Review of sustainability in buildings

At present, it is estimated that the building sector contributes up to 45% of annual greenhouse gas emissions primarily through the use of fossil fuels during their operational phase and consumes up to 40% of all energy in UK. Given the massive growth in new construction in economies in transition, and the inefficiencies of existing building stock, if nothing is done, greenhouse gas emissions from buildings will be more than double in the next 20 years. This is a review paper describe the extent and nature of sustainable buildings in UK, either within new or refurbishing old ones, in order to move away from traditional methods of construction and to look at multi-disciplinary and integrated approaches, as well as end-user perspectives

Improving the Energy Efficiency of Wireless Sensors through Smart Antenna Design

There is a growing trend in the use of intelligent Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) for a wide range of applications. In the early part of the decade the underlying hardware was largely in prototype form and used for small scale demonstration systems, but there is now growing interest in applications which are commercially viable. This work began on the premise that the sensor hardware has gradually become smaller, yet there are still a few peripheral components which are lagging behind; namely the battery and antenna. Here, a novel antenna design is presented; this antenna is of a practical size for use in WSNs, whilst also offering improved energy consumption over commonly used monopole antennas

Microwave Technology: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

At present, water quality control is still dominated by laboratory analysis of grab samples. Sensors are only available for a very limited number of parameters and frequently do not entirely meet the needs of the users. Even a brief overview of the state-of-the-art in the real time water monitoring reveals that it is not possible to achieve adequate detection of water parameters by using only one type of sensor. Accordingly, the solution is to merge various technologies into a single system that would employ the best available methods for the detection of specific water contaminants, so as to provide overall superior sensitivity, selectivity and long-term stability, while enabling real-time wireless data collection for enhanced cost-effectiveness. Namely, multi-sensor platforms that utilise the best available methods combined into a single monitoring process are seen as the only way to achieve the holistic monitoring capabilities. It is suggested that a special role in this development is reserved for microwave technology based sensors a missing piece in the puzzle to potentially solve the issue of real-time water quality control. This paper reviews the capabilities of microwave sensors for real-time water quality monitoring as compared to other alternative methods, namely standard UV-VIS optical methods; fibre optic sensors; amperometric sensors, biosensors, specifically-sensitive microelectrodes and lab-on-chip sensing systems

Detection of pathogenic bacteria in aqueous media: Assessing the potential of real-time electromagnetic wave sensing

This paper reports on the capabilities of a novel electromagnetic wave sensing method to detect and identify the presence of various pathogenic bacteria in aqueous media. In particular, the change in the electromagnetic wave signal in microwave frequency range is used as an indicator of bacteria presence. The assessment was conducted by recording reflected signal spectra when the sensor was in contact with deionised water, Escherichia coli, sterile nutrient broth and Pseudomonas aeruginosa solutions. The distinct feature of the proposed system is that the detection is performed in real time, without the need for additional sample processing or chemicals. This bacteria detection method would be of benefit in a broad range of applications, ranging from water quality monitoring in wastewater treatment facilities to safety assurance in healthcare and food industry

Real-time non-destructive microwave sensor for nutrient monitoring in wastewater treatment

A real-time non intrusive microwave sensor system able to monitor the nutrients found in wastewater has been designed, simulated and implemented. These liquids are continuously flowing through a PTFE pipe and the properties of these liquids gradually degraded in time. Microwaves have the ability to give real-time changes in any material permittivity by means of changing the velocity of the signal, attenuating or reflecting it. The primarily measurements show promising results for future sensor developments which lead to a novel system that can be used in wastewater treatment plants

Tackling water pollution: real-time monitoring of residual Antimicrobials concentration in aquaculture with microwave spectroscopy

To prevent the improper use of antimicrobials in aquaculture and to assist the food safety law enforcement, this paper reports on a bespoke electromagnetic (EM) wave sensing method for real-time in situ monitoring of residual antimicrobials concentrations in water samples. The antimicrobials solutions were tested in bespoke microwave cavity. Transmitted and reflected power signals were analysed in GHz frequency range and these were dependent on both: the type of antimicrobials present in water and on their concentration

Determination of Activated Carbon Residual Life using a Microwave Cavity Resonator

This paper presents the continuation of work conducted jointly between Dstl and LJMU. This unique body of work has been, largely, concerned with detecting the residual life of high performance filter materials using electromagnetic (EM) waves within a resonant cavity. Past work has considered both HEPA [1] and ASZM-TEDA[2] activated carbon filter materials. This paper continues the later work, considering the response of ASZM-TEDA activated carbon through the co-ageing of two distinct batches of the material. The paper briefly introduces activated carbon, discusses theory relevant to the work and the methodology used for investigation. A comprehensive set of results is included which seek to validate this technique for determining the residual lifespan of activated carbon

The feasibility of using electromagnetic waves in determining the moisture content of building fabrics and the cause of the water ingress

In this paper, the feasibility of using electromagnetic (EM) waves is determining the moisture content of building fabrics and the case of water ingress in experimentally assessed. This paper will concentrate on investigating the propagation of EM waves through typical structures and their interaction with concealed pipework, wiring and timber. All current methods are overviewed and analysed. Novel microwave sensor described in this paper operates in 6 GHz to 12 GHz frequency range using Marconi 6200A microwave test set. Results of experimental test confirm that microwaves can be used as an alternative nondestructive method for identifying different object behind the walls

Using a Microwave Sensor as an Online Indicator of Neurological Impairment during Surgical Procedures

Lactate is known to be an indicator of neurological impairment during aortic aneurysm surgery. It is suggested that analysis of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) removed during such surgery could provide useful information in this regard. Medical professionals find the prospect of online detection of such analytes exciting, as current practice is time consuming and leads to multiple invasive procedures. Advancing from the current laboratory based analysis techniques to online methods could provide the basis for improved treatment regimes, better quality of care, and enhanced resource efficiency within hospitals. Accordingly, this article considers the use of a low power microwave sensor to detect varying lactate concentrations. Microwave sensors provide a rapid non-invasive method of material analysis, which is robust, cost-effective, and has huge potential for a wide range of biomedical applications

Experimental study on the optimisation of chemical treatment to reduce waste rubber aggregates absorption properties

Utilisation of abundant waste rubber generated from scrap tyres in pavement engineering applications could be a useful route to consume large extent of the waste from the scrap tyres. It may contribute towards maintaining a greener environment by reducing the associated environmental and social impacts as well as improve the properties of bituminous mixture used for pavement engineering applications. This paper focuses on the upgrading of waste rubber aggregates surface properties by identifying and applying optimised chemical treatment (oxidation and cross-linking). The focus was to increase the life span of bituminous mixtures containing waste rubber as an aggregate by reducing a phenomenon of migration of light fractions (maltenes) from bitumen to rubber which occur at elevated temperatures ranging between 160-180ºC. The results of various tests conducted showed the potential of the treatment to reduce the absorption of maltenes into rubber. The existence of the surface treatment was verified through the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis of the rubber aggregate. The reduction in the absorption properties of rubber due to the existence of the treatment was verified using the Microwave Spectroscopy technique. The results of both the tests were promising in terms of indicating the durability of the treatment and the reduction in the absorption properties of rubber. Mechanical tests such as Indirect Tensile Stiffness Modulus (ITSM) and Repeated Load Axial (RLA) tests were conducted on the newly devised bituminous mix design with 10% of added rubber (by mass of the sample). The results were promising in the case of the aged samples with both the stiffness and load bearing capacity being higher for the aged samples. However, the results need improvement in terms of its applications on the light traffic areas through the replacement of the ordinary filler with the mineral filler. Also, a higher percentage of waste rubber should be added to study the suitability of its use in the flexible surface applications such as children’s playgrounds, sports pitches and surfaces, etc