Total Average Temperature Research Articles

THERMAL AND DAYLIGHTING PERFORMANCE OF TRANSPARENT CONCRETE IN PENANG, MALAYSIA

Modern technology studies and research developments have enhanced the quality and innovation of concrete. Transparent concrete is concrete that has light-transmitting properties which transmit light through the optical fibre. Optical fibres are reinforced in the conventional concrete mixture from one face to another face, which allows direct light to transmit through it. Daylighting factor is one of the fundamental qualities of the energy efficiency of a building. The thermal performance is also crucial to providing comfort to the building occupants. The literature studies cover the light transmittance and thermal performance of transparent concrete. Selected literature studies are reviewed based on the related topic, Asian countries, and countries with a similar climate to Malaysia. This research applies quantitative method where it was focus on experimental study to transparent concrete. The overall result indicates improvement on light transmission and thermal performance as the plastic optical fibre increased compared to conventional concrete. The total average outdoor surface temperature of transparent concrete shows a difference of 0.989°C lower than conventional concrete. The total average temperature different between conventional concrete and transparent concrete (560 optical fibre) are 0.9°C. This experiment's significant contribution is that using more plastic fibre optic reduces thermal conductivity and heat gain while allowing for greater daylighting. Finally, transparent concrete shows effectiveness on light transmission and thermal resistance where it can contribute to building industry on green building and sustainable design. However, the further studies on thermal performance with longer duration is required to analyses the thermal heat loss.

RICE GROWING AND WATER TEMPERATURE IN HIGH, COOL REGIONS, CENTRAL JAPAN

There exist two major obstacles for growing rice in high, cool regions with an elevation more than one thousand meters in Central Japan. One is decreasing air temperature as the altitude increases and the other is that only cold water with temperature lower than air is available for irrigation. Air temperature is, as it is usual, recognised as is given, while water temperature can be raised artificially. For this purpose, the farmers have developed an irrigation method peculiar to these regions. The flow-in water is stopped immediately after the rice-field is pooled with enough water which is cold owing to the source of is origination on higher mountains. Usually the flow-in takes place in early morning and never in daylight hours. The water pooled in the rice-field is heated quickly by strong insolation raising its temperature more than air temperature, and thus supplementing the lack of air temperature to some extent. Applying this irrigation method, the temperature of cold water once pooled in the rice field can easily be raised to the same or higher degree as air temperature as it is observed in the rice field in lower, warm regions This stablizes rice yield greatly. As a major factor determining the height limit of rice growing, air temperature has been recognised. The writer realized, in this study, that water temperature exists as direct environment for rice plant growth, and tried to clarify the relationship between rice growing and water temperature in high, cool regions, considering the upper limit of cultivation of rice from the standpoint of water temperature. The regions studied are skirt lands of Mts. Norikura and Ontake located in Central Japan. These regions are found in those administrative village areas as follows: Nagawa, Azumi, Takane and Kaida. The acreage of rice-fields devoted to rice growing is accounted to be 344 ha. The investigation was carried out to get actual data of water tempereature through measurement in several places during the period centering the first decade of August. To be more exact, six places on a fine day's survey and one place on a cloudy day's were selected. Those selected places are located in the following village communities such as Onogawa, Hiwada and Nishino. Their height ranges from 1, 160 meters, the lowest place at Dobashi, Nishino, to 1, 370 meters, the highest place at Naranokizaka, Onogawa. The latter is presently the highest rice field in Japan. Water temperature was measured four times a day; namely, 6, 10, 14, 18 o'clock, as well as other fundamental factors such as air temperature, velocity of wind, cloudiness and stream water temperature. Every rice field investigated was measured on many points, selected on cross-sectional basis, numbering more than ten, so that the isothermal map might be prepared accurately. The summary of this study is as follows; 1. Regarding the six places or investigated rice fields on fine days, the total average of water temperature of measurements on all points, numbered 368, is 24.8°C, while the average temperature at 6 o'clock the lowest temperature is 16.3°C, (measured points are 92) and the highest average at 14 o'clock is 32.1°C (measured points are the same as for 6 o'clock). The total average temperature on one place on a cloudy day is 22.2°C (measured points are 80), while the lowest average at 6 o'clock is 18°C and the highest average at 14 o'clock shows 26.3°C. Comparing the results on fine days with those on a cloudy day, it is 5.8°C lower on a cloudy day than on fine days at 14 o'clock, while it is 1.7°C higher on a cloudy day at 6 o'clock. 2. Both on fine and cloudy days, it shows the highest average at 14 o'clock. And on fine days almost all measured points show that they have higher temperature than 30°C, which is optimal water temperature for rice plants.