FARU - 2021

Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://192.248.9.226/handle/123/16791

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Browsing FARU - 2021 by Author "Halwatura, RU"

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    Mud-concrete slab system for sustainable construction
    (Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Jayasinghe, RR; Nanayakkara, KIU; Arooz, FR; Halwatura, RU
    The urgency of global climate emergency has drawn significant attention to the building industry over the last few years. Today, the building sector is responsible for 38% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to UNEP. 60% -70% of embodied carbon in a conventional column-beam reinforced concrete building is in its floor system. This paper discusses the possibility of constructing an earthen slab system using mud-concrete. It investigates a doubly curved shell structure, working predominantly in compression, to fulfil both environmental and economical demands in the construction industry; reducing the cost and labour expenses nearly 50% compared with that of traditional reinforced concrete slab systems. A 1 m x 1 m prototype mud-concrete slab was constructed to check the potential for modular construction with a square footprint. Poured mud-concrete shell of 50 mm thickness is the primary structural component, while a non-structural mud-concrete filling to a horizontal level 50 mm from apex was used to create a usable floor surface. Masonry mould method was used as the formwork system for the construction considering its cost effectiveness and ease of construction.
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    Thermal performance comparison on flooring materials
    (Faculty of Architecture Research Unit (FARU), 2021-12-03) Galabada, GH; Dharmaratne, PD; Galkanda, H; Halwatura, RU
    New building materials and technologies that provide thermal comfort are expected to gain popularity in the recent past. Hence, efforts to incorporate new building material solutions are needed to protect potential populations from the threats of thermal stress that cause an increase in temperatures due to climate change. The earth is identified as the most effective building material to improve the thermal comfortability inside the building. Among several building construction materials, the flooring material provides a more effective role with respect to thermal comfort in a building. This paper present the evaluation and comparison work carried out to investigate the thermal performance of newly invented soil based flooring material with other common floorings in Sri Lanka. Temperature measurements were taken on the top surface of flooring materials and were compared the surface temperature of each other and indoor air temperature. The results reveal that the soil floor shows a lesser temperature at a significant level than the other floorings. Hence, it can be proved that the building construction materials play an important role and earth is the best sustainable material with respect to the indoor thermal comfortability thus, end-user.