Civil Engineering Commons^™

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 …

Legal Issues In Green Construction, Namrata Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The most recent "green construction movement", made a significant impact on the design and construction industry in the United States. Organizations such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA) have lobbied governmental entities to provide financial incentives to promote green construction. The green construction community also promotes the notion that a healthier working and living environment is achieved. Due to finical incentives coupled with projected long-term energy cost savings, many owners of new construction are considering green construction as an option. Accompanying the "green construction movement", new kinds of legal issues, particularly relating to green aspects such as certification, energy …

Rainwater Harvesting Storage Methods And Self Supply In Uganda, Jonathan Peter Blanchard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self supply is an emerging approach to water supply which focuses on fostering household investment in incremental improvements to their water sources. When successful, it can lower costs and increase sustainability by offering users a larger share

of ownership in their own supply, and harnessing the already existing strengths of a community rather than trying to impose an external perspective. In addition to well upgrading and source protection, one of the key self supply areas is rainwater harvesting.

Uganda has a diverse selection of rainwater storage options, but many of them are scattered and disparate.

The objective of this study …

Led Traffic Signal Replacement Schedules: Facilitating Smooth Freight Flows, Suzanna Long Ph.D., Ruwen Qin Ph.D., Abhijit Gosavi Ph.D., C. H. Wu Ph.D, Tom Ryan P.E., Casey Noll

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This research details a field study of LED traffic signals in Missouri and develops a replacement schedule based on key findings. Rates of degradation were statistically analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results of this research will provide a methodology for engineering managers in state departments of transportation and local communities in identifying best practices and replacement standards for LED traffic signal technology. These findings will facilitate smooth freight flows through the use of more efficient technologies

Geospatial Assessment Of Sustainable Built Infrastructure Assets And Flood Disaster Protection, Alper Durmus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was initiated with a review and synthesis of infrastructure related to city and urban growth, built infrastructure to meet transportation needs and travel demand, and role of mass transit in reducing adverse impacts on the environment and greenhouse gas emissions. Floods are the most frequently occurring natural disaster in the world, which so far claimed millions of lives and resulted in billion-dollar economic costs. Built infrastructure assets in urban and rural areas are not spared from floods' aftermath. A major motivation for this thesis was the 2011 megaflood disaster of Thailand which devastated the green campus of Asian …

Sustainability In Geotechnical Engineering Internal Geotechnical Report 2011-2, Aditi Misra, Dipanjan Basu

Technical Reports

The built environment serves as a dynamic interface through which the human society and the ecosystem interact and influence each other. Understanding this interdependence is key to understanding sustainability as it applies to civil engineering. There is a growing consensus that delivering a sustainable built environment starts with incorporating sustainability thoughts at the planning and design stages of a project. Geotechnical engineering is the most resource intensive of all the civil engineering disciplines and can significantly influence the sustainability of infrastructure development because of its early position in the construction process. In this report, a review is made of the …

Low Cycle Fatigue Behavior Of Concrete With Recycled Concrete Aggregates, Paul Mark Gordon

Master's Theses

A comparison of concrete containing recycled concrete coarse aggregates and natural coarse aggregates subjected to high strain, low cycle compressive fatigue is presented. Using a strain based feedback control loop, concrete cylinders are compressed at 15µε/s to a specified strain then unloaded to zero stress for 10 cycles. After cycling, all samples are loaded to a strain of 0.008. Direct concrete material variables are the water to cement (w/c) ratio, taken as 0.60, 0.45, and 0.39, and percent coarse recycled concrete aggregate content, varied from zero to 100 percent. The primary testing variable is the specified unloading strain. Unloading strains …

Economic Input–Output Life Cycle Assessment Of Water Reuse Strategies In Residential Buildings And Communities, Derek J. Gardels

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The objective of this study was to determine the environmental sustainability and economic feasibility of five water reuse designs using economic input-output life cycle assessments and benefit/cost analyses. These five water reuse designs were evaluated for four regions of the United States including the Northwest (Seattle), Southwest (Scottsdale), Midwest (Omaha), and Southeast (Tampa). The water reuse designs include a greywater reuse system with no treatment for sub-surface landscape irrigation for a single-family residential house (Model 1), an indoor greywater reuse system with treatment for toilet flushing and laundry washing for a single-family residential house (Model 2), a hybrid untreated greywater …

Seismic Characterization Of Recycled Aggregate Concrete, Amin Jamali

Dissertations

There are significant environmental benefits of recycling waste concrete and reusing it as aggregate for structural concrete, but the use of Recycled Aggregate Concrete (RAC) is yet limited to non-structural applications such as road sub-base. Widespread application of RAC in areas such as seismic design requires an improved knowledge of RAC behavior under multiaxial state of stresses.

The main objective of this research is the characterization of seismic properties of RAC by developing a stress-strain model which can reasonably describe the behavior under both unconfined and confined conditions. An extensive experimental program, including testing of several plain RAC cylinders as …

Identifying Barriers To Address During The Delivery Of Sustainable Building Renovation Projects, Corey Cattano

All Theses

Architects, engineers, and contractors are continuously searching for tools and methods to reduce the unique risks associated with the delivery of construction projects. Since national policies to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption will require drastic improvements to the existing building stock, one specific area in need of such tools is the sustainable renovation of existing buildings. The purpose of this research is to identify the barriers to address during the delivery of sustainable renovation projects and offer solutions that overcome these barriers. For example, typical renovation projects do not coordinate energy retrofits with building system renovations, resulting in poor …

Comparing Problem-Based Learning And Lecture As Methods To Teach Whole-Systems Design To Engineering Students, Michael Dukes

All Theses

The objective of this research is to compare problem-based learning and lecture as methods to teach whole-systems design to engineering students. A case study, Appendix A, exemplifying successful whole-systems design was developed and written by the author in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Institute. Concepts to be tested were then determined, and a questionnaire was developed to test students' preconceptions. A control group of students was taught using traditional lecture methods, and a sample group of students was taught using problem-based learning methods. After several weeks, the students were given the same questionnaire as prior to the instruction, and the …

Material Sustainability, Jessica Meadows, Natasha Morris

Architectural Engineering

This paper addresses the sustainability of the materials used to construct buildings today. Timber, concrete and steel are analyzed for carbon output, cost, and recyclable-ability.

Use Of Steel Slag In Subgrade Applications, Irem Zeynep Yildirim, Monica Prezzi

JTRP Technical Reports

Steel slag is a by-product of steelmaking and refining processes. In 2006, 10-15 million metric ton of steel slag was generated in the U.S. Out of the total steel slag produced in the U.S. every year, about 50-70% is used as aggregate for road and pavement construction and approximately 15-40% is stockpiled in steel plants and eventually landfilled at slag disposal sites. Since current levels of steel slag stockpiling and landfilling are not sustainable, alternative geotechnical engineering applications for steel slag are being explored to alleviate the slag disposal problem and to help save dwindling natural resources. The main objectives …

Environmental Impact Of Wetland Resources Utilization In Simuyu Basin, Tanzania, Shadrack Mwakalila

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

There is a growing appreciation of the natural functions of wetlands, and the values and different forms of uses that humans attach to them. Wise use and special conservation strategies are therefore needed in order to sustain their productivity. Wetlands are one of the most fruitful areas of archaeological research, and they are the ideal setting in which to study the interactions between physical processes and human actions that encapsulate and exemplify many of the themes of man's impact on his environment. But all these beneficial functions of wetlands seem to be in danger of being lost to draining and …

Requirements Of A Sustainable Pavement Management System For Tanzania, N. K.M. Mushule

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Since the introduction of pavement management concepts in mid-1960s, more than three decades ago, a considerable number of Pavement Management Systems (PMS) have been developed and implemented widely in many parts of the world. These systems differ in scope and sophistication. However, in some cases, pavement management systems have fallen into marginal use, if not into complete disuse, because of a number of reasons. One of the major reasons leading to the marginalisation or abandonment of pavement management systems, is the failure of system developers to recognise specific and unique needs of the agency or authority responsible for road management. …

A Systematic Approach To Water Resources Development, P. Widmoser

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

abstract