Modelling of mineral construction and demolition waste dynamics through a combination of geospatial and image analysis

As the construction sector is shifting towards circular economy models, the role of mineral construction materials as main waste fraction in terms of volumes is crucial. A characterization of this mineral stock, as well as the waste derived from it is decisive in ensuring the application of the best practices of circular economy. This paper describes a methodology for assessing the mineral building stock through a combination of geospatial and image analysis. By analysing old topographic maps, buildings are grouped according to their building age into different typologies and based on these maps the construction and demolition activity is evaluated. The mineral stock is assessed and estimations of the mineral construction and demolition waste (CDW) is generated for different stochastic scenarios. This methodology is applied exemplarily on the country of Luxembourg. It was found that the total mineral construction stock for Luxembourg is 276.75 Mt and has been growing at a rate of 20.81% to 24.39% in the last 30 years. Furthermore, the study identified a mean age of the urban building stock of about 60 years and a typical maximum building lifetime of 122 years. Based on the stochastic projections the mineral CDW generated from the existing building stock is expected to be up to 226.9 Mt by 2100, while if future building scenarios are considered, it can be as high as 885.3 Mt. The annual CDW production is expected to be sufficient for a viable concrete recycling activity if regulations on the waste volume flows are made available

Design model for dry-stacked and demountable masonry blocks

The construction industry around the world produces a large part of inert wastes mainly coming from building demolitions. Facing to this envi-ronmental challenge and considering the new policy initiatives supporting the designing of sustainable buildings, dry-stacked masonry comes forward as a promising solution since components can be dismantled, saved in a component bank and reassembled on new sites. The speedy growth of the construction industry, the increasing importance given to the complete life cycle of buildings and the evolution of construction technics have led to the development of dry-stacked masonry structures. Mortarless masonry structures minimise skilled labour requirements and improve construction productivity. However, despite these advantages, there are no design standards providing guidelines to assess the load-bearing capacity of dry-stacked masonry block, which therefore limits its use in construction. In an attempt to fill this lack, the current paper investigates the load-bearing capacity of dry-stacked masonry and its influencing parameters. The effects of the geometric imperfections such as height imperfections and bed-joint roughness have been analysed as well as a mitigation strategy. Then, based on experimental evidence, a design method has been proposed for dry-stacked masonry solicited by axial compression. The developed design methodology provided promising results, with 93% of accuracy in the prediction of the dry-stacked masonry’s’ load-bearing capacity

Enabling planetary science across light-years. Ariel Definition Study Report

Ariel, the Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey, was adopted as the fourth medium-class mission in ESA's Cosmic Vision programme to be launched in 2029. During its 4-year mission, Ariel will study what exoplanets are made of, how they formed and how they evolve, by surveying a diverse sample of about 1000 extrasolar planets, simultaneously in visible and infrared wavelengths. It is the first mission dedicated to measuring the chemical composition and thermal structures of hundreds of transiting exoplanets, enabling planetary science far beyond the boundaries of the Solar System. The payload consists of an off-axis Cassegrain telescope (primary mirror 1100 mm x 730 mm ellipse) and two separate instruments (FGS and AIRS) covering simultaneously 0.5-7.8 micron spectral range. The satellite is best placed into an L2 orbit to maximise the thermal stability and the field of regard. The payload module is passively cooled via a series of V-Groove radiators; the detectors for the AIRS are the only items that require active cooling via an active Ne JT cooler. The Ariel payload is developed by a consortium of more than 50 institutes from 16 ESA countries, which include the UK, France, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, and a NASA contribution

Development of a BIM-Based Web Tool as a Material and Component Bank for a Sustainable Construction Industry

The construction industry consumes an enormous amount of global resources and produces more waste than any other sector. The need to move toward sustainable development in construction requires significant changes in construction and demolition (C&D) waste management. The estimation of waste, recycling materials and reusable components could be vital in waste management, achieving huge efficiency in the construction industry. Moreover, a typical building comprises of an extensive amount of materials and components with various characteristics. This study proposes a Building Information Modelling (BIM)-based system to allow the circular economy by storing information of the materials and components of buildings and by effectively managing the recycling of materials and reuse of components. A tool which serves as a Material and Component (M&C) bank was developed with PHP and MYSQL by making use of a web browser able to extract the materials and component information of a building through the BIM model. This information is vital for several uses such as quantification of C&D waste and assessing for the design for deconstruction. It can also be used to obtain the information of the reusable condition of the components and instructions for the reconstruction

Performance of lime-metakaolin pastes using gravel wash mud (GWM)

The performance of ternary binders using lime, metakaolin (MK) and gravel wash mud (GWM) powders is studied for the development of novel lime-pozzolan pastes. This study examines the influence of varying mixture proportions using different types and compositions of lime powders and GWM at different treatment levels on the mechanical properties of lime-MK-GWM pastes. Various characterisation techniques including particle size distribution (PSD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), compressive strength tests, simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), were applied on the different raw materials, respectively, on the hardened pastes to determine the reaction kinetics, the resulting microstructure and the mechanical performances of the lime-MK-GWM binder systems. Higher strength-enhancing contributions of thermally treated GWM powders (calcined at 850°C) leading to compressive strengths up to 18 MPa were confirmed and the strength-based evaluations revealed that hydrated lime-based pastes achieved higher mechanical performances than hydraulic lime-based binder systems

Eco-construction for sustainable development: Concept of a Material and Component Bank

The European Commission has recently promulgated the concept of Circular Economy as a new pathway towards sustainability, in particular through new policy initiatives such as the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). Since the environmental impact of the construction industry with the depletion of natural resources and the raising CO2 emissions will have to be reduced in the future, the need of recycling and even reusing entire building components supporting the principles of circular economy have been identified. The direct reuse of components extracted from old deconstructed buildings presents an energy-efficient and environmental-friendly solution. However, the reuse of components can be hindered by e.g. the lack of information on the availability of decommissioned structural components and uncertainties on the warranty of structural components. To handle this process an additional independent institution acting as Material and Component (M&C) Bank is needed. This entity assures activities such as e.g. the identification of reusable components in buildings which are proposed for selective dismantling; the condition assessment; the data management and the data transfer from a previously deconstructed building to a new building; and finally, an official certification of the components’ conformity for another service life in a new application. In the current paper, a concept for such a M&C bank is presented. This study investigates the potential of a M&C bank in the framework of circular economy concepts for the planning of sustainable and circular buildings with a reduced eco-footprint by focusing on the reuse of decommissioned structural components. The concept, main businesses and work operation of the bank are discussed. Furthermore, a digital representation of the bank as BIM-based M&C bank needed to publicize the availability of the reusable components to the market and to enable circular business models by showing their circular pathways are described