Thesis deals with options of use waste from insulating materials. Theoretical part of thesis describes waste and insulating materials used in civil engineering. Practical part of thesis describes utilization of waste from mineral wool. Its output are options of use waste from mineral wool and selected physical properties of recycled material.

The topic of the diploma thesis „ The impact of executing new thermal insulation on an administrative building in Blansko on the expenses associated with its operation“ is a draft and appraisal of four variants of thermal insulation of the building (EPS, EPS G, Mineral wool, Phenolic foam). It deals with an actual building situated in Blansko. All the variants are projected according to the same technical specifications (thermal transmittance) and their thermal parameters, technical parameters and the rate of return have been assessed. The assessed building (The A building) is at rectangular shape. It has six above - ground floors and a basement, it contains mainly administration sites. The construction system is concrete frame, which has curtain wall made of perforated blocks with thickness 250 mm. The building has got reinforced concrete floors, the roofing is made of double-skin roof construction. The supply for heating is a separate gas boiler room.

In the manufacturing process of mineral wool insulation plates, defects arise, such as unmelted base minerals and uncured binder which gets embedded within the plates. To be able to sort out these defective plates from a manufacturing line, a reliable quality assessment is needed. The aim is to find an ultrasonic non-destructive testing method that can identify the embedded defects. This was achieved through experiments on defective insulation plates using three different ultrasonic non-destructive testing methods that were of interest. These methods were higher harmonics, pulse-echo and through transmission. Of these three, the through transmission method showed the most promising results in finding the defects that were sought after. The through transmission method utilizes two aligned transducers, one acting as a transmitter and one as a receiver. When the defective area passes through the sound beam between the transducers the intensity of the beam drops, indicating that a defect is present. The weakened intensity is due to the signal attenuation, mainly caused by the higher density of the defects compared to the base material in the surrounding insulation plate. The method is well suited for being implemented in a production line since it’s a fast method and, therefore, suited for moving objects. More measurements are needed to establish a reliable reference value to consistently distinguish the defects from the surrounding plate. The method was only evaluated in a small scale experimental environment so further experiments on a larger scale are needed to mimic and evaluate the reliability in the real case scenario of the production lines. / I tillverkningsprocessen av isolerskivor i stenull uppstår inneboende defekter i isolerskivorna, dessa defekter består av osmälta basmineraler och ohärdat bindemedel. För att kunna sortera bort dessa skadade skivor från tillverkningslinjen behövs en pålitlig metod för kvalitetsbedömning. Avsikten med det här arbetet är att hitta en oförstörande provningsmetod baserad på ultraljud som kan identifiera de inneboende defekterna. Detta genomfördes genom experiment på defekta isolerskivor med tre olika oförstörande provningsmetoder baserade på ultraljud. Dessa metoderna var, higher harmonics, pitch-echo och through transmission. Through transmission visade lovande resultat i att identifiera de båda typerna av skador. Metoden är baserad på att en sändare sänder ut ultraljud till en mottagare placerad i linje med sändaren. När ett defekt område passerar ultraljudsvågen mellan sändaren och mottagaren försvagas intensiteten av signalen. Försvagningen av signalen beror mestadels på att densiteten är högre hos defekterna än hos basmaterialet i isolerskivan. Denna försvagning indikerar att en defekt befinner sig i mätområdet. Metoden är väl implementerbar i en tillverkningslinje, då det är en snabb metod vilket den behöver vara då objektet är i rörelse. Mer mätningar behövs för att fastställa ett pålitligt referensvärde för att konsekvent kunna sortera ut de defekta isolerskivorna. Metoden är endast utvärderad i en småskalig laborationsmiljö och det behövs fler tester i en större skala undersöka pålitligheten i det verkliga scenariot med tillverkningslinjen.

Historically, energy use in the operational phase has accounted for most of a building’s climate impact. This has been changed in recent decades because there has been a focus on developing energy-efficient buildings. A larger part of a building’s climate impact is caused by material manufacturing and production. To reduce a building’s climate impact alternative insulation materials can be used, for example hemp fibre insulation which is an organic and non-toxic material. The aim of this study is to find out if hemp fibre insulation can be implemented as a standard insulation material. By examining what factors are vital when choosing an insulation material this work intends to find out if the insulation properties of hemp insulation can fulfill the requirements by the constructor. To fulfill the aim, a combination of interviews, surveys and theoretical studies was used. The most crucial aspects when choosing insulation material are fire resistance, thermal conductivity and health aspects for the construction workers. The benefits with hemp insulation are primarily the negative emissions of carbon dioxide seen from a life cycle perspective, the possibility to cultivate the product within Sweden, its reusability and recyclability and that the insulation material are free from hazardous substances. The disadvantages are higher thermal conductivity, higher market price, lower fire resistance and limited accessibility on the Swedish market. Due to the disadvantages, it is difficult to implement hemp insulation as a standard insulation material today. The conclusions are that the environmental impact is not decisive for an entrepreneur today when choosing insulation material. However, it will most likely become a more essential factor in the future. Improving the building sector’s knowledge regarding hemp insulation, will presumably increase the usage of it. Although, for hemp insulation to become a competitor in the future, it is substantial to increase its fire resistance and the accessibility on the Swedish market. The development of the material and the market may be a contributing factor to achieve the global and national environmental goals.

Today’s society is standing in front of a revolution where fossil energy should be replaced with renewable energy. Governmental agencies and policy makers have formed goals and regulations to become greener, and the organisation Fossil Free Sweden has published roadmaps for fossil free competitiveness. Therefore, this report has connected Paroc’s operations with a roadmap for fossil free competitiveness to form a strategic environmental plan. Early, it was recognized that the field was big and a limitation to CO2-emissions during production were established. The facts were gathered mostly throughout literature studies, scientific publications/articles, and personal communication with personnel at Paroc/Owens Corning. The results gave a description over fossil free competitiveness for the construction sector, previous, and current sustainability efforts at Paroc. After that, the report lifted suggestions of modifications to the mainstream process. Focus laid on the reduction of coke, propane, and dolomite. Later, the report discussed a possible strategy to become fossil free by 2045. It found out that there are many approaches to become climate neutral. Moreover, a need for practical testing of the solutions in the mainstream processes, and that emissions can be calculated in an absolute of relative way.

The focus of the project is recycling of the insulation material mineral wool. The aim is to investigate the potential of using post-consumer wool from landfill as fiber reinforcement in a polymer matrix. Information gathering is conducted by a literature study on previous research, with focus on sustainability, circular economy and waste management. Potential is evaluated by producing test specimens, test mechanical properties with tensile and flexural tests, and conducting a life cycle assessment and economic analysis of the material. Mechanical properties of interest in this study are maximum stress and stiffness. The conclusion is that the manufacturing methods selected in the project do not achieve sufficient quality in the material to determine whether the fibers have the desired effect. Rock wool fibers do blend well with both polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE), but polymer composites with short fibers require control of fiber length, dispersion and direction, and the material needs to be free of pores which has not been achieved at this stage. As a result, unreinforced HDPE performs best in tensile tests (19,4 MPa in stress and 1,22 GPa Young’s modulus), in bending reinforced PP of virgin plastic achieves the highest stress and unreinforced PP the highest flexural modulus (74,1 MPa and 0,74 GPa respectively). The life cycle assessment shows that recycled rock wool fibers have potential to produce 60% less CO2 emissions than the equivalent glass fiber composite. In addition, stone wool fibers show the potential to save 30 000 SEK/ton compared to glass fiber, which corresponds to a 75% lower price. / Projektets fokus är återvinning av isoleringsmaterialet mineralull. Målet är att undersöka potentialen i att använda avfallet efter rivning eller renovering som fiberförstärkning i en polymermatris. Insamling av information sker genom att utföra en litteraturstudie på forskning, med fokus på hållbarhet, cirkulär ekonomi och avfallshantering. Materialets potential utvärderas genom att tillverka provstavar, testa mekaniska egenskaper med dragprov och böjprov, samt utföra livscykelanalys och ekonomisk analys av materialet. Mekaniska egenskaper av intresse i denna studie är maximal spänning och styvhet. Slutsatsen är att de valda tillverkningsmetoderna i projektet inte åstadkommer tillräcklig kvalitet i materialet för att kunna avgöra om fibrerna har önskad effekt. Fiber och matris blandar sig bra både i fallet med polypropen (PP) och hög-densitet polyeten (HDPE), men polymerkompositer med korta fibrer kräver kontroll av fiberlängd, spridning och riktning, och materialet behöver vara fritt från porer, vilket inte uppnåtts i detta stadie. Resultatet är att oförstärkt HDPE presterar bäst i dragprov (19,4 MPa i spänning och 1,22 GPa i E-modul), i böjning uppnår förstärkt PP av nyproducerad plast högst spänning och oförstärkt PP högst E-modul (74,1 MPa respektive 0,74 GPa). Livscykelanalysen visar att fibrer av återvunnen stenull har potential att bidra med 60% CO2-utsläpp än motsvarande komposit med glasfiber. Stenullsfibrer visar dessutom potential att spara 30 000 kr/ton jämfört med glasfiber, vilket motsvarar 75% lägre pris.

This diploma thesis deals with construction-technological project of mixed-use building in Olomouc. The thesis contains a technical report, the coordination situation of the construction, the time and financial plan, the study of the main technological stages, the project of site equipment, the design of the main building machines and mechanisms, the time schedule, the budget, the technology prescription for the contact thermal insulation systém, the quality control and test plan, the plan of safety and the comparison of ETICS with polystyrene and mineral wool.

Le mésothéliome pleural est considéré comme très spécifique d’une exposition à l’amiante. Cependant, certains aspects de l’étiologie de cette maladie n’ont pas encore été bien caractérisés. Les objectifs de cette étude sont : i) d’estimer la relation dose-effet entre exposition professionnelle aux fibres d’amiante et survenue de mésothéliome pleural selon différents indicateurs temporels d’exposition ; ii) d’étudier l’effet d’une exposition professionnelle aux laines minérales et aux poussières alvéolaires de silice cristalline libre sur le risque de survenue de mésothéliome pleural et iii) d’identifier les professions et secteurs d’activité à risque de survenue de mésothéliome pleural à partir de données recueillies sur une période de 20 ans. Les cas provenaient de ceux recrutés dans une précédente étude cas-témoins réalisée entre 1987 et 1993 et des cas enregistrés dans le programme national de surveillance du mésothéliome entre 1998 et 2006 (1 199 hommes). Les témoins ont été appariés en fréquence sur l’année de naissance et le sexe (2 378 hommes). L’exposition professionnelle à l’amiante, aux laines minérales et à la silice a été évaluée à partir de matrices emplois-exposition. Les relations dose-effet ont été estimées à l’aide du modèle logistique et leur forme a été obtenue grâce à l’utilisation de fonctions splines cubiques restreintes. Si la relation dose-effet à l’amiante est bien confirmée (particulièrement aux faibles doses), cette étude apporte de nouveaux résultats sur la relation temps-effet (rôle du temps écoulé depuis la dernière exposition ou effet de l’âge à la première exposition). Elle ouvre également de nouvelles perspectives sur le rôle des co-expositions (laines minérales) et permet d’identifier de nouvelles activités à risque, comme les mécaniciens automobiles. / Asbestos exposure is recognized as the primary cause of pleural mesothelioma. However, some aspects of etiology of this disease have not been well characterized. The objective of this study was to elucidate dose-response relationships of temporal pattern of occupational asbestos exposure in males, using case-control data, to study effect of man made vitreous fibers and silica dust on the risk of pleural mesothelioma and finally, to describe occupations and industries at high risk for this cancer among men in France according a period of twenty years of observation. Cases came from a French case-control study conducted in 1987-1993 and from the French National Mesothelioma Surveillance Program in 1998-2006 (1,199 males). Population controls were frequency matched by sex and year of birth (2,378 males). Occupational asbestos exposure was evaluated with a job-exposure matrix. The dose-response relationships were estimated using logistic regression models and form of this relationship were estimated using restricted cubic spline functions. Dose-response relationship was confirmed (particularly for lowest doses). However, this study provides new results about time-effect relationships (role of time since last exposure or effect of age at first exposure). This study opens up new prospects on the role of co-exposure (mineral wool) and permit to identify new activities at risk for pleural mésothéliome as motor vehicle mechanics.

The aim of this master thesis is to design home for the residential care of elderly and disabled people in Žďár nad Sázavou. It is designed as a three-storey building with a basement. There are technical facilities, in the basement. Canteen, doctor´s office, manager‘s office and reception are located on the first floor. Second and third floor contains common premises and residential units.building has a prefabricated reinforced concrete structural framework with mineral wool thermal insulation. It is covered with an extensive green roof. Piles are designed as the foundation. Partition wall is designed from plasterboard. The project and 3D rendering were carried out in Revit and Lumion software. All structures comply with the valid standards and regulations. The building site contains also an outdoor car park and a park.

My thesis solveses the office building. The building will be located in Šumperk. It will be located near the center. The building has two floors and a partial basement floor. Ceilings are beams with ceramic inserts and reinforced concrete slabs. Vertical structure consists of a ceramic blocks in the aboveground parts and concrete blocks in the underground section. The roof is walked on vegetation. The staircase is reinforced concrete, monolithic. The entire building is insulated with mineral wool. Basement is insulated with polystyrene foam.