Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemWhole-life baseline carbon assessment of residential building stock – A Victorian case study(Australian Life Cycle Assessment Society (ALCAS), 2023-07-19)Assessing residential building decarbonisation opportunities requires a whole-life approach, given the increasing share of embodied carbon as housing becomes more energy efficient. Since most of the projected housing stock would consist of existing buildings, emissions from renovation should also be included in determining both embodied and operational carbon in the residential building sector. A bottom-up typology framework was developed to estimate carbon emissions for existing and new housing up to 2050, scalable from local government area (LGA) to state-level jurisdiction which allows for granularity in testing scenarios for the future. Housing typologies were developed for existing, new, and renovation housing stock based on census data. Operating carbon was obtained using building energy simulation while embodied carbon data was accounted from localised life cycle construction datasets. The state of Victoria along with its corresponding LGAs was used as a case study for said framework. Heating load comprised most of the operating energy demand for most typologies while external walls and floors contributed significant embodied carbon for new residential buildings, particularly for detached houses. For Victoria, detached houses built prior to 1991 contributed most of the operational carbon, however with high construction rates set for most LGAs, new housing may contribute more GHG emissions in 2050. Brick veneer housing yielded more embodied carbon from the external wall compared to timber homes while concrete slabs used in floors also incurred a large amount of embodied carbon for the residential building stock. Renovating existing housing has the potential to reduce operating energy demand while emitting less embodied carbon, thus policies on this should be considered in developing decarbonisation pathways. Using the bottom-up typology whole-life carbon framework offers granularity in analysing individual-level carbon impact which can be expanded to LGA and state level.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableFire safety performance of 3D GFRP nanocomposite as a cladding material(ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2022-10)Vertical fire spread along highly flammable claddings is a major safety issue for buildings. In this project, a potential new type of cladding material, 3D Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (3D GFRP) with improved thermal stability, and fire performance is developed. 3D GFRP nanocomposite samples were fabricated with different percentages of Sepiolite (Sep), Sepiolite-phosphate (SepP), Ammonium Polyphosphate (APP) flame retardant, and 3D glass fabrics. Synthesis of SepP, dispersion analysis of nanoparticles, and manufacturing process have been studied. The characterisation of materials was conducted using Scanning Electron Microscopy, Helium Ion Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and X-ray Diffraction Analysis. The thermal stability and fire behaviour of the 3D GFRP nanocomposite was studied via TGA and cone calorimeter test. TGA results showed that the optimum amount of additives that improved the thermal stability is 15% flame retardants. Results of cone calorimeter tests showed that different percentages of APP, Sep, and SepP decreased the peak of the heat release rate between 4% and 42%. Also, the effects of APP flame retardant in improving thermal and fire reaction properties were more than Sep and SepP. The test results of 3D GFRP nanocomposite also showed a prospective cladding that can benefit the construction industry in near future.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableA multi-layered energy resilience framework and metrics for energy master planning of communities: A university campus case study(Society of Risk Analysis, 2021-12-05)