3rd International Conference on Innovative Technologies for Clean and Sustainable Development

Strength and quality of load bearing masonry is dictated by the properties of masonry unit, mortar and interaction between them. Currently the construction industry is dominated by cement and cement-based products, but parallelly there have been extensive studies in trying to reduce quantity of cement and promote use of alternative cementitious materials. In this regard a masonry unit and mortar combination has been developed which is lime pozzolana cement (LPC) and geopolymer (GP) based, satisfying the strength and serviceability criteria required for the masonry construction. After the experimental investigations, the computation of embodied energy and cost has been carried out which indicate that the designed LPC-GP masonry to be a promising alternative to the conventional cement-based products. The associated advantages of these bricks have also been highlighted through a case study.

Protecting the existing brick masonry structures efficiently is a part of sustainable development in the built environment. The effective choice of compatible products in such restoration process as described in this paper reduces the chances of future frequent interventions due to earlier improper repair. In this study, two types of most commonly adopted water-repellant coatings were evaluated for their essential properties like hydrophobicity, breathability, penetration depth and salt weathering resistance in bricks of different inherent properties. Two types of bricks with different pore structure were treated with an acrylic and a silicone-based water-repellents. The breathability and water-absorption of the coatings were measured. Silicone-based treatment was found better with the fundamental requirements—being more water-impervious. However, on studying the performance in accelerated salt crystallization tests, it was found that silicone-based coatings had an adverse effect in the performance of the system, whereas acrylic coatings could improve the salt-resistance. The paper outlines a methodology to be adopted on choosing a protective treatment for a brick structure from the experimental results for obtaining the maximum performance. The methodology follows standard tests for measuring water-repellency, succeeded by the evaluation of breathability and salt weathering resistance of the coating.

The need for infrastructural growth in developing countries has increased exponentially consequent to the rapid rise in population. This in turn, has increased the demand for prominent building materials like cement, which is mainly used in concrete construction. With the global cement production crossing 4.1 billion metric tons which releases about 7% of total carbon dioxide to atmosphere, it has become indispensable to promote such a construction material that is sustainable and also, at the same time cost effective. Timber provides a viable alternative in this regard, due to its eco-friendly, energy efficient and light weight qualities, thereby, making it ideal as a building material. Timber framed structures have been used in seismically susceptible regions since times, with connections being the most vulnerable elements that govern the integrity and safety of such systems under diverse loading actions. Although, the behavior of timber framed structures has been studied by many researchers by testing full-scale-connections with the aim to establish consistent design provisions on the same, however, much emphasis in this approach has focused only on a particular connection configuration, with no attempt being made for optimizing the joints through innovative detailing. To address this concern, a comparative study to evaluate the performance of various full-scale timber frame Nailed connections (Bridled Tenon, Cross Halved, Dovetail Halved and Mortise Tenon) supplemented by adhesive with respect to Nailed-Only counterparts, under tensile loading, has been investigated in this paper. The test results have been used to calculate stiffness, load capacity and ductility in both the connection forms (with and without adhesion) which in turn have been compared to other joint profiles along with the observed failure modes. The experimental outcomes showed incorporation of adhesive to be an effective and economical technique in significantly enhancing the performance of different connections considered in this study. Thus, this research is novel as it attempts not only to explore and improve the behavior of various timber framed joints in a logically sequential manner, but also, provides a sustainable alternative to the contemporary building materials, thereby, making it eco-friendly in its approach.

Increased vehicular traffic has tremendously increased the stresses on roads especially sub-grade. In order to make the roads more sustainable to the higher stresses, the stabilization of sub-grade is required. Therefore, the present study aims to enhance the subgrade soil strength by stabilization using cement and molasses (in combination with the lime). The results of the study propose using either 9% cement or 9% molasses (with 4.5% lime) for stabilizing the poorly graded sand. With the addition of cement, the liquid limit has decreased from 24 to 20%, however, with molasses it decreases to 19%. The maximum dry density of the soil has increased from 1.86 to 1.98 g/cm3 with the cement and increased to 2 g/cm3 by the addition of molasses. Moreover, the addition of cement increases the un-soaked CBR value from 1.75 to 3.5% whereas molasses increases the value to 2.83%. Likewise, soaked CBR value has augmented from 1.17 to 2.92% with cement and 2.54% with molasses. Therefore, the authors suggest using molasses for stabilization in case of low volume roads whereas for heavy traffic, cement should be preferred as it yield better results in enhancing the bearing strength of sub-grade as compared to molasses.

There is a need to minimize the use of conventional natural materials in concrete and the use of alternative marginal materials could be the answer for sustainable development. In this study, Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) was developed using slag as cement, filler, fine aggregate and coarse aggregate. A new mix proportioning method was adopted starting with a volume of paste (Vp) based on absolute volume concept. Vp chosen was 0.37, 0.39 and 0.41 with maximum size of the aggregate restricted to 20 mm. Cement and water contents of 300, 375 and 450 kg/m3 and 180 and 190 l/m3 respectively were chosen. For each of the mix, slag is used as cement, filler, fine and coarse aggregates and aggregates are replaced in different proportions to the natural aggregate by volume. Compressive strength tests were conducted on cubes at 28 days. The results show for a given w/c ratio, Vp and water content, an optimal replacement level of 50% slag as fine and coarse aggregate gives higher results than at higher percentage and opens a new beginning of using slag as fine as well as coarse aggregate. Interestingly SCC mixes with slag showed higher compressive strength than normal concrete.

The excess discharge of the untreated wastewater into the natural water bodies stresses the biotic components in it. Discharge of nutrient-rich wastewater into water bodies leads to eutrophication. Simultaneous Nitrification and Denitrification (SND) is a process in which nitrification and denitrification occur simultaneously under microaerobic conditions in a single reactor. Depending upon the microbial community and floc size, the mechanism behind the SND process can change. The creation of stable aerobic and anoxic conditions within the floc is the most tedious process in SND. Slight variation in the dissolved Oxygen (DO) concentration can affect the SND process. Compared to conventional nitrification and denitrification processes, SND is cost-effective due to the decrease in structural footprint, low oxygen requirement, and low energy requirement. This review focuses on the applicability of SND as a clean technology for nutrient removal by investigating the mechanism in detail, factors that affect the process efficiency such as microbial population, DO concentration, Carbon/Nitrogen (C/N) ratio, reactor configurations and thermophysical parameters.

In the current scenarios, the employment of various varieties of by-products in pozzolanic material has become a typical practice in concrete mixes. In this epoch of industry, innovation in technology for the utilization of fabric with higher potency and specifically reusing identical material with equal effectiveness and productivity is in high demand to avoid wasting natural resources. In this study, the feasibility of adding various industrial waste materials at discrete levels in construction material has been suggested. For Example, waste rubber tire, electric arc furnace dust, induction furnace dust used foundry sand, welding slag and others are the by-products of the industry which have been characterized as perilous because of containing some heavy metals such as zinc, cobalt, lead, copper and some other extraneous material. A significant assessment has been carried out to explore the physical characteristics and business potential of scrap tires, which can be used as an alternative to natural aggregates in concrete. Similarly, replacing rubber for natural aggregates can provide plain rubberized concrete (PRC) and it can be used for non-structural applications. Welding slag can also be a substitute of fine aggregates in plain cement concrete which shows an impactable effect by increasing the strength of concrete. This paper summarizes and provides extensive conclusions from the outcomes of the previous studies in terms of the contemporary and mechanical properties of concrete. It has been concluded that the outcome is favorable for solving socio-environmental problems with the effective use of these waste in concrete mixes in different forms.

Asphalt is one of the most frequent and effective recyclable construction materials. The recycling of reclaimed asphalt (RAP) makes both environmental and economical, sense. In this study, asphalt mixes with four different recycling agents (rejuvenators) in different content were produced and tested in the laboratory of the TPA in Cologne. A great number of tests on asphalt mixes and extracted binders were carried out to produce a green asphalt mix with similar or better performance than asphalt mixes prepared with virgin material. The viscosity of the resulting bitumen was effectively decreased with the increase in recycling agent content. Due to that, the mixing and compaction temperature of asphalt mix with RAP could be decreased from 170 to 140 °C. By means of optimierung the contents of recycling agents, asphalt mixes with RAP content can be produced in any quality comparable to the asphalt mixes prepared with virgin bitumen and aggregates. Finally, asphalt base course mixes as warm mix asphalt with a RAP content of 40% in combination with four-selected rejuvenator were produced at asphalt mix plant and constructed in test fields. The determined test results of asphalt mixes produced at asphalt mix plant confirm the test results determined on samples produced in the laboratory. In addition, the determined test results show also that the mechanical and performance properties of resulting bitumen of asphalt mix with RAP content cannot be described by means of a single test method and several test methods are necessary. But, the respective characteristics on low, medium and high temperatures can be determined by means of adequate test methods according to well known European Standards EN 12697.

Among various types of building insulation materials developed to solve the problem of energy crisis, foam concrete is particularly interesting for its special attributes such as excellent low density, high flowability and excellent thermal insulation. The focus of this paper is to classify the literature on thermal behaviour of foamed concrete which includes the major factors affecting thermal properties and available methods of measuring it along with its pros and cons. Based on the review conducted it is observed that among the various factors studied, the microstructural parameters such as porosity, pore size and pore shape influences the thermal conductivity of foamed concrete to a great extent. Further, the literature evidence indicates that the constituent materials affects the microstructure of foamed concrete, which eventually affects its thermal behaviour. Also, studies indicate that use of foamed concrete for different structural and non-structural building applications is a viable method for reducing the heat transfer owning to its lower thermal conductivity value.

Inclusion of calcite precipitating bacteria during mixing is one of the promising techniques of improving the concrete durability. Concrete cracks can occur due to shrinkage, creep or due to different loading conditions. Bacteria in presence of moisture, precipitates calcite in the microcracks and repair the concrete. Bacillus megaterium was isolated from the soil and introduced in concrete at 105 cells/ml concentration. This paper reports the effect of the inclusion of Bacillus megaterium on the strength, porosity and concrete crack healing under two different curing techniques (standard water curing and air curing). Six different concrete mixtures were made, two control, two with standard bacteria and two with bacteria isolated from the soil for standard water curing and air curing techniques. Bacillus megaterium in concrete resulted in increased strength and decreased porosity of concrete. These results were obtained due to the deposition of bacteria on pores.

Building air conditioning being the second largest factor of energy demand, efforts to reduce this even by a small fraction plays an important role in reduction in total global energy demand. Present day concern is to explore for air-conditioning techniques with higher energy efficiency or reduced carbon emissions. As proposed in this paper, another possible solution is to adopt building design strategies with lower need for air-conditioning requirements without compromising on the comfort of its occupants. In this paper, efforts have been made to appreciate and re-interpret the passive housing architectural strategies for temperature control, that were adopted by the vernacular houses of any region. The architectural strategies for thermo-regulation adopted by these vernacular houses were developed along with passage of time, considering the local climate, the available material and of course, the socio-cultural structure of the community. The study was carried out by comparing the architectural strategies adopted by two different vernacular housing forms of south-eastern Turkey namely (i) Domed houses of Harran and (ii) Mardin houses. The aim of this paper is to highlight the fact that though adopting the passive house design techniques of the vernacular house form and including them in modern architecture is a good approach to meet the energy and environment crisis, but the factors like the topography and climate specific to the site should be given due consideration and importance for better results.

Transportation system is the fastest growing consumer of fossil fuels and the fastest growing source of fuel emissions. The negative impacts of road transport-related emissions on urban sustainability are huge. Hence there is an immediate need to reduce vehicular emissions by implementing mitigation measures. This study is intended to formulate vehicular consumption and emissions-related mitigation measures by conducting an extensive study on the comparison of both public and private transportation systems. System Dynamic (SD) models are built to forecast the vehicle population, fuel consumption, and fuel emission levels by the vehicles in the urban environment for current and future scenarios. In addition to the current scenario model (do-minimum scenario model), two other scenario models (partial-efforts scenario model and desirable scenario model) are built using the SD method to forecast the future levels of vehicle population, fuel consumption, and fuel emissions. These SD models are built by augmenting the growth rate of the public transportation system (public buses) and simultaneously restricting the growth rate of the private transportation system (two-wheelers and cars). When compared to the do-minimum scenario model, the partial-efforts scenario model and desirable scenario model results indicated a significant reduction in fuel consumption and fuel emission levels. Finally, policies are formulated for mitigating the vehicular consumptions and emissions in line with the context of achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Steel making process exhibits greater environmental impact, including emission of greenhouse gases, wastewater contaminants and solid wastes. Further, steel corrodes rapidly in aggressive environment. Corrosion has a major impact on the life of the structure and thus affects the overall economy in the reinforced concrete project. Glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars provide a satisfactory solution to some of the environmental problems associated with conventional steel. As compared to steel, GFRP rebar has higher strength and good corrosion resistance but exhibits brittle behavior; therefore direct replacement of steel is not always possible with GFRP rebars. The present study examines the flexural behaviour of steel and GFRP reinforced concrete (RC) beams wherein four different reinforcement configurations are considered. Norms in compliance with ACI440.1R-06 have been used in design of specimens carrying GFRP rebars as internal reinforcement. Steel RC beams of M30 and M35 grades are used as control specimens. A total of 32 beams were tested in flexure; the load-deflection response, ductility, energy absorption, cracking patterns and the failure modes were recorded. A comprehensive analytical analysis was conducted to predict the ultimate loads of test beams. The test results evinced that the performance of the proposed configurations was successful in maintaining the flexure strength. ACI440.1R-06 based formulas can fairly be used to predict ultimate deflection values of GFRP RC beams. GFRP RC beams showed much wider cracks before failure but lower ductility than steel RC beams.

Concrete due to its brittle nature easily cracks. Such cracks in concrete structures become the pathway for the penetration of aggressive agents which in turn affect the durability, functionality, and strength of the structure. To ensure the desired functioning of the structure suffering from concrete cracks, regular maintenance and special types of treatments are necessary which may be sometimes expensive and time-consuming. The application of smart materials, especially self-healing concrete has received significant attention due to its ability to heal cracks automatically, which is a relatively quick and economical alternative to conventional methods. In the present study, a comprehensive review of encapsulated self-healing concrete is discussed. The study of the literature reveals that the selection of suitable healing material and the capsules shell are major challenges reported by various researchers. In this paper, a detailed review of various healing and shell materials is carried out along with a review of the performance of self-healing efficiency through various experimental techniques. Challenges in the selection of suitable healing and shell materials for the development of encapsulated concrete keep the research area active.

While performing structural design of multi-storeyed RC framed buildings with masonry infills, it is a common practice to exclude the increase in stiffness of the structure caused by the presence of masonry infills. This practice can lead to incorrect estimation of various seismic responses and hence, the seismic design results obtained for the structure shall be unreliable. In the present study, the effect of variation of structural size and stiffness on base shear and fundamental period has been investigated. Response spectrum analysis has been performed on all the frames under investigation and analysis has been carried out on ETABS 2015 software. Masonry infills are modelled as equivalent diagonal compressive struts to simulate the compressive behaviour of masonry walls under lateral seismic forces. Results have been compared for base shear and fundamental period in lateral direction of earthquake vibration. Building models were prepared with variation in infill panel stiffness and infill opening percentages were varied as 20, 40 and 60%. The incorporation of the stiffness of the infills shows an increase in the base shear but decreases the fundamental period of the building. However, an increase in infill openings decreases the base shear but increases the fundamental period of the building.

Fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) sheets are frequently used due to their ability to provide intentive and rational solutions to resolve the developing ageing issue in RC structural elements. FRP composites create a great interest in their application in newly built as well as already existing civil infrastructure for repair/rehabilitation and strengthening purposes due to their superiority over the traditional steel reinforcement. FRP materials were introduced into the construction industry for more than 50 years ago. This paper presents the review of the performance and recent advances of FRP in structural applications. The prime focus of this study is to present types of FRP composite with their properties, features, and applications. The configuration and strengthening technique of FRP has a great impact on the overall strength of the RC element. A beam-column joint is a critical region that undergoes heavy shear stresses when subjected to seismic loads; therefore, these joints should be designed as such, they maintain stability and overall integrity of the structure. The review from the past studies revealed that the lamination of FRP enhanced the durability parameters, the life span of the structure and contributed to making sustainable infrastructure. The usage of FRP provides a better solution to overcome these stresses, but the premature brittle failure due to debonding is a major shortcoming of FRP.

This paper presents the results of the investigation carried out through numerical simulation on the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) laminates for the strengthening of structural elements. For a structure to be sustainable, strengthening or upgrading a structure may be required because of several reasons including material deterioration and structural distress. Keeping in view the environmental and economic factors, re-construction of the structure seeking attention is not always possible or recommendable. This is because the demolition followed by re-construction will lead to the utilization of the resources besides contributing to construction and demolition waste. The use of FRP laminates for the strengthening of structures is emerging as an alternative to corrosive and bulky conventional strengthening techniques like steel plates. As the sustainability of a structure is of key importance, it is therefore very important to determine the behaviour of such emerging strengthening techniques under loading before their actual application. In the present study, the investigation has been carried out on determining the effectiveness of different types of FRP laminates by simulating the finite element models. It has been found that the use of FRP laminates enhances the performance of the strengthened structural elements by augmenting the load-carrying capacity.

This paper describes the experimental investigation carried out on a reinforced concrete (RC) beam-column joint subjected to opening moments, using monotonic loading. A half scale beam-column model was designed as per the non-ductile Indian Standard for reinforced concrete members. All the relevant material tests were performed and reported accordingly, mainly for facilitating the numerical study. The behaviour of the joint was primarily studied in terms of the load–displacement response, energy dissipated, ductility ratio and crack pattern. The test strength was also compared with the strength predicted by the Indian Standard, and a good agreement between the two was observed. Lastly, a numerical model was developed for simulating the behaviour of RC beam-column joint using ANSYS. There was a good match between the test result and the numerical one.

Designing and constructing a Sustainable building is an emerging area of interest with AECOO (Architectural, Engineering, and Construction, Owner and Operator) trades, which is evidenced by the increased use of the green building rating systems throughout the world. Building information modeling (BIM) is one of the effective ways of deciding the suitable building orientation and envelope that controls project cost, time and energy. In this study, multifamily residential building is taken as a case study, which is located in Afghanistan. Energy consumption analysis was conducted by using building energy performance tools. The building is modeled in Autodesk-Revit and different orientations, building envelopes and Wall to window ratio analysis were carried out to find the minimal energy consumption scenario. A total of 126 simulations were conducted. Ultimately, the most energy-efficient option in the context of Afghan dwellings was figured out. Locally available building materials were used in the study. The best energy efficient orientation of the building is evaluated by rotating the building in 15° rotation each time. Furthermore, varying the glazing area from 10 to 60% for energy-efficient WWR ratio. 10% glazing consumes minimal energy consumption for the C48 (combination 48) with wall type (W3)—Adobe brick wall, roof type (R4)—Mud Roof with timber as core structure and Floor type (F4)—Mud floor with timber as structure, was the best option which consumes the least amount of energy leading to reduction in annual electricity demand.

Globally, vehicular emissions have been attributed as the primary source of air pollution in urban areas. Hence, there is a growing need to accurately estimate the contribution of these vehicular emissions to the overall level of air pollution in order to design and implement pollution-reduction measures effectively. Vehicular emissions are largely influenced by vehicle operating characteristics such as climate, engine temperature, duration of trip, driving speed, acceleration and deceleration, and number of stops. Among all the characteristics, instantaneous speed of the vehicle is the major factor that affects the accuracy of vehicular emissions estimation. For the purposes of accurately predicting the impact of sudden acceleration and deceleration, an integrated modelling approach is proposed to estimate the traffic-related emissions on a micro-scale level. The microscopic traffic simulation model called VISSIM, captures the spatial and temporal variation of vehicles to eventually generate the speed profile for each vehicle. This speed profile will be used as an input for emission estimation model, EnViVer. In the present study, this integrated approach is used to measure the emissions for three different pollutants i.e. Carbon-di-oxide (CO2), Nitrogen oxides (NOX) and Particulate matters (PM10) at selected road segments in Delhi City, India.

Composite slabs with corrugated steel decking are efficient structural systems that have numerous desired key features like simple faster and lighter as well as cost effective structural constructions, particularly in the framed steel buildings. All these advantages attribute to the composite action developed between the steel and concrete component of the composite system, which is mainly governed by the shear transfer between the two. This paper presents the test results on an experimental study performed on a full scale one way cold-formed steel (CFS) concrete slab. The composite slab was subjected to monotonic flexural loading with simply supported end conditions. The primary aim of this investigation was to access the role of shear connector in developing the composite action between the CFS corrugated sheet and the concrete component of the composite slab. M25 grade of concrete was used in the preparation of the CFS concrete composite slab. The structural behaviour assessment was mainly carried out the ultimate load resisted by the composite slab, apart from the mid-span deflection. The mode of failure and the crack pattern was also studied.

One of the major problems which are becoming very significant and is booming worldwide in the construction industry is the problem of cost overrun. With the increase in demand to meet the need for infrastructure, the problem of cost overrun is also spreading at an alarming rate. The construction companies of India engaged in highway construction are also no longer exempted from this serious issue. The major objective of this research paper is to recognize the major causes of cost overrun in highway projects in the regions of Northern India. A broader review of literature from different sources and interactions with the experts working in highway projects was done to list down the feasible causes of cost overrun. In the next stage, a questionnaire was formulated which consisted of 35 feasible causes of cost overrun. Respondents having vast experience in the field of highway projects, participated in the survey to recognize the critical factors responsible for cost overrun. The analysis of the data was done using IBM SPSS 23 Package. The top five most critical factors causing cost overrun have been identified and discussed in this paper along with some recommendations which are useful to control cost overrun in the highway projects. The top five critical factors identified in this study are escalation in price of raw material, changes in design, conflict/lack of co-ordination between construction parties, poor financial control and constructability issues (construction under limited area, construction under traffic, right of way).

Plastic waste management is posing a pressing challenge worldwide. Plastics take thousands of years to degrade naturally, and their disposal in landfills raises grave environmental concerns. Pyrolysis is gaining significant interest as a reliable method for management and energy valorization for plastic wastes. In addition to pyrolytic oil having good calorific value, waste plastic pyrolysis also yields solid char, as a by-product, which doesn’t find wide applications and is generally discarded. This study aims to evaluate the waste plastic pyrolytic char as an asphalt binder additive/modifier through different rheological and mechanical investigations. The modification of asphalt binder has been attempted at five char contents (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20% by binder weight). The rheological tests included flow behavior, frequency, and temperature sweeps, multiple stress creep recovery (MSCR). Zero shear viscosity was derived using the Cross model. Burger’s model was used to describe the MSCR response. Modified binders showed improved stiffness than the control binder indicating an improvement in their resistance against permanent deformation. The plastic char used in the study showed encouraging results and shows the potential to be used as an additive/modifier for asphalt binders.

An increase in the need for sustainable construction is leading towards the use of alternative construction materials. Inappropriate disposal of industrial rejects has increased the scope for alternate construction materials. Moreover, cementitious materials, which adversely affect the environment, are replaced by alkali activated materials. In the present study, bio-briquette ash (BBA), an agro-industrial reject, was used to determine its potential as an alternative construction material. BBA was subjected to physical, chemical and mineralogical characterization. This identified raw material was mixed with fly ash (FA) in three proportions of 1:1, 1:2 and 1:3. The alkali activator solution was made of liquid Na2SiO3 and NaOH (6, 8 and 10 M) with a varying ratio of 1, 1.5 and 2. The alkali activator solution to total dry material ratio was kept constant at 0.3. Developed blocks were tested for physico-mechanical, durability and thermal conductivity properties. The density, compressive strength and water absorption of the blocks were found to be in the range of 1600–1850 kg/m3, 16–31 MPa and 1.5–3.9% respectively. The criteria for durability and load bearing masonry structures were satisfied. The study concludes that identified bio-briquette ash, an industrial reject, has significant potential in developing sustainable masonry construction.

Self-Compacting Concrete (SCC) is a special type of concrete recognized for placing in congested reinforced structures without any application of external vibration. Self compactibility can be determined by the properties of material constituents and the design of mix proportions. The absence of an approved code in India on mix design proportions and characteristics of material constituents to achieve compactibility in SCC has necessitated to determine a method for mix design of SCC. Though some researchers have carried out investigations to determine a proper mix design for producing SCC. In this investigation, the optimization of mix proportion design has been determined by adopting the proposed rational mix design method or Japanese method with necessary modifications in consonance with the guidelines of EFNARC. A suitable mix using the marginal aggregates was selected and numerous trial mixes (sixty-five) were carried out with the varying mix parameters like binder content, water-binder ratio, fine aggregate-coarse aggregate ratio, percentage of superplasticizer and viscosity modifying admixtures. The test results of this study are presented in this paper and a successful attempt has been made to determine the suitable mix design for producing SCC.

Based on the early studies it is evident that fibre reinforced concrete exhibits good results in strength and workability compared to conventional concrete. This research work evaluates the practical corrosion resistance of rebar induced various forms of concrete reinforced with fibre. In this study, three multiple types of concrete reinforced with E-waste copper wire, steel fibre and E-Glass fibre at a constant percentage of 1% were used. To evaluate corrosion characteristics of rebar introduced in fibre reinforced concrete accelerated corrosion test and standard test method as per ASTM G109 were conducted. Test results were compared for all three types of fibre reinforced concrete. Results showed that E-Glass fibre reinforced concrete induced rebar is high corrosion resistivity compared to control concrete, steel fibre reinforced concrete and E-waste copper wire fibre reinforced concrete specimens.

The aim of this study was to employ crushed Demolished Brick Masonry, a variety of Construction and Demolition Waste as a replacement for conventional construction materials (natural soil and aggregates) primarily in the production of three types of masonry units, namely Solid Concrete Blocks, Stabilized Adobe Blocks and Stabilized Mud Concrete Blocks. In addition Controlled Low Strength Material was also studied. Long term strength of these specimens was studied at different ages to determine their performance. Scanning Electron Microscopy in addition to Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction were used to study the microstructure and identify the phases present in it. SEM revealed the presence of Calcium-Silicate-Hydrate Crystals and voids in the microstructure. In Solid Concrete Blocks the distribution of C-S-H was sparse compared to commercial concrete blocks due to the lower cement content employed. Significant differences could not be observed in the morphology of C-S-H among different proportions of SAB studied. The microstructure of Controlled Low Strength Material was quite similar to that of Stabilized Adobe. Stabilized Mud Concrete Blocks had a particularly dense network of C-S-H compared to the other types of units. XRD indicated the presence of Anorthite, which was highest in Stabilized Mud Concrete Blocks and lowest in Stabilized Adobe Blocks.

Recycled waste plastic (PET) use as binder, filler and aggregate in polymer concrete or mortar is one of the best solution for plastic waste disposal problem. In this work, waste plastic (PET) were converted into unsaturated polyester resin through glycolysis process. This resin was used as a binding material in polymer mortar. Three different resin content (10, 15, 18%) was used. The best physical and mechanical properties were showed by MIX C polymer mortar with 18 wt% resin, 32 wt% filler and 50 wt% sand. Results of this study reveal that feasibility of using recycled PET waste as resin or binding material in polymer mortar. Use of waste plastic as binder increases mechanical properties of concrete as well as reduces hazard to environment by utilizing plastic and reducing cement consumption. Polymer mortar prepared from recycled PET flakes can be used for many constructional applications such as for sewer pipes, repairing work etc.

With the population expanding earth’s limited resources have to be spread thin to meet our society’s demand for sustainable development. Concrete consumes earth’s finite resources infinitely but one of the certain and assured ways of promoting its sustainability is by improving its long-term durability. Contemporary research has shown that unconventional nanomaterials have the capability to address this issue. Our paper describes that with small addition of nanomaterials like Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) in optimized quantities the properties of concrete changes considerably. As cement hydration continues for years, it is observed that as the proportion of CNTs increased from the optimized level to its next level b.w.c, the mechanical strength of the cement composites gradually improved from 28 days to 1 year, with the addition of more Carbon Nanotubes. Also the durability properties of nano-enabled CNT added concrete showed vast improvements over the ages, when compared over ordinary control concrete or M-40 grade control concrete.

Current study aims at revaluation and sustainable management of agro and horticultural solid wastes such as Almond (Prunus dulcis) Shells, Discarded Potato (Solanum tuberosum) and Petha (Benincasa hispida) reusing these as adsorbent aimed at low cost removal of chromium at source of wastewater generated from industries. The cost estimation and feasibility of adsorption of chromium from aqueous solutions was analyzed using Langmuir Adsorption Isotherms and varying thermodynamic parameters like enthalpy, Gibb’s free energy and entropy changes at equilibrium state of adsorption respectively. At equilibrium state of Adsorption, the adsorbents, which were Almond (Prunus dulcis) Shells, Discarded Potato (Solanum tuberosum) and Petha (Benincasa hispida) showed positive change of enthalpy ΔH as 0.247, 0.288 and 0.2593 kJ/mole respectively proved endothermic nature of adsorption with strong association, the positive change of Gibb’s free energy ΔG; 0.267, 0.267 and 0.3295 kJ/mole claimed the random feasibility. Binding of chromium adsorbate on to the surface of adsorbent resulted reduction in the degree of freedom with negative entropy ΔS as −0.0221, −0.0167 kJ/mole for Almond Shells and Petha where as positive change of entropy was observed for Discarded Potato 0.0013 kJ/mole, which showed a little lesser association.

Concrete is a widely used construction material all over the world. Increasing the cement content in concrete leads to increase in the CO2 emission which ultimately contributes to global warming. In order to increase the strength and durability of concrete without increasing the cement content becomes important. The solution to this problem lies in the packing density. According to the previous researches, for reduction in voids, ultra-fine pozzolanic materials should be added to form a dense cement paste to achieve a higher packing density. Addition of mineral admixtures can minimize the porosity of concrete and improve the microstructure, which leads to improve the mechanical properties of concrete. This paper presents an experimental approach for packing density measurement of ternary, quaternary and quinary mix. Mixtures are made with the inclusion of rice husk ash, fly ash, metakaolin, and ultra-fine slag as a replacement of Ordinary Portland Cement. Packing density of the ternary, quaternary and quinary cementitious blends were studied using the Punkte test method, wet packing test method and Relative Density Index (β) method respectively. Results indicated maximum packing density obtained by the replacement of cement by mineral admixtures varied between 25 and 30% in ternary, quaternary and quinary mixtures.

Increasing construction activity has increased the demand for construction materials, and concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials. Concrete is popular for its property of mold-ability and fluidity at early stages. The fluidity of concrete can be characterized by the study of its flow behavior in fresh state. The rheological behavior of recycled aggregate concrete is affected by superplasticizer and mineral admixtures. Hence, this study is carried out with the inclusion of mineral and chemical admixtures. Plastic viscosity of concrete is predicted using models which are essential for concrete production. An attempt is done to study the compressive strength of concrete by replacing the natural coarse aggregates by recycled coarse aggregates. After understanding the compressive strength of various replacement ratios, an optimum replacement ratio is identified using Taghuchi method. Using the Taghuchi method—which is based on principles of design of experiments—the optimum replacement ratio was found to be 45% [2]. The rheological properties were studied using direct shear box test to obtain the corresponding yield stress and plastic viscosity of concrete made from natural coarse aggregates and concrete made from recycled coarse aggregates.

Infrastructure projects play a vital role in the social and economic developments in both developed and developing countries. In the last few years, many studies have examined the application of project management theories and practices in the context of sustainable infrastructure projects. Consequently, considerable research has been performed to devise new strategies and refine existing project management practices to enhance sustainability in different aspects of project delivery. Previous studies reveal various social, economic, and environmental issues encountered over the life cycle of infrastructure projects. This paper undertakes a 10-year (2010–2019) scientometric analysis of 51 relevant journal articles found in the Scopus database to identify the research trends in the management of sustainable infrastructure projects. It provides insights into the key research themes gaining the interest of the researchers globally. For instance, the review identified four major research clusters viz. sustainability metrics, processes and factors, community impact, and sustainability triangle. An enquiry into the countries and authors with the maximum number of publications and the collaborative network of the authors reveals a lack of research on project management in sustainable infrastructure projects in the context of developing countries. The findings are expected to inform future studies in this research area.

Construction activities are increasing day by day in different regions, and it requires many natural resources. Alternative materials have been searched for, which can fully or partially replace naturally available material in construction. Stone dust (SD) is one such alternative material which can be successfully used in construction and used as partial replacement of natural sand. The influence of the SD on fresh and hardened properties of concrete are examined and presented in this paper. In this study, sand is replaced by stone dust in different percentages ranging from 0 to 60%. The influence of replacement of sand by SD was analyzed through evaluation of fresh property such as workability (WKA), and mechanical properties, including compressive strength (CS) and splitting tensile strength (TS). Durability properties mainly water absorption (WA), acid resistance (AR) and sulphate resistance (SR) are also determined. The specimen cubes were subjected to 7 Days, 28 Days, and 90 Days and 180 Days moist curing as well as sulphate solution (10,000 ppm) curing. The results show that the optimum replacement level of SD is 40% based on the compressive strength and per cent loss of compressive strength. Sulphate attack is observed minimum at this replacement level. Therefore SD can be effectively utilized in concrete as a valuable alternative for sand and may prove beneficial in construction.

The development is essential part of human society which offers the opportunities in the sectors like information technology, supply chain, food-farming, infrastructure and more others. Since, last several decades universally the living standard of the human society is upgrading. Currently available and upcoming smart technologies will reduce the efforts involved in day to day activities. The development of society is endless process with respect to the time. Due to depletion in water availability will affect the rate of development and burden on water sources. This burden can be optimizing through reuse of treated wastewater by low cost Decentralized Wastewater Treatment System (DWATS). In this paper the said system is developed by using locally available materials and discussed its performance. As per guidelines of USEPA 2012 for water reuse the pH ranges with 6.5–8.4, TDS ranges from 450 to 2000 mg/L and Electrical Conductivity (EC) 0.7–3.0 µs/cm. The experimental result has pH at inlet 7.78 and 6.4 at outlet whereas The Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) is 116 mg/L at inlet to 86 mg/L at outlet of system. The Electrical conductivity (EC) observed 213 µohm/cm at inlet to 163 µohm/cm at outlet with 23.47–27.85% change in conduction and 57.69–86.41% in BOD where as 66.67–69.96% change in COD when tested at inlet and outlet.

The concept of commercial green building is to minimize the wastages at all construction stages, including operation and maintenance. It requires to evaluate the building for a minimal additional cost of construction in comparison to the base case of typical building and reduction in lifetime use maintenance cost of a building. Thus, it is to ensure return on investment, not beyond the maximum of five years based on the lifecycle of a commercial building. The green building has a perspective in terms of planning and design to negate the overall impact due to construction on the universal environment and its corresponding effects on human health and wellbeing. Skillful use of water, energy, and other resources for sustainability and thereby reduce the impact on the environment, protect the health of occupants and thereby increase their productivity. The green features supplemented and considered are a minimal disturbance to landscape, site conditions available, also the effective use of recycled and recyclable environment-friendly building materials. Avoiding the use of toxic materials, like lead in interior paints, finishes and freon gas in air conditioning system, skillful use of portable water, and novel methods of recycling the used water. Effective and efficient use of energy by the use of low consumption energy efficient fittings and equipment. The use of renewable energy for augmentation of energy requirements. Efficient planning and design of quality of indoor air quality for the comfort of occupants. Increasing the overall efficiency of the building by the use of automation and building information management systems. This case study includes the overall practical evaluation of a proposed office building for the requirements as per intent. A programmed spreadsheet is prepared to comply with the intents as per the requirement of the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) [1].

Now-a-days with the advent in technological advancements, bituminous compositions modified with polymer are being used for numerous applications such as joint filers, adhesives, protective layers, impregnating agents and roofing material The bitumen exhibits a number of mechanical properties but the conventional bitumen doesn’t congregate many requirements because of its drawback of high susceptibility to temperature. Hence from a product design point of view; the most preferred form is modified bitumen. With this aim, a composition in the form of waterproofing product has been developed by modifying bitumen with polyurethane. Polyurethane because of its attractive morphology and wide range of advantageous mechanical properties is a highly promising material having the ability to alter its microstructure to suite niche applications. The developed matrix incorporates the basic useful properties of bitumen along with excellent properties of polyurethane. This modification will maximize the efficiency of product developed in different scenarios making it a resourceful product in terms of waterproofing, insulation properties and enhanced durability. This paper highlights the experimental investigations of physico–mechanical properties of the matrix developed in the form of membrane of varying thickness made from different ratios using different grades of polyurethane and bitumen. Different ratios, grades and thickness of material have been used in trail mixes to attain optimized matrix for the product. The properties such as tensile, elongation, tear, shore hardness, puncture resistance, etc. of membrane developed of various matrixes are examined with relevant ASTM codes. The research work presented here provides an experimental implication for design; development and application of membrane developed for use in engineering purpose.

Dimensional stones are mainly used for flooring and cladding or sometimes as ornamental elements in buildings or monuments. The dimensioning process of stones accumulate very high amount of solid and slurry waste which poses serious environmental issues. Moreover, the progressive growth of construction industry consumes natural resources at large scale. Thus, the utilization of stone waste as pozzolanic and non-pozzolanic constituents in construction activities can minimize the explosive use of natural resources and promotes environmental sustainability. This paper demonstrates the review of recent research studies reported on the possible use of stone waste (SW) in cementitious products as subrogation of cement and fine aggregates. The effect of SW utilization on fresh, mechanical and durability performance such as penetration, shrinkage, porosity, carbonation and chemical immersion have been reviewed in this summary. The review of previous studies signifies that the utilization of discarded stone waste enhanced the mechanical and durability performance of the cementitious matrix due to the filling effect.