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Full-Text Articles in Construction Engineering

Attainable And Sustainable Home Building Solutions, Katrina Matthews Jun 2023

Attainable And Sustainable Home Building Solutions, Katrina Matthews

Construction Management

Sustainability has fortunately been a recent concern in the construction industry as climate change continues to impose potentially insurmountable threats to the global environment. Although many new methods have been adopted in efforts to lessen the adverse environmental effects of construction-related activities, as a society, we still have much room for growth as the built environment accounts for almost 50% of global emissions. Many changes and standards must be adopted to make these solutions efficiently beneficial. To set industry standards, we must start with the most basic form of construction- residential building. This report covers two attainable framing solutions for …


Caed Hasslein Student Competition, Greta R. Stout Jun 2022

Caed Hasslein Student Competition, Greta R. Stout

Construction Management

This paper outlines the development of the first CAED Hasslein Student Competition at Cal Poly, SLO. The College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Cal Poly, SLO has not yet been successful in creating a platform to engage students of all five majors to collaborate in an educational atmosphere. This project aims to challenge students to work in teams made up of all five disciplines in a Request for Proposal-style competition. This paper focuses on how the idea of this competition came to be and the steps that were taken to successfully write the competition problem statement. These steps included …


Electrochromic Windows: Return On Investment Analysis, Thomas Michael Caprio May 2022

Electrochromic Windows: Return On Investment Analysis, Thomas Michael Caprio

Construction Management

In recent years, sustainability in construction has become a topic of undeniable interest. With sustainability certifications becoming more prominent and desirable, members of the construction industry have begun to seek alternatives for standard systems to keep up with market trends. One of the main issues that the construction industry faces is accessibility of technology. While there are new products and technologies being released frequently, members of the construction industry lack knowledge on the specific details and implications of working with newer systems. One piece of technology that was recently introduced is electrochromic glass, or smart glass. Electrochromic windows analyze sunlight …


Proposal For Adobe Earthbag Disaster-Relief Structure, John Camacho Mar 2022

Proposal For Adobe Earthbag Disaster-Relief Structure, John Camacho

Construction Management

The science behind creating an adobe house has been around for thousands of years; the primitive mixture contains only dirt, water, and straw. Left to cure in bricks or as a single cast-in-place system, the structure will provide long-lasting protection from the elements. Science has taken this a step further with the introduction of cementitious admixtures and reinforcement. The result is an adobe structure with exemplary thermo-retentive properties and load-bearing capabilities. This project provides an analysis on the “SuperAdobe” earthbag system that has been put into practice by independent contractors and housing-relief initiatives. The goal of the project was to …


Documentation Of Concrete Slabs Prior To Pours, Peter D. Riley Jun 2019

Documentation Of Concrete Slabs Prior To Pours, Peter D. Riley

Construction Management

Concrete slabs in multi-level commercial building projects contain many components that become no longer visible once concrete has been poured. As building designs advance and continue to locate components in concrete, it is important to document what these slabs contain in order to verify accurate craftsmanship and allow for improved future construction workflows and building modernizations. This paper explores current industry needs for proficient documentation as well as practices to achieve this. A case study was conducted, testing four devices that analyzed feasibility factors for realistic implementation by a contractor such as cost, interoperability, and level of skill required for …


Unexpected Setbacks When Excavating – Using Gpr For Mitigating Risk: A Case Study, Samuel L. Marcum Dec 2018

Unexpected Setbacks When Excavating – Using Gpr For Mitigating Risk: A Case Study, Samuel L. Marcum

Construction Management

Whether constructing on undeveloped land or on an existing developed site, there is a risk of encountering unexpected objects when excavating. With today’s technology in Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), this risk can generally be mitigated. Using Whiting-Turner’s construction of Stanford University’s new ChEM-H & SNI Building as an example, this case study discusses the use of GPR for underground mapping, as well as various ways to implement GPR technology. The ChEM-H & SNI site had many underground utilities that required precise pot-holing to verify locations. Although pot-holing is widely used, it is a destructive method, it is time and labor …


Is Zero Net Energy 2020 Actually Attainable, Perceptions Of Various Professionals Effected, Michael Aldridge Jun 2016

Is Zero Net Energy 2020 Actually Attainable, Perceptions Of Various Professionals Effected, Michael Aldridge

Construction Management

California has created a mandate that will require all new residential buildings to become Zero Net Energy by 2020. Some are already doing it others don’t know what it means, and some don’t think it will be possible. Those that already do it are doing it without any extra cost. All that is required is, on average, a 4KW roof solar panel system. This is something that easy to install and only requires a little more planning during the design phase. There are many other things that a designer and builder can do to successfully reach ZNE including focus on …