Abstract An ultrasonic technique has been experimented for non destructive testing of building structures. The Through Transmission Technique has been applied, processing the wave incident on a grid of detecting probes after it has been transmitted through a trachite stone masonry with an inside cavity. Several parameters associated with acoustic waves propagating through the structure have bee...

The diffusion coefficient (D(m)) and material/air partition coefficient (K) are two key parameters characterizing the formaldehyde and volatile organic compounds (VOC) sorption behavior in building materials. By virtue of the sorption process in airtight chamber, this paper proposes a novel method to measure the two key parameters, as well as the convective mass transfer coefficient (h(m)). Com...

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As focus is drawn toward more sustainable construction practices, use of bamboo as a structural building material is growing as a topic of interest. It is highly renewable, has low-embodied energy, and has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of steel, concrete, and timber. Composite lumber made from bamboo, termed laminated bamboo lumber (LBL), has gained the particular interest of researchers...

Three typical kinds of building materials (painted drywall, ceiling tile, and carpet) have been tested to study the effects of environmental conditions (temperature, relative humidity, and air velocity) on the sorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by building materials. It was found that the effects of environmental conditions on sorption were insignificant for the painted drywall due t...

In contrast to most other building materials the strength of glass is not a material parameter, but rather a combination of the material treatment and the load position effects. Structural glass elements are produced with heat treatment when compressive residual stresses are created on the surface. The loading position of glass specimen is also significant due to variations in material quality....

The presented work extends the state-of-the-art in scientific simulation-driven 3D construction process visualization. We present a tool, ParticleWorks that engineers can use to visualize construction processes involving “fuzzy”, unstructured, materials that are generally capable of flowing. Common processes that involve such fuzzy materials include placing concrete, dumping dirt, shotcreting, ...

In the construction of 3D site models, much more emphasis has been put on the creation of the 3D shapes than on their textures. Nevertheless, the overall visual impression will often depend more on these textures than on the precision of the underlying geometry. The paper proposes a hierarchical texture modeling and synthesis technique to simulate the intricate appearances of building materials...

Sustainable building material design relies mostly on energy saving processes, decrease of raw materials consumption, and increase of waste and by-products recycling. Natural and lightweight artificial aggregates production implies relevant environmental impact. This paper addresses both the issues of residues recycling and energy optimization. Particularly, three coal combustion wastes (Weathe...

One of the aims of the First Intercomparison on Natural Radioactivity Under Field Conditions was to test different instruments and detectors for the measurement of radon gas and external gamma radiation (dose rate) in filed conditions, where the levels of natural radiation are quite high. The event was organized by the Radon group of University of Cantabria, (Spain) LaRUC, and was held in the e...