Neighboring Buildings Research Articles

Drinking water quality impacts oocyte viability and embryo development.

Normal reproductive function and fertility is considered a "sixth vital sign" because disruptions to this sensitive physiological system can forewarn other health issues, including exposure to environmental toxicants. We found that female mice exhibited profound loss of embryos during pre-implantation and fetal development coincident with a change to the source of their drinking water. When female mice were provided with tap water from the building in which they were housed (Water 2), instead of tap water from a neighboring building which was their previous supply (Water 1), ovulated oocytes were degenerated or had impaired meiotic maturation, and failed to form embryos. The harmful effects of Water 2 exposure were not reversible even following a recovery period; however, carbon-filtration of Water 2 removed the toxic contaminant. Water composition analysis to identify the responsible toxicant(s) found that trace elements were present at expected levels and phthalates were undetectable. Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), a family of persistent organic pollutants were detected at ∼4 ng/L. To investigate further, female mice were given drinking water categorized by level of PFAS contamination (0.6 ng/L, 2.8 ng/L, or 4.4 ng/L) for 9 weeks. Compared to mice consuming purified MilliQ water, mice consuming PFAS-contaminated water had decreased oocyte quality, impaired embryogenesis and reduced cell numbers in blastocysts. PFAS concentration in the drinking water was negatively correlated with oocyte viability. Importantly, the levels of PFAS detected in the tap water are within current "safe level" guidelines, and further research is needed to determine whether PFAS are responsible for the observed reproductive toxicity. However, this research demonstrating that water deemed suitable for human consumption has detrimental effects on mammalian embryo development has important implications for public health and water quality policies.

An outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant and deaths of three lions in a zoo

There have been reports of the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) from humans to various mammalian species. Some infected animals show clinical signs and may even die in rare cases. Outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 have been reported in zoos where susceptible animals are bred in high population densities. However, there have been few reports of omicron variant outbreaks in zoo animals. From late 2022 to 2023, an outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant occurred in one Japanese zoo. A total of 24 lions were housed in the zoo; 13 of them showed respiratory symptoms, and the three oldest lions died. Molecular and histopathological analyses revealed that the deceased lions were infected with SARS-CoV-2 omicron BF.7.15. Virus-neutralization tests showed that all 21 lions were positive for antibodies against the omicron variant, but not against the delta variant. In addition, three tigers and one bear in the same or neighboring building as the lions possessed antibodies against the omicron variant. This is a very rare report on the outbreak of a SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant infection that resulted in the death of animals. This finding demonstrates the importance of continuous countermeasures to protect non-vaccinated animals from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Data-Driven and Domain Adaption Framework for Optimizing Energy Usage Forecasting in Smart Buildings Using ARIMA Model

Building energy demand and energy system supply are increasingly balanced by energy storage and short-term DSM. This is necessary due to fluctuating renewable energy supplies and rising building power use. Worldwide, structures utilize tons of energy. Greenhouse gas emissions and operational expenses decrease with construction energy efficiency. Forecasting and optimization algorithms can solve challenges, including supply chains (inventory optimization), traffic, and sustainable energy system battery/load/production scheduling for carbon-free energy generation. We often solve optimization problems that need forecasting due to uncertain future values. Predicting and optimizing are challenging; therefore, little research has been done. Our method uses building energy modeling professionals' data to forecast neighboring building types for new or unknown building types. After training, we utilize the models to estimate energy usage for the k-closest building types and combine the predictions using a weighted average. We used time-series decomposition to detect uncertainty and a hybrid model to close this gap: The concepts encode static features and predictable patterns in time-series simulation results. The model learns latent performance differences and calibrates output using outcomes and history records. Historical data predicts public building energy ARIMA use. Our method covers data processing, training, validation, and forecasting. We measured our method. Mixed integer linear optimization and ARIMA projected most accurately.

Normalized analysis of deformation for deep excavation diaphragm walls under different neighboring building conditions

This study investigates the impact of neighboring buildings on diaphragm wall deformation during deep excavation for building foundations. Prior numerical analyses predominantly utilized surface loading models, overlooking the influence of neighboring basements. Employing the finite-element method with PLAXIS 3D AE software, we assess the effects of neighboring structures on deep excavation. Our simulation adopts the top-down construction method, employing plate elements to represent diaphragm walls Temporary retaining support measures are implemented using H-shaped steel assemblies with preloaded anchors to simulate realistic excavation conditions. Neighboring building structures are accurately modeled using plate elements. Our findings reveal that the lateral displacement of the diaphragm wall varies with the depth of neighboring basements. At depths approximately half that of the excavation depth, the displacement significantly increases, reaching approximately 1.7 times the excavation depth and stabilizing thereafter. When neighboring buildings are about twice the excavation depth away, the deformation curve of the wall converges to that of "no loading," suggesting negligible influence on diaphragm wall deformation beyond this distance. Additionally, within one excavation depth, the maximum lateral displacement depth tends to be closer to the surface as the distance to the diaphragm wall decreases. Beyond a distance of one excavation depth from the diaphragm wall, the maximum lateral displacement position is approximately at the excavation face. This study significantly contributes to the comprehension of neighboring structures' influence on diaphragm walls during deep excavation, providing crucial insights for enhancing safety measures.

Robust Building Identification from Street Views Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

Street view imagery (SVI) is a rich source of information for architectural and urban analysis using computer vision techniques, but its integration with other building-level data sources requires an additional step of visual building identification. This step is particularly challenging in architecturally homogeneous, dense residential streets featuring narrow buildings, due to a combination of SVI geolocation errors and occlusions that significantly increase the risk of confusing a building with its neighboring buildings. This paper introduces a robust deep learning-based method to identify buildings across multiple street views taken at different angles and times, using global optimization to correct the position and orientation of street view panoramas relative to their surrounding building footprints. Evaluating the method on a dataset of 2000 street views shows that its identification accuracy (88%) outperforms previous deep learning-based methods (79%), while methods solely relying on geometric parameters correctly show the intended building less than 50% of the time. These results indicate that previous identification methods lack robustness to panorama pose errors when buildings are narrow, densely packed, and subject to occlusions, while collecting multiple views per building can be leveraged to increase the robustness of visual identification by ensuring that building views are consistent.

Application of a Hot Melt Recoverable Anchor Cable in Foundation Pit Support

With the continuous development of the social economy, the depth of foundation pit excavation of proposed construction projects in various places gradually increases, which is closer to the building red line, and the surrounding environment is relatively complex; therefore, there are few supporting schemes for foundation pit selection. Based on the Vanke B-6 plot of a real estate development project, the project has close neighboring buildings. If we use a normal anchor cable, underground cut line problems are possible, and so we choose the hot melt-type recoverable anchor; with three element dispersion pressure, the anchor cable can minimize broken sections of brush slope excavation and has advantages of a simplified construction process and good seismic performance. Except for the cable barrel, the other parts and all steel strands can be recycled, and recycled parts can be reused. The recyclable bolt (cable) overcomes the disadvantages of the conventional bolt (cable) as a temporary support, such as pollution of the underground environment, encroachment on the underground space of adjacent buildings, and becoming an underground obstacle in follow-up projects. It accords with the characteristics of the times of environmental protection and sustainable development, and has achieved good economic and social benefits.

A mini broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectrometer for nitrogen dioxide measurement on the unmanned aerial vehicle platform

We developed a small size and light weight analyzer based on the broadband cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy for measuring nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with high spatial-temporal resolution and high accuracy. The instrument utilizes a LED centered at 450 nm, a short optical cavity, and a spectrometer to determine the extinction coefficients span 435–465 nm, allowing us to retrieve the mixing ratio of NO2 by absorption cross-section. The measurement precision (1σ) for NO2 is 98 ppt in 2 s under laboratory conditions. The uncertainty is estimated at 6% mainly attributed to cross-section and the mirror reflectivity. Good consistency was achieved by comparing with commercial chemiluminescence detector and cavity attenuation phase shift spectrometer (CAPS) (both R2 = 0.99). We further mounted the instrument on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and maintained the UAV flight at the height of 20 m, the comparative measurement with a CAPS set in a neighbor building with the same sampling height showed a good correlation (R2 = 0.97), which confirmed the instrumental feasibility and stability on the UAV platform. At last, we present a successful NO2 vertical measurement test, the good performance indicates this portable technique has great potential for vertical measurement. In particular, the mini-CEAS technique can further extend to measure the vertical profiles of other trace gas species (such as nitrous acid) with strong optical structural absorptions, which would largely promote the understanding of atmospheric chemistry on a vertical scale.

Seismic Structure‐Soil‐Structure Interaction between inelastic structures

AbstractFrequently, buildings in urban areas are designed by considering their stand‐alone response, that is, as single structures with no neighboring buildings. Nevertheless, the existence of a high density of buildings in large metropolitan areas inevitably results in the likelihood of an important seismic interaction between adjacent buildings through the underlying soil. This paper explores the effects of Structure‐Soil‐Structure Interaction (SSSI) on the seismic response of two yielding structures embedded in a linear elastic soil. A simple two‐dimensional nonlinear reduced‐order parametric model is proposed, where different building parameters are considered. A nonlinear phenomenological Bouc–Wen model is assumed for the buildings. A database of 15 strong ground motion records and an additional spectrally matched seismic ground motion are considered. An extensive parametric study comprising over two million nonlinear cases is conducted. The results show important differences between nonlinear SSSI and nonlinear SSI for particular parameter configurations. Nevertheless, due to energy dissipation and increases in damping in the nonlinear case, the effects of SSSI are less relevant compared with the linear case.

Benzothieno[3,2-b]thiophene-Based Noncovalent Conformational Lock Achieves Perovskite Solar Cells with Efficiency over 24.

Organic semiconductors with noncovalently conformational locks (OSNCs) are promising building blocks for hole-transporting materials (HTMs). However, lack of satisfied neighboring building blocks negatively impacts the optoelectronic properties of OSNCs-based HTMs and imperils the stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). To address this limitation, we introduce the benzothieno[3,2-b]thiophene (BTT) to construct a new OSNC, and the resulting HTM ZS13 shows improved intermolecular charge extraction/transport properties, proper energy level, efficient surface passivation effect. Consequently, the champion devices based on doped ZS13 yield an efficiency of 24.39 % and 20.95 % for aperture areas of 0.1 and 1.01 cm2 , respectively. Furthermore, ZS13 shows good thermal stability and the capability of inhibiting I- ion migration, thus, leading to enhanced device stability. The success in neighboring-group engineering can triggered a strong interest in developing thienoacene-based OSNCs toward efficient and stable PSCs.

Benzothieno[3,2‐b]thiophene‐Based Noncovalent Conformational Lock Achieves Perovskite Solar Cells with Efficiency over 24 %

AbstractOrganic semiconductors with noncovalently conformational locks (OSNCs) are promising building blocks for hole‐transporting materials (HTMs). However, lack of satisfied neighboring building blocks negatively impacts the optoelectronic properties of OSNCs‐based HTMs and imperils the stability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs). To address this limitation, we introduce the benzothieno[3,2‐b]thiophene (BTT) to construct a new OSNC, and the resulting HTM ZS13 shows improved intermolecular charge extraction/transport properties, proper energy level, efficient surface passivation effect. Consequently, the champion devices based on doped ZS13 yield an efficiency of 24.39 % and 20.95 % for aperture areas of 0.1 and 1.01 cm2, respectively. Furthermore, ZS13 shows good thermal stability and the capability of inhibiting I− ion migration, thus, leading to enhanced device stability. The success in neighboring‐group engineering can triggered a strong interest in developing thienoacene‐based OSNCs toward efficient and stable PSCs.

Effects of displacement-pile construction and evaluations

The process of pilling construction (by hydraulic compression machines) causes lateral and vertical movement of surrounding soil. Adverse soil deformations can damage neighbor buildings and vicinity piles that have been constructed. The effects of pilling construction are usually omitted in structural design of buildings in practice. This paper presents a study of soil behavior around piles. Discussions on some methods of calculating soil movement during the pilling construction process are also provided.

Generative Design Process for Alternative Creation of Architectural Design: Application of Willis Tower Shading Analysis Case Study

Generative design is a type of popular computational design providing a simple alternative design that is important instance to architectural design. This study aimed to examine generative design process to better understanding, and building an instruction set by repeat experiment methodology through case study. Willis Tower Shading Analysis was applied using variables that cause differences design options of nine sorted tubes alternate automation tower of 30-, 60- and 90-meters height. Forty-five design options were generated from generative design process, selected variables used in design options including building area, shadow area, neighbor building overshadowing and park overshadowing. It was found that generative design was a quick, modest and practical process that was easy for appropriate analysis. Additionally, input data and instruction for generating multiple output design options could be set for selecting of an option and the process could be reversed for designers required options.

Investigation of the elliptical resonant vibration of high-rise buildings induced by the oblique-downwind interference effects

ABSTRACT The interference effect is one of the difficult topics in wind engineering research themes. Enormous publications have been made to understand its whole picture qualitatively and quantitatively in the past several decades. However, rare results focused on the interference effects of the neighboring building located downstream. This study intends to investigate several mentioned downstream interference effects based on the high-frequency-force-balance tests. Four different cross-sections are selected to understand how the adjacent building’s appearance interferes with the square principal building. Results show that the interference effects induced by the downstream neighboring buildings can be categorized into two locations – the oblique-downwind location and the downwind location. The oblique-downwind interference effect generates two different motion shapes of the principal building, including the inclined hollow elliptical motion from the two-directional resonant vibration and the standing elliptical motion from the one-directional resonance. The downwind interference effect generates a similar one-directional resonance. Several force spectrum examples are given in this study to illustrate how the oblique-downwind interference effect mechanism forms at a specific distance and reduced velocity. In addition, the results from the augmented experiment with more combinations of two buildings suggest more efforts are necessary for inspiring the phenomenon of an inclined hollow elliptical motion.

Flame spreading across the green roof

The main request for roof exposed to fire is the classification Broof (t3), which prevents the transfer and spread of flame on the surface, this is not required for green roof according to Czech fire standards and regulations. A fire can spread in three ways: direct contact, flying burning particles and thermal radiation. In most cases, the spread of fire between objects occurs with the help of radiation. The article deals with the difference in flame spread over the surface of a green roof during a normal fire without the influence of radiant heat and the Broof (t3) test, where the surface is exposed to radiant heat. The aim was to determine the dependence of flame spread on a flat green roof due to the effect of radiation during a fire and the possibility of endangering neighboring buildings.

Experimental analysis of evacuated tube solar air heater (ETSAH) with inbuilt sensible thermal energy storage

AbstractIn the present work, an evacuated tube solar air heater (ETSAH) with inbuilt sensible heat storage material (SHSM) is experimentally evaluated. The system comprises two sets each having 50 evacuated tubes with an H‐type arrangement and a total collector area of 16.92 m2. For the purpose of hot air generation, ETSAH is simultaneously connected in series and in parallel with and without the use of reflectors. Three different mass flow rates of 122.90, 164.87, and 212.83 kg/h were fixed to get 12 diverse cases of ETSAH operation. The highest hot air temperature reported by the system is 121.7°C when it was connected in series with conventional reflectors at 212.83 kg/h of flow rate and 469 W/m2 average solar intensity. The system reported an overall average energy efficiency of 49.76% and an exergy efficiency of 17.97% with the highest average hot air temperature difference of 56.12°C from 09:00 to 20:00 h. Without the incorporation of any additional SHSM, the average hot air temperature delivered by ETSAH (when under the neighbor building shadow) is 49.73°C logged from 17:00 to 20:00 h. The economic analysis is also carried out to ensure its practical application and feasibility. For the best system performance, the annual cost of hot air generation is 0.0194 Rs./kg (0.0002433 $/kg).

Interference Effects on the Square and Circular Cross-Sectional High-Rise Buildings Under Turbulent Flows

Estimating the wind-induced responses of high-rise buildings requires a detailed investigation of wind force characteristics and structural dynamics, especially when an existing neighboring building has an equivalent volume at adjacent locations. The interference effects caused by such an adjacent building may seriously alternate the wind loading characteristics on the target building and further affect its responses to safety or habitability evaluation. This research investigates the interference effects on the wind-induced responses of high-rise buildings under turbulent boundary layer flows based on a series of wind tunnel tests. This study mainly concerns three disturbance factors to the interference effects: the approaching turbulent flows, the interference locations, and two typical section shapes of the concerned high-rise buildings. Results show that the terrain effect, the interference location effect, and the shape effect of both the principal and the interfering buildings significantly change the interference mechanism to the aerodynamic force and the estimated responses. The aerodynamic and the response interference factors defined in this study have shown distinct different patterns, indicating the interfered resonant response plays a vital role in dominating the interference mechanism. Finally, discretized maps with a satisfactory 0.5B × 0.5B grid resolution under statistical assumptions are proposed as examples for future codification works.

Transparent part design optimizations in buildings towards energy saving based on customized radiation sky dome model

In consideration of the sun's path in architectural design, the window systems can be regarded as heat traps, to introduce solar radiation into the buildings in winter. On the contrary, the solar radiation passing through the glazing into rooms significantly increases the cooling energy requirements in summer. Due to the optimum solar heat gain magnitudes varying by season in the buildings, a tradeoff solution needs to be explored between the solar radiation interception in summer and the solar heat gain in winter. Here, we separated out the beneficial and the harmful solar radiations from the radiation sky dome model, based on the air temperature data. Then, a new customized radiation sky dome model was created, according to the difference value between the beneficial and harmful solar radiations over a year. Furthermore, the neighboring buildings with various volume and number combinations were assigned to surround the study building, to explore the shading performance on the study building cast by the surrounding building(s). In this work, the average energy saving rate for six chosen study buildings is about 14%, based on the passive strategy of the customized radiation sky dome model.

Seismic behavior of mid-rise reinforced concrete adjacent buildings considering soil-structure interaction

This study aims to investigate the effects of structure-soil-structure interaction (SSSI), soil-structure interaction (SSI) and fixed-base (FB) assumptions on seismic behavior in mid-rise reinforced concrete (RC) buildings located on soft soil. Three–dimensional (3D) high ductility RC frames 5-, 8-, 10-, 13-, and 15-storey buildings are modeled as a fully nonlinear frame element. Five different structural cases were created: SSSI models with and without pounding, FB models with and without pounding, and SSI models. In the scope of this study, direct finite element modeling of 3D inelastic soil volume was considered. A detailed investigation has been carried out considering 65 different model combinations to reflect SSSI, SSI and FB modelling approaches. As a result, total of 1365 analyses using 21 different ground motion records, the lateral displacement demands and displacement profiles of the buildings were examined and presented. It is found that the seismic behavior of adjacent buildings located on soft soils is different from the fixed-base assumption. The buildings should not be evaluated alone, as neighboring buildings on soft soils affect each other. Neighboring building and soil effects should be considered for buildings up to 8-storey even no collision occurs. For buildings with higher than 8-storey, it may be reasonable to consider SSI only with neglecting neighboring building effects if there is no collision. If the seismic gap distance between adjacent buildings is insufficient and seismic pounding potential exists, neighboring building effects with soil-structure interaction should be taken into account independent from building height.

Optimization of energy consumption based on orientation and location of the building

Energy consumption from residential buildings is predicted to increase by more than eight times by 2050, hence it is necessary to develop energy-efficiency strategies on the residential sector in India to reduce the current trend of unsustainable escalating energy demand. Construction of more efficient buildings is one of the strategies to meet India’s climate targets on reducing cooling/heating loads. The objective of the study is to analyse the energy efficiency of a building based on its location (Indian cities) and orientation. The cities chosen are Mumbai, Shillong, Delhi, Chennai. Some common parameters that affect the source energy use of a building like Height of the Building, Neighbour Buildings, Roof Materials, Window area, Window material and Overhangs are taken into consideration. A house building model has been created and each of these six parameters were analysed individually and the optimal inputs which consumes minimum source energy in all four directions (North, South, East & West) under each parameter is noted and these inputs are combined in a single model and were analysed using the software called Building energy optimization (BEopt) for the chosen cities. It is found that by considering the optimal parameters in the developed building model there is a highest decrease in percentage in energy consumption in Delhi with building facing North direction (26.42%), followed by Chennai with building facing North direction (20.90%). From the analysis it is concluded that the implementation of the optimal parameters found in this study with respect to the its location (Indian cities) and orientation can reduce the energy consumption of the building in India.

Dispersion Simulations of Radon Discharges between Neighboring Buildings and Their Sensitivity to Meteorology, Discharge Rate, and Building Geometry.

In northern climates, it is common to install the discharges of radon sub-slab depressurization systems near ground level. However, this also elevates the ground level outdoor radon concentrations and raises the possibility of radon re-entrainment into homes. The study aims to assess outdoor radon concentrations near above-ground-level discharges along the surfaces of an emitting building and its close neighbor and identify parameters that most influence the dilution. This study employs a series of computational fluid dynamics calculations to assess concentrations along the exhaust-facing and non-exhaust-facing surfaces of the buildings. Different meteorological, venting, and building geometry parameters are explored. Boundary conditions for the CFD calculations are based on field measurements of the ground-level wind speeds and seasonal air temperatures and atmospheric stabilities. Outdoor concentrations can be as high as 7% of the discharge gas, although these become smaller at greater distances from the vent. The direction of the prevailing wind is a particularly important parameter, as it influences the formation of circulating building cavities and building wakes where radon could accumulate. The wind speed, atmospheric stability, and season (plume buoyancy) also have important influences on the outdoor radon concentrations, as do the velocity of the vent system and the size of the buildings. The study has assessed the dilution of the radon-laden exhaust gas and determined the outdoor concentrations that can be expected under a variety of conditions. These results can be used to inform regulators about the potential for radon re-entrainment into homes.