Behaviour of treated rubberised fiber concretes at higher temperatures

The fundamental aim of this study is to determine the effect of high temperature on the behavior of concrete consists NaOH treated rubber and steel fibers (TRSF-Con). During the experiment, four different concrete mixes were prepared; the first one is the control mix (CM) which was made with natural coarse and fine aggregates, cement, and water, while the other three concrete mixes were with the replacement rates of 10%, 20% and 25% of the natural coarse and fine aggregates by TRSF from used tires. The specimens were exposed for a period of 1 hour to design temperature-time curve up to 800°C followed by cooling to room temperature. Compressive strength, flexural strength, weight loss were determined and compared with that of control specimens. The ductility of the concrete increased with the increased of TRSF contents, increases the damping properties, and while the compressive strength of the concrete reduced with the increment of TRSF contents. Although data obtained in all parameters where lover than the control specimens, concrete containing treated rubber and steel fiber can be suitable for non-structural member in concrete and driveways or road constructions

Potential review on energy analysis attributes for in 6 dimension application in Building Information Modelling (BIM)

Rapid advancement on digitalisation is changing the way buildings are planned, designed, built and managed nowadays. A collaborative computer-based environment known as Building Information Modelling (BIM) is one of the advancements introduced as a platform to boost up the efficiency of the construction industry. However, poorly designed, constructed and managed building or infrastructure contribute to environmental issues such as CO2 emissions and energy consumption. Thus, attachment of sustainability element in BIM not only increase the efficiency of the project but also can help to plan, design and construct in a more environmentally friendly way. A study on the overall energy use throughout the construction life cycle is needed to identify the most critical stages and to develop energy-reduction strategies via BIM. Thus, this paper provides an intensive review of BIM understanding, its energy analysis practices in the construction phase and existing building environmental assessment tools in BIM. To achieve this, an in-depth review was carried out focusing on the content analysis of a few journal articles related to BIM, energy analysis and sustainability assessment tool. Hence, this paper contributes by discussing the wide variety of building environmental assessment instruments and categorising existing tools to be used in the BIM

Succeeding criteria of community based on land transportation infrastructure for Johor innovation valley development

Developing countries around the world have developed innovative centre, or known as innovation hub, to meet the demand of today's changing global competitive environment. The shift of economic sector from manufacturing to services has allowed numerous regions and cities around the world to undergo major structural changes. In Malaysia, Skudai area is on its way of becoming a community-based innovation hub under the Johor State Economic Growth Strategic Plan called Johor Innovation Valley (JIV). Towards this new-city concept, land transportation infrastructure is among the most important network in being a linkage to the source of contribution in enhancing the local innovative environment. This paper highlights the requirement of land transportation infrastructure criteria that would be effective in making Skudai a community-based innovation hub. Data were collected through survey questionnaires involving stakeholders with the knowledge of land transportation infrastructure who also lives within the area. Descriptive analysis was employed with further rank breakdown using Average Index analysis. The findings distinguish the differences between each criteria of land transportation infrastructure. Change in traffic system, easier accessibility to one place to another and attraction to outside investor are among the impacts of growth of JIV. This paper concluded that selected requirement of land transportation infrastructure criteria is necessary for future contribution towards the growth of the JIV

Causes of crane accidents at construction sites in Malaysia

The usage of crane in the construction industry is widespread and very important regardless of the project size. In tall building construction, the efficiency of the tower crane is the backbone of the project success. The crane operator is responsible to control the crane efficiently and follows the provided safety guidelines. Loss of life, injury, and property damages are the consequences that will happen if the requirements and procedures for crane handling are not properly done. The increasing number of crane accidents in Malaysia has driven the awareness to conduct this study as to avert this problem from occurring. Thus, this study was conducted to analyse crane's accident statistic at construction sites in Malaysia. This study utilises official crane accident report database and document search from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). All collected data were analysed using two methods, namely frequency analysis and content analysis. The results of the study show that, mobile crane recorded 23 numbers of crane accident cases and the highest in term of the type of cranes. Structural failure leads as a higher factor that contribute to crane accident in Malaysia with 28 counts of causes. In order to minimize crane accidents, crane's safety measure and procedure as well as proper training to crane operator are among potential ways

Utilization of Baggase Waste Based Materials as Improvement for Thermal Insulation of Cement Brick

Building materials having low thermal load and low thermal conductivity will provide thermal comforts to the occupants in building. In an effort to reduce the use of high energy and waste products from the agricultural industry, sugarcane bagasse and banana bagasse has been utilize as an additive in the manufacture of cement brick. The aim of this study is to investigate the insulation and mechanical properties of brick that has been mixed with bagasse and its effectiveness as thermal insulation using heat flow meter. Waste bagasse is being treated using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and is characterized using SEM and XRF. The samples produced with two different dimensions of 50 mm × 50 mm × 50 mm and 215mm × 102.5mm × 65mm for thermal conductivity test. Next, the sample varies from 0% (control sample), 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% in order to determine the best mix proportion. The compressive strength is being tested for 7, 14 and 28 days of water curing. Results showed that banana bagasse has lower thermal conductivity compared to sugarcane bagasse used, with compressive strength of 15.6MPa with thermal conductivity 0.6W/m.K

Utilization of Baggase Waste Based Materials as Improvement for Thermal Insulation of Cement Brick

Building materials having low thermal load and low thermal conductivity will provide thermal comforts to the occupants in building. In an effort to reduce the use of high energy and waste products from the agricultural industry, sugarcane bagasse and banana bagasse has been utilize as an additive in the manufacture of cement brick. The aim of this study is to investigate the insulation and mechanical properties of brick that has been mixed with bagasse and its effectiveness as thermal insulation using heat flow meter. Waste bagasse is being treated using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and is characterized using SEM and XRF. The samples produced with two different dimensions of 50 mm × 50 mm × 50 mm and 215mm × 102.5mm × 65mm for thermal conductivity test. Next, the sample varies from 0% (control sample), 2%, 4%, 6%, 8% and 10% in order to determine the best mix proportion. The compressive strength is being tested for 7, 14 and 28 days of water curing. Results showed that banana bagasse has lower thermal conductivity compared to sugarcane bagasse used, with compressive strength of 15.6MPa with thermal conductivity 0.6W/m.K

Thermal performance of waste materials as aggregate replacement in asphalt pavement

The high surface temperature of the conventional asphalt pavement due to high solar energy absorption could contribute to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon. Concurrent with this phenomenon, rapid urbanization and industrial development have led to a large quantity of waste products available for disposal or recycling. Therefore, this study investigates the thermal performance of selected waste materials that could potentially be used as aggregate in asphalt pavement to combat the problem of increased pavement surface temperature. A number of waste materials were selected for the thermal performance measurement and compared to granite as conventional aggregate. The cylindrical and slab samples of AC14 dense graded asphalt were prepared for the different selected aggregate types. The samples were then measured for solar reflectance using Spectroradiometer. In addition, the surface and internal temperature profiles of the samples were monitored using infrared camera and thermocouples, respectively, in exposed environments. Based on the results, it is possible to use some of the waste materials as an aggregate replacement in order to reduce the UHI impact

Noncompliance of the occupational safety and health legislation in the Malaysian construction industry

Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) is a tool for the employer, employee and manufacturer to put efforts in securing safety, health and welfare at work place. But, the increase in prosecution cases under OSH legislation indicates the lack of compliance to the regulations. A prosecution can be translated as one of the frequently employed instruments for the enforcement of health and safety legislation. The objective of this study is to analyze the most common non-compliance cases of OSH legislative provision from 2005 until October 2017 compiled by the Department Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). The data of the cases were analyzed using frequency distribution analysis and content analysis. The result of the study shows that the most non-compliance with OSH legislation in Malaysia relates to the general duties of employers and self-employed persons to their employees (Section 15(1)). The second most common non-compliance of OSHA is section 17 regarding employer's failure to provide safe work system. The third and fourth most common non-compliance of OSHA is section 32 and 29 regarding the employer's failure to report the accidents and the employer's failure to provide competent safety and health officer. To increase compliance to legislation, full top management commitment, active worker engagement and effective safety and health committee are amongst top preferred solutions

Causes of fatal construction accidents in Malaysia

Malaysia has moved fast to keep pace with the changes of times as the country aspires to achieve strong economic growth and to chart its course as a developed nation by the year 2020. The construction industry is one of the important sectors for nations to develop our country's economy and thus able to improve our competitiveness. However, in line with the positive growth of the economy, the construction sector also contributes to the high accident fatality rate. Construction workers are often exposed to various inherent risks associated with working conditions on construction sites. Although various approaches have been implemented in order to prevent accidents, the statistic indicates further improvement need to be taken fast. The objective of the study is to analyse the statistics and causes of fatal accidents at construction sites in Malaysia. The study focuses on 129 fatal construction accident cases based on database and document kept by the Malaysian authority, such as Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) and Social Security Organisation (SOCSO). The collected data were analyzed using frequency analysis and content analysis. The analysis shows that the number of fatal accidents is increasing every year. In the last five years, statistic from SOCSO and DOSH has shown an increasing number of fatal accident cases for about 231.9% and 125.8% respectively. The top three causes of fatal construction accidents are unsafe methods, the unique nature of industry and job site conditions. Whereas, the leading sub-causes are work at high elevation, incorrect or no work procedure and failure of structure