Papers by Keyword: Building

Abstract: As part of a sustainable development approach, global energy consumption continues to rise, fueled by industrial development and rapid urbanization. This growth poses major challenges in terms of increased demand for buildings, which in turn leads to a significant increase in energy demand, making it essential to assess the consequences of this increased energy consumption on the climate and identify viable alternatives. Enhancing energy efficiency is crucial for minimizing our carbon footprint. By implementing measures to optimize the use of energy resources. Currently, the construction industry is seeking to reduce energy consumption by designing and manufacturing more environmentally-friendly and sustainable building materials. In this work we studied the thermal behavior of a building, in Atlantic climate, constructed with a composite material based on alfa fibers using TRNSYS software. The results show that the energy performance of the investigated building is improved by 17% for cooling and 23% for air-conditioning.

Abstract: Earth has been used as a construction material for centuries, starting with sun-dried mud and straw bricks, which had limited strength and durability. This evolved into fired clay bricks, which enabled large-scale production. However, with the building industry now accounting for 35% of global energy consumption, there is an urgent need to reduce energy use, construction costs, and reliance on nonrenewable resources—particularly in energy-scarce developing nations. This study explores Unstabilized Earth Bricks (UEBs) as a sustainable alternative, requiring 98% less energy than conventional bricks. The addition of straw as an eco-friendly additive not only addresses the disposal of 200 million tons of agricultural straw waste but also improves brick strength. Tests on 230 mm x 100 mm x 90 mm bricks with 1% and 2% straw content showed increased compressive strength, though strength declined in recycled samples. Both straw-reinforced and recycled UEBs demonstrated high durability in wire brush tests, underscoring their potential as cost-effective, sustainable building materials. However, recycled clay bricks exhibited significantly lower strength and are less suitable for structural applications.

Abstract: The national decision on the neutrality of global carbon emission as well as decarbonization focus drives the need for the transformation of the building and construction sector of the economy. Thus, green building materials and its production is a better means of achieving depletion in carbon emission. More so, to achieve excellent green development in the construction industry as well as the goal of decarbonization, there is a need to investigate the emerging trends in the sustainable materials for green buildings. Hence, this study focused on the review of some of the existing green materials and its effect on the building construction. Findings from literature studies revealed six different green building materials which include bamboo, cork, straw bale, reclaimed wood, sheep’s wool and hempcrete. It was reported that each of the green material have excellent thermal insulation property, low emission of CO₂ and has the ability to be recycled, thus, bringing sustainability in the circular economy as well as eco-friendliness of the material. These findings expand the scope of green materials application and can inform the government to formulate policies that will encourage sustainable green buildings. Keyword: Sustainability, Development, Green Buildings, Green Materials, Emissions

Abstract: The use of recycled rubber in various civil engineering applications has seen a considerable rise in recent years. The rubber-soil mixture can exhibit a higher energy absorption capacity than soil alone, which would reduce the energy applied to structures, the stresses, and shocks they undergo. Base isolation is the process of isolating the base of a structure to limit the effects of earthquakes, so that the seismic forces applied to the base of the bedrock cannot move with the same intensity towards the super structure.In this work, the beneficial effects of rubber mixtures (RSM) in mitigating earthquakes when these mixtures are inserted as layers in the soil profile are highlighted; the approach is based on a method of using worn tires for seismic protection applications for infrastructures subjected to seismic loads. It involves mixing particles from used tires with soil materials and placing the mixtures under the foundation of the building as geotechnical insulation systems for vibration absorption.The foundation of a four-storey building is implanted in a soil profile in which a layer of rubber-sand mixture (RSM) has been inserted; to perform the role of seismic isolation when subjected to seismic excitation.The investigation is focused on the variation in the thickness of the layer on the one hand (between 1m and 4m), and on the other hand on the position of this layer in the soil mass (top, middle and bottom of the profile).The peaks of horizontal accelerations recorded at the base and top of the structure show that the sand-rubber mixture has adequate and promising potential for their application as seismic isolation materials for low-rise buildings. Moreover, the thickness of the layer and its location are two very determining parameters in the improvement of the performances of these RSM mixtures, especially in terms of reduction of the acceleration peak recorded.

Abstract: Soil as a building material is gaining renewed interest from academia, and the construction sector, mainly for fabricating low-environmental impact homes. The fabrication of houses with soil using traditional methods such as adobe, cob, and rammed earth dates back to ancient times. However, emerging construction technologies, such as 3D printing, can be compatible with this material for building purposes. The article presents the validation of a 3D printing system for construction applications and the evaluation of soil-cement matrices' printability. First, the paper defines the printing parameters through experimental testing on soil matrices. Then, the article evaluates the printability of soil-cement matrices through filament printing and stacking tests. The results show that the 3D printing system prototype can fabricate small and medium-sized elements with soil matrices after correctly defining the pumping speed, printing speed, and layer height. Furthermore, experimental printing test results demonstrate that soil-cement matrices can be easily extruded and stacked; however, their printability capacity is strongly affected by the total water content and printing speed. This research highlights the suitability of soil-cement mixtures for additive manufacturing, a promising outcome that can facilitate the construction of homes in remote areas using 3D printing systems.

Abstract: The development of low energy buildings in hot subtropical and desert like climates such as Australia and Kuwait, requires strategies that are rather challenging. Five (5) experimental rooms are going to be built to assess these energy saving techniques for a research program jointly between Kuwait and Australia. Before the construction phase, these rooms are simulated in TRNSYS18 for the two sites based on available weather data collected from Kuwait International Airport and Rockhampton Airport. The objectives are to investigate room orientation and walling materials on energy performance of the rooms. It was found that all rooms return identical temperature profiles in each of the eight (8) dominant directions, i.e., N, NE, E, SE, S, SE, E, and NW. Five (5) different commercially available wall materials were employed for the five (5) simulated rooms in Kuwait and Australia. It was found that autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) wall materials and north (N) building face orientation are the preferred construction material and orientation in both sites. The energy performance index (EPI) showed that AAC wall materials for the room faced towards north (N) provides the lowest cooling EPI of 646 and 448.4 kW/m²/year in Kuwait and Rockhampton, Australia, respectively.

Abstract: Renewable energy contributes to the building sector's current global transition towards a sustainable energy system. Several renewable energy sources and solar photovoltaic have sparked great interest in reducing the dependency on fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating global warming by harnessing the sun to power the energy. However, the exploitation of solar photovoltaic in an existing building requires various considerations with high uncertainty from the building owner. Thus, this study focuses on investigating determinant factors and their influence on the decision of solar photovoltaic implementation to ensure its success and efficiency. For this purpose, an extensive literature review conducted for the establishment of criteria. Then, a questionnaire survey was designed; and with the help of various stakeholders, consists of green building certified professionals to support the process in choosing the determinant factors. The outcome of the analysis from Exploratory Analysis of Principal Component Analysis with Varimax Rotation reveals that solar photovoltaic implementation is affected by economic, management, environmental, and technical factors. Optimizing the factors discussed in this paper provides insight into adopting renewable sources effectively. This paper also contributed to building knowledge to facilitate more research on factors in implementing solar photovoltaic projects in the future.

Abstract: This paper presents the predicted results of nonlinear time history analysis of 11 storey (G+10) Reinforced Concrete (RC) residential building under the effects of a strong earthquake. The paper includes studying the effects of using Lead Rubber Bearings (LRB) as base isolators to improve the performance of RC building to sustain the impact of an earthquake. It also includes the effects of the infill panels on the overall dynamic response of both fixed base and base-isolated buildings subjected to a strong earthquake. The main results that are presented in this study include the variation of roof acceleration, roof displacement, base shear with time. The effects of using LRB and including the infill panels on the storey drift are also presented. Maximum reduction in the story drift was obtained when infill panels are included in the analysis of the base isolated building. The inclusion of the infill panels has only marginal effects on the variation of roof displacement with time when the building is isolated by LRB. The main important improvements that emerged from using LRB as well as the infill panels in the analysis are the reduction of inelastic energy and upgrading the elastic one that is summed up along the period of the earthquake.

Abstract: The office buildings in Egypt, especially in Upper Egypt, reflect serious problems in achieving for energy efficiency as a result of increasing the use of mechanical refrigeration devices in office rooms, due to solar radiation and rising summer temperatures in recent years. Smart windows can play an important role in reducing significantly the energy consumption and maintaining energy inside buildings, also helps to control incoming solar radiation in order to minimize solar gain, especially in summer as well as ensuring the best natural lighting conditions without glare inside a room. This paper aims to evaluate the most efficient daylight and thermal performance of various types of the smart glazing and its impact on the energy consumption in the climatic conditions of one of the office buildings (Diwan governorate) in Sohag governorate as one of Upper Egypt governorates, with determining the best smart glass types for efficient use of energy. The paper follows the theoretical, applied, by studying types of smart glazing and their relation to achieving the energy efficiency. Then using (Energy Plus) simulation tool, which has been used in utilizing its modeling orientation (Design Builder) to study using types of smart glazing on the model of an office room in Building of Diwan governorate of Sohag in the four different orientations (North, East, South and West), when window-to-floor ratios (WFRs) (8%, 16%, 24% and 32%). The paper ends with a presentation of the most important results, recommendations and determination the best types of smart glass that provides energy, daylight without glare and providing greater comfort to users.

Abstract: This paper reviews local and bio-sourced materials for construction through their thermomechanical characteristics, but with an emphasis on their thermal conductivity that allows us to assess the thermal performance (insulation) of these materials. Then, we discuss the energy problems in Mauritania, while highlighting the local and bio-sourced materials existing in this country. These materials could be an alternative to solve these energy problems. Finally, we focus on the thermal performance of Typha Australis, a plant that grows abundantly in fresh water mainly in Senegal and Mauritania, which would have good advantages over the thermal performance of the building.