Humidity is one of the main environmental factors affecting the emission rate and key parameters of formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from building materials. Meanwhile, the initial emittable concentration (Cm,0) is proved to be the most sensitive key parameter to the emission behaviours. However, there is no report on the relationship between humidity and Cm,0. In this paper, ...

Sweden is forecasted to grow its population with 1.1 million people over the next eight-year period, increasing the demand on the construction phase of housing units throughout Sweden. However, at present, 240 of Sweden's 290 municipalities show an existing deficit of available housing units in their regions, resulting in inherent difficulties fulfilling this demand utilizing the current produc...

Mold growth in buildings has been shown to be associated with adverse health effects. The fungal and bacterial growth on moistened building materials has been studied, but little attention has been paid to the other organisms spawning in the damaged materials. We examined moist building materials for protozoa, concentrating on amoebae. Material samples (n = 124) from moisture-damaged buildings ...

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Fungal growth in damp or water-damaged buildings worldwide is an increasing problem, which has adverse effects on both the occupants and the buildings. Air sampling alone in moldy buildings does not reveal the full diversity of fungal species growing on building materials. One aim of this study was to estimate the qualitative and quantitative diversity of fungi growing on damp or water-damaged ...

Grout is a binding agent or binder often used with building materials to improve their durability functions. It may be organic or inorganic material used for sealing or consolidation of cracks, pores, or voids in order to improve the mechanical properties and impermeability of a particular system, whether soil, cementitious or of other building materials. Grouts act as dispersion agents where d...

In this paper we design swarm clustering algorithm to build, move and place clusters of building materials on the desired place on plane. Such algorithm consists of three phases: building clusters, moving them radially and then orbitally. We present an example that demonstrates desired cluster placement. In particular, it is shown that with proposed algorithm capable of building clusters, movin...

Leaf-like nanostructures with nanoscale apex are induced on dielectric target surfaces by high-repetition-rate femtosecond laser irradiation in ambient conditions. We have recently developed this unique technique to grow leaf-like nanostructures with such interesting geometry without the use of any catalyst. It was found to be possible only in the presence of background nitrogen gas flow. In th...

We decompose factors affecting China’s energy-related air pollutant (NOx, PM2.5, and SO2) emission changes into different effects using structural decomposition analysis (SDA). We find that, from 2005 to 2012, investment increased NOx, PM2.5, and SO2 emissions by 14.04, 7.82 and 15.59 Mt respectively, and consumption increased these emissions by 11.09, 7.98, and 12.09 Mt respectively. Export an...

Prestressed concrete bridges currently account for 45% of bridges built in the last 5 years in the United States. This has resulted in an increase in the number of deficient bridges composed of prestressed concrete, which requires a better understanding of the on-site performance of this building material. The use of new materials, such as high-performance concrete, in conjunction with prestres...