Browsing by Author "Galabada, GH"

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item: Conference-Full-text
Comparison of different types of pedestrian paving materials
(Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa, 2015-10) Galabada, GH; Karunathilaka, KMHC; Halwatura, RU; Hettiarachchi, MTP
The need for selecting correct material for the pedestrian paving is greater than ever before. Due to increasing number of pavements constructed in urban areas the climate conditions of cities are changing into unfriendly levels. With the escalation of prices of the conventional paving materials (asphalt, concrete) and sustainability concepts designers are on the verge of using alternative materials for the road construction which brings sustainable and eco-friendly, more energy efficient living conditions. In this research different types of paving materials are compared through a questionnaire survey, thermal performance test and a cost comparison. The results of the study indicate that the use of clay paving block pavement is more suitable than the conventional pedestrian paving methods. The low cost, the ability of accommodating and maintaining utility services, thermal comfort, aesthetic appearance and environmentally friendly behavior and user satisfaction can be highlighted as the key advantages of clay paving blocks.
item: Conference-Abstract
Comparison of different types of pedestrian paving materials
Galabada, GH; Karunathilaka, KMHC; Halwathura, RU
The need for selecting correct material for the pedestrian paving is greater than ever before. Due to increasing number of pavements constructed in urban areas the climate conditions of cities are changing into unfriendly levels. With the escalation of prices of the conventional paving materials (asphalt, concrete) and sustainability concepts designers are on the verge of using alternative materials for the road construction which brings sustainable and eco-friendly, more energy efficient living conditions. In this research different types of paving materials are compared through a questionnaire survey, thermal performance test and a cost comparison. The results of the study indicate that the use of clay paving block pavement is more suitable than the conventional pedestrian paving methods. The low cost, the ability of accommodating and maintaining utility services, thermal comfort, aesthetic appearance and environmentally friendly behavior and user satisfaction can be highlighted as the key advantages of clay paving blocks.
item: Thesis-Full-text
Mud concrete paving block for pedestrian pavements in tropical climatic conditions
Galabada, GH; Halwatura, RU
The road network of Sri Lanka has been developing rapidly in recent years. Parallel to the expansion of the road network, most of the urban areas are also being upgraded with township development. Some of these developments follow a proper master plan, while there are others which do not pay attention to proper strategies. The attention paid for sustainable, law cost materials has been minimal. Hence, these unplanned developments are causing severe environmental issues such as global warming, heat island effect, lowering the ground water table, losing the natural appearance etc. Therefore, it is essential to invent new sustainable and low cost materials to counter balance the stated issues. This research is focused on developing a paving block using mud concrete as a replacement for existing artificial paving materials used in urban walkways along the road network and within recreation areas. The main aim of this research is to produce a mud concrete paving block that can withstand the required strength according to the SLS standard, and which has a wet compressive strength of 15 N/mm2. The suitability of the developed block is then evaluated for their thermal performance and skid resistance. The current research status is identified through a literature survey. An online questionnaire survey is carried out to identify public perceptions on pedestrian pavements and paving materials used in them. A field survey was carried out among the paving block manufacturers to identify the cement percentage used by them. This was then used to develop the mix-designs for the laboratory experimental work. In the laboratory, blocks are cast in three stages and are tested for four variables, viz: cement content, soil composition, moisture content and vibration time. Temperature measurements are taken of different pavement systems to evaluate their performance. The skid resistance of the block surfaces is measured using the Pendulum Skid Resistance Tester. Results have proven that the mud concrete paving block is a good alternative to pedestrian walkways while reducing thermal impact on the surrounding environment.
item: Conference-Full-text
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.