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Utilization of Piles for Reinforcing Foundations
Published in P.A. Konovalov, Bases and Foundations of Buildings under Reconstruction, 2020
But the results expected from further pile penetration are not always realised—for a variety of reasons. For example, a 9-storeyed large panel building was constructed on pile foundations in an alluvial site. As per the project (design) the pile length was 12 m. It was anticipated that the piles would cut through the top 7–9 m thick layer of fine and medium alluvial sands, then 1.5–2.0 m of artificially buried peats, and be taken into a layer of dense alluvial sands of natural deposition. But in driving the piles it was discovered that the peat layer could not be penetrated because the energy of the blow from the diesel hammer was absorbed by the elastic deformation of the peat. Thus the pile tips came to rest quite close to the top of the peat layer. The builders confirmed the pile refusal (naturally false) and cut off as much as 4–5 m of the underdriven pile.
Polymers utilised in construction
Published in Ash Ahmed, John Sturges, Materials Science in Construction: An Introduction, 2014
Polystyrene is a material made from the monomer styrene, as illustrated in Figure 15.11. Pure solid polystyrene is a colourless, hard plastic with limited flexibility. It can be cast into moulds with fine detail. Polystyrene can be transparent or can be made to take on various colours. Polystyrene’s most common use, however, is as expanded polystyrene or polystyrene foam. Expanded polystyrene is produced from a mixture of about 5–10 per cent gaseous blowing agent and 90–95 per cent polystyrene by weight, most commonly pentane or carbon dioxide. The solid plastic is expanded into a foam through the use of heat, usually steam. In polystyrene foam the voids filled with trapped air give it low thermal conductivity. This makes it ideal as a construction material and it is used in structural insulated panel building systems. As a result this can lead to improved/lower U-values for dwellings. Like most polymers, polystyrene is highly flammable or easily ignited; consequently, though it is an efficient insulator at low temperatures, it is prohibited from being used in any exposed installations in building construction. It must be concealed behind drywall, sheet metal or concrete. Foamed plastic materials have been accidentally ignited in buildings and caused huge fires and losses. Polystyrene foam is also predominantly used in packaging.
Design for recycling using concrete and masonry as an example
Published in Asko Sarja, Integrated Life Cycle Design of Structures, 2002
Recycling of building elements certainly presents a basic possibility for design and construction for recycling, but nevertheless, because of logistics problems (such as the storage of the elements to be reused) and aesthetic considerations (as in case of the German Plattenbauweise precast panel building system of the 1960s and 1970s) there is only a very small chance of it being realised in a large number of applications.
Seismic Performance of A Bolt-assembled Precast Panel Building with DfD: A Quasi-static Test and Discussion on Existing Design Codes
Published in Journal of Earthquake Engineering, 2022
Feng Xiong, Fuchao Zhao, Gaochuang Cai, Jiang Chen, Amir Si Larbi
This paper presented a novel demountable bolt-assembled precast panel building system. The seismic performance of a 1/2 scaled two-story building was analyzed by a quasi-static test and the comparative analysis with the existing codes was performed.