Decision making for sustainable development

This thesis’ aim is to investigate Norwegian construction firms’ processes and frameworks for sustainable development, and how this may affect their eco-efficiency. Our analysis’ overall purpose is to answer the following research question: “How is Norwegian construction firms’ decision making for sustainable development, and how does this affect the eco-efficiency of the industry?” To answer our research question, data has been retrieved through by using several methods. First, we conducted a cross sectional case study. The qualitative data has been collected through in-depth interviews with 8 different respondents with different positions, representing 8 different firms in the Norwegian construction sector. Second, we analysed the firms’ financial performance and their environmental data by using the firms’ annual- and sustainable reports, in order to retrieve quantitative data in form of net sales and CO2 emissions. Our analysis shows both similarities and differences in decision making for sustainable development in the construction sector. First contingency factors such as the firm’s size, owners and employees all influence the environmental strategy and focus of the organization. Motivation for sustainable measurement, reporting and development are emphasised as a result from stakeholder pressure, oncoming legislations, financial gains, and the desire to guide the industry towards a more sustainable future. However, based on our findings, we argue that today’s environmental measurement and reporting is inconsistent and of low quality. Analysing the Norwegian construction firms’ annual- and environmental reports depicts the vast differences in environmental data measured and reported. Moreover, our calculation of the eco-efficiency performances illustrates the dissimilarities regarding measurement and reporting of environmental data in the Norwegian construction industry. We urge the legislator to impose stricter regulations for measurement and reporting of sustainable data, facilitating for the resources available for the organizations, in order to help the industry to direct its efforts towards sustainable development

Decision making for sustainable development

This thesis’ aim is to investigate Norwegian construction firms’ processes and frameworks for sustainable development, and how this may affect their eco-efficiency. Our analysis’ overall purpose is to answer the following research question: “How is Norwegian construction firms’ decision making for sustainable development, and how does this affect the eco-efficiency of the industry?” To answer our research question, data has been retrieved through by using several methods. First, we conducted a cross sectional case study. The qualitative data has been collected through in-depth interviews with 8 different respondents with different positions, representing 8 different firms in the Norwegian construction sector. Second, we analysed the firms’ financial performance and their environmental data by using the firms’ annual- and sustainable reports, in order to retrieve quantitative data in form of net sales and CO2 emissions. Our analysis shows both similarities and differences in decision making for sustainable development in the construction sector. First contingency factors such as the firm’s size, owners and employees all influence the environmental strategy and focus of the organization. Motivation for sustainable measurement, reporting and development are emphasised as a result from stakeholder pressure, oncoming legislations, financial gains, and the desire to guide the industry towards a more sustainable future. However, based on our findings, we argue that today’s environmental measurement and reporting is inconsistent and of low quality. Analysing the Norwegian construction firms’ annual- and environmental reports depicts the vast differences in environmental data measured and reported. Moreover, our calculation of the eco-efficiency performances illustrates the dissimilarities regarding measurement and reporting of environmental data in the Norwegian construction industry. We urge the legislator to impose stricter regulations for measurement and reporting of sustainable data, facilitating for the resources available for the organizations, in order to help the industry to direct its efforts towards sustainable developmen

A Neuro Fuzzy Algorithm to Compute Software Effort Estimation

Software Effort Estimation is highly important and considered to be a primary activity in software project management The accurate estimates are conducted in the development of business case in the earlier stages of project management This accurate prediction helps the investors and customers to identify the total investment and schedule of the project The project developers define process to estimate the effort more accurately with the available mythologies using the attributes of the project The algorithmic estimation models are very simple and reliable but not so accurate The categorical datasets cannot be estimated using the existing techniques Also the attributes of effort estimation are measured in linguistic values which may leads to confusion This paper looks in to the accuracy and reliability of a non-algorithmic approach based on adaptive neuro fuzzy logic in the problem of effort estimation The performance of the proposed method demonstrates that there is a accurate substantiation of the outcomes with the dataset collected from various projects The results were compared for its accuracy using MRE and MMRE as the metrics The research idea in the proposed model for effort estimation is based on project domain and attribute which incorporates the model with more competence in augmenting the crux of neural network to exhibit the advances in software estimatio

Fabrication and Characterization of Supercapacitors toward Self-Powered System

Ever increasing energy demand urges to impelled extensive research in the development of new eco-friendly energy harvesting and storage technologies. Energy harvesting technology exploiting renewable energy sources is an auspicious method for sustainable, autonomous, and everlasting operation of a variety of electronic devices. A new concept of an integrated self-powered system by combining an energy harvesting device with an energy storage device has been established to harvest renewable energy and simultaneously store it for sustainable operation of electronic devices. In this chapter, describes the fabrication of a self-powered system by integrating the supercapacitor with energy harvesting devices such as nanogenerator and solar cells to power portable electronic devices. Initially synthesis and electrochemical characterization of various electroactive materials for supercapacitors and further, fabrication of supercapacitor device were discussed. In conclusion, this chapter demonstrates self-powered system by the integration of energy harvesting, energy storage module with portable electronic devices. The various result validates the feasibility of using supercapacitors as efficient energy storage components in self-powered devices. The proposed self-powered technology based on energy conversion of renewable energy to electrical energy which stored in energy storage device and it will be used to operate several electronic devices as a self-powered device

The corrosion protection ability of TiAlN coatings produced with CA-PVD under superimposed pulse bias

In this study we have investigated the contribution of superimposing high voltage pulse on DC bias on the corrosion protection ability of TiAlN coatings deposited with cathodic arc physical vapor deposition (CA-PVD). Superimposing high voltage on DC bias resulted in the decrease of the number of attached macroparticles (MP) and also densified the columnar structure. These differences significantly improved the corrosion protection ability of the coatings that were determined by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 0.1 N HCl solutions. An approximately 6 fold increase in the polarization resistance for the samples deposited by using −1000 V superimposed pulse voltage on 40 V DC bias when compared to the ones deposited only by DC bias. For further elaborating these results, the distribution, size and morphology of the corrosion sites were determined with ferroxyl test, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and 3D optical profilometry. Results of the ferroxyl tests indicated a dramatic decrease of corrosion sites by superimposing −1000 V on DC bias. Closer investigation of these sites showed that corrosion of the substrate is first initiated at the bottom of the defects extending through the coating and then expanded below the coating. The depths and diameters of the corroding sites, revealed by removing their caps with ultrasonication were substantially lower for the samples produced with superimposed bias. Results of the study indicated the necessity of combining electrochemical corrosion test results with the morphology and distribution of corrosion sites for a proper understanding of the corrosion protection ability of hard coatings

Amine impregnated porous silica gel sorbents synthesized from water-glass precursors for CO2 capturing

In this work, porous silica gel-solid beads have been made from economically affordable water-glass precursors via sol-gel nano casting technique. A stable nanometric silica sol was prepared first from water glass and studied for surface potential and sol to gel transition. A free-flow, injectable gel was obtained upon aging the sol which was then assembled into spherical silica beads in a chemical bath. A surface area of 304.7m2g-1 was obtained for water glass derived silica gel beads. These gel beads were impregnated with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) and polyethylenimine (PEI) active functional groups at different percentages for turning the gel beads as sorbents for CO2 gas adsorption. The effect of amine loading on the thermal stability, morphology as well as porosity was studied and was correlated with CO2 adsorption values. Depending upon the amount of amine loaded in the gel support CO2 uptake was found varied. These amine modified silica gel porous adsorbents showed CO2 adsorption capacity at temperatures as low as 100°C; samples modified with 15wt% PEI had CO2 adsorption capacity of 1.16mmolg-1 at 50°C. © 2015 Elsevier B.V

Comprehensive insight into the mechanism, material selection and performance evaluation of supercapatteries

Electrochemical energy storage devices (EESs) play a crucial role for the construction of sustainable energy storage system from the point of generation to the end user due to the intermittent nature of renewable sources. Additionally, to meet the demand for next-generation electronic applications, optimizing the energy and power densities of EESs with long cycle life is the crucial factor. Great efforts have been devoted towards the search for new materials, to augment the overall performance of the EESs. Although there are a lot of ongoing researches in this field, the performance does not meet up to the level of commercialization. A further understanding of the charge storage mechanism and development of new electrode materials are highly required. The present review explains the overview of recent progress in supercapattery devices with reference to their various aspects. The different charge storage mechanisms and the multiple factors involved in the performance of the supercapattery are described in detail. Moreover, recent advancements in this supercapattery research and its electrochemical performances are reviewed. Finally, the challenges and possible future developments in this field are summarized.publishedVersio

Soil fertility status and assessment of nutrient soil quality index of Ganasandra micro-watershed using GIS-based geospatial tool

Despite growing concerns about sustainable land management, limited studies have comprehensively evaluated soil fertility and spatial variability of nutrient soil quality at the micro-watershed level using geospatial techniques. The current research (2023-24) aimed to assess nutrient levels, soil health and the spatial variability of soil fertility within the Ganasandra micro-watershed, a component of the Naganahalli sub-watershed in Nagamangala taluk, Mandya district, Karnataka, using geospatial methods. Statistical evaluation of analytical data was performed using parameters such as range, mean and standard deviation. The soil was found to be slightly to strongly alkaline and nonsaline. Organic carbon levels ranged from low to medium; nitrogen and phosphorus availability were moderate; potassium was high and sulfur levels ranged from low to moderate. Diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) extractable micronutrients analysis indicated that half of the samples lacked sufficient zinc and iron, whereas copper and manganese concentrations were adequate. Shortages of N (nitrogen), P (phosphorus), S (sulphur), Zn (zinc) and Fe (iron) were identified as significant limitations to soil fertility. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to obtain the minimum data set (MDS) from the assessed soil parameters. Essential factors affecting soil quality include pH, organic carbon content and the availability of nitrogen and zinc. Three principal components with eigenvalues exceeding 1 accounted for 73.00 % of the overall variance. The soil quality index (SQI) ranged from 0.10 to 0.62. The study established that SQI, derived through grid sampling at a 320 m scale, successfully reflected spatial dependence through ordinary kriging and enabled the creation of thematic maps for soil management at the micro-watershed level. The SQI map showed that 46.63 % of the region was classified as low to very low soil quality, 22.79 % as medium and 31.32 % as high-quality categories