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Books in Built environment

Built Environment coverage includes comprehensive titles on all the major research and technological developments in civil and structural engineering, construction materials, and a variety of related fields (environmental engineering, transportation engineering, urban planning, etc.) that contribute to make design, construction, maintenance, and operations of buildings, cities, and infrastructure smarter, more efficient, sustainable, and resilient.

  • Smart Buildings

    Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology to Improve Energy-Efficiency and Environmental Performance
    • 1st Edition
    • Marco Casini
    • English
    Smart Buildings: Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology to Improve Energy Efficiency and Environmental Performance presents a thorough analysis of the latest advancements in construction materials and building design that are applied to maximize building efficiency in both new and existing buildings. After a brief introduction on the issues concerning the design process in the third millennium, Part One examines the differences between Zero Energy, Green, and Smart Buildings, with particular emphasis placed on the issue of smart buildings and smart housing, mainly the ‘envelope’ and how to make it more adaptive with the new possibilities offered by nanotechnology and smart materials. Part Two focuses on the last generation of solutions for smart thermal insulation. Based on the results of extensive research into more innovative insulation materials, chapters discuss achievements in nanotechnology, bio-ecological, and phase-change materials. The technical characteristics, performance level, and methods of use for each are described in detail, as are the achievements in the field of green walls and their use as a solution for upgrading the energy efficiency and environmental performance of existing buildings. Finally, Part Three reviews current research on smart windows, with the assumption that transparent surfaces represent the most critical element in the energy balance of the building. Chapters provide an extensive review on the technical features of transparent closures that are currently on the market or under development, from so-called dynamic glazing to bio-adaptive and photovoltaic glazing. The aesthetic potential and performance limits are also be discussed.

  • Characteristics and Uses of Steel Slag in Building Construction

    • 1st Edition
    • Ivanka Netinger Grubeša + 3 more
    • English
    Characteristics and Uses of Steel Slag in Building Construction focuses predominantly on the utilization of ferrous slag (blast furnace and steel slag) in building construction. This extensive literature review discusses the worldwide utilization of ferrous slag and applications in all sectors of civil engineering, including structural engineering, road construction, and hydro-technical structures. It presents cutting-edge research on the characteristics and properties of ferrous slag, and its overall impact on the environment.

  • Innovative Developments of Advanced Multifunctional Nanocomposites in Civil and Structural Engineering

    • 1st Edition
    • Kenneth Loh + 1 more
    • English
    Innovative Developments of Advanced Multifunctional Nanocomposites in Civil and Structural Engineering focuses on nanotechnology, the innovation and control of materials at 100 nm or smaller length scales, and how they have revolutionized almost all of the various disciplines of science and engineering study. In particular, advances in synthesizing, imaging, and manipulating materials at the nano-scale have provided engineers with a broader array of materials and tools for creating high-performance devices. Nanomaterials possess drastically different properties than those of their bulk counterparts mainly because of their high surface-to-mass ratios and high surface energies/reactivity. For instance, carbon nanotubes have been shown to possess impressive mechanical strength, stiffness, and electrical conductivity superior to that of bulk carbon. Whilst nanotechnology has become deeply rooted in electrical, chemical, and materials engineering disciplines, its proliferation into civil engineering did not begin until fairly recently. This book covers that proliferation and the main challenges associated with the integration of nanomaterials and nano-scale design principles into civil and structural engineering.

  • Nonconventional and Vernacular Construction Materials

    Characterisation, Properties and Applications
    • 1st Edition
    • Kent A. Harries + 1 more
    • English
    Nonconventional and Vernacular Construction Materials: Characterisation, Properties and Applications provides a comprehensive repository of information on materials science and the modern structural engineering application of ancient, vernacular, and nonconventional building materials, with leading experts contributing chapters that focus on current applications and the engineering of these construction materials. Opening with a historic retrospective of nonconventional materials, Part One includes a review of vernacular construction and a discussion of the future directions for nonconventional and vernacular materials research and applications. Chapters in Part Two focus on natural fibers, including their application in cementitious composites, non-cementitious composites, and strawbale construction. In Part Three, chapters cover the use of industrial by-products and natural ashes in cement mortar and concrete, and construction using soil-cement blocks, clay-based materials, adobe and earthen materials, and ancient stone masonry. Timber, bamboo, and paper construction materials are investigated in the final section of the book.

  • Securing the Outdoor Construction Site

    Strategy, Prevention, and Mitigation
    • 1st Edition
    • Kevin Wright Carney
    • English
    Securing the Outdoor Construction Site: Strategy, Prevention, and Mitigation offers a holistic view of security planning for vulnerable capital projects, providing the strategic and tactical plans needed to protect large areas with a minimum investment in personnel and equipment. This book is a one-stop reference that provides effective security strategies, methods, and tactics to mitigate the theft of equipment and how to avoid these incidents altogether. In addition, the book outlines the true costs of construction site theft to organizations in terms of lost time, equipment, and brand reputation, along with increased insurance premiums and danger to personnel. It lists the types of theft that regularly occur at sites, explores their underlying causes, and documents their worldwide financial significance. Finally, readers will learn how to conduct a construction site survey with loss prevention in mind, and how to budget for the unexpected.

  • Designing Green Cement Plants

    • 1st Edition
    • S.P. Deolalkar
    • English
    Cement production is known to be a polluting and energy-intensive industry. Cement plants account for 5 percent of global emissions of carbon dioxide and one of the main causes of global warming. However, cement it is literally the glue of progress. Designing Green Cement Plants provides the tools and techniques for designing new large cement plants that would promote sustainable growth, preserve natural resources to the maximum possible extent and make least possible additions to the Greenhouse Gases that cause global warming. Brief and but authoritative, this title embraces new technologies and methods such as Carbon Capture and Sequestration, as well as methods for harnessing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. The author also discusses the efficient use of energy and materials through the use recycling. In addition, this book also examines thepossibilities of developing green cement substitutes such as Calera, Caliix, Novacem, Aether and Geopolymer cements.

  • Welding and Joining of Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS)

    • 1st Edition
    • Mahadev Shome + 1 more
    • English
    Welding and Joining of Advanced High Strength Steels (AHSS): The Automotive Industry discusses the ways advanced high strength steels (AHSS) are key to weight reduction in sectors such as automotive engineering. It includes a discussion on how welding can alter the microstructure in the heat affected zone, producing either excessive hardening or softening, and how these local changes create potential weaknesses that can lead to failure. This text reviews the range of welding and other joining technologies for AHSS and how they can be best used to maximize the potential of AHSS.

  • Ultra-precision Bearings

    • 1st Edition
    • F Wardle
    • English
    Ultra-precision bearings can achieve extreme accuracy of rotation, making them ideal for use in numerous applications across a variety of fields, including hard disk drives, roundness measuring machines and optical scanners. Ultraprecision Bearings provides a detailed review of the different types of bearing and their properties, as well as an analysis of the factors that influence motion error, stiffness and damping. Following an introduction to basic principles of motion error, each chapter of the book is then devoted to the basic principles and properties of a specific type of bearing: ball, hydrodynamic, aerodynamic, hydrostatic and aerostatic. The book concludes with a comparison of these types of bearing and their applications.

  • Eco-efficient Masonry Bricks and Blocks

    Design, Properties and Durability
    • 1st Edition
    • Fernando Pacheco-Torgal + 4 more
    • English
    Masonry walls constitute the interface between the building’s interior and the outdoor environment. Masonry walls are traditionally composed of fired-clay bricks (solid or perforated) or blocks (concrete or earth-based), but in the past (and even in the present) they were often associated as needing an extra special thermal and acoustical insulation layer. However, over more recent years investigations on thermal and acoustical features has led to the development of new improved bricks and blocks that no longer need these insulation layers. Traditional masonry units (fired-clay bricks, concrete or earth-based blocks) that don’t offer improved performance in terms of thermal and acoustical insulation are a symbol of a low-technology past, that are far removed from the demands of sustainable construction.This book provides an up-to-date state-of-the-art review on the eco-efficiency of masonry units, particular emphasis is placed on the design, properties, performance, durability and LCA of these materials. Since masonry units are also an excellent way to reuse bulk industrial waste the book will be important in the context of the Revised Waste Framework Directive 2008/98/EC which states that the minimum reuse and recycling targets for construction and demolition waste (CDW) should be at least 70% by 2020. On the 9th of March 2011 the European Union approved the Regulation (EU) 305/2011, known as the Construction Products Regulation (CPR) and it will be enforced after the 1st of July 2013. The future commercialization of construction materials in Europe makes their environmental assessment mandatory meaning that more information related to the environmental performance of building materials is much needed.

  • Artificial Intelligence in Design '91

    • 1st Edition
    • J. S. Gero
    • English
    Artificial Intelligence in Design '91 is a collection of 47 papers from the First International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Design held at Edinburgh in June 1991. The papers in this book are grouped into 13 headings, starting with a background of AI design systems and to which extent AI that results from being used as planning tool be applied to quality-oriented design processes in architecture. A constraint-driven approach to object-oriented design is also shown on real-world objects. The use of CADSYN in the structural design of buildings is examined, along with design-dependent knowledge and design-independent knowledge. Discussions on empowering designers with integrated design environments are given whereby design objects may be retrieved from catalogues without requiring users to form queries. Mention is given to automated adjustment of parameter values frequently used in computer routine applications. The book also introduces the Computer Aided Design (CAD) as applied to architecture. Design representation using data models, non-monotonic reasoning in design, and the cognitive aspects of design using empirical studies are discussed. Topics of the industrial applications of AI in design, such as the needed steps to develop a successful AI-based tool, and a review of the Castlemain Project and telecommunication distribution networks follow. This book is suitable for programmers, computer science students, and architects and engineers who use computers in their line of work.

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