harvesting system enhanced by a cylindrical Halbach array

Energy harvesting floor systems use the mechanical energy generated by human weight to produce electrical energy, providing sustainable power sources for low-power systems at pedestrian crossings. They also have the potential to serve as renewable energy solutions on a larger scale. This study evaluates the design and performance of a kinetic energy harvester floor tile. The system design employs a frequency up-conversion technique to utilize the force exerted by the weight of humans for creating vibrational movement. In addition, the use of the cylindrical Halbach array improves the magnetic flux gradient, leading to an increased power output. A semi-analytical model is presented to evaluate the system performance, which is then validated through available experimental analysis and finite element simulations. A sensitivity analysis is performed to assess the impact of various factors on system performance, ultimately determining the optimal configuration. The optimal modular system is then used to create a 30 × 30 cm2 tile. This tile is capable of generating energy while walking, running, jogging, slow running, and fast running, with power outputs of 0.57, 0.85, 1.11, and 1.42 W (0.57, 0.86, 1.11, and 1.58 mW/cm2) respectively. Additionally, it is estimated that 511 mJ (568 mJ/cm2) of energy is generated per step. Additionally, an assessment is conducted on the energy production capabilities and environmental advantages of a specific site, such as a subway station.

Locomotor kinematics on sand versus vinyl flooring in the sidewinder rattlesnake Crotalus cerastes.

For terrestrial locomotion of animals and machines, physical characteristics of the substrate can strongly impact kinematics and performance. Snakes are an especially interesting system for studying substrate effects because their gait depends more on the environment than on their speed. We tested sidewinder rattlesnakes (Crotalus cerastes) on two surfaces: sand collected from their natural environment and vinyl tile flooring, an artificial surface often used to elicit sidewinding in laboratory settings. Of ten kinematic variables examined, two differed significantly between the substrates: the body's waveform had an average of ∼17% longer wavelength on vinyl flooring (measured in body lengths), and snakes lifted their bodies an average of ∼40% higher on sand (measured in body lengths). Sidewinding may also differ among substrates in ways we did not measure (e.g. ground reaction forces and energetics), leaving open clear directions for future study.

Enhancing rheology and physico-mechanical properties of ceramic slurries: Effect of the addition of various types of deflocculants

This study investigated the impact of various types of deflocculants with different chemical composition on ceramic slurries rheology. Organic and inorganic plasticizers were substituted for sodium silicate plasticizers in floor tile recipes, and their effects on rheology were assessed. The interactions of these materials with the silicate and ceramic slurry in terms of synergistic, antagonistic, and additive properties were then determined. In addition, the physico-mechanical properties of the ceramic bodies obtained using commercial plasticizers were investigated. Microstructural analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mineralogical properties using x-ray diffraction (XRD) were performed. Results revealed that the addition of silicate to the slurry had a synergistic effect on rheology, reducing second viscosity to 50 s with a thixotropy ratio of 22%. Moreover, the flexural strength of the sample with 1% silicate addition increased by 13.6%, indicating positive effects on physico-mechanical properties. SEM analysis indicated the formation of a more uniform dispersion of particles with silicate addition. These findings suggest that incorporating silicate into ceramic slurries can effectively enhance both rheology and physico-mechanical properties, holding significant implications for ceramic tile and product manufacturing.

Optimization of physical and mechanical properties of porcelain tiles from coffee parchment husk ash

Coffee parchment husk ash (CPHA), a product from coffee processing was found to have similar fluxing oxides as are found in feldspars. CPHA is produced in large quantities through the combustion of coffee parchment in industries to produce energy for drying purposes. CPHA is commonly disposed of in landfills and open fields, causing pollution to the environment and ecosystems. In this work, response surface methodology (RSM) was used for optimization of porcelain tile bodies in which the portion of CPHA in feldspar was varied from 10 to 90 wt% and firing temperature from 800 to 1200 ℃. The response variables were linear shrinkage (LS), water absorption (WA), and flexural strength (FS). Other materials in the porcelain were maintained at 10 wt% sand, 20 wt% ball clay, and 40 wt% kaolin. Mixed proportions were dry pressed at 40 MPa and fired to respective peak temperatures at a rate of 34 ℃/min. The optimum conditions obtained were 10% of CPHA in feldspar and 1197 ℃ firing temperature. Validation experiments presented LS 8.15%, WA 0.11%, and FS 38.32 MPa. These values agree with optimum responses from RSM and therefore confirm the accuracy of developed prediction models. The test values lie within the range specified by 1SO 13006:2018 for porcelain floor tiles. These findings demonstrate that CPHA can be used as a raw material for production of porcelain floor tiles. Adoption of CPHA in ceramic production can contribute to reduction in the costs of maintaining landfills.

Optimal Use of Calcined Boron Waste as a Flux in the Production of Low-Temperature-Sintered Floor Tiles

Optimal Use of Calcined Boron Waste as a Flux in the Production of Low-Temperature-Sintered Floor Tiles

Polyurethane Foam Emission Samplers to Identify Sources of Airborne Polychlorinated Biphenyls from Glass-Block Windows and Other Room Surfaces in a Vermont School.

We hypothesized that emissions of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from Aroclor mixtures present in building materials explain their concentrations in school air. Here, we report a study of airborne concentrations and gas-phase emissions in three elementary school rooms constructed in 1958. We collected airborne PCBs using polyurethane foam passive air samplers (PUF-PAS, n = 6) and PCB emissions from building materials using polyurethane foam passive emission samplers (PUF-PES, n = 17) placed over flat surfaces in school rooms, including vinyl tile floors, carpets, painted bricks, painted drywall, and glass-block windows. We analyzed all 209 congeners represented in 173 chromatographic separations and found that the congener distribution in PUF-PES strongly resembled the predicted diffusive release of gas-phase PCBs from a solid material containing Aroclor 1254. Concentrations of airborne total PCBs ranged from 38 to 180 ng m-3, a range confirmed by an independent laboratory in the same school. These levels exceed action levels for all aged children set by the State of Vermont and exceed guidance levels set by the U.S. EPA for children under age 3. Emissions of PCBs from the glass-block windows (30,000 ng m-2 d-1) greatly exceeded those of all other surfaces, which ranged from 35 to 2700 ng m-2 d-1. This study illustrates the benefit of the direct measurement of PCB emissions to identify the most important building remediation needed to reduce airborne PCB concentrations in schools.

Empowering Sustainability: Harnessing Footsteps for Clean Energy with Floor Tile Harvesters

Empowering Sustainability: Harnessing Footsteps for Clean Energy with Floor Tile Harvesters

The art of the float.

For more than 2000 years, artists have exploited cast shadows to influence how objects appear to be positioned in a scene. A contact cast shadow can anchor an object to the ground and a detached cast shadow can make an object appear to float. However, there is a period of approximately 1000 years when there were virtually no cast shadows in art. How were states of contact versus floating depicted by artists without cast shadows? Here, we survey various techniques used by artists to anchor relative position with and without cast shadows. We then conduct experimental tests of the hypothesized surface attraction principles that underlie these techniques. In the absence of cast shadows, an object (a wooden box) was often seen as resting on a surface as long as that surface offered information about ground orientation and support (a tiled floor). When the ground surface was ambiguous and cloud-like (1/fnoise), the box was more likely to be seen to float. The presence of cast shadows made the box appear to contact the ground whether it was well-defined or ambiguous. Both shadows and surface support also increased the accuracy with which participants detected when the box was tilted up from the ground. These results indicate that artists long ago discovered the important power of support relationships to anchor objects to surfaces in the absence of shadows.

Creating anti-slip properties in porcelain floor tiles by recycling alumina rollers from tile kilns

Having flooring tiles with good slip resistance is essential in avoiding accidents and injuries. This study achieved the anti-slip property by incorporating recycled aluminum rollers into the glaze composition while maintaining all the tile's standard properties. This process reduces environmental pollution and adds value by reusing scraps. The effect of grain sizes of crushed rollers and their optimum amount on the slip resistance was investigated.The anti-slip property was tested using a friction-measuring pendulum based on the EN 13036–4 standard. Also, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscope (SEM), and dilatometry were utilized to investigate the samples. The results showed that the pendulum test value is smaller than 18 degrees (equivalent to R9), with a high slip potential in the usual tile. The angle in the tile reached higher than 36 degrees (equivalent to R11) by adding 10 wt% scrap roller to the base glaze, which means low slip potential; consequently, the possibility of slipping decreased from 1/20 to 1/100000. Also, their slip potential remains the same by getting the tiles wet.

Energy–Saving Compositions of Masses of Ceramic Tiles from the Raw Material Resources of the Lower Amudarya Region

The article investigates the physical and mechanical properties of ceramic tiles obtained from the raw materials of the Lower Amudarya region of the Republic of Uzbekistan, such as clay of the Kulatau deposit and dune sand of the Tuprakkala massif. Based on the results of laboratory and pilot production tests, it was found that the obtained unglazed facade and floor tiles based on the developed optimal composition M–7 and glazed facing and facade tiles based on the developed optimal composition M–9, consisting of clay from the Kulatau deposit and dune sand of the Tuprakkala massif in terms of physical and mechanical properties satisfy the established requirements of the relevant GOSTs.

RME-based local instructional theory for translation and reflection using of South Sumatra dance context

A learning trajectory as a sequence of mathematical activities that could facilitate the growth of students’ understanding of learning goals. This research aimed to produce an instructional sequence to learn the concepts of translation and reflection and to investigate how students develop their understanding informally using a South Sumatra dance context. The research employed the design research method, which consisted of three stages: preliminary design, design experiment (pilot experiment and teaching experiment), and retrospective analysis. This research involved six students who have the high, medium, low capability at the first cycle and 32 students ninth graders at the second cycle at Junior High School 1 Palembang. Data from observations, tests, interviews, and documentation were analyzed descriptively. The tests used were aimed to determine the improvement made by the students; while the classroom observations, interviews, and documentations were used to develop the local instructional theory. This study produced a learning trajectory with three activities include: the students watched a dance video to describe the dancer’s’ positions in relation to floor tiles; the students were asked to determine the starting points of the dancers in Cartesian coordinates to learn concepts; and the students developed a formal concept based on their own knowledge.

Tracking indoor construction progress by deep-learning-based analysis of site surveillance video

Purpose Accurate and rapid tracking and counting of building materials are crucial in managing on-site construction processes and evaluating their progress. Such processes are typically conducted by visual inspection, making them time-consuming and error prone. This paper aims to propose a video-based deep-learning approach to the automated detection and counting of building materials. Design/methodology/approach A framework for accurately counting building materials at indoor construction sites with low light levels was developed using state-of-the-art deep learning methods. An existing object-detection model, the You Only Look Once version 4 (YOLO v4) algorithm, was adapted to achieve rapid convergence and accurate detection of materials and site operatives. Then, DenseNet was deployed to recognise these objects. Finally, a material-counting module based on morphology operations and the Hough transform was applied to automatically count stacks of building materials. Findings The proposed approach was tested by counting site operatives and stacks of elevated floor tiles in video footage from a real indoor construction site. The proposed YOLO v4 object-detection system provided higher average accuracy within a shorter time than the traditional YOLO v4 approach. Originality/value The proposed framework makes it feasible to separately monitor stockpiled, installed and waste materials in low-light construction environments. The improved YOLO v4 detection method is superior to the current YOLO v4 approach and advances the existing object detection algorithm. This framework can potentially reduce the time required to track construction progress and count materials, thereby increasing the efficiency of work-in-progress evaluation. It also exhibits great potential for developing a more reliable system for monitoring construction materials and activities.

Integrated solar PV and piezoelectric based torched fly ash tiles for smart building applications with machine learning forecasting

Solarphotovoltaic (PV) power generation projects are rapidly increasing since the necessity for electricity has increased in developing countries like India. Still, the complexity of technical requirements narrows the financial margins of the construction industry. Limited researchers have investigated PV manufacturing, planning and techniques for electricity generation. Additionally a new method of generating power via the use of a human population has been developed. A piezoelectric transducer is used to detect the vibration. When a footstep applies pressure to the piezoelectric transducer, the pressure or force is converted to electrical energy. This experimental research investigates the photovoltaic sensors and piezoelectric transducers incorporated floor tiles in a residential building for power generation. The performance of the sensors were analysed experimentally and analytically by using machine learning models such as ARIMA time series model, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and k-nearest neighbour (KNN). The prediction models were validated through assessment matrix such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE). From the experiments, it was observed that voltage is high during the day when a load is applied, and a low amount is acquired at night when no load is applied. And from the analytical study, the ARIMA time series model has the highest prediction accuracy. Error analysis was done to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed models. The accuracy of the developed models can be further increased, which is subject to future research.

Generic goal-oriented design for layout and cutting of floor tiles

Current building information modeling tools for floor tiling lack attention to procurement and construction, resulting in wasted material and extra labor. This research proposes a generic framework for planning the layout and cutting of floor tiles. Specifically, We put forward a layout algorithm based on a general representation of paving patterns. For cutting, our proposed algorithms combine tiles with complementary shapes to reduce waste rate and support edge-to-edge cuts to improve cutting efficiency. Functional testing shows that our approach supports the common paving patterns, with waste rates significantly lower than industry benchmark. Goal-oriented design experiment demonstrates that our approach obtains accurate numerical results to balance the waste rate, cutting efficiency, and aesthetics. The robustness testing demonstrates that our method can efficiently obtain high-quality solutions regardless of the different sizes and divided paving regions of the apartments. Our method is meaningful to promote sustainable development in the home decoration industry.

Material selection of sustainable composites by recycling of waste plastics and agro-industrial waste for structural applications: A fuzzy group decision-making approach

Recycling of waste plastics (WP) for the development of sustainable composite materials is one of the effective methods to deal with the problems of the generated plastics wastes. The research proposes an integrated Analytical Hierarchy Process-Techniques for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (AHP-TOPSIS) approach based on triangular fuzzy weighted Bonferroni mean operator (TFWBMO) for the selection of an appropriate composition for development of floor tiles by recycling WP and agro-industrial wastes. The decision hierarchy has been formed by collecting the experts' opinion from five different academicians and personalities engaged in the domain of sustainable composites. The present work suggests that the amalgamation of 90 wt % of low-density polyethylene with 10 wt % of fillers is a suitable composition for structural applications. The comparative analyses of the results with well-known techniques and sensitivity analyses have confirmed the reliability of the proposed model. Moreover, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (SRCC) has verified the statistical consistency of the proposed model. The proposed mathematical model is efficient in handling the vagueness in decision-making and hence can be successfully implemented to overcome the issues of material selection in large scale production of sustainable structural materials. The research has explored the potential of WP in the replacements of the conventional structural materials by a sustainable composites possessing expedient features.

Preparation of Waste PP/Fly Ash/Waste Stone Powder Composites and Evaluation of Their Mechanical Properties.

The research was carried out to analyze the combined and mechanical properties of polypropylene (PP)/fly ash (FA)/waste stone powder (WSP) composite materials. PP, FA and WSP were mixed and prepared into PP100 (pure PP), PP90 (90 wt% PP + 5 wt% FA + 5 wt% WSP), PP80 (80 wt% PP + 10 wt% FA + 10 wt% WSP), PP70 (70 wt% PP + 15 wt% FA + 15 wt% WSP), PP60 (60 wt% PP + 20 wt% FA + 20 wt% WSP) and PP50 (50 wt% PP + 25 wt% FA + 25 wt% WSP) composite materials using an injection molding machine. The research results indicate that all PP/FA/WSP composite materials can be prepared through the injection molding process and there are no cracks or fractures found on the surface of the composite materials. The research results of thermogravimetric analysis are consistent with expectations, indicating that the preparation method of the composite materials in this study is reliable. Although the addition of FA and WSP powder cannot increase the tensile strength, it is very helpful to improve the bending strength and notched impact energy. Especially for notched impact energy, the addition of FA and WSP results in an increase in the notched impact energy of all PP/FA/WSP composite materials by 14.58-22.22%. This study provides a new direction for the reuse of various waste resources. Moreover, based on the excellent bending strength and notched impact energy, the PP/FA/WSP composite materials have great application potential in the composite plastic industry, artificial stone, floor tiles and other industries in the future.

Development of a quantitative North and Central European job exposure matrix for wood dust.

Wood dust is an established carcinogen also linked to several non malignant respiratory disorders. A major limitation in research on wood dust and its health effects is the lack of (historical) quantitative estimates of occupational exposure for use in general population-based case-control or cohort studies. The present study aimed to develop a multinational quantitative Job Exposure Matrix (JEM) for wood dust exposure using exposure data from several Northern and Central European countries. For this, an occupational exposure database containing 12653 personal wood dust measurements collected between 1978 and 2007 in Denmark, Finland, France, The Netherlands, Norway, and the United Kingdom (UK) was established. Measurement data were adjusted for differences in inhalable dust sampling efficiency resulting from the use of different dust samplers and analysed using linear mixed effect regression with job codes (ISCO-88) and country treated as random effects. Fixed effects were the year of measurement, the expert assessment of exposure intensity (no, low, and high exposure) for every ISCO-88 job code from an existing wood dust JEM and sampling duration. The results of the models suggest that wood dust exposure has declined annually by approximately 8%. Substantial differences in exposure levels between countries were observed with the highest levels in the United Kingdom and the lowest in Denmark and Norway, albeit with similar job rankings across countries. The jobs with the highest predicted exposure are floor layers and tile setters, wood-products machine operators, and building construction labourers with geometric mean levels for the year 1997 between 1.7 and 1.9 mg/m3. The predicted exposure estimates by the model are compared with the results of wood dust measurement data reported in the literature. The model predicted estimates for full-shift exposures were used to develop a time-dependent quantitative JEM for exposure to wood dust that can be used to estimate exposure for participants of general population studies in Northern European countries on the health effects from occupational exposure to wood dust.