Towards determining the effect of shallow depth horizontal ground loop clearance on the heat loss of a single family residential dwelling

Using solar energy stored in the ground to preheat incoming fresh ventilation air with ground loops is a renewable energy system which is becoming more frequently used in new residential developments. The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of ground loop to foundation wall clearance on building heat loss. Additionally, the thermal properties of the soil were examined to determine their impact on the ground loop’s effect on heat loss. A simulation based research approach was conducted using HEAT3, which is a three-dimensional transient heat transfer software. This study found that ground loop clearance had a larger impact on building heat loss for areas with low thermal conductivity soils than for areas with high thermal conductivity soils. On average, ground loop clearances of 10cm, 50cm, 100cm, and 200cm resulted in increased building heat losses of 20%-83%, 19%-55%, 16%-35%, and 12%-15% respectively.

Transmission of transport vibrations from the ground to the building - case study

Transport vibrations are transmitted from the ground the foundations and building walls to the building and received by its construction and by people in the buildings. During the vibration of buildings, inertia forces generate an additional (apart from the static one) loading of the structure. In the diagnosis and design of buildings, these forces are taken into account by analyzing the requirements for stiffness and strength of the building structure. Exceedance of these requirements may lead to accelerated wear and even structural damages of the building. In this paper a simple relationship between ground and building vibration was made. The building chosen for analysis is light-weight wooden building located close to Cracow near Zakopianka road. What is worth noting that building is so called passive building. The excitation which was simulated on the dynamical polygon was car (bus) and truck lorry passages. The sensors were accelerations in three orthogonal directions, one sensor was placed about 2.5 m far from the building and the second on the foundation wall. The different types of excitation were compared and the conclusion from the analysis was made.

Dynamic Behavior of Ground Improved Using a Crushed Stone Foundation Wall

The improvement of soft clay and dredged soils to carry structures is increasingly important. In this study, the dynamic behavior of a crushed stone foundation wall in clay soil was analyzed using a 1g shaking table test. The response accelerations and spectra for three input ground motions were analyzed relative to the distance from the foundation wall, confirming that the acceleration was damped from the outside. The acceleration according to the distance from the wall was not significant under long-period motions, while different responses were obtained under short-period motions. The increased ground stiffness provided by the crushed stone wall lowered the natural period of the ground, and the acceleration amplification under short-period seismic waves was larger than that under long-period waves. Finally, equations were derived to describe the relationship between the acceleration amplification ratio and distance from the wall. The slopes of the proposed equations are larger under shorter periods, implying that the change in acceleration change with distance from the wall is more significant under shorter periods. The results of this study can be used to inform the design of soft soil improvements and the structures built atop them.

Impact of the Operation of a Tri-band Hydraulic Compactor on the Technical Condition of a Residential Building

The study investigates the surface vibrations generated by a new generation, tri-band hydraulic compactor type V8 from Maschinentechnik Schrode AG (MTS), and a reversible plate compactor type DPU 6055 from Wacker Neuson in close proximity to a low-rise residential building. Compaction works were carried out in three stages, at distances: 15 m, 10 m, and 5 m from the building, and at three depths: 0.4 m, 1.2 m, and 1.8–2.0 m. The research was conducted at one measurement point, located on the outer foundation wall of the building, and at three measurement points located on the ground at distances of 1.25–7.5 m from the building. The study analyses the distribution of peak component particle accelerations at the ground, and peak component particle velocities at the foundation wall of the building as a function of the distance of compactors from the building and the depth of compaction works, as well as the mode of work of hydraulic compactor type V8 from MTS. The study contains the comparison of the permissible vibration levels that are recommended by selected European standards (DIN, BS, VSS, and PL) and an approximate assessment of the impact of vibrations on the technical condition of the residential building.

Investigation of Earthquake Behaviour of Construction System and Materials in Traditional Turkish Architecture

In this study, it is aimed to present a point of view regarding the behaviour of construction systems implemented in traditional Turkish architecture against earthquakes. In the scope of the study, examples of civil architecture were considered and their structures were evaluated as building elements such as foundation, wall and flooring. Traditional Turkish architecture construction systems can be evaluated in two parts. One of them is the wooden carcass system and the other is the unreinforced masonry system. In the wooden carcass system, the carrier is the load bearing elements used in horizontal and vertical directions. Intermediate parts (strut, diagonal etc.) are placed between these elements to form triangles. The triangles (strut, diagonal) used in the wooden skeleton system comprise highly resistant forms against earthquakes. Moreover, due to the internal structure and physical properties of the wood, which is the skeleton material, the flexibility that it maintains can meet the lateral loads of earthquakes. The second construction system which is the system addressed in this application, is the unreinforced masonry system. In this system, the loadbearing system itself is the walls, which are not resistant to lateral loads. In order to provide this flexibility beams (hatıllar) are installed at certain intervals. After the wall is built to a certain height, a different material is laid allowing a plane of movement on the wall. Thus, when the wall is exposed to a lateral load, it escapes from the planes where the beams (hatıllar) are present, and is protected against large damages by absorbing the earthquake load. In order to establish that the foundation of the structure can withstand earthquakes by movement, wood is placed at the lower part of the foundation above a layer of sand ensuring lateral movement and flexibility of the building. In traditional buildings the slabs are connected to the building walls with beams (hatıllar). Through the agency of the beams (hatıllar) formed at the connection points, the slabs can act as a mass so that they can meet the earthquake load. Allowing the structure to move makes it resistant to earthquakes, seismic isolators are used for this purpose by absorbing the earthquake load and moving the foundation of the structure.

Multicriteria Selection of Water Insulation Technology for Foundation Walls in an Existing Building

In the authors’ opinion, the issue of incorrectly functioning water insulation of foundation walls in the existing buildings in Poland is currently rather common. The paper includes a multicriteria analysis aimed at arranging the selected options of the foundation wall vertical water insulation technology in an existing model historic building using the weighted sum, entropy and AHP methods. Each of the studied solutions was evaluated in terms of the following criteria: costs of construction works, time of execution of construction works, popularity of using particular insulation options by other contractors, durability of the executed insulation and the degree of nuisance of the executed works.