Typical Residential Building Research Articles

Seismic performance evaluation and risk assessment of typical reinforced concrete frame buildings with masonry infill and conventional vertical extension in Nepal

Many reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings in Nepal were significantly damaged by the 7.8 magnitude (Mw) earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015. To contribute to mitigate future earthquake disasters, the current study focuses on two specific characteristics of residential RC frame buildings in the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu: the application of brick masonry infill to exterior and partition walls, and the conventional vertical extension of building stories different from the design. Although these factors are likely to significantly affect the seismic performance, their effects are frequently neglected in practical design and construction management in developing countries. Hence, the main objective of this research is to investigate and clarify the seismic performance of RC frame buildings considering the above factors through experimental and numerical investigations. The present paper (1) briefly introduces the characteristics of a typical residential RC frame building in Kathmandu, (2) illustrates the numerical modeling parametrically considering three different contributions of brick masonry infill walls and (3) investigates the seismic performance of the RC frame building considering the effects of the infill wall modeling and the vertical extension through numerical analyses. Consequently, it was found that the consideration of the in-plane stiffness and strength of the infill walls resulted in both positive and negative contributions to the seismic performance of low-rise (up to three stories) and medium-rise (more than three stories) buildings respectively, quantitatively clarifying significant effects of the presence of infill and the vertical extension. These findings contribute to provide realistic solutions to upgrade the seismic performance by utilizing or removing the brick masonry infill walls or by managing the building stories to mitigate future earthquake disasters on typical RC frame buildings not only in Nepal but also in other countries with similar backgrounds.

A Study and Proposal for Applying Cooling Effect of Hybrid Ventilation to the Monthly Energy Demand Calculation Method in Korea

Countries around the world develop and use software based on the monthly calculation method of DIN V 18599:2007 and EN ISO13790 for building energy performance evaluations. The purpose of this study is to propose a method that can consider the effect of reducing cooling energy demand by hybrid ventilation outdoor air cooling in monthly calculation method-based software. For ventilation simulation, some representative floor plans and area types of Korean residential buildings were established through literature research. A number of dynamic energy simulations were performed for various building orientations, heights, and opening factors. Based on the simulation results, a nomograph that can calculate the cooling energy demand reduction factor according to hybrid ventilation that can be applied to the ventilation heat transfer coefficient is proposed.

RESEARCH OF THE SETTLEMENT OF PRAGUE-KORCHAK CULTURE IN RIVNE CITY

The paper introduces into scientific circulation the results of research of the objects of Early Slavs of the Prague-Korchak culture in a multi-layered settlement in the southern part of Rivne city. The settlement is located on the eastern shore of the Basiv Kut Reservoir, on the oval hill measuring 220 Ч 120 m. The first finds of the Early Middle Ages were discovered here by V. K. Piasetskyi in 1989. In 2019, the excavations were carried out on the area of 590 m2; the housing and storage pit of the Prague-Korchak culture have been discovered. The quadrangular foundation pit of 3.5 Ч 3.5 m square was sunk into the earth to the 0.3—0.4 m from detection level. The remains of stone stove made on the wooden frame were located in the northern corner of the dwelling. Such semi-dugout dwellings with the stove in one of corners was the main type of residential buildings in the population of the Prague-Korchak culture. The pillar holes found in the corners of the foundation pit and in the middle of the walls indicate the frame-pillar construction of the wooden walls. Among the stones from the destroyed stove and on the earthen floor in the central part of the foundation pit of the dwelling the remains of nine clay pots were found. We managed to reconstruct the full profiles of seven of them; two else vessels are represented by the profiles of the upper parts. The pots from the dwelling have a conical body, weakly marked shoulder, scarcely marked neck and short rim. The surface of the item is insufficiently smoothed and bumpy. The admixtures in the clay are mostly of small and medium size, with added fireclay, grus and sand. By their size the vessels are divided into small (1), medium (5) and large (3). All pots from the dwelling belong to variants 1—3 of the first type according to I. P. Rusanova’s classification. This combination is typical of the early monuments of the Prague-Korchak culture. The analysis allows attributing the ceramic complex from Rivne to phaze 1 according to I. O. Havritukhin and to date it as belonging to the second half of 5th — mid-6th centuries. The settlement was not large; two or three farmsteads could simultaneously exist there. They were located at a distance of 100—150 m from each other.

Development of a numerical approach to assess the effect of coupled heat and moisture transfer on energy consumption of residential buildings in Moroccan context

Hygrothermal properties of building materials, climatic conditions and energy performance are interrelated and have to be considered simultaneously as part of an optimised building design. In this paper, a new approach to evaluate the energy consumption of residential buildings in Morocco is presented. This approach is based on the effect of coupled heat and moisture transfer in typical residential buildings and on their responses to the varied climatic conditions encountered in the country. This approach allows us to evaluate with better accuracy the response of building energy performance and the indoor comfort of building occupants. Annual energy consumption, cooling and heating energy requirements were estimated considering the six climatic zones of Morocco. Based on the results, terms related to coupled heat and moisture transfer can effectively correct the existing energy consumption calculations of the six zones of Morocco, which currently do not consider energy consumption due to coupled heat and moisture transfer.

Effect of thermal mass of insulated and non-insulated walls on building thermal performance and potential energy saving

The presented study aims to evaluate the effect of thermal mass in heavyweight construction in residential buildings in Palestine on indoor thermal environment using a building performance simulation tool. The most used residential building types, shapes and sizes were used as typical models for indoor environment performance simulation. The paper used a sensitivity analysis for four different scenarios according to the location of thermal insulation in the wall for two climatic zones, when no heating and cooling was used. The building material’s thermal properties, infiltration, activities, time schedule, electric lighting and glazing selection were based on onsite studies. The results show that the internal thermal mass of the studied buildings influences their thermal performance and future potential energy demand for heating and cooling. Buildings with insulation positioned on the outside, with high thermal mass and high thermal time constant showed the best thermal performance for different climatic zones, whereas buildings without thermal insulation or with insulation from the inside showed the worst thermal performance. The position of thermal insulation will affect potential energy demand for heating and cooling in the residential buildings.

Optimal solutions to vertical access placement design in residential high-rise buildings based on human behavior

Human behavior at the time of building crisis should be analyzed in order to design buildings with satisfactory performance. In residential high-rise buildings, there are certain complications due to residential conditions. Given the high population density of these buildings, it is important to analyze their vertical access performance for emergency evacuations. This study aims to find the optimal placement and layout of vertical access in residential high-rise buildings. It asks: What is the most optimal solution to vertical access placement design in residential high-rise buildings? To answer this, human behavior simulation models during an emergency evacuation in residential high-rise buildings were first analyzed, and the best model was selected. Based on the human behavior models, the vertical access placement was then optimized to evaluate the optimal structures of four types of 60-story residential buildings designed and compared in SFPE and Steering simulation engines. The scenarios differ in vertical access placement. The simulations are conducted in four parts, which include how people placement on each floor, considering disabled persons along with assisted evacuation, and the fire-involved stories and the blocked stairs. According to the research results, a cost-effective core that solves structural problems and provides vertical access will not necessarily be the right solution to the emergency evacuation of high-rise buildings. Instead, placing vertical access features such as stairs and elevators on two opposite sides of a building plan can reduce the total evacuation time by 20%.

A clustering method with target supervision for the thermal climate division of residential buildings in the Hot Summer and Cold Winter Area of China

Aiming at the problem of climate diversity in the hot summer and cold winter (HSCW) area in China, an objective clustering method of the climate zoning for building thermal design guided by the target building load is proposed. Guided by the load, zone indexes with weights were established. In addition, this study proposes the least controversial estimation model for selecting the most appropriate hierarchical clustering criterion. Then, the climate zoning of the HSCW area is carried out, and three climate zones are obtained: the cold transition (CT) zone, the hot summer and cold winter core (HSCWC) zone, and the hot summer and warm winter transition (HSWWT) zone. It can be seen from the climate zoning results that the climate distribution in this area is highly related to the terrain distribution. Finally, according to the typical residential buildings in this area, the differential design of the building envelope thermal parameters is determined based on the different climate zones. The simulation results show that compared with the non-differential design, the annual cumulative building load per unit area of residential buildings in the CT zone is reduced by 17.1% on average and that in the HSWWT zone is reduced by 7.3% on average. This also confirms the significance of climate zoning for building energy conservation, and the study findings are informative for policymakers.

The effect of rising damp on heat transfer performance and energy consumption of two kinds of Chinese blue-brick masonry walls

Rising damp is common in brick buildings due to groundwater and natural precipitation, which not only causes deterioration of the walls, but also significantly affects the heat transfer coefficient, thermal inertia, and building energy consumption. In order to clarify the effects of rising damp on the heat transfer through traditional Chinese brick solid wall and cavity walls, two types of wall of 1.2 m wide and 3 m high were built in the laboratory. The heat transfer performance under the influence of capillary rising was tested by Simple heating box – heat flow meter method. Based on the data obtained from the experiment, the Energyplus was used to simulate the energy consumption of a Chinese typical residential building influenced by rising damp. The results proposed 3.67 W/m2·K and 3.61 W/m2·K as the recommended heat transfer coefficient for the moisture affected parts in the experimental solid and cavity wall, and the rising capillary water increased the heat transfer coefficients by 74% and 84%, respectively. The heating and cooling load of the solid-wall building under the influence of capillary water increased by 18.5% and 29.6%, respectively, while of cavity-walls building increased by 6.5% and 11.8%.

Prediction of energy consumption of residential buildings in northern Cyprus using fuzzy interference system

The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of Fuzzy Interference System (FIS) to estimate the energy consumption of various types of residential buildings in the northern part of Cyprus. It can be considered as an extension of an earlier survey by Evcil which explored the characteristics and energy behaviors of residential building stock in northern part of Cyprus.The climate zone in which the house was constructed, floor area of house, the year of construction, the type of house and the number of occupants per house was considered as input parameters and energy consumption per floor area as the output. The data obtained from 70 questionnaires were used to construct a FIS model, 67 rules were generated and 15 questionnaires were utilized for testing. The energy consumption values estimated by the proposed FIS model were in close agreement with their actual counterparts reported previously, i.e. R2 value was as 0.9884 and 0.8851 for training and testing phase, respectively. The results demonstrated that the FIS model can be a powerful tool for predicting energy consumption of residential buildings.

Energy and Economic Sustainability of a Trigeneration Solar System Using Radiative Cooling in Mediterranean Climate

The spreading of nearly zero-energy buildings in Mediterranean climate can be supported by the suitable coupling of traditional solar heating, photovoltaics and radiative cooling. The latter is a well-known passive cooling technique, but it is not so commonly used due to low power density and long payback periods. In this study, the energy performance of a system converting solar energy into electricity and heat during the daytime and offering cooling energy at night is assessed on the basis of a validated model of a trifunctional photovoltaic–thermal–radiative cooling module. The key energy, CO2 emission and economic performance indicators were analyzed by varying the main parameters of the system, such as the spectral emissivity of the selective absorber plate and cover and thermal insulation thickness. The annual performance analysis is performed by a transient simulation model for a typical residential building and two different climates of the Mediterranean area (Trapani and Milano). For both climates, glass-PVT–RC is the best solution in terms of both overall efficiency (electric + thermal) and cooling energy capacity, even better with a thicker insulation layer; the annual electrical, heat and cooling gains of this system are 1676, 10,238 and 3200 kWh for Trapani, correspondingly (1272, 9740 and 4234 kWh for Milano, respectively). The typical glass-PVT module achieves a performance quite similar to the best ones.

A Feasibility Study of an on‐Grid PV/Wind/Battery/Diesel for Residential Buildings Under Various Climates in Cameroon

Hybrid renewable energy system (HRES) appears to be a very good solution to solve the problem energy deficit encountered in developing countries such as Cameroon. This article presents an optimal design and selection made on four grid‐connected hybrid renewable energy systems or configurations with criteria loss of power supply probability (LPSP), cost of energy (COE), net present cost (NPC), total emission (TE), and the grid contribution factor (GCF) using Sine–Cosine Algorithm (SCA) and a proposed hybrid Sine–Cosine Algorithm–Particle Swarm Optimization (SCAPSO); for three residential building types in four climatic zones of Cameroon. The five cities that are chosen from the four climatic zones of the country include Maroua, Garoua, Bamenda, Kribi, and Abong‐Mbang. The selection of the energy configurations is done using hybrid Multi‐Criteria Decision‐Making known as Analytic Hierarchy Process‐Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution methods (AHP‐EDAS). Configuration 1 (photovoltaic/wind/battery/diesel generator/grid) appears to be the best configuration in the cities of Maroua, Garoua, Bamenda, and Kribi. Configuration 4 (photovoltaic/battery/grid) is the best for the city of Abong‐Mbang. All the best configurations appear to have lesser values of COE compared with what is usually paid to the main grid; the GCF values are also very low.

Building energy simulations for different building types equipped with a high performance thermochromic smart window

With constantly progressing climate change and global warming, we face the challenge to reduce our energy consumption and CO2 emission. To increase the energy-efficiency in buildings, we developed a thermochromic coating for smart windows which is optimized for intermediate climates. Here we present a building energy simulation study for the use of our smart window in the four main residential building types in the Netherlands. In the study we show that for all building types energy savings between 15-30% can be achieved. Hereby the impact of the windows on energy consumption is dependent on the window surface area as well as the total floor space. Furthermore we show that by the use of our new smart window, where the thermochromic coating is combined with a standard low-e coating, annual cost savings for energy between 220-445 € for a single household can be achieved. The thermochromic coating usually accounts for half of these cost savings, that is an addition in cost savings between 6-7.5 €/m2 glass. Due to the low material and processing costs for the thermochromic coating, a return on invest within 7 years should be feasible with these annual cost savings.

A GIS-Based Bivariate Logistic Regression Model for the Site-Suitability Analysis of Parcel-Pickup Lockers: A Case Study of Guangzhou, China

The site-suitability analysis (SSA) of parcel-pickup lockers (PPLs) is becoming a critical problem in last-mile logistics. Most studies have focused on the site-selection problem to identify the best site from given potential sites in specific areas, while few have solved the site-search problem to determine the boundary of the suitable area. A GIS-based bivariate logistic regression (LR) model using the supervised machine-learning (ML) algorithm was developed for suitability classification in this study. Eight crucial factors were selected from 27 candidate variables using stepwise methods with a training dataset in the best LR model. The variable of the proximity to residential buildings was more important than that to various commercial buildings, transport services, and roads. Among the four types of residential buildings, the most crucial factor was the proximity to residential quarters. A test dataset was employed for the validation process, showing that the best LR model had excellent performance. The results identified the suitable areas for PPLs, accounting for 8% of the total area of Guangzhou (GZ). A decision-maker can focus on these suitable areas as the site-selection ranges for PPLs, which significantly reduces the difficulty of analysis and time costs. This method can quickly decompose a large-scale area into several small-scale suitable areas, with relevance to the problem of selecting sites from various candidate sites.

Effectiveness of travel time during evacuation in high-rise residential buildings: a case study in Selangor, Malaysia

PurposeIn recent years, the number of high-rise buildings in Malaysia has been increasing. Therefore, it is essential to take evacuation into consideration especially for emergency conditions such as fire, explosion and natural disasters. This research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the escape time in typical Malaysian high-rise residential buildings.Design/methodology/approachThis work comprises simulation on three buildings around the Selangor area in Malaysia. Quantitative methodology is adopted using Pathfinder software to simulate the evacuation process and time of the three typical Malaysian high-rise residential buildings. Four parameters were studied namely, the occupant load density, walking speed of first and last occupants, average of evacuation time per floor for the three buildings and effect of placement of emergency staircase on travel time.FindingsFindings show that 12 m2 which is double the allowable occupants' density in Malaysia increases evacuation time by 67.9% while the placement of the emergency staircase on the left and middle section of a building significantly affects the evacuation time by 21.2%. In conclusion, from the simulation studies, it is recognized that a higher occupant's density affects the evacuation time.Originality/valueThis work could provide information on escape time for future construction of high-rise buildings in Malaysia. Hence, the specification and design of buildings could be reviewed based on the results obtained from this simulation. This information could be beneficial to the building regulators and developers thus enhancing the knowledge of building constructor and possible issues in the design of staircases, corridors and height of buildings.

Influence of the Advancement in the LED Lighting Technologies on the Optimum Windows-to-Wall Ratio of Jordanians Residential Buildings

Based on recent developments and the predicted future advancement of lighting technologies, researchers are now questioning the extent to which daylight is effective in lowering the overall energy consumption of buildings. As light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires are highly energy efficient, the amount of power consumed for lighting purposes can be reduced, even in situations where the lighting system is at its full power. It has already been demonstrated that LED-lighting technologies can facilitate significant energy savings through minimizing window size (the main source of heat loss in buildings), and there is considerable potential for developing the LEDs’ source efficacy and lighting-product efficiency to ultimately achieve levels of efficacy of approximately 350 lumens per Watt (lm/W). For building designs to be sustainable in the future, it is critical that the windows-to-wall ratio (WWR) is optimized to minimize both heating and cooling loads, as well as the total energy consumed by the building for lighting, according to the efficiency of the LED, while still maintaining a suitable lighting level for occupants. This research examines the influence of the WWR on the total amount of energy consumed by standard buildings in Jordan using various LED luminaires (existing and projected efficiencies). DesignBuilder software was utilized to analyze the effect of LED-technology development on optimizing the WWR for a typical residential structure in Jordan. The research presents beneficial recommendations with respect to optimizing the WWR for primary decision-makers in the design of residential buildings with enhanced energy efficiency, considering the losses and gains associated with solar heat and light to capitalize on solar energy with no adverse impacts by windows size. The outcomes suggest a WWR of 17% could be achieved by typical residential buildings in Jordan that have extremely efficient LED lighting systems (350 lm/W), which is more than 50% less than the existing level of 40% recommended by multiple standards. Additionally, this study highlighted that when the efficiency of LED technologies increases, the energy demand of the building will be reduced because of lower energy usage combined with heat gain resulting from the LED efficiency.

A modified sub-assembly approach for hurricane induced wind-surge-wave vulnerability assessment of low-rise wood buildings in coastal communities

The coastal low-rise buildings account for large amounts of property loss during hurricanes, which makes it essential to perform vulnerability assessments of buildings and communities to estimate the possible structural damage and economical loss. Fragility assessment and loss prediction are usually performed with the sub-assembly (SA) approach in the HAZUS-MH model. However, hydrodynamic forces caused by surge and waves are excluded, and damages from wind and flood are assumed independent of each other. In the present study, a modified sub-assembly (MSA) approach is proposed based on the SA approach for the hurricane-induced wind-surge-wave vulnerability assessments for buildings and communities considering the hurricane-induced wind-surge-wave loadings without the predefined assumption. The physics-based high-fidelity finite element models are established, and the structural performances are analyzed for three typical coastal residential wood buildings under individual wind or surge-wave loadings and combined wind-surge-wave loadings. Building type is found to be a key factor influencing the vulnerabilities of the buildings, and building elevation is an effective method to mitigate building damages from surge-wave loadings as well as hurricane-induced wind-surge-wave loadings. Profound influences of wind profile shifting under combined wind-surge-wave loading are observed on elevated buildings' vulnerabilities at some stillwater levels for different building types. The MSA approach outperforms the SA approach in the building vulnerability prediction at the hurricane-induced wind-surge-wave scenarios, especially for the elevated buildings. A smaller wind speed interval is recommended to help with the building vulnerability prediction accuracy of the MSA approach. The vulnerability assessment of a coastal community further validates the accuracy of the proposed MSA approach.

Analysis of the performances of a building-integrated PV/Thermal system

This research aims to evaluate the energy yields of a water-based Photovoltaic/thermal solar plant integrated into the building envelope, considering different façades orientations.A typical residential building unit, located in the Mediterranean area, is used for carrying out dynamic analysis through the TRNSYS software.The first step of this study presents the experimental validation of the developed TRNSYS model. Subsequently, the optimization of the volume storage, as it affects the operating temperature and consequently and the efficiency of the Photovoltaic/thermal facades, is investigated. Then, for each facade exposure, the energy produced during winter and summer days (i.e. East, South and West) is calculated.It is found that the Photovoltaic/thermal facades achieve a power production that ranges from 3343 to 2287 kWh, for the South and West facades, and a reduction of the energy demands for domestic heat water production of 55.5 and 43.5, for the South and the East facades.The highest self-consumed quota of the generated energy, 68.2%, and the degree of self-sufficiency, 27.4%, is attained splitting the Photovoltaic/thermal solar collectors on the East, South and West facades.These results pointing out as a Photovoltaic/thermal facade may significantly contribute to the generation of renewable energy in the building sector, so pushing the objective of realizing Net Zero Energy Buildings.

Module equivalent frame method for structural design of concrete high-rise modular buildings

Despite the increasing adoption of modular construction worldwide, it is still largely limited to low-to-medium-rise buildings. One of the main reasons is the knowledge gap regarding the structural design of modular high-rises. This provides a significant opportunity for research and development as high-rise buildings are more competitive in metropolises. This study aims to develop a novel module equivalent frame method (MEFM) for structural design of concrete high-rise modular buildings based on the concept that modules bear vertical loads and transfer lateral loads to cores that mainly resist such loads. A typical Hong Kong high-rise public residential building was used for the case study. The modular structural design scheme was considered as the case study building based on three aspects, i.e. floor plan, connection types, and modular components. A new procedure was established to determine the strength grades of module walls for unifying their thickness at different stories while satisfying the structural performance. An analytical method was established to determine an equivalent frame system with significant vertical resistance and limited lateral resistance to model the walls within a concrete module according to the equivalent principle of concrete volume, size, and shape requirements. The structural responses of the 30-, 40-, and 50-story cases under wind load were calculated using the developed MEFM and compared with the results using the ‘equivalent shear wall method’, which considers the module walls as shear walls. Results show that the MEFM is feasible for achieving structural design solutions of concrete high-rise modular buildings. Moreover, the MEFM is found to be more suitable for the 30-story case than for the 50-story case owing to the reduced precast ratio with an increase in building height. Furthermore, the MEFM is more appropriate than the equivalent shear wall method for simulating module walls because it can better balance the structural safety, material consumption, and precast ratio. The procedure for determining the strength grades of module walls can reduce the lifting weight owing to the higher strength concrete used in the module walls at lower stories. The proposed modularisation scheme is typical and representative and can be adopted for standard flat types of high-rise public residential buildings in Hong Kong.

Life-cycle cost analysis for façade retrofit measures of residential buildings in Cairo

Nowadays, energy retrofit for existing buildings has become a worldwide approach to reduce total energy consumption. A wide range of energy-efficient retrofit measures is actively affecting the decision process, of which retrofit alternatives should be used. The existing study aims to evaluate the effects of façade retrofit measures in residential buildings in Cairo using life-cycle cost analysis. An extensive variety of façade retrofit alternatives was explored individually and combined. A hypothetical benchmark building was used as a reference to represent typical residential buildings in Cairo. DesignBuilder was adopted to assess and quantify the energy-saving potentials for the proposed measures. The evaluation process was based on a parametric analysis of four major façade parameters that are affecting building energy performance; exterior wall configuration, glazing type, window-to-wall ratio and external shading. Thermal characteristics for façade retrofit measures were analysed to give a better understanding of the thermal performance for each retrofitting case. Results showed that the most cost-effective alternative for façade retrofit is to install a 1 m overhang as an external shading device, which reached 1.4% life-cycle cost saving and 18% energy saving. Finally, a sensitivity analysis for the main life-cycle cost supplements was presented to show major variables that are affecting life-cycle cost analysis.

Predictive permanent magnet synchronous generator based small-scale wind energy system at dynamic wind speed analysis for residential net-zero energy building

Integration of small-scale wind energy system to residential buildings for a target to achieve net-zero CO2 emissions is a revolutionary step to reduce the dependency on the national grid. In this paper, a predictive 20 kVA permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) based small scale wind turbine is investigated at dynamic wind speed with a sensing control system to manage and monitor the power flow for a supply to a typical residential building. A control system is applied that regulates the power from the wind turbine. Results indicate that the proposed control system maximizes the power efficiency within the system. The maximum power generation capacity of the wind turbine is 20 kWh with 415 VAC and 50 Hz frequency. A storage system of 19.2 kWh that supplies the energy to the load side. The applied control unit improves the energy management and protects the power equipment during the faults. The research is conducted using MATLAB/SIMULINK and mathematical formulations.