Construction Technology and Air Pollution

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There are environmental hazards that surround us in one way or another and all of them essentially threaten our well-being or health and there are different ways in which we respond to them. We can be away from toxic, sanctify water before drinking it and shield ourselves from radiation which is harmful but we can not be able to escape from the air. Air is a fluid medium and accepts all contaminants that are injected into it, mix them together and the resulting concoction is delivered into our lungs directly. (Brian, 2005 pp24 par 3-5)

There is variation in our exposure to air pollution depending on the time and the place where we are and the effect is dependant on individual susceptibilities but the fact remains that as long as we live, we have to breathe. In many parts of United States today and other countries all over the world, the environment and human health is threatened by poor air quality but we have high expectations of clean air today than the days before and the damage caused by poor quality of air can be clearly understood than ever before. We can not be able to return to the clean air that existed during preindustrial times but we always aspire to manage the quality of air and avoid any damage to clean air. (Bryan, 2005 pp23 par2-4)

Identifying major parts of the building fabric that contribute to clean air

Hot-list

This helps to pinpoint any new technology that may be useful in future or now in organization or the project that is being worked on. This section consists of list of innovative products, upgraded or improved products that are updated regularly and new organizational or production methods and systems. Hot-list section has new and transferable technology and highlights the features that appeal to construction companies, specifies and designers, owners of the building and end users. At the end, the owner of the building is supposed to judge by himself and tell about his experiences in order to help in giving advice to other people.

Experts help to identify challenges and technology gaps which are investigated in order to help in evaluating suitability of emerging technologies and how useful they can be in ensuring there is clean air in a building. (Chew, 2001 pp45 par1-3)

Fuel cells

The fuel cell technology should be suitable, clean and safe. A fuel cell is electrochemical device for combining oxygen obtained from the air with hydrogen fuel in order to produce water, electricity and heat. Fuel cells are able to operate without combustion and are pollution free because the fuel is directly converted to electricity and can operate at higher efficiencies than the engines that are used for internal combustion thereby extracting large amount of electricity by use of fuel of the same amount. The parts of fuel cell do not move making it quite and source of power that is reliable. It is important to know that fuel cell is today’s technology and not something that will not be used in future. (Chew, 2001 pp47 par 1-2)

RFID chips

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is integrated circuits that have been used for along period of time but they are getting smaller. The MU-chip manufactured in Japan by Hitachi is the smallest in the world and uses frequency of 2.45GHz which is the same as Bluetooth and the IEEE801.11b devices. Its 128 bit Rom is able to identify trillion of objects which are unique and at 0.4mm; it is small to embed it in packing and paper. It can be applied in electronic numbering of documents and products for manufacturing and distribution, tracking, consumption and recycling. It has major impact on construction supply chains, logistical efficiency and maintaining building fabric and installation of services. (Fales, 1990 pp17 par 3-5)

Smart dust

These are autonomous devices used for communication and sensing in space of cubic millimeter. It was developed in the United States at Berkeley and represent convergence of nanotechnology, ICT and biotechnology. These bottle-cap shaped tiny micro-machines are fitted with communication devices that are wireless and measures temperature and light. They are clustered together to create low power networks which are flexible and their applications range from systems that control climate to devices that are able to interact with computers which are handheld. The sensors have wireless devices for communication attached to them. When a building is dust enabled, computers turn off the light and control the climate in the room. (Fales, 1990 pp19 par 2-5)

Terahertz cameras

This technique makes use of terahertz waves or T-rays electromagnetic pulses in order to differentiate between chemicals, various materials and environments. T-rays always characterize materials through measuring amounts of distortions from dispersion, reflection or absorption of rays that pass through up to a detector. For example, the ones that go through materials with uneven texture are distorted into different waveform than the ones passing through material which is more consistent. Terahertz camera help to create a map of areas which are hidden and where moisture is penetrating into the building fabric and help to see through floors and walls in order to detect problems that could have remained hidden until when failure occur. (Madsen, 2005 pp34 par3-5)

Biomimetics

Nature teaches us many lessons and we are able to learn many things from the pattern of nature, from its function and form that makes us consider products and materials that mimic it. Biometric describe a science field where materials can be created from blueprints of nature. For example, in relevance to construction sector of Crystal Palace in 1851, Joseph Paxton beat engineers and architects with his own design that was based on supporting structure of Amazonian water lily pad. The applications ranged from super-strong materials and robotic devices to novel connectors. (Madsen, 2005 pp39 par1-3)

Automation and robotics

Construction robotics and automation concept is hardly new. Advancement in underlying technology and continued research by Japanese led to important breakthrough. The enhancement of construction plant which is existing and equipment through adding devices of low cost to improve control and navigation raised productivity and reduced costs. Further developments involves automated construction site where pre-fabricated components are brought close to the site and manipulated into a position where final fixing is done. This helps to ensure there is supply of clean air into the building and poor quality air is purified. (Bryan, 2005 pp25 par 1-20

Identifying the major building services which could be used to satisfy the environmental need for clean air

Indoor air quality

Good quality of indoor air is the air free from pollutants that may cause discomfort, ill health to the people who occupy it and cause irritation. Relative humidity and thermal conditions influence health and comfort. If the indoor environment is poor, it manifests itself as a building which is sick where some occupants may experience mild symptoms of illness when they are occupying the building. There may be serious problems of pollutants in the long run and permanent effects of ill-health. Much of the time is spent inside the building and this requires considerable efforts to be made focusing on methods that help to achieve indoor environment which is optimum through emphasizing on odor control, energy efficiency and thermal comfort. (Chew, 2001 pp48 par1-4)

Energy aspect

Energy of considerable portion consumed in building is got rid of by air infiltration and ventilation. This has implications which are important at consumer level where it is a must to meet the cost and strategic level where primary energy need and pollution of environment is contributed to. Ventilation is linked closely to concern about quality of indoor air, there is big problem of knowing how much ventilation is required to provide healthy indoor environment.

Since there is difficulty in assessing energy impact of the ventilation, air change in relevance to use of energy is not defined. As a result, there is no adequate datum for developing strategic planning to improve efficiency of energy of ventilation. This difficulty is due to complexity of tasks which has to accommodate various factors like, air tightness in buildings, climate, occupancy patterns and ventilation approaches. (Chew, 2001 pp49 par4-5)

Ventilation design criteria

The ventilation design must satisfy the demand required. This need is met by considering criteria that vary from meeting building regulations to making a plan for maintenance and the replacement. Ventilation system itself needs to be integrated into overall building design in relation to room partitioning, air tightness and accessibility. Wide parameters are involved and there is no solution which is unique to building design of any particular nature. Instead, judgment must be made by designer on each building individual needs. Robust solution ensures comfort and health of occupants and ventilation need according to a given criteria need to be established when the building is at design stage. (Bryan, 2005 pp26 par 3-4)

Ventilation strategies

The needs of ventilation are met using systems and techniques with each of them having advantages, disadvantages and applications. The choice made depends on building type and local climatic conditions. Frequently, competitiveness in price and being unwilling to deviate from minimum specifications of building regulations and codes of practice restricts the choice made and limit innovation opportunity. In order to justify any complex strategy, advantages should be demonstrated in terms of reduced demand for energy, improved indoor climate and payback period which is acceptable. (Fales, 1990 pp18 par1-4)

The contribution of major building services varies depending on different building uses. developers are willing to take on tall buildings due to its high benefits such as higher rent and increased density but high rise developments has a number of challenges like income stream where people refuse to inhabit building until it is completed and therefore developers can only realize full income once the building is completed. Efficiency of the floor area is affected by height because, structural and core zones expand in relation to overall floor plate to be able to satisfy vertical circulation requirement and resist the wind loads. (Madsen, 2005 pp36 par 1-2)

In planning hurdles, significant effort is needed for scrutinizing environmental, architectural and economic impact to help in consultation and planning processes. In procurement strategy, current state of the property and market for construction has been crystallizing procurement strategies for projects which are large and complex. Availability and capability of trade constructors need to be considered through early and continuous involvement of specialists.

Towers take a lot of time to build than buildings that are short. Cost is incurred in developers’ costs, construction and future costs are difficult to predict, regulations changes and demand in the market. There are technical challenges because schemes might vary depending on form and shape but technical challenges that relate to developing towers which are commercially viable in sensitive locations need to satisfy stakeholders. Considering security and safety, pragmatic approach is taken by developers, focus on management issues and ensure there are sensible enhancements to base building. (Madsen, 2005 pp37 par2-3)

References

Madsen D. (2005): Print reading for architecture and construction technology: Cengage Delmar, pp. 34-40.

Fales J. (1990): construction technology today and tomorrow: McGraw-Hill, pp. 17-21.

Bryan T. (2005): construction technology; analysis and choice: Blackwell Pub, pp. 23-26.

Chew M. (2001): construction technology for tall buildings: World Scientific Publishing Company, pp. 45-49.

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