Accommodating the continued increase in energy demand in the face of global climate change has been a worldwide concern. With buildings in the US consuming nearly 40% of national energy, a concerted effort must be given to reduce building energy consumption. As new buildings continue to improve their efficiency through more restrictive energy codes, the other 76.9 billion square feet of current building stock falls further behind. The rate at which current buildings are being retrofit is not enough and better tools are needed to access the benefits of retrofits and the uncertainties associated with them. This study proposes a stochastic method of building energy model calibration coupled with a monthly normative building simulation addressed in ISO 13890. This approach takes advantage of the great efficiency of Latin Hypercube Sampling and the lightweight normative building simulation method, to deliver a set of calibrated solutions to assess the effectiveness of energy conservation measure, making uncertainty a part of the modeling process. A case study on a mixed-use university building is conducted to show the strength and performance of this simple method. Limitations and future concerns are also addressed.

Higher education is an idyllically positioned organization from which meaningful dissemination of knowledge and interdisciplinary research is capable of actuating practices that resource consumption. Paradoxically, the construction, maintenance, and operations of the built environment, including the built campus environment, have contributed to the decline of raw resources and degradation of environmental processes. An opportunity exists to bridge the knowledge gap between the design and construction phase and the operations and maintenance phase of the green certified building life cycle, while examining the parts that contributed to the green-certification of the whole building. The purpose of this research was to 1.) identify green-building features and determine their frequency of implementation in new capital (NC) LEED-certified, campus buildings to effectuate operations and maintenance cost savings, indoor wellbeing, and environmental stewardship, and 2.) determine the relationships of greenbuilding feature usage across building, institutional, and LEED characteristics. The study used archival data to document the green efforts of each building with the study’s sample of 195 buildings on the campus of 107 universities and colleges, in the United States, between 2007 and 2017. The study’s findings indicated that the public institutions earned the LEED certification more often than private institutions and the sample was void of two-year community colleges. The sample was restricted for green-building features that (a) reduce economic cost, (b) improve indoor wellbeing, and (c) increase environmental stewardship. The results and implications are discussed. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This thesis describes improvements on newly-discovered high-strength pozzolan-based materials fabricated via a low-cost chemical reaction that takes place between 90 and 115 ℃ for 3 to 24 hours. The reported results focus on pozzolan constituents acquired from Coal Combustion Products (CCPs) such as cenospheres, fly ash C and F, as well as bottom ash. The thesis reports on various types of these materials with specific gravity ranging from 0.5 to 1.6; compressive strength ranging from 300 to 3600 psi, and compressive modulus ranging from 50 to 240 ksi. In addition to their good mechanical properties under compression that are attractive for the building and construction industries, the materials further exhibit great potential for applications as energy absorption cores in sandwich construction that could extend their value in other industries including the automotive and aerospace industries. For example, the load-displacement curve exhibits a short elastic zone followed by a long load-plateau; while the materials crush through a controlled vertical cracking process. Additionally, an attempt was made to further decrease the manufacturing cost of the material by investigating incorporation of chemicals that accelerates dehydration of the mixture. One such successful chemical reported in this thesis is aluminum phosphate; while it is not conclusive how the chemical improves any major property.

M. Tech. Architecture (Professional) / A substantial proportion of the African population is deprived of access to safe and reliable food. Many people in Tshwane currently live with long-term malnutrition, seeing that food insecurity is growing most rapidly in formal urban areas, referred to as food deserts, due to their limited access to food. Designing urban environments for local food security has become imperative. This dissertation presents the design of a research centre to promote a resilient urban food systems in Sunnyside, Pretoria. A combination of high- and low-intensity cultivation methods is integrated into the building to create a balance between optimised crop yield and community participation and education. The holistic integration of systems, people and the built environment aims to create a building that is not merely a machine for living, but a living machine.

Thesis (M. of Environmental Science)--Miami University, Institute of Environmental Sciences, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF document. Document formatted into pages; contains [1], iii, 66 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references.

With few studies focusing on the construction of green buildings in South Africa, there is a need to understand the reasoning behind the development of residential estates that have classified themselves as “eco”. The aim of this study was to establish whether or not residential estates that market themselves as “eco” are in fact sustainable. This study looks at the environmental sustainability of residential eco-estates (n=7) and compares them to non-eco-estates (n=7) in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The study used content analysis to evaluate the marketing material of the 14 estates sampled for the study. The data gathered through content analysis was then used to determine the environmental sustainability for each estate using an adapted version of the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool. The findings indicate that although the residential eco-estates had higher environmental sustainability scores when compared with non-eco-estates, the overall score for many of the eco-estates was too low for them to be classified as sustainable. The results of the study also highlight that a number of the eco-estates use greenwashing methods to attract potential homeowners. By selling nature, these estates are able to attract homeowners who may be interested in protecting the environment. When looking at these findings, it is possible to assume that the development of residential eco-estates has less to do with the sustainability of nature and has more to do with a desire to increase profits. In order to achieve environmental sustainability, it is therefore important to provide guidelines for developers to use if they are genuinely interested in creating estates that focus on the protection of the environment and natural resources. These guidelines can be developed through frameworks that exist to evaluate the sustainability of developments. Although much of the focus of this research is placed on the developers of each estate, it is important to acknowledge that the individuals who live within these estates are just as responsible for achieving sustainability. / Geography / M.A. (Geography)

Orientador: Gilberto de Martino Jannuzzi / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-21T07:52:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lima_BrunoWilmerFontes_M.pdf: 4773788 bytes, checksum: 512d3e82e0e392f642f77b5b058267c2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: O consumo de eletricidade no Brasil cresceu 47% na última década e estima-se que aumente outros 55,6% até 2020. A geração da maior parte da eletricidade no país é baseada no modelo de grandes usinas hidrelétricas, distantes dos centros de consumo, assim como a expansão da capacidade de geração para atender o aumento da demanda, mantendo as grandes perdas na transmissão e distribuição da eletricidade. Uma forma de reduzi-las é através do maior uso da geração distribuída, em que a eletricidade é gerada próxima ou no próprio local de consumo, como por exemplo, integrada a edificações. A partir da viabilização deste modelo de geração e dos edifícios eficientes, criou-se o conceito dos chamados Edifícios de Energia Zero (EEZ). EEZs são edifícios com baixas necessidades energéticas e que, ao longo do ano, geram toda a energia que consomem a partir de fontes renováveis de energia. Em 2010, as edificações foram responsáveis por 46,9% do consumo de eletricidade no Brasil e esta participação deve aumentar até o final da década. Dessa forma, um maior emprego da geração distribuída através de fontes renováveis em edificações e também de novos EEZs pode atender parte desta crescente demanda, e consequentemente, adiar ou evitar a construção de novas grandes hidrelétricas e termelétricas movidas a combustíveis fósseis, e reduzindo os impactos socioambientais causados pela sua construção e operação. Esta dissertação propõe uma metodologia para o projeto de sistemas de geração de energia elétrica em EEZs, visando auxiliar engenheiros e arquitetos no dimensionamento destes sistemas, permitindo uma maior adoção deste tipo de edificação. A metodologia consiste de alguns passos simples, que incluem a análise do consumo de energia do edifício e do potencial energético local, o dimensionamento e simulação do sistema de geração, concluindo com a avaliação dos resultados para averiguar se a energia gerada seria suficiente para classificar o edifício como EEZ. Adicionalmente, a metodologia propõe ferramentas para auxiliar na escolha de um sistema de geração, dentre diversas opções de arranjos e tecnologias, como o custo do sistema, da eletricidade produzida por ele e do tempo de retorno de energia. Esta metodologia foi aplicada em um laboratório de ensino, que será construído na Unicamp e tem como meta ter o menor impacto ambiental durante sua construção e operação além de ser um Edifício de Energia Zero. Foi avaliada a viabilidade e contribuição potencial da geração de eletricidade por fontes renováveis de energia no projeto deste laboratório, no caso energia solar fotovoltaica e pequenas turbinas eólicas, como forma de atender a meta EEZ. Também foram avaliados três sistemas fotovoltaicos, cotados com empresas especializadas durante o projeto do laboratório. Adicionalmente, buscando entender melhor a influência da tecnologia e do posicionamento dos sistemas fotovoltaicos na geração de eletricidade, foram realizadas simulações de sistemas com 1kWp, utilizando diferentes tecnologias e orientações. As simulações foram realizadas utilizando o software Homer Energy, de distribuição gratuita / Abstract: Electricity consumption in Brazil increased 47% in the last decade, and it is estimated that it will increase 55.6% until 2020. Most of the electricity generated in the country is based on large hydroelectric dams, located away from the major cities. The planned expansion of the generation park to meet this increase in the demand is also based on this model, leading to great transmission and distribution losses. One way to reduce these losses is through a greater use of distributed generation, where the electricity is generated near or at the point of consumption, e.g., integrated to buildings. With the viabilization of this model of electricity generation and of energy efficient buildings, the concept of Net Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) was created. A ZEB is a building with low energy needs which, through the course of a year, generated all the energy which it consumes from renewable energy sources. In 2010, the building sector was responsible for 46.9% of all electricity consumption in Brazil, and this share will increase until the end of the decade. That way, a larger use of the distributed generation from renewable sources integrated to buildings and of new ZEB can meet part of this growing demand, and thus postpone or avoid the construction of new large hydroelectric dams and thermoelectric power plants running on fossil fuels, reducing the social and environmental impacts caused by its construction and operation. This dissertation proposes a methodology for the project of electricity generation systems in ZEBs, aiming to help engineers and architects in the dimensioning of these systems, allowing a greater adoption of this kind of building. The methodology consists of a few simple steps, which includes an analysis of the building energy consumption and of the local energy potential, sizing and simulation of the generation system and comparing the results in order to conclude if it is possible for the building to become a ZEB. Additionally, the methodology proposes tools to help choosing the better option among different systems sizes and technologies, including the cost of the system, of the electricity produced by it and the energy payback time. The methodology will be applied to a university's laboratory, which will be built at Unicamp, which aims to have the lowest environmental impact possible during its construction and operation and to be a Net Zero Energy Building. It was addressed the viability and potential contribution of electricity generation from renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic and small wind turbines, in the laboratory's project as an strategy to reach the ZEB target. Three photovoltaic systems quoted from specialized companies during the project were also analyzed. Also, in order to address the influence of the technology and positioning of the photovoltaic systems on its performance, several simulations of systems with 1kWp were carried out, in different tilts and orientations, and using different technologies of photovoltaic modules. These simulations were performed using the Homer Energy software, which is free of charge / Mestrado / Planejamento de Sistemas Energeticos / Mestre em Planejamento de Sistemas Energéticos

The aim of this study was to determine the impact that Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) design features of green buildings, have on specific organisational outcomes. The organisational outcomes investigated were physical wellbeing, psychological wellbeing, productivity, absenteeism and job satisfaction. These outcomes were investigated within two different green buildings, belonging to a large financial institution, situated in Johannesburg and Durban. Self-report questionnaires were distributed to employees via email inviting them to participate in the study. The questionnaires contained the Warwick-Edinburg Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), the Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) questions, and single-item questions measuring productivity and job satisfaction. Actual absenteeism records were obtained of the participating sample from the organisation. Measures were taken before the participants moved into each of the green buildings and 12 months post occupancy in the green buildings. Measures of a comparison group that did not move into either of the green buildings were also taken at the same time periods. The final sample consisted of 175 participants. The results of this study illustrated significant differences in physical wellbeing and productivity of the participants in the green building situated in Durban. Both these measures increased 12 months post occupancy in the green building. The IEQ design features that were found to most significantly impact wellbeing and productivity within the two green buildings were lighting and air conditions. This research is important as there is a growing movement towards implementing green building design initiatives, however in order to be truly effective, the benefits of green building designs must extend beyond the benefits to the environment and also consider the benefits to its occupants (Heerwagen, 2000).

Yes / Purpose– This paper develops a Knowledge-based (KB) System for Lean Six Sigma (LSS) Maintenance in environmentally Sustainable Buildings (Lean6-SBM). Design/methodology/approach– The Lean6-SBM conceptual framework has been developed using the rule base approach of KB system and joint integration with Gauge Absence Prerequisites (GAP) technique. A comprehensive literature review is given for the main pillars of the framework with a typical output of GAP analysis. Findings– Implementation of LSS in the sustainable building maintenance context requires a pre-assessment of the organisation’s capabilities. A conceptual framework with a design structure is proposed to tackle this issue with the provision of an enhancing strategic and operational decision making hierarchy. Research limitations/implications– Future research work might consider validating this framework in other type of industries. Practical implications– Maintenance activities in environmentally sustainable buildings must take prodigious standards into consideration and, therefore, a robust quality assurance measure has to be integrated. Originality/value– The significance of this research is to present a novel use of hybrid KB/GAP methodologies to develop a Lean6-SBM system. The originality and novelty of this approach will assist in identifying quality perspectives while implementing different maintenance strategies in the sustainable building context. / Ministry of Defence Engineering Services (Sultanate of Oman)

The nonlinear elastic behavior of infrastructure materials is a critical factor in the design and performance of various structural systems. This research introduces a novel approach to enhance the flexural rigidity and deflection control of large-spanned beams, aerial personal rapid transit (PRT) structures, and packed parallel wire cables by leveraging configurational forces, such as horizontal constraints and wrapping forces. These forces produce prestress over the structure members, but the prestress changes with the configuration, and therefore, the effective stiffness can be tailored by these configurational forces. In the first part of this research, the governing equation considering the horizontal force is formulated to address the large deflections commonly encountered in beams subjected to transverse loading with horizontal constraints. The study demonstrates that deflection can be significantly reduced, thereby increasing the effective flexural rigidity without necessitating larger cross-sections. Green’s functions for various boundary conditions are derived, and the theory is validated through a series of experimental tests on Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) panels and PRT guideways. The case studies show that horizontal prestress enhances beam stiffness, reducing deflection by up to 87% within the elastic load range. The research further extends to the mechanical behavior of packed parallel wire cables arranged in hexagonal patterns and wrapped with bands. The wrapping force is shown to modify the effective stiffness of the cables, a phenomenon modeled using the Singum model and Hertz contact theory. This approach simulates the stress transfer between wires under transverse loading, introducing an elastoplastic contact model that accounts for yielding in the contact zones. The study presents a methodology for predicting the development length and critical axial load in cables with broken wires, providing a robust tool for the design and maintenance of suspension bridge cables. In the final part of this research, the focus shifts to the mechanical performance of a fivelayered mullion design for energy-efficient building facades. Comprising three aluminum layers sandwiched between two polyamide cores, the beam is analyzed using linear and nonlinear elastic sandwich beam theory to derive expressions for effective stiffness. These theoretical predictions are compared with finite element method simulations and validated against experimental data from three-point and four-point bending tests. The results confirm the accuracy of the analytical models presented, demonstrating their potential for enhancing the structural performance of modern building facades. A significant contribution of this research is the development of a comprehensive framework for understanding and predicting the nonlinear elastic behavior of infrastructure materials under complex loading conditions, which the superposition principle may not be simply applicable even though the material behavior is elastic. By integrating configurational forces into the design process, this work offers a novel approach to improving the structural integrity and performance of beams, cables, and facade systems, with wide-ranging implications for the fields of structural engineering and material science.