Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Behavior-Based Safety In Construction, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Behavior-based safety approach that was introduced into the United States in 1930's and has been popular in manufacturing area since 1980's assumes that many of injuries and illnesses are the result of unsafe acts by workers. Behavior-based safety is a proactive approach to increasing safety in the workplace and in the community. It is based on sound, research-based, and behavioral practices, and are easy to use with minimal training.

Cable-Based Water Leak Detection Technology, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Water leaks can be considered as a serious problem from many sources such as water supply and return chains, air conditioning units, cold-water chillers, clogged drains, damaged skylights or windows, or even construction errors. The new water leak detection technologies can provide significant advantages in cost, reliability, and easy adoption have continued since the traditional technology mainly focusing on a spot detector revealed several limitations.

In Situ Remediation Using Horizontal Wells, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Horizontal well technology has been widely used in petroleum and underground utility installation. Since late 1980's, the technology has been adapted for environmental remediation applications. Two general methods in drilling horizontal wells have been used in remediation, trenched and directionally-drilled. The first method involves the excavation of a relatively large diameter borehole, with simultaneous installation of well materials and backfill. The second method, directional drilling, produces a smaller diameter borehole and well materials are installed following the completion of drilling activities.

Plasma Arc Torch Technology, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

For many years, in-situ thermal vitrification has been recognized as one method to remediate contaminated soils and help stabilize land fills. However, the complexity of the process and the uncertainty of the results have limited the use of this remediation technique.A plasma is a gas that has been ionized by the electric arc of a plasma torch and can therefore respond to electrical and magnetic fields. Plasma arc technology can create plasma using almost any type of gas (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, air, etc.) and in a wide range of pressures (vacuum to 20 atmospheres).The process of plasma remediation of …

Ust(Underground Storage Tanks) Leak Detection System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Low range differential pressure (LRDP) leak detection system used to detect leaks in underground storage tanks (UST) was developed by Vista Research, Inc. This leak detection and monitoring system is used for early detection of small leaks in bulk fuel UST’s. The technology works independently of the tank size and rate of leakage as low range differential pressure (LRDP) system is a mass-based.

Real-Time Construction Component Tracking System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Accurate and timely identification and tracking of construction components are critical to operating a well-managed and cost efficient construction project. The prototype component tracking system developed for this technology integrates field sensors, portable computers, wireless communication, and real-time kinematic (RTK) global position (GPS) equipment.

Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers (Emat), Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The current accepted non-destructive evaluation methods used in the inspection of welds have several shortcomings regarding cost, false defect indications, and lack of sensitiveness to certain flaw orientations in welds.

Infrared Gas Sensor, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

In recent years, the rapid development of monitoring and detecting technology of indoor air quality have been observed. We have seen the two major streams of detection technology introduced so far: Acoustic wave sensor and Infrared gas sensor. The use of a gas monitoring system in the case of that dangerous levels of gases are detected, can help to prevent an explosion or can help to prevent worker injury or exposure to toxic gases.

Super Therm - Ceramic Paint Insulation, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

SUPER THERM is the result of years of research and development into Thermal Conductivity in cooperation with the Marshall Space Center, division of NASA. SUPER THERM is a combination of high-performance acrylic resins in water, which contain no cosolvents and will dry by evaporation.

Bone-Shaped Short Fiber Composite, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Civil engineers use steel, fiberglass and other similar materials to increase concrete's strength and toughness, but using those materials often requires costly construction techniques. Short-wire reinforced concrete should become a favorite technology since the process is compatible with standard construction processes and the steel used for the bone-shaped fibers is relatively cheap. Researchers at Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory have discovered that enlarging the ends of small fibers mixed into concrete substantially increases the material's overall strength and toughness.

Gfrc Facade Panels With Steel Stud/Flex Anchor Connection, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The ability of building cladding systems to perform successfully depends primarily on their proper design and construction. Current practices in the United States utilize GFRC (Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete) panels. However, new problems are being detected with such systems. The facade and its attachments (using GFRC) are not being adequately implemented to accommodate vertical and horizontal differential movement between the panels and concrete frame which is resulting in failure or cracking of the panels, and chipping off of the supporting concrete. With proper design and construction, steel stud-framed GFRC-skin cladding concept provides a versatile system for freedom of expression in …

Substiwood™ - Concrete Lumber, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

In the United States, wood lumber products have always formed the primary (and secondary) elements of many types of construction, especially in the single-and multi-family housing sector. A new cementitious material, 'concrete lumber' products (SubstiwoodTM) developed by Substiwood Inc. is structurally strong, durable, nailable with conventional screws and nails, and sawable using hand or electric saws. Unlike other construction alternatives to wood framing, the SubstiwoodTM products essentially maintain the existing wood frame construction methods, processes, equipment, and skilled labor.

Ultrascreen - Sight And Sound Barrier Partition Walls, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Panels have been widely used for many years to act as sight and sound barriers in most of the highways and in residential areas where visual privacy is needed. The United States Gypsum Company, early in the 1980's started developing technologies to improve and reduced costs using lightweight cement panels. Recently, USG along with AFM Corporation introduced ULTRASCREEN: Sight and Sound Barrier. This lightweight panels require no special equipment for installation, maintenance, or replacement making them beneficial. This latest development also creates a system with good acoustical performance and excellent strength to weight ratio.

Frp Rebar (Afrp, Cfrp, Gfrp), Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Insufficient concrete cover, poor design or workmanship, and presence of large amounts of aggressive agents including environmental factors all can lead to cracking of the concrete and corrosion of the steel rebar. The problems of steel corrosion are avoided with the use of FRPs because FRP materials are nonmetallic and noncorrosive. In addition, FRP materials exhibit several properties including high tensile strength, that make them suitable for the use as structural reinforcement. Furthermore, codes and design guide provisions have been recently prepared for the use of FRP bars in concrete structures for bridges and buildings.

Electrochemical Chloride Extraction, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Conventional methods to deal with chloride-contaminated concrete require the removal of the contaminated concrete and replacement with uncontaminated concrete. These methods are noisy, dirty, time consuming, costly, and in some cases structurally detrimental. The Norcure system is a rehabilitation method developed to remove salt (chloride ions) from salt contaminated concrete structures without damaging the concrete. The removal of chloride ions stops the corrosion of embedded reinforcing steel and greatly extends the service life of salt contaminated structures.

Dis Seismic Isolater, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Seismic isolation bearings isolate a structure from the ground motion produced by an earthquake. The energy absorption devices are designed to absorb the energy associated with an earthquake. This seismic (Base) Isolator consists of alternate layers of rubber and steel bonded together, with a cylinder of pure lead tightly inserted through a hole in the middle. The rubber layers allow the isolator to easily displace sideways, reducing the earthquake loads felt by the building and its occupants. They also act as a spring, ensuring that the structure returns to its original position after the shaking has stopped.

Dynamic Construction Visualizer, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The Dynamic Construction Visualizer (DCV) is general-purpose 3D visualization system that allows simulation model developers to animate modeled operations with chronological and spatial accuracy in 3D virtual space. The system is independent of any particular simulation-modeling program or CAD modeling software.

Superpave System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The Superpave is the acronym for 'SUperior PERforming Asphalt PAVEments' system. It was developed by Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) to give highway engineers and contractors the tools they need to design asphalt pavements that will perform better under extremes of temperature and heavy traffic loads.

Prosidyc: Simulation Program For Construction Operations, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

PROSIDYC is a system for simulating construction operations jointly developed by the Planning and Methods Unit of Dragados y Construcciones, Madrid, Spain and the Division of Construction Engineering & Management at Purdue University. PROject SImulation Dragados Y Construcciones (PROSIDYC) is a computer based system for analyzing construction job site production processes. It is used to improve productivity in the field by studying resource utilization and cycle times and identifying opportunities for production improvement. PROSIDYC uses the CYCLic Operations NEtwork (CYCLONE) modeling format originally developed by Daniel W. Halpin

Stroboscope, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

STROBOSCOPE is an acronym for STate and Resource Based Simulation of COnstructionProcEsses. It is a general-purpose simulation programming language that has been designed for the simulation of very complex construction processes that involve many different types of resources. STROBOSCOPE models are based on a network of interconnected modeling elements and on a series of programming statements that give the elements unique behavior and control the simulation.

3d Laser Scanning & Modeling System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Traditional methods of measuring and modeling the surface geometry of large, complex structures or sites that require engineering or survey-grade accuracy are often inaccurate, incomplete or expensive. Inaccurate or incomplete drawings and models often lead to costly construction errors or delays. A portable, auto-scanning laser and PC system that lets users economically obtain accurate, complete, and timely as-built geometry information for large structures and sites. The system can remotely measure natural surfaces up to 100m away at the speed of 800 points per second. With spacing between adjacent points as fine as 1mm, users can capture an extremely high level …

Extraction Of Contaminated Soil Using High Pressure Jet Grouting, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Removal of contaminated soil underneath existing structures causes settlement. There is a need for a remediation technology that eliminates this problem. The jet grouting by the triple rod system can be combined with an on site remediation technology (e.g., soil washing). Jet grouting was developed primarily for underpinning and/or excavation support. The benefits of this technology lie in the future reduction of structural settlement, and site access flexibility.

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Semantic 3d Cad And Its Applications In Construction Industry — An Outlook Of Construction Data Visualization, Zhigang Shen, Raja R. A. Issa, Linxia Gu

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

In response to the need of using electronic design data directly in construction management applications, many CAD developers have started implementing semantic data models in their CAD products using industry foundation classes (IFCs). While helpful, these semantic CAD applications have limitations when used in actual construction practices. The case studies in the thesis indicated that: 1) the semantics of the current data model (IFC as an example) is not rich enough to cover the richer details of the real trade practices; 2) the current implementation of the semantic data model lacks the mechanism to provide multiple trades views at various …

Increasing Effectiveness Of Public Private Partnerships In The Irish Construction Industry, Louis Gunnigan

Doctoral

By 2003 the first Irish Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects had reached the operational stage. Media reports were emerging of significant differences in the effectiveness of these projects.

This research set out to find a means by which effectiveness of PPPs could be increased and to develop a model that would assist PPP practitioners with this task in the future. Through a literature review, the Irish PPP process was mapped, the changes encountered in the introduction of PPP were investigated and a conceptual model – based on a traditional process model - was proposed. The model was tested by examining …

Realising Electronic Tendering In The Irish Construction Industry, Alan V. Hore

Conference papers

No abstract provided.

Efficiency Gains To Be Won Through The Introduction Of Electronic Tendering In The Construction Industry, Alan V. Hore, Roger West

Conference papers

The tendering process predominantly adopted in the Irish construction industry is largely paper-dependent. However, the increase in the availability of high speed Information Communications Technology (ICT) has meant that construction consultants can disseminate this information more cost effectively in an electronic format. The aim of this paper is to present a status report on an industry-led network project currently being undertaken by the Construction Information Technology Alliance (CITA) in Ireland. This project aims to demonstrate how greater effectiveness and efficiency can be applied to the tendering process by the application of ICT already used widely in other industries. The status …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.