This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of concrete using sawdust to partially replace the river sand which could reduce both environmental problems and construction cost. In this study, sawdust concrete has been produced where the river sand is replaced with sawdust by 5%, 10% and 15% of the total sand volume. Both wet concrete and hardened concrete (cubes specimens) were tested through material testing and cube testing to obtain the most optimum sawdust concrete design. In addition, specimens have also been tested in environmental laboratory to identify the extent of hazardous use of sawdust to consumer health. This is because the dust used is the waste taken from the unknown root of the level of cleanliness. The result shows that the most optimum design for producing sawdust concrete is that with 10% replacement of river sand. The result is based on the compressive strength obtained. The results of environmental study also show that this sawdust concrete is free from any harmful to health contaminants.
In the aftermath of the September 11th attack, design of tall buildings particularly in the aspect of safety systems and structural robustness, arguably the most crucial issues that is deliberated till to date. Concerning the safety systems specifically on evacuation egress, many novels and innovative evacuation solutions for high rise buildings that have been researched and put forward, for instances Platform Rescue Systems (PRS), Controlled Descent Devices (CDD) and Escape Chutes. Still, the practicability of the existing proposed egress systems to be implemented in the real-life situation and its compliance with the tall building design legislation remain unknown. For developing countries such as Malaysia and United Arab Emirates, tall buildings play a role as an iconic landmark. While countries like China and Hong Kong, tall building is needed due to the scarcity of land and high populations. As more than one hundred tall structure exists in the world, and will be increasing by 2020; therefore, it is urgently needed that existing engineering practices in designing tall building to be reviewed with respect to evacuation egress. The main objective of this paper is to create awareness among developers, consultants and contractors that proper evacuation egress in tall building design and development is a must. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the existing engineering practices on tall building evacuation planning systems and design. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the currently proposed systems and its consideration amongst structural and safety engineers are also reported.
To succeed by 2050, Malaysia visions would need to be ecologically sustainable. To align with this strategy, a mock-up unit of an-eco budget bamboo chalet is proposed and designed with the aim to provide an affordable and sustainable chalet using local sustainability features and expand the use of natural resources. A sustainable bamboo chalet requires proper initial treatments and preservation in maintaining its esthetic appearance and strength. Otherwise, it can be less durable and under certain circumstances would incur high maintenance cost to the owner. In this study, the proposed unit of an eco-budget bamboo chalet is designed and analyzed using the Staad Pro V8i software. The projection cost of the bamboo chalet in the next 25 years is studied comparatively in which involves a comparison of using a different material, i.e. concrete with the same built-up area. The bamboo chalet had a built-up land area of approximately 7.5 m x 7 m (53 m2) and is made of 95% bamboo which comprises of two different species, i.e. Bambusa Vulgaris and Dendrocalamus Asper Bamboo. The results showed that construction material of the chalet saves up to 18% more when using bamboo compared to concrete. However, the total projected cost of the chalet for the next 25 years by using bamboo was 14% higher compared to concrete. Therefore, emphasis on the usage of bamboo for long-term strategy is required to maintain and control the gradual trend cost incurred if green building is to be built in Malaysia.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.