Relocatable Buildings Research Articles

Space Performance Assessment of a Relocatable Health Facility: Mosul Hospital as a Case Study

Relocatable buildings are commonly spread around as an alternative method of construction. To consider it a successful practice, it should perform its function similarly to a traditional way. Assessing a building after its operation determines the rate of its success and decides the possibility of repeating its type. This study aimed to provide a comprehensive knowledge base related to space evaluation of the building through spatial assessment. This study investigated the functional efficiency and dimensional requirements of a relocatable hospital in Mosul, in the south of Iraq. This study compared the dimensional requirements of eight hospital departments to the standard, followed by functional efficacy analysis based on space syntax theory and compared the results to examples used in standards books. The results showed that departments in the relocatable buildings have good plan integration. We concluded that hospitals constructed with containers could achieve functional efficiency.

A novel approach to investigate the thermal comfort of the lightweight relocatable building integrated with PCM in different climates of Kazakhstan during summertime

This study investigates the potential of PCM and natural ventilation to strengthen the thermal comfort inside the lightweight relocatable building located in Kazakhstan during the summer period. The quantification of the impact of the PCM on the thermal comfort was accomplished using the concepts of maximum operative temperature reduction and discomfort index. A novel indicator of Total Discomfort Change (TDC) was introduced to select the optimum PCM. Thereafter, the behaviour of the optimised PCM was comprehensively evaluated through activation of PCM and PCM storage efficiency. In all cities, PCM 26 + NV showed the best performance achieving the TDC values of up to 1818 and its storage efficiency values were up to 39.1%. Then, the analysis of the effect of real PCMs on the thermal comfort conditions was provided. The investigation revealed that RT 26 + NV was the most efficient in all cities achieving the TDC values of up to 1977. Thereafter, the impact of climate change under RCP 8.5 emission scenario (2095) was assessed and RT 28 + NV and RT 26 + NV were found to be optimum combinations. Overall, the optimum configuration of PCM with natural ventilation can be used for improving the thermal comfort conditions during the summertime in all cities of Kazakhstan.

Strength evaluation of the relocatable building frame made of the polymer composite material

The article reviews the application of composite materials in the construction of primary bearing rods of relocatable buildings. After loss of stability a rod made of composite materials continues to function with significant deflections, so it is possible to use such a property to increase the calculation value of buckling critical load. The obtained analytical expression allows us to calculate the collapsing force depending on the length of rods, form of section, stiffness characteristics of the material as exemplified by calculation of a multilayer rod made of composite materials.

Strength evaluation of the relocatable building made of the polymer composite material

The article deals with the problem of improving the efficiency of the frame relocatable building structures by perfecting structural forms, introducing sound and lightweight materials, in particular, polymer composite materials (PCM). For this purpose, we have developed an engineering calculation algorithm using CAD / CAE systems and considered various options for deposition of PCM layers. The analytical formulas that determine the Eulerian instability for PCMs are compared with the values in ANSYS.

Modular Industry Characteristics and Barriers to its Increased Market Share

Modular and offsite construction reduces project duration and cost by synchronizing offsite and onsite work. Project activities are constructed in a controlled offsite facility to minimize effects of inclement weather and site disruptions, while meeting safety and quality requirements. In recent years, many organizations have conducted questionnaires to study characteristics of modular and offsite construction, such as the Modular Building Institute (MBI), Buildoffsite campaigning organisation in the UK, Canadian Manufactured Housing Institute (CMHI), National Institute of Building Sciences, McGraw-Hill Construction, and Fails Management Institute (FMI). This paper introduces a summary of results for a new questionnaire carried out in collaboration between the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering (BCEE) at Concordia University, MBI, Niagara Relocatable Buildings, Inc. (NRB) in Canada, and the Nasseri School of Building Science and Engineering at the University of Alberta. This questionnaire focuses on two issues: (1) the characteristics of the modular and offsite construction industry, and (2) detected barriers to the increased market share of this industry. For the latter, effort was made to address five factors emanated from a workshop on äóěChallenges and opportunities for modular construction in Canadaäóť held in Montreal in October 2015 to analyze barriers to growth of modular construction in Canada. Key findings of this questionnaire include requests for use of a separate code of modular construction design, innovative financing and insurance solutions, standards that consider procurement regulations, and lending institutions that partner with financial houses to create special lending programs for modular construction.

Energy savings due to the use of PCM for relocatable lightweight buildings passive heating and cooling in different weather conditions

Relocatable, transportable or off-site constructed lightweight buildings typically undergo sharp indoor temperature fluctuations in the heating and cooling seasons due to the lack of sufficient thermal mass in their envelopes, resulting in high energy consumption to provide the zone with comfort temperature. The application of phase change materials has been suggested as a promising solution to control the indoor thermal condition in buildings. This work is an attempt to support the application of PCM technology in lightweight relocatable buildings as a passive alternative to save energy under different weather conditions. The numerical results highlighted the potential of using PCM-enhanced gypsum boards in lightweight buildings to increase the energy performance during both heating and cooling seasons in arid and warm temperate main climate areas.

Disposable infrastructure including relocatable buildings: Adapting to climate change

In Australia most coastal villages, towns and suburbs started as camping areas, fishing shacks and/or holiday houses, all with basic, self-contained infrastructure. As the intensity of development increased, so did the demand for more conventional “permanent” infrastructure. The assumption behind this evolution was that the properties the infrastructure was servicing were going to exist for a long time into the future. Shoreline recession due to sediment imbalances, but more recently also associated with the likely impacts of climate change, places permanent styled coastal development and infrastructure at risk. The problem of managing such a situation is exacerbated by the still poorly defined climate future and hence the uncertainty as to when the infrastructure, and the development it serves, will be impacted. Given this uncertainty, a novel way of approaching the problem is to accept the potentially temporary nature of the real estate and hence adopt an adaptive philosophy of disposable infrastructure and relocatable buildings. The challenge is to provide an acceptable standard of building and infrastructure in areas that may come under threat in the future, and to facilitate the implementation of progressive withdrawal as shoreline recession occurs. This calls for an innovative approach to infrastructure and building design.