Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mary Myla Andamon, Priyadarsini Rajagopalan, Jin Woo
Summary: This paper presents field measurements of CO2 concentration levels in classrooms in Victoria, Australia, showing insufficient ventilation and elevated CO2 levels. The study highlights the importance of improving classroom design, promoting proper ventilation practices, raising awareness of building ventilation in schools, and developing guidelines for ventilation and indoor air quality in schools.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Sabrina Westgate, Nga Lee Ng
Summary: This study used low-cost sensors to continuously measure size-resolved particulate matter and carbon dioxide in a university classroom. The decay time constant of each pollutant was determined using occupant-generated emissions, and the results showed that quantifying metabolic CO2 decay is a viable method to estimate the timescale of indoor aerosol decay. Both CO2 and particulate matter provided comparable air change rate estimates.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Riham Ahmed, Dejan Mumovic, Emmanouil Bagkeris, Marcella Ucci
Summary: This study explores the combined effects of indoor temperatures and CO2 levels on cognitive performance among female students in Saudi Arabia. The results show that lower temperatures and better ventilation rates can improve speed and accuracy of cognitive tasks. This highlights the importance of improving ventilation and thermal environmental control for optimal learning conditions, especially in short-term exposures.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Antigona Ukehaxhaj, Naser Ramadani, Hanns Moshammer, Drita Zogaj
Summary: There is scientific evidence of the adverse health effects of indoor exposure to chemicals in children. Nitrogen dioxide and benzene were found to be too high in at least one school. Formaldehyde levels were higher indoors and in newer schools. Improving air circulation and temperature control, as well as identifying and eliminating sources of pollution, would benefit the health and learning of school children.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Pedro F. Pereira, Nuno M. M. Ramos
Summary: Residential buildings in Portugal often change their ventilation strategy post-commissioning to reduce electricity costs, despite the lack of technical support for this option. A study found that this strategy has negative effects on indoor air quality but has yet to be quantified. Monitoring CO2 levels and calculating air exchange rates revealed that with the current ventilation strategy, CO2 concentrations in all rooms exceeded 1500 ppm, with some rooms reaching 2000 ppm.
INDOOR AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Brandon Bottorff, Chen Wang, Emily Reidy, Colleen Rosales, Delphine K. Farmer, Marina E. Vance, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Philip S. Stevens
Summary: Despite the lack of full understanding of the chemistry of nitrous acid (HONO) in the indoor environment, this study presents results from comparing measurements of HONO using different instruments. The findings indicate that HONO has a long enough lifetime to be quickly distributed indoors and mix throughout the house, contributing to the oxidative capacity indoors.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Construction & Building Technology
Xing Lu, Zhihong Pang, Yangyang Fu, Zheng O'Neill
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive review of the revolutions of CO2-based DCV in commercial buildings, focusing on trends and fundamental updates, particularly the correlation between indoor CO2 concentration and ventilation demands.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Yaojie Li, Xinlei Liu, Yatai Men, Zhihan Luo, Rui Xiong, Jianpeng Li, Hefa Cheng, Shu Tao, Guofeng Shen
Summary: Nearly three billion people still rely on traditional solid fuels, leading to potentially harmful levels of indoor CO2 exposure. A study in rural coal-use households found significantly elevated indoor CO2 concentrations, posing a variety of health risks. Efforts to reduce exposure to indoor CO2 are crucial for public health.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
K. V. Abhijith, Vina Kukadia, Prashant Kumar
Summary: In urban areas of the UK, schools located near busy roads often face pollution hotspots due to vehicle emissions during drop-off and pick-up times. Students are exposed to both indoor and outdoor air pollutants, highlighting the need for scientific investigations to mitigate air pollution exposure. This study aimed to understand the extent of air pollution inside and around schools and the factors affecting it, and determine effective interventions. Monitoring of air pollution in and around three primary schools in London was conducted, revealing improvements in air quality through interventions such as green screens, air purifiers, and school street initiatives. Practical recommendations were made based on the findings to improve air quality in and around UK schools.
ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xuemin Sui, Zhongjie Tian, Huitao Liu, Hao Chen, Dong Wang
Summary: This study investigated indoor air quality under different ventilation modes in a new residential building in Xi'an, China. Mechanical ventilation was found to effectively reduce the impact of haze weather on indoor PM2.5 concentration, but the control of CO2 concentration needs improvement. The study provides guidance for the optimization of residential mechanical ventilation systems.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Tuomas Raunima, Anssi Laukkarinen, Antti Kauppinen, Mihkel Kiviste, Eero Tuominen, Joonas Ketko, Juha Vinha
Summary: Measurements of indoor air temperature and relative humidity in schools and day-care centers in Finnish municipal buildings with mechanical ventilation showed that the indoor air was too dry, which can have negative effects on the air quality experienced by users.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Jinfu Zheng, Xin Guo, Songtao Hu, Fengling Wu, Chunfeng Lao, Haonan Ma, Rujin Liu, Guangrui Xu
Summary: This study proposes a data-driven CO2 model to analyze the long-term variations of indoor CO2 concentrations using only short-term data measurements. The model was validated under different ventilation conditions, and the results indicate that the simulation errors were less than 3%. It was found that under natural ventilation conditions, the indoor CO2 concentrations reach 1000 ppm and 5000 ppm in approximately 0.5 hours and 5.9 hours, respectively.
ENERGY AND BUILDINGS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Shihan Deng, Josephine Lau, Zhihao Wang, Pawel Wargocki
Summary: This study monitored indoor environmental data in 144 classrooms in 31 schools in the Midwestern United States. The results showed that increased ventilation rates and reduced indoor particle levels were associated with reduced absence rates and improved attendance rates. These findings highlight the importance of indoor air quality in schools for both health and academic performance.
ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Wojciech Kierat, Zhengtao Ai, Arsen Melikov, Detelin Markov, Mariya Bivolarova
Summary: Indoor climate standards recommend maintaining maximum CO2 concentration levels in rooms. Current CO2 exposure assessment is done through measurements at exhaust air or near walls. However, room air is often not perfectly mixed and CO2 emitted in exhaled air is non-uniformly distributed. This study examines the importance of air sampling location, timing, and breathing mode for accurate CO2 measurements. The results highlight that synchronizing the air sampling with the inhalation period is the most accurate method, and specific locations near the face are representative for assessing inhaled CO2 concentration.
BUILDING AND ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Vidhiben Patel, Andrew Foster, Alison Salem, Amit Kumar, Vineet Kumar, Biplab Biswas, Mehdi Mirsaeidi, Naresh Kumar
Summary: Increased exposure to solid fuel is associated with a higher likelihood of active TB history, as well as significant associations with TB for subjects using solid fuel and kerosene for heating and cooking. Smokers and solid fuel-exposed individuals are four times more likely to have a history of active TB compared to non-smokers and unexposed subjects.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Jawad Ahmad, Zhiguang Zhou
Summary: The addition of steel fibers and marble waste has a positive impact on the performance of self-compacting concrete (SCC) in aggressive environments, improving its mechanical properties, durability, and microstructure.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Kyungjae Lee, Hyunwoo Lim
Summary: Building energy code updates induce correlations among building parameters, which can affect data analysis. This study investigates the impact of these correlations through sensitivity analysis and Principal Component Analysis (PCA).
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
M. I. Nizovtsev, A. N. Sterlyagov
Summary: The effect of adding a layer of phase change material on the thermal inertia properties of the outer wall in lightweight building was numerically studied. It was found that in the regime of indoor air conditioning, adding a layer of paraffin in a foamed polyurethane wall can significantly reduce heat flux fluctuations on the inner wall surface. Additionally, locating the phase change material on the inner surface of the wall in the regime of daily in-phase fluctuations in the indoor and outdoor air temperatures produces the best effect.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Mingzhen Wang, Eric Hu, Lei Chen
Summary: This study proposes an innovative and sustainable condenser-cooling approach called Radiation-enhanced Thermal Diode Tank (RTDT) to assist in energy-saving for Refrigeration and Air-conditioning (RAC) systems. The research finds that the RTDT-RAC system can save up to 40% energy compared to the reference RAC system, with a higher Coefficient of Performance (COP) of 5.34. Additionally, the parametric analysis shows that regions with larger day and night ambient temperature differences, higher room temperature setpoints, and increased RHP radiative surface areas can effectively increase energy savings.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Hua Zhang, Xinyue Liu, Linjian Ma, Zeng Li
Summary: This study aims to investigate the impact of polypropylene (PP) fibers and aggregate contents on the mechanical performance of coral aggregate concrete (CASC). The results revealed that increasing the PP fiber contents and gravel replacement ratio significantly improved the dynamic compressive strength and toughness of CASC, while excessive fiber can have a detrimental effect. The study also developed a dynamic constitutive model that accurately predicted the stress-strain curve and mechanical properties of CASC.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Navid Moghaddas-Zadeh, Mahmood Farzaneh-Gord, William P. Bahnfleth
Summary: This study presents a general procedure for designing a hybrid chiller network using a Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm to determine the optimal configuration and chiller loading distribution. Life cycle cost analysis is used to select the optimal configuration. Simulations show that the best energy and economic choices depend on the natural gas and electricity price ratio.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Carolina Briceno, Miguel Azenha, Graca Vasconcelos, Paulo B. Lourenco
Summary: The conditioning of the brick units has an influence on the shear bond behavior of the unit-mortar interface. Longer immersion time improves the shear bond properties, while the cohesion values of premixed mortars are affected by the conditioning time.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Seong-Yong Cheon, Hye-Jin Cho, Jae-Weon Jeong
Summary: A dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) assisted by an isothermal dehumidifier and an indirect evaporative cooler is proposed, and its energy-saving potential is evaluated based on detailed simulations. The results indicate that despite the free cooling operation by the indirect evaporative cooler, the proposed system consumes 10% more operating energy due to the low coefficient of performance (COP) of the isothermal dehumidifier. Improvements in the COP of the isothermal dehumidifier are required for comparable energy performance.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Xiaochen Ma, Wenchao Shi, Hongxing Yang
Summary: The actual wetting factor of the plate surface and the movement of spray droplets are important factors in the performance of indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) systems. A 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model that considers these factors is proposed in this study. The model accurately predicts the performance of IEC systems and provides insights for further improvement.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Panagiota Theodoropoulou, Eleonora Brembilla, Roel Schipper, Christian Louter
Summary: This study develops an optimized glare-based control strategy for Venetian blinds in real-life buildings, aiming to improve visual conditions while saving energy. The results show that the optimized algorithm can significantly improve visual conditions for different activities in the building, although it may increase the use of electric lighting in certain cases.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Nari Yoon, Leslie Norford, Michael Wetter, Ali Malkawi
Summary: This study developed an analytical model for window operation schedules that leverages natural ventilation for different airflow rates, thermal masses, and climate variations. The research demonstrated that proper window scheduling can significantly reduce indoor temperature and save energy.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Haoran Cheng, Denghu Jing
Summary: This study investigated the reinforcement and compressive behavior of rat-trap bond walls using steel plate frames. The results showed that the steel plate frame effectively enhanced the compressive peak load of the wall, and increasing the steel plate thickness improved compressive strength and confinement effect. Nonlinear relations were observed between the preload ratio and the peak load, and local buckling of the steel plate frame was affected by the preload ratio. Finite element models were used to verify the experimental results, and calculation formulas for predicting the compressive peak load were developed and found to be accurate.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Bangyu Cheng, Jinlong Yang, Yucheng Fan, Zhi Ni, Ziyan Hang, Bowen Zeng, Huanxun Liu, Chuang Feng
Summary: This study investigates the property-microstructure relationships in graphene nanoplatelet (GNP) reinforced cement composites (GNPRCCs) using three-dimensional finite element modeling and experiments. The results reveal that GNPs aligned at 45 degrees have the most significant impact on enhancing load-bearing capacity and damage resistance of the composites. A larger GNP diameter-to-thickness ratio is beneficial for crack bridging and propagation control. The orientation and porosity of pores have significant effects on the damage behaviors of the composites, while pore shape shows negligible effects. These findings provide key guidelines for optimizing microstructural features and improving the performance and durability of construction materials.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Patrick N. Lemougna, Arnold Ismailov, Erkki Levanen, Pekka Tanskanen, Juho Yliniemi, Katja Kilpimaa, Mirja Illikainen
Summary: This study investigates the effect of glass wool waste on the sintering properties of kaolinitic and illitic clays in the ceramic industry. It was found that the addition of glass wool increased compressive strength at lower temperatures, while the addition of spodumene tailings mitigated firing shrinkage at higher temperatures.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Duidi Wu, Shuangdui Wu, Qianyou Zhao, Shuo Zhang, Jin Qi, Jie Hu, Borong Lin
Summary: This study proposes an intelligent elevator information system (IEIS) based on computer vision technology, which monitors elevator occupancy and guides demand-driven operation optimization to achieve energy-efficient management and efficient operation.
JOURNAL OF BUILDING ENGINEERING
(2024)