Infrastructure Engineering - Research Publications
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ItemThe carbon footprint of treating patients with septic shock in the intensive care unit(College of Intensive Care Medicine of Australia and New Zealand, 2018-12-01)OBJECTIVE: To use life cycle assessment to determine the environmental footprint of the care of patients with septic shock in the intensive care unit (ICU). DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective, observational life cycle assessment examining the use of energy for heating, ventilation and air conditioning; lighting; machines; and all consumables and waste associated with treating ten patients with septic shock in the ICU at BarnesJewish Hospital, St. Louis, MO, United States (US-ICU) and ten patients at Footscray Hospital, Melbourne, Vic, Australia (Aus-ICU). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Environmental footprint, particularly greenhouse gas emissions. RESULTS: Energy use per patient averaged 272 kWh/day for the US-ICU and 143 kWh/day for the Aus-ICU. The average daily amount of single-use materials per patient was 3.4 kg (range, 1.0-6.3 kg) for the US-ICU and 3.4 kg (range, 1.2-8.7 kg) for the Aus-ICU. The average daily particularly greenhouse gas emissions arising from treating patients in the US-ICU was 178 kg carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) emissions (range, 165-228 kg CO2-e), while for the Aus-ICU the carbon footprint was 88 kg CO2-e (range, 77-107 kg CO2-e). Energy accounted for 155 kg CO2-e in the US-ICU (87%) and 67 kg CO2-e in the Aus-ICU (76%). The daily treatment of one patient with septic shock in the US-ICU was equivalent to the total daily carbon footprint of 3.5 Americans' CO2-e emissions, and for the Aus-ICU, it was equivalent to the emissions of 1.5 Australians. CONCLUSION: The carbon footprints of the ICUs were dominated by the energy use for heating, ventilation and air conditioning; consumables were relatively less important, with limited effect of intensity of patient care. There is large opportunity for reducing the ICUs' carbon footprint by improving the energy efficiency of buildings and increasing the use of renewable energy sources.
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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 AvailableEmergency(Australian Institute of Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heating (AIRAH), 2022-10-31)As part of the i-Hub project, masters-level architectural and engineering students from the University of Melbourne, industry consultants, university academics, and Ambulance Victoria staff embraced the challenge of designing net zero emergency response stations. The university’s Brendon McNiven; Lu Aye, F.AIRAH; and Dominik Holzer discuss.
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ItemSustainability and circular economy as part of strategic goals of businesses in Australia: Preliminary findings(Department of Infrastructure Engineering, 2022-09-27)
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ItemNo Preview AvailableUpcycling opportunities and potential markets for aluminium composite panels with polyethylene core (ACP-PE) cladding materials in Australia: A review(ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2022-11-28)Many buildings worldwide have high fire-risk materials as part of their cladding. As governments in Australia strive to make buildings safer, it is expected that a large volume of end-of-life dangerous cladding will be replaced with safer materials. This high volume of hazardous materials might be upcycled into value-added products. This article presents a systematic market analysis and literature review in identifying current and potential uses for the raw materials used in hazardous ACP-PE cladding. The most promising areas were identified to be non-food-contact packaging (US$228 M p.a.), non-pressure pipes (US$30 M p.a.), footwear (US$5.29 M p.a.) and 3D printer filament (US$2.73 M p.a.)
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ItemApplications of phase change materials in concrete for sustainable built environment: a review(ICSECM 2011, 2011)The fast economic development around the globe and high standards of living imposes an ever increasing demand for energy. As a prime consumer of world‟s material and energy resources building and construction industry has a great potential in developing new efficient and environmentally friendly materials to reduce energy consumptions in buildings. Thermal energy storage systems (TES) with Phase change materials (PCM) offer attractive means of improving the thermal mass and the thermal comfort within a building. PCMs are latent heat thermal storage (LHTS) materials with high energy storage density compared to conventional sensible heat storage materials. Concrete incorporating PCM improves the thermal mass of the building which reduces the space conditioning energy consumption and extreme temperature fluctuations within the building. The heat capacity and high density of concrete coupled with latent heat storage of PCM provides a novel energy saving concepts for sustainable built environment. Microencapsulation is a latest and advanced technology for incorporation of PCM in to concrete which creates finely dispersed PCMs with high surface area for greater amount of heat transfer. This paper reviews available literature on Phase change materials in concrete, its application and numerical modelling of composite concrete. However most of the existing TES systems have been explored with wallboards and plaster materials and comparatively a few researches have been done on TES systems using cementitious materials. Thus, there is a need for comprehensive experimental and analytical investigations on PCM applications with cementitious materials as the most widely used construction materials in buildings.
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ItemApplication of nanomaterials in the sustainable built environment(University of Moratuwa, 2010)Nanotechnology is widely regarded as one of the twenty-first century’s key technologies, and its economic importance is sharply on the rise. In the construction industry, nanomaterials has potentials that are already usable today, especially the functional characteristics such as increased tensile strength, self-cleaning capacity, fire resistance, and additives based on nano materials make common materials lighter, more permeable, and more resistant to wear. Nanomaterial are also considered extremely useful for roofs and facades in the built environment. They also expand design possibilities for interior and exterior rooms and spaces. Nano–insulating materials open up new possibilities for ecologically oriented sustainable infrastructure development. It has been demonstrated that nanotechnology has invented products with many unique characteristics which could significantly provide solutions current construction issues and may change the requirement and organization of construction process. This paper examines and documents applicable nanotechnology based products that can improve the sustainable development and overall competitiveness of the construction industry.
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ItemApplication of nano insulation materials in the sustainable built environment(University of Moratuwa, 2010)Nanotechnology is widely being used in the built environment for its advantages in many improved engineering properties of the nano materials. Nano insulating materials open up new possibilities for ecologically oriented sustainable infrastructure development. The most widely used nano material in built environment is for the purpose of insulation to improve the energy efficiency namely in the buildings and dwellings. Nanotechnology has now provided an effective and affordable means to increase energy efficiency in pre-existing buildings as well as new construction by increasing thermal resistance. The major advantage of nano insulation materials is its benefit of translucent coatings which increase the thermal envelope of a building without reducing the square footage. The intrinsic property of nano insulating material is it can be applied to windows to reduce heat transfer from solar radiation due it its thermal resistant property and the translucent property allows diffusing of day light. The nano insulating material has significant advantage in reducing the operational energy aspects of buildings due to its valuable insulating properties. This paper examines applicable nanotechnology based products that can improve the sustainable development and overall competitiveness of the building industry. The areas of applying nano insulating material in building industry will be mainly focused on the building envelope. The paper also examines the potential advantages of using nanotechnology based insulating material in reducing the life cycle energy, reduction of material usage and enhancing the useable life span. The paper also investigates the operational energy by simulation methodology and compares the reduction of operational energy consumption.
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ItemNew normal remote communication for collaboration (presentation)( 2021-12-19)Presented at the 12th International Conference on Structural Engineering and construction Management (ICSECM) 2021, Kandy, Sri Lanka (17-19 December)