Science & Materials Assignment - Sustainable Materials for Construction

Learning Outcomes -

• Review health and safety regulations and legislation associated with the storage, handling and use of materials on a construction site.
• Discuss the environmental and sustainability factors which can impact on and influence the material choices for a construction project.
• Justify material choice for a given building using performance properties, experimental data, sustainability and environmental consideration.
• Evaluate the performance of a given building in respect of its human comfort requirements.

Assignment Brief and Guidance

You are employed by a large general contractor, as a Design Build Technician. The company has recently appointed a new Managing Director who has decided to shift the company's focus towards greater use of sustainable practices. To achieve this, the Managing Director has asked you to prepare reports on how to improve sustainability and awareness of the environmental impact of construction activities within the construction process.

Task 1 -

a) There are three sets of regulations which have been added to improve safety in Construction: Health and safety management, Construction design management and Provision and use of equipment regulations.

Provide a summary of the main points of these and give an example of how one of these have helped to provide a safe work place in the construction industry.

b) What procedures are used to ensure the long term health of workers from materials which give off harmful dust giving one example of the regulations governing these materials?

c) Merit task (M1) Analyse how the CDM regulations have contributed to the provision of a safe construction environment.

d) Distinction task (D1)Critically evaluate the recent addition of silica dust as a long term health hazard and compare the precautions taken with this to those taken when handling asbestos.

Task 2 -

a) Explain clearly what is meant by a renewable resource giving one example of such a resource used widely in construction. Contrast this with a non - renewable resource used in construction.

b) Taking the two different materials discussed in part a, show how modern technology has reduced the environmental impact of each material by recycling and making more efficient use of the raw material.

c) Examine the environmental impact of ordinary Portland Cement based concrete and briefly outline the main headings that would be used to compare the standard product with modern versions such as Novacem and CRC (Completely Recyclable Concrete).

d) Merit task (M2) Analyse the sustainability advantages claimed for Novacem.

e) Distinction task (D2) Critically evaluate CRC and Novacem with respect to sustainability and the environment.

Task 3 -

a) Explain how standard tests are organised to ensure that the same test result will be obtained no matter where in the world it is tested.

b) Imagine that a new structural material is being promoted to replace concrete in foundations of large buildings. What material properties such as strength, elasticity etc. would need to be given to support the claim and what standards would it need to reach?

c) Quote Euler's column buckling formula and use it to show what characteristics of a material used in columns are important.

d) Merit task (M3)A concrete column is needed to provide support for a plinth and carry a load of 20,000kg. The column is to be 10m tall. Allowing for a safety factor of 4 what is the most slender square section column possible to achieve this, when made of standard Portland cement based concrete with steel reinforcement? (Show what values of Young's Modulus and other important material characteristics you are using and state clearly where the information has been found. Note a plinth is supported at the bottom only and assume that the E = 35 GPa for reinforced concrete.

Task 4 -

a) State what is meant by "passive design" as opposed to "active design" methods to maintain a comfortable thermal environment in a building both in summer and in winter. Give an example of each

b) A block of flats owned by a housing association is served by a central heating and hot water system. The residents are charged by the amount of heat taken from the system which is monitored. The majority of tenants have neighbours above, below and to each side of them. Each flat has the same overall dimensions being 3.5m high, with a width of 9m and a length between the front windows and the door into the back to the common stairwell of 12m. The windows that look to the outside have total area of 16 square metres and the U value is 2.6.w⁰C^-1T^-1. The outside walls have a U value of 0.3 w⁰C^-1T^-1. How much heat is needed when the outside temperature is 0^oC and the inside temperature is maintained at 20^oC. It is assumed that all the neighbours also have their flats heated to this temperature and that the stairwell is also kept at that temperature as the only entrances normally allowed for entry into the block is a revolving door.

c) What additional amount of heat will be needed for the four most exposed flats which are on the top floor at each end of the row. (You will need to calculate the additional outside wall area and allow for an additional 6 square metres of window) and the roof U value is 0.3 w⁰C^-1T^-1.

d) The above calculations do not allow for any ventilation. Assuming that each occupant needs 5 litres of fresh air every second and that the specific heat capacity of air is 1kJ⁰C^-1m^-3 show a) how much more heat is needed in the average flat with two occupants if the ventilation is taken directly from the outside and b) how much can be saved if a heat exchanger is used to warm the assuming that 80% of the heat of the outgoing air is fed into the incoming air.

e) Merit task (M4) In each flat there is a tiled kitchen diner dimensions 3.5m high x 5m square. The walls are covered with tiles, the floor with quarry tiles and the ceiling with plaster board. Use the Sabine formula to calculate the reverberation time if the walls and floor all have an absorption coefficient of 0.03 and the ceiling 0.2.

f) Distinction task (D3) Comment critically on the results of the above calculations and the mathematical models used in calculating them.

Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar