Architectural Engineering Commons^™

Going Green With Concrete Masonry Grout, James Mwangi, Craig Baltimore

Architectural Engineering

Concrete, which is a product containing Portland cement, is the second most used building material (after water) worldwide. Masonry grout is similar to concrete except that grout has a high water content and smaller size aggregates. The excess water is immediately absorbed into the masonry units during placement, which lowers the water/cement ratio and allows for a normal hydration process. During the process of making Portland cement, more than 1/5 ton of carbon dioxide is produced for every ton of cement with 60% of the carbon dioxide production due to a chemical reaction. There is currently no viable remedy to …

Land Conservation And Land Use In New England: Trends, Challenges & Opportunities, Amanda Loomis, Tom Devine, Andrea Small, Brittany Howard, Brett Richardson, Stephanie Dulac

Land Conservation

Sprawling development patterns accelerated across the New England landscape in the last three decades and consumed the region‘s forests, farms, and open spaces at an unprecedented rate. New England‘ers in all six states formed land trusts, supported statewide conservation organizations, and collaborated with state and federal partners to protect some of their most-prized recreation lands, wildlife habitats, and working lands. The current economic recession has slowed development pressures across the region and offers an opportunity to build on recent successes. The time is right to plan a coordinated New England conservation strategy that protects and links the region‘s natural assets. …

Project Managers, Architects, And Engineers--Oh My! An Interdisciplinary Collaboration, David Lambert, Allen Estes, Craig Baltimore

Architectural Engineering

The Architectural Engineering (ARCE) Program at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo is creating a unique and novel interdisciplinary course where architecture, architectural engineering and construction management students collaborate to design and plan the construction of a building structure. The current plan is to develop a default interdisciplinary experience that can be taken by every student and then allow course substitutions for other options as they are created. This paper reports on one of those other options, specifically a unique real world, global, multi-disciplinary experience in East Africa that has resulted from a master’s degree project that …

Teaching Architects And Engineers: Up And Down The Taxonomy, Edmond P. Saliklis, Robert Arens, Joseph Hanus

Architectural Engineering

Engineering faculty and Architecture faculty both address student learning through the prism of Bloom’s taxonomy of the cognitive domain, but do so in diametrically opposite manners. Engineering faculty tend to assess student learning starting at the lowest taxonomy level, Acquisition of Knowledge, and progress in their curriculum and courses to the higher levels of Synthesis and Evaluation. Compare this to a studio environment in an undergraduate Architecture curriculum, where the faculty often begin with the highest levels, such as Evaluation in applying value judgments about the adequacy of the design and Synthesis, by putting disparate pieces of …

Solar Power For Deployment In Populated Areas, Nathan Andrew Hicks

Master's Theses

The thesis presents background on solar thermal energy and addresses the structural challenges associated with the deployment of concentrating solar power fields in urban areas. Two potential structural systems and urban locales of deployment are proposed and investigated to determine whether they have the potential to be a cost-effective renewable energy solution for urban areas. The structural issues explored in the thesis include flutter, the wind loading of open frame structures, performance-based design, and the design of flexibly mounted equipment on a building.

Why Is Fresh Self-Compacting Concrete Shear Thickening?, Dimitri Feys, Ronny Verhoeven, Geert De Schutter

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Rheological Properties of Fresh Concrete Are Mostly Described by Means of the Bingham Model. for Self-Compacting Concrete, the Bingham Model is Applicable in a Lot of Cases, But Some Authors Report that the Rheological Behavior is Non-Linear. the Apparent Viscosity Increases with Increasing Shear Rate and the SCC Shows Shear Thickening Behavior. Shear Thickening Becomes Important in Operations Occurring at High Shear Rates, Like Mixing and Pumping. in These Cases, Shear Thickening Should Not Be Forgotten in Order to Avoid Breaking of the Mixer, Pump or Pipes. This Paper Will Describe Two Possible Theories for Shear Thickening Behavior of …

Seismic Performance Of Unreinforced Masonry Walls Retrofitted With Post-Tensioning Tendons, Daniel Louis Lazzarini

Master's Theses

Unreinforced masonry (URM) structures have historically been regarded as structurally unsound in response to seismic events. The tendency for URM walls to collapse out-of-plane in a brittle manner is continually cause for concern. Retrofit of these walls is necessary in order to prevent severe damage and injury to occupants.

This paper is concerned with the retrofit of unreinforced masonry (URM) walls in response to out-of-plane loading. A retrofit design was developed and verified through structural testing. The selected retrofit technique incorporates vertical coring of URM walls to allow for the insertion of a single post-tensioning (PT) tendon. Tendons are spaced …

Interview With Kirk Davis, Glumac International, 2009 (Audio), Kirk Davis

All Sustainability History Project Oral Histories

Interview of Kirk Davis by Jay Fielding at Glumac International, Portland, Oregon on May 22nd, 2009.

The interview index is available for download.

Breaking The Mould 2 : An Analysis Of Single-Leaf Insulation Upgrades, Joseph Little

Articles

This article is the second in a series looking at thermal upgrades to single-leaf walls of existing houses. It compares a range of ways of upgrading masonry single-leaf walls, particularly the ubiquitous hollow block wall, and the impact of those decisions on moisture content, wind- and airtightness, cost and heating. Future articles will look at various drylining approaches for a range of walls including brick walls of various widths.

Bamboo: An Alternative Building Material For Urban Ethiopia, Bewketu Z. Kassa

Master's Theses

This project explores the potential of bamboo as an alternative building material for low cost housing units suitable for urban Ethiopia. The rational for the application of bamboo comes from its abundance throughout the country, and its proven physical properties that equate it to other building material like timber, steel and concrete. The proposed bamboo based design solution concentrates on simplification of construction methods, prefabrication of structural components and vertical densification of housing units, addressing the lack of skilled labor, cost of construction time and urban land respectively. An understanding of the design solution was established by constructing a full-scale …

Breaking The Mould 1 : A Study Of Condensation In Single-Leaf Concrete Wall Upgrades, Joseph Little

Articles

This article is the first of a series looking at upgrade options and issues associated with single-leaf walls of existing houses. This article will focus on insulated drylined concrete block walls of the ubiquitous housing estate house. This will include the findings of software that dynamically models moisture movement through the wall over several years. The article following this will look at a range of options for replacing existing drylining or installing drylining where it never was before, be that for a solid block wall of a 1950s house or a solid brick wall of an 1850s house.

Integration Approach Of The Couette Inverse Problem Of Powder Type Self-Compacting Concrete In A Wide-Gap Concentric Cylinder Rheometer. Part Ii. Influence Of Mineral Additions And Chemical Admixtures On The Shear Thickening Flow Behaviour, G. Heirman, R. Hendrickx, L. Vandewalle, D. Van Gemert, D. (Dimitri) Feys, G. De Schutter, B. Desmet, J. Vantomme

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Influence of Mineral Additions and Chemical Admixtures on the Shear Thickening Flow Behavior of Powder Type Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) is Studied by Means of a Wide-Gap Concentric Cylinder Rheometer. the Couette Inverse Problem is Treated by Means of the Integration Method in Order to Derive the Flow Curve Τ(Γ̇) from the Torque Measurements. According to the Experimental Results, the Shear Thickening Effect is Found to Be Strongly Influenced by the Addition of the Chemical Admixture (A Polycarboxylate Ether based Superplasticizer), Whereas Mineral Additions Were Found to Modify the Intensity of Shear Thickening. the Limestone, Quartzite and Fly Ash Addition …

Macarthur Park Master Plan, Community Design Center

Community Design Center Project Reports

Like waterfronts and transit stops, parks leverage value in urban areas. While much recent attention has been given to the signature mega-park, the value of the small-scale neighborhood park in reinventing the city has been overlooked. Once connecting neighborhoods of differing character, and sponsoring more than 80 residential structures along its edges, the historic MacArthur Park at the edge of downtown Little Rock is radically underutilized as an urban neighborhood asset. Severed from its neighborhoods along two edges by interstate construction in the 1960s, this moribund 40-acre municipal park is left with only 16 residential structures along its frontage. The …

Taproot™ Technology: Tree Coring For Fast, Noninvasive Plume Delineations, Joel Gerard Burken, Sallie Bailey, Matt Shurtliff, Jeff Mcdermott

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In Efforts to Evaluate the Use of Plants as a Forensic Tool for Delineating Contaminated Soil and Groundwater, a Laboratory Experiment and a Field Sampling Effort Were Undertaken. Site Assessments Are Often Costly and Inaccurate, Requiring Multiple Mobilizations to Hone in on Source Areas and Getting Accurate Estimates of Contaminant Extent and Distribution. as These Extensive Site Delineations Take Place, Valuable Time and Resources Are Lost. the Findings of This Study Show that Plants Can Be Used as a Tool to Evaluate a Variety of Subsurface Contaminants, Either in the Vadose Zone or in the Saturated Zone. in the First …

Ua30/1/1 Planning, Design & Construction Blueprints, Drawings & Plans, Wku University Archives, Ryun Warren

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Blueprints, drawings and plans of WKU buildings and campus created by the Department of Planning, Design & Construction.

Risk Indexes For Draft Ccl3 Chemicals, J. Alan Roberson, Matthew Lueders, Craig Adams, Jeffrey S. Rosen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

To supplement the processes used for developing the draft third Contaminant Candidate List (CCL3) and better inform decisions made by the US Environmental Protection Agency on future CCLs, the authors offer an evaluation tool for efficiently synthesizing, visualizing, and organizing data for effective comparisons among contaminants. Graphical presentations of health effects-occurrence indexes were developed for more than 300 chemical contaminants, including those on the draft CCL3. a risk indexes framework was then used to elucidate the extent of available data, the data quality, and the underlying uncertainties for occurrence and toxicity. Choosing the appropriate contaminant for regulation is a complex …

Predicting The Perforation Response Of Honeycomb Sandwich Panels Using Ballistic Limit Equations, William P. Schonberg, Frank Schäfer, Robin Putzar

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Man-made debris from previous spacecraft missions poses a serious threat to spacecraft that are launched to operate in Earth orbit because it can strike such spacecraft at extremely high velocities and consequently damage mission-critical systems. Most satellites are constructed with honeycomb sandwich panels as their primary structural elements. to be able to perform a risk analysis, it is important to know, in the event of such a meteoroid or orbital debris particle impact, whether or not the impacting particle or parts thereof will exit the rear of the sandwich panel. a recently developed set of ballistic limit equations for two …

Preparing Students For The Environment Of The Practice Of Consulting Engineer, James Mwangi, Craig Baltimore, Brent Nuttall

Architectural Engineering

In the United States of America, the body of knowledge required for an individual to be allowed to take the engineering licensing examination, which on passing allows the individual to be in responsible charge of engineering projects, is usually defined by laws and regulations of each state. In California, the shortest path taken by most individuals is one where the individual graduates from an ABET accredited undergraduate program; passes the Engineer in Training (EIT) examination and works under the supervision of a licensed engineer for two years (one year if the individual has a Masters degree in relevant field).

In …

Capstone Projects: Integrating Industry Through Student Leadership, Brent Nuttall, James Mwangi, Craig Baltimore

Architectural Engineering

Capstone projects provide a unique opportunity for developing student leadership skills while integrating industry partners. While models for including industry partners in capstone projects have been discussed in prior literature, these models focus on faculty leadership in developing industry partnerships. This paper describes a capstone project model that encourages student, not faculty, leadership in engaging industry partners. Factors that influence successful project teaming of students and industry partners are identified and described using case study examples. The successes and difficulties of integrating industry in capstone project via student leadership are explored.

Teaching The Design: Timber Shear Walls And Developing Student Engineering Judgement And Intuition Through A Hands-On Experience, Craig Baltimore, James Mwangi, Brent Nuttall

Architectural Engineering

Engineering judgement and intuition are vital characteristic of the design profession. Engineering judgement and intuition are developed through experience. This experience is gained by designing a building (working with industry disciplines and the owner); analyzing the building (calculations); being part of the construction process (constructability), and walking through the final product (end user). Teaching design means, in part, developing engineering judgement and intuition. This may best be accomplished by incorporating active learning experiences.

For timber and masonry buildings, the shear wall is the lateral resisting system of choice. A hands-on experience has been developed as a simple exercise in constructing …

Corporate Social Responsibility Of Architectural Design Firms Towards Sustainable Built Environment In South Africa, Ayman Ahmed Ezzat Othman

Architectural Engineering

The construction industry makes a vital contribution to the social and economic development of every country. Buildings provide their users with places for housing, education, culture, medication, business, leisure and entertainment. None of these buildings will perform its function unless supported with efficient road networks, superlative telecommunications facilities, water and electricity. On the other hand, the construction industry has major impacts on the environment. It is a very large consumer of non-renewable resources, a substantial source of waste, pollution, land dereliction and energy consumption. This highlights the responsibility of present generations to use the available resources in a way that …

Incorporating Constructability In The Design Of Masonry Structures, James Mwangi, Craig Baltimore

Architectural Engineering

The International Building Code (IBC) has now been adopted as the model design code for most states and territories of the United States of America. For Masonry design, the IBC references the Building Code Requirements and Specification for Masonry Structures (MSJC) for material properties, design procedures, specifications and quality control. Individual state codes then amend the two documents (IBC and MSJC) appropriately.

In high seismic regions of the United States, hollow block of concrete masonry units (CMU) are the material of choice in masonry construction. The CMU’s are built using sand, pea gravel, cement and water. CMU is typically delivered …

Damage Characterization Of Beam-Column Joints Reinforced With Gfrp Under Reversed Cyclic Loading, Aly M. Said

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement in concrete structures has been on the rise due to its advantages over conventional steel reinforcement such as corrosion. Reinforcing steel corrosion has been the primary cause of deterioration of reinforced concrete (RC) structures, resulting in tremendous annual repair costs. One application of FRP reinforcement to be further explored is its use in RC frames. Nonetheless, due to FRP's inherently elastic behavior, FRP-reinforced (FRP-RC) members exhibit low ductility and energy dissipation as well as different damage mechanisms. Furthermore, current design standards for FRP-RC structures do not address seismic design in which the …

Liquefaction Behavior Of Mississippi River Silts, Ali M. Izadi, Ronaldo Luna, Richard Wesley Stephenson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Civil Infrastructure Built on Alluviums and Recent Deposits, Such as Dams, Contain Significant Amount of Silts. the Static and Dynamic Behavior of These Fine-Grained Soils Has Been Investigated Less Than the Clay-Like or Sand-Like Soils. Low Plasticity Silts (PI = 6) Obtained East of St. Louis in Illinois Are Known as Loess that Has Been Re-Deposited by Water in the Floodplains of the Mississippi River. These Silts Were Reconstituted in the Laboratory by Slurry at Water Content above the Liquid Limit and Then Consolidated to an Initial Effective Stress. the Initial Laboratory Characterization under Monotonic Loading Included a Series of …

Piles Under Earthquake Loads, Shamsher Prakash, Vijay K. Puri

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Piles are preferred type of foundation for supporting structures in seismic areas. their performance is affected by soil, pile and earthquake related parameters. in non-liquefying soils, the shear modulus may degrade, and material damping may increase with increasing strain/displacement. in liquefying soils, the lateral ground displacement may lead to increased lateral loads and moments on the pile leading to pile failure in bending. the loss of lateral support can also lead to buckling type failure. These issues for pile design in seismic areas are examined. © 2008 ASCE.

Non-Uniform Assemblage: Mass Customization In Digital Fabrication, Phillip Anzalone, Joseph Vidich, Joshua Draper

Publications and Research

This paper focuses on the development of parametric detailing, mass customization in CNC fabrication and its computational and handcrafted realizations in actualized built work. The projects studied are examples of student and faculty applied research work at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture that engage parametric design strategies to integrate digital fabrication processes with manual assembly procedures, including prefabricated components and assemblies. The presented case studies include the design, fabrication and assembly of two full-scale pavilion projects.

Tilt-Up Buildings, John W. Lawson

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Subjective Impression Of Discomfort Glare From Sources Of Non-Uniform Luminance, Michelle L. Eble-Hankins

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

The intent of this study was to further investigate the effects of spatial frequency and position on discomfort glare. Most of the discomfort research in the past has used sources of uniform luminance, so not much is known about how non-uniformity affects the perception of glare. An apparatus was designed and built specifically for this study, but it was also designed to have significant flexibility for future work. Two different experiments were performed with this apparatus: a paired comparison experiment; and, a rating scale experiment. For both experiments, 6 levels of spatial frequency and 4 levels of position were studied. …

In Transit - Transition Movement Inspires Dramatic Carbon Cuts In House Refurb, Joseph Little

Articles

Drawing on the ‘Energy Descent Action Plan’ he developed at Kinsale, Rob Hopkins and his team launched Transition Town Totnes (in the UK) one and a half years ago. 64 recognised transition communities and 600 other groups (and counting) are now in communication with Rob’s team to launch their versions of this initiative in their communities worldwide.¹ The Transition Ireland Network is coordinated by Davie Philip of Cultivate and several transition initiatives are underway here.

Fresh Self Compacting Concrete, A Shear Thickening Material, Dimitri Feys, Ronny Verhoeven, Geert De Schutter

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In Literature, the Rheological Properties of Concrete Have Been Investigated Thoroughly, resulting in a Simple Description, in Steady State, by Means of the Bingham Model. Self-Compacting Concrete Shows a Lower Yield Stress, Which in Some Cases is Very Close to Zero, or Can Even Appear to Be Negative When Extrapolating the Bingham Model. in the Latter Case, the Bingham Model is Not Valid and Other Solutions Must Be Found. in This Paper, the Non-Linearity - or Shear Thickening - in the Rheological Behavior of Fresh SCC is Described with the Modified Bingham Model, after the Elimination of Possible Measurement Artefacts. …