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No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Massive volumes of hazardous emissions have been produced by the construction sector for which some adequate steps are implemented, but the rising trend of emissions can still be seen. In this thesis, the goal is to identify and analyze renovation measures from primary energy use and environmental impacts perspective, according to Boverket’s mandatory provisions and general recommendations (BBR 2018), for an old school building. Also, as a part of the study goal, the building structure is analyzed under the updated Eurocode SS-EN 90-91-96 in order to see if the building meets structural stability requirements. Life cycle assessment of the building is limited to production and construction stages, and it is used as a tool to evaluate the environmental impacts according to standard SS-EN 15978:2011. Most of the relevant data are provided by VÖFAB, in cooperation with Växjö municipality, as well as the company WSP group. The object of the thesis is an old three-story school building constructed in 1950 in Växjö, Sweden. The gross area of the building is 1,300 m2 and for renovation scenarios, building envelope components are investigated by adding new insulation materials considering two life cycle stages. In the production phase, the lowest primary energy use was 137 kWh/m2 for the scenario of using cellulose insulation material plus windows and exterior doors with a U-value of 1.1 [W/m2 K]. The lowest environmental impacts were also obtained for this scenario, with 14 kg CO2-eq/m2 global warming potential (GWP), 0.06 kg SO2-eq/m2 acidification potential (AP), and 0.06 kg NO3-eq/m2 eutrophication potential (EP). The results indicate that the share of the installation step in the primary energy use and environmental impacts during the construction phase is negligible, but the transportation role in this stage is significant. The highest global warming potential is for the scenario using cellulose insulation material plus windows and exterior doors with a U-value of 0.7 [W/m2 K] with 4.4 kg CO2-eq/m2 in the construction stage. Ultimately, the material production stage accounts for the most share of primary energy use and environmental impacts.  This research provides several renovation measures investigated by life cycle assessment resulting in performing climate declarations. Regarding the sensitivity analysis, the electricity source has a considerable effect on reducing total primary energy consumption and environmental impacts during the production phase. It is also found that the scenario utilizing cellulose insulation material with windows with a U-value of 1.1 [W/m2 K] shows the lowest total primary energy use and environmental impacts. Through analyzing the building structure, all Eurocode criteria within the serviceability limit state (SLS) and ultimate limit state (ULS) are fulfilled, and the structure is still stable when new materials are added through renovation.

<p>Literary approaches to Ezra-Nehemiah studies are becoming more common. However, there is still a lack in the literary study of Ezra-Nehemiah of a structural analysis of Nehemiah's covenant renewal account that respects its particular fit within Nehemiah's story. The aim of this thesis is to explain how the covenant renewal account (commonly held to be Neh 8-10) is integral to the book ofNehemiah (Neh 1-13). Since narrative structural analysis is the study of the semantic structures that preside over a text's creation, this methodology is well suited to discerning whether or not the content found in the covenant renewal account fits within the broader story (and text) of Nehemiah. Accordingly, my structural analysis of the covenant renewal account reveals a deep, underlying structure that shows this account to be an integral piece of the book of Nehemiah.</p> / Master of Divinity (M.Div)

The work described herein emphasizes a new fiber-based approach to modeling the response of structural frames subjected to realistic fire conditions. The proposed approach involves the development and validation of two finite elements that can be used collectively to simulate the thermal and mechanical response of structural frames at elevated temperatures. To model the thermal response, a special-purpose fiber heat transfer element is introduced. The first of its kind, the fiber heat transfer element uses a combination of finite element and finite difference methods to provide an accurate and highly efficient solution to the three-dimensional thermal problem. To simulate the mechanical response, a flexibility-based fiber beam-column element is used. The element presented here extends the formulation of Taucer et al. (1991) to include thermal effects, geometric nonlinearities, and residual stresses. Both fiber elements are implemented in ABAQUS (2007) using the user-defined element (UEL) subroutine. The element formulations are verified by analyses of benchmark experimental tests and comparisons with traditional finite elements. Results indicate that both elements offer superior accuracy and computational efficiency when compared to traditional methods of analysis. Analyses of structures subjected to non-uniform heating emphasize the advantages of the fiber-based approach. To demonstrate a realistic application of the proposed approach, the work concludes with an investigation of the response of unprotected steel beams subjected to localized fires. Because realistic fires are considered, the treatment of strain reversal upon cooling is also addressed. The analyses are used to demonstrate that the standard fire test is generally unconservative at predicting the time at failure of a structure subjected to realistic fire conditions, since failure depends more on the evolution of temperatures within the steel beams than the duration of fire exposure. The analyses also show that critical temperatures from the standard fire test are conservative and thus offer a better means for predicting failure in steel structures within the scope of the standard fire test. / Ph. D.

Scale model technology represents one method of investigating the behavior of advanced, weight-efficient composite structures under a variety of loading conditions. Testing of scale models can provide a cost effective alternative to destructive testing of expensive composite prototypes and can be used to verify predictions obtained from finite element analyses. It is necessary, however, to understand the limitations involved in testing scale model structures before the technique can be fully utilized. The objective of this research is to characterize these limitations, or scaling effects, in the large deflection response and failure of composite beams. Scale model beams were loaded with an eccentric axial compressive load designed to produce large bending deflections and global failure. / Ph. D.

A pressurized arch-shell structural component made of flexible material is considered. The component is inflated with high internal pressure. The behavior of similar types of structures, such as a pair of leaning pressurized arches and pressurized arch-supported membrane shelters, has been investigated in the past. More recently, several types of pressurized structures have been incorporated as part of the framework for a variety of structural systems. Particularly, the U.S. Army has been investigating the use of large lightweight and transportable pressurized arch-shell structures to be used as maintenance shelters for vehicles, helicopters, and airplanes. The formulated equations using thin shell theory are applied to a pressurized arch-shell component. A numerical investigation based on the Rayleigh-Ritz method is utilized to determine the behavior of arch-shells under various types of loading. The types of loading include a uniformly distributed vertical load representing snow, a wind load, and a horizontal side load distributed along the arc length. Deflections, stress resultants, and moments at various locations are computed for two types of shapes: circular and non-circular arch-shells. / Master of Science