INTRODUCTION
The word Plastic is derived from the Greek word plastikos meaning capable of being shaped or moulded. They comprise of wide range of semi-synthetic or fully synthetic organic compounds that are malleable, durable and cheap. In the case of developed economies, one-third of plastic is used in packaging and also in buildings such as plumbing or vinyl siding or in plumbing. Plastics have evolved from using natural plastic materials such as chewing gum to chemically modified raw materials such as natural rubber, collagen, galalite, nitrocellulose. It is then finally transformed into fully synthetic molecules such as synthetic molecules bakelite, epoxy, polyvinyl chloride, etc. In the Middle Ages, cattle horns were used as windows for lanterns, while expanded polystyrene was used for buildings isolation which Dow Chemical invented in 1954. As times are changing uses of plastics are being modified keeping in mind the properties, advantages, disadvantages and uses.
Green building is a practice of construction which uses the processes responsible for environment friendly and efficient in resource usage through the life cycle of building starting from design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and till deconstruction process. In recent years, green architecture has attracted the attention of many contemporary architects and designers in the world. The aim of this concept is to increase green space in urban areas and greater efficiency in buildings especially in cities. It is a step for the survival of human interaction and environment which is derived from the concept of sustainable development in harmony with environmental compatibility to meet the needs of people.
Need for Green Building:
Maximum use of fossil energy and explosive growth of greenhouse gases are the main cause of global warming today. On the other hand, the increasing population of the world as a result of indiscriminate construction has faced cities with serious problems of air pollution. With the population growth, increasing development of cities and subsequent destruction of green spaces has increased the need to find ways to coexist with nature which will conserve energy, prevent land pollution, and reduce energy consumption. Now-a-days vertical housing has become the solution for fulfilling the housing need in urban areas. According to the World Green Building Council’s report, buildings contribute to 33% of carbon dioxide emission, 17% of water consumption, 25% of wood consumption, 30-40%of raw material consumption, and 40-50% of energy consumption in its construction process and operation. Therefore based on these facts, an environmentally sound construction and development should be considered to reduce the energy consumption. So the Green Building concept is being a trusted way to solve this issue. It is said that the building construction companies produce the second largest amount of greenhouse gases (30-40%) and demolition waste. The major energy consumption in building comes from modern lifestyle equipment like air-conditioning system, cooler, water heating to provide comfort to building occupants etc. These all add to pollution. Occupant activities also generate large amount of solid waste and water waste as well. As compared to a regular structure, a green building uses less energy, less water and other natural resources which create less waste and greenhouse gas and provides a healthy living place for people.
Introduction
A shipping container home is a structure made of steel shipping containers, which are large, reusable and are used to transport goods. Shipping containers come in two sizes: 20 ft. × 8 ft. and 40 ft. x 8 ft. The 20-foot shipping containers have 160 square feet of living space, while the 40-foot cargo containers have 320 square feet. These containers can be used as a solo home or personal office or combined to create a multilevel residence.
Shipping container homes, along with tiny houses, RVs, and silos, are becoming increasingly popular as potential homeowners look for alternatives to the traditional multi-bedroom house. Because of the strength, durability, affordability, and sustainability of recyclable materials, shipping container homes and structures are becoming more common in our day. These are practically universally available, and these are significantly cheaper near ports.
Asphalt will deteriorate almost quickly, causing road distresses to appear, regardless of how well a road is designed. Traffic, dampness, and a lack of preventive maintenance treatment are all factors that speed up the deterioration of a road. Depending on the method used, mending a pothole on the road might be simple or complex. In some circumstances, dumping a mixture into a pothole, compacting it with a shovel, and turning away is a simple procedure. In other cases, pulverizing the pothole and laying down new pavement may be necessary. The sort of asphalt repair procedure required is determined by the nature and severity of the damages to an asphalt road. It is important to note that the longer it is taken to repair damaged asphalt, the worse the damage will become. Extensive damage is also more expensive since it necessitates more difficult repair methods, including removal, replacement, or resurfacing. As a general guideline, it is essential to inspect asphalt road for damage once a week or once a month, depending on how much traffic it receives. Parking lots with a lot of traffic will undoubtedly require more upkeep than those with less traffic. Thus, it is necessary to implement procedures as per the hole sizes along with their nature.
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Introduction
Many new inventions are being used nowadays in the construction industry, including different materials in the construction world, additional equipment, different types of machinery, etc. In this competitive world, it has become utmost necessary to cope with the neighboring countries in terms of infrastructure growth. All these modern techniques help reducing extra expenses, cut labor charges, reducing transportation fees, long life of materials, and many more. Some of these construction innovations are discussed below.
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Like other industries, the Global Construction Industry suffered a setback due to Covid-19 as people went into isolation for many days. They could not go out for work or perform any production works in industries with vast machinery pieces. However, work from home option was available to some people, but some construction companies couldn’t facilitate this work mode as it required constant monitoring for the best output. All these left some people jobless and to some extent led to declination in incomes. Further, many construction workers had to stay home without any work that affected their income as they were unable to feed their families. Some workers even walked to distant places in search of work despite the unavailability of transportation vehicles. Out of all such effects, the five most essential results are highlighted here for a more straightforward outlook on the situation.
Fig: Tractor in work
Mortar and lime are the two most important binding materials in building and road construction. Thus every civil engineer must learn as it is very important that every civil engineer knows about its properties. Here, all important information has been pointed out in bulleted form so that memorization becomes easy for students. It is highly recommended for competitive exams. Some important information is discussed as follows-
- Bulking of sand criteria –
- For moisture of 5% to 8% leads to an increase in volume by 20% to 40%.
- If the material is finer, then more will be more bulking of sand. This is called bulking.
- Mortars
- Bulk density
- Type of Binding material
- Nature of application
- Special mortars
Introduction
We often overlook the perspective of carbon emissions by cement materials in the construction industry. Several types of bricks have been invented by researchers for the betterment of the environment. Among such, one stands out as the Carbon-Negative Brick that cuts carbon emissions as well as construction cost by 50%. It is also known as Carbon Busters or Carbon Eating Bricks or Carbon Negative Bricks, and many more.
In the UK, this block was launched to collect more carbon dioxide than is produced (14 kg per tonne). This brick has high-performance properties and was developed by British business Lignacite, Ltd. in collaboration with Carbon8 Aggregates. It is made up of more than 50% recycled material, including Carbon8 pellets (produced from waste to energy plant thermal leftovers), water, and carbon dioxide. In order to create the carbon negative building block, the resulting unit has been included in the products of the company.
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Introduction
This debate is common nowadays because of civil engineer’s shifted nature towards AI-based calculations and techniques. These software are used for designing 3D structures, analyzing them, and calculating reinforcements requirements in the building. These are very effective in saving time by engineers, avoiding long calculations that took days, and experimenting with various designs just by clicking on the moderations in seconds. These softwares are allrounder and are compatible with other BIM softwares too. Like for instance, the AUTOCAD drawing file can be imported to STAAD and nodes, and beams can be generated for analysis, and so on.
There are endless possibilities with these softwares, and it varies from person to person, company to companies whether they use these softwares for one motive or the other.
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INTRODUCTION
While building houses it is important to take care of the exterior as well as interior of the building as occupants encourage having beautiful surroundings to enlighten their home. Along with wall finishes many occupants also refer various floor finishes to increase the aestheticy of their home. Floor finishes are upper part of the concrete slabs mainly covering the floors. There are various types of floor finishes which will be discussed here. Choosing the right kind of flooring is essential as to know which floor is preferable in what type of weather conditions. Like for instance, concrete or marble flooring can’t be used in cold weather conditions as it will make lower the temperature of the house more. So, in this case wood flooring is preferred as it helps to maintain a warmer temperature inside the house compared to outdoor temperature. All these will be discussed in details.
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