Selection of Sustainable Materials for Energy Savings of Infrastructure-Transportation Project in Ahmedabad, India Using BIM and FCM

This study aims to develop a methodology for the selection of sustainable building materials for the reduction of embodied and operational energy for a complex infrastructure transportation project, i.e., elevated metro rail station of Ahmedabad, India by application of building information modelling (BIM) and factor comparison method (FCM). Evaluation of the alternative building materials and designs to obtain the best energy efficiency has been carried out using Revit Architecture 2018 and Green Building Studio. The achieved average embodied energy savings is about 73%, which is by the suggested alternative materials instead of existing ones. By application of FCM, which is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) technique, it has been observed that the polished Kota-stone flooring, stone-floor tile cladding, toughened fibre-glass ceiling and insulated fibre-glass door appear to be the most feasible sustainable material for flooring, wall cladding, ceiling, openings and fenestrations for the design of the metro rail station box in Ahmedabad, India. This study contributes significant knowledge in the field by highlighting the application of BIM as a tool for sustainable development and recommends a few alternate building materials and sustainable designs which would result in the reduction of energy usage for the metro-rail-station and other building structures leading to a sustainable future.

Determination of Single Parameter for Serviceability Requirements of Fibre Reinforced Concrete: Study of Fracture Characteristics

This The influence of fibre reinforcement on crack propagation in concrete was studied . Thirty-five double torsion specimens, made with three types of fibres (fibre glass , straight steel fibres and deformed steel fibres ) were tested . The variables were the fibre volume and size of the fibres. The test results indicated that the resistance to rapid crack growth increased somewhat with increasing fibre content up to about 1.25% - 1.5% by volume. The degree of compaction had an enormous effect on the fracture properties .The fracture toughness increased with fibre content up to about 1.25% by volume, and then decreased , due to incomplete compaction. It was found that in this test geometry, fibres did not significantly restrain crack growth. It was also observed that once the crack had propagated down the full length of the specimen, the system changed from a continuous system to a discontinuous system, consisting of two separate plates held together by the fibre reinforcement. Different types of fibres did not significantly affect the fracture toughness. Keywords: Fibre glass, straight steel fibers, deformed steel fibers, fracture toughness.

Development of an Underground Mine Scout Robot

<p>Despite increased safety and improved technology in the mining industry, fatal disasters still occur. Robots have the potential to be an invaluable resource for search and rescue teams to scout dangerous or difficult situations. Existing underground mine search and rescue robots have demonstrated limited success. Identified through literature, the two primary concerns are unreliable locomotion systems and a lack of underground mine environment consideration. HADES, an underground mine disaster scout, addresses these issues with a unique chassis and novel locomotion. A system level design is carried out, addressing the difficulties of underground mine environments. To operate in an explosive atmosphere, a purge and pressurisation system is applied to a fibre glass chassis, with intrinsic safety incorporated into the sensor design. To prevent dust, dirt and water damaging the electronics, ingress protection is applied through sealing. The chassis is invertible, with a low centre of gravity and a roll-axis pivot. This chassis design, in combination with spoked-wheels allows traversal of the debris and rubble of a disaster site. Electrochemical gas sensors are incorporated, along with RGB-D cameras, two-way audio and various other environment sensors. A communication system combining a tether and mesh network is designed, with wireless nodes to increase wireless range and reliability. Electronic hardware and software control are implemented to produce an operational scout robot. HADES is 0.7 × 0.6 × 0.4 m, with a sealed IP65 chassis. The locomotion system is robust and effective, able to traverse most debris and rubble, as tested on the university grounds and at a clean landfill. Bottoming out is the only problem encountered, but can be avoided by approaching obstacles correctly. The motor drive system is able to drive HADES at walking speed (1.4 m/s) and it provides more torque than traction allows. Six Lithium-Polymer batteries enable 2 hours 28 minutes of continuous operation. At 20 kg and ~$7000, HADES is a portable, inexpensive scout robot for underground mine disasters.</p>

Development of an Underground Mine Scout Robot

<p>Despite increased safety and improved technology in the mining industry, fatal disasters still occur. Robots have the potential to be an invaluable resource for search and rescue teams to scout dangerous or difficult situations. Existing underground mine search and rescue robots have demonstrated limited success. Identified through literature, the two primary concerns are unreliable locomotion systems and a lack of underground mine environment consideration. HADES, an underground mine disaster scout, addresses these issues with a unique chassis and novel locomotion. A system level design is carried out, addressing the difficulties of underground mine environments. To operate in an explosive atmosphere, a purge and pressurisation system is applied to a fibre glass chassis, with intrinsic safety incorporated into the sensor design. To prevent dust, dirt and water damaging the electronics, ingress protection is applied through sealing. The chassis is invertible, with a low centre of gravity and a roll-axis pivot. This chassis design, in combination with spoked-wheels allows traversal of the debris and rubble of a disaster site. Electrochemical gas sensors are incorporated, along with RGB-D cameras, two-way audio and various other environment sensors. A communication system combining a tether and mesh network is designed, with wireless nodes to increase wireless range and reliability. Electronic hardware and software control are implemented to produce an operational scout robot. HADES is 0.7 × 0.6 × 0.4 m, with a sealed IP65 chassis. The locomotion system is robust and effective, able to traverse most debris and rubble, as tested on the university grounds and at a clean landfill. Bottoming out is the only problem encountered, but can be avoided by approaching obstacles correctly. The motor drive system is able to drive HADES at walking speed (1.4 m/s) and it provides more torque than traction allows. Six Lithium-Polymer batteries enable 2 hours 28 minutes of continuous operation. At 20 kg and ~$7000, HADES is a portable, inexpensive scout robot for underground mine disasters.</p>

Vacuum Infusion Simulation for Radome Manufacturing Using Woven Flax Fibre and Glass Fibre

The vacuum infusion method is emerging to produce composite parts, especially thin wall structure aircraft radome. Ansys Fluent is used in the optimization phase for mould filling analysis on aircraft radome part. The permeability fibre is referring to the physical property of the fibre reinforcement to allow fluids to permeate it, thus it is correlated with the viscosity of the resin used. In this work, flax fibre, glass fibre and low viscosity epoxy resin are used to determine the permeability value of flax fibre, glass fibre and hybrid without using a flow medium. In-plane experiment on reinforcement fibre permeability is conducted and all reinforcement fibre have similar fibre architecture and weight. The development of a digital model from a top partial aircraft radome is obtained through a 3D scanner and CATIA. Ansys Fluent is used to optimize the location of the injection line and air vent for the epoxy. The Ansys Fluent analysis model is validated through the in-plane experiment filling time result for a flat model. Based on the simulation analysis, the location of the injection line is placed at the perimeter and the air vent at the centre. The filling time from the simulation for the flax fibre and hybrid fibre was estimated around 10 to 11 minutes. However, the filling time for glass fibre is approximate 2 hours which is longer than epoxy gel time. Furthermore, this method can be used in mould filing scenarios of thin wall structure within gel time of the resin.

An Experimental Investigation on Concrete with Basalt Rock Fibers

Basalt fibre is formed from basalt rock when melted at a high temperature making it a non-metallic fibre. Basalt fibre reinforced concrete are good fire resistance, strength and light weight. These properties making it highly advantageous in the future to the construction business. There are many applications of basalt fibre like industrial, bridges, residential and highway etc. Fibres of basalt rock are used to make Basalt fibre, is cheaper and have improved physicomechanical properties which is very similar to the fibre glass and the carbon. They can replace many expensive materials resulting in wide range of applications in the field. The raw materials are available in all countries, making their production very simple. The biggest difficulties of the concrete and cement industry’s can be solved by the usage of basalt fibres. It is also used as composite and in the aerospace, automotive industries and fibre proof textile. Basalt fibres have no hazardous reactions with water or air and are explosion-proof and non-combustible. No chemical reaction will be produced that may damage environment or health when in contact with other chemicals. Reinforced plastics and steel maybe replaced by the basalt base composites. One kg of basalt reinforces equals to 9.6 kg of steel. Differences in compressive strength and split tensile test for concrete with and without basalt fibre by using cubes and cylinders are studied in this paper.

Study on Glass Fibre Concrete Roof Tiles

The main objective of the fibre glass in concrete roof tile is to obtain good strength, heat resistant, & water seepage resistant roof tile. To ensure that the roof tile produced plays a role development with minimum cost, and high flexure strength. To draw an analogy between the normal concrete roof tile with glass fibre concrete roof tile. The sizes of short fibres used were 25mm and the glass fibres were alkali resistant. The effect of these short fibres on wet transverse strength, compressive strength and water absorption was carried out.