Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Geographic Information System-Based Tools In Environmental Management, Zeinab Bedri, Michael Bruen

Articles

The authors reviewed existing modelling platforms as part of a large study of water and pollution pathways through catchments in Ireland (Irish EPA Pathways project). Worldwide, work on producing catchment management tools (CMTs) has been underway for some time and some of the tools identified here date from as early as 1989. Some of the management problems and model conceptualisations have not changed very much but now there is a stronger emphasis on water quality and more concern about a wider range of contaminants. What has changed substantially is the use of Geographical Information System and Graphical Windows interfaces as …

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Water At The Centre Of Environmental Issues – Research At The Ucd Dooge Centre For Water Resources Research, Zeinab Bedri, Eva M. Mockler, Michael Bruen, Yaqian Zhao, Pj Purcell, John O'Sullivan, M. Alsaji, Aisling Corkery, Liam Doherty, M. Dzakpasu, M. Martins, A. Rymszewicz, L. Willuwet

Conference papers

Since 1988, the UCD Dooge Centre for Water Resources Research has been conducting research in a wide range of water topics including hydraulics, hydrology, coastal dynamics and wastewater with an emphasis on multi-disciplinary collaboration. This paper presents an overview of this research, both past and present, and provides an outlook to the future research directions of the Centre.

Hydro-Environmental Modeling Of Sewage And Riverine Discharges Into A Coastal Area: Comparison Of Depth-Averaged And Three-Dimensional Models, Zeinab Bedri, John O'Sullivan, Aisling Corkery, Louise Deering, Katalin Demeter, Wim Meijer, Gregory O'Hare, Bartholomew Masterson

Conference papers

This study applies and compares two hydrodynamic and water quality models; a depth-averaged (TELEMAC-2D) and a three-dimensional model (TELEMAC-3D) on their performance in simulating the transport and fate of Escherichia coli (a main microbial bathing water quality indicator) in the coastal waters of Bray, Ireland subjected to sewage discharges and freshwater inflows from the River Dargle. The models first calibrated and validated against hydrodynamic and water quality data, were used to simulate Escherichia coli distribution patterns based on mean spring and mean neap tides for dry and wet weather scenarios. The hydrodynamic calibration yielded a good match between both models …

Bs News March/April

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Reflections On Energy, Greenhouse Gases, And Carbonaceous Fules, Eugene Coyle, William Grimson, Biswajit Basu, Mike Murphy

Books/Book chapters

In this chapter, we review the history of man’s dependence on carbonaceous fuels for survival, beginning with pre-industrial civilizations, during which charcoal was pro- cessed for thousands of years to smelt iron and copper. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, however, coke and coal became prime energy resources which powered the engine rooms of the industrial revolution. Accompanying the economic and societal benefits of this period was the recognition of the damage resulting from smog owing to excessive burning of coal, which affected both human health and the natural envi- ronment. These pivotal centuries laid the foundation for the advancement …

Employment Opportunities And Skills Requirements For Construction And Property Surveying 2014 - 2018, Roisin Murphy, Stephen Walsh

Reports

In Autumn 2012, a number of Society members expressed their increasing struggle to find qualified graduate surveyors to fill vacancies in their practices. At the same time, members working in academic institutions reported a severe reduction in the number of students enrolling on surveying courses at third level.

Enhancing Building Performance And Environmental Learning: A Case Study Of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Shannon Chance, John Timothy Cole

Books/Book Chapters

School buildings directly affect their natural and socio-cultural environments. They do this through their construction, maintenance, operation, and demolition. Most of the school buildings we have in stock today drain natural resources and inadvertently perpetuate a culture of environmental, social, and long-term economic ignorance and misuse. When approached thoughtfully, however, the design of school buildings can help inform and enrich society. Well-designed buildings can impart environmental knowledge and values. They can foster more effective behaviors among the people who learn in and from them. Effectively designed buildings can also conserve natural resources and—at their best—even help replenish the natural environment. …

Active Confinement Of Weakened Concrete Columns, Niall Holmes, Dervilla Niall, C. O’Shea

Articles

This paper investigates the advantages of using of external active confinement to improve the compression load capacity of concrete cylinders using mild steel band clamps. For this, passive and actively pre-stressed steel bands have been attached to concrete cylinders to mimic real structural columns which may otherwise have to be removed and replaced due to poor strength performance. The experimental programme included compression load testing a number of unreinforced concrete cylindrical specimens to establish the effect the confinement had on the compressive load-carrying capacity and the stress-strain behaviour. A number of parameters were investigated in the study including the effect …

Longitudinal Shear Resistance Of Composite Slabs Containing Crumb Rubber In Concrete Toppings, Niall Holmes, Kevin Dunne, John O'Donnell

Articles

This paper investigates the behaviour and longitudinal shear capacity of metal deck composite slabs with the inclusion of crumb rubber in the concrete toppings. The ability of the slabs to act compositely is governed by the shear interaction between the concrete topping and the profiled steel deck. Results here show that crumb rubber concrete (CRC) improve the overall shear bond capacity between the steel deck and topping following an experimental study on full scale loading tests in accordance with Eurocode 4. The results confirm that composite slabs incorporating crumb rubber had no effect on the longitudinal shear resistance with similar …

A Review Of The Hl-93 Bridge Traffic Load Model Using An Extensive Wim Database, Cathal Leahy, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Donya Hajializadeh

Articles

HL-93, the current bridge traffic load model used in the United States, is examined here. Weigh-in-motion from 17 sites in 16 states, and containing 74 million truck records, is used to assess the level of consistency in the characteristic load effects implied by the HL-93 model. The load effects of bending moment and shear force are considered on single-lane and two-lane same-direction slab and girder bridges with a range of spans. It is found that the ratio of WIM-implied to HL-93 load effect varies considerably from one load effect to another. An alternative model is proposed which achieves improvements in …

Experimental Design Of Photo-Fenton Reactions For The Treatment Of Car Wash Wastewater Effluents By Response Surface Methodological Analysis, Maha Tony, Zeinab Bedri

Articles

Establishing a treatment process for practical and economic disposal of car wash wastewater has become an urgent environmental concern. Photo-Fenton’s process as one of the advanced oxidation processes is a potentially useful oxidation process in treating such wastewater. Lab-scale experiments with UV source, coupled with Fenton’s reagent, showed that hydrocarbon oil is degradable through such a process. The feasibility of photo-Fenton’s process to treat wastewater from a car wash is investigated in the present study. A factorial design based on the response surface methodology was applied to optimize the photo-Fenton oxidation process conditions using chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction as …

A Quantitative Analysis Of The Impact Of Wind Energy Penetration On Electricity Prices In Ireland, Micheal O'Flaherty, Niall Riordan, Noel O'Neill, Ciara Ahern

Articles

The maturity of wind technology combined with availability of suitable sites means Ireland is on course to generate 40% of its electricity from the wind by 2020.This work sets out to quantify, to what degree, if any, increased wind penetration translates into reduced wholesale and retail prices for electricity. The consensus from the literature is that increasing wind penetration reduces wholesale electricity prices, but views vary as to what degree this translates into reduced retail prices for the consumer.

This work demonstrates the effect of wind energy penetration on the price of electricity in Ireland using quantitative data from the …

Equity And Fairness In Transport Planning: The State Of Play, Sarah Rock, Aoife Ahern Prof., Brian Caulfield Dr.

Conference Papers

This paper explores the concept of equity, or fairness, in transport. As a pillar of sustainable development, social equity is an important objective of transport planning. The provision of transport infrastructure can have significant equity impacts on society through the distribution of costs and benefits. In recent years, there has been an increase in research interest in transportation related equity issues. The paper outlines the primary theoretical traditions that relate to equity and transport equity, and how equity concerns are currently addressed and evaluated in academia and in practice. Recent research has attempted to establish stronger principles from which to …

Acoustic Properties Of Concrete Panels With Crumb Rubber As A Fine Aggregate Replacement, Niall Holmes, Alex Browne, Christopher Montague

Articles

This paper presents the acoustic performance of small scale crumb rubber concrete (CRC) panels in terms of the sound absorbance and insulation at low (63, 125, 250 & 500 Hz) and high (1000, 2000, 4000 and 5000 Hz) frequencies. Acoustic tests were conducted with differing levels of fine aggregate replacement with crumb rubber (7.5 and 15%) with four different grades following freezing and heating. Analysis of the workability, compressive strength and density are also presented. The results found that CRC performed well in terms of sound absorbance particularly with higher proportions (15% here) and grades of crumb rubber. As an …

Industrial Relations And The Construction Sector: The Implications Of Mcgowan And Ors V The Labour Court, Ruairi Hayden

Other Resources

On the 9^th May 2013 the Supreme Court in McGowan and Ors v The Labour Court and Ors found Registered Employment Agreements to be incompatible with the Constitution. Registered Employment Agreements (REA) are provided for in Part III of the Industrial Relations Act 1946. Collective bargaining has traditionally been the method for employees and employers to negotiate terms of employment within the construction industry. These agreements would then be registered with the Labour Court and they would have legal effect. Registered Employment Agreements are particularly suited to the construction industry due to the labour intensive nature of the industry …

Testing And Analysis Of An Alternative Connection Method In Closed Panel Timber Frame Domestic Construction, Brendan Towey

Masters

Construction practices continue to evolve in tandem with the requirements for more energy efficient buildings, materials and construction methods. This steady and progressive move towards the development of the industry and its products comes, not in leaps and bounds, but in incremental advances across all areas of construction. The research detailed in this project is one such advancement. Timber frame construction has been in existence for centuries and its tried and tested methods have been utilised worldwide in both domestic and industrial building. In recent times, standard open panel timber frame construction has been enhanced by the development of closed …

Bs News January/February

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Establishing Key Performance Indicators To Measure The Benefit Of Introducing The Facilities Manager At An Early Stage In The Building Information Modelling Process, Barry Mcauley

Conference papers

The Facilities Manager occupies a unique position within the lifecycle of a building asset, as he/she is one of the only AEC / FM professionals who is in a position to view the product of the entire design and build process and, is responsible for the operational phase which incurs approximately five times the initial capital cost. Despite the potential benefits that the Facilities Manager offers, this profession still does not command the recognition it deserves within the AEC/FM sector. This is beginning to change through the introduction of Building Information Modelling (BIM). In order for the BIM process to …

Creating Interactive Facilities Management Capabilities Through Building Information Modelling As A Tool For Managing The Irish Public Sector Estates, Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, Roger West, Deborah Rowland

Conference papers

The Irish Government manages estates that are faced with increased pressure on their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as, poorly managed assets that leave it increasingly difficult for an effective Facilities Management (FM) process to be operated. The FM processes represents the most costly stage in the life-cycle of a building and must now take priority in the design process, as the operating and maintenance costs can be up to five times the capital costs, with the business operating costs reaching up to two hundred times the capital costs over the life of the building. In order for Ireland to …

Establishing Key Performance Indicators To Measure The Benefit Of Introducing The Facilities Manager At An Early Stage In The Building Information Modelling Process, Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

The Facilities Manager occupies a unique position within the lifecycle of a building asset, as he/she is one of the only Architectural, Engineering, and Construction/Facilities Management (AEC / FM) professionals who is in a position to view the product of the entire design and build process. Despite the potential benefits that the Facilities Manager offers, this profession still remains largely undeveloped and still does not command the recognition it deserves within the AEC/FM sector. This is beginning to change through the introduction of Building Information Modelling (BIM) which can offer a new level of functionality for the management of buildings …

Public / Private Bim: An Irish Perspective, Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, John Deeney

Conference papers

The current economic difficulties have affected most practitioners within the industry and, as a result, many firms and contractors are bidding for fewer projects, resulting in below-cost tenders. It is clear that, many firms and contractors are now operating on thin margins; which makes it increasingly difficult for them to commit to the introduction of new software applications and system upgrades. The transition to Building Information Modelling (BIM) from traditional 2D CAD by Irish firms and contractors has been a relatively slow process compared with our international colleagues. There are many reasons for this, including lack of resources, lack of …

Establishing Key Performance Indicators To Measure The Benefit Of Introducing The Facilities Manager At An Early Stage In The Building Information Modelling Process - Presentation, Barry Mcauley

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Bs News November/December

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Creating Interactive Facilities Management Capabilities Through Building Information Modelling As A Tool For Managing The Irish Public Sector Estates - Presentation, Barry Mcauley

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Sweet (Small Wind Energy Estimation Tool), Thomas Woolmington, Keith Sunderland

Other resources

Description:

Generic Wind Energy Estimation Model incorporating Turbulence Intensity.

Requirements:

Manufacturer specific wind turbine characteristic

Mean wind speed at a specific height

Site conditions in terms of TI and Surface Roughness

Disclaimer:

This model has been designed as an estimation tool for estimating the wind power yield of a custom turbine for an idealised set of site conditions for a given year.

While the assumptions that are made in this estimation tool are mathematically plausible they should not in any way be interpreted as an alternative to a real world site assessment.

A list of assumptions to which the model …

Feed‐In Tariff Design For Domestic Scale Grid‐Connected Pv Systems Using High Resolution Household Electricity Demand Data, Lacour Ayompe, Aidan Duffy

Articles

The advent of large samples of smart metering data allows policymakers to design Feed‐in Tariffs which are more targeted and efficient. This paper presents a methodology which uses these data to design FITs for domestic scale gridconnected PV systems in Ireland. A sample of 2,551 household electricity demand data collected at ½‐hourly intervals, electricity output from a 2.82 kWp PV system over the same time interval as well as PV system costs and electricity tariffs were used to determine the required FIT to make it worthwhile for the households to invest in the PV system. The methodology shows that it …

Advancing The Facilities Management Process In Ireland Through The Implementation Of Building Information Modelling Within The Public Sector, Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

It is widely accepted that it costs up to five times more to operate and maintain a building than to construct it. Despite this statistic the Irish construction sector has done little to move towards cutting edge technologies that will help in addressing this impact on life cycle cost. This is due partly to the fact that the Irish construction sector continues to operate in a depressed state. Despite this harsh reality Ireland must find a way to create a public sector that has a more energy efficient and enhanced physical environment in which to operate without sacrificing user thermal …

Analysis Of The Thermal Performance Of A Solar Water Heating System With Flat Plate Collectors In A Temperate Climate, Lacour Ayompe, Aidan Duffy

Articles

The thermal performance of a solar water heating system with 4 m² flat plate collectors in Dublin, Ireland is presented in this paper. The experimental setup consisted of a commercially available forced circulation domestic scale system fitted with an automated sub‐system that controlled hot water draw‐offs and the operation of an auxiliary immersion heater. The system was tested over a year and the maximum recorded collector outlet fluid temperature was 70.4 ^oC while the maximum water temperature at the bottom of the hot water tank was 59.9 ^oC. The annual average daily energy collected was 19.6 MJ/d, …

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.