Sawdust Short Fiber Reinforced Epoxidized Natural Rubber: Insight on Its Mechanical, Physical, and Thermal Aspects

In this work,Epoxidized natural rubber/sawdust short fiber(ENR-50/SD)composites at different fiber content(5,10,15 and 20 phr)and size(fine size at 60–100μm and coarse size at 10–20 mm)were prepared using two-roll mill and electrical-hydraulic hot press machine respectively.Curing characteristics,water uptake,tensile,morphological,physical,and thermal properties of the composites were investigated.Results indicated that the scorch time and cure time became shorter whereas torque improved as SD content increase.Though the decline of tensile strength and elongation at break values,modulus,hardness and crosslinking density have shown enhancements with the increasing of SD content.The water uptake percentage of all samples has shown an increasing as SD content increase.However,the low SD content,particularly fine size have presented lower water uptake.The temperature of weight%loss(5 and 50 wt%loss)of 5 phr SD(low content)have recorded higher temperature compared to 20 phr SD(high content)in the rubber composites,which indicated higher thermal stability.The fine size of SD has recorded better overall properties than SD coarse size at same loading in the rubber composites.

Spatial characteristics of defensive traditional architecture in multiethnic village of Guangxi:Case studies of Mozhuang Village and Guxietun Village

Defensive traditional architecture research is critical to the understanding of the ethnic history and multiethnic villages.Currently,there are few studies on the combination of traditional architecture and multiethnicity,and most of the defensive traditional buildings in multiethnic villages of Guangxi are facing the plight of being destroyed and abandoned.The aim of this research is to identify the spatial characteristics,commonalities,and differences of Guangxi’s defensive traditional architecture with Mozhuang Village and Guxietun Village as the examples,in order to preserve the architectural and ethnic components of these villages.This research uses the four research methods:literature review,field research,observation and space syntax analysis,and it summarizes the three results from the five aspects:plan,elevation,construction material,masonry and decoration.Results showed that the spatial characteristics are dominated by the ethnic group with the higher technological,cultural or economic level,and there are both commonalities and differences in defensive traditional architecture in multiethnic villages.Based on the three study results,this research proposes some overall suggestions toward traditional villages and architecture improvement in ethnic areas.

Passive coolin8 techniques throush reflective and radiative roofs in tropical houses in Southeast Asia： A literature review

Cooling is one of the major concerns in building tropical houses. This problem is exacerbated by the heat gain of the roof, which constitutes 70% of the total heat gain. The passive cooling technique is one of the innovative practices and technologies that provide buildings with comfortable conditions through natural means. Reflective and radiative processes are the methods used to decrease heat gain by facilitating the elimination of excess heat in a bui[ding＇s interior to maintain a comfortable environment. Given that the potential of these techniques vary from region to region, their application in the tropics should be examined. Exploring these approaches in detail allows us to rethink how to effectively adapt these techniques to overcome the build-up of heat in modern tropical houses in Southeast Asia. This study reviews the physical characteristics of these approaches to guide architects and building designers. Results indicate a great reduction in operational cost. However, the significant differences in the performance of colour and material properties shoutd be considered, given that the selected approach strongly affects the required thermal conditions of a building.

Mosque layout desisn： An analytical study of mosque layouts in the early Ottoman period

This study attempts to quantify the influence of spatial configuration on the functional efficiency of mosque layouts in the early Ottoman period. The literature review consists of two parts. The first part is a theoretical study of the relationship between spatial configuration and functional efficiency of mosque layouts. This part highlights the key syntactical characteristics and effect of spatial configuration on the level of functional efficiency using space syntax theory. The second part is an analytical comparative description of the changes and transfor- mations in the configurations of mosque layouts. The architectural styles are classified into six types based on layout designs. The main benchmarks and indicators involved in measuring the functional efficiency of mosque layouts are analyzed using the A-graph 2009 software program, which provides numerical results. This analysis compares entire samples of mosque layout designs for each category. The numerical results indicate the effect of spatial configurations and the functions of mosque layouts. This study shows that mosques with courtyard layouts are accessible, efficient, and flexible in terms of function because of their distinct syntactical and morphological spatial structures.