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It is well known that at a European level, a large building fund must be retrofitted by 2050 to meet the climate and energy targets defined by a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions up to 80 - 95% compared to 1990 levels. In this regard, the proposed recast of the energy performance directive defines a new path: going from nearly Zero Energy Buildings to Zero Emission Buildings for residential and non-residential buildings. Thus, practitioners need more adequate instruments to perform reliable field measurements ...

In the frame of latest requirements to improve the renewable energy harvesting, the wind turbines get more and more used. Due to the propeller sizes, the blades- materials must comply with high resistance and weight requirements. As consequence, composite materials with dedicated structures are used. These materials are designed for long life and, as consequence, are potential pollution factors for the environment, after turbine working life is ended. Beside the methods to destroy the blades and give other use to ...

As natural resources are rapidly depleting and the demand of cement based products in construction industry is continuously increasing, there is a pressing need for finding alternatives without large penalties in terms of mechanical properties. Another issue to be resolved is related to current design guidelines developed for traditional cement based materials (e.g. mortar and concrete). Zeolites, either natural or synthetic, are crystalline alumina silicates with pozzolanic activity in cement based materials that...

Traditional building materials based on primary natural resources can be used for green housing concepts with energy eco-efficiency and the health of the living space, representing a special group of innovative materials for the construction industry. They are developed by using and improving the local, traditional technologies and concepts applied on basic, natural raw materials (clay and sand, wood, straw, wool, etc.), for the general purpose of creating the living space in a sustainable, environmentally friendl...

Asphalt mixtures are the most commonly used material in road construction. It is necessary to know the properties of the mixtures and their constituents, as well as the changes in properties that occur during their service life. The demands on road durability are constantly increasing. The main problem with asphalt mixtures is degradation. Due to the effects during asphalt pavement production and service, there is a gradual degradation of properties. One of the degradation factors is the impact of traffic, climate...

In order to protect the structural steel sheet from the impact of the blast wave, the steel sheet was covered with a composite material consisting of aramid fabrics with a surface density of 200 g/m2 (3 layers) and 350 g/m2 (3 layers). The total thickness of these layers was 2.4 mm. Turkish produced BRE 450 polyester resin was used to connect the layers. The composite was coated on top with the same resin filled with crumb rubber 1.5 mm in size. The thickness of this coating is 2.2 mm. The protective agent thus ob...

The decarbonization strategies for the built environment that policy-makers face today from the EU mandate risk being made with incomplete or insufficient information. The consequence of this could be ineffective choices, thus slowing down the ongoing ecological transition, or their high cost, whether borne by the state or citizens. The progressive and unstoppable digitization of the built environment offers information collection and previously unthinkable management opportunities. The construction sector, tradit...

Magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) is a non-hydraulic binder produced in a more eco-efficient way than Portland cement and due to its favorable properties represents its promising alternative in the production of construction materials for specific applications. The specific advantage of MOC is the fact that it can accommodate organic as well as inorganic substances in the form of fillers, aggregates, additives, reinforcement, etc. which enables enriching properties and performance of the final composite material....

Zeolites can either occur naturally, in volcanic rock formations, or can be synthesized in the laboratory. When ground to a fine powder, they can be successfully used as supplementary cementitious material because of their chemical composition consisting in large amounts of SiO2 and Al2O3 that react with Ca(OH)2 to produce C-S-H gels. The composition of synthetic zeolites can be tailored to suit the purpose of their use in cementbased mortar and concrete and they can be produced from a variety of sources and at mu...

This study is focused on influence of graphene nanoplatelets as additive in magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) paste. This material composed of light-burned magnesia, prepared at lower temperatures than ordinary Portland cement (PC), is considered as its eco-efficient low-carbon alternative with properties comparable to high-performance concrete such as high mechanical resistance, stiffness., and low porosity. Two composite pastes were prepared, reference paste and paste enhanced with graphene, and subjected to se...

Requirements relating to the quality of the flue gases produced have become more and more stringent in recent years. This is why the electricity producers, especially those using coal-fired units, have been forced to introduce additional environmental technologies. However, most of the coal-fired power plants and waste incineration plants in the Czech and Slovak Republics are following the same path, in particular for economic reasons. They are introducing the selective non-catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides (...

The construction sector generates more than a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions, which contributes to the deterioration of the environmental situation in the world. This article describes one of the ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from construction by changing the type of concrete components. In this research, a comparison analysis of various criteria of Portland cement and Ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) was carried out. The main method for solving the problem of this study is the Multic...

Avoiding thermal bridges in the building envelope is one of the key elements for the reduction of energy consumption in buildings. Numerical calculations of heat flux through the joints of building structures are becoming very relevant in the past years due to the EU requirements for nearly zero energy buildings. The most problematic typically is windows installation perimeter, where thanks to fastenings of the frame to the loadbearing structure, linear thermal bridge forms. The use of numerical calculation of tem...

Global climate changes, sea level rising, storm activity intensification, and increasing anthropogenic pressure are causing the activation of destructive processes along the coasts of the World Ocean. The corresponding processes are appeared at the most dangerous rates within the coastal barriers. Within the Black Sea, the total length of coastal barriers is 990 km, 703 km of which are within Ukraine. Corresponding barriers develop in conditions of active wave action and a general deficit of sediments. The maximum...

In contemporary architecture, glass is one of the most popular materials and considered a fundamental source for natural lighting. However, the advantage of high light transmittance has shortcomings: Intense solar radiation affects the energy balance and the well-being in indoor spaces with inadequate cooling. Vertical greenery systems (VGS) can contribute to an improvement of indoor climatic conditions behind glazed facades through natural shading and cooling of the surroundings. Natural light input is only parti...

The cabin of a civil aviation aircraft needs adequate sound and thermal insulation to guarantee passenger-s comfort. Among this scenario, the purpose of the following paper is to mark a path that leads to the use of natural fibers to ensure compliance with the requirements together with a mitigated environmental impact. The characteristic parameters to be examined for proper insulation are first described, including insulation and sound absorption characteristics, thermal insulation and the necessary flame resista...

The novel lightweight repair mortar was designed and tested in respect to its resistance against salt crystallization and salinization. Natural hydraulic lime was used as the only binder, and the expanded glass granules were applied as lightweight aggregate. As reference, control mortar with silica sand aggregate was examined as well. The performed tests and analyses were aimed at the assessment of the structural, mechanical, hygric, and thermal properties of the 28-days and 90-days hardened mortars. Specific atte...

Lately, there is a growing need for humanity to get closer to nature and to a way of life so that the negative impact on it to be as small as possible. One cannot talk about durable development without taking into account the sustainability criterion which is essential in all areas of activity. Traditional constructions made of masonry elements from unburned clay or other vernacular materials, using sheep wool mattresses for thermal insulation, successfully meet the conditions imposed by this criterion. Constructi...

The aim of the presented work was to develop and evaluate the novel thermal insulation plaster intended for repair and renovation application. The thermal parameters of the reference lime plaster were enhanced with the substitution of 50 vol. % of silica sand with expanded perlite. The hardened plasters were characterized by their specific density, bulk density, total open porosity, compressive strength, flexural strength, and dynamic modulus of elasticity. The thermal conductivity and the volumetric heat capacity...

Current challenges in the building industry are related mostly to the preservation of virgin/natural materials, decreasing the environmental footprint, and increasing the reuse rate of disposed materials. This paper reflects current trends in the use of secondary raw materials of various industrial processes as sources for the production of alternative materials, for example, alkali-activated materials (AAM). Specifically, the paper deals with the description of the basic physical and mechanical properties of fine...