Controllable thermal rectification design for buildings based on phase change composites

Phase-change material(PCM)is widely used in thermal management due to their unique thermal behavior.However,related research in thermal rectifier is mainly focused on exploring the principles at the fundamental device level,which results in a gap to real applications.Here,we propose a controllable thermal rectification design towards building applications through the direct adhesion of composite thermal rectification material(TRM)based on PCM and reduced graphene oxide(rGO)aerogel to ordinary concrete walls(CWs).The design is evaluated in detail by combining experiments and finite element analysis.It is found that,TRM can regulate the temperature difference on both sides of the TRM/CWs system by thermal rectification.The difference in two directions reaches to 13.8 K at the heat flow of 80 W/m^(2).In addition,the larger the change of thermal conductivity before and after phase change of TRM is,the more effective it is for regulating temperature difference in two directions.The stated technology has a wide range of applications for the thermal energy control in buildings with specific temperature requirements.

Practice Exploration of Green Building Design in Prefabricated Residential Building Design

Prefabricated residential building design fully embodies the concept of green building and aligns with China’s strategic plan for sustainable development.However,there is a need to further optimize green building design methods,enhance the design quality of prefabricated residential buildings,and improve energy and resource utilization.Compared to traditional construction methods,prefabricated residential building design still faces several challenges during the actual construction process.These challenges include difficulties in design,material selection and processing,and the high demands for construction coordination.To strengthen the application of green building concepts in prefabricated residential design and effectively promote the sustainable development of the construction industry,this paper discusses practical measures for implementing green building design in prefabricated residential projects for reference.

Exploring Digital Visualization Methods in Urban Public Building Space Design

Digital technology has driven the innovation of architectural design methods and tools,applying digital techniques to allow greater possibilities for more innovative and scientific design of public building spaces.This article first analyzes the characteristics of digital visualization and its advantages in the design of urban public building spaces,including aspects such as visualizing three-dimensional expression,rational analysis of building space,Virtual Reality Experience,and integration of design and construction processes.Subsequently,by introducing digital design methods such as parametric design,algorithmic generation,nonlinear design,and artificial intelligence-assisted design,it explores the methods and implementation approaches of digital visualization in the design of public building spaces.The aim is to offer insights and references for the deeper integration of digital technology into architectural design practices.

Analysis of Urban Public Building Space Design Strategies in the Digital Age

Urban public building spaces involve various aspects of people’s daily activities and interactions,making the rationality and scientific nature of the design of these spaces crucial.This article first discusses the role and impact of digitization in the design of public building spaces,covering aspects such as digital design methods,visual expression and presentation,augmented reality’s spatial interaction experience,and integrated design and construction.Following that,it analyzes the process of digitized urban public building space design by exploring topics like digital space design and modeling,visual representation of digital spaces,digital performance analysis of spaces,and the integration of digital projects.This article aims to provide insights and references for urban public building space design in the digital era.

Application Strategies of Modular Design in Assembled Teaching Buildings

As an efficient,environmentally friendly,energy-saving construction method,assembled buildings are now widely used in campus building construction.Modular design thinking is system-based design thinking,and its application to the design of an assembled teaching building project will comprehensively improve the rationality of the teaching building and component design.The paper focuses on the application of modular design thinking in assembled teaching building design,aiming to provide references for China’s architectural design units,giving full play to the advantages of modular design thinking in future teaching building design projects,and enhancing the level of design,for the construction of the teaching building and the basis of the technical guarantee.

Exploration of Energy-Saving Technologies in Building Electrical System Design

Green energy conservation is the mainstream trend in the current development of the construction industry.The application of energy-saving technology in building electrical system design can effectively reduce energy consumption,avoid unnecessary energy consumption,and truly achieve energy conservation and environmental protection.Based on this,the article elaborates on the principles of energy-saving design in building electrical systems,and actively explores the application of energy-saving technologies from different perspectives such as optimizing power supply and distribution system design,adopting high-efficiency energy-saving lighting equipment,applying renewable energy,promoting smart home technology,and improving the efficiency of building electrical equipment.

Integrating Virtual Reality and Energy Analysis with BIM to Optimize Window-to-Wall Ratio and Building’s Orientation for Age-in-Place Design at the Conceptual Stage

This study unfolds an innovative approach aiming to address the critical role of building design in global energy consumption, focusing on optimizing the Window-to-Wall Ratio (WWR), since buildings account for approximately 30% of total energy consumed worldwide. The greatest contributors to energy expenditure in buildings are internal artificial lighting and heating and cooling systems. The WWR, determined by the proportion of the building’s glazed area to its wall area, is a significant factor influencing energy efficiency and minimizing energy load. This study introduces the development of a semi-automated computer model designed to offer a real-time, interactive simulation environment, fostering improving communication and engagement between designers and owners. The said model serves to optimize both the WWR and building orientation to align with occupants’ needs and expectations, subsequently reducing annual energy consumption and enhancing the overall building energy performance. The integrated model incorporates Building Information Modeling (BIM), Virtual Reality (VR), and Energy Analysis tools deployed at the conceptual design stage, allowing for the amalgamation of owners’ inputs in the design process and facilitating the creation of more realistic and effective design strategies.

Teaching Design of Course Building Decoration Materials Based on Generative Artificial Intelligence

With the digital transformation of global education and China's emphasis on education digital,generative AI technology has been widely used in the field of higher education.In this paper,the development of generative AI technology and its potential in personalized learning,interactive content creation and adaptive assessment in education were introduced firstly.Then,the application case of generative AI tools in teaching content creation,scenario-based teaching content development,visual teaching content development,complex concept deconstruction and analogy,student-led application practice and other aspects in the teaching of Building Decoration Materials was discussed.Through the teaching experiment and effect evaluation,the positive influence of generative AI technology on the improvement of students'learning effect and teaching efficiency was verified.Finally,some thoughts and inspirations on the combination of educational theory and generative AI technology,the integration of teaching design and generative AI technology,and the practice cases and effect evaluation were put forward,and the importance of teacher role transformation and personalized learning path design was emphasized to provide theoretical and practical support for the innovative development of higher education.

A Building Information Modeling-Life Cycle Cost Analysis Integrated Model to Enhance Decisions Related to the Selection of Construction Methods at the Conceptual Design Stage of Buildings

Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) provides a systematic approach to assess the total cost associated with owning, operating, and maintaining assets throughout their entire life. BIM empowers architects and designers to perform real-time evaluations to explore various design options. However, when integrated with LCCA, BIM provides a comprehensive economic perspective that helps stakeholders understand the long-term financial implications of design decisions. This study presents a methodology for developing a model that seamlessly integrates BIM and LCCA during the conceptual design stage of buildings. This integration allows for a comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the design process, ensuring that the development aligns with the principles of low carbon emissions by employing modular construction, 3D concrete printing methods, and different building design alternatives. The model considers the initial construction costs in addition to all the long-term operational, maintenance, and salvage values. It combines various tools and data through different modules, including energy analysis, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), and Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA) to execute a comprehensive assessment of the financial implications of a specific design option throughout the lifecycle of building projects. The development of the said model and its implementation involves the creation of a new plug-in for the BIM tool (i.e., Autodesk Revit) to enhance its functionalities and capabilities in forecasting the life-cycle costs of buildings in addition to generating associated cash flows, creating scenarios, and sensitivity analyses in an automatic manner. This model empowers designers to evaluate and justify their initial investments while designing and selecting potential construction methods for buildings, and enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions by assessing different design alternatives based on long-term financial considerations during the early stages of design.

A Review of Innovative Design Strategies for Prefabricated Green Buildings

Prefabricated green buildings are becoming a trend in the construction industry of China.The prefabricated components are made using modern technologies like green materials,artificial intelligence,and low-carbon and energy-saving techniques.This makes them an important aspect of the development of the construction industry in China,representing modernization and sustainable development.This article presents a study on the innovative design of prefabricated green buildings.This article serves to promote sustainable development on a macro level.

Databases of 2D material-substrate interfaces and 2D charged building blocks

Discovery of materials using“bottom-up”or“top-down”approach is of great interest in materials science.Layered materials consisting of two-dimensional(2D)building blocks provide a good platform to explore new materials in this respect.In van der Waals(vdW)layered materials,these building blocks are charge neutral and can be isolated from their bulk phase(top-down),but usually grow on substrate.In ionic layered materials,they are charged and usually cannot exist independently but can serve as motifs to construct new materials(bottom-up).In this paper,we introduce our recently constructed databases for 2D material-substrate interface(2DMSI),and 2D charged building blocks.For 2DMSI database,we systematically build a workflow to predict appropriate substrates and their geometries at substrates,and construct the 2DMSI database.For the 2D charged building block database,1208 entries from bulk material database are identified.Information of crystal structure,valence state,source,dimension and so on is provided for each entry with a json format.We also show its application in designing and searching for new functional layered materials.The 2DMSI database,building block database,and designed layered materials are available in Science Data Bank at https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00188.

A New Dynamic and Vertical Photovoltaic Integrated Building Envelope for High-Rise Glaze-Facade Buildings

Substantially glazed facades are extensively used in contemporary high-rise buildings to achieve attractive architectural aesthetics.Inherent conflicts exist among architectural aesthetics,building energy consumption,and solar energy harvesting for glazed facades.In this study,we addressed these conflicts by introducing a new dynamic and vertical photovoltaic integrated building envelope(dvPVBE)that offers extraordinary flexibility with weather-responsive slat angles and blind positions,superior architectural aesthetics,and notable energy-saving potential.Three hierarchical control strategies were proposed for different scenarios of the dvPVBE:power generation priority(PGP),natural daylight priority(NDP),and energy-saving priority(ESP).Moreover,the PGP and ESP strategies were further analyzed in the simulation of a dvPVBE.An office room integrated with a dvPVBE was modeled using EnergyPlus.The influence of the dvPVBE in improving the building energy efficiency and corresponding optimal slat angles was investigated under the PGP and ESP control strategies.The results indicate that the application of dvPVBEs in Beijing can provide up to 131%of the annual energy demand of office rooms and significantly increase the annual net energy output by at least 226%compared with static photovoltaic(PV)blinds.The concept of this novel dvPVBE offers a viable approach by which the thermal load,daylight penetration,and energy generation can be effectively regulated.

Role of outdoor trees on pedestrian wind and thermal conditions around a pre-education building for sustainable energy management

Finding sustainable energy resources is essential to face the increasing energy demand.Trees are an important part of ancient architecture but are becoming rare in urban areas.Trees can control and tune the pedestrian-level wind velocity and thermal condition.In this study,a numerical investigation is employed to assess the role of trees planted in the windward direction of the building complex on the thermal and pedestrian wind velocity conditions around/inside a pre-education building located in the center of the complex.Compared to the previous studies(which considered only outside buildings),this work considers the effects of trees on microclimate change both inside/outside buildings.Effects of different parameters including the leaf area density and number of trees,number of rows,far-field velocity magnitude,and thermal condition around the main building are assessed.The results show that the flow velocity in the spacing between the first-row buildings is reduced by 30%-40% when the one-row trees with 2 m height are planted 15 m farther than the buildings.Furthermore,two rows of trees are more effective in higher velocities and reduce the maximum velocity by about 50%.The investigation shows that trees also could reduce the temperature by about 1℃around the building.

Debris flow runout behaviors considering the influences of densely populated buildings

Debris flows pose serious risks to communities in mountainous areas,often resulting in large losses of human life and property.The impeding presence of urban buildings often affects the runout behavior and deposition of debris flows.But the impact of different building densities and sizes on debris flow dynamics has yet to be quantified to guide urban planning in debris flow risk zones.This study focused on a debris flow that occurred in Zhouqu County,Gansu Province,China on August 7th,2010,which was catastrophic and destroyed many buildings.The FLO-2D software was used to simulate this debris flow in two scenarios,i.e.the presence and the absence of buildings,to obtain debris-flow intensity parameters.The developed model was then used to further analyze the influence of large buildings and narrow channels within the urban environment.The simulation results show that considering the presence of buildings in the simulation is essential for accurate assessment of debris flow intensity and deposition distribution.The layout of buildings in the upstream urban area,such as large buildings or parallel buildings which form narrow channels,can affect the flow velocity and depth of debris flow heading towards downstream buildings.To mitigate damage to downstream buildings,the relative spacing(d/a)between upstream and downstream buildings should not exceed a value of two and should ideally be even lower.These findings provide valuable insights for improving the resistance of mountainous cities to urban debris flows.

Deterioration Reason and Improvement Measure of the Retarding Effect of Protein Retarder on Phosphorus Building Gypsum

The retarding effect of protein retarder on phosphorus building gypsum(PBG)and desulfurization building gypsum(DBG)was investigated,and the results show that protein retarder for DBG can effectively prolong the setting time and displays a better retarding effect,but for PBG shows a poor retarding effect.Furthermore,the deterioration reason of the retarding effect of protein retarder on PBG was investigated by measuring the pH value and the retarder concentration of the liquid phase from vacuum filtration of PBG slurry at different hydration time,and the measure to improve the retarding effect of protein retarding on PBG was suggested.The pH value of PBG slurry(<5.0)is lower than that of DBG slurry(7.8-8.5).After hydration for 5 min,the concentration of retarder in liquid phase of DBG slurry gradually decreases,but in liquid phase of PBG slurry continually increases,which results in the worse retarding effect of protein retarder on PBG.The liquid phase pH value of PBG slurry can be adjusted higher by sodium silicate,which is beneficial to improvement in the retarding effect of the retarder.By adding 1.0%of sodium silicate,the initial setting time of PBG was efficiently prolonged from 17 to 210 min,but little effect on the absolute dry flexural strength was observed.

Effect of building energy efficiency standards on carbon emission efficiency in commercial buildings

The building sector plays a crucial role in the worldwide shift toward achieving net-zero emissions.Building energy efficiency standards(BEESs)are highly effective policies for reducing carbon emissions.Therefore,exploring the provincial variations in carbon emission efficiency(CEE)in the building sector and identifying the effect of BEESs on CEE is crucial.This study focuses on commercial buildings in China and applies a difference in differences model to evaluate the impact of BEESs on the CEE of commercial buildings.The slacks-based measure–data envelopment analysis model is employed to assess the CEE of commercial buildings in 30 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2019.Furthermore,heterogeneous tests are used to explore how climate characteristics and economic conditions affect the efficiency of BEESs.The results indicate that BEESs positively influence the CEE of commercial buildings.Specifically,a 1%increase in the intensity of BEESs causes a 0.1484%increase in the CEE of commercial buildings.Moreover,the impact of BEESs is particularly pronounced in the southern and western provinces.This study provides valuable scientific evidence for governments to enhance BEESs implementation.

Study on Evacuation Strategy of Commercial High-Rise Building under Fire Based on FDS and Pathfinder

With the development of economy and society and the growth of population,the high-rise and multi-function of commercial buildings have become an international trend.But it also poses huge fire hazards.Most of the existing studies’research objects are predominantly high-rise residential buildings,without considering the impact of different functional zones(Standard floor,entertainment zone,office zone,equipment room and so on)and personnel distribution of commercial buildings evacuation.And the influence of using elevators to carry evacuees on the refuge floor on personnel evacuation is rarely studied.In this work,the fire scenario of the Yangtze River InternationalConferenceCenter,a high-rise commercial building,is simulated with the Pyrosim programto get the necessary parameters under various fire scenarios and to calculate the available evacuation time TASET.At the same time,according to the complex functional zone of the commercial high-rise building and the distribution of people in different time periods,a reasonable evacuation strategy is developed and simulated by Pathfinder software.The results indicate that unorganized evacuation will lead individuals to take the erroneous evacuation route,resulting in a vast region of congestion;comprehensive consideration of the time staggering and the reasonable distribution of evacuation routes can significantly improve evacuation efficiency,and the TRSET of night and working hours is 36.6%–55.3%and 49.9%–79.6%of unorganized evacuation,respectively.For the night fire,60%of the people use elevator-refuge floor to evacuate is the optimal strategy;for the fire during working hours,half of the people on standard floors use the elevator to evacuate and people on multifunctional floors evacuate in four batches is the best plan.The results of this study can provide viable solutions and a foundation for analyzing the fire evacuation and safety of big commercial high-rise buildings.

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.

Enhancing Building Facade Image Segmentation via Object-Wise Processing and Cascade U-Net

The growing demand for energy-efficient solutions has led to increased interest in analyzing building facades,as buildings contribute significantly to energy consumption in urban environments.However,conventional image segmentation methods often struggle to capture fine details such as edges and contours,limiting their effectiveness in identifying areas prone to energy loss.To address this challenge,we propose a novel segmentation methodology that combines object-wise processing with a two-stage deep learning model,Cascade U-Net.Object-wise processing isolates components of the facade,such as walls and windows,for independent analysis,while Cascade U-Net incorporates contour information to enhance segmentation accuracy.The methodology involves four steps:object isolation,which crops and adjusts the image based on bounding boxes;contour extraction,which derives contours;image segmentation,which modifies and reuses contours as guide data in Cascade U-Net to segment areas;and segmentation synthesis,which integrates the results obtained for each object to produce the final segmentation map.Applied to a dataset of Korean building images,the proposed method significantly outperformed traditional models,demonstrating improved accuracy and the ability to preserve critical structural details.Furthermore,we applied this approach to classify window thermal loss in real-world scenarios using infrared images,showing its potential to identify windows vulnerable to energy loss.Notably,our Cascade U-Net,which builds upon the relatively lightweight U-Net architecture,also exhibited strong performance,reinforcing the practical value of this method.Our approach offers a practical solution for enhancing energy efficiency in buildings by providing more precise segmentation results.

Building the Capacity of Health Professionals in Monitoring and Evaluation in a Public Health Institution: Experience of the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) of Côte d’Ivoire

Background: In the context of the fight against HIV, a lack of skills in monitoring and evaluating the personnel in charge of activities has been identified at the national level. It was the subject of a priority axis of the national plan for monitoring and evaluating the fight against HIV (2006-2010) that was aimed at strengthening the capacities of actors in this area. To increase the critical mass of competent human resources in the short term, the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) of Côte d’Ivoire organized monitoring and evaluation training sessions for healthcare professionals from 2011 to 2016. Methods: A single case study with multiple levels of analysis was carried out, combining a qualitative survey and a literature review. An evaluation was carried out six months after each training session. In addition, the results of the pre- and post-tests and of the daily and final evaluations that accompanied the various training sessions were used to provide further information. The qualitative data collected were analyzed using INVIVO 15 software. Results: Some 89 health professionals (69% men and 31% women) working at the national level (51% at the central level, including 58% in health programs) and in development partner agencies (37%) participated in this capacity building program. Most participants were senior health managers (56%), data managers (23%), and statisticians and computer scientists (10%). Almost all the trainings were financed by 16 technical and financial partners (85%), mainly the MEASURE Evaluation project (27%). Conclusion: M&E training, despite all its imperfections, has made it possible to identify M&E training needs at the national level and to increase the critical mass of national skills and to have some culture in M&E.