Construction Engineering Commons^™

Simultaneous Electrical And Mechanical Resonance Drive For Large Signal Amplification Of Micro Resonators, M. H. Hasan, Fadi M. Alsaleem, N. Jaber, M. A. A. Hafiz, M. I. Younis

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Achieving large signal-noise ratio using low levels of excitation signal is key requirement for practical applications of micro and nano electromechanical resonators. In this work, we introduce the double electromechanical resonance drive concept to achieve an order-of-magnitude dynamic signal amplification in micro resonators. The concept relies on simultaneously activating the micro-resonator mechanical and electrical resonance frequencies. We report an input voltage amplification up to 15 times for a micro-resonator when its electrical resonance is tuned to match the mechanical resonance that leads to dynamic signal amplification in air (Quality factor enhancement). Furthermore, using a multi-frequency excitation technique, input voltage and …

Impact Of Owners’ Early Decisions On Project Performance And Dispute Occurrence In Public Highway Projects, Sogand Hasanzadeh, Behzad Esmaeili, Ghada M. Gad, Douglas D. Gransberg

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Disputes are common in the construction industry and lead to unnecessary cost and schedule overruns in projects. It is commonly believed that owners’ early decisions regarding the selection of delivery methods, procurement methods, and contract types impact the frequency and severity of project disputes; however, no previous study has empirically tested this hypothesis, particularly in highway public projects. Therefore, this study empirically investigated the impact of owners’ early decisions regarding project organization (i.e., delivery methods, procurement, and contract types) on performance measures (e.g., cost and schedule growth), specifically dispute performance metrics (e.g., frequency and severity of disputes), in public highway …

Method For Radon Measurement In Residential Sewer Connections, David Yuill

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Radon gas is the most deadly indoor air pollutant. In the US, it is responsible for over 20,000 deaths per year. Residential exposure is typically the largest portion of a person’s annual exposure, so a great deal of research has been done to understand the pathways that radon can follow to enter a house. Since radon emanates from the ground, it is present in high concentration in soil gas. Recent research on the vapor intrusion of volatile organic compounds from subsurface sources into a test house concluded that the sewer line is an important preferential pathway. Despite the potential for …

Utilizing Wearable Devices To Design Personal Thermal Comfort Model, Mostafa Rafaie, Mehari Tesfay, Fadi Alsaleem

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

have confirmed that thermal comfort significantly depends on internal personal parameters such as metabolic rate, age, and health status. This is manifested as a difference in comfort levels between people residing under the same roof, and hence no general comprehensive comfort model satisfying everyone. Current and newly emerging advancements in state of the art wearable technology have made it possible to continuously acquired biometric information. This work proposes to access and exploit this data to build personal thermal comfort model. Relying on various supervised machine-learning methods, a personal thermal comfort model will be produced and compared to a general model …

Localized Indoor Temperature Estimation Using Smartphone And Laptop Internal Sensors, Mostafa Rafaie, Mehari Tesfay, Fadi Alsaleem

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

This paper investigates a mechanism in which indoor air temperature can be predicted using the temperature sensor on the battery and the CPU of smartphones or laptops, where data is easily accessible and ubiquitous. As a case study, several machine-learning methods were used to build models from a laptop data and the measured surrounding air temperature. The effects of the machine learning type and input feature size (by including other parameters such as CPU processing usage and battery charge percentage) on the model accuracy were investigated. The goal is to determine a set of feature combinations that can be used …

Comfort-Based Optimal Temperature Setpoint Calculation, Andrew Holthaus, Mostafa Rafaie, Fadi Alsaleem

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

General practice in current building HVAC control is to select building temperature setpoints that comply with ASHRAE Standard 55. By meeting this standard, based on the PMV comfort model, 80% of building occupants should be satisfied with their thermal environment. However, unfortunately, this is rarely the case. One possible reason for this is the variation in occupant activity and clothing that are usually assumed default values using this standard. In this work, we present an iterative-based algorithm to solve this problem. The algorithm solves the PMV inverse model equation to determine the optimal temperature setpoint while inferring human activity level …

Sdnet2018: An Annotated Image Data Set For Non-Contact Concrete Crack Detection Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks, Sattar Dorafshan, Robert J. Thomas, Marc Maguire

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

SDNET2018 is an annotated image data set for training, validation, and benchmarking of artificial intelligence based crack detection algorithms for concrete. SDNET2018 contains over 56,000 images of cracked and non-cracked concrete bridge decks, walls, and pavements. The dataset includes cracks as narrow as 0.06 mm and as wide as 25 mm. The data set also includes images with a variety of obstructions, including shadows, surface roughness, scaling, edges, holes, and background debris. SDNET2018 will be useful for the continued development of concrete crack detection algorithms based on deep convolutional neural networks (DCNNs), which are a subject of continued research in …

Bs News January/February

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Direct Strength Approach To Predict The Flexural Strength Of Cold-Formed Z-Section Purlins On Sloped Roofs, Ali Parva, Michael W. Seek

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

In this study, the strength of cold-formed Z-section purlins is predicted considering the effects of roof slope in real roof systems. The study applies to simple span purlins with torsion restraints at support locations and at paired locations along the length of the member. A previously developed method has shown through comparisons to base tests that when the biaxial bending and torsion stresses are incorporated into the analysis, the Direct Strength Method can accurately predict the strength of a purlin. These stress distributions can deviate substantially from the constrained bending approximation typically assumed in analysis and therefore impacts the local …

Evaluation The Effect Of Washing On The Heat Transfer Capacity And Air-Side Flow Resistance Of Air Cooled Condensers, Mehdi Mehrabi, David Yuill

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

17th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference at Purdue, July 9-12, 2018

Infrared Thermography For Weld Inspection: Feasibility And Application, Sattar Dorafshan, Marc Maguire, William Collins

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Traditional ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques have been widely used to detect surface and sub-surface defects of welds. UT inspection is a contact method which burdens the manufacturer by storing hot specimens for inspection when the material is cool. Additionally, UT is only valid for 5 mm specimens or thicker and requires a highly skilled operator to perform the inspections and interpret the signals. Infrared thermography (IRT) has the potential to be implemented for weld inspections due to its non-contact nature. In this study, the feasibility of using IRT to overcome the limitations of UT inspection is investigated to detect inclusion, …

Hvac System Remote Monitoring And Diagnosis Of Refrigerant Line Obstruction, Fadi M. Alsaleem

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a building includes a refrigerant loop. A monitoring system for the HVAC system includes a monitoring device installed at the building. The monitoring device is configured to measure a first temperature of refrigerant in a refrigerant line located between a filter - drier of the refrigerant loop and an expansion valve of the refrigerant loop. The monitoring system includes a monitoring server, located remotely from the building. The monitoring server is con figured to receive the first temperature and, in response to the first temperature being less than a threshold, generate …

Building Information Modeling (Bim) Impact On Construction Performance, David D. John

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study is designed to address the need for having a measure for Construction Performance on BIM-assisted construction projects. Through this study a new Construction Key Performance Indicator (CKPI) matrix is identified and created by the author. The CKPI could be used to assess BIM-assisted projects. Utilizing a sequential mixed methodology approach, academic and practitioner perspectives are assessed. A qualitative content analysis and quantitative descriptive analysis based on demographics are conducted to establish a better understanding of BIM and Construction Performance. The academic perspective is used to assess the relevance of BIMM and CKPI indicators, and the practitioner perspective is …

Highly Vented Truss Wall Honeycomb Structures, David J. Sypeck

Publications

A vented honeycomb structure with a plurality of honeycomb cells arranged in a hierarchical order and having a plurality of truss walls, each truss wall including a plurality of members. The vented honeycomb structure is fabricated by joining a plurality of sheets of trusses using any one of an expansion, a corrugation, and a slotting process. Fabrication can also occur by deposition, casting, additive, extrusion, or aligning and joining methods. The honeycomb cells, truss walls, truss wall openings, and truss wall members can be functionally graded.

Case Study: Mitigating Schedule Impacts From Oshpd Regulations On Medical Equipment, Peter K. Lee

Construction Management

The vast majority of healthcare construction projects in the state of California work with OSHPD—Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development—to meet California’s Hospital Seismic Safety Law. While meeting the state’s Hospital Seismic Safety Law is important and even critical, working with OSHPD’s stringent regulations does imply additional concerns to be addressed by the project team. One concern regards the approval of bigger medical equipment and its impact on the overall construction schedule. This paper examines the factors that contribute to delays in the construction schedule, responsible parties for the delay, and responsibilities of each involved party. Based on an …

Bridge Build, Andrew Little

Student Scholarship

Bridge build design that includes not only a building process, but a research paper to make the best build possible as well.

Stewardship Of International Bim Programmes: Lessons For Ireland, Barry Mcauley, Alan Hore, Roger West, Shiyao Kuang

Conference papers

The support by central government of national Building Information Modelling (BIM) programmes is common throughout the developed world today. To further understand how the different international governments have supported their BIM programmes the BIM Innovation Capability Programme (BICP) research team in Ireland recently completed a comprehensive Global BIM Study to help inform the National BIM Council (NBC) of Ireland in developing a Roadmap to Digital Transition for Ireland’s Construction Sector. This paper details the findings of a more concentrated investigation on a selection of jurisdictions on how particular international BIM programmes are orgainsed, managed and the level of governmental support …

Measuring Walls In Accordance With Arm4 - An Introductory Demonstration, Tony Cunningham

Other Resources

This demonstration involves the measurement of 'traditional' external brick and block cavity walls and internal block partitions. The demonstration is addressed to students taking (Irish) measurement or quantities modules at first year / entry level of quantity surveying related programmes. The worked example has been carried out using traditional handwritten quantity surveying processes on traditional dimension paper. It is acknowledged that this would be carried out using measurement software or on-screen measurement technology in actual practice. The traditional handwritten approach has been retained in order to enable novice students to develop the necessary measurement skills and build confidence through direct …

What Lessons Can Be Learned From The Delivery Of The First Building On The Grangegorman Campus Using Building Information Management (Bim)?, Pat O'Sullivan, Avril Behan

Conference papers

There is an acceptance that BIM, via data management, can be integrated with FM to reduce costs during the Operations and Maintenance stage of a project. However, what has not been documented is the ‘on the ground’ reality which can be reviewed as a lessons learnt exercise to improve the implementation of BIM FM for future projects. This case study sets out to explore the realities of a client’s adoption of BIM based upon the actual experience of the Greenway Hub. Rather than relying on anecdotal evidence the research was based upon the real practices and experiences of the Dublin …

Bs News November/December

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Ua66 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter, Wku Ogden College Of Science & Engineering

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

Newsletter created by and about Ogden College of Science & Engineering.

• Stevens, Cheryl. A Word with the Dean . . .
• From the Hilltop
• 3rd Annual Research Experience for Undergraduates Program Conference
• Into Bowling Green
• Barren RIver
• Mammoth Cave National Park
• Barrow, Alaska
• South Korea
• Postcards from the Field
• WKU Research Foundation
• Office of Research & Creative Activity
• About Applied Research & Technology Program
• Dean's Office News
• School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
• How to Connec
• Ogden College Hall

The Professional Constructor, Full Issue, Volume 42, Number 02

The Professional Constructor

No abstract provided.

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Bim+Blockchain: A Solution To The Trust Problem In Collaboration?, Malachy Mathews, Dan Robles, Brian Bowe

Conference papers

This paper provides an overview of historic and current organizational limitations emerging in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Building Owner / Operations (AECOO) Industry. It then provides an overview of new technologies that attempt to mitigate these limitations. However, these technologies, taken together, appear to be converging and creating entirely new organizational structures in the AEC industries. This may be characterized by the emergence of what is called the Network Effect and it’s related calculus. This paper culminates with an introduction to Blockchain Technology (BT) and it’s integration with the emergence of groundbreaking technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial …

Bim Innovation Capability Programme Of Ireland, Barry Mcauley, Alan Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

The Irish Government has requested that Enterprise Ireland, an organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets to actively promote the use of BIM in Ireland. This promotion has taken the form of an opportunity for Enterprise Ireland clients to apply for a grant under their BIM Enable and BIM Implementation schemes and also through their funding of the BIM Innovation Capability Programme (BICP) of Ireland. The BICP is a two-year project (2016-2018) which seeks to capture the capability of the Irish Construction Industry and the Higher Education Institutes to respond to the increased requirement …

Bs News July/August

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Gas Collection, Haorong Li, Yanshun Yu, Daihong Yu

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A system includes a vessel configured to couple with a gas source for drawing gas into the vessel. The vessel is also configured to receive liquid. The system includes an over flow port in fluid communication with the environment external to the vessel. The overflow port is configured to separate gas within the vessel from the external environment. The system also includes an overflow conduit having an end within the overflow port so that when gas pressure within the vessel increases, liquid is received by the over flow conduit. Another system includes a tank defining an air space for receiving …

Shrinkage Cracking In Concrete Tilt-Up Construction, Stewart Hooks, Jack Robinson

Architectural Engineering

The purpose of this project is to investigate a particular, undesirable cracking pattern in concrete tilt-up panels that, until now, did not have a known definite cause. The cause of this cracking pattern is hypothesized to be due to shrinkage restraint of the concrete panels. The cracking under investigation occurs at the bottom corners of the Tilt-Up panels, suggesting that the base of the panel is restrained from shrinkage. This project models various components of Tilt-Up Construction that have potential for restraining the panels from shrinking. This project consists of the following main components.

The first aspect of this project …

Speculations On A City For Mars, Edouard Terzis

School of Architecture - Theses

This thesis proposes the reinterpretation of architectural forms as the index of the constitution of the idea of the city. “Speculations on a City on Mars” is paradoxical in a sense as it superposes both the managerial representation of a city, that is Zoning, along with the speculative aspect of an extra-terrestrial city.

Modular House Revival, Kevin Chiang, Spencer Dilley, Sarah Dowthwaite, Trevor Houghton, Ryan Lefebvre, Michele Leung, Cameron Lober, Chris Martinez, Katie Mayer

Architectural Engineering

The Modular House, located in Poly Canyon, has seen extensive damage since the last caretaker left nearly ten years ago. To prevent further damage and improve the safety and appeal of the structure, we are proposing a renovation of the existing building that removes the existing cladding and partitions. By the end of Spring Quarter 2017, the Modular House will have a guardrail system replacing the wood paneling on the walls and a new steel composite deck to replace the current flooring system. The structural steel framing system will remain as is.