Mobility of Architectural Technology and Building Construction students: diagnosis and opportunities

[EN] Internationalization of higher education programmes is a goal pursued by most universities and their corresponding faculties and schools. One of the main indicators to evaluate internationalization is the number of students who complete a mobility program. In this work we carry out an analysis of the evolution of the mobility of Architectural Technology and Building Construction students from the Barcelona School of Building Construction (EPSEB) since 2010 and we compare it with the evolution of mobility in the university. We analyze the main causes that limit the mobility of ATE students and we suggest actions to increase the internationalization of our studies and students.[ES] La internacionalización de los estudios universitarios es una meta que persiguen la mayoría de universidades y sus correspondientes facultades y escuelas. Uno de los principales indicadores para evaluar la internacionalización de los estudios es el número de estudiantes que realizan un programa de movilidad. En este trabajo realizamos un análisis de la evolución de la movilidad de los estudiantes de Arquitectura Técnica y Edificación (ATE) de la Escuela Politécnica Superior de Edificación de Barcelona (EPSEB) desde el año 2010 y la comparamos con la media de la universidad. Se evalúan las principales causas que limitan la movilidad de los estudiantes de ATE y se proponen actuaciones para incrementar la internacionalización de nuestros estudios y estudiantes.Haurie Ibarra, L.; Alastruey Martin, C. (2021). Movilidad de los estudiantes de Arquitectura Técnica y Edificación: diagnóstico y oportunidades. En EDIFICATE. I Congreso de Escuelas de Edificación y Arquitectura Técnica de España. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 653-662. https://doi.org/10.4995/EDIFICATE2021.2021.13606OCS65366

Epsomite as flame retardant treatment for wood: Preliminary study

The effect of epsomite as flame retardant for wood has been investigated and compared with a commercial boron salt. Both flame retardants have been introduced into wood samples by vacuum impregnation. Epsomite is a hydrated sulphate salt with a water solubility of 731 g L-1 at room temperature. Thanks to this high solubility it was possible to obtain elevated epsomite loadings in comparison with the borax salt. Flame retardancy was evaluated by means of the limiting oxygen index, the dripping test and the exposition to a direct flame (Bunsen test). The results showed that the addition of epsomite increases the limiting oxygen index, delays the time to ignition and the evolution of the temperatures trough the wood. © 2016 Elsevier LtdPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Characterization of the fire behaviour of tropical wood species for use in the construction industry

It is widely acknowledged that wood is a combustible and flammable material. However, not all woods have the same fire behaviour; this can change significantly depending on the type and species of wood. Usually, hardwoods have better fire behaviour in comparison with softwoods. This is often due to their physical structure (morphology), their density and hardness and also their moisture content. However, in some cases the main cause is their chemical composition. Some tropical woods with relatively low density present better fire behaviour than other with high density. This indicates that other aspects such as the content of extracts, exudates (oils, waxes, mucilage, tannins etc.) and minerals can greatly influence their fire performance. In this study, seven Mexican tropical wood were characterized in order to determine their fire behaviour. For this purpose, an extensive series of laboratory tests were conducted. The results show a different behaviour in all the species studied, in some cases, with very significant differences. It is observed that although there is some correlation between high density and hardness of the species and their good fire behaviour, these factors are not always determinant. In some species, other factors as anatomy and composition of wood are more relevant to achieve a better fire behaviour.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Toxicidad

La toxicidad es una problemática de vital importancia en caso de incendio. Como ha podido verse por casos como el de la Torre Grenfell de Londres, siniestro que motiva la elaboración del presente documento, la inhalación de humos es la principal causa de muerte en estos casos. Pese a ello, las normativas reguladoras en el sector de la construcción no contemplan este factor ni ofrecen soluciones al respecto, como sí ocurre en otros sectores industriales. Debido a esto, en el siguiente capítulo se analizan los diferentes aspectos a tener en cuenta para entender la toxicidad en caso de incendio, además de revisarse la regulación que diferentes países realizan sobre la toxicidad de los humos de los materiales de construcción.Postprint (published version

The components’ roles in thermal stability and flammability of cork powder

In this study, an analysis of the influence of extractives, suberin and lignocellulosic components on the pyrolysis decomposition and fire reaction mechanisms of a cork oak powder from Quercus suber L. is presented. The summative chemical composition of cork powder was determined. Suberin was the main component at 40% of the total weight, followed by 24% of lignin, 19% of polysaccharides and 14% of extractives. The absorbance peaks of cork and its individual components were further analyzed by means of ATR-FTIR spectrometry. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that the removal of extractives from cork slightly increased the thermal stability between 200 °C and 300 °C and led to the formation of a more thermally stable residue at the end of the cork decomposition. Moreover, by removing suberin, a shift of the onset decomposition temperature to a lower temperature was noticed, indicating that suberin plays a major role in enhancing the thermal stability of cork. Furthermore, non-polar extractives showed the highest flammability with a peak of heat release rate (pHRR) of 365 W/g analyzed by means of micro-scale combustion calorimetry (MCC). Above 300 °C, the heat release rate (HRR) of suberin was lower than that of polysaccharides or lignin. However, below that temperature it released more flammable gases with a pHRR of 180 W/g, without significant charring ability, contrary to the mentioned components that showed lower HRR due to their prominent condensed mode of action that slowed down the mass and heat transfer processes during the combustion process.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Effect of oxidized wood flour as functional filler on the mechanical, thermal and flame-retardant properties of polylactide biocomposites

Based on the biodegradable material-polyethylene glycol (PEG)-as the plasticizer, oxidized wood flour (OWF) as the charring agent for polylactide (PLA), a series flame-retardant PLA biocomposites were prepared via melt-compounding and hot-compression. The effect of OWF on the thermal, mechanical and flame retardant properties of biocomposites was investigated systemically. We have found that after the incorporation of PEG and OWF with 10¿wt% into PLA, the biocomposite showed higher tensile elongation than pure PLA. Furthermore, the presence of OWF and ammonium polyphosphate (APP) imparted the biocomposite good flame-retardant performance, shown a remarkable reduction on the peak of heat release rate (PHRR), improved LOI value and passed UL94 V-0 rating. Moreover, Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectra (SEM/EDS) and thermogravimetric analysis coupled with infrared spectrometer (TG-FTIR) were also performed to understand the flame retardant mechanism. These results proved that OWF could be as new functional filler for polymer composites to further improve their flame retardancy.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

¿Existen diferencias en las cales apagadas por distintos métodos tradicionales?: la experiencia de Zone (BS)

Caracterización de muestras de cal apagadas por distintos métodos tradicionales, en una experiencia realizada en Zone (Brescia, Italia)Peer Reviewe

Study of Autogenous Self-Healing in Different Mortar Formulations

Autogenous self-healing of cement-based materials is a topic of current interest. This research evaluates autogenous self-healing in four types of mortars based on Portland Cement, one containing CEM II and the other 3 formulated with CEM I and different additions: fly-ashes; nanosilica and hydraulic lime. The evolution of longitudinal cracks caused by a point load has been evaluated measuring the water absorption by capillarity and studying the evolution of the crack by optical microscopy. Besides the mortar composition, it has been evaluated the effect of the environmental conditions on the crack repair. The different specimens were exposed to three different environments: water immersion, curing chamber at 20 ± 2°C and 95 ± 5% of relative humidity (RH) and the laboratory at 25 ±5°C and 65% ± 5% RH. The results obtained allow us to establish that constant hydration is an essential factor for the development of self-healing mechanism. If the samples are kept in water immersion self-healing occurs no matter the additions of the mortar formulation. Size of the crack is also an important factor to allow self-healing. The product formed during selfhealing to fill the crack is mainly calcium carbonate

Single layer mortars with microencapsulated PCM: Study of physical and thermal properties, and fire behaviour

Phase change materials are a promising strategy to reduce energy consumption in a wide range of applications including the building sector. Many studies have been done to evaluate the impact of PCM on thermal properties of building materials, however there exists little information on the influence of PCM on other properties of the support materials. This knowledge is necessary to determine the feasibility to apply and use building materials containing PCM. In this paper, the effect of the addition of different percentages of microencapsulated phase change material on the properties of two commercial single layer mortars has been studied. Physical and thermal properties as well as fire reaction have been evaluated