Traffic Safety Factors in the Qassim Region of Saudi Arabia

This study investigates the factors that affect traffic safety in the Qassim region. A questionnaire was developed on the basis of the Handbook of road safety and consisted of 85 items measuring seven dimensions: area-wide traffic calming (22 items), vehicle design and protective devices (26 items), road design (24 items), road maintenance (three items), traffic education (four items), police campaigns and sanctions (three items), and post-accident care (three items). A sample encompassing 1,500 Qassim University students, and visitors was randomly selected to collect data. A total of 1,500 questionnaires were distributed to students, and visitors of which 1,053 were retrieved. The elimination of data outliers resulted in a sample of 909 subjects. The results pointed out a moderate level of traffic safety in the Qassim region. Furthermore, 10 leading causes of road traffic accidents emerged, namely, excess speed, irregular bypasses, irregular rotations, lack of prioritization of other drivers, irregular stops, lack of road readiness, driver carelessness, use of a mobile phone while driving, noncompliance with traffic signals, and, finally, nonuse of seat belts. On the basis of these results, conclusions and policy implications were provided

A study of airbourne particulate matter concentrations in classrooms

Human exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) has drawn considerable attention in the mid-1990s, this is because of the harmful effects that particulates have on the human respiratory and cardiovascular system. People spend most of their time in various indoor environments, thus considerations have been given by various researchers to the air quality in these environments (e.g. residential houses, offices, etc.). The quality of air in classrooms is also very important due to the fact that teachers and students spend considerable periods of time within them. However, investigations into PM in such premises are few. To-date studies investigating particulate concentrations in classrooms have generally focused on primary and secondary schools and little attempts have been made for studying university classroom environments. There are a number of factors that could affect particle concentration in classrooms such as indoor and outdoor meteorological parameters, air change rates, and human-related activity. However, these factors have not been fully investigated, and the published literature in the field shows that there is a lack of understanding of PM behaviour in classrooms. Due to the varying occupancy density in university classrooms as compared to children classrooms and the recommendations reported from previous studies, this study was conducted to investigate airborne particle concentrations for different particle sizes (PM!, PM2.5, PMIO, and other narrow particle size ranges) in university classrooms. The aim of this study was to identify the important factors that could influence the concentration of these types of particles in such classrooms, and then to develop a model for predicting the exposure levels of such particulate matter in such rooms. The results show that university classrooms are subjected to high particle concentrations, particularly when they are occupied. The results obtained from the classroom tests also show that the periods during which students enter and/or leave the classrooms give rise to high concentrations of airborne particulate matter in these rooms. Additional experiments were conducted in an environmental test chamber to provide further information and support to the results obtained in the classrooms, and also to identify the primary parameters that might influence the concentration levels during human walking in a room.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Measurement and prediction of the effect of students’ activities on airborne particulate concentration in a classroom

Epidemiological studies have shown links between human exposure to indoor airborne particles and adverse health effects. Several recent studies have also reported that the classroom environment has an impact on students’ health and performance. In this study, particle concentration in a university classroom is assessed experimentally for different occupancy periods. The mass concentrations of different particle size ranges (0.3–≥20 μm), and three particulate matter fractions (PM1, PM2.5, and PM10), were measured simultaneously in a classroom with different occupancy periods, including occupied and unoccupied periods, at the University of Reading, UK, during the winter, spring, and summer periods of 2010. The results show that students’ presence is a significant factor affecting particles concentration of PM10, PM2.5, and other narrow ranges from 0.65 μm and larger. The resuspension per student of the three particulate matter (PM) fractions was also determined in the study

Investigating energy efficiency and solar energy in Saudi mosques to achieve zero energy or zero bill

Energy is essential to achieve thermal comfort; however, energy consumption leads to environmental degradation. This study analyzed the energy consumption of two masjids in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and identified opportunities for rationalizing energy consumption. A photovoltaic (PV) system was used to ensure that the conditions of nearly zero bill building (nZBB) or nearly zero energy building (nZEB) were fulfilled. The energy use intensities of the Al-Jamil and Al-Omar masjids were 111 kWh/m2 and 121 kWh/m2, respectively. The average electricity consumption per worshiper for the Al-Omar masjid was 1.35 kWh/prayer and that for the Al-Jamil masjid was 1.03 kWh/prayer. The end-use energy was the highest for cooling, accounting for 72–74 % of the total consumption; lighting accounted for 11–12 % of the total consumption at the two masjids. Approximately 60 % of the air-conditioning (AC) energy load was saved by improving the envelope; the electricity requirement for ACs increased by up to 30 % as the ambient temperature increased from 32 °C to 46 °C. Changing the set-point temperature from 20 °C to 27 °C afforded electrical energy savings of approximately 27 % for a summer day. The environmental benefits of using solar energy were also identified

Evaluation of the total exergy and energy consumptions in residential sector in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

Economic crises face a new foe worldwide, along with the fact that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is facing problems to sustain its role in international energy prospects due to unavoidable domestic challenges caused by a fast-growing population. The challenges are unemployment for the youngsters, two-thirds of the total population, and emerging demand for energy consumption at the domestic level at unsustainably high rates. Besides this, KSA spends a considerable amount, around 9% of the GDP, to subsidize the energy sectors (oil products and electricity). All these aspects call for a selective study to pinpoint the factors which can directly or indirectly influence to sustain the Saudi economy in the long run.To help cater to the growing demand for rigorous study on areas for energy rationalization in the Qassim region, the objectives of this work are to perform a thorough study of energy and exergy analysis of various electrical household appliances and exergy analysis of the residential sector (RS). In this study, an independent survey of 100 dwellings was conducted to collect data related to essential parameters of residential energy consumption. The collected data has been analyzed to determine energy consumption indicators and perform exergy analysis. The average monthly and yearly energy consumption per dwelling was between 30,832 to 36,166, and 1500 to 4500kWh, respectively. The average hourly electrical energy consumption during the working days was 4.12kWh, and during the curfew due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) 4kWh. The breakdown of this end-use of residential energy is mainly distributed for air conditioning, water heating, lighting, and all other domestic appliances with 67.34%, 9.31%, 8.18%, and 15.17%, respectively. The calculated total energy efficiency of 142.9% for KSA in this study showed a significant discrepancy compared to the previously reported value of 77.52%. Calculated total exergy efficiency falls between 11.13% and 11.38% for the Qassim region. Energy policymakers can use clear energy consumption indicators and exergy efficiency present in this study. They can help to establish energy efficiency standards to be used for various economic sectors