Study of Hygrothermal Behavior of Bio-Sourced Material Treated Ecologically for Improving Thermal Performance of Buildings

Creating sustainable cities is the only way to live in a clean environment,and this problem can be solved by using bio-sourced and recycled materials.For this purpose,the authors contribute to the valuation of sheep wool waste as an eco-friendly material to be used in insulation.The paper investigates the thermal,hygrothermal,and biological aspects of sheep wool by testing a traditional treatment.The biological method of aerobic mesophilicflora has been applied.Fluorescence X was used to determine the chemical composition of the materials used.Also,thermal characterization has been conducted.The thermal conductivity is above 0.046(W·m^(-1)·K^(-1))and the thermal diffusivity is 1.56.10^(-6) m^(2)·s^(-1).Besides,the energy efficiency of using sheep wool in buildings was studied.Furthermore,its humidity behavior was evaluated in different aspects in both winter and summer.Results of biological analyses show the efficiency of the treatment by removing the majority of the microorgan-isms:the value of yeast and mildew was reduced from 38.10^(2) to 2.10^(2)(UFC·g^(-1)).In addition to that,sheep wool permits obtaining a low thermal transmittance on the scale of the walls and low cooling needs on the scale of the building with a gain of 45%and 52%,respectively.

Thermo-Physical Potential of Recycled Banana Fibers for Improving the Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Biosourced Gypsum-Based Materials

The development of bio-sourced materials is essential to ensuring sustainable construction;it is considered a locomotive of the green economy.Furthermore,it is an abundant material in our country,to which very little attention is being given.This work aims to valorize the waste of the trunks of banana trees to be used in construction.Firstly,the physicochemical properties of the fiber,such as the percentage of crystallization and its morphology,have been determined by X-ray diffraction tests and scanning electron microscopy to confirm the potential and the impact of the mode of drying on the quality of the banana fibers,with the purpose to promote the use of this material in construction.Secondly,the results obtained with the gypsum matrix allowed us to note a preponderant improvement in the composite’s thermal properties thanks to the variation of the banana fiber additive.Thirdly,the impact of the nature of the banana fiber distribution(either fiber mixed in matrix or fiber series model)on the flexural and compressive strengths of the composites was studied.The results obtained indicate that the insulation gain reaches up to 40%.It depends on the volume fraction and type of distribution of the banana fibers.However,the thermal inertia of the composites developed,represented by thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity,was studied.Results indicate a gain of 40%and 25%,respectively,in terms of thermal diffusivity and thermal effusivity of the developed composites compared to plaster alone.Concerning the mechanical properties,the flexural strength depends on the percentage of the volume fraction of banana fibers used,and it can reach 20%more than the flexural strength of plaster;nevertheless,there is a significant loss in terms of the compressive strength of the studied composites.The results obtained are confirmed by the microstructure of the fiber banana.In fact,the morphology of the banana fibers was improved by the drying process.It reduces the amorphous area and improves the cellulosic crystalline surfaces,which assures good adhesion between the fiber and the matrix plaster.Finally,the dimensionless coefficient analysis was done to judge the optimal proportion of the banana fiber additive and to recommend its use even on false ceilings or walls.

The Effect of Core Eccentricity on the Structural Behavior of Concrete Tall Buildings

The main purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of core eccentricity on the structural behavior of concrete tall buildings.Concrete buildings of 55 floors with plan dimensions 48.0×48.0 m2 were investigated.Three cases of main core locations are studied:centric(A),eccentric by one sixth(B)and one third(C)of building width.The three-dimensional finite element method has been used in conducting structural analysis through ETABS software.Gravity and lateral(wind and seismic)loadings are applied to all building cases.It has been concluded that the core location is the prime parameter governing the structural behavior of tall buildings.Although the first two cases(A,B)have acceptable and similar structural behaviors conforming to code limits,in the third case(C),the building behavior came beyond code limits.The author introduced remedial action by adding two secondary cores in the opposite direction of the main core(C-R)to restore the building behavior to the code limits.The results of this action were satisfactory.

Intelligent System Application to Monitor the Smart City Building Lighting

A smart city incorporates infrastructure methods that are environmentally responsible,such as smart communications,smart grids,smart energy,and smart buildings.The city administration has prioritized the use of cutting-edge technology and informatics as the primary strategy for enhancing service quality,with energy resources taking precedence.To achieve optimal energy management in themultidimensional system of a city tribe,it is necessary not only to identify and study the vast majority of energy elements,but also to define their implicit interdependencies.This is because optimal energy management is required to reach this objective.The lighting index is an essential consideration when evaluating the comfort indicators.In order to realize the concept of a smart city,the primary objective of this research is to create a system for managing and monitoring the lighting index.It is possible to identify two distinct phaseswithin the intelligent system.Once data collection concludes,the monitoring system will be activated.In the second step,the operation of the control system is analyzed and its effect on the performance of the numerical model is determined.This evaluation is based on the proposed methodology.The optimized resultswere deemed satisfactory because they maintained the brightness index value(79%)while consuming less energy.The intelligent implementation system generated satisfactory outcomes,which were observed 1.75 times on average.

基于地震作用下传递系数法的边坡稳定性分析

传递系数法是中国建筑边坡工程技术规范中推荐的边坡稳定性计算方法,适用于滑面为结构面的土质边坡和岩质边坡.地震对边坡稳定性有重要影响.规范中只考虑水平地震力的影响,这里研究不同地震力方向的影响.基于传递系数法,可以很方便地将求安全系数问题转换为一个优化问题,通过数值算例表明,安全系数关于地震力的水平方向是对称的.算例还将地震力方向对剩余下滑力的影响可视化地展示出来.

Experimental Research on the Marine Hydrodynamic Action on the Consolidation Process of the Sediments in the Yellow River Estuary

Based on the in-situ measurements, the impact of the marine hydrodynamics, such as wave and tide, in the rapidly deposited sediments consolidation process was studied. In the tide flat of Diaokou delta-lobe, one 2 m × 1 m × 1 m test pit was excavated. The seabed soils were dug and dehydrated, and then the powder of the soil was mixed with seawater to be fluid sediments. And an iron plate covered part of the test pit to cut off the effect of the marine hydrodynamics, By field-testing methods, like static cone penetration test （SPT） and vane shear test （VST）, the variation of strength is measured as a function of time, and the marine hydrodynamics impact on the consolidation process of the sediments in the Yellow River estuary was studied. It is shown that the self-consolidated sediments＇ strength linearly increases with the depth. In the consolidation process, in the initial, marine hydrodynamics play a decisive role, about 1.5 times as much as self-consolidated in raising the strength of the sea-bed soils, and with the extension of the depth the role of the hydrodynamics is reduced. In the continuation of the consolidation process, the trend of the surface sediments increased-strength gradually slows down under the water dynamics, while the sediments below 50 cm are in opposite ways. As a result, the rapidly deposited silt presents a nonuniform consolidation state, and the crust gradually forms. The results have been referenced in studying the role of the hydrodynamics in the soil consolidation process.

Wave prediction in a port using a fully nonlinear Boussinesq wave model

A wave forecasting system using FUNWAVE-TVD which is based on the fully nonlinear Boussinesq equations by Chen(2006)was developed to provide an accurate wave prediction in the Port of Busan,South Korea.This system is linked to the Korea Operational Oceanographic System(KOOS)developed by Park et al.(2015).The computational domain covers a region of 9.6 km×7.0 km with a grid size of 2 m in both directions,which is sufficient to resolve short waves and dominant sea states.The total number of grid points exceeds 16 millions,making the model computational expensive.To provide real-time forecasting,an interpolation method,which is based on pre-calculated results of FUNWAVE-TVD and SWAN forecasting results at the FUNWAVE-TVD offshore boundary,was used.A total of 45 cases were pre-calculated,which took 71 days on 924 computational cores of a Linux cluster system.Wind wave generation and propagation from the deep water were computed using the SWAN in KOOS.SWAN results provided a boundary condition for the FUNWAVE-TVD forecasting system.To verify the model,wave observations were conducted at three locations inside the port in a time period of more than 7 months.A model/model comparison between FUNWAVE-TVD and SWAN was also carried out.It is found that,FUNWAVE-TVD improves the forecasting results significantly compared to SWAN which underestimates wave heights in sheltered areas due to incorrect physical mechanism of wave diffraction,as well as large wave heights caused by wave reflections inside the port.

Accuracy evaluation of two precipitation datasets over upper reach of Heihe River Basin, northwestern China

As an important forcing data for hydrologic models, precipitation has significant effects on model simulation. The China Meteorological Forcing Dataset （ITP） and Global Land Data Assimilation System （GLDAS） precipitation data are the two commonly used data sources in the Heihe River Basin （HRB）. This paper focused on evaluating the accuracy of these two precipitation datasets. A set of metrics were developed to characterize the trend, magnitude, annual allocation, event matching, frequency, and spatial distribution of the two datasets. Meanwhile, such accuracy evaluation was performed at various scales, i.e., daily, monthly, and yearly. By comparing with observations, this study concluded that： first, both ITP and GLDAS precipitation data well represented the trends at corresponding sites, and GLDAS underestimated precipita- tion in most regions except the east tributary headwater region; second, unusual annual precipitation distribution was observed in both datasets with overestimation of precipitation in May through September and GLDAS appeared to be much severe; third, the ITP data seriously over-predicted the precipitation events; fourth, the ITP data have better spatial distribution than GLDAS in the upper reach area of HRB. Overall, we recommended ITP precipitation data for the land surface study in the uooer reach of HRB.

Towards a sustainable campus-city relationship:A systematic review of the literature

The relationship between a university and its city is considered strategical to achieve university targeted ambitions and visions.The university-city relationship is also encouraged for the benefit of the city,as universities unleash their respective cities’potentials to act as driving forces not only for their local communities,but also for the whole nation.Therefore,maintaining a mutual relationship between the university and the city is considered essential to accomplish strategic goals for both.However,the nature of this relationship is quite complex,overlapped,interconnected,and diverse.Therefore,this paper conducted a systematic review of the literature on university-city and campus-city relationships to evaluate recent research trends to uncover the aspects that connect universities with their respective cities.The search included articles published in 4 different databases from January 1990 to January 2021.A total number of 50 articles were selected in this review.The findings uncovered different aspects that could help or hinder university-city relationship based on the physical and functional linkage between the campus and the city.Moreover,findings have shown that it is necessary to understand universities according to their contextual differences,as universities have shown different impacts on their respective cities in terms of their sizes and locations.Results have also shown that the impact of the physical connection between the university and the city goes far beyond campus’s accessibility as it deeply affects students’social life as well.Therefore,decision makers,stakeholders,and university administrators need to co-design campus development process especially in the early stages to maximize the mutual benefits of campus-city relationship.The main conclusions of this paper address several perspectives and lessons for a more sustainable campus-city relationship.

CO_(2)and Cost-Based Optimum Design of Sustainable Metakaolin-Modified Concrete

Metakaolin is a highly reactive pozzolanic material that is widely utilized for enhancing the performance of concrete.This study offers a framework for the mixture design of sustainable metakaolin-modified concrete with low CO_(2)emissions and low costs.Different design strengths after 28 days are first formulated,with values such as 30,40,50,and 60 MPa.A genetic algorithm is then used to determine the optimal mixtures.Minimized CO_(2)and cost are set as the aims of the genetic algorithm.The strength of the concrete,its workability(slump),and carbonation service life with climate change are set as constraints of the genetic algorithm.Five design cases are considered:1)low-CO_(2)concrete with no carbonation,2)low-CO_(2)concrete with carbonation,3)low-material cost concrete with carbonation,4)low-total cost concrete with carbonation,and 5)low-total cost concrete with climate change.Based on the analysis,the following results are found:1)When the design’s strength is 30 MPa,to satisfy the requirement of carbonation durability,the concrete real strength should exceed 30 MPa.Moreover,after considering climate change,the concrete real strength should be further improved.2)When the design strength is 40,50,or 60 MPa for low-total-cost concrete,climate change has no impact on the optimal design because the concrete has sufficient carbonation resistance.3)Low-material-cost concrete has the same mixture as low-total-cost concrete because compared with the material cost,the CO_(2)emission cost is much lower.Moreover,for low-material-cost or low-total-cost concrete,the metakaolin content is at the lower limit because the price of metakaolin is much higher than that of cement.Summarily,the proposed model covered different aspects of sustainable concrete,such as cost and CO_(2)emissions,clarified various decisive factors of mix design,such as strength and carbon durability,and considered different conditions of climate change,such as no climate change and Representative Concentration Pathways(RCP)8.5.The proposed method is valuable for designing sustainable metakaolin-modified concrete with low CO_(2)emissions and costs.

Assessment of Seismic Damage in Nativity Church in Bethlehem Using Pushover Analysis

This study focuses on advanced finite element(FE)analyses on The Church of Nativity located in Bethlehem(Palestine),one of the most historic structures in the world.To ensure the model quality,a 3D FE model was created using two types of typical commercial software,DIANA FEA and SAP2000.From analyses,one of the expected behaviors for this kind of masonry structure“low modal period”was found.The seismic behavior of the church was studied using pushover analyses,which were conducted using DIANA FEA.The first unidirectional mass proportional load pattern was created in both directions,X-direction as a longitudinal direction and Y-direction as the transversal direction.An incremental iterative procedure was used with monotonically increasing horizontal loads,using constant gravity loads.The results showed that the transversal direction is the most vulnerable and the damage concentrates at the main lateral(longitudinal)walls,mainly at the south and north alignment walls,and also at the vaults and at the connections of the vaults to the apse.Crack width was at the upper limit in the in-plane direction(X-direction).While,in Y-direction,it exceeded the limits of IBC code in width and length with a maximum width of 13.7 mm.A more accurate nonlinear dynamic analysis is recommended in the near future,which takes into account the material nonlinearity for more reasonable seismic behavior simulation.

Performance of Desiccant-Based Cooling Systems in Hot-Humid Climates: A Review

This paper reviews the principle and application of the thermally activated desiccant cooling systems with their capability to perform efficiently in hot-humid climates.The paper first introduces the continuous increase of thermal comfort required in building and their relation with the consumption of conventional energy sources.The importance of desiccant cooling technology and its applications has been introduced as well.The energy and environmental issues with the conventional energy supply and the demand with the environmental problems and conditions mainly related to indoor air quality have been also discussed in the second chapter of this paper.The third part of this paper deals with different techniques and systems applied for cooling and dehumidification including the principles of solid and liquid desiccant applications.Indeed,these systems perform well in hothumid climates.The result of a case study of the solid desiccant cooling system combined with solar energy for the desiccant wheel regeneration has been presented in the last chapter in this paper to show the capability of these systems once well applied in a hot-humid climate.

Oxidative Treatment of Some Reactive Dyes by Fenton Reagent

Nine kinds of reactive dye solutions: Reactive K -2RL, H-E2R, X-6B1Y, HE-4G, X-3B, K-2R, H - E7B, X -4RN and S - F3B were treated by using Fenton reagent. While the concentration of dye is 400 mg/L, the FeSO4 dosage 100 -180 mg/L, H2O2 240 -540 mg/L, that is the stoichiometric numbers of Fe2+ and H2O2 are between 1: 9 - 1:12, pH = 3, reaction tune In, temperature 25℃, the colority removal efficiency reach more than 95%, the COD removal efficiency 65% -85%, and the TOC removal efficiency 70.2%. By comparing UV-VIS absorption spectrum before and after treatment, it further shows that decomposition effect of Fenton reagent on these nine kinds of reactive dyes is satisfactory.

The Development of Using Elevators in Different Buildings

Elevators are one of the most important elements of vertical communication used in buildings.Especially in recent times,where high and high rise buildings have become a modern architectural phenomenon and the spread of architecture has become a feature of the age.Hence,the research discusses the technique of installing elevators in buildings.A general introduction to elevators and their types will be discussed,as well as a historical overview of the beginning of the idea of the elevator and the first buildings that were used.The technique of installing the elevator inside the building explained with the images shown components elevator.Also it will mention several speeds of modern elevators used in buildings,the world’s fastest elevator,ultra-rope technology and the reasons for choosing this technique in elevator components in high-rise buildings which may be used in the space elevator that will connect earth and space.As well it shows features of the wire used in the elevators of the Burj-Khalifa,the highest skyscraper in the world.Then it mentions a number of the most recent and newest elevators in the world,then research results and references.

Review of Conventional and Innovative Technologies for Fire Retrofitting of Existing Buildings

Fire effects can be one of the most harmful conditions that any building may experience throughout its service life. Developing practical protection methods and concepts against potential fire disasters in buildings has been an important consideration in design of buildings in recent decades. Rapid developments in technology have heightened the demand for new and innovative fire protection systems in comparison with conventional and traditional methods. Such a need for new technologies is in particular of greater importance when it comes to existing buildings. Retrofitting an existing building for fire safety is a greater challenge compared with designing a new building using materials and components that have more desirable and superior fire rating to begin with. Furthermore, strategies to design a new building that includes state-of-the-art fire safety features are also different from solutions that may be more suitable for retrofitting an existing building. This paper presents a review of the literature concerning conventional and new or innovative retrofitting methods for fire safety of buildings. Advantages and disadvantages of different fire protection devices and methods as available and understood from the literature are mentioned. Study of fire safety systems shows that each has its drawbacks. Comparison of the results shows that disadvantages of a solitary system for retrofitting against fire can be improved by using a combination of several fire safety concepts or methods simultaneously.

Building Integrated Photovoltaic Systems for Single Family Dwellings: Innovation Concepts

Growing consumer interest in distributed Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) Systems and industry competition to reduce installation costs are stimulating the development of deploying these materials to the residential sector of the building industry. This emerging market continues to attract the attention of many stakeholders, yet cohesive opportunities to deploy in residential sectors, specifically detached single-family dwellings, is scattered. As a result, this study of literature and implementation strategies through simple examples looks to identify several characteristics related to BIPV. Characteristics that were studied in this initial pilot study were design considerations for system selection, applicability to residential construction, and system and material options and enhancements. A case-study home was analyzed demonstrating opportunity for implementation of BIPV on an existing residence. Strategies for maximizing the energy-generating capacity of the system to achieve net-zero energy performance, including all building surfaces and landscaping were also explored. This body of work provides a state-of-the-art review on common materials as well as the more customizable types.

Bridging the gap between research and schematic design phases in teaching architectural graduation projects

The architectural design studio course is generally considered the backbone of any architectural curriculum and follows a particular method of problem solving,which makes it a distinctive course.Graduation projects in most of the architectural programs are divided into two main phases,namely,research and project phases.Students generate many findings from the research phase that are considered challenges.The research problem emerges when students finish writing the research thesis,and most face difficulty in translating the collected data into actions to engage the initial idea of the project.Therefore,this study aims to high-light the transitional stage between the research and schematic design phases,which is described in this study as the"predesign bridging phase."The goal is to propose a practical strategy for bridging the gap between the research and schematic design phases to facilitate derivation of the design concept from different output variables to enable the creation of a suitable architectural morphological language.The study adopts two research methods.One is proposing a new pedagogical framework and applying it to the architectural graduation design studio at Prince Sultan University in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.The other is conducting a survey among students to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed framework in helping them bridge the gap between the research and schematic design phases.Descriptive and inferential statistics analysis methods are used to analyze the research data and study the correlation between the reflection of the new applied framework in the predesign bridging phase and the students'satisfaction toward the final projects'product and performance in the final critique.This study ends with a conclusion on how the applied teaching strategies facilitate the project starting point and raises the importance of proposing and testing new assessment strategies that are suitable for each phase in the graduation design studio.

Transferring architectural management into practice： A taxonomy framework

This research aimed to develop a unique framework to help architects understand and apply architectural management （AM） in their practices. A comprehensive literature review identified several components belonging to different specialist fields. A pragmatic methodology for developing the framework was adopted by combining the methodology of Japareen for building conceptual frameworks with the Concept Mapping and Qualitative Met-Synthesis techniques. The resulting framework underwent a series of testing stages aimed at refining the framework further. The testing process targeted two groups （researchers and professionals） by adopting a mixed method approach, which included a facilitated workshop, interviews, and a questionnaire survey. The feedback from the testing phase was used to create the final AM Taxonomy Framework （AMTF）, and served as an original and practical guide for practitioners, further extending their understanding of AM. Further validation and refinement are planned in the long term by applying the framework to selected architectural practices.

A MODEL OF A NEAR-ZERO ENERGY HOME(NZEH)USING PASSIVE DESIGN STRATEGIES AND PV TECHNOLOGY IN HOT CLIMATES

INTRODUCTION Recent development has seen a drastic increase in energy use trends in Saudi Arabian buildings leading to a demand for an effective course of action for energy conservation and production.A case study-based research initiative explor-ing near-zero energy potential in Saudi Arabia was undertaken.A 4-bedroom detached single-family faculty residence at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals(KFUPM)representing common regional housing design trends was utilized.A base case simulation model of the house was developed and val-idated using short-term and real-time energy consumption data.Three sets of strategies:passive design strategies,representative codes and standards,and renewable technology were employed in the new design of the house.Passive strategies com-prised a green roof,a ventilated wall system,a sloped roof,and insulation for thermal bridges.These alternatives helped reduce the annual energy consumption of the house by 17.2%.The most recent version of the International Energy Conserva-tion Code(IECC 2012)was also incorporated along with ASHRAE Standard 62.2 for ventilation.The code and standard together reduced the annual energy consumption by 31.1%.Solar PV was then utilized to reduce grid utilization for the remainder of the house energy loads.This strategy provided 24.7%of the total energy consumed annually.A combination of strategies showed a 70.7%energy consumption reduction,thereby decreasing the energy index of the house from 162.9 to 47.7 kWh/m^(2)/yr.The Zero Energy Building(ZEB)concepts and strategies utilized in this study demonstrate a socially responsible approach to achieving near-zero energy performance for an existing house.

ENERGY EFFICIENT SYSTEMS AND STRATEGIES FOR HEATING,VENTILATING,AND AIR CONDITIONING(HVAC)OF BUILDINGS

INTRODUCTION The heating,ventilating,and air conditioning(HVAC)systems maintain and control temperature and humidity levels to provide an adequate indoor environment for people activity or for processing goods.The cost of operating an HVAC system can be signifi cant in commercial buildings and in some industrial facilities.In the U.S.,it is estimated that the energy used to operate HVAC systems can represent about 50%of the total electrical energy use in a typical commercial building(Krarti,2000).It is therefore important that buildings designers recognize some of the characteristics of the HVAC systems and determine if any available design and operating options can be considered to improve the energy of these systems.