Simulation of the response of base-isolated buildings under earthquake excitations considering soil flexibility

The accurate analysis of the seismic response of isolated structures requires incorporation of the flexibility of supporting soil. However, it is often customary to idealize the soil as rigid during the analysis of such structures. In this paper, seismic response time history analyses of base-isolated buildings modelled as linear single degree-of-freedom （SDOF） and multi degree-of-freedom （MDOF） systems with linear and nonlinear base models considering and ignoring the flexibility of supporting soil are conducted. The flexibility of supporting soil is modelled through a lumped parameter model consisting of swaying and rocking spring-dashpots. In the analysis, a large number of parametric studies for different earthquake excitations with three different peak ground acceleration （PGA） levels, different natural periods of the building models, and different shear wave velocities in the soil are considered. For the isolation system, laminated rubber bearings （LRBs） as well as high damping rubber bearings （HDRBs） are used. Responses of the isolated buildings with and without SSI are compared under different ground motions leading to the following conclusions： （1） soil flexibility may considerably influence the stiff superstructure response and may only slightly influence the response of the flexible structures; （2） the use of HDRBs for the isolation system induces higher structural peak responses with SSI compared to the system with LRBs; （3） although the peak response is affected by the incorporation of soil flexibility, it appears insensitive to the variation of shear wave velocity in the soil; （4） the response amplifications of the SDOF system become closer to unit with the increase in the natural period of the building, indicating an inverse relationship between SSI effects and natural periods for all the considered ground motions, base isolations and shear wave velocities; （5） the incorporation of SSI increases the number of significant cycles of large amplitude accelerations for all the stories, especially for earthquakes with low and moderate PGA levels; and （6） buildings with a linear LRB base-isolation system exhibit larger differences in displacement and acceleration amplifications, especially at the level of the lower stories.

Group Support Systems: Implications for Multi-Disciplinary Theory Building

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Comparative Analysis of Building Rating Systems and Occupant Rating Systems

To begin with, rating systems are a beneficial tool in determining the efficiency of a building’s ability to utilise its resources effectively. In this study, the two elements under comparison are the Building Rating Systems (BRSs) and Occupant Rating Systems (ORSs). The main objective of this paper is to be able to examine the most commonly applied international and national BRS and ORS and, based on that, discover the possibility of developing an integration of both the BRS and ORS into one rating system. Quite simply, a BRS is a method by which buildings are assessed and given a score based on numerous features such as the efficiency of each of the services, total energy consumption, and alternate options of consumption. There are various BRSs that are implemented globally, each with its own set of criteria and specifications. Thus, based on the analysis of the benefits and drawbacks of both types of rating systems, it could be deduced that a well-rounded rating system with all technical and non-technical aspects combined would be beneficial to both the efficiency of the building as well as the building occupants’ health and well-being.

Energy Efficient Building Systems For Urban Transformation Projects:Case Study

In last decades uncontrolled rapid urbanization in Turkey led to existence of squatter areas and disaster-vulnerable building stocks.After 1999 Marmara earthquake urban renewal has become the base of urbanization politics and planning agenda in Turkey.Turkish building industry usually uses RC buildings in the urban renewal projects.In recent years cold formed steel CFS and 3D panel building systems due to its lightweight,fast constructed,energy efficient,and economy start to be used as an alternatives to reinforced concrete buildings especially in seismic areas.In this paper energy performance of three building systems were investigated on a case study school building.Analysis results shows that 3D panel and CFS buildings systems will established with 59%and 36%less energy requirements with respect to traditional reinforced concrete non-insulated buildings.

EMERGENT PERMITTING STRATEGIES FOR NATURAL BUILDING SYSTEMS IN ONTARIO

INTRODUCTION Lowering the carbon intensity of the built environment is one of many tasks that must be undertaken in order to address climate change and to encourage sustainability.The siting,design,construction,occupancy,renovation,and disposal of single-family homes are all factors that contribute to the large carbon emissions generated by the sector.There are numerous strategies that seek to minimize the amount of emissions generated by a house during its lifecycle.This paper explores the use of so-called natural building systems in building envelope construction.

USE OF DISSIMILAR WALLING SYSTEMS ON RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ENVELOPES FOR IMPROVING THEIR THERMAL PERFORMANCE

This paper summarises the results of a combined numerical,statistical and experimental study concerned with the use of dissimilar walling systems on the external parts of a given building envelope.The rational behind this“hybrid wall”concept,as opposed to conventional approaches where identical walls are used in a building envelope,is to achieve a more effective distribution of thermal mass across the envelope and,hence,improve the overall thermal per-formance of the building.The effectiveness of the“hybrid wall”concept was investigated using a series of hypothetical building modules of common Australian residential constructions,namely Light Weight(LW),Brick Veneer(BV),Reverse Brick Veneer(RBV)and Cavity Brick(CB).These designs were examined numerically using a commercial energy rating tool known as“AccuRate”,statistically using JMP software and experimentally using a novel bench-scale setup developed as part of this study.The performance of each design was evaluated by its energy consumption.The numerical predictions and experimental data highlighted that the east and west walls have the most impact on the energy consumption under Australian climatic conditions.It was found that considerable reductions in the energy consumption could be achieved in cases where the hybrid wall concept was implemented through the use of high ther-mal mass insulated walls on the east and west sides of the building envelope.

Economic Model Predictive Control for Hot Water Based Heating Systems in Smart Buildings

This paper presents a study to optimize the heating energy costs in a residential building with varying electricity price signals based on an Economic Model Predictive Controller (EMPC). The investigated heating system consists of an air source heat pump (ASHP) incorporated with a hot water tank as active Thermal Energy Storage (TES), where two optimization problems are integrated together to optimize both the ASHP electricity consumption and the building heating consumption utilizing a heat dynamic model of the building. The results show that the proposed EMPC can save the energy cost by load shifting compared with some reference cases.

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.

Farm buildings and agri-food transitions in Southern France:Mapping dynamics using a stakeholder-based diagnosis

This study's goal is to present a dynamic portrait of the farm-buildings environment in Occitania,in Southern France,in order to better identify the transitions underway in agri-food chains.To this end,we undertook a ter-ritorial diagnosis based on actor statements,using 28 semi-structured interviews across Occitania.This diagnosis was enriched by graphic modelling,which enabled the spatialization of the dynamics described.We show that the process of standardisation of farm buildings prevails in the majority of the territories studied.This phenomenon has intensified in recent years with the development of vast photovoltaic-roofed sheds,accentuating the farm-land conversion and soil sealing.At the same time,in areas with strong environmental,landscape and heritage contexts,a'new adventure in farm buildings'(2022 survey)is taking shape.It is primarily driven by local short food chains,which rely on self-construction,repurposing and refurbishment,the sharing of tools and equipment,and which favour the use and reuse of local resources.This study shows that farm-buildings dynamics crystallise many challenges confronting the reterritorialisation of agriculture and food production.

Design and development of safety evaluation system of buildings on a seismic field based on the network platform

This paper describes a set of on-site earthquake safety evaluation systems for buildings, which were developed based on a network platform. The system embedded into the quantitative research results which were completed in accordance with the provisions from Post-earthquake Field Works, Part 2： Safety Assessment of Buildings, GB18208.2 -2001, and was further developed into an easy-to-use software platform. The system is aimed at allowing engineering professionals, civil engineeing technicists or earthquake-affected victims on site to assess damaged buildings through a network after earthquakes. The authors studied the function structure, process design of the safety evaluation module, and hierarchical analysis algorithm module of the system in depth, and developed the general architecture design, development technology and database design of the system. Technologies such as hierarchical architecture design and Java EE were used in the system development, and MySQL5 was adopted in the database development. The result is a complete evaluation process of information collection, safety evaluation, and output of damage and safety degrees, as well as query and statistical analysis of identified buildings. The system can play a positive role in sharing expert post-earthquake experience and promoting safety evaluation of buildings on a seismic field.

A novel 300 kW arc plasma inverter system based on hierarchical controlled building block structure

To date, the high power arc plasma technology is widely used. A next generation high power arc plasma system based on building block structure is presented. The whole arc plasma inverter system is composed of 12 paralleled units to increase the system output capability. The hierarchical control system is adopted to improve the reliability and flexibility of the high power arc plasma inverter. To ensure the reliable turn on and off of the IGBT module in each building block unit, a special pulse drive circuit is designed by using pulse transformer. The experimental result indicates that the high power arc plasma inverter system can transfer 300 kW arc plasma energy reliably with high efficiency.

Selection of Weather Parameters for Air-Conditioning System Design for Buildings with Long Thermal Lag

Two building factors-a longer thermal lag of more than one hour for building envelops and a lag of indoor radiation to convert into cooling load-have impact on the instantaneous heat input and instantaneous cooling load.So the two factors should be taken into account when selecting the weather parameters for air-conditioning system design.This paper developed a new statistic method for the rational selection of coincident solar irradiance,dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures.The method was applied to historic weather records of 25 years in Hong Kong to generate coincident design weather data.And the results show that traditional design solar irradiance,dry-bulb and wet-bulb temperatures may be significantly overestimated in many conditions,and the design weather data for the three different constructions is not kept constant.

Seismic Isolation of Reactor Assembly for a Fixed Base Accelerator Driven System Reactor Building

In the SILER （Seismic-Initiated events risk mitigation in LEad-cooled Reactors） Project, it is interesting to apply seismic isolation technology for the reactor assembly of the fixed base reactor building for ADS （Acceleration Driven System） heavy liquid reactor MYRRHA （Multipurpose Hybrid Research Reactor for High-Tech Application） which contains the most critical safety related components, such as reactor vessel, safe shutdown and control rod mechanisms, primary heat exchangers, primary pumps, spoliation target assembly and fuel assemblies, etc. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possibility of an application of a partial seismic isolation to the safety critical components only, here, the reactor assembly. This paper presents the preliminary analysis results of the isolated reactor assembly and compares these with those of seismic isolated ADS reactor building. The analysis results show the reduction of the seismic acceleration response but the increase of the relative displacement for the reactor assembly. Some safety issues, especially, coolant＇s incapable covering the reactor core make difficult to apply for the partial seismic isolation of the ADS reactor assembly due to large relative displacement occurring the partial isolation system. Further study on the partial seismic isolation application of the critical safety components are also discussed.

Building a New Socialist Countryside, Improving Commission and Agent System of “Village-level Accounting”

Rural finance is an issue concerned with rural people, improving rural financial management is important to close the relations of cadres and masses, maintain rural stability, and promote rural economic development. This article explained the main problems of village financial, the needs of introducing commission and agent system of ＂village-level accounting＂ for building a new socialist countryside, and the measures of improving commission and agent system of ＂village-level accounting＂.

Influence of Choice of Structural System &In-Fill Masonry on the Embodied Energy &Cost of a Low-Rise Residential Urban-Building Indian Case Study

In the urban residential building stock, a major proportion is constituted by low-rise individual buildings. In addition to cost, quality and duration, energy consumed for the project needs to be accounted in the decision making process. Minimizing the cost of construction without compromising on the architectural and structural requirements is the primary objective of the residential buildings of stake-holders, especially the owners. The choice of structural system and the materials used for construction play a crucial role in this effort. This means that the use of expensive and/or voluminous materials such as cement, steel, masonry etc. is optimized. This could lead to significant reduction in embodied energy as well, if the choice of the structural system is prudently made. In this paper, an attempt has been made to quantify the cost and embodied energy benefits for a low-rise residential building by choosing two different structural systems, namely moment resisting framed (MRF) construction system and the partly load-bearing (PLB) system. The influence of choice of materials, contributing to reduction of cost and/or energy is discussed. It is clearly noticed that, when the structural system is re-configured as a PLB system from the existing MRF system there is significant reduction in cost and embodied energy without changing the architectural form.

VERTICAL TURF FOR GREEN FACADES:A VERTICAL GREENERY MODULAR SYSTEM INTEGRATED TO THE BUILDING ENVELOPE

Research has shown the environmental benefits of green envelopes,as well as performance in terms of energy efficiency.To date,there is no analysis of the economic sustainability of these systems,which has allowed the realization of a few,albeit very well known,examples.The research has identified a green modular system integrated into the building envelope,designed to facilitate installation and maintenance,with competitive performance compared to other existing solutions;a system that wants to improve performance and flexibility of vertical applications,experimented on buildings,on the market,and able to adapt,above all,to the needs of the building process.It is important to distinguish architectural aesthetic requirements from those of the building process;the former aim to have an authentic vertical garden,with different kinds of plants where nature dictates the rules,the latter aims to achieve the economic sustainability of vertical greenery systems.This paper provides an analysis of a technique based on the installation of plant bearing modular panels with turf on substructures also provided with a micro-irrigation system,which allows the construction of a modular coating,characterized by reduced thickness,that can also be integrated with other materials;installation is quick and simple,since the panel comes perfectly planted on site.In addition to that it allows,from a botanical point of view,resorting to types of grass selected with a view to climate,exposure,environmental adaptability,color and shape.A comparative analysis of this green façade is also presented compared to other existing case studies,from a constructive and managerial point of view,highlighting both its economic and architectural advantages.

Construction practice of market system for energy saving renovation of existing buildings

The energy-saving reconstruction market of existing buildings is a complex system.It includes three subsystems:service market,capital market and technology market.The service market takes the relationship between energy service companies and owners as the core to establish service associated relationships.The capital market is based on the mechanism of"investment guarantees and risk sharing"to form structures of the capital market.The technology market relies on the"industry-university-research"mode to build technology supporting platforms.Being interdependent and mutually restricted,the three subsystems form the complete system of existing buildings in energy-saving reconstruction.

A Multi-Criteria Decision Support System for the Selection of Low-Cost Green Building Materials and Components

The necessity of having an effective computer-aided decision support system in the housing construction industry is rapidly growing alongside the demand for green buildings and green building products. Identifying and defining financially viable low-cost green building materials and components, just like selecting them, is a crucial exercise in subjectivity. With so many variables to consider, the task of evaluating such products can be complex and discouraging. Moreover, the existing mode for selecting and managing, often very large information associated with their impacts constrains decision-makers to perform a trade-off analysis that does not necessarily guarantee the most environmentally preferable material. This paper introduces the development of a multi-criteria decision support system (DSS) aimed at improving the understanding of the principles of best practices associated with the impacts of low-cost green building materials and components. The DSS presented in this paper is to provide designers with useful and explicit information that will aid informed decision-making in their choice of materials for low-cost green residential housing projects. The prototype MSDSS is developed using macro-in-excel, which is a fairly recent database management technique used for integrating data from multiple, often very large databases and other information sources. This model consists of a database to store different types of low-cost green materials with their corresponding attributes and performance characteristics. The DSS design is illustrated with particular emphasis on the development of the material selection data schema, and application of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) concept to a material selection problem. Details of the MSDSS model are also discussed including workflow of the data evaluation process. The prototype model has been developed with inputs elicited from domain experts and extensive literature review, and refined with feedback obtained from selected expert builder and developer companies. This paper further demonstrates the application of the prototype MSDSS for selecting the most appropriate low-cost green building material from among a list of several available options, and finally concludes the study with the associated potential benefits of the model to research and practice.

A FRAMEWORK FOR APPLICATION OF SYSTEM ENGINEERING PROCESS MODELS TO SUSTAINABLE DESIGN OF HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDINGS

Building owners,designers and constructors are seeing a rapid increase in the number of sustainably designed high performance buildings.These buildings provide numerous benefits to the owners and occupants to include improved indoor air quality,energy efficiency,and environmental site standards;and ultimately enhance productivity for the building occupants.As the demand increases for higher building energy efficiency and environmental standards,application of a set of process models will support consistency and optimization during the design process.Systems engineering process models have proven effective in taking an integrated and comprehensive view of a system while allowing for clear stakeholder engagement,requirements definition,life cycle analysis,technology insertion,validation and verification.This paper overlays systems engineering on the sustainable design process by providing a framework for application of the Waterfall,Vee,and Spiral process models to high performance buildings.Each process model is mapped to the sustainable design process and is evaluated for its applicability to projects and building types.Adaptations of the models are provided as Green Building Process Models.

Map Building for a Mobile Robot Based on Grey System Theory

In this paper, a new method for mobile robot map building based on grey system theory is presented, by which interpretation and integration of sonar readings can be solved robustly and efficiently. The conception of 'grey number is introduced to model and handle the uncertainty of sonar reading. A new data fusion approach based on grey system theory is proposed to construct environment model. Map building experiments are performed both on a platform of simulation and a real mobile robot. Experimental results show that our method is robust and accurate.