Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Reducing Life Cycle Impacts Of The Existing Irish Housing Stock., Albert Famuyibo

Doctoral

Abstract

Despite the importance of addressing the challenges of the 2020 emissions reduction targets of both the European Union (EU) and Ireland, current residential emissions policies have focused mainly on the few existing studies that are primarily used to predict end-use energy and CO₂ emissions savings. To allow all energy and emissions across life cycle phases to be evaluated, a process-based life cycle analysis (LCA) hybrid model was developed with the aim of determining the extent of reductions in resource consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and costs of maintaining the existing Irish housing stock.

Thirteen representative archetypes of the …

Bs News November/December

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Characterisation And Numerical Modelling Of Viscoelastic Polyurethane Foams For Use In Custom Wheelchair Seating, Conor Briody

Doctoral

Viscoelastic polyurethane foam is widely used in wheelchair cushions as it offers good pressure relieving capabilities. However, the behaviour of this material is largely un-quantified, by comparison with conventional elastomeric materials.
Consequently, in many cases, inadequate cushioning is provided to wheelchair
users with complex seating requirements. This thesis characterises and
numerically models viscoelastic polyurethane foam.
Temperature-dependent static compression and simple shear test procedures are conducted on a range of viscoelastic polyurethane foams and selected results are utilised to identify Ogden Hyperfoam material model parameters. Time-dependent creep and stress relaxation test procedures are conducted and test results are used in conjunction …

Engineering Project Appraisal (2nd. Ed), Martin G. Rogers, Aidan Duffy

Books/Book Chapters

In most cases of civil engineering development, a range of alternative schemes meeting project goals are feasible, so some form of evaluation must be carried out to select the most appropriate to take forward. Evaluation criteria usually include the economic, environmental and social contexts of a project as well as the engineering challenges, so engineers must be familiar with the processes and tools used.

The second edition of Engineering Project Appraisal equips students with the understanding and analytical tools to carry out effective appraisals of alternative development schemes, using both economic and non-economic criteria. The building blocks of economic appraisal …

Incorporation Of Life Cycle Models In Determining Optimal Wind Energy Infrastructural Provision, Brendan Cleary, Aidan Duffy, Alan O'Connor

Conference papers

The deployment of wind energy has grown rapidly over the last two decades with an average annual growth rate of more than 26% since 1990. During this period the development and innovation of wind turbines has resulted in continual growth in wind turbine size with output ranges of 10-15MW likely to be deployed by 2020. This increased output has a knock-on effect on the growth of rotor diameters and tower heights. Wind turbine towers are required to become taller, stronger and stiffer in order to carry the increased weight and associated structural loading. Consequently, the dimensions of the tower cross-sections …

Framework For Formative Assessment Learning Strategies In Built Environment Higher Education Programmes, Lloyd Scott, Christopher Fortune

Conference papers

Formative assessment has begun to be recognized as a driving force for enhancing student learning. This paper addresses the context of Built Environment (BE) undergraduate programmes and the findings from a research project in the context of the changing Higher Education (HE) environment. The analysis of the literature on formative assessment shows that there is a common concern among the educational researchers about the function and position of assessment in HE today. The overall aim of this research is to contribute to an improvement in the quality of student learning in BE undergraduate education through the development of a theoretical …

An Energy Survey Of The Church Lane Building At Dit, Joseph Teehan

Other resources

Within the European Union, the collective governments have introduced broad energy policies in order to increase energy efficiency and improve energy performance in new and existing buildings, within each member state. The following dissertation considers energy and how energy is used within the context of global and local consumption in an extensive literature review. Where does the future lie for Ireland and its energy sources? Policies, standards and regulations associated with energy efficiency and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) are defined and briefly explained. The status of how well the response from the commercial building market to Building …

Probabilistic Analysis Of Indeterminate Highway Bridges Considering Material Nonlinearity, Liam Mccarthy

Masters

With ever-reducing maintenance budgets and ever-deteriorating bridge infrastructure, th assessment of existing bridges is vital. Reliability analysis techniques are becomin increasingly popular in the structural safety assessment of existing bridge structures Commonly, a component based approach is used in reliability analysis techniques Traditional reliability procedures often employ a conservative definition of failure, in that th component is deemed to have failed when the strength capacity has been exceeded at a singl cross section. As a result, the component's degree of redundancy and ductility is ignored giving an often conservative estimate of the load carrying capacity of the bridge component Therefore, …

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Leveraging Whole Life Cycle Costs When Utilising Building Information Modelling Technologies, Barry Mcauley, Dermot Kehily, Alan Hore

Conference papers

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is now being increasingly used as a technology tool to assist design professions in conceiving, designing, constructing, and operating the built environment in many countries. The BIM model provides design professions with the framework to perform exercises in design, programming, cost and value management, and concept energy analysis, in order to achieve the most economical and sustainable building solution. The BIM model though sophisticated is not extensively used to provide estimation software with the data requirements for Life Cycle Costing (LCC), such as, escalation of future expenditure and/or present value costs, discount rates, and study periods. …

Use Of Building Information Modelling In Responding To Low Carbon Construction Innovations: An Irish Perspective., Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

At present the Irish construction industry is facing one of its most uncertain and challenging periods and will see major cuts in all areas of the economy in 2012. Despite this, Ireland pushes forward in sustainability initiatives with the Government ruling that environmentally-friendly policies are to get priority in competing for State contracts worth up to €16 billion a year. This and further initiatives are in place, so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20% by the year 2020.By the end of 2018 the public sector must own or rent only buildings with high energy-saving standards and …

Implementing Building Information Modeling In Public Works Projects In Ireland, Barry Mcauley, Alan V. Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

The Irish State in recent years has suffered huge financial losses in the public works sector, which has now pushed the Irish Government to explore new ways of controlling cost. This background lead to the introduction of the Capital Works Management Framework in 2007 which aimed to support the certainty of outcome in terms of cost and quality, as well as improved risk management, through the implementation of fixed price contracts. In order to successfully compete within this framework it is recommended by the authors, that Irish Government moves towards the legal mandating of BIM. This can ensure a greater …

Using Life Cycle Assessment To Compare Wind Energy Infrastructure, Brendan Cleary, Aidan Duffy, Alan O'Connor

Conference papers

Given the need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to the production of electricity, countries worldwide are trying to develop and implement different energy saving strategies and technologies to mitigate global warming. A core part of achieving this is the development and implementation of renewable energy technologies such as wind.

This has resulted in the development and innovation of wind turbines with output ranges of 10-15MW likely to be deployed by 2020. This increased output has a knock on effect on the growth of rotor diameters and tower heights requiring the wind turbine system to be assessed from …

Developing Archetypes For Domestic Dwellings:An Irish Case Study, Albert Famuyibo, Aidan Duffy, Paul Strachan

Articles

Stock modelling, based on representative archetypes, is a promising tool for exploring areas for resource and emission reductions in the residential sector. The use of archetypes developed using detailed statistical analysis (multi-linear regression analysis, clustering and descriptive statistics) rather than traditional qualitative techniques allows a more accurate representation of the overall building stock variability in terms of geometric form, constructional materials and operation. This paper presents a methodology for the development of archetypes based on information from literature and a sample of detailed energy-related housing data. The methodology involves a literature review of studies to identify the most important variables …

Bs News July/August

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Implementing Of Building Information Modelling In Public Works Projects In Ireland - Presentation, Barry Mcauley

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

An Environmental Consequence For Dublin Bay Of A Shift From Hydro-Carbon To Other Energy Production Methods, Zeinab Bedri, John O'Sullivan, Michael Bruen

Conference papers

The Liffey Estuary and Dublin Bay, Ireland are of a great recreational and conservational value. Until recently, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) plant at Poolbeg, Dublin, abstracted dilution water from the estuary for cooling purposes and subsequently discharged this water back to the estuary at temperatures that were sometimes 7-9oC above ambient values. Prior to its discharge to the estuary, the ESB cooling water was mixed with the sewage effluent from Ringsend Treatment Works, creating a warmer and less-saline pollutant plume that remained buoyant on the water surface, adversely effecting water quality. The ESB plant has since closed as part …

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Enhancement Factors For The Vertical Response Of Footbridges Subjected To Stochastic Crowd Loading, Colin Caprani, Joe Keogh, Paul Archbold, Paul Fanning

Articles

The vertical acceleration response of a hypothetical footbridge is predicted for a sample of single pedestrians and a crowd of pedestrians using a probabilistic approach. This approach uses statistical distributions to account for the fact that pedestrian parameters are not identical for all pedestrians. Enhancement factors are proposed for predicting the response due to a crowd based on the predicted accelerations of a single pedestrian. The significant contribution of this work is the generation of response curves identifying enhancement factors for a range of crowd densities and synchronization levels.

Bs News March/April

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Lynches Lane Reed & Willow Bed Facility Final Report South Dubin County Council, Liam Mccarton, Sean O'Hogain, Don Mcdonald, Anna Reid

Reports

This final report will present results from a two year study to monitor the performance of a hybrid reed willow bed facility at Lynches Lane, in the administrative area of South Dublin County Council (SDCC). Design specifications for the facility are presented. Monitoring results for a two year period including influent and effluent parameters, rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and soil classification are also presented and discussed. During the two year monitoring period the system achieved a zero discharge. This report will discuss the potential application of similar systems within South Dublin County Council administrative area. This is in the context of …

Use Of Building Information Modelling In Responding To Low Carbon Construction Innovations: An Irish Perspective, Alan V. Hore

Conference papers

At present the Irish construction industry is facing one of its most uncertain and challenging periods and will see major cuts in all areas of the economy in 2012. Despite this, Ireland pushes forward in sustainability initiatives with the Government ruling that environmentally-friendly policies are to get priority in competing for State contracts worth up to €16 billion a year. This and further initiatives are in place, so as to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 20% by the year 2020. By the end of 2018 the public sector must own or rent only buildings with high energy-saving standards …

Nonlinear Response Of Structures To Characteristic Loading Scenarios, Donya Hajializadeh, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Emma Sheils

Conference papers

To assess the safety of an existing bridge, the traffic loads to which it may be subjected in its lifetime need to be accurately quantified. In this paper the 75 year characteristic maximum traffic load effects are found using a carefully calibrated traffic load simulation model. To generate the bridge loading scenarios, an extensive weigh in motion (WIM) database, from three different European countries, is used. Statistical distributions for vehicle weights, inter-vehicle gaps and other characteristics are derived from the measurements, and are used as the basis for Monte Carlo simulations of traffic representing many years. An advantage of this …

The Effect Of Lane Changing On Long-Span Highway Bridge Traffic Loading, Bernard Enright, Colm Carey, Colin C. Caprani

Conference papers

Maximum loading on long-span bridges typically occurs in congested traffic conditions. As traffic becomes congested car drivers may change lane, increasing the tendency for trucks to travel in platoons. For long-span bridges this phenomenon may increase the regularity and severity of bridge repair programs, with potential significant associated costs. This research investigates the effect of lane changing by car drivers on bridge loading. A Monte Carlo simulation model in which individual car drivers probabilistically decide, based on a lane-changing bias probability, whether or not to change lane has been developed. The sensitivity of bridge loading to this factor is investigated …

Estimating Characteristic Bridge Loads On A Non-Primary Road Network, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Brendan Williams, Cathal Leahy

Conference papers

When collecting truck loading data on a primary road network a common approach is to install a large network of permanent pavement-based Weigh-In-Motion systems. An alternative to this approach would be to use one or more portable Bridge Weigh-In-Motion systems which could be moved between bridges at regular intervals to determine the traffic loading throughout the network. A data collection strategy is needed to put such a system to best use. This paper details the data collection strategies which were examined for the National Roads Authority in Ireland. The use of urban economic concepts including Central Place Theory are discussed …

Reliability Analysis Of Footbridge Serviceability Considering Crowd Loading, Joe Keogh, Colin C. Caprani, Paul Archbold, Paul Fanning

Conference papers

The characteristic vertical response of flexible footbridges subjected to single pedestrian and crowd loading is examined in this paper. Typically, bridge vibrations produced from a crowd of pedestrians are estimated by using an enhancement factor applied to the effect caused by a single pedestrian. In this paper a moving force model is used in Monte Carlo simulations of a non-homogeneous sample of single pedestrians and crowds to estimate characteristic vertical vibration levels. Also in this work, statistical distributions of the bridge parameters are considered, these include flexural rigidity, mass and rotational stiffness at the supports. It was previously proven by …

The Effect Of Clusters Within Crowds Of Pedestrians On The Vertical Response Of A Flexible Footbridge, Joe Keogh, Colin C. Caprani, Paul Archbold, Paul Fanning

Conference papers

The issue of excessive vibrations of footbridges due to the passage of pedestrians has been well documented in the past decade. Despite this there still remains great uncertainty as to how to predict the acceleration response of a footbridge due to crowd loading. This paper investigates the vibration response of a flexible footbridge subjected to crowd loading. Using a statistical model which caters for the variability of pedestrians, the vibration response of the footbridge is obtained. In this work, the effect of social groups or clusters of pedestrians in a crowd is investigated. Herein a cluster is defined as two …

Probabilistic Study Of Lifetime Load Effect Distribution Of Bridges, Donya Hajializadeh, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Colin C. Caprani, Emma Sheils, Simon Wilson

Conference papers

Assessment of highway bridge safety requires a prediction of the probability of occurrence of extreme load effects during the remaining life of the structure. While the assessment of the strength of an existing bridge is relatively well understood, the traffic loading it is subject to, has received less attention in the literature. The recorded traffic data are often limited to a number of days or weeks due to the cost of data collection. Studies in the literature have used many different methods to predict the lifetime maximum bridge load effect using a small amount of data, including fitting block maximum …

Tendering Procedures In Ppp: A Literature Review, Nunzia Carbonara, Louis Gunnigan, Roberta Pellegrino, Fabio Sciancalepore

Articles

Purpose – This paper aims at providing an overview about literature on tendering process in PPP, with particular regard to transportation PPP case.

Design/methodology/approach – The approach is based on the analysis of the pertinent publications on the theme.

Findings – Three main interest areas can be found in the literature: tendering procedures, evaluation methods and evaluation criteria. Social implications – Contract authorities have several tools in order to pre-qualify and select bidders and negotiate with them: they can choose the instruments which best fit to their market

Originality/value – The paper provides a complete overview on PPP tendering procedures …

Life Cycle Cost Analysis Under Ireland's Capital Works Management Framework, Dermot Kehily, Alan Hore

Conference papers

The Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF) is a structure that has been developed to deliver the Irish government’s objectives in relation to public sector construction procurement reform. This research provides practical guidance and assistance for construction cost professionals in carrying out Whole Life Cycle Cost Analysis (WLCCA) and producing Life Cycle Cost Models(LCCMs) under the CWMF. The research outlines how LCCA calculations can be carried out for cost planning purposes and recommends a standard methodology for presenting LCCMs under the CWMF. The CWMF states that Whole Life Costs (WLC) are an important consideration throughout the design process and should be …