Maintaining the structure and ornaments of historical buildings is essential to preserve cultural heritage in any society. Thus, dating the state and the evolution of the elements requires a special treatment, including the application of both advanced numerical analysis and non-invasive data acquisition techniques. In the latter, making digital copies of geometries through 3D reconstruction models

Aiming at controlling indoor temperature of each air-conditioning room equipped with fan coil unit (FCU), this paper proposes a hybrid control system to deal with such problem, in which a fractional order PID controller for indoor temperature (IT-FOPIDC) and a three-position controller for supply air volume (SAV-TPC) are used to maintain steady indoor temperature, respectively. For the key problem

The building industry has traditionally been driven by cost and time metrics while meeting quality and safety requirements. However, environmental concerns such as the carbon effect of the final product receive less attention. Due to increasing emissions awareness within the society, there have been calls from the public for greater environmental and social accountability. While many client organizations

Tuned mass damper inerter (TMDI) is commonly reported to be a lightweight tunable device that can significantly reduce buildings' seismic response. However, the backward action produced by the inerter and returned to the building in conventional TMDIs may either reduce the device performance or limit the inerter potential. This study proposes and investigates a novel control scheme using large physical

the mechanical performance of T-plate stiffened gusset (TSG) joints for Aluminum Alloy single layer two-way grid shells is presented in this paper. Firstly, a kind of TSG joints for aluminum alloy spatial structures is proposed to improve the mechanical behavior of gusset joints. Secondly, six full-scale specimens, including unstiffened gusset (USG) joints, plate stiffened gusset (PSG) joints in literatures

A thermal evaluation of a trombe wall system (TW) for heating in a Mexican city with a climate within the Köppen classification of Cwa-Cwb is presented. To predict the thermal behavior of the system, a computational code was developed based on the global balance method which was fed with the coldest day and the warmest day weather data of each month. In a first stage, the effect of the wall material

This paper presents the experimental and numerical studies on the thermal performance of structural insulated panel (SIP) splines. Typical SIPs are comprised of two structural facings of oriented strand board (OSB) and an insulation layer of expanded polystyrene (EPS). Splines with steel nails used to connect the panels reduce the thermal performance of the SIP wall. The thermal transmittance of three

An innovative hybrid cement, based on type F fly ash (FA), iron and steel slag (ISS) and Portland cement (OPC), is proposed in the present paper. The precursors were activated by powder-form elements – sodium sulphate or sodium chloride – forming what is known as a ‘one part geopolymer’ cement, which was then evaluated considering both mechanical and microstructural perspectives. Results showed that

Damage to nonstructural components or excessive displacements in low-frequency structures caused by recent major earthquakes, such as the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, highlighted the need to protect these structures against earthquake-induced damage. Rate-independent linear damping (RILD) has been found to be a viable option for reducing the excessive displacement of low-frequency structures because

In the creation of practices to foster the thinking of the circular economy (CE), modularity can be a facilitator. There are many studies that address modularity and the circular economy individualized, but the integration between the two is still little addressed. This study conducts a systematic review of the literature and aims to identify how modularity can contribute to the circular economy. The

The traditional construction systems of façades in Spain give rise to a large number of thermal bridges. Designers do not attach importance to their impact on the energy demand of buildings. This effect is increased with the introduction of greater thicknesses of thermal insulation required by regulations. One of the thermal bridges that has the greatest impact on energy demand in residential buildings

Buildings have been consuming energy and resources at an ever-increasing rate worldwide. Given the rising living standard, population growth and global warming, energy saving techniques have been recently adopted in the framework of high performance buildings, also known as near zero-energy buildings. This is particularly true for Egypt since over the past decade, the energy consumption has witnessed

As it becomes more and more relevant to renovate existing buildings with energy efficiency as top priority towards a nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) stock, the need for new super-insulation materials to penetrate the construction market increases. A promising option is to incorporate vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) into an External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) - one of the most popular

Respiratory supporting, as an important medical treatment for new coronavirus pneumonia patients, must be effectively guaranteed by medical oxygen supply. However, the medical oxygen system designed and configured by the existing hospitals according to the current specifications cannot meet the oxygen needs for patients with new coronavirus pneumonia. This paper aimed to study the design of medical

In some special applications at low temperature, high ductility, deformation, and durability are required for cement-based composites. Magnesium phosphate cement (MPC) possesses unique properties, including fast hardening at a temperature below 0 °C, high early-strength, and durability. This study investigated the influence of the water-to-binder (W/B) ratio, sand-to-binder (S/B) ratio, and various

Increasing the penetration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES), the heat pumps are an alternative solution to facilitate the integration of RES into district heating. To hedge against the intermittency of RES, the flexibility potentials of the thermal inertia of buildings are unlocked and integrated into power systems. This paper suggests a novel structure to control the mixing loop of residential heating

The purpose of this study was to identify the optimal construction of an averaging pitot tube and measure flows typical in building ventilation, considering low-velocity flows. The construction should be simple to implement in variable air volume (VAV) controllers. This paper presents mostly novel constructions, which have not been tested before, and fills the existing gap in low-velocity measurements

The results of 153 specimens from an experimental study on fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) and steel spiral-confined (FRP-SS-confined) circular concrete columns were collected from accessible literature to establish a database. The existing models of FRP-SS-confined circular concrete columns were included and evaluated. A new stress-strain model with a simple, continuous, general expression was put

Optimizing the building operation is critical for improving a facility's thermal, energy, and economic performance while maintaining comfort. In this context, an energy audit is usually suggested, but it seldom is used as a diagnostic tool due to the complexity and the associated cost. The current investigation aims to use a multi-phase energy audit approach to diagnose the building's operation deficiency

This paper presents an experimental study about the acoustic and thermal behaviour of a novel type of sandwich panel solution based on Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT). The layout of the new panel, named Cross-Insulated Timber (CIT), is similar to the one of a five-layer (CLT) panel, but the inner layer is made of polyurethane (PUR) rigid foam instead of timber, aiming to rationalize the wood volume and

There has been an increasing interest in the field of rehabilitation, mainly for repair and strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. One of the most effective techniques comprises externally bonded concrete composites, in which the efficacy of rehabilitation depends considerably on the integrity and durability of the bond established between the overlaying and the substrate concrete. This

The development of new Cold-Formed Steel (CFS) channels with staggered slotted perforations has led to advances in improved thermal efficiency of buildings. These new generations of CFS channels reduce the thermal bridging effect interrupting the direct heat transfer across the web. However, the integration of these staggered perforations creates challenges in terms of reduced structural capacity.

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a new class of concrete materials that features high strength, ductility, and damage tolerance. This study experimentally evaluated three new UHPC jacketing strategies for retrofitting shear-deficient reinforced concrete (RC) columns, including cast-in-place UHPC jackets with or without steel bar mesh and prefabricated UHPC panels with steel bar mesh. The steel

Light-gauge Steel Frame (LSF) systems, one of the emerging building practices can be susceptible for catastrophic failure in fire accidents and less energy efficient due to the high thermal conductance of Cold Formed (CF) steel elements and resulting thermal bridging effect. Apart from independent investigations and optimization on LSF walls against fire and energy performance, it is vital to build-up

The geometry of a jet nozzle has a direct effect on the noise of spherical tuyeres. The addition of a serrated structure to the trailing edge of a spherical tuyere is proposed to reduce the jet noise. A full-scale test bed is built to verify the jet velocity distribution of the spherical tuyere, and the tuyere jet noise prediction is verified through analogy experiments. The large eddy simulation (LES)

In this paper, the experimental investigation on degradation law of bond behaviors between copper slag concrete and corroded steel bar after exposure to high temperature was conducted. The bond behaviors such as bond strength, bond stiffness, peak slip displacement and average bond stress-slip curve between copper slag concrete and corroded steel bar after heating were analyzed with the change in heating

The clothing insulation is an important factor in the adaptation to thermal environment for occupants. With the exception of certain types of clothing, occupants' clothing is divided into upper and lower body, and it is important to focus the analysis on clothing of upper and lower body. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of the clothing insulation distribution between the upper

Asset managers are facing the challenges of shrinking budgets from one side and the increasing frequency and impact of disturbances on their assets from the other side. To further equip asset managers to address these challenges, we propose an analytical framework for resilient asset management based on an extension to the established analytical framework of resilience. The core concept of this extension

Soundless chemical demolition agents (SCDAs) provide a reliable alternative for demolishing concrete structures in densely populated areas. However, research on the demolition of reinforced concrete member using SCDAs has not been conducted in detail. In this study, 12 concrete beam segments with different parameters were prepared to investigate the method of demolishing concrete beam using SCDAs.

The evaluation of limit loads of masonry domes has received increasing interest especially due to the importance of historical buildings where domes mainly are one of the most relevant structures. The limit design is used to obtain the safety assessment and the design guidance for restoration and transformation toward preservation and reuse of historical heritage. In the following paper, we present

Physically demanding tasks are one of the leading causes of fatigue among workers in labor-intensive industries such as construction. Despite the recent development in physical demand assessment, there is a lack of a practical solution to reduce injuries and illnesses resulted from high-intensity tasks. Consequently, this study proposes a framework to assess the workers' physical demand level using

Calculus complexity, time-consuming and high computational effort of the nonlinear dynamic analysis coupled with the complexity of simulating the interaction between masonry infill walls and reinforced concrete frames cause this fact that infill panels are usually considered as the non-structural elements to analyze and design the process of reinforced concrete frames infilled with masonry walls. In

Gold tailing (GT) is a kind of solid waste with a variety of heavy metals, and massive accumulation will induce a waste of resources and environmental pollution. This paper aimed at the application of GT in magnesium potassium phosphate cement (MKPC).GT was incorporated into MKPC through two different pathways, which include partially replacing magnesia (M) and replacing both M and KH2PO4. The influences

Steel reinforcement (also referred to as rebar) design plays an important role in reinforced concrete (RC) structures in terms of strength requirements, cost and buildability. Currently, rebar design is performed at the individual member level with few considerations of the interference between different intersecting members, leading to potential clashes and buildability issues. Design for Manufacture

With the advancement in and integration of building energy simulation and optimization tools, building design optimization considering different design objectives and involving multiple disciplines has become technically feasible. However, this multifaceted approach unavoidably increases the dimension of the problem and comes with a prohibitively high computational cost. Hierarchical decomposition

Derived from inherent safety concept, inherent health is a new approach that aims to unearth proactive, fundamental, and permanent solutions that could eliminate or significantly reduce health risks at source, thus avoiding adding extensive end-of-pipe protections. To date, however, limited attention has been given to using this new approach to prevent Sick Building Syndrome (SBS), and an assessment

In this study, the effect of the steel core orientation to combined stresses behavior of a concrete encased steel (CES) composite column was studied. The various sectional configurations were used to define contributions to capacity under compression and flexural loading. CES composite sections were generally designed as column to resist axial compression and biaxial bending. This study would provide

This study investigates the structural behavior and shear bond strength of composite slabs composed of profiled steel deck and ultra-lightweight cementitious composite (ULCC). ULCC topping with a density of about 1440 kg/m3 was used to reduce the dead weight of the composite slabs. An experimental investigation was carried out to determine the shear bond characteristics between the profiled steel sheet

The construction of nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) has achieved dramatical impact on global warming and energy crises. It is still a challenge for designers to derive design strategies on how to achieve NZEB in the early design stage, because a complex modelling process with many input parameters of the current NZEB design and evaluation tool is still unavoidable. This article, therefore, aims

Recycled coarse aggregates, including crushed brick recycled coarse aggregate (CBRCA) and crushed concrete recycled coarse aggregate (CCRCA), are increasingly used as raw material in building materials. In fact, the morphological characteristics of recycled coarse aggregates take great effect on properties of materials. Therefore, this paper mainly investigates the morphological characteristics and

Although nearly zero energy buildings have attracted growing research attention, literature analysis shows that only a limited number of researches try to couple load match/grid interaction issues and environmental impacts in early design stages. The study proposes a novel multidisciplinary design approach that allows to integrate these two conflicting aspects aiming to find trade-offs. The proposed

Alkali-activated binders (AAB) are materials based mainly on silica, alumina, and/or calcium precursors, activated by an alkaline solution, and have mechanical properties equivalent to Portland cement-based matrices. However, their brittle behavior requires the use of reinforcements to make them suitable for dynamic or tensile load applications. Vegetable fibers (VF) could reinforce fragile construction

Hysteretic damped braces (HDBs) represent an effective and low-cost solution for the seismic retrofitting of reinforced concrete (RC) framed structures. However, notable damage to nonstructural elements can be observed at the serviceability design earthquake (SDE), when activation forces of the HDBs are set too high in order to attain structural safety (SS) performance level at the basic design (BDE)

In this paper, high-fidelity finite element (FE) models were developed to investigate the behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beam-slab substructures to resist progressive collapse under a corner column removal scenario. The numerical models were validated by test results. Then, the validated FE models were employed to investigate the structural behavior under different loading methods, including

This study investigates the mechanical and durability properties of 12 ultra-high performance fiber reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) mixes manufactured using alternate aggregate sources. Natural gabbro aggregates (GA), steel slag aggregates (SSA), and recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) were employed as coarse aggregates. The volume of the coarse aggregate was limited to 12.5% of the total UHPC volume.

Current design codes require long bar development length and high joint hoop ratio in reinforced concrete (RC) exterior beam-column joints using high-strength materials, which reduces constructability. This study investigated the seismic behavior of RC exterior beam-column joints with insufficient joint hoops and using high-strength beam flexural bars (Grade 600 MPa) and/or high-strength concrete.

Mineral admixtures are used in ordinary and self-compacting mortar to reduce carbon dioxide emission and enhance the performance of mortar at the fresh and hardened states. This paper reports the effect of the content and the fineness of natural pozzolana (NP) on rheological, compressive strength, total and autogenous shrinkage properties of self-compacting mortar. Capillary water absorption of self-compacting

Function alteration and revision of seismic design codes require the improvement of seismic performance of existing spatial RC joints. An innovative and practical seismic retrofitting method using steel haunch system is recommended for existing spatial RC joints with the floor slab and the transverse beam. Four spatial RC joints were designed including one control specimen without strengthening, three

A new variation of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) confined concrete-steel double-skin tubular column (DSTC) shows more promise than its traditional form when steel stiffeners are provided on the inner steel tube. Stiffeners can provide better composite action between individual DSTC components, reduce local buckling, and potentially improve confined concrete behavior. The present study performs the

In this study, refining slag containing high hydration active component C12A7 was added in GBFS−SS−DG−based clinker−free cementitious material. The optimum was determined by an orthogonal test and the influence of heat treatment was studied. The participation of refined slag makes the compressive strength of 3 days reached 27.4MPa, 60.6% of that at 56 days, which overcomes the shortcoming of low initial

Composite steel plate shear walls (CSPSWs) are widely used in construction due to their high stiffness and ductility. CSPSWs consist of boundary elements and a steel web plate stiffened with reinforced concrete (RC) panels in the two-sided or one-sided configuration. One-sided configuration, which is more popular, displaces the neutral axis from the centre of the steel plate toward the RC panel. However

The prediction of the structural capacity of masonry buildings against lateral loads requires an accurate characterization of the masonry strength and general response under shear stresses. The experimental determination of shear strength parameters typically relies on shear tests on wallettes, or on standard triplets. Aiming to avoid the behavioural interpretation problems related with the existence

The appearance of objects in interior lighting scenarios is determined by spectral characteristics of the light sources and of the interior finishing material surfaces. Within recent developments of tunable LED lamps, it is possible to vary the correlated color temperature (CCT) of the sources; however, it is relatively unknown whether such variations shall also shift the color appearance. Therefore