Analysis of BIM application relationship with integration degree of construction environment

As the world pays more attention to low-earbon and sustainable development,there’s a growing trend in architecture,engineering and construction fields to construct greener,more energy efficient and more sustainable buildings with the help of building information modeling(BIM).As BIM application becomes popular in industry,more and more scholars and engineers point out that an integrated construction environment is better for BIM’s fully functional capability.This paper illustrates the relationship between BIM application and an integrated construction environment based on case survey data.It is found that even though an integration construction environment is not necessary in BIM application,the statistical results showed that DBB(design-bid-build)and CM(construction management)modes have great differences in BIM’s application implementation scope and implementation deepness,while DB and CM modes do not.     

Toxicity of building materials: a key issue in sustainable construction

To avoid the use of toxic building materials is one of the principles of sustainable construction. However and contrary to general beliefs, current residential buildings frequently contain many toxic building materials, some of which even comply with legal regulations. Part of the problem is because architects and civil engineers have no form of knowing the toxicity of building materials. The other part is economically related. Some regulations about toxicity limits are influenced by economic reasons. For instance, although scientific evidence about the toxicity of lead plumbing has existed for quite some time, legal regulations avoid imposing very tight thresholds because of the cost of lead pipe substitution (in Europe that could cost almost 200,000 million euros). It is then no surprise to see that the related Directive (98/83/CE) established a 15-year delay period before the 10 μg/l lead content threshold is enforced. This paper discusses some cases of toxic building materials by reviewing previously published work, it also covers the emission of volatile organic compounds from paints and varnishes, the toxicity of impregnating agents, materials that release toxic fumes during a fire, asbestos-based materials, radioactive materials and lead plumbing.     

Workplace Hazards and Prevention Options From a Nonrandom Sample of Retail Trade Businesses

Employer commitment is a key factor in an effective safety program, yet limited research has focused on the safety priorities of retail store managers. To address this, the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recruited 4 experienced ergonomists, who met and interviewed 9 retailers in different parts of the eastern USA. The reports from the 9 interviews were used to document the hazards facing retailers and the interventions they attempted. Those interviewed were managers/owners of establishments that ranged from a small bakery with 11 employees to a supermarket with 85 or more employees. The main hazards across all establishments included overexertion, contact-with-objects, and falls-to-the-same-level. We also compared the retailers’ perceptions of safety hazards with injuries from actual hazards as supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This report provides insight into the retailers ‘ perceptions of safety hazards as well as their commitment to the prevention of workplace injuries.     

Resistance of Medical Gloves to Permeation by Methyl Methacrylate (MMA), Ethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and 1,4-Butanediol Dimethacrylate (1,4-BDMA)

Gloves afford hand protection by minimizing skin contact. The effectiveness of medical gloves to protect against permeation of the monomers, methyl methacrylate (MMA), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and 1,4-butanediol dimethacrylate (1,4-BDMA), was assessed focusing on permeation rates and degradation of glove materials caused by monomer contact. Fifteen different brands of gloves were tested using a European Standard procedure. Surface images of glove materials before and after exposure to the monomer mixture were obtained using a scanning electron microscope. The standard is not applicable as the only method for estimating the safety of gloves, but it is useful as guideline together with the cumulative permeation of acrylic monomers. Monomer contact on the outside resulted in substantial swelling of most glove materials, and structure changes of the inside surface.     

Deposition and Resuspension of Selected Aerosols Particles on Electrically Charged Filter Materials for Respiratory Protective Devices

The primary aim of the study was to analyse the non-steady state of filtration for selected electrostatic filter materials designed for use in respiratory protective devices. The obtained results showed that the filtration process in electrostatic filters was dependent in the main on the following factors: type of the filter material, electrostatic field strength of the material, and the charge of the aerosol.

To a lesser degree the filtration process depended on the sign of the charge and the relative humidity of the air. A significant correlation was found between the increase in the penetration and the decrease in breathing resistance while the filter was being loaded.

The effect of resuspension (tearing off and re-deposition of dust agglomerates inside the filter) on the filtration process very significant. It was also observed that under certain conditions electrostatic filter materials lost their protection properties.     

常用过滤材料对微细颗粒过滤性能的研究

通过实验手段对几种过滤材料的阻力、过滤效率进行了研究。结果表明,目前常用的过滤材料对超细颗粒物的除尘效果并不理想,尚有很大的提升空间。     

'Remove a Fence,Invite Chaos': Children as active agents of change

There are now numerous sustainable development evaluation methods to evaluate sustainable development progress. Which one to use will depend on the resources, the goals and the stakeholders. Ideally the method selected and its indicators would themselves indicate how to achieve sustainable development. Such a choice can be difficult without a framework to help ensure the representation of the essential elements of sustainable development.

This paper presents such a framework by drawing on ecological terminology to define aspects of sustainable development as manifested in the natural world. Examples of how these can be measured are provided along with an explanation of how the components of the framework contribute to achieving sustainable development in social systems.     

Energy Saving in Building Construction in China: A Review

Abstract

China is a developing country experiencing rapid economic growth. In recent years, increased urbanization has caused a tremendous rise of the energy consumption of buildings, and a corresponding need is to save this energy. In this article, the technologies and laws relative to building energy saving in China were presented which include building construction, the compound building energy system, policies, and the law etc. In order to fulfill the three stages of energy saving plan in building construction in China, the principal methods for developing building energy saving are introduced.     

Fatty Acids as Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for Thermal Energy Storage: A Review

Abstract

Thermal energy storage (TES) technologies in general and phase change materials (PCMs) in particular, have been topic in research for the last 20 years. Traditionally, available heat has been stored in the form of sensible heat (typically by raising temperature of water, rocks, etc). Latent heat storage on the other hand, is a novel and developing technology, which has found considerable interest due to its operational advantages of smaller temperature swing, smaller size, and lower weight per unit of storage capacity. The interest on thermal energy storage by using fatty acids as PCM has risen in recent times since they have desired thermodynamic and kinetic criteria for low temperature latent heat storage. An added advantage is that fatty acids are derived from the vegetable and animals oil that provides an assurance of continuous supply. This article will review the development of fatty acids as PCMs for solar thermal energy storage application.     

三度空间视角下的装配式建筑施工安全绩效评价*

为了解决现有的装配式建筑施工安全绩效评价已不能满足建筑业信息化背景下发展需求的问题,基于“三度空间”视角,从物理、社会、信息3个层面,构建包含6个一级指标以及23个二级指标的装配式建筑施工安全绩效评价体系;阐述各指标之间的相互关联;采用ANP网络模型对各指标赋权;利用灰色聚类法对施工安全绩效指标进行评价。研究结果表明:该评价模型能够分析装配式建筑在社会、物理和信息3个空间维度的安全绩效,得出装配式建筑项目的整体安全绩效水平并识别出关键控制指标,可为装配式建筑安全绩效评价提供新的思路。