Four full-size statically indeterminate reinforced concrete frames with two symmetrical bays were tested to obtain sufficient data to evaluate the adequacy of the current ACI-ASCE Committee 352 design recommendations, as well as to determine whether a relaxation of some of the limits in these guidelines can be justified. Each specimen contained three 8.5-foot-long columns, connected at mid-height by two 9-foot-long beams. Initially, a constant axial load was applied to each column. The specimens were then subjected to a displacement-controlled loading schedule to simulate the type of displacements a frame may experience during a severe earthquake. In designing the specimens, the latest recommendations of the ACI-ASCE Committee 352 and the ACI building code ACI 318-83 were satisfied except for the following modifications: (1) the flexural strength ratio (M(R)) in the second specimen was reduced from 1.4 to 1.2, (2) the shear-stress factors (γ) in the joints of the third specimen were increased from 12 and 15 to 15 and 20 for the exterior and interior joints respectively, and (3) the number of the transverse reinforcements inside the right exterior joint in the fourth specimen was reduced from 4 to 2 sets of hoops. The conclusion inferred from the results indicate that for drift levels within the elastic range, the elongations and the rotations of the beam regions near the faces of the columns, in addition to the joint shear strains, were not affected by the design values for the primary variables in the last three specimens. For larger excursions into the inelastic range, the relaxation of the current Committee 352 design recommendations in the last three specimens not only showed a significant effect in reducing the elongations and the rotations of the beams, or in increasing the joint shear strains but led to lower energy dissipation of the specimens. Consequently, the current design guidelines by the ACI-ASCE Committee 352 yield statically indeterminate frames which exhibit sufficient ductility.

The differing needs and expectations of building owners, users and society are driving a change towards a technology-intensive, performance-based approach to the design and evaluation of light-frame structures. A critical underlying assumption of the performance-based philosophy is that performance can be predicted with reasonable accuracy and consistency. Development of improved performance prediction technologies, for light-frame structures, requires a detailed understanding of the structural behaviour of light-frame buildings, as well as the environmental loadings to which they are subjected during their lifetime. Full-scale structural testing in the laboratory, combined with analytical modelling, are essential in obtaining this understanding. This thesis presents the results of experimental and analytical investigations into the performance of light-frame structures under lateral loading. The specific objectives of this research are to:1)develop simple, experimentally validated numerical models of light-Frame structures, which can be used to predict their performance under lateral loads, particularly seismic loads; and 2) collect experimental data suitable for validation of detailed finite-element models of light-frame structures.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1980. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ENGINEERING. / Bibliography: leaves 157-162. / by Bizhan Azad. / M.S.

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Includes corrigenda inside back cover. / Bibliography: leaves 310-332. / xx, 332 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1994

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether statistically significant differences existed between high school Honors Physics websites and those of Advanced Placement (AP) Physics in terms of web-design, National Science Education Standards (NSES) Physics content, and NSES Science Process standards. The procedure began with the selection of 152 sites comprising two groups with equal sample sizes of 76 for Honors Physics and for Advanced Placement Physics. The websites used in the study were accumulated using the Google[TM] search engine. To find Honors Physics websites, the search words "honors physics high school" were entered as the query into the search engine. To find sites for Advanced Placement Physics, the query, "advanced placement physics high school," was entered into the search engine. The evaluation of each website was performed using an instrument developed by the researcher based on three attributes: Web-design, NSES Physics content, and NSES Science Process standards. A "1" was scored if the website was found to have each attribute, otherwise a "0" was given. This process continued until all 76 websites were evaluated for each of the two types of physics websites, Honors and Advanced Placement. Subsequently the data were processed using Excel functions and the SPSS statistical software program. The mean and standard deviation were computed individually for the three attributes under consideration. Three, 2-tailed, independent samples t tests were performed to compare the two groups of physics websites separately on the basis of Web Design, Physics Content, and Science Process. The results of the study indicated that there was only one statistically significant difference between high school Honors Physics websites and those of AP Physics. / The only difference detected was in terms of National Science Education Standards Physics content. It was found that Advanced Placement Physics websites contained more NSES physics content than Honors Physics websites. There was no significant difference found between the two types of high school physics websites in regards to web-design, and NSES science process standards. It is hoped that the results of this study may serve as a guide for researchers to explore the role of Web-Assisted Instruction (WAI) as an enhancement to traditional instruction in physics. With the first generation to grow up in the digital age now in high school, WAI may prove to be useful as method to improve critical thinking skills and provide opportunities for inquiry beyond the classroom. / by Ronald C. Persin. / Vita. / Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2009. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2009. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

published_or_final_version / Housing Management / Master / Master of Housing Management

As a component of the regulatory structure controlling building construction and land development in Australia, the system of building regulation was reformed during a period of significant restructuring of the Australian economy. The microeconomic reforms aimed to find efficiencies in government and industry sectors, and with respect to the latter, facilitate the development of competitive trade structures across national and global markets. The research provides a critical narrative account of the development and outcomes of the microeconomic reform of building regulation between 1990 and 2003. The microeconomic reform process is examined in the context of the vastly differing approaches of two Australian states, Victoria and New South Wales, with respect to the national reform agenda which was initiated and led by the Commonwealth government in response to the increasing globalization of the national economy. An understanding of what happened and why and how t he states differed with respect to the national reform agenda enabled the outcomes of the reforms to be examined for their impact upon government, industry and the community. The regulation of building construction is a constitutional responsibility of the state governments and has traditionally been controlled by local government. However, control is increasingly being centralized at the national level, in response to international pressures to adopt performance-based regulations, standards and governance systems that accord to neoliberal ideology. This has resulted in a reduction of state and local government involvement in certain building control functions with a commensurate increased role for the private sector; an increase in the complexity and quantity of regulatory instruments; a reduction in government accountability for the standard of building construction; the development of structures to facilitate competitive intranational and international trade in construction-related goods and services and a reduction in the quality and standard of buildings. The principal benefits of the reforms have accrued to industry and to government and the least benefits have accrued to the community/consumer.

The green building market has seen tremendous growth in the past decade. Organizations such as the US Green Building Council have emerged to become a dominant leader in the building industry. Although the green building rating systems are cross-disciplinary, much of the focus has been directed towards design-related input. General Contractors play an important role in delivering successful sustainable construction projects. If an integrated project delivery method is chosen, the General Contractor may offer insightful preconstruction assistance by providing ideas on green construction methods and materials. As sustainable building practices become more prominent in the construction industry, General Contractors must remain knowledgeable on current green building standards in order to stay competitive. Two of the most important aspects of business for a General Contractor involve time and money. Through qualitative literature review and quantitative results from a case study, this research analyzes time and cost in sustainable construction projects from a General Contractor's perspective. The research also examines whether the management of a sustainable construction project is substantially different than a non-sustainable construction project for a General Contractor. Finally, because the green building process involves multiple parties, the collaboration effort from all parties involved in a green building project will be studied.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / A análise da vida útil (VU) de uma edificação exige a observação de muitas variáveis, especialmente aquelas voltadas para o desempenho e durabilidade. Nesse sentido, a ABNT NBR 15.575:2013 Edificações habitacionais Desempenho estabelece requisitos, critérios e métodos de avaliação para analisar o desempenho das construções, e ao mesmo tempo subsidiar os projetistas a determinar a vida útil de projeto (VUP) condizente com o nível de desempenho desejado pelo construtor e usuário. Acrescente-se que o cálculo para a vida útil estimada (VUE) das construções leva em consideração o envelhecimento natural dos componentes dos sistemas construtivos, mas não contempla o efeito dos danos provocados pela entrada em operação e uso da edificação ou ausência de manutenção. Além disso, a ABNT NBR 5674:2012 - Manutenção de edificações Requisitos para o sistema de gestão de manutenção, indica quais os sistemas e serviços devem passar pelo processo de manutenção e em qual período, possibilitando a gestão da manutenção com qualidade. Entretanto, não é sempre o que ocorre nas edificações após a entrada em operação e uso. Na pesquisa, procurou-se, então, verificar qual a relação entre a vida útil estimada e os prazos de garantia das obras. Para medir a diferença percentual entre a VUP e a VUE, após a intervenção da ATPO foi utilizado o método dos fatores previsto na ISO 15.686:2000 - Building and construction assets service life planning e recomendado pela NBR 15.575-1:2013. As informações analisadas foram cedidas por uma construtora atuante na cidade do Recife, coletadas de um banco de dados proveniente da assistência técnica pós-obra (ATPO) de oito empreendimentos construídos na Região Metropolitana do Recife. A frequência de ocorrência de danos nas edificações foi analisada através da determinação da taxa de falhas dos empreendimentos. Os resultados assinalam para um percentual de redução da vida útil de projeto (VUP), da ordem de 20% da vida útil de referência (VUR), valores adotados da NBR 15.575:2013; apontam também, para uma concentração de avarias no estágio inicial da construção, acima de 50%, que correlacionando com a curva de probabilidade condicional de falha (curva da banheira) obtém-se um alto índice de falha brusca, classificando a edificação na fase da mortalidade infantil. Esses resultados refletem uma variação não planejada do nível de desempenho proposto para a edificação. Diante desse contexto, sugere-se vincular o prazo de garantia da obra com o nível de desempenho efetivo da construção. A aplicação de conceitos de confiabilidade permite inferir sobre os prazos de garantia da obra e fazer comparações com o valor previsto no aparato legal brasileiro. / Analysis of service life of a building requires the observation of many variables, especially corre-lating to the performance and durability. In this meaning, the NBR 15.575:2013 - Residential Buildings - Performance establishes requirements, criteria and methods assessment for analyz-ing the performance of buildings, and sometimes subsidize designers to determine the design life consistent with the performance level desired by the builder and user. Adding that the calculation of the estimated service life of buildings takes into account the natural aging of the building sys-tems components, but not contemplates of the damage effect caused by the entry into operation and use of the building or absence conservation. Moreover, the NBR 5.674:2012 - Buildings Maintenance - Requirements for the maintenance management system, indicates which systems and services that must go through the maintenance process and in what period, enabling mainte-nance management quality. However, it is not always what happens in the buildings after entry into operation and use. In the survey, we tired so verify the relationship between the predicted service life and the warranty period of the building. The information analyzed were provided by an active construction of Recife, collected in a database from the technical assistance after work eight buildings in the Metropolitan Region of Recife. To measure the percentage difference be-tween the design life and estimated service life, following the intervention of the technical assis-tance after work was used the factors method set out in ISO 15.686:2000 - Building and construc-tion assets - Service life planning and recommended by NBR 15575-1:2013. The frequency of occurrence damage in buildings was analyzed by determining the rates of failure in the buildings. The results show to a reduction of the design life of the order of 20% of the reference service life, from values adopted in the Performance of Brazilian Standard; also point to a concentration of damage in the initial stage of construction, above 50%, which correlate with the conditional prob-ability of failure curve (Bathtub Curve) sorting a high abrupt failure rate, ranking the building at the stage of infant mortality. These results reflect an unplanned variation in performance level proposed for the building. In this context, it is suggested to link the period of the works guarantee to the level of actual performance of the building. The application of reliability concepts allows infer about warranty period of the Building and make comparisons with the requirement of Brazi-lian law enforcement.