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Path towards a sustainable bioeconomy : conversion of locally available rice straw to nanocellulose
No full textThe Sri Lankan agriculture sector has the potential to support a national bioeconomy. Rice straw is a key by-product generated from paddy cultivation. While it is traditionally treated as a waste matter, straw can be a valuable resource in producing biomass fibers in the green composite production due to properties such as recyclability, biodegradability, renewability, nontoxicity, and high functionality
A New safety climate assessment tool for gulf construction
No full textOne of the methods which could improve the safety performance of construction organizations is the safety climate approach which is helpful to know the existing maturity level of the safety climate and to develop plans to achieve the required level of maturity. Most of the existing safety climate tools were developed considering different industries in developed countries while construction was based only on few tools. Construction projects in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries are at a peak. This article, therefore, attempts to develop a safety climate assessment tool for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) construction industry. A mixed research method consisting of a systematic review (N = 32), structured questionnaire (N = 102) and email interview (N = 19) was adopted in this research. A new assessment tool that has seven factors including (i) Aligning and Integrating Safety As Value (ii) Training At All Level (iii) Improving Site Safety Leadership (iv) Management Commitment (v) Empowering And Involving Workers (vi) Ensuring Accountability At All Level and (vii) Improving Communication has been finally developed. Each factor is supported by a number of simple questions that the participants have to answer on a Likert scale of 1 to 5 is finally developed. Although, the newly developed tool is validated through email interviews held with the construction industry professionals, however, longitudinal studies are recommended to gauge to the effectiveness of the tool
Assuring sustainable construction at project feasibility stage in Sri Lanka
No full textConstruction activity is commonly considered to have adverse impacts on the environment, which is the basis of sustainable development for human being. Further, sustainability should be addressed mostly in developing countries, such as Sri Lanka, where a considerable amount of construction works is currently in progress and remain to emerge in the future. It is considered that the proper development and operation of a construction project can make significant contribution to the mission of sustainable development. However, the existing difficulty is the lack of the guidance for implementing sustainable development principles in construction industry. Therefore, this research intends to bring the necessity of mandated project feasibility studies as a guideline for sustainable development in the Sri Lankan Context. The research aim was approached through a qualitative survey strategy. To solicit the perceptions of experts on the identified sustainability performance criteria, a semi-structured interview survey was conducted. Ten experts were selected through purposive sampling strategy, who had experience in sustainable construction and project feasibility evaluation criteria. The manual content analysis method was used to analyse the collected data. Findings of the research revealed that though numerous sustainability assessment tools are being practised, there is a failure in sustainable construction in the current context. Thus, the minimum sustainability requirements were identified under the three pillars of sustainability, aiming to develop the project feasibility study as a guideline and to ensure sustainability performance from the project inception stage. These findings are helpful for industry practitioners especially the project owners to initiate a sustainable construction with concerted actions of all project stakeholders to safeguarding the future
Impact of spatial planning for the cost and value optimization in built environment against natural hazards
No full textSpatial planning is managing the environmental, social and economic dimensions of development. Today the built environment suffers from a lot of natural hazards, resulted due to poor concentration over the environmental, social and economic aspects. Magnitudes and frequencies of these natural hazards has shifted from bad to worst in the recent past. Therefore, economic cost of these hazards has increased, and governments has been compelled to spend large amounts of public money to overcome these impacts on the built environment. Thus, in Sri Lankan context, these circumstances warrant the need to have a sustainable and realistic approach for the spatial planning in the built environment. Hence, the aim of this research was to enhance the cost and value efficiency in built environment against natural hazards through proper spatial planning in Sri Lankan context. Research was conducted mainly based on a questionnaire survey following the mixed research approach. Study identified the impact of poor spatial planning in the built environment in Sri Lankan context and study imparted set of guidelines to ensure effective spatial planning in the built environment in order to minimize the impact of adverse natural hazards. Finally, study concluded that, in order to establish a paradigm shift emphasizing the importance of effective spatial planning in the built environment, it is essential to have a clear understanding on natural process and other socio-economic concerns of the country
Potential of internet of things (IOT) in the construction industry
No full textThe introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the manufacturing industry changed the trajectory to Industrial Revolution 4.0. Accordingly, it consists of various technologies, where the IoT is the basis of this revolution. However, there is an increasing gap between traditional Construction and digitalised data-driven Construction. In such context, the adoption of IoT applications in construction projects shall increase the productivity and better performance of construction activities. Consequently, IoT concepts, developments, applications, and potential benefits of IoT in the construction industry need to be acknowledged by industry practitioners before the implementation can take place. Hence, the purpose of this research is to outline such needs, thus provide an understanding on the potential of the IoT in the construction industry. Subsequently, a comprehensive literature synthesis revealed the expression IoT is best understood as a metaphor that encapsulates the immersion of almost anything and everything within the communications and connectivity space. The development is at an embryonic stage of development but proliferating in measuring, tracking, modelling, and prediction stages such as smart wearables, sensors attached to the structures and machinery, IoT linked Building information modelling (BIM) models, usage of drones. As a result, potential benefits are entertained by the construction industry practitioners towards sustainability. Ultimately, the study provides a starting point for raising awareness to facilitate and implement IoT applications in construction projects. In the absence of empirical literature on the implementation of the IoT paradigm in general, this paper presents a valuable contribution to the growing body of knowledge
Towards long-term sustainable performance of post-disaster housing reconstruction : second life for temporary housing
No full textThe pressing human needs caused due to post-disaster effects may force donors to provide a roof above the heads of the displaced communities than focusing on fulfilling the references of a ‘home,’ which is a step toward restoring a certain sense of stability embedded with social, cultural, economic, and other interactions. And several displaced communities around the world continue to live in their temporary housing on a long-term basis. Therefore, this study aimed at investigating methods to consider a second life for the post-disaster temporary housing which may ensure long-term sustainable performance. A comprehensive literature survey has been carried out in attaining the aim. Many studies have found that the rapid post-disaster housing re-construction strategies through universal working standards have become unsustainable and culturally unacceptable in the long term. Furthermore, in various instances, the real-life post-disaster temporary housing has been simply dismantled or abandoned due to the end of usage and cultural incompatibility, without giving any concern for future disasters. This could be minimised by transforming the donor initiated temporary housing into a permanent basis. To achieve this, scholars have identified the need of considering the socio-cultural and related physical needs through active involvement of affected communities. Therefore, to achieve prolonged use of temporary housing, the findings suggest that the social and cultural needs of communities and associated physical transformations need to be considered by the donors. The findings serve as a way forward to explore a transformational space that can accommodate social and physical transformations in post-disaster housing reconstruction
Gaussian process homogenisation and design of technical textiles
No full textA method for computational homogenisation of thin membranes is proposed to assist in the mechanical analysis of technical textiles. Conventional computational homogenisation schemes have a limited scope in analysing the complex nonlinear behaviour of textiles where the interlooped or interlaced fibres undergo large deformations. Also, the higher computational cost of the existing homogenisation schemes inspires the inception of a data-driven multiscale computational homogenisation scheme. In this paper, the efficient integration of statistical learning in computational homogenisation is proved not only to result in the efficient mechanical analysis but also to open avenues in material design of knitted and woven technical textiles
Feasibility of using 3D point cloud technologies in Sri Lankan Civil Engineering Industry
No full textWith the rapid advancement of technologies such as Laser Scanning and Point Cloud Data processing, the
influence of these technologies in Civil Engineering Projects are inevitable. These technologies are used in
various industries, including Civil Engineering, in tasks namely, 3D model preparation, Construction progress
monitoring, Quality control, Virtual walk-throughs, etc. Many countries have already made the most out of
these technologies whereas Sri Lanka as a developing country, seems to have lagged in implementing such
tools, especially in the construction sector. Further applications of these digital technologies extend to preserve
ancient monuments from disasters, create digital copies of structures, update timely variations of structures and
predict the life-cycle of buildings. For instance, during renovations, the availability of any BIM models or any
related drawings may be limited and renovations with destructions must be avoided; these limitations pave the
way to the adaptation of non-destructive laser scanning and other related technologies. Moreover, there are
significant advancements in efficient 3D point cloud data acquisition and accurate processing techniques
around the globe, making it a reliable and effective solution for various civil engineering challenges. This study
reviews the available technologies and their applications in the civil engineering domain and the feasibility of
implementing these technologies in the Sri Lankan civil engineering industry
Effect of social and environmental factors on expressway construction in Sri Lanka
No full textExpressway construction projects are one of the crucial infrastructure projects for a country. Hence, assessment of environmental and social implications prior to initiation of the expressway construction project is vital. Thus, the research aims to analyse effect of social and environmental factors on expressway construction in Sri Lanka. Initially a comprehensive literature review was done to discuss on expressway construction in Sri Lanka and environmental and social implications of expressway construction in global context. The study followed a qualitative approach. Hence, four expert interviews were carried out to explore more on the same context limiting to Sri Lanka. Experts were selected from only on-going expressway project in Sri Lanka, central expressway project. Moreover, collected data were analysed through manual content analysis.
The study findings highlighted viaduct construction, land acquisition and rock blasting as the major activities relating to environmental implications of the expressway construction projects. Thus, rational, logical, scientific, and technical selection of the routes is the most effective and efficient mean in minimizing adverse impacts. Hence planning of these activities should be done with due care by authorities only after proper feasibility studies. Further, major factors affecting social implications of the expressway construction have been identified as settlement, livelihood, public infrastructure and health and safety. Hence, resettlement action plans need to be updated to comply with the identified requirements through environmental and social factors
Energy retrofits for improving energy efficiency in buildings: a review of HVAC and lighting systems
No full textIt has been observed that inefficient buildings consume three to five times more energy than efficient buildings. Subsequently, improving the Energy Efficiency (EE) of existing buildings, which account for a significant portion of the energy consumption of the building sector, has become a top priority. Also, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems typically account for three-quarters of a building's energy consumption. Hence, focus on the energy efficiency improvements associated with these subsystems is entailed to optimise the energy use of buildings in comparison to other energy consumers. Energy Retrofit (ER) is defined as the main approach in improving the energy efficiency of buildings to achieve energy reduction goals. Nevertheless, there is a general lack of awareness regarding ER. Thus, the purpose of this article is to bridge this research gap by critically reviewing the applicable literature on ER. The paper first analysed the role of retrofits in buildings concerning optimising energy performance. The paper also discusses the implementation process of ER, which includes five steps viz. pre-retrofit survey, energy auditing, and performance assessment, identification of suitable and feasible retrofit options, site implementation and commissioning, and validation and verification. Further, different types of ER applicable to HVAC and lighting systems are discussed. In their endeavor to enhance the EE of existing buildings, practitioners could apply the findings of this study, as a basis to understand the available ER types and as a measure to gauge the efficiency of existing buildings, which will facilitate effective decision-making