Architecture Commons^™

Investigations Of Mycelium As A Low-Carbon Building Material, Kevin Yang

ENGS 88 Honors Thesis (AB Students)

With the building industry being responsible for 39% of global carbon emissions, there is an imperative need for low-carbon solutions that can decarbonize the built environment. This thesis aimed to address whether mycelium, the hyphal body of fungi, can be used as a building material. The first part of research involved developing a protocol for creating and testing mycelium samples. Mycelium composites were created by inoculating strains of mycelium onto agricultural substrates such as walnut shells, rice hulls, and a commercially available mix from Ecovative Design LLC. Mechanical compression and tensile tests, as well as thermal conductivity and fire resistance …

Technology Portal For Energy Efficient Buildings, Larry D. Hermanson, Daniel Studer, Annie Mroz

STAR Program Research Presentations

Project: Technology Portal for Energy Efficient Buildings

Date: August 2, 2012

Author: Larry Hermanson

Mentor: Daniel Studer

Cohort: Annie Mroz

Lab site: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Buildings account for 71% of the electricity demand and 39% of the primary energy consumption in the United States. The Commercial Buildings Group at NREL provides builders, designers and building owners accurate information to significantly improve the energy efficiency of new and existing buildings. The Technology Portal for Energy Efficient Buildings will increase the accessibility of standardized and credible energy performance data for all building systems, thereby allowing building owners to better evaluate …

Comparison Of Linear And Nonlinear Seismic Drift Histories For Midrise Steel Frames, K. Z. Truman, C. Pantelides, Richard A. Behr, Abdeldjelil Belarbi

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The linear and nonlinear seismic responses for two midrise office buildings of five- and 24-storeys were generated by two independent research groups using three commercial analysis packages, ABAQUS, SAP90 and DRAIN-2DX. The results indicate that a variability of up to 25% occurred between the independent research groups' seismic responses. Originally, these models and analyses were generated for the purpose of aiding in the development of load histories for the seismic testing of architectural glass at the University of Missouri-Rolla. The independent researchers were provided with the same structures, accelerograms and basic modelling assumptions and were directed to perform both linear …

Development Of A Loading History For Seismic Testing Of Architectural Glass In A Shop-Front Wall System, C. P. Pantelides, K. Z. Truman, Richard A. Behr, Abdeldjelil Belarbi

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Moderate earthquakes can pose significant threats to the serviceability and structural integrity of the architectural glazing systems that are included in most building envelope systems. Building envelope damage can cause considerable economic losses due to operational disruptions for extended periods following an earthquake. Furthermore, glazing system structural failures are potentially hazardous to both building occupants and pedestrians. In this paper a systematic analytical study of the effect of the SOOE component of the 1940 El Centro earthquake on the response of a one-storey glass and aluminum shop-front wall system is presented. The seismic response of a one-storey commercial building comprised …