• Energy Research
• civil engineering close
• 12. Responsible consumption close

Faults in electrical facilities may cause severe damages, such as the electrocution of maintenance personnel, which could be fatal, or a power outage. To detect electrical faults safely, electricians disconnect the power or use heavy equipment during the procedure, thereby interrupting the power supply and wasting time and money. Therefore, detecting faults with remote approaches has become important in the sustainable maintenance of electrical facilities. With technological advances, methodologies for machine diagnostics have evolved from manual procedures to vibration-based signal analysis. Although vibration-based prognostics have shown fine results, various limitations remain, such as the necessity of direct contact, inability to detect heat deterioration, contamination with noise signals, and high computation costs. For sustainable and reliable operation, an infrared thermal (IRT) image detection method is proposed in this work. The IRT image technique is used in various engineering fields for diagnosis because of its non-contact, safe, and highly reliable heat detection technology. To explore the possibility of using the IRT image-based fault detection approach, object detection algorithms (Faster R-CNN; Faster Region-based Convolutional Neural Network, YOLOv3; You Only Look Once version 3) are trained using 16,843 IRT images from power distribution facilities. A thermal camera expert from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Corporation (KHNP) takes pictures of the facilities regarding various conditions, such as the background of the image, surface status of the objects, and weather conditions. The detected objects are diagnosed through a thermal intensity area analysis (TIAA). The faster R-CNN approach shows better accuracy, with a 63.9% mean average precision (mAP) compared with a 49.4% mAP for YOLOv3. Hence, in this study, the Faster R-CNN model is selected for remote fault detection in electrical facilities.

Over one billion tires are disposed into the environment each year and this has become a major environmental issue in the globe. Recycling of these waste tire rubbers in concrete has gained attention from researchers all around the world. In this study, the impact resistance of rubberized concrete exposed to fire is investigated experimentally in the laboratory. For that purpose, sixty specimens were made with five different mixes replacing their sand content partially with different percentages of tire rubber by weight ratios of 0% control, 6%, 12%, 18% and 24%. The water/cement ratio was kept constant at 0.393 in all the mixes. In each mix, fifteen concrete specimens with the size of (150 x 150 x 73) mm were prepared to expose to fire. Every three specimens were gradually exposed to fire for four various durations of (0, 15, 30, and 45) minutes. Each specimen was then tested in a drop-weight impact machine by dropping 2240-gr and 4500-gr hammers from heights of 280 mm and 450 mm. The average impact energy of three identical specimens required for the occurrence of the final fracture was calculated. The investigational results are compared with results of control samples. It is found that the impact energy considerably increased with an increase of the rubber replacement. It is, also, noted that any increase in the burning period of specimens results in a reduction of the impact energy and more early crushing of the rubberized concrete.

Abstract Improving building thermal performance is important if the UK is to meet the 80% emission reduction target by 2050. Aiming to provide insights into UK building thermal performances, relevant national policies were highlighted and a one-day workshop was run. Real-time responses of industrial stakeholders were collected using Poll Everywhere. The stakeholder perspectives on challenges, barriers, thermal performances and other concerns were reported. It showed that (i) a whole-house retrofit plan was necessary; (ii) improving thermal performances would be challenging but achievable; and (iii) industrial stakeholders were concerned about building performance, legislation, drivers, cost, professional development, technology alternatives and future vision. It was concluded that industrial consultation should be continued to assist thermal performances of buildings in the UK.

As a demountable structure, the structure with design for deconstruction (DfD) is considered as a key contribution on the promotion of current construction sustainability by directly reusing valuable components from old structures. As a preliminary study, this paper investigated the cyclic behavior of bolted joints consisting of three reinforced concrete blocks bolted by steel bolts under axial compressive, focusing on the damage and failure modes, resistance mechanism and stiffness development of the joints. Results showed that the number of steel bolts, the tightening process of the bolts and concrete compressive strength all had a significant effect on the overall performance and capacity of the joints. The failure mode of most of tested joints was considered as fracture of stirrups and steel bolts in the tested joints. According to the investigation of this study, several recommendations on the design of the joints were provided.

AbstractIt is quite common for researchers to use an excess dosage of superplasticizer to achieve the desired very low water to binder (w/b) ratio required for sustainable high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete mixes in order to obtain early strength without reporting on the effects of the excess dosage. This study investigates the effects of such excess dosages on the properties of highly sustainable HVFA concrete. Four series of concrete mixes were designed, with Series 0 being the control concrete mix containing no fly ash and no superplasticizer. Series 50, 60 and 65 contained HVFA concrete mixes that had 50, 60 and 65% fly ash content, respectively. Series 50, 60 and 65 contained three similar mixes; in each series, the three mixes were prepared with the maximum dosage of superplasticizer at 2% of the binder by mass, and excess dosages at 3% and 4%, respectively. The effect of the excess doses on slump, flowability, compressive strength, flexural strength, tensile splitting strength, and abrasion resist...

Bio-based materials help reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources, contributing to the development of sustainable construction. Industrial Hemp Concrete (IHC), which uses hemp stalk (HS) as an aggregate and a lime-based binder, is a bio-based material with various applications. This research developed a new hybrid composite in order to improve the mechanical strength and durability of hemp concrete, with the incorporation of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) as an aggregate, a resource of a renewable origin that is abundant in several countries. Different formulations were used, which were molded and pressed manually, evaluating their cohesion and compactness. The performance of the developed hybrid composite was measured considering mechanical, thermal, and durability properties. The compression test results showed an increase of 19–24% for composites with 75% hemp and 25% SCB. Thermal conductivity and thermal resistance coefficients were also improved, reaching 0.098 (W/m °C) and 0.489 (m2 °C/W), respectively. This aggregate combination also showed the lowest water absorption coefficient (reducing by 35%) and the best performance in durability tests compared to IHC. The resistance to freeze–thaw is highlighted, increasing 400%. The main reason is the influence of the SCB addition because the short and thin fiber form helps to maintain the physical integrity of the composite by filling the spaces between the hemp aggregates.

Portland cement production releases carbon dioxide; this has significant adverse effects on the environment and so a reduction in the content of Portland cement in concrete products will improve the carbon footprint. This investigation explored the use of by-product materials and waste in the production of paving blocks. The following materials were examined: ground granulated blast-furnace slag, basic oxygen slag, plasterboard gypsum and cement by-pass dust. Ternary blends were created for different mixes and tested. The tensile strength, skid/slip resistance and freeze/thaw of each paving block specimen were determined in accordance with British Standard BS EN 1338. It was found that about 30% cement replacement was achieved in comparison with current factory production in the UK without having any considerable impact on the strength and durability of the paving blocks. It was also found that a cement mix can contain ground granulated blast-furnace slag up to 55%, basic oxygen slag up to 70%, cement by-pass dust up to 10% and plasterboard gypsum up to 5% by weight.

This paper is intended to conduct a narrative review on the acid corrosion of sewer tunnel concrete in the City of Edmonton—an investigation on the MIC (microbially induced corrosion) mechanism and the potential control methods to improve the sustainability of concrete. Firstly, three categories of main influencing factors were identified for the rate of MIC: hydraulic parameters, environmental factors, and concrete mixture design. Secondly, it is found that the sewer tunnel design plays an essential role in the control of the MIC. Building on that, a review was conducted on eight municipal drainage design standards in consideration of the MIC, indicating a lack of design standards of the flow velocity and pipe material. Finally, an investigation was done for cement-based rehabilitating techniques and materials.