The diagrid structural system has been widely used for recent tall buildings due to the structural efficiency and aesthetic potential provided by the unique geometric configuration of the system. This paper presents a stiffness-based design methodology for determining preliminary member sizes of steel diagrid structures for tall buildings. The methodology is applied to diagrids of various heigh...

Applying lean production concepts to precast fabrication have been proven promising. However, foreman encounters difficulties in arranging weekly work plans. The objective of this research is to overcome the difficulty when arranging weekly work plans in concrete element prefabrication. Current practices in arranging weekly work plans are fairly basic, and depending heavily on experience, there...

With increasing concern over the excessive exploitation of natural aggregates, synthetic lightweight aggregate produced from environmental waste is a viable new source of structural aggregate material. The uses of structural grade lightweight concrete reduce considerably the self-load of a structure and permit larger precast units to be handled. In this paper, the mechanical properties of a str...

BACKGROUND Bone engineering requires thicker three-dimensional constructs than the maximum thickness supported by standard cell-culture techniques (2 mm). A flow-perfusion bioreactor was developed to provide chemotransportation to thick (6 mm) scaffolds. METHODS Polyurethane scaffolds, seeded with murine preosteoblasts, were loaded into a novel bioreactor. Control scaffolds remained in static...

The cost for house production is rising in Sweden. Compared with other consumer goods, the cost for houses have had a steeper increase over the last decades. Initiatives such as Lean Construction and Prefabrication have emerged in the construction industry to reduce the cost of house production and thereby the cost of the house itself. These initiatives have collected a lot of ideas and tools f...

Experimental research was conducted to study the fire resistance of steel tubular columns used in prefabricated and modular construction. In order to achieve high-efficient prefabrication and fast on-site installation, membrane protections using board products and thermal insulation blankets are adopted as the favorable protection method. Three protected tubular columns were tested in a full-sc...