CHARACTERIZATION OF ASPHALT MATERIALS CONTAINING BIO OIL FROM MICHIGAN WOOD

The objective of this research is to develop sustainable wood-blend bioasphalt and characterize the atomic, molecular and bulk-scale behavior necessary to produce advanced asphalt paving mixtures. Bioasphalt was manufactured from Aspen, Basswood, Red Maple, Balsam, Maple, Pine, Beech and Magnolia wood via a 25 KWt fast-pyrolysis plant at 500 °C and refined into two distinct end forms - non-treated (5.54% moisture) and treated bioasphalt (1% moisture). Michigan petroleum-based asphalt, Performance Grade (PG) 58-28 was modified with 2, 5 and 10% of the bioasphalt by weight of base asphalt and characterized with the gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), Fourier Transform Infra-red (FTIR) spectroscopy and the automated flocculation titrimetry techniques. The GC-MS method was used to characterize the Carbon-Hydrogen-Nitrogen (CHN) elemental ratio whiles the FTIR and the AFT were used to characterize the oxidative aging performance and the solubility parameters, respectively. For rheological characterization, the rotational viscosity, dynamic shear modulus and flexural bending methods are used in evaluating the low, intermediate and high temperature performance of the bio-modified asphalt materials. 54 5E3 (maximum of 3 million expected equivalent standard axle traffic loads) asphalt paving mixes were then prepared and characterized to investigate their laboratory permanent deformation, dynamic mix stiffness, moisture susceptibility, workability and constructability performance. From the research investigations, it was concluded that: 1) levo, 2, 6 dimethoxyphenol, 2 methoxy 4 vinylphenol, 2 methyl 1-2 cyclopentandione and 4-allyl-2, 6 dimetoxyphenol are the dominant chemical functional groups; 2) bioasphalt increases the viscosity and dynamic shear modulus of traditional asphalt binders; 3) Bio-modified petroleum asphalt can provide low-temperature cracking resistance benefits at -18 °C but is susceptible to cracking at -24 °C; 3) Carbonyl and sulphoxide oxidation in petroleum-based asphalt increases with increasing bioasphalt modifiers; 4) bioasphalt causes the asphaltene fractions in petroleum-based asphalt to precipitate out of the solvent maltene fractions; 5) there is no definite improvement or decline in the dynamic mix behavior of bio-modified mixes at low temperatures; 6) bio-modified asphalt mixes exhibit better rutting performance than traditional asphalt mixes; 7) bio-modified asphalt mixes have lower susceptibility to moisture damage; 8) more field compaction energy is needed to compact bio-modified mixes.

Polypropylene fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete for the reconstruction of the cathedral of La Laguna, Canary Island, Spain

High performance materials are needed for the reconstruction of such a singular building as a cathedral, since in addition to special mechanical properties, high self compact ability, high durability and high surface quality, are specified. Because of the project’s specifications, the use of polypropylene fiber-reinforced, self-compacting concrete was selected by the engineering office. The low quality of local materials and the lack of experience in applying macro polypropylene fiber for structural reinforcement with these components materials required the development of a pretesting program. To optimize the mix design, performance was evaluated following technical, economical and constructability criteria. Since the addition of fibers reduces concrete self-compactability, many trials were run to determine the optimal mix proportions. The variables introduced were paste volume; the aggregate skeleton of two or three fractions plus limestone filler; fiber type and dosage. Two mix designs were selected from the preliminary results. The first one was used as reference for self-compactability and mechanical properties. The second one was an optimized mix with a reduction in cement content of 20 kg/m3and fiber dosage of 1 kg/m3. For these mix designs, extended testing was carried out to measure the compression and flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, toughness, and water permeability resistance

Metodología y criterios para evaluar la influencia de la domótica y su preinstalación en los edificios en función de los condicionantes constructivos y de la envolvente interior

La introducción de la automatización de servicios en los edificios de vivienda comenzó a implementarse a finales del siglo XX. Desde entonces, los edificios que incluyen instalaciones completas de automatización suelen conocerse como edificios domotizados o edificios inteligentes e implican la introducción en la arquitectura de tecnologías que hasta la fecha eran ajenas a ésta. El diseño de estos nuevos edificios de viviendas implica cada vez más el trabajo de equipos multidisciplinares y exige por parte del arquitecto la adquisición de nuevos conocimientos y herramientas proyectuales que aseguren la viabilidad constructiva de dichos servicios de automatización doméstica. La presente tesis tiene como objetivo determinar la influencia de la automatización de servicios domésticos en la fase de proyecto constructivo de los edificios para finalmente ofrecer al arquitecto herramientas, criterios y una metodología que le ayude a proyectar estos edificios satisfactoriamente. Esta influencia se evalúa y determina en función de los condicionantes constructivos, que se definen como aquellas consideraciones que el proyectista puede tener en cuenta en la fase de diseño o de concepción de un edificio. La metodología utilizada en esta investigación incluye el análisis conceptual y de contenidos de documentos normativos, técnicos, y de investigación así como un estudio de mercado de las aplicaciones más habituales en domótica. Finalmente la investigación se centra en la envolvente interior del edificio para determinar la influencia de los servicios de domotización no convencionales en el proyecto arquitectónico. Al margen de las aportaciones teóricas de esta investigación, las cuales se han propuesto para afianzar el marco teórico de la disciplina, los resultados obtenidos constatan que dicha influencia en la fase de proyecto existe y que es posible detectar qué condicionantes constructivos se derivan de la normativa de aplicación en este tipo de proyectos, de las nuevas tecnologías implicadas en las instalaciones de automatización y de los esfuerzos de estandarización de las asociaciones de empresas en el campo de la domótica. ABSTRACT The automation of services in residential buildings (also called home automation) began to be implemented in the late twentieth century. Since then, those buildings with full automation services are often known as intelligent buildings or smart buildings, and they imply the introduction into the architecture of technologies that where foreign to the field until then. The design of these new residential buildings increasingly involves the need of multidisciplinary teams and requires the architect to acquire new knowledge and project tools in order to ensure the constructability of such home automation services. This thesis pretends to determine the impact and influence of the introduction of home automation services in the design stage of residential buildings in order to, finally, provide the architect with the tools, criteria and methodology to help him design such projects successfully. This impact is evaluated and determined by the constructive constraints or factors implied, which are defined as those considerations that the designer may take into account in the conception and design stage of the project. The methodology used in this research includes conceptual and content analysis applied to normative and technical documents, regulatory standards and research papers, as well as a market survey of the most common applications and services in home automation. Finally, the investigation focuses on the inner partitions of the building to determine the influence of unconventional domotics services in the architectural design. Besides the theoretical contributions of this research, which have been proposed to strengthen the theoretical framework of the discipline, the achieved results find that such influence in the design stage exists and that it is possible to detect which constructive constraints are derived from the application of building regulations, from the new technologies involved in home automation facilities or from the standardization efforts of the joint ventures in the field of home automation.

Valorização da participação da engenharia de produção no projeto simultâneo de empresa construtora-incorporadora.

A falta de integração entre áreas de conhecimento pode gerar efeitos negativos no processo de projeto em uma construtora-incorporadora. Em muitos casos, o projeto do produto é elaborado pela incorporadora sem qualquer participação da área responsável pela produção e de outras áreas da construtora. O trabalho apresenta uma análise sobre a gestão de projetos na construção de edifícios, valorizando a participação da engenharia de produção nessa fase, apoiando-se nos conceitos de Projeto Simultâneo, e propõe diretrizes para sua aplicação na construtora-incorporadora Cyrela, com enfoque na construtibilidade e manutenibilidade. Para desenvolver a pesquisa foi realizada uma revisão bibliográfica sobre as características da gestão de projetos, da Engenharia de Produção na construção de edifícios, e sobre a Engenharia Simultânea no desenvolvimento de produtos com comparativo de modelos de indústrias seriadas para a construção civil, incluindo a interação entre os agentes do processo. Como resultados são apresentados: uma análise da interação entre os agentes do processo; a ligação entre pessoas, processos e tecnologia; os conceitos de construtibilidade, manutenibilidade e retroalimentação na interface com projetos. São igualmente feitas análises das tendências de modernização na gestão dos projetos por meio da modelagem da informação da construção e, apoiado em estudo de caso, são apresentadas as experiências do Projeto Simultâneo aplicadas na Cyrela. Por fim, são apresentadas as diretrizes para participação da Engenharia de Produção da Construtora e Incorporadora Cyrela no Projeto Simultâneo, sendo essa a principal contribuição do trabalho. Embora suas contribuições possam servir de referência para demais empresas do setor, essa pesquisa foi desenvolvida para aplicações práticas da Cyrela, construtora-incorporadora que atua na construção de edifícios em todas as regiões do Brasil.

Multiple attribute decision making approach to petroleum pipeline route selection

Petroleum pipelines are the nervous system of the oil industry, as this transports crude oil from sources to refineries and petroleum products from refineries to demand points. Therefore, the efficient operation of these pipelines determines the effectiveness of the entire business. Pipeline route selection plays a major role when designing an effective pipeline system, as the health of the pipeline depends on its terrain. The present practice of route selection for petroleum pipelines is governed by factors such as the shortest distance, constructability, minimal effects on the environment, and approachability. Although this reduces capital expenditure, it often proves to be uneconomical when life cycle costing is considered. This study presents a route selection model with the application of an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), a multiple attribute decision making technique. AHP considers all the above factors along with the operability and maintainability factors interactively. This system has been demonstrated here through a case study of pipeline route selection, from an Indian perspective. A cost-benefit comparison of the shortest route (conventionally selected) and optimal route establishes the effectiveness of the model.

Applied Aspects of Mathematical Modeling and Optimization of Dynamics of Charged Beams

The complex of questions connected with the analysis, estimation and structural-parametrical optimization of dynamic system is considered in this article. Connection of such problems with tasks of control by beams of trajectories is emphasized. The special attention is concentrated on the review and analysis of spent scientific researches, the attention is stressed to their constructability and applied directedness. Efficiency of the developed algorithmic and software is demonstrated on the tasks of modeling and optimization of output beam characteristics in linear resonance accelerators.