Journal of civil engineering and architecture 

About: Journal of civil engineering and architecture is an academic journal. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Architecture & Sustainability. Over the lifetime, 843 publications have been published receiving 2185 citations.

A Review: Investigation of Bioplastics

Abstract: Because of increasing environmental concerns/legislative pressure for plastics waste and rapid increases in the cost of petroleum, the development of "environmental friendly" materials has attracted extensive interest. Recently, bioplastics are one of the most innovative environmental friendly materials developed. Therefore, this paper will look at aspects of the bioplastics from the perspective of sustainability, advantages/disadvantages and standards. The global bioplastics market is thought to be growing at a rate of 20%~25% per year. They have some advantages such as lower carbon footprint, independence, energy efficiency, and eco-safety. However, they have some disadvantages such as high cost, recycling, reducing raw materials, misused of terms and lack of legislation. For the sustainability, recycling systems and production technology may be developed for bioplastics and by-product should be used for their production. Also, there is much standardization about them. It is important to have comparable international standard methods. Therefore, there is an urgent need to standardize all details. A new guide and standard for just bioplastics should be developed for production, usage and bioplastic waste management for every country in the world.

Possibility of Sea Water as Mixing Water in Concrete

Abstract: In the near future, fresh water will be very difficult to get and scarce. It is said that in 2025 half of the mankind will live in the areas where fresh water is not enough. Also, UN and WMO (World Meteorological Organization) are predicting five billion people will be in short of even drinking water. Also, in the present, there are some areas where sea water or chloride contained sand are used as mixing water with or without intension. The authors believe that the possibilities of using sea water as mixing water in concrete should be investigated seriously. In this paper, the authors would like to show various possibilities of using sea water as mixing water in RC (reinforced concrete) members. The possibilities are shown as follows: (1) mixed with pozzolanic materials (Blast furnace slag powder, etc.) expecting to fix the free chloride ion; (2) Mixed with corrosion inhibitor; (3) reinforced with stainless steel or corrosion resistant reinforcement; and (4) used in very dry or submerged conditions.

Ultra-High Strength Concrete Mixtures Using Local Materials

Abstract: This paper presents the development of ultra high strength concrete (UHSC) using local materials. UHSC mixture proportions were developed using local materials so that UHSC may be made more affordable to a wider variety of applications. Specifically, local sand with a top size of 0.0236 in. (600 μm), and locally available Type I/II cement and silica fume were used in this research. Each of these material selections is seen as an improvement in sustainability for UHSC. Two mixtures (one with and one without fibers) were recommended as the UHSC mixtures. The greatest compressive strengths obtained in this study were 24,010 psi (165.6 MPa) for UHSC with steel fibers and 23,480 psi (161.9 MPa) for UHSC without fibers. The compressive and flexural strengths obtained from the UHSC mixtures developed in this work are comparable to UHSC strengths presented in the literature. Producing this innovative material with local materials reduces the cost of the material, improves sustainability, and produces mechanical performance similar to prepackaged, commercially available products.

Consequences on the Urban Environment in Greece Related to the Recent Intense Earthquake Activity

Abstract: Past earthquake disasters in Greece, during the last thirty years, demonstrate that the severity of destruction is not only due to the intensity of the seismic event but also to the urbanization of the affected region and the vulnerability of certain types of buildings. Considerable damage was sustained by both old unreinforced masonry structures as well as by relatively new multistory reinforced concrete structures with "soft story" at their ground floor level. The most important observations made during six past earthquake disasters are presented in a summary form and discussed. The most remarkable case of extensive structural damage was caused from the resent Athens 1999 earthquake. The consequent discussion focuses on the following issues: (1) Classification of structural damage and their underlying causes. (2) Repair and strengthening of damaged structures. (3) Upgrade the seismic design. (4) Plans for earthquake preparedness. (5) Assessing the vulnerability of certain type of structures (schools, hospitals, public buildings etc). (6) Education specialized in earthquake engineering. (7) The enrichment of the strong motion data base.

Historical and future climatic change scenarios for temperature and rainfall for Iraq

Abstract: The world is facing a big challenge of climatic change, mainly due to increasing concentrations of GHGs (greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere. Many researches indicated that the climate change occurred disproportionately on developing countries such as MENA (Middle East and North Africa) countries. The climatic model CGCM3.1 (T47) 2 is used in this research to explain the changes in average temperatures and the rainfall on the MENA region with special emphases on Iraq. Historical records (1900-2009) and future (2020-2099) were studied and compared; each period was divided to four sub-periods of thirty years. The results showed that the average monthly temperature for the four historical periods fluctuated between the lowest and highest value as follows: 9.2-32.9, 10.3-32.7, 9.3-32.8 and 8.6-33.9 (oC). The rainfall for historical periods kept on the same distribution during the past 109 years, and fluctuated between the lowest and highest value of 21.3 mm and 37.6 mm with an average that reached up to 26.51 mm. For the future period, the maximum average monthly temperature reached up to 37.41 ( o C) during June and minimum average monthly temperature reached up to 4.24 (oC) during January. The average monthly temperature fluctuated giving a clear impression that the future portends a higher temperature. The average monthly rainfall, for the future period, fluctuated between the lowest and highest value of 12.91 mm and 20.63 mm with an average that reached 16.84 mm which represent a reduction percentage of about 36.47% relative to the historical record of rainfall for the same months. Climatic change is the biggest challenge facing the world. The change in the climatic system is mainly due to the increase in the concentration of GHGs (greenhouse gases) in the atmosphere. It is believed that the human activities are responsible for the increase of GHGs concentrations since the industrial revolution due to burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil