Critical review of recent development in fiber reinforced adobe bricks for sustainable construction

Open Access via Springer Compact Agreement. The authors gratefully acknowledge the research support fund provided by the Sudanese Ministry of Higher Education, School of Engineering University of Khartoum and the School of Engineering, University of Aberdeen.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

An Experimental and Numerical Study of Passive Solar Ventialtion in Buildings

A new bioclimatic building, featuring an integrated solar chimney roof, provided the ideal prototype for design and construction o a 1/12th scale model building and its micro-climate. Laboratory tests and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations of the model allowed the building's performance to be assessed, and together added valuable physical insight into the performance of the proposed passive solar ventilation system. Experimental results also provided the necessary feedback to develop the numerical model, offering a worthwhile alternative to expensive, time consuming full-scale tests

Scale Models and CFD Analysis of Air Flow in Passively Ventilated Buildings

A new bioclimatic building concept based on solar-driven ventilation is analysed through the use of physical and numerical modelling. Measurements are conducted for a 1/12th laboratory scale model designed to replicate the full-scale prototype and its microclimate. Predictions are obtained by employing advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) techniques, and the experimental results provide the benchmarking required in the development of the numerical model, which may offer a viable alternative to expensive full-scale tests. The combination of laboratory and computational results gives additional physical insight into the prevailing phenomena determining the ventilation levels, and a first assessment on the feasibility of the concept

Small-scale and Numerical Modeling of a Passive Solar Ventialtion System

An experimental and numerical study is presented, analyzing the performance of a new bioclimatic building, featuring an integrated solar chimney roof. Laboratory tests on a 1/2 scale model building, and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed, aimed to provide the needed predictive tools for the thermal behaviour of the full scale prototype. Experimental measurements and numerical results are compared, and they are in good agreement. The study lends support to the practice of combining Small-Scale Modelling and CFD for the evaluation of energy efficiency and comfort in buildings

Physical and Numerical Modelling of a Solar Chimney-based Ventilation System for Buildings

THe paper describes an experimental and numerical study to analyze the thermal performance of bio-climatic building prototype in NIgeria. The roof performs as a solar chimney, generating an air flow through the living space if the building to provide cooling. Experimental tests on a 1:12 small-scale model of the prototype are outlined, and the results, both qualitative and quantitative, are used to validate a two-dimensional flow simulation model, in which the steady state conservation equations of mass, momentum and thermal energy are solved using a finite volume formulation. The experimental and numerical results, expressed in terms of temperature and velocity fields, for two different windows geometries are critically evaluated and compared with good agreement

Production of belite calcium sulfoaluminate cement using sulfur as a fuel and as a source of clinker sulfur trioxide: pilot kiln trial

A pilot-scale trial was undertaken in a 7·4 m kiln to demonstrate the production of belite calcium sulfoaluminate cement clinker using sulfur as a raw feed. The sulfur was introduced in its elemental form as fuel to the burner, thus partially offsetting fuel costs while providing sulfur trioxide which is incorporated in the clinker. The study demonstrates that sulfur trioxide is readily sequestered into cement clinker in a standard rotary kiln; however, some scrubbing of the exit gas may still be required. As the products of scrubbing (anhydrite or gypsum) are usually required to optimise the cement formulation, the recovered sulfur product can find an immediate use in the final cement product. This trial demonstrates the successful production of targeted belite calcium sulfoaluminate clinkers at scale using sulfur as both a fuel and sulfur trioxide source

Enhancing semen quality, brain neurotransmitters, and antioxidant status of rabbits under heat stress by acacia gum, vitamin C, and lycopene as dietary supplements: an in vitro and in silico study

In the current study, the effects of enhancing semen quality, brain neurotransmitters, and antioxidant status in rabbits under heat stress with acacia gum, vitamin C, and lycopene as dietary supplements were estimated in vitro and in silico. A total of 40 males from New Zealand White rabbits aged 3 months were equally divided into four groups (n = 10). The first group was a control. The other three groups were the heat stress group (oral acacia gum, 100 mg/kg body weight), the ascorbic acid group (30 mg/kg body weight), and the lycopene group (50 mg/kg body weight). All semen showed physical characteristics in terms of increasing sperm motility, motility index, sperm normality, and live sperm as compared to the control group. On the other hand, sperm abnormalities, and dead sperm significantly (p < 0.001) decreased compared with the control group. It is of interest to show that most semen traits were significantly (p < 0.001) better for acacia gum than vitamin C and lycopene. The expression of neurotransmitters (5-HT, DA, Glu, Asp) was enhanced in all treatments compared to the control. The results of acacia gum were better (p < 0.001) than those obtained with vitamin C and lycopene. The acacia gum treatment had a lower plasma semen MDA and NO (p < 0.001) and higher GSH, TAC, SOD, CAT, L-Car, Na+-K+ ATPase, ATP, and total calcium content (p < 0.001) than in other treatments and controls. These results were confirmed by the prediction of the binding energy, several conventional and carbon H-bonds, hydrophobicity, and SAS through the in silico docking analysis results. It can be concluded that acacia gum, vitamin c, and lycopene are used for enhancing semen quality, brain neurotransmitters, and the antioxidant status of rabbits under heat stress.HIGHLIGHTS One of the most significant influences on animal metabolism and productivity is heat stress. Fertility is negatively impacted by heat stress because the level of reactive oxygen species rises. Acacia gum, lycopene, and ascorbic acid were used to improve the quality of sperm, brain neurotransmitters, and antioxidant status of rabbits under heat stress in vivo