CLAIMS IN CONSTRUCTION: ANALYSES OF CLAIMS BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AND GREEN/SUSTAINABLE BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

Construction professionals, irregardless of their experience, go through all these problems. These problems which in turn becomes disputes arise from the various stages or phases in the construction process - the pre-design stage, the design stage, bidding/negotiating stage and the construction stage. The introduction of green/sustainable building construction has raised a lot of questions in the construction industry. Unlike the traditional building process, disputes in the green building construction process are not well known, with issues ranging from materials through to the certification process. This research seeks to analyze the different disputes that arise from both the traditional and green building processes and determine which process has more risk associated with it.M.S. in Civil Engineering, July 201

2D PIV Measurement of Twin Buoyant Jets in Wavy Cross-Flow Environment

The multiport diffuser effluent discharge facilities constructed beneath the coastal waters were simplified in the laboratory as twin buoyant jets in a wavy cross-flow environment. The near-field flow structure of twin jets was studied by series of experiments conducted in a physical wave⁻current flume. The particle image velocimetry (PIV) system was used to measure the velocity field of the jets in various cross-flow-only and wavy cross-flow environments. By means of flow visualization, the distinctive “effluent cloud„ (EC) phenomenon was clearly observed and the jet penetration height was found to be notably increased compared with that of cross-flow-only environment at the downstream position. It was found that the wave-to-current velocity ratio Rwc is a very important parameter for effluent discharge. A new characteristic velocity uch and the corresponding characteristic length scale lmb for twin buoyant jets in the wavy cross-flow environment were defined. Using curve-fitting, a new equation to estimate the effects of the jet-to-current velocity ratio (Rjc), wave-to-current velocity ratio (Rwc) and Strouhal number (St) on the jet trajectory were derived to enhance understanding the physical processes underpinning the rise and the dilution of buoyant jets, which is critical to the design of discharge facilities

Turbulence properties of a vertical round jet in a wavy-crossflow environment

The discharge of wastewater into coastal waters can be simplified as a turbulent jet under waves and currents. A laboratory study has been carried out to measure the instantaneous flow field of a vertical round jet under wavy-crossflow environment using an improved particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. The phase-averaged streamlines are found to be the most chaotic at the wave trough phase. Temporal variation in fluctuating turbulent kinetic energy is explored. Results indicate a lack of distinctive patterns in fluctuation turbulent kinetic energy across wave phases, particularly in far field. This suggests that wave phases marginally affect jet width expansion, especially in the far field. Spatial variations in turbulent kinetic energy are examined and crossflow and wave period are also considered. It is found that decreasing relative wave-orbital velocity to crossflow velocity Rwc enhances maximum turbulent kinetic energy in the near field of the wavy-crossflow jet

An Improved Integral Model for a Non-Buoyant Turbulent Jet in Wave Environment

The integral model developed by Chin (1988) for modelling a non-buoyant turbulent jet in wave environment is improved by introducing two new parameters, i.e., the jet spreading rate c1 and the shortening rate pe. The parameter c1 is used to simplify the model by explicitly describing the radial velocity and scalar profiles under the assumption of “instantaneous„ Gaussian distribution. By doing so, the governing equations can be easily solved by simultaneously integrating the conservation laws of momentum and scalars across the jet cross-section. The parameter pe is used to shorten the initial length of zone of flow establishment (ZFE), so as to more accurately account for the wave effect on the jet initial dilution near the jet nozzle. The parameters are calibrated by the particle image velocimetry (PIV)-measured data from three groups of jet experiments, i.e., the group of vertical jet towards the wave direction (vertical jet), the group of horizontal jet along the wave direction (co-wave jet) and the group of horizontal jet opposing to the wave direction (op-wave jet). The results show that both parameters are well related to the ratio of jet and wave characteristic velocities in the same group, but it is not able to be generalized among different groups. Under the same wave condition, the value of c1 in the vertical jet is larger than that of the horizontal jets; while the value of pe in the vertical jet is smaller than that of the horizontal jets, which indicates that the jet has a faster decay rate of centerline velocity and a wider width of jet cross-section profile in the near field when it is vertically discharged into the wave environment. With the well-calibrated parameters, the improved model can achieve a higher accuracy than the original model developed by Chin (1988)

Transport dynamics of sediment‐laden jet: A review

Abstract Wastewater disposal through the dumping of spoil and sludge into the river, lake, or ocean is typically in the form of a sediment‐laden jet. The inorganic and organic solids from the effluent settling close to the source often result in the formation of sludge banks which can have a damaging effect on the marine ecosystem. Therefore, predicting the transport and deposition of sediment‐laden wastewater jet flows has been a focus of intense research for decades. In this paper, we discussed the fundamental understanding of sediment‐laden jets and the progress made in their predictions. We also highlighted some of the pertinent research challenges revealed by the previous studies and identified some key research issues that need to be addressed to achieve sustainable marine wastewater disposal in the face of increasing river, lake, and marine pollution

Application of spices in foods: consumer preferences, knowledge of health benefits, and quality of dried ginger

Human beings have battled with oxidative stress and its related illnesses such as inflammatory diseases, heart diseases, and even cancer for decades. Spices and herbs are known for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that could mitigate oxidative stress. However, post-harvest loss of such spices make their production seasonal and solar drying could curtail this problem. Solar drying of ginger will add value and reduce post-harvest loss, yet consumer preference needs to be established. This study carried out a survey by administering semi-structured questionnaires to 398 willing respondents in the Accra metropolis to seek information on the knowledge of the health benefits and sicknesses that consumers had used ginger to treat as well as the acceptability of solar dried ginger locally. Respondents enumerated 22 illnesses in the category of anti-inflammatory disorders, stomach discomfort, weight loss, and an aphrodisiac which they had used ginger to cure. More than half of respondents (74.3%) had used ginger to cure upper respiratory infections with an almost unanimous response to the local production of dried ginger for all-year availability.</p