Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Opportunities And Challenges Of Modular Construction In A Hospitality Centric Environment, Shreyansh Paliwal

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Modular construction techniques can substantially decrease project schedules and costs, effectively maintaining or increasing the quality of an end product by shifting a percentage of site-based work to an off-site fabrication shop. Modular construction can also significantly contribute to sustainability by reducing site disruption, reducing waste generated, creating better relocatability and reusability, causing less dust and noise pollution, and reducing the probability of loss, theft, and damage to equipment. The primary goal of this research is to identify the opportunities and challenges of implementing modular construction techniques in a hospitality-centric environment, by investigating the current situation and characteristics of modular …

Sensor-Based Safety Performance Assessment Of Individual Construction Workers, Jeewoong Park, Yong K. Cho, Ali Khodabandelu

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Over the last decade, researchers have explored various technologies and methodologies to enhance worker safety at construction sites. The use of advanced sensing technologies mainly has focused on detecting and warning about safety issues by directly relying on the detection capabilities of these technologies. Until now, very little research has explored methods to quantitatively assess individual workers’ safety performance. For this, this study uses a tracking system to collect and use individuals’ location data in the proposed safety framework. A computational and analytical procedure/model was developed to quantify the safety performance of individual workers beyond detection and warning. The framework …

The Future Of Construction As It Applies To The Colonization Of The Moon And Mars, Julian Prestia

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goals of this research are:

1. To compile a comprehensive list of all the viable known solutions (and early stage potential solutions) to the issues related to constructing permanent, sustainable, and safe structures for human colonies on our moon and Mars,

2. Determine the most effective potential solutions, and

3. Further develop these ideas as to assist in further space endeavors.

This proposed paper will assist space experts in determining the best next steps in the development of deep-space travel and colonization technologies. Preliminary research has identified several key problems associated with establishing space colonies. They are as follows: …

An Embedded Sensory System For Worker Safety: Prototype Development And Evaluation, Chunhee Cho, Jee Woong Park

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

At a construction site, workers mainly rely on two senses, which are sight and sound, in order to perceive their physical surroundings. However, they are often hindered by the nature of most construction sites, which are usually dynamic, loud, and complicated. To overcome these challenges, this research explored a method using an embedded sensory system that might offer construction workers an artificial sensing ability to better perceive their surroundings. This study identified three parameters (i.e., intensity, signal length, and delay between consecutive pulses) needed for tactile-based signals for the construction workers to communicate quickly. We developed a prototype system based …

A Case Study Of Zero Energy Home Built For Solar Decathlon Competition 2013, Sanjib Mulepati

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Energy consumption in residential homes has been a subject of research related to sustainability. Reduction in the consumption of energy is a goal of sustainable construction. The Department of Energy (DOE) started a Solar Decathlon competition in 2002 in which the students from different universities around the globe build an energy efficient and affordable home suitable for their climate and location. The main goal of this competition is to select the best home that is designed and built in a sustainable way. In this study, the home designed and constructed for participation in the competition by the students at University …