Buildings, Volume 11, Issue 11

The main aim of this study is to analyze fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bridge decks according to their material, cross-section, and shape geometry. Infill cell configurations of the decks (rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal, and honeycomb) were te...

As one of the most prominent industries in developed and developing countries, the construction industry has had substantial impacts on different aspects of the environment, society, and economy. In recent years, sustainable construction has been int...

In Pakistan, data for household electricity consumption are available in the form of monthly electricity bills only, and, therefore, are not helpful in establishing appliance-wise consumption. Further, it does not help in establishing the relationshi...

This paper investigates the effect of using near-surface mounted carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (NSM-CFRP) on the shear strengthening of rectangle beams with low strength concrete (f′c = 17 MPa), medium strength concrete (f′c = 32 MPa),...

The ductility and capacity of reinforced concrete beam-column connections depend mainly on the concrete’s strength and the provided reinforcements. This study investigates numerically the role of low-strength concrete in beam-column joints utilizing...

Blockchain can be introduced to use cases in the built environment where reliability of transaction records is paramount. Blockchain facilitates decentralised, cryptographically secure, trustworthy, and immutable recordkeeping of transactions. Howeve...

This study sought to uncover (1) the disagreement of spatial conflict between urban heritage and surrounding urban structure using two case studies from Korea—the main gate of the royal palace (Gwanghwamun) and the urban park containing celebri...

One way to improve a structure’s total load-bearing capacity during an earthquake is to apply fiber-reinforced polymers (FRP) to unreinforced walls. The study discusses the use of FRP to strengthen unreinforced masonry (URM) structures. Although, man...

Gender equality at work in male-dominated industries is conditioned by intrinsic systemic issues which established policies have, to a significant extent, failed to address, as women’s participation remains under-represented. This study argues...

The construction industry faces multiple challenges, where transition to circular production is key. Digitalisation is a strategy to increase the sector’s productivity, competitiveness, and efficiency. However, digitalisation also impacts environment...

This article aims to improve the toughness of pre-packaged grouts (PPG) by incorporating crumb rubber. The mechanism for toughness of PPG with crumb rubber was analyzed based on the uniaxial compression model. Crumb rubber with surfaces treated by di...

This study investigated students’ attitudes towards the use of outdoor open space in universities, identifying the most comfortable conditions and favourable factors, including urban layout, physical features, and outdoor thermal conditions, as...

Air filters are crucial components of a building ventilation system that contribute to improving indoor air quality, but they are typically associated with relatively high pressure drops. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of additive...

The fundamental notion of ‘smart’ in building materials discourse is responsiveness—the ability of materials to react to environmental stimuli by manifesting a noticeable physical change when there is a difference in the conditions of their immediate...

In recent years, Sweden has promoted prefabricated buildings supporting the increasing of prefabricated rates in buildings with precast components, in order to reduce the environmental problems caused by the construction sector. This study, focusing...

The thermal comfort requirements of disabled people in healthcare buildings are an important research topic that concerns a specific population with medical conditions impacted by the indoor environment. This paper experimentally investigated adaptiv...

Microbial-induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a bio-inspired solution where bacteria metabolize urea to precipitate. This carbonate acts as a bio-cement that bonds soil particles. The existing framework has focused mainly on applying MICP throu...

What is the future of virtual reality (VR) in the built environment? As work becomes increasingly distributed across remote and hybrid forms of organizing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a need to rethink how we use the set of collabor...

In the ISO 16283 series for field measurement of sound insulation, a low-frequency procedure is specified for determining indoor average sound pressure level, which is the so-called corner method. In the procedure, additional measurements are require...

Electric water heaters represent 14% of the electricity consumption in residential buildings. An average household in the United States (U.S.) spends about USD 400–600 (0.45 ¢/L–0.68 ¢/L) on water heating every year. In this context, water heaters ar...

For a practical structural health monitoring (SHM) system, the traditional single objective methods for optimal sensor placement (OSP) cannot always obtain the optimal result of sensor deployment without sacrificing other targets, which creates obsta...

This study investigates the dynamic characteristics of a smart PZT interface mounted on a prestressed anchorage to verify the numerical feasibility of the admittance-based anchor force monitoring technique. Firstly, the admittance-based anchor force...

An in-depth understanding of the effect of cordierite/belite core–shell structure lightweight aggregate (CSLWA) on the mechanical performance of LWA concrete (LWAC) is critical for improving the failure resistance of LWAC. In this study, the stress d...

Design–build (DB) projects have become increasingly popular for construction projects in developing countries due to the cost and scheduling advantages and their design optimization ability. As a result, much research has been conducted on improving...

An important challenge for acoustic engineers in room acoustics design is related to the acoustic performance of multi-purpose auditoriums, which are typically designed to suit several performance requirements. With this intent, the analysis of sever...

Many studies have been conducted to measure the experiential qualities of historical streets using the standards and principles released by many global organizations. However, little attention has been paid to the effect of spatial characteristics of...

Buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort influences environment quality and human behavior in urban neighborhoods. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) has been broadly applied to the study of buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort in urban areas. Howeve...

Cases of fire with highly flammable, combustible liquids and combustible gases with high potential heat emission at oil and gas facilities are assumed to develop as a hydrocarbon fire, which is characterized by the temperature rising rapidly up to 10...

Effective maintenance of ancient buildings is paid more and more attention worldwide. Many ancient buildings with high inheritance value were gradually destroyed, especially for murals in the open tombs. The bioaerosol particles (BPs) are the major s...

The importance of green and sustainable materials in civil engineering is undeniable. Alongside modern practices that improve the properties of standard building materials, there are ways to revive forgotten techniques, including straw bale buildings...

In this study, the shape of a vertical expansion module with a rotary-type damping device is proposed. The external energy dissipation capacity is confirmed through experiments and the performance of the module is simulated. It can be easily applied...

This study investigates the interconnection methods used to create a circular economy building featuring modularity and designed for disassembly and relocation. Designing modular buildings for disassembly and reuse can decrease waste production and m...

Unreinforced masonry (URM) structures are vulnerable to earthquakes; thus, materials and techniques for their strengthening and restoration should be developed. However, the materials used in some of the existing retrofitting technologies for URM and...

This paper presents the role and potential of housing built using innovative reinforced concrete prefabrication technologies. The subject was presented by investigating the share of such buildings in the achievement of housing goals in Germany and Po...

A series of international conferences and initiatives, such as the Habitat III New Urban Agenda and UN Sustainable Development Goals, have urged industry, scholars, and policymakers to create an inclusive and sustainable built environment for all in...

The global objective of sustainable development has been greatly directed toward the preservation of existing structures. Therefore, condition assessment and reconstruction of existing timber structures have been gaining importance in recent times. T...

Biopolymers based on proteins are applied in the building materials technology to modify and improve their selected properties. These polymers are designed as natural admixtures that improve the workability of materials. Casein is an example of a pro...

For the majority of the contractual arrangements used in construction projects, the owner is not responsible for the cost deviations due to the variability of labor productivity or material price, amongst many other aspects. Consequently, the cost pe...

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are a useful approach that allows the public sector to collaborate with private investors in financing, implementing, and operating public sector facilities. Over the past few decades, the occurrence of social risks...

The lavatory is a fertile area for the transmission of infectious disease through bioaerosols between its users. In this study, we built a generic compact lavatory model with a vacuum toilet, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is used to evaluate...

Light quality is a key parameter of building design, which is mainly defined by the perceived luminance and the color rendering. Nowadays, there is a wide variety of metrics that do not converge in the color rendition evaluation of current light sour...

Natural hazards bring significant influences on and socioeconomic loss to cities and communities. Historic events show that fire following earthquake (FFE) is the most influential uncertain disturbance on the urban infrastructure system. Under the FF...

The article focuses on highlighting the role of life cycle costing (LCC) in the preparatory and implementation phase of residential projects. It involves the evaluation of several investment scenarios in the pre-investment phase, the choice between v...

The main purpose of this paper is to present the use of super thermal insulation materials for a historical building through a calculation-based case study. The development of the insulation materials is based on the objective of making buildings as...

Due to inadequacies of reinforcement design in older structures and changes in building codes, but also the change of building use in existing structures, reinforced concrete (RC) beams often require upgrading during building renovation. The combined...

Reinforced concrete (RC) structures built before the 1970 represent a large portion of the existing European buildings stock. Their obsolescence in terms of design criteria, materials, and functionality is becoming a critical issue for guaranteeing a...

During the design stage of an HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system in a construction project, designers must decide on the most workable design scheme for the plant room in the building based on the evaluation of multiple aspects...

Sequential small impact loads may not collapse structures directly but could weaken the strength of structures. This study aimed to investigate the impact of these sequential small impact loads on the strength of the reinforced concrete beams. First,...

Insufficient diffuseness is the major cause of the poor repeatability and reproducibility of building acoustical measurements in a reverberation chamber. Inaccurate results were reported for the prevailing methods in ISO and ASTM standards. Many prev...

Construction projects are often challenged by tight budgets and limited time and resources. Contractors are, therefore, looking for ways to become competitive by improving efficiency and using cost-effective materials. Using three-dimensional (3D) pr...