Sleep Disturbance and Noise Annoyance and Environmental Noise Exposure in Residents of Two Major Slovakian Cities

The significant growth in traffic density in Slovakia, combined with the country’s economic change, has resulted in new environmental noise issues, particularly in road traffic noise. The objective of this study was to assess and evaluate the impact of environmental noise on the psychosocial well-being of young healthy individuals in the two main Slovak cities of Bratislava and Kosice. To assess noise annoyance, interference with activities, and sleep disturbance, the ICBEN (The International Commission on the Biological Effects of Noise) anonymous validated “Noise annoyance questionnaire” was applied; noise levels were objectified by direct measurements using a sound level analyzer with a frequency analysis module. Young individuals between the ages of 20 and 30 were interviewed in Bratislava (533 respondents, 155 males) and Kosice (355 respondents, 111 males). The majority of the respondents in both cities were exposed to medium levels of road traffic noise LAeq ≥ 60 dB. In Bratislava, 27.82 % of respondents resided in the higher noise exposure category LAeq ≥ 70 dB, while in Kosice, 39.9 % resided in the lower noise exposure category LAeq < 50 dB. Road traffic noise annoys respondents in the higher noise exposure category in Bratislava 63.51 %, and even in the lower noise exposure category in Kosice, it interferes with reading and mental work, sleep and falling asleep 46.51 %. The study has identified traffic noise as an environmental issue in large cities, emphasizing the need for vulnerable individuals to be protected, particularly at night.

Formulation of a Basic Constitutive Model for Fine - Grained Soils Using the Hypoplastic Framework

A hypoplastic approach to constitutive modelling was developed by Kolymbas 1996 considering a non-linear tensor function in the form of strain and stress rate. However, the implicit formulation of the hypoplastic model with indirect material parameters severely limits its applicability to real-world geotechnical problems. In many cases, the numerical analysis of geotechnical problems relies on simple elastoplastic constitutive models that cannot model a wide range of soil response aspects. One promising paradigm of constitutive modelling in geotechnics is hypoplasticity, but many of the hypoplastic models belong to advanced models. In the article, we present the simple hypoplastic model as an alternative to the widely used Mohr-Coulomb elastoplastic model.

Analysis of a Fire in an Apartment of Timber Building Depending on the Ventilation Parameter

In modern buildings are also currently used the wooden-based construction systems. A wide range of uses the timber constructions in apartment buildings is a vision of the countries of the EU. The use of timber and the other recyclable materials in apartment buildings creates the precondition for the implementation, operation and disposal of environmental impacts of the EU 2020 Strategy. In the long term is important to transform the construction of buildings to a sustainable standard, which the application of wood in construction supports. Currently, the fire height of timber-based residential construction in most EU countries is limited to 5 storeys, provided that the timber structures are fire-protected. This paper deals with the influence of the ventilation parameter in the time and the intensity of the gas temperature during a fire in a model of an apartment building with a timber load-bearing structure. The load-bearing structure is made of CLT panels, with a mixed structural unit, i.e. with fire-resistant cladding of all load-bearing and fire-dividing structures. FDS (Fire Dynamics Simulator - PyroSim software) is used for dynamic simulations of fire in the model apartment.

Assessment of the Indoor Environment in the Intelligent Building

Currently, thermal comfort and indoor air quality are essential elements in designing modern and intelligent buildings or improving existing ones, so that they would provide proper indoor conditions. The article focuses on the thermal sensations of the students of Kielce University of Technology and determining whether the given parameters of the internal environment contributed to their well-being. 164 people aged 16 - 24 participated in the study, which was conducted with the use of a microclimate meter and questionnaires. It turned out that the temperature range from 19.3 °C – 27.6 °C is acceptable and comfortable for nearly 78% of people. As a result of further analysis, it turned out that the research group definitely prefers and feels better in colder temperatures.

Estimation of Mechanical Properties and Mass Density of Al-Malwiya Masonry

This paper presents the first estimation for the mechanical properties and the mass density of the masonry of Al-Malwiya heritage minaret. Many approaches are investigated in order to estimate the modulus of elasticity, shear modulus, Poisson’s ratio, and the mass density for this historic masonry. The mechanical properties are estimated by using empirical formulas and analytical equations, while the mass density is estimated after carrying out experimental tests for the extracted samples of the historic mortar. The estimated properties showed relatively low values compared with the newly constructed masonries, but they were interpreted as reasonable for such a historic construction.

The Effect of External Blinds on Selected Parameters of the Indoor Environment of an office Building

This contribution focuses on the indoor environmental quality in summer due to overheating of the interior of a west-facing office, since buildings designed in passive standard do not have a problem in the winter heating season but have a problem with cooling in the summer season. Therefore, the article focuses on the effect of external blinds on the indoor environmental parameters.

The Behavior of Strip Footing Resting on Soil Strengthened with Geogrid

The soil in Iraq has a low load carrying or bearing capacity and high deflections or settlement because of the applied loads. The use of strip footing as a foundation to support different kinds of heavy structures has become necessary nowadays through solving such problems by using geogrid. This soil improvement technique is widely used all over the world. In this paper, the bearing capacity and settlements were calculated using finite elements and analytical models for strip footing resting on different kinds of soil. The study parameters are footing rigidity, the number of layers in a geogrid, the dimension of geogrid, and spacing of geogrid layers. According to the findings, the geogrid improved the bearing ability of the footing and reduced settlement. The optimum geogrid dimension was three times the footing width, and three geogrid layers were optimum. The changing in footing rigidity also affects the stress and settlement behavior.

Fuzzy - Based Multi - Criteria Decision Support System for Maintenance Management of Wastewater Treatment Plants

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) contain a large number of components, and these components in turn require a large number of maintenance activities and high costs. In this paper, a Fuzzy-based Multi-Criteria Decision Support System (FBMCDS) model was designed based on the failure mode and effect analysis FM-EA and applied to the Rustumiya Project (RP) in Iraq. Information of the RP’s components, failure modes, applied maintenance activities and costs were collected from the documented data, site visit and face-to-face interviews as well as opinions of 44 experts. Through applying the fuzzy logic to analysis the failure modes and effects, the risk priority index (FMRPI) and total intensity (FMTI) of each failure mode ware computed. Thus, maintenance priorities and weights of the RP’s failure modes were specified. In addition, the best maintenance plan was specified based on the FMRPI-FMTI diagram that shows the importance and the type of maintenance required for each failure mode. Failure of the submersible pump has the first rank in terms of priority, while the last priority was occupied by the building failure mode, where the mechanical failure modes are of the highest importance, followed by the electrical failure modes. Finally, the construction failure modes are ranked last due to the small probability of failure. The designed model is considered an efficient tool due to the similarity of the results with the reality of the situation and the ease of reading and displaying the results. In addition, this model can be applied to other projects such as water treatment plants and irrigation projects.

Effects of Induction-Furnace Slag on Strength Properties of Self-Compacting Concrete

Indiscriminate waste disposal poses a severe environmental challenge globally. Recycling of industrial wastes for concrete production is currently the utmost effective way of managing wastes for a cleaner environment and sustainable products. This study investigates the strength characteristics of self-compacting concrete (SCC) containing induction furnace slag (IFS) as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM). The materials utilized include 42.5R Portland cement, induction furnace slag as an SCM ranging from 0 to 50 % by cement weight at 10 % interval, river sand, granite, water and superplasticizer. The fresh properties were tested for filling ability, passing ability and segregation resistance, the strength characteristics measured include compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength and Schmidt/rebound number. The oxide compositions and microstructural analysis of SCC were investigated using x-ray fluorescence analyser (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), respectively. Empirical correlations were statistically analyzed using MS-Excel tool. The filling ability characteristic was determined via both the slump flow test and the T50cm slump flow time test. Moreover, the passing ability characteristic was determined using L-Box test. The segregation resistance characteristic was determined using V-funnel at T5minutes test. The results of the fresh properties showed a reduction in the slump flow with increasing IFS content. On the other hand, the T50cm slump flow increased with increasing IFS content. Furthermore, the L-Box decreased with higher IFS content. On the contrary, the V-funnel at T5minutes increased considerably with greater IFS content. The strength test results revealed that the strength properties increased to 20 % IFS, with a value of 66.79 N/mm2 compressive strength at 56 days, giving a rise of 12.61 % over the control. The SCC microstructural examinations revealed the amorphous and better interface structures with increasing IFS content in the mix. The empirical correlations revealed that linear relationships exist among the measured responses (fresh and strength properties). Ultimately, IFS could be utilized as a sustainable material in producing self-compacting concrete.

The Correlation Between the Statistical Pass-By Index Values and the Total Number of Vehicle Passes

In this study, the traffic noise degradation in asphalt pavements was analysed using the ‘Statistical Pass-By method’. The sound levels of two surfaces were monitored during 9 and 12 years of service, respectively. By comparing the dependencies of the maximum A-weighted sound pressure level on logarithm of vehicle velocity, an increase in the sound level was found at all recorded speeds. Following an analysis of sound levels, as combined with the statistical pass-by index (SPBI) calculated versus age (expressed in vehicles), it was determined that the noise is an increasing power function of SPBI values on vehicle passes, based on an approximation of noise level adjustment to a reference temperature of 20 °C (using a coefficient of 0.06 for asphalt concrete surface AC11 and - 0.03 for mastic asphalt SMA11). The adjusted traffic noise degradation model showed that the SMA11 surface has a higher resistance to acoustic degradation than AC11 surface.