Durability design of infrastructure and some related issues

2006 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 650-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saeed Mirza
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Limit States ◽  
Durability Design ◽  
Environmental Considerations ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The Impact

The life cycle performance of any infrastructure should be taken into consideration in its design, its construction, its maintenance, its operation, and when needed, its rehabilitation. The protection of infrastructure must be holistic, taking into account long-term socioeconomic and environmental considerations and the impact of the global climate change. Fulfilling the requirements of the ultimate and serviceability limit states over the service life of the facility requires an understanding of the use of the system, the deterioration response of the materials and their components when subjected to aggressive environments, and how this deterioration can be prevented or significantly delayed by preventive, remedial, and routine maintenance. The composition, microstructure, macrostructure, and various modes of deterioration of materials used in construction (steel, wood, concrete) are reviewed, along with possible remedial measures. The development of concrete as a construction material, its durability, and the relevant durability provisions in the various Canadian Standards Association standards are reviewed briefly. Current European practice and the 1990 Comité Euro-International du béton Design Guide for Durable Concrete Structures are evaluated. The engineer's responsibility for durable performance of a facility and the importance of durability audits are also examined.Key words: aggressive environment, construction materials, deterioration, durability, durability audits, life cycle performance, macrostructure, microstructure, socioeconomic and environmental considerations, sustainability.

scholarly journals Life Cycle GHG Emissions of Residential Buildings in Humid Subtropical and Tropical Climates: Systematic Review and Analysis

Buildings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 6
Author(s):  
Daniel Satola ◽  
Martin Röck ◽  
Aoife Houlihan-Wiberg ◽  
Arild Gustavsen
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Tropical Climates ◽  
Building Life Cycle ◽  
Total Life

Improving the environmental life cycle performance of buildings by focusing on the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions along the building life cycle is considered a crucial step in achieving global climate targets. This paper provides a systematic review and analysis of 75 residential case studies in humid subtropical and tropical climates. The study investigates GHG emissions across the building life cycle, i.e., it analyses both embodied and operational GHG emissions. Furthermore, the influence of various parameters, such as building location, typology, construction materials and energy performance, as well as methodological aspects are investigated. Through comparative analysis, the study identifies promising design strategies for reducing life cycle-related GHG emissions of buildings operating in subtropical and tropical climate zones. The results show that life cycle GHG emissions in the analysed studies are mostly dominated by operational emissions and are the highest for energy-intensive multi-family buildings. Buildings following low or net-zero energy performance targets show potential reductions of 50–80% for total life cycle GHG emissions, compared to buildings with conventional energy performance. Implementation of on-site photovoltaic (PV) systems provides the highest reduction potential for both operational and total life cycle GHG emissions, with potential reductions of 92% to 100% and 48% to 66%, respectively. Strategies related to increased use of timber and other bio-based materials present the highest potential for reduction of embodied GHG emissions, with reductions of 9% to 73%.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Assessment of Railway Ground-Borne Noise and Vibration Mitigation Methods Using Geosynthetics, Metamaterials and Ground Improvement

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 3753 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakdirat Kaewunruen ◽  
Victor Martin
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Ground Improvement ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Vibration Mitigation ◽  
Noise And Vibration ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Extreme Climate ◽  
Mitigation Methods ◽  
The Impact

Significant increase in the demand for freight and passenger transports by trains pushes the railway authorities and train companies to increase the speed, the axle load and the number of train carriages/wagons. All of these actions increase ground-borne noise and vibrations that negatively affect people who work, stay, or reside nearby the railway lines. In order to mitigate these phenomena, many techniques have been developed and studied but there is a serious lack of life-cycle information regarding such the methods in order to make a well-informed and sustainable decision. The aim of this study is to evaluate the life-cycle performance of mitigation methods that can enhance sustainability and efficacy in the railway industry. The emphasis of this study is placed on new methods for ground-borne noise and vibration mitigation including metamaterials, geosynthetics, and ground improvement. To benchmark all of these methods, identical baseline assumptions and the life-cycle analysis over 50 years have been adopted where relevant. This study also evaluates and highlights the impact of extreme climate conditions on the life-cycle cost of each method. It is found that the anti-resonator method is the most expensive methods compared with the others whilst the use of geogrids (for subgrade stiffening) is relatively reliable when used in combination with ground improvements. The adverse climate has also played a significant role in all of the methods. However, it was found that sustainable methods, which are less sensitive to extreme climate, are associated with the applications of geosynthetic materials such as geogrids, composites, etc.

scholarly journals Susceptibility of earth-based construction materials to fungal proliferation: laboratory and in situ assessment

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 140-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexis Simons ◽  
Alexandra Bertron ◽  
Christophe Roux ◽  
Aurélie Laborel-Préneron ◽  
Jean-Emmanuel Aubert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Manufacturing Process ◽  
Building Materials ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Microbial Density ◽  
Microbial Proliferation ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
Ecological Construction ◽  
The Impact

The impact of building materials on the environment and the health of occupants is nowadays a priority issue. Ecological construction materials such as earthen materials are currently experiencing a regain of interest due to both ecological and economic factors. The microbial proliferation on indoor materials can induce a deterioration of the building air quality and lead to an increase of health risks for the occupants. The issue of indoor air quality raises questions about the use of earthen building materials and their possible susceptibility to fungal development. The microflora of earthen materials and their ability to grow on such support are indeed poorly studied. This study focused on the quantification of both bacterial and fungal microflora along the manufacturing process. The impact of extreme humidity, simulating a hydric accident, on microflora development was analyzed on the surface and inside earthen bricks. The initial microflora of these materials was dramatically reduced during the manufacturing process, especially after heat treatment for drying. Proliferation of remaining microorganisms was only observed under high humidity condition, in particular for earthen materials with vegetal aggregates. Moreover, in situ samplings were performed on naturally dried earthen materials used in buildings. The characterization of the microbial density revealed a higher microbial density than on manufactured specimens, while microbial concentration and detected taxa seemed mainly related to the room use and building history. These results provide a better understanding of microbial proliferation on these materials.

scholarly journals Life Cycle Performance of Various Energy Sources Used in the Czech Republic

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 5833
Author(s):  
Markéta Šerešová ◽  
Jiří Štefanica ◽  
Monika Vitvarová ◽  
Kristina Zakuciová ◽  
Petr Wolf ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Resource Use ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Cycle Performance ◽  
Energy Sources ◽  
Black Coal ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Impact

As both the human population and living standards grow, so does the worldwide electricity demand. However, the power sector is also one of the biggest environmental polluters. Therefore, options are currently being sought aimed at reducing environmental impacts, one of the potential tools for which concerns the use of life cycle assessment. This study, therefore, focuses on the most commonly used nonrenewable (black coal, lignite, natural gas and nuclear) and renewable sources (wind, hydro and photovoltaic) in the Czech Republic in terms of their construction, operation, and decommissioning periods. Environmental impacts are assessed via the use of selected impact categories by way of product environmental footprint methodology. The results highlight the potential environmental impacts associated with electricity generation for each of the primary energy sources. Black coal and lignite power plants were found to contribute most to the global warming, resource use, energy carriers and respiratory inorganics categories. On the other hand, the impact on water depletion and resource use, mineral and metals categories were found to be most significantly affected by the production of electricity from photovoltaic power plants. Finally, it is proposed that the results be employed to design scenarios for the future energy mix.

scholarly journals Comparison of the Applied Measures on the Simulated Scenarios for the Sustainable Building Construction through Carbon Footprint Emissions—Case Study of Building Construction in Serbia

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4688
Author(s):  
Marina Nikolić Topalović ◽  
Milenko Stanković ◽  
Goran Ćirović ◽  
Dragan Pamučar
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Carbon Footprint ◽  
Phase 1 ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
Building Construction ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Embodied Carbon ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Impact

Research was conducted to indicate the impact of the increased flow of thermal insulation materials on the environment due to the implementation of the new regulations on energy efficiency of buildings. The regulations on energy efficiency of buildings in Serbia came into force on 30 September 2012 for all new buildings as well as for buildings in the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction. For that purpose, the carbon footprint was analyzed in three scenarios (BS, S1 and S2) for which the quantities of construction materials and processes were calculated. The life cycle analysis (LCA), which is the basis for analyzing the carbon life cycle (LCACO2), was used in this study. Carbon Calculator was used for measuring carbon footprint, and URSA program to calculate the operational energy. This study was done in two phases. In Phase 1, the embodied carbon was measured to evaluate short-term effects of the implementation of the new regulations. Phase 2 included the first 10 years of building exploitation to evaluate the long-term effects of the new regulations. The analysis was done for the period of 10 years, further adjustments to the regulations regarding energy efficiency of the buildings in Serbia are expected in accordance with EU directives. The study shows that, in the short-run, Scenario BS has the lowest embodied carbon. In the long-run, after 3.66 years, Scenario S2 becomes a better option regarding the impact on the environment. The study reveals the necessity to include embodied carbon together with the whole life carbon to estimation the impact of a building on the environment.

Constraining the model representation of the aerosol life cycle in relation to sources and sinks.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Kim ◽  
Daniel Partridge ◽  
James Haywood
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Global Climate Model ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Microphysical Properties ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Source And Sink

<p>Global climate model (GCM) ensembles still produce a significant spread of estimates for the future of climate change which hinders our ability to influence policymakers. The range of these estimates can only partly be explained by structural differences and varying choice of parameterisation schemes between GCMs. GCM representation of cloud and aerosol processes, more specifically aerosol microphysical properties, remain a key source of uncertainty contributing to the wide spread of climate change estimates. The radiative effect of aerosol is directly linked to the microphysical properties and these are in turn controlled by aerosol source and sink processes during transport as well as meteorological conditions.</p><p>A Lagrangian, trajectory-based GCM evaluation framework, using spatially and temporally collocated aerosol diagnostics, has been applied to over a dozen GCMs via the AeroCom initiative. This framework is designed to isolate the source and sink processes that occur during the aerosol life cycle in order to improve the understanding of the impact of these processes on the simulated aerosol burden. Measurement station observations linked to reanalysis trajectories are then used to evaluate each GCM with respect to a quasi-observational standard to assess GCM skill. The AeroCom trajectory experiment specifies strict guidelines for modelling groups; all simulations have wind fields nudged to ERA-Interim reanalysis and all simulations use emissions from the same inventories. This ensures that the discrepancies between GCM parameterisations are emphasised and differences due to large scale transport patterns, emissions and other external factors are minimised.</p><p>Preliminary results from the AeroCom trajectory experiment will be presented and discussed, some of which are summarised now. A comparison of GCM aerosol particle number size distributions against observations made by measurement stations in different environments will be shown, highlighting the difficulties that GCMs have at reproducing observed aerosol concentrations across all size ranges in pristine environments. The impact of precipitation during transport on aerosol microphysical properties in each GCM will be shown and the implications this has on resulting aerosol forcing estimates will be discussed. Results demonstrating the trajectory collocation framework will highlight its ability to give more accurate estimates of the key aerosol sources in GCMs and the importance of these sources in influencing modelled aerosol-cloud effects. In summary, it will be shown that this analysis approach enables us to better understand the drivers behind inter-model and model-observation discrepancies.</p>

Comparison of Mechanical Properties of Fly Ash Artificial Geopolymer Aggregates with Natural Aggregate

2015 ◽  
Vol 754-755 ◽  
pp. 290-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alida Abdullah ◽  
Ku Amirrul Rahman Ku Yin ◽  
Mohd Mustafa Al Bakri Abdullah ◽  
Kamarudin Hussin ◽  
Mien Van Tran
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Fly Ash ◽  
Specific Gravity ◽  
Water Absorption ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
High Water ◽  
Natural Aggregate ◽  
Materials Used ◽  
The Impact

This study was conducted to compare the mechanical properties of fly ash artificial geopolymer aggregates with natural aggregate (rock) in term of its impact strength, specific gravity and water absorption.The raw materials used were fly ash, sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate and natural aggregate. After the artificial geopolymer aggregate has been produced, its water absorption, specific gravity and aggregate impact test has been done. All results obtained were compared to natural aggregate. The result shows that the fly ash geopolymer aggregate are lighter than natural aggregate in term of its specific gravity. The impact value for fly ash artificial geopolymer aggregate slightly high compared to natural aggregate while it has high water absorption value compared to natural aggregate. As conclusion, the fly ash artificial geopolymer aggregate can be used as one of the construction materials in concrete as an alternative for coarse aggregate besides natural aggregate with more lightweight properties.

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