Teaching Building Research Articles

Development and Application of Energy-Saving System for Academic Buildings

Through the active investigation of load conditions and energy consumption of most academic buildings, combined with the characteristics of routine use of academic buildings, we designed and developed an energy-saving system for academic buildings. This project uses a microcontroller as the control chip to control the energy saving of the lighting system and temperature and humidity control system in the classrooms and hallways of the teaching building. Under the premise of meeting the daily needs of teaching and normal operation, the wasteful status of unoccupied lights and long-lasting lights is reduced. Experiments show that the design runs stably and causes a beneficial energy-saving effect, realizing energy-saving control in other stages of the teaching building.

A behavior-orientated prediction method for short-term energy consumption of air-conditioning systems in buildings blocks

The short-term prediction of air-conditioning (AC) energy consumption is a crucial part of building operation optimization and demand-response strategies. However, the AC energy consumption in some types of buildings can be highly stochastic due to arbitrary occupants' behavior of AC usage, which make it had to predict. Currently, very few prediction models considered the impacts of stochasticity related to occupants’ behavior of AC, which leads to less accuracy. To predict the AC energy consumption under stochastic energy use scenarios, this study proposes a behavior-orientated prediction method for short-term AC energy consumption with a case study on teaching building blocks. Firstly, cluster analysis is employed to identify typical patterns to quantify stochastic AC energy use. Then, the AC usage rate is predicted based on weighted k-Nearest-Neighbors method, which can provide a precise prediction of stochastic AC usage rate. Based on these, RandomForest method is used to develop a basic prediction model of AC energy consumption. The importance of each variable is also evaluated. Finally, an enhanced part of prediction is implemented by support vector machine to achieve higher accuracy under stochastic AC energy use scenarios. The results show that both proposed models can accurately predict the AC energy consumption, while the proposed enhanced model can reap significant accuracy improvement under the more stochastic scenarios. This study provides a new approach to predict AC energy consumption in buildings with stochastic AC energy use, which can match the real-time amount with good accuracy. The proposed model can provide an accuracy reference for the demand response strategies and optimization of AC systems operation.

A multisensor fusion algorithm of indoor localization using derivative Euclidean distance and the weighted extended Kalman filter

PurposeAt present, smartphones are embedded with accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and WiFi sensors. Most researchers have delved into the use of these sensors for localization. However, there are still many problems in reducing fingerprint mismatching and fusing these positioning data. The purpose of this paper is to improve positioning accuracy by reducing fingerprint mismatching and designing a weighted fusion algorithm.Design/methodology/approachFor the problem of magnetic mismatching caused by singularity fingerprint, derivative Euclidean distance uses adjacent fingerprints to eliminate the influence of singularity fingerprint. To improve the positioning accuracy and robustness of the indoor navigation system, a weighted extended Kalman filter uses a weighted factor to fuse multisensor data.FindingsThe scenes of the teaching building, study room and office building are selected to collect data to test the algorithm’s performance. Experiments show that the average positioning accuracies of the teaching building, study room and office building are 1.41 m, 1.17 m, and 1.77 m, respectively.Originality/valueThe algorithm proposed in this paper effectively reduces fingerprint mismatching and improve positioning accuracy by adding a weighted factor. It provides a feasible solution for indoor positioning.

“A Lot of my Day is Spent Looking at Injustice”: Reflections on Decolonizing Teaching and Relationship Building across Difference

Working toward decolonizing pedagogy involves discomfort, as one pushes back against the status quo, challenging colonial embeddedness in education and meaningfully integrating Indigenous literature and scholarship. In this study, we conducted a thematic analysis of our respective reflections written throughout our involvement in a post-secondary decolonizing pedagogy and syllabi project. This analysis demonstrates our unique positionalities and the importance of working together across difference. We situate our analysis in a discussion of decolonization and consider what it means to be an ally and an accomplice. Then, we present and reflect upon the two emergent themes (1) relationality and (2) emotions, and the subthemes of: (a) frustration, fear, and discomfort; (b) disappointment; (c) time and energy required to do this work; and (d) hope. We conclude by sharing “takeaways” for others to reflect upon as they pursue their own decolonizing curricula efforts.

Multi-objective parametric optimization of the composite external shading for the classroom based on lighting, energy consumption, and visual comfort

Energy consumption and visual comfort are issues worthy of concerning in the teaching buildings. To improve the light and thermal environment in the classroom, structural dimension parameters of shading system are optimized by the multi-objective genetic algorithm based on the lighting, energy consumption, and visual comfort in this study. The 3D parametric modeling of the classroom is performed by using the Grasshopper and Rhino software, and the quantitative impact of the integrated external sunshade and perforated external shading panel on the lighting, air conditioning and heating energy consumption, and visual comfort of the classroom are analyzed by the Radiance, Daysim, and EnergyPlus calculation engines. Subsequently, the optimal structural dimensions of the composite shading system in the east, west, south, and north orientations in Nanchang area are determined.The optimized results show that the optimal dimensions (width of the vertical shading board W; overhang length of the horizontal shading board L) of the integrated external shading boards in the east, west, south, and north orientations for the established classroom model are (0.3; 1.8), (0.6; 1.2), (0.4; 0.8), and (0.5; 0.7), respectively, as well as the optimal structural dimensions of the perforated shading panels (perforated panel to window ratio – perforation percentage – holes arrangement) are 71.5%–30%–crossing arrangement, 70%–50%–crossing arrangement, 90%–30%–crossing arrangement, and 65.6%–70%–matrix arrangement, respectively. It is found that total annual energy use intensity is reduced by 4.5% to 18.8%, the lighting quality in the near-window region (region I) is improved by 25% to 37%, the visual comfort in the classroom is improved by more than 30%, and the solar irradiance of the window is reduced by at least 27%. The proposed design approach of the classroom external shading system can not only greatly improve indoor lighting quality and visual comfort but also reduce total annual energy use intensity.

Inelastic Dynamic Time-history Analysis of a Frame-wall Structrue

The teaching building of QiaoTou School is a frame-wall structure, which has 14 storeys. In this paper, the elastoplastic model of the structure is studied. On this basis, the dynamic elastoplastic analysis of the structure is carried out by using YJK software, and the nonlinear dynamic responses of the structure, including structural deformation, component damage, are investigated under the action of rare earthquake. The results show that the buckling meets the target of "no collapse under strong earthquake".

Building Energy Consumption Control Based on BIM and Machine Learning

To solve the problem of building energy consumption (EC) and promote the development of green buildings in China, this paper simulates and predicts EC of building based on BIM and machine learning (ML), so as to provide optimization strategies for building energy conservation. Firstly, this paper uses designbuilder (DB) to simulate the building energy consumption of the design test. Then Support vector machine (SVM) is introduced to fit the functional relationship between energy consumption influencing factors and EC of building, and a EC prediction model is established. Finally, through range analysis, the importance ranking and optimal scheme of six energy consumption influencing factors are obtained. Taking a teaching building in Chengdu as an example, the accuracy of the prediction model is verified, which provides a theoretical basis for the optimal design of building energy conservation.

Application of University Campus Noise Map Based on Noise Propagation Model: A Case in Guangxi University

Considering the characteristics of a campus environment and the rules that govern outdoor sound propagation, this paper identifies traffic noise as the dominant noise source of the campus environment based on the measurement of the noise environment. A noise propagation model that is suitable for university campuses was developed and used it was to create a noise map of the ambient area of the teaching building on the campus of Guangxi University. This noise map was then utilized to analyze the noise environment. The results revealed that for a given teaching building, the noise disturbance on high-rise classrooms is more significant compared to the impact on low-rise classrooms. Attention should then be paid to noise control in the high-rise classroom of the building. By appropriately increasing the distance between the building and the main traffic road or by adopting a judicious soundscape design that considers the shape of the building, it is possible to effectively reduce the interference of noise during teaching activities in a building and improve the sound quality of the campus environment. The results of this study provide a theoretical framework for the governance of the campus acoustic environment.

Intelligent optimization framework of near zero energy consumption building performance based on a hybrid machine learning algorithm

The realization of a near zero energy consumption building (NZEB) is one of the important goals to promote the sustainable development of green buildings. To achieve the goal of NZEB and to allow for factors such as building comfort, environmental protection and cost, an intelligent optimization framework that combines Building Information Modeling DesignBuilder(BIM-DB) and random forest-nondominated sorting genetic algorithm-III (RF-NSGA-III) is proposed to study the multiobjective optimization of NZEB performance. The data in this paper are simulated by BIM-DB through orthogonal experimental design. RF is used to establish the complex relationship between building design parameters and NZEB performance. After the accuracy of the model is verified by the goodness of fit (R2) and the root mean square error (RMSE), the obtained nonlinear mapping relationship is taken as the fitness function of NSGA-III, and the multiobjective Pareto optimal solution set is obtained by using the proposed RF-NSGA-III intelligent optimization framework. Taking a teaching building in Wuhan as an example, the effectiveness of this method is verified. The results show that (1) the RF prediction accuracy is good, the RMSE range for the performance of NZEB is 0.015–0.035, and the R2 range is 0.91–0.93. (2) After optimization, the energy-saving rate of the building body is 21.25%, which meets the near zero energy consumption standard. (3) The proposed RF-NSGA-III intelligent optimization framework can achieve multiobjective optimization, and the comprehensive optimization rate of five objectives is the best compared with three and four objectives. Accordingly, this intelligent method that combines BIM-DB and RF-NSGA-III provides an effective idea for the design optimization of NZEB.

History Teaching, Sensitive Issues and Identity Building in France

The teaching of history is connected to sensitive issues, which provoke social divisions and debates and which do not have scientific consensus. Sensitivity is explained by the social missions of history teaching: to catalyse the construction of identity, to build a border between “us” and “the other - the stranger”. The questions addressed during history classes are “time bombs”. Teaching history implies the transposition of social debate into the classroom and drawing attention to the political dimension of the subject. The article is focused on sensitive issues in history teaching in France. In 2019, we conducted a study to assess which issues were experienced by teachers as sensitive in class, what are the reasons for the sensitivity, and what personal and institutional conditions might help teachers in overcoming such situations. The article analyses the practices of the main actors of education - teachers confronted with official instructions, with the pressure of curricula, and with the reaction of pupils and their parents in France. The questionnaire collected 188 responses of French history secondary school teachers from all regions, from different social contexts, teaching pupils of different ages (from 11 to 18 years old). The aim of the article is not to conduct a banal review of the superabundant literature on the issue, but to bring a fresh and value-added look at empirical results in a specific context.

Strengthening Sustainable Context of Water Management in Educational Building Universitas Indonesia

This paper aims to strengthen the sustainability related to the water management system in an educational building, an integrated teaching and laboratory building in Universitas Indonesia. It provides recommendations to improve the water management system in the building in achieving the sustainable aspects of the local context. Water needs continuously increase due to population growth and rapid development, which require good water management. Water management is an activity in controlling water resources to use the water effectively and efficiently by minimizing damage to the environment and nature. Water is a natural resource that is very important for the survival of living things, so water for sustainable development should achieve sustainable access. Include sufficient quantities of water, of acceptable quality, at affordable prices to meet the needs of human society while maintaining the integrity of the hydrological cycle and the associated ecosystems. This paper used qualitative approaches carried out by collecting data through interviews, field observations and documents collection. The result of this study indicated that there are potentials to improve water management in the building. Optimizing the use of natural resources that exist in the building environment can strengthen the water management performance towards sustainability.

Problem Analysis and Optimization of Public Toilet Design in a University Teaching Building Based on Human Factors Engineering Theory

Based on the collection of 539 questionnaires from different populations that people spend an average of 36 minutes a day in the toilet, which is 14 minutes on average for the toilet, equivalent to more than two years time in the toilet, so the personalized design of toilet has become a big demand of human beings. This study will take the toilets in the West No.1, East No.1 and Wen No.1 teaching buildings of a university as the research objects with personalized and rationalized design of toilets as the main research content. Through the field investigation and issue of questionnaires on the toilets in the three teaching buildings, the characteristics and deficiencies of the toilets in the teaching buildings of universities are explored. On this basis, based on the knowledge and practice of human factors engineering, environmental behavior, psychology and other related disciplines, this paper puts forward some methods and suggestions to solve the toilet problems in teaching buildings of this school.

Study on Thermal Performance Measurement and Construction of Passive Exterior Wall with Low Energy: Teaching and Laboratory Building of Shandong Jianzhu University

It can provide theoretical support for the optimal design of low-energy walls by measuring the actual thermal conditions inside the walls of passive low-energy buildings and studying the rationality of the wall structure design. Taking the teaching and laboratory building of Shandong Jianzhu University as an example, this paper explores the method of using temperature and humidity sensor to measure the air temperature and humidity inside the wall to represent the solid temperature and humidity of the wall. Based on the measured data and calculation results, the rationality of the structure of the test external wall is analyzed from four aspects: the performance of insulation, the moisture drain performance of wall, the ability of preventing the penetration of the hot and humid air of the inner wall, and the waterproof performance of the outer wall. Results show that the external wall structure of polystyrene board (200 mm thick) for external insulation and thin plastering has good practical operation effect in three aspects of thermal insulation, internal moisture discharge, and external wall waterproof, which basically meets the design requirements of external wall of passive house in Germany. In terms of moisture protection of the inner wall, the inner wall of cement mortar (15 mm thick) may not be able to effectively prevent the infiltration of indoor hot and humid air. Thus, the insulation layer should be added into the external wall. In addition, the moisture inside the wall is obviously affected by the season. The drain performance of moisture inside the wall mainly occurs in the sweltering heat, and the drain direction is from the indoor side to the outdoor side. In the external insulation structure, there are two layers of graphite polystyrene plate (100 mm thick), and the insulation effect of polystyrene plate near the outdoor side is better than that near the indoor side. The combination of anticrack mortar (5 mm thick) and paint cannot completely prevent the infiltration of rainwater, but the infiltration of rainwater in the wall will be quickly discharged in a short time.

Research on the influence of different heating strategies on energy consumption and carbon emission of a teaching building in Urumqi

In this paper, a typical teaching building of a university in Urumqi, Xinjiang was taken as the research object. Based on the existing maintenance structure, DesignBuilder software was used to explore the differences in energy consumption and carbon emissions generated by ordinary hot water heating system, ground thermal radiation heating and electric heating under different ventilation times. The effects of intermittent heating and continuous heating on heating energy consumption and carbon emission were studied by software simulation. Conclusion On the condition of ensuring indoor thermal comfort, electric heating is suitable for teaching buildings in Urumqi city, and intermittent heating is not suitable, continuous heating should be used. The heating system with the highest indoor comfort level is the ground heat radiation heating system, and the carbon emission is the ordinary hot water heating system. When the ratio of window and wall area under electric heating increases by 5%, the total heating energy consumption and carbon emission of buildings will increase by 10.8%–16.2% in the heating season, and the heating heat load of buildings will increase by 6.4%–8.2%.

Real-time detection method of window opening behavior using deep learning-based image recognition in severe cold regions

The building industry plays an important role in the effort to achieve carbon neutrality, and window opening behavior is a major contributor to building energy consumption. In severe cold regions, opening windows during the heating period causes energy waste. If the window opening behavior can be monitored in real time, then the occupants' energy use behavior can be guided to reduce energy waste. This paper proposes a window opening behavior monitoring method using a deep learning-based image recognition model that can identify the window state based on real-time video and was validated in a case study based on outdoor thermal and wind data. A teaching building with casement windows was used as a case study. The results showed that the occupants preferred a large window opening angle (45°∼180°), which is a choice that significantly affects the building energy consumption. The prediction accuracy of the proposed method can reach 97.79%, which also serves to avoid the difficulty of manually calibrating the pixel threshold and realize real-time feedback. This method has a wide range of application scenarios that enable us to obtain window opening behavior to improve the building performance simulation accuracy and guide occupants' energy consumption behavior.

Research on architectural planning of reconstruction and expansion of old teaching buildings——Taking the building of the Department of architecture of Wuhan University of technology as an example

Due to the changes of the times, there have been some problems in the use of teaching buildings in the old campuses of many colleges and universities. The Department of Architecture and Regulation of Wuhan University of Technology is a typical case. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current situation of the building planning department, integrate the existing problems of the building, and on this basis, use the principles and methods of architectural planning to put forward suggestions for the reconstruction and expansion of the department. It is hoped that this research can point out the direction for the reconstruction and expansion of old teaching buildings to a certain extent, and provide scientific and reasonable reconstruction measures.

On Network Engergy of Random Graphs

Due to the changes of the times, there have been some problems in the use of teaching buildings in the old campuses of many colleges and universities. The Department of Architecture and Regulation of Wuhan University of Technology is a typical case. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current situation of the building planning department, integrate the existing problems of the building, and on this basis, use the principles and methods of architectural planning to put forward suggestions for the reconstruction and expansion of the department. It is hoped that this research can point out the direction for the reconstruction and expansion of old teaching buildings to a certain extent, and provide scientific and reasonable reconstruction measures.

Course timetable optimization for a university teaching building considering the building energy efficiency and time-varying thermal perception of students

Building energy efficiency and time-varying thermal perception of students are usually less considered when arranging courses, which can lead to energy wastage and student discomfort. In order to achieve carbon neutrality in university buildings, this study aimed to optimize the course timetable by considering the building energy efficiency and students’ time-varying thermal perception. First, the thermal perceptions of students in different classes were investigated using questionnaires and indoor and outdoor thermal environments were monitored. Then, different thermal environment scenarios were established based on survey data. Finally, a co-simulation model was established to optimize the course timetable of a teaching building during the autumn semester. The following results were obtained: (1) The course timetable optimization that considered both building energy efficiency and time-varying thermal comfort could achieve 16.9% energy savings. (2) When time-varying thermal perceptions were considered, more courses were arranged in the first class during the afternoon because the heating set-point temperature was relatively low. (3) An increasing amount of energy would be saved through course timetable optimization as the thermal comfort level decreased; however, the increase in the energy-saving rate decreased. (4) During the months with low outdoor temperatures, the energy-saving effect achieved by course timetable optimization was more notable.

The Effects of Infilled Walls on Seismic Performance of RC Frame Structures with Eccentrically Placed Open Corridor

In this paper, an RC frame model with infilled walls was built and tested, including by a modal test, percussion test and shaking table test, the prototype of which was a collapsed teaching building with an eccentrically placed open corridor during the Wenchuan Earthquake in Xuankou Middle School. The natural frequency of the model was obtained by microseism testing, and the contribution of the infilled walls with different openings to the lateral stiffness of the model was discussed. In addition, the damping ratio, strain responses and internal force distribution of the columns were analysed by knocking the roof of the RC frame model, and then a shaking table test was conducted to study the seismic performance of the model. The results show that the value of longitudinal fundamental frequency increased from 1.88 Hz to 6.65 Hz, and the transverse one increased from 1.90 Hz to 13.40 Hz. The torsion frequency was increased by 6.65 times compared with that when the wall was not built. Furthermore, the damping ratio of the model was significantly increased after the infilled walls were built. When the floor moves longitudinally, the strain at the end of the columns restrained by semi-high continuous infilled walls is 2–4 times that in the unconstrained columns, and the shear force in the restrained columns is 4–8 times that in the unstrained columns. As a result, plastic hinges would form in the constrained columns; then, the columns would lose their vertical load capacity.

Environmental Factors Affecting Diversity, Structure, and Temporal Variation of Airborne Fungal Communities in a Research and Teaching Building of Tianjin University, China.

Airborne fungi are widely distributed in the environment and may have adverse effects on human health. A 12-month survey on the diversity and concentration of culturable airborne fungi was carried out in a research and teaching building of Tianjin University. Indoor and outdoor environments were analyzed using an HAS-100B air sampler. A total of 667 fungal strains, belonging to 160 species and 73 genera were isolated and identified based on morphological and molecular analysis. The most abundant fungal genera were Alternaria (38.57%), Cladosporium (21.49%), and Aspergillus (5.34%), while the most frequently appearing species was A. alternata (21%), followed by A. tenuissima (12.4%), and C. cladosporioides (9.3%). The concentration of fungi in different environments ranged from 0 to 150 CFU/m3 and was significantly higher outdoor than indoor. Temperature and sampling month were significant factors influencing the whole building fungal community, while relative humidity and wind speed were highly correlated with fungal composition outdoor. Variations in the relative abundance of major airborne fungal taxa at different heights above-ground could lead to different community structures at different floors. Our results may provide valuable information for air quality monitoring and microbial pollution control in university building environments.