The development of structure in the limasan- and joglo-style vernacular houses after the 2006 Yogyakarta earthquake

After a great earthquake hit the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in the year of 2006, some of the owners of the limasan- and joglo-style vernacular houses rebuilt their houses according to the education they received about the principles of earthquake-resilient building. This study investigates the structural development on the 11 (eleven) houses located in the Kabupaten (district) of Bantul, which was among the areas most affected by the earthquake. The owners combined the existing wooden main structural frame withstanding the earthquake with the new reinforced concrete structural frame. The owners also conducted various structural enhancements perceived as increasing the safety against possible future earthquakes. Despite this perception of future safety, in reality some of the owners’ practice were not in accordance with the principles of earthquake-resilient buildings. This study also revealed the practice of combining two naturally different systems: the flexible wooden structural frame and the rigid reinforced concrete structural frame.

Development of Multipurpose Biowaste Shredder Machine

The scope of this project was to design and develop a Shredder machine with focus on chopping of coconut leaves, areca leaves, this chopped powder to prepare the vermin compost. The project began with collection of information and data on user lifestyle and current process by which they perform their job. Concepts were developed with reference of four different shredder machine and operating processes. Concept was developed considering the safety factor users operating environment and maintenance. Considering the users’ needs and buying capacity, a prototype was fabricated. The machine consists of singlephase motor, bearings, structural frame, cutter and shaft. The machine frame is built using mild steel and CPM REX M4 HC is used for cutter tip preparation. Four cutters are mounted on shafts, which rotates.. The power from the electrical motor is transmitted to cutter shaft through a belt drive. Cut is made inside the chopping house due to the effect of tensile, friction, and impact effect in chopping process. The coconut leaves get chopped and powder is collected. The possible outcomes of this project are:  The working efficiency is set to increase with the reduced power to weight ratio.  Reduced cost with reliable performance output.  People with different physics can be accommodated on this equipment. Keywords: Agro waste; shredding machine; Cutter, Single-Φ motor, shaft.

Fire performance of earthquake-damaged reinforced concrete columns: an experimental study

PurposeEarthquake tremors not only increase the chances of fire ignition but also hinder the fire-fighting efforts due to the damage to the lifelines of a city. Most of the international codes have independent recommendations for structural safety against earthquake and fire. However, the possibility of a multi-hazard event, such as fire following an earthquake is seldom addressed.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents an experimental study of Reinforced Concrete (RC) columns in post-earthquake fire (PEF) conditions. An experimental approach is proposed that allows the testing of a column instead of a full structural frame. This approach allows us to control the loading and boundary conditions individually and facilitates the testing under a variety of these conditions. Also, it allows the structure to be tested until failure. The role of parameters, such as earthquake intensity, axial load ratio and the ductile detailing of the column on the earthquake damage and subsequently the fire performance of the structure, is studied in this research. Six RC column specimens are tested under a sequence of quasi-static earthquake loading, followed by combined fire and axial compression loading conditions.FindingsThe experiment results indicate that ductile detailed columns subjected to 4% or less lateral drift did not lose significant load-carrying capacity in fire conditions. A lateral drift of 6% caused significant damage to the columns and reduced the load-carrying capacity in fire conditions. The level of the axial load acting on the column at the time of earthquake loading was found to have a very significant effect on the extent of damage and reduction in column load capacity in fire conditions. The columns that were not detailed for a ductile behavior observed a more significant reduction in axial load carrying capacity in fire conditions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is limited to columns of 230 mm size due to the limitations of the test setup. The applicability of these findings to larger column sections needs to be verified by developing a numerical analysis methodology and simulating other post-earthquake-fire tests available in the literature.Originality/valueThe experimental procedure proposed in this paper offers an alternative to the testing of a complete structural frame system for PEF behavior. In addition to the ease of conducting the tests, the procedure also allows much better control over the heating, structural loading and boundary conditions.

New lands: Designing an image of the motherland

The article focuses on the search for architectural representations of the Russian Empire on new lands (the Far East and Turkestan), which simultaneously became part of it in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The article consists of two parts. The first one reviews the architectural and spatial arrangement of railways, which were the colonization structural frame: the eastern part of the Transsib (the Amur and Ussuri Railways), the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER), and the Trans-Caspian Military Railway (TCMR). The second part of the article describes the evolution of the colonial orientalism and national stylistics. The article draws a conclusion about the variability of the cultural policy of the Russian colonialism.

Designing a steel connection with a high degree of disassembly: a practice-based experience

This article is derived from a feasibility study for a single-story elevation at the Kent School of Architecture and Planning (KSAP) in the United Kingdom. This project embraced two fundamental principles of the circular economy: flexibility of interior spaces and Design for Disassembly (DfD). The goals were to reduce the risk of demolition and preserve the value of the building material to empower its later use. These principles formed the solution for the structural frame. For this paper, the engineering phase was carried out to improve the structural connections designed according to DfD principles and following generative design methods.

Embodied CO2 Reduction Effects of Composite Precast Concrete Frame for Heavily Loaded Long-Span Logistics Buildings

For heavily loaded long-span (HLS) logistics buildings, embodied CO2 (ECO2) of a structural frame accounts for more than 80% of the CO2 emissions of the entire building. To realize a sustainable structure from the CO2 perspective, an innovative construction method that reduces ECO2 of a structural frame is required. Through studies conducted over several years, we have developed a SMART (Sustainable, Measurable, Attainable, Reliable, and Timely) frame that is a steel connected composite precast concrete (CPC) frame that significantly reduces not only construction time and cost but also ECO2. If a SMART frame is applied to HLS logistics buildings, ECO2 reduction effects are expected to be substantial. To prove this, this study aims to analyze ECO2 reduction effects of the CPC frame for HLS logistics buildings. An HLS logistics building constructed with the existing precast concrete (PC) frame was selected as a case project. Thereafter, the typical PC girder was redesigned using the SMART frame; then, analysis was conducted on the quantity take-off of resources, such as form, rebar, steel, and concrete, as well as on ECO2 and production cost. As a result of the analysis, in the case of a single typical girder of the SMART frame, 730 kg-ECO2, which accounts for 9.52% of the CO2 emissions, was reduced compared to that of the existing PC frame. If only the typical girders of the case project are applied, a relatively larger quantity of 465 ton-ECO2 will be reduced. The results of this study will contribute in securing structural stability, as well as achieving a sustainable structure that leads to an unprecedented reduction of ECO2.