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Topic Review
Recycled Waste Materials and Technologies in Asphalt Pavements
Given the prevailing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, and the growing demand for renewable resources, the pavement industry, among others, is actively engaged in researching and exploring low-carbon materials and technologies. Despite the growing interest in low-carbon asphalt pavement, there is still a significant knowledge gap regarding the use of various waste materials and technologies to achieve this goal. 
  • 364
  • 19 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Characteristic of Heat Storage in Building Elements
The main factors determining the efficiency of heat storage systems are their cost, the efficiency of their heat storage and distribution, and, indirectly, their environmental impact. The important factors determining the efficiency of the heat accumulator are enthalpy of the phase change, heat transferability, chemical neutrality, low flammability, and low toxicity.
  • 360
  • 27 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Natural Zeolites in Cement-Based Construction Materials
Natural zeolite is a honeycomb-structured aluminosilicate mineral with an open crystalline structure which makes it suitable for a variety of applications. The influence of natural zeolites on the workability and setting time of cement-based construction materials revealed that increasing the zeolite content led to a reduction in workability compared to the control mixes. At the same time, the initial and final setting times of cement pastes showed a decreasing trend with an increase in the replacement percentage. The slow pozzolanic reaction of clinoptilolite zeolite results in lower flexural strength and compressive strength values of mortars at the age of 28 days. Blending zeolites with other supplementary cementitious materials resulted in improved values of the mechanical properties of mortar and concrete. The findings regarding the impact of zeolite on the durability of concrete suggest that zeolite shows promise as a viable alternative to cement, with positive effects on various aspects of durability. The majority of the durability factors are interconnected. The presence of conflicting findings is particularly significant in this context, highlighting the need for a comprehensive approach to address these challenges in the future.
  • 359
  • 28 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Social and Financial Sustainability of Real Estate Investment
Real estate markets play a crucial role in the economy, providing opportunities for investment and housing. Blockchain technology has emerged as a potential solution among other Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs), offering secure transactions and transparency through encryption algorithms and reducing dependence on intermediaries. It has the potential to revolutionize real estate by reducing reliance on third-party verification and intermediaries, lowering costs, and increasing transparency to mitigate fraud risk. This entry assess the knowledge and perceptions of professionals in the real estate sector and evaluate the possible impact of the technology in the Portuguese market.
  • 356
  • 21 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Earned Value for Construction Project Management Performance Improvement
Proper planning and management of construction projects have long been regarded as a necessity. The ability to make sound decisions and solve problems using appropriate performance reports related to the project implementation process are the two most key factors in controlling the performance of construction project management. It is important to identify and examine the influential factors on the performance improvement of construction project management with the value engineering approach based on earned value analysis for the successful evaluation of project performance.
  • 356
  • 23 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Digital Twin-Based Numerical Simulation for Cold-Formed Steel Members
Cold-formed steel (CFS) members are manufactured at room temperature, offering benefits such as high strength, ease of transportation, and rapid erection and construction. The Digital Twin (DT)-based numerical simulation method is developed using the actual geometries of CFS shapes, which are acquired by a 3D laser scanner. 
  • 355
  • 10 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Structural Health Monitoring of the Wilford Suspension Bridge
Structural health monitoring (SHM) is vital for ensuring the service safety of aging bridges. As one of the most advanced sensing techniques, Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) could capture massive spatiotemporal information for effective bridge structural health monitoring (BSHM). Unfortunately, GNSS measurements often contain outliers due to various factors (e.g., severe weather conditions, multipath effects, etc.). All such outliers could jeopardize the accuracy and reliability of BSHM significantly. Previous studies have examined the feasibility of integrating the conventional multi-rate Kalman filter (MKF) with an adaptive algorithm in the data processing processes to ensure BSHM accuracy. However, frequent parameter adjustments are still needed in tedious data processing processes.
  • 354
  • 22 May 2023
Topic Review
The Use of Waste Polymers in Asphalt Mixtures
Asphalt is widely employed in road construction due to its durability and ability to withstand heavy traffic. However, the disposal of waste polymers has emerged as a significant environmental concern. Recently, researchers have used polymer waste to modify asphalt pavements as a new approach. This approach aims to improve pavement performance and address the environmental concerns of polymer waste. Researchers have demonstrated that incorporating polymeric waste into asphalt mixtures can lead to performance improvements in asphalt pavements, particularly in mitigating common distresses including permanent deformation and thermal and fatigue cracking.
  • 352
  • 11 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Eco-Friendly Geopolymer Composites Prepared from Agro-Industrial Wastes
Portland cement (PC) is a common material used in civil infrastructure engineering. Cement production emits roughly 2.2 billion tons of CO2 per year, contributing 8% of global emissions in 2016. This contributes to almost half of the calcination process, and together with thermal combustion, clinker generation could be responsible for 90% of the sector’s emissions. One effective technique for dealing with these industrial by-product wastes is to employ them to make cement replacements such as concrete and mortar, which can be used in a variety of applications.
  • 348
  • 05 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Smart Cement-Based Composites
Under the strategies of low-carbon and environmental protection, promoting green technology innovation to achieve carbon neutrality in the construction field has become a universal goal. As the building material with the highest consumption, concrete has gradually begun to transform into a multi-functional and intelligent product. Therefore, the research on carbon fiber-reinforced cement-based composites (CFRCs) is of relative interest. It mainly uses carbon fibers (CFs) with high elasticity, strength, and conductivity to disperse evenly into the concrete as a functional filler, to achieve the intelligent integration of concrete structures and function innovatively. Furthermore, the electrical conductivity of CFRC is not only related to the content of CFs and environmental factors but also largely depends on the uniform dispersion and the interfacial bonding strength of CFs in cement paste. 
  • 347
  • 21 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Contractual Governance for Dispute Resolution in China
Disputes may disturb construction projects and stakeholders, and they may cause tremendous losses that hinder the sustainable development of construction. Therefore, contractual governance is significant in construction projects as a crucial method of dispute management. However, the interrelation of contract and dispute management has not been studied theoretically and comprehensively. In this regard, a framework for dispute governance was proposed in this entry, including governance structures (GSs), governance mechanisms (GMs) and an additional conceptual model, by using a literature analysis method. The results suggest that dispute structures based on owner-centered (OC), owner- and supervisor-decentralized (OSD) and additional independent representatives (AIRs) are often used. Each kind of GS can be applied in a specified project. On the other hand, GSs could be divided into an external GS and an internal GS, which played different roles in motivation mechanisms. In addition, a conceptual model was developed through literature analysis. Case studies were presented to investigate the relationship between the GS and GM. Then, specified GMs were identified from case studies of Chinese construction contracts. Current research can provide valuable information allowing for contract drafters and managers to realize the sustainable development of projects.
  • 346
  • 13 Jul 2022
Topic Review
The Use of Biomaterials for Engineering Applications
The incorporation of biomaterials into concrete for engineering applications has gained significant attention due to its potential to enhance both the mechanical properties and sustainability of construction materials. 
  • 342
  • 28 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Critical Construction Data
Construction projects are inherently complex and entail extensive information processing. Thus, they require effective information management, which, in turn, requires the preservation of critical construction data (CD).
  • 341
  • 03 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Three-Dimensional Printed Concrete
Three-dimensional printed concrete (3DPC) is emerging as a new building material. Due to automation, this method dramatically decreases construction time and material wastage while increasing construction quality.
  • 339
  • 14 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Spatial Planning and Energy Efficiency in Urban Form
As the urban population grows, so does their energy consumption, making efficiency critical to mitigate emissions and resource use. Thus, spatial and transport planning must include energy efficiency and their strategies, as these are vital to urban sustainability. In this sense, compactness has been shown to have many positive aspects that serendipitously go much in line with Jacobs’ ideas. The urban environment is expected to host a growing number of dwellers in the coming decades, and compact urbanism is one possible solution to keep energy consumption under control while providing all the benefits of proximity.
  • 339
  • 01 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Smart Decision-Support in Aging Buildings
The framework integrated digital technological advancements, such as building information modeling (BIM), point clouds processing with field information modeling (FIM)®, and structural optimization, together with lifecycle assessment to evaluate and rate the environmental impact of different solutions in aging buildings. Three sustainability aspects, namely, cost, energy consumption, and carbon emissions, were quantitatively evaluated and compared in two scenarios, namely, renovation, and demolition or deconstruction combined with redevelopment. Through a case study in Germany, it was demonstrated that the proposed framework can support decision-makers in selecting the optimal rehabilitation strategy in aging buildings.
  • 335
  • 25 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Production of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete
Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is defined as a type of concrete that exhibits compressive strength greater than 120 MPa, a nominal maximum aggregate size of less than 5 mm, and flowability between 200 mm and 250 mm. UHPC exhibits a tensile strength greater than 5 MPa. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), USA, UHPC is characterized by the use of a combination of Portland cement and supplementary cementitious materials, an optimised gradation of granular materials, a high volume of discontinuous internal fibres, and a low water-to-cementitious materials ratio of less than 0.25. The microstructure of UHPC is characterized irregular pores, which control liquid evaporation and enhance durability in comparison to conventional and high-performance concretes.
  • 334
  • 08 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Shading Calculation Methods and Regulation Simplifications
One of the “Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” is to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all (SDG7). Reducing the energy demand of buildings and prioritising urban forms that reconcile energy gains simultaneously with building/energy regulations could be one solution to achieve the goal. The European Union applies a methodology to calculate the energy performance of buildings according to the common general framework determined in Annex I of the European Directive 2010/31/EU, which determines the rules regarding the formulation of the calculation used to determine the energy performance of buildings. The implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) aims to develop a common strategy towards achieving nearly zero-energy buildings (NzEB) from 2020 onwards.
  • 334
  • 30 Jun 2023
Topic Review
ANN Model to Predict Final Construction Contract Duration
Forecasting the final construction contract duration at an early stage plays a vital role in the progress of a project. An inaccurate project duration prediction may lead to the project’s benefits being lost. It is essential to precisely predict the duration due to the presence of several different factors.
  • 331
  • 25 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Dynamic Emerging Glazing Technologies
The development of the existing dynamic glazing technologies enables modulating the g-value (thus, the amount of heat) and VT (thus, the light) penetrated through the glazing while ensuring outside vision. These dynamic glazing technologies, in particular the electrochromic ones, have been proven to be more effective than traditional static glazing regarding the reduction of energy demand for air conditioning and lighting. In addition, they provide occupants’ comfort of a higher level and quality. However, the prohibitively high cost does not allow their widespread dissemination and application in the building industry. Hence, new emerging dynamic glazing technologies are currently under research or development. 
  • 327
  • 24 Oct 2023
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