Architecture Commons^™

An Innovative Solution Set Of Algorithm For Converting Architectural Drawings To Vector-Based Computer Graphics, Yuye Peng

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Thesis, and Student Research

Appraisal Floor Plan Sketch (AFPS) as a simplified architectural floor plan shows the bird's eye view of a building’s spatial arrangement. An efficient automated vectorization system of AFPS not only fulfills AFPS’s preservation and dissemination purposes but also helps extract the building’s geometric information, which can be used to create 3D models of the building and improve building energy efficiency. The purpose of this study is to develop an automated system for converting scanned AFPS into vector based computer graphics.

Text/graphic separation and corner detection are two essential components in this vectorization system. Text/graphic separation ensures that only graphic data …

Effects Of Short Noise Bursts On Human Performance And Perception, Christopher Ainley

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Thesis, and Student Research

The goal of this research project is to better quantify human reactions to short bursts of noise, to complement research at NASA Langley Research Center on evaluating human response inside buildings to low-level sonic booms. The project involved exposing participants over 30-minute sessions to a number of 250 ms broadband noise bursts of certain levels, presented in a controlled yet randomized fashion throughout the session, and gathering responses on human perception and performance on an arithmetic task dealing with short-term memory. While previous research has demonstrated effects of noise bursts of varying amplitudes on other types of tasks that study …

Residential Energy Recovery Radiant Heat System, Scott Sharp

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Thesis, and Student Research

Energy recovery systems aim to recover waste energy that is normally lost to the environment. Waste energy comes in a variety of forms. Many processes involving building HVAC involves transferring energy from one working fluid to another. Governing codes put strict requirements on ventilation requirements for various occupancy types. Increased ventilation demands more from the HVAC equipment since outdoor air (ventilation air) is being brought into the building and requires tempering in order to retain occupant comfort. The energy required to temper this air increases as ventilation rates increase. Many commercial buildings have implemented exhaust air energy recovery, or runaround …

Damage Detection In Metamorphic Stone Blocks Utilizing Impact-Echo Testing And Modal Analysis, Alexander C. Jording

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Thesis, and Student Research

Existing buildings decay with the passage of time, and as a result, continually require maintenance or rehabilitation. When considering existing structures, testing is often necessary to complete structural analysis in preparation for rehabilitation or repair. Non-destructive testing provides a structural assessment method applicable to a variety of materials and structures. The hypothesis of this research is that impact-echo testing, one of the many NDT techniques, can be adopted to develop a reliable and standardized method to assess the condition of rectangular metamorphic stones. After the baseline material parameters and general response to impact-echo testing were established, a novel method to …

Electromagnetic Harvesting To Power Energy Management Sensors In The Built Environment, Evans Sordiashie

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Thesis, and Student Research

Recently, a growing body of scholarly work in the field of energy conservation is focusing on the implementation of energy management sensors in the power distribution system. Since most of these sensors are either battery operated or hardwired to the existing power distribution system, their use comes with major drawbacks. Battery maintenance and associated labor costs can make implementing sensors very expensive. Although hardwired sensors require very little post-installation maintenance, any energy savings they may procure is offset by the amount of energy expended during the course of the sensors normal operation. In response to these energy challenges, this thesis …

A Composite Structural Steel And Prestressed Concrete Beam For Building Floor Systems, Nathan Dewit

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Thesis, and Student Research

Precast prestressed concrete beams, such as rectangular and inverted tee beam, currently used in residential and commercial buildings are deep, heavy, and limited to span-to-depth ratios of 15. The research proposes a composite structural steel and prestressed concrete beam that is shallow, light, easy to produce and erect, and able to achieve a span-to-depth ratio of 24. The proposed beam is designed to be used with precast columns, hollow-core planks, and a cast-in-place topping to create a moment-resisting floor system that minimizes the need for shear walls. The goal of this system is to eliminate as many of the limitations …

A Numerical Investigation Of Two Phase Solar-Collector Pipe, Seyyed Hashem Abedini

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Thesis, and Student Research

In the United States, major portions of the annual electrical and primary energy are consumed for buildings. To help reduce the energy consumption of non-renewable energy sources, this study investigates a new technology for harvesting solar energy using a boiling-condensing cycle with water in a solar collector. The fluid circulation is under natural forced convection. A solar collector is made of a black lacquer copper with 2 meters in length is used. The design of the system is presented to simulate heat transfer rate in a cold climate an average daily solar irradiation of 4.5kWh/m2/day, e.g. for Omaha Nebraska. The …

The Assessment Of High Dynamic Range Luminance Measurements With Led Lighting, Yulia I. Tyukhova

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Thesis, and Student Research

This research investigates whether a High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDRI) technique can accurately capture luminance values of a single LED chip. Previous studies show that a digital camera with exposure capability can be used as a luminance mapping tool in a wide range of luminance values with an accuracy of 10%. Previous work has also demonstrated the ability of HDRI to capture a rapidly-changing lighting environment with the sun. However these publications don’t investigate HDRI’s ability to capture a bright light source with a narrow light distribution (LED lighting).

Some of the existing concerns in LED technology today include low …