Mapping the knowledge domains of emerging advanced technologies in the management of prefabricated construction

Emerging advanced technologies (EAT) have been regarded as significant technological innovations which can greatly improve the transforming construction industry. Given that research on EAT related to the management of prefabricated construction (MPC) has not yet been conducted, various researchers require a state-of-the-art summary of EAT research and implementation in the MPC field. The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review by analysing the selected 526 related publications in peer-reviewed leading journals during 2009–2020. Through a thorough review of selected papers from the state-of-the-art academic journals in the construction industry, EAT is recognised as the key area affecting the development of the MPC discipline. This study has value in offering original insights to summarise the advanced status quo of this field, helping subsequent researchers gain an in-depth understanding of the underlying structure of this field and allowing them to continue future research directions

A scientometric review of management of prefabricated construction from 2011–2021

Prefabricated construction (PC) is an increasingly popular method of construction utilized globally due to its high productivity and efficient performance. PC as an advanced building technique is susceptible to problems such as the immaturity of the PC industry’s development, inability to realize production benefits, and application-related risks and uncertainties. The management of PC (MPC) can be applied to resolve these difficulties and generally enhance performance. Reviews pertinent to the MPC are scarce, making it challenging to concentrate and comprehensively summarize the research situation of the MPC. The MPC review was conducted by Li et al. in 2014. However, there has been a lot of change in the MPC research field. Therefore, this study is an extension of the work of Li et al. (2014). This article aims to analyze and summarize the current research situation and future trends of the MPC, employing a bibliometric search and scientometric analysis from MPC-related publications between 2011 and 2021. This paper outlines current research topics, gaps, and future development from four perspectives based on publications gathered: (1) PC development, (2) PC performance management, (3) PC life cycle management, and (4) technological applications in the MPC. Based on the discussion of these four performance indexes, the following future research directions are proposed: (1) PC industry development considering a combination of Industry–University–Research, (2) the performance impact of management methods and technologies, (3) the rationality of management methods and technologies. This study is vital for scholars to understand MPC research and to conduct further research

EXPLORING THE USE OF PULSED ERBIUM LASERS TO RETRIEVE A ZIRCONIA CROWN FROM A ZIRCONIA IMPLANT ABUTMENT

Removal of zirconia crowns, commonly used as cement-retained implant fixed restorations, can be challenging. Conventional methods of crown removal are time consuming and often leave irreparable damage to the crown, which can be costly to patients and practitioners. This research explored the use of two different types of pulsed erbium lasers, erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser (Er:YAG) and erbium, chromium-doped yttrium, scandium, gallium and garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG), as non-invasive tools to retrieve cemented zirconia crowns from zirconia implant abutments. Times needed to remove the crowns were recorded and analyzed using ANOVA (��=0.05). No statistical differences between the debond times of each laser were observed. The surfaces of the crown and the abutment were further examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) examination. SEM and EDS examinations of the materials showed no visual surface damaging or material alteration from the two pulsed erbium lasers

Development of a Wireless Real-Time Productivity Measurement System for Rapid Bridge Replacement

Increased attention has been paid to rapid bridge replacement, one of the critical components of the nation’s transportation network, since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. To enhance the capability of rapid replacement of damaged bridges after extreme events, a prototype wireless real-time productivity measurement system has been developed. The developed system has a potential not only to improve the accuracy of construction schedule but also to strengthen the communication and coordination among parties involved in the replacement process after extreme events by providing accurate productivity information in real time. To validate the developed system, field experiments were conducted at three construction sites. Results of data analyses indicate that it is feasible to use the developed system to measure on-site productivity in real time; and productivity measurements were accurate and could be shared among all parties involved in the replacement process

Science mapping approach to assisting the review of construction and demolition waste management research published between 2009 and 2018

Sustainable treatments of construction and demolition (C&D) wastes have become an increasingly urgent social, environmental, and economic issue worldwide. Based on a filter of 370 articles related to C&D waste management, this review-based study adopted a science mapping approach to evaluating the recent decade’s C&D waste management research. Through a three-step workflow consisting of bibliometric literature search, scientometric analysis, and qualitative discussion, this study identified the most influential journals, scholars, articles, and countries that have been active and influential in the C&D waste management research since 2009. Keyword analysis revealed the emerging research topics, such as BIM, prefabricated construction, Big Data, and Circular Economy. The follow-up discussion summarized the mainstream research areas (e.g., qualification of waste generation), discussed research gaps (e.g., integration of BIM and Big Data into C&D waste management), and proposed the framework for near-future research, such as a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of C&D waste diversion, human factors, and design and planning for waste diversion. By providing the big picture of the latest research in C&D waste management since 2009, the paper serves as a multi-disciplinary guide for practitioners and researchers to link current research areas into future trends

MakerFluidics: low cost microfluidics for synthetic biology

Recent advancements in multilayer, multicellular, genetic logic circuits often rely on manual intervention throughout the computation cycle and orthogonal signals for each chemical “wire”. These constraints can prevent genetic circuits from scaling. Microfluidic devices can be used to mitigate these constraints. However, continuous-flow microfluidics are largely designed through artisanal processes involving hand-drawing features and accomplishing design rule checks visually: processes that are also inextensible. Additionally, continuous-flow microfluidic routing is only a consideration during chip design and, once built, the routing structure becomes “frozen in silicon,” or for many microfluidic chips “frozen in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)”; any changes to fluid routing often require an entirely new device and control infrastructure. The cost of fabricating and controlling a new device is high in terms of time and money; attempts to reduce one cost measure are, generally, paid through increases in the other. This work has three main thrusts: to create a microfluidic fabrication framework, called MakerFluidics, that lowers the barrier to entry for designing and fabricating microfluidics in a manner amenable to automation; to prove this methodology can design, fabricate, and control complex and novel microfluidic devices; and to demonstrate the methodology can be used to solve biologically-relevant problems. Utilizing accessible technologies, rapid prototyping, and scalable design practices, the MakerFluidics framework has demonstrated its ability to design, fabricate and control novel, complex and scalable microfludic devices. This was proven through the development of a reconfigurable, continuous-flow routing fabric driven by a modular, scalable primitive called a transposer. In addition to creating complex microfluidic networks, MakerFluidics was deployed in support of cutting-edge, application-focused research at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory. Informed by a design of experiments approach using the parametric rapid prototyping capabilities made possible by MakerFluidics, a plastic blood--bacteria separation device was optimized, demonstrating that the new device geometry can separate bacteria from blood while operating at 275% greater flow rate as well as reduce the power requirement by 82% for equivalent separation performance when compared to the state of the art. Ultimately, MakerFluidics demonstrated the ability to design, fabricate, and control complex and practical microfluidic devices while lowering the barrier to entry to continuous-flow microfluidics, thus democratizing cutting edge technology beyond a handful of well-resourced and specialized labs

Renovation or Redevelopment: The Case of Smart Decision-Support in Aging Buildings

In Germany, as in many developed countries, over 60% of buildings were constructed before 1978, where most are in critical condition, requiring either demolition with plans for redevelopment or renovation and rehabilitation. Given the urgency of climate action and relevant sustainable development goals set by the United Nations, more attention must be shifted toward the various sustainability aspects when deciding on a strategy for the renovation or redevelopment of existing buildings. To this end, this study focused on developing a smart decision support framework for aging buildings based on lifecycle sustainability considerations. The framework integrated digital technological advancements, such as building information modeling (BIM), point clouds processing with field information modeling (FIM)®, and structural optimization, together with lifecycle assessment to evaluate and rate the environmental impact of different solutions. Three sustainability aspects, namely, cost, energy consumption, and carbon emissions, were quantitatively evaluated and compared in two scenarios, namely, renovation, and demolition or deconstruction combined with redevelopment. A real building constructed in 1961 was the subject of the experiments to validate the framework. The result outlined the limitations and advantages of each method in terms of economics and sustainability. It was further observed that optimizing the building design with the goal of reducing embodied energy and carbon in compliance with modern energy standards was crucial to improving overall energy performance. This work demonstrated that the BIM-based framework developed to assess the environmental impact of rehabilitation work in aging buildings can provide effective ratings to guide decision-making in real-world projects