Building Construction Materials Research Articles

Exposure of Dose Rate due to Granites of Bangalore Metropolis Area, India

Introduction: The majority of total radiation dose received by the world's population comes from natural radiation. The distinguishing features of this radiation include relatively persistent exposure to a population at a specific place. Inhalation of 222Rn (radon), 220Rn (thoron), and their offspring contributes the majority of the dose from natural radiation in background regions that are typically present. In light of this, a measurement of dose rate exposure due to some granite floorings has been attempted in Bangalore Metropolis, Karnataka, India. For a period of three years, fifteen distinct granite samples that were used as flooring for construction in buildings were examined.
 Objectives: Measurement of exposure of dose rate due to building construction materials by the inhabitants of Bangalore city
 Methods: Solid state nuclear track detector based dosimeters, CAN techniques and radiation survey meters were used and all the experimental observations were made as per the standard protocols provided by the Bhabha atomic research centre, Mumbai, India were followed.
 Results: The arithmetic mean values of dose rate varied between 2.09 ± 0.10 and 1.39 ± 0.06 mSvy-1. The observed dose rates were found to be higher in granite and lower in coarse-grained dolerite.
 Conclusions: All 14 types of granite samples have undergone a minimum of 30 measurements. The greater activity concentration of radionuclides found in granite samples leads to higher dose rates.

Model-based predictive control of multi-stage air-source heat pumps integrated with phase change material-embedded ceilings

This paper presents a model-based predictive control strategy to optimize the operations of phase change material (PCM) ceiling panels coupled with a multi-stage air-source heat pump. A three-stage prototype heat pump unit has been built and tested in the laboratory, with the low and medium stages designed for space heating/cooling and the high compression stage dedicated to charging of the PCM energy storage. To facilitate optimal control of the integrated heat pump system, a mixed-integer linear programming formulation is derived through linearization of the heat pump model and a mixed-integer reformulation of the PCM dynamic governing equations. A predictive control strategy is synthesized based on the resultant control formulation and implemented in a receding horizon scheme that optimizes the PCM charging and the zone temperature schedules simultaneously to leverage both the passive (associated with building construction materials) and active (PCM) storage capacities of a building. The control strategy has been tested along with three benchmarking control scenarios using a co-simulation platform for a prototypical detached house in Atlanta, GA. Test results showed that application of the proposed control strategy to the PCM-integrated heat pump could provide 27.1% electricity cost savings while a fine tuned rule-based control strategy could achieve cost savings of 20.4%, compared to a baseline case without PCM storage, under a time-of-use rate tariff.

A Hybrid Multi-Criteria Decision Support System for Selecting the Most Sustainable Structural Material for a Multistory Building Construction

In recent years, the performance of the construction industry has highlighted the increased need for better resource efficiency, improved productivity, less waste, and increased value through sustainable construction practices. The core concept of sustainable construction is to maximize value and minimize harm by achieving a balance between social, economic, technical, and environmental aspects, commonly known as the pillars of sustainability. The decision regarding which structural material to select for any construction project is traditionally made based on technical and economic considerations with little or no attention paid to social and environmental aspects. Furthermore, the majority of the available literature on the subject considered three sustainability pillars (i.e., environmental, social, and economic), ignoring the influence of technical aspects for overall sustainability assessment. Industry experts have also noted an unfulfilled need for a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) technique that can integrate all stakeholders’ (project owner, designer, and constructor) opinions into the selection process. Hence, this research developed a decision support system (DSS) involving MCDM techniques to aid in selecting the most sustainable structural material, considering the four pillars of sustainability in the integrated project delivery (IPD) framework. A hybrid MCDM method combining AHP, TOPSIS, and VIKOR in a fuzzy environment was used to develop the DSS. A hypothetical eight-story building was considered for a case study to validate the developed DSS. The result shows that user preferences highly govern the final ranking of the alternative options of structural materials. Timber was chosen as the most sustainable option once the stakeholders assigned balanced importance to all factors of sustainable construction practices. The developed DSS was designed to be generic, can be used by any group of industry practitioners, and is expected to enhance objectivity and consistency of the decision-making process as a step towards achieving sustainable construction.

Integrating Sustainability into Civil Engineering and the Construction Industry

In terms of the impact of human activity on the natural environment, civil engineering is one of the most significant productive pursuits. The production and use of building materials, the advancement of engineering and construction, the use of the project after it is completed, the removal of discarded components, and other procedures all require significant energy expenditure and ongoing waste generation, which can have severe consequences for the natural environment. To meet the demands of both economic and social development, advancements in civil engineering must be made while also protecting the natural world, limiting the use of natural resources, and promoting sustainable development. This study examines the long-term strategy in civil engineering and explores the role of environmental sustainability throughout the various stages of the civil design process, including the conceptual stage, the technical design stage, and the building stage. The research finds that the construction industry should adopt practices that adhere to sustainability principles such as environmentally-friendly design, durability, energy efficiency, waste reduction, improved indoor air quality, water conservation, and the use of sustainable building materials in construction.

Mechanical properties of steel reinforced coral aggregate concrete column under uniaxial compression

The production of coral aggregate concrete (CAC) from coral debris effectively addresses the lack of building materials in island construction. Due to the low compressive strength and visible brittleness of CAC, steel reinforcement with anti-rust treatment is adopted to improve the mechanical properties of CAC. This paper presents an experimental study on the mechanical behavior of 45 anti-rust coated steel reinforced coral aggregate concrete (RCAC) columns under uniaxial compression, designed with the consideration of concrete strength and configurations of the transverse reinforcement. The test results show that the volumetric ratio of lateral confinement can improve the compressive strength and ductility of RCAC effectively. The strengthening effect of diamond-shaped composite and spiral hoop is higher, while that of rectangular hoop is slightly weaker. The increase of concrete strength has a significant positive effect on the peak stress, but not on the peak strain. Based on the experiments, the formulae for the peak stress and peak strain of RCAC are given, and the constitutive model of RCAC is proposed. Moreover, the calculation method of the theoretical bearing capacity is arrived at, and the predicted values with a specific safety reserve are close to the measured values.

Beliefs on environmental impact of wood construction

ABSTRACT People have different beliefs about the environmental impact of forest products. This quantitative web-survey study investigated public beliefs in Finland and Sweden about the environmental and climate impacts of using wood as a construction material for multi-story buildings. It was conducted with consumer panels reflecting the average populations of the two countries. The study analyzed factors affecting beliefs that multi-story Wood Buildings: (1) contribute to mitigating global warming, and (2) adversely impact biodiversity and the climate. It used consumer panel and multivariate statistics. Favorable climate-related beliefs were associated with Finnish nationality, male gender, age, children in household, university degree, and beliefs that climate change is induced by humans and causes weather disasters. Beliefs that wood buildings drive global warming and harm biodiversity were associated with non-rural residence, female gender, young age, children in household, low income, and beliefs that climate change causes weather disasters. No associations were recorded for current residence types. These findings highlight the importance of the wood construction industry to improve, document, and communicate to the public its impact on climate and biodiversity. They also indicate how market information can be formulated and targeted to communicate an accurate environmental image of wood construction.

Multi-culm bamboo composites as sustainable materials for green constructions: section properties and column behavior

Round bamboo culms offer excellent sustainable materials for a green building construction. Round bamboo culms are tied or fastened into a multi-culm composite member to resist the heavier load. Circles externally touching each other can well model a multi-culm bamboo composite's section. This study aimed to obtain formulas for drawing a cross-section of a multi-culm bamboo composite, calculating its section properties, and then embedding them into a graphing calculator and spreadsheet. As many as nine full-sized single and multi-culm bamboo composite columns were tested in the laboratory to resist the buckling load until the failure occurred. The column acting as the sum of some individual culms capacity was considered. In addition, the embedded equations analyzed the multi-culm column working in unity as a composite. This study found that the multi-culm columns tend to inhibit the combination (pseudo-composite) behavior rather than acting as a perfect composite column or the sum of individual culm's capacities. A perfect composite columns approach resulted overestimated value of the multi-culm column's critical buckling load; on the other hand, the sum of individual culm's capacity approach approximated underestimated value. The weighted average approach with a weight coefficient of k = 1 explains the empirical critical buckling load-bearing capacity's variance very well.

EVALUATION OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS ON PROJECT SITES IN FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, F.C.T, ABUJA

Assessment of building construction material on building sites is a function that critically contributes to the achievement of the project goals. Poor construction materials in construction projects sites has many issues which contribute to it such as: wastage of construction materials, and improper handling on site. This work aims to consider the evaluation of construction materials on project sites. Questionnaires from field survey, interview and site observation were the source of data collected. Descriptive statistics including frequency and mean index score method was used for the study. The study reveals that most problems such as conditions of weather, management of excess materials as well as low response from company to site were identified with mean value above the average mean of 3.32. The study also indicated that most wastage, such as: change in design, improper scheduling of work plan, and lack of supervision in usage of materials observed with mean value above the average mean of 3.37. From the results of the study, it was concluded that, most activities on management of construction materials which are challenging that has to do with wastage in building construction project sites and management of construction material, were identified in the study area. Thus, the study recommends that the consultants, contractors, clients and other professionals that work in the building construction industry should upgrade their commitment toward staff training as well as developing the necessary skills needed in the industry.

Assessment of the Specimen Size Effect on the Fracture Energy of Macro-Synthetic-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete.

The most frequently used construction material in buildings is concrete exhibiting a brittle behaviour. Adding fibers to concrete can improve its ductility and mechanical properties. To this end, a laboratory study was conducted to present an experimental model for the specimens' size effect of on macro-synthetic fiber-reinforced concrete using variations in fracture energy. Composite concrete beams with different thicknesses and widths were made and tested under mode I to obtain (1) fracture toughness, (2) fracture energy, and (3) critical stress intensity factor values. Results indicated that by increasing the thickness and the width, fracture toughness and fracture energy were enhanced. Moreover, increasing the thickness and width of the beam led to critical stress intensity factors enhancement respectively by 35.01-41.43% and 7.77-8.09%.

Review on the Suitability of Bamboo as a Building Material in Nigeria

Bamboo is adjudged to be a very good sustainable, versatile and eco-friendly building material. It grows naturally in most of the world’s forests especially in tropics and sub-tropical regions. Bamboo is the fastest growing grass in the world and matures within three to five years. It consumes carbon (iv) oxide (the major greenhouse gas) in the environment through photosynthesis and releases oxygen to the environment thereby drastically reducing the greenhouse gases and making the environment safe. Throughout the entire globe, there is increase in human population. As the number of humans in the world increases, there is proportional increase in the need for shelter and other civil infrastructures. This increase in need for shelter and other civil infrastructures has resulted in over-consumption of traditional building materials and has created serious burden on the depleting world’s natural resources. Continuous use of the traditional building materials like steel, timber, cement, has also led to increase in the burning of fossil fuels which releases greenhouse gases to the environment during their production. Nevertheless, traditional building materials are very expensive and their continuous use leads to increase in the overall cost of buildings and other civil infrastructures. The use of bamboo as a material for construction of buildings and other civil infrastructures presents a very huge relief to the aforementioned problems encountered in the construction industry. This paper x-rays the viability of bamboo as construction material in Nigeria. Increase in the use of bamboo in the construction industry will lead to reduction in the overall construction cost, growing bamboo in commercial quantity and reduction of greenhouse gases in the environment

NATURAL BUILDING STONE IN THE CONSTRUCTION AND RENOVATION OF THE ZAGREB CATHEDRAL

Natural stone has been used since the dawn of civilization as a construction material for buildings that are historical and cultural buildings and monuments. The Zagreb Cathedral is an example of such a historical and cultural building and data regarding the extraction of stone for its construction and reconstruction is scientifically underestimated. Based on a review of previously published literature and an investigation on the current state of the sites where stone for construction was previously quarried, this paper presents a systematic overview of challenges regarding stone material that will be faced in the restoration of the Cathedral after the 2020 earthquakes. The autochthonous stone varieties used for the Cathedral, namely lithothamnium limestone, litavac, calcareous sandstone, and vinicite were determined. The description of the locations where they were quarried was emphasized, and the suitability of these sites for re-quarrying the stone blocks during reconstruction after the 2020 earthquake was investigated. In addition, the Cathedral was renovated in the meantime with travertine imported from Italy, which, although it is not of domestic origin, represents an integral part of the Cathedral and whose characteristics must be taken into account in the planning of the current reconstruction of the Cathedral. To preserve the cultural memory of quarrying in the Zagreb area, emphasis is given to the importance of preserving and showing old visual representations of the quarries.

Uticaj industrijskih nusproizvoda na svojstva geopolimernih kompozita na bazi elektrofilterskog pepela

Geopolymers are materials made of chain molecules incurred by polymerization of geopolymer binders. geopolymers are defined as a solid and stabile aluminosilicate materials, made of industrial byproducts and liquid solutions. The experimental part of the dissertation, contains the results of physical-mechanical, microscopic and durability properties of geopolymer mortars and concrete based on fly ash. For the purpose of determining the effect of different byproducts on characteristics of geopolymer mixtures, 24 batches of mortar and 8 batches of concrete were made and tested. (converter slag, wood biomass ash, red mud, and waste glass) in the amount of 5% - 100% with different steps of replacement in relation to to the binder mass. The samples of geopolymer mortar and concrete were cured at an ambient temperature According to the test results some recommendations for the possible application of fly ash and other industrial byproducts for making geopolymer mortars and concretes are made. Tested materials might be used as construction building materials and according to their physical-mechanical characteristics and durability properties, they can be alternative solution for the traditional mortar and concrete mixtures.

In Search of Innovative Materials for Mass Construction of Low-Rise Buildings in the Republic of Chad

In Search of Innovative Materials for Mass Construction of Low-Rise Buildings in the Republic of Chad

Cold-Formed Thin-Walled Steel in Rural Buildings in China

In 2017, with the proposal of the rural revitalization strategy, the vast rural areas in China ushered in great development. A large number of rural construction projects began to be launched. At the same time, with the continuous development of rural society and economy, people have higher and higher requirements for the construction of rural buildings. Traditional building materials have been difficult to meet the needs of rapid construction and building comfort. People began to explore the application of new building materials in rural construction. Cold-formed thin-walled steel is gradually popularized and applied in rural buildings because of its characteristics and advantages. The article first summarizes the main characteristics of cold-formed thin-walled steel. It then analyzes and compares it with the characteristics of traditional Chinese main rural building materials. Then, the advantages of the prefabricated cold-formed thin-walled light-weight steel structure buildings constructed by cold-formed thin-walled steel are summarized. The conclusion is drawn that the prefabricated cold-formed thin-walled light-weight steel structure buildings will become the main trend of the future development of rural buildings in China.

Comparison of density of asphalt concrete mixture with fly ash and limestone filler

The road construction industry is one of the strategic industries of Ukraine. Currently, the issue of quality and availability of basic building materials for road construction is particularly acute, which is directly related to its high material intensity. Known stocks of conditioned raw materials that could be used as components of asphalt concrete are constantly decreasing, so it is necessary to look for alternative sources of raw materials for construction materials and study the possibility of their use. In this regard, the most effective use of local raw materials is the use of industrial production waste, which can become one of the solutions to the problem of the lack of raw materials of inorganic origin. In Ukraine, about 30% of all electricity is generated by burning solid fuels such as coal, oil shale, and peat. There are about 15 operating thermal power plants in Ukraine, which generate about 5-6 million tons of ash and slag waste per year. Thus, the fuel and energy complex waste generated at thermal power plants is a huge accumulation of ash in the form of dusty residues and lumpy sludge, as well as various ash and slag mixtures. These products of high-temperature treatment (1200-1700 °C) of the mineral part of the fuel are widely used in many countries and given the global trend towards an increase in the share of the secondary market for the use of secondary industrial products, an increase in the rate of their processing in Ukraine should be predicted.

Laboratory measurements of dispersed soils as construction materials for railway embankments

Compacted construction sand - dispersed soil - is the main construction material for the construction of railway embankments. The supplier is obliged to present the main physico-mechanical properties of the building material not in free-flowing state, but in a compacted state, in which the material will work as part of railway embankments. A major problem in laboratory dispersed soil application tests is the inability to keep the specimen in its compacted state before placing it in a shear instrument or stabilisation meter. Hence, laboratory testing of dispersed soils can only be carried out in the bulk state and therefore the question of directly determining the physical and mechanical characteristics of building materials at their maximum density remains open. Methodology of direct testing of compacted samples in a single plane shear apparatus for determination of strength properties was developed and tested by the authors of the article, and also the methodology of determination of deformation properties by indirect way was suggested for preliminary evaluation of soil suitability as a building material for construction of railway embankments.

Assessment of embodied energy of masonry building materials in Hassan, India

The construction sector is putting a lot of effort in reducing its energy, carbon, material, and water footprints, as well as taking steps toward a more sustainable built future. The building materials such as cement, aggregates, masonry units like bricks and blocks constitute to dominant percentile utilization in the construction of building. The activities involved in the production of construction materials will consume large amounts of energy. Hence time has arrived for an effective, environmental friendly, sustainable building material with judicious use of energy. It is therefore important to identify and modify the existing process of manufacture of building construction materials and compute the energy associated with manufacturing process. Production of these materials is a major cause for global warming due to release of carbon-di-oxide (CO2) and other gases. Hence there is a need to think, act and adopt low energy consuming, locally available building materials, reducing the transportation energy (TE) to provide alternatives which is both cost effective and environment friendly. The whole energy expenditure involved in the material manufacturing, including all upstream activities such as raw material extraction and transportation, is referred to as embodied energy (EE). This paper examines the energy efficiency of a few masonry building materials used in large quantities in the Indian construction sector. The key stages of production, consumption of excessive energy and the importance locally available raw materials are studied. The study focuses on the various stages of production and measuring the associated embodied energy of masonry building materials of Hassan. These EE figures were calculated by personal visits and survey data to industrial production plants. EE of burnt brick masonry is found to be 2.8 times the EE in comparison with AAC block masonry wall.

Identification of Musculoskeletal Disorder among Eco-Brick Workers in Indonesia

Introduction: Plastic waste is considered one of the common vital waste problems in developing countries such as Indonesia. One proposed alternative way to reduce plastic waste is by reusing and recycling it into bricks. Eco-bricks are a form of recycled plastic waste that can be used as an alternative building construction material. Unfortunately, manufacturing workers do not ergonomically perform this work during their working hours. Therefore, it causes inappropriate body postures and leads to musculoskeletal disorders easily. This study intends to identify the posture of workers in the manufacture of eco-bricks in Indonesia Methods: A cross-sectional study was done with purposively selected 32 eco-bricks workers from 10 waste bank communities in Central Java and Yogyakarta. Sampling was done by snowball method. This research was conducted by interviewing and collecting data on body complaints using a Nordic Body Map (NBM) questionnaire. Results: All respondents (100%) experienced musculoskeletal disorder complaints while producing eco-bricks. Based on the results gained from the Nordic Body Map Questionnaire, the common complaints perceived by eco-bricks workers are upper neck, lower neck, back, waist, buttock, and bottom. In addition, workers also perceived complaints on the right side of the body, particularly the right shoulder, right upper arm, right elbow, right lower arm, right wrist, and right hand Conclusion: Working postures that are not well-organized in terms of ergonomics during the production process of eco-bricks will provoke complaints on the limbs caused by the continuous load on the muscles on the right side of the body.

Structural Performance of Concrete Reinforced with Banana and Orange Peel Fibers -A Review

In recent years, there has been a surge in interest in developing novel materials for sustainable building construction made from renewable resources. The use of natural fibers in concrete reinforcement, as opposed to agricultural waste, has significant environmental benefits in terms of reducing the environmental repercussions of the continuous dumping and landfilling of massive amounts of agricultural waste in overburdened landfill sites. Banana peel fiber (BPF) and orange peel fiber (OPF) are common agro-wastes with a long history of use in concrete as an additive or a cement substitute. However, their efficiency and performance in terms of reinforcement must be assessed. The characteristics, fresh and hardened state structural performance of BPF and OPF as composite materials in sustainable concrete manufacturing are reviewed in this study based on recent findings. For quality concrete reinforcing, it was discovered that OPF and BPF have good surface areas and low specific gravity. For quality concrete reinforcing, it was discovered that OPF and BPF have good surface areas and low specific gravity. BPF and OPF, on the other hand, have significant pozzolanic binding properties of up to 97.3 %. This allows them to act as binders and supplement the high strength yielding in concrete. Furthermore, the use of BPF in concrete enhanced workability, consistency, compressive and tensile strengths, and setting times by 21.1 %, 48.64 %, 46 % and 52.5 %, and 47.37 %, respectively, whereas the use of OPF raised concrete density by 5.34 %. This indicated that both BPF and OPF had a lot of potential for producing high-quality concrete. The use of BPF and OPF to reinforce concrete and composites against flexural deflection, heat transmission, and modulus of elasticity resulted in a significant increase in concrete strength in terms of cracking, deflection, creep, and shrinkage. The inclusion of orange and banana peels in concrete was found to significantly improve the structural qualities of the concrete; thus, they can be employed as supplementary materials in the manufacturing of concrete. Finally, this study identifies new approaches for achieving the much-anticipated biodegradability and sustainability of natural fiber-reinforced composites for usage in a variety of concrete reinforcing applications.

New laterite-based geopolymer foam resistance under drastic conditions: A comparative study with a metakaolin model

The valorization of local materials in public building construction in emerging countries is a necessity from a sustainable development perspective. In Cameroon, laterite is an abundant and easily accessible local resource that can be used for the development of light and insulating materials, which until now have been made from metakaolin. Moreover, since metakaolin is not easily accessible in Cameroon, it would be interesting to compare to a model mixture based on metakaolin and hematite. The objective of this study is related to the feasibility and characterization of geopolymer foams based on laterite or on a model mixture (metakaolin-hematite) in different drastic conditions, such as fire resistance and freeze‒thaw cycles. The geopolymer foams were synthesized from a calcined laterite or metakaolin-hematite mixture, an alkaline silicate solution, a surfactant and metallic aluminum powder and then placed in an oven at 70 °C for 24 h. Structural data (X-ray diffraction) as well as determination of thermal conductivity and mechanical strength data of the foams were evaluated. The results show that the laterite and metakaolin-hematite mixture allows the elaboration of geopolymer foam, which is characterized by a low thermal conductivity (90 mW/(m. K)) and can be used as insulating materials. The freeze‒thaw treatment does not affect the thermal and mechanical properties. The treatment at 1175 °C slightly improves the mechanical strength and the thermal conductivity, leading to a good application of these materials.