Sustainable Housing CDR

7/28/2019 Sustainable Housing CDR

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CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEW

SUSTAINABLE HOUSING

SOCIETY


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1. System Definition AndOverview

1.1 Mission Objective:-

The aim of our project is to try to build houses with materials which would

incur the least cost on nature and be sustainable for the longest duration possible.

We plan to make this result region specific i.e. try to use materials locally available

and not increase the load on some other part.

We aim to achieve this by:

Categorizing the buildings on the type of Materials Used.

Ascertain the materials used for each type of such Housing Topology.

Take one building from each topology and estimate volume of each material

used.

Divide the country into square grid points of 50km sides, and then join gridpoints according to similar climate to get roughly 30 climatic zones for the

country.

Build a table which gives us the information as to which material is

available in which zone.

1.2 Operational Objective:-

For each Housing Topology in each Climatic Zone, ascertain the closestzones from which the required materials can be obtained, thereby causing

the minimum load on nature and facilitating sustainable housing.

Then, calculate the Life Cycle Energy and CO2 Emission for each Housing

Topology in each Climatic Zone.

Seeing the above results, then we will decide if it the construction of that

Housing Topology is sustainable in that Climatic Zone.


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2. System Design

2.1 Design Requirements:-

2.1.1 Scope of the System :

Our aim is to make the system accurate enough to be used for every region

in our country.

We will be covering around 20-25 types of Housing Typologies existent. We will keep track of around 35-40 materials used in the construction of

these building typologies.

The result will be based on several factors such as availability of the

materials in the nearby regions.

Life Cycle Energy of the materials, CO2 emission caused among other

things.

2.1.2 Operational Requirements:

The housing topology given as input should be practically possible in the

given climatic zone.

Since our project pertains only to the country , the materials that are listed are

restricted to ones available.

The transportation facility for transporting the materials from one climatic

zone to another should be available .

The volume calculation of the houses are based on small scale constructions.

The materials that are not produced directly , the CO 2 emission needs to

approximated as exact data is not available.

Various sub-types of materials available are clubbed under certain major

categories for convenience.


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2.2.3 System Success Criteria:

The construction that should be given a green signal should be the ones

which are sustainable as well as viable .

The cost of construction should be kept in mind and should not exceed

limits.

The approximation of the CO2 emission and life cycle energy should be

utmost precision .

2.3 System Organization:-

As specified in the system structure, the system is divided into six sub systems:

1. List of all the buliding types:

Basically we need to find the materials being used for construction and also

classify the buildings on the basis of materials used and utility. Various kinds

of materials help in making different types of buildings with different

characteristic.

2. Each geographic zone categorized based on the climatic conditions there:

This sub-system is required to divide the country into major points which are

important from construction point of view and them enlist them according to

different climatic zones.

3. List of all the materials used for each of the buliding types:

Figuring out the list of materials necessary for building a particular typeof building. The types of building are provided to us by the other groups.

We are creating a list of materials for each of the type of building

classified on the basis of functionality and method of construction.


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4. The amount of each material required on an average for each building type:

Prior to construction and design of a building it is imperative that different

construction materials to be used be identified depending on the

housing typology used and their volumes or amount be calculated.

5. A table to map the geographic zones to the materials available in that zone:

In order to Build a table which gives us the information as to which material is

available in which zone for each Housing Topology in each Climatic

Zone, ascertain the closest zones from which the required materials can be

obtained,we needed some database management systems.

6. The final calculation of the feasibility of construction using the data from

the database and the amount of each material:

This sub-system tell us whether the given hosing topological building is

sustainable in a given climatic zone on or not based on the CO2 emission and

the life cycle energy.

2.3.1 System Flow Diagram:

(a). For each building typology, a list of required materials is prepared.

(b). The database contains data for each zone.(c). For each building type the required amount of material volume is

calculated.

(d). The availability of each material in a particular zone is stored in the

database.

(e). The required volume for each material concerning a particular building

type is calculated.

(f). Calculation of the feasibility requires data from the database.

(g). Calulation of the feasibility also requires information concerning the

amount of all the concerned materials required for construction.


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FLOW CHART TO SHOW MUTUAL RELATIONSHIPS


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3. Sub-System Details

Classification Of Buildings

Objectives Of The Subsystem:-

Our subsystem aims at finding the materials being used for construction and

it also involves classification of the buildings on the basis of materials used and

utility. Various kinds of materials help in making different types of buildings with

different characteristic. Some buildings are built in earthquake prone areas and

therefore materials and types of constructions are used so as to make it earthquake

resistant. Similarly depending upon the topology of the area, climate and other

non-human conditions different construction types and various kinds of materials

are used. The material used in the construction and the methods of construction arevital entities for Sustainable Housing.

Requirement Analysis and Options Considered:-

Our requirement analysis includes understanding what are all the types of

material that can be used in construction of buildings and understanding which

material is fire resistant, which has higher tensile strength, which is stronger,

harder, lighter, electrically sound, sound proof, long-lasting, corrosion-less, which

can withstand high pressure of air and water(like in case of sky-scrapers we needto understand what kind of material should be used which could withstand the high

atmospheric pressures and strong winds, we also need to check the structural

design of the building as at higher altitudes the high pressure and windy nature

could cause problems). Depending on these types of materials that can be used,

construction of buildings is divided into various categories.


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Characteristics Of The Subsystem:-

Our subsystem will characterize various buildings on three major criteria -

1. Functional Utility2. Construction Methods

3. Materials Used

Details of Further Sub-levels:-

Buildings can be characterized on many criteria. We will primarily be focusing on

three of these-

1. Functional Utility -

There are uncountable numbers of utilities of a building. We are

broadly mentioning a few of these with proper examples. Functionalities can

differ from building to building but it is of utmost importance that the safety

and durability of all such buildings is assured. On the basis of functionality,

buildings can be classified as-

Agricultural buildings

Stable, Storm cellar, Tide mill, Root cellar, Hayloft, Farmhouse

Commercial buildings

Bank, Bar and Casino, Coffee house, Convention center, Forum, Gas

station, Grocery Store, Hotel, Office building, Restaurant, Supermarket,

Warehouse

Residential Buildings

Apartment block, Asylum, Condominium, Dormitory, Duplex, House

Educational buildings

Gymnasium, School and University, Museum and Theater


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Government buildings

Capitol, City hall, Consulate, Courthouse, Embassy, Fire station, Palace,

Parliament, Police station, Post office, Prison

Industrial buildings

Brewery, Factory, Foundry, Mining, Power plant, Refinery, Mill, Oil Rig

Military buildings

Barracks, Bunker, Blockhouse, Castle, Citadel, City gate, Defensive wall,

Fort, Fortification, Tower

Parking and storageBoathouse, Carport, Garage, Hangar of aircraft or spacecraft, Storage silo

Religious buildings

Church, Basilica, Cathedral, Chapel, Oratory, Martyrium, Mosque,

Mihrab, Surau, Imambargah, Monastery, Mithraeum, Fire Temple,

Pyramid, Shrine, Synagogue, Temple, Pagoda, Gurdwara

Transit stations

Airport terminal, Bus station, Ferry slip, Metro (subway, underground)

station, Taxi station, Train station, Signal box

Other

Aqueduct, Bakery, Bookstore or bookshop, Community hall, Department

store, Eatery, Folly, Hospital, Hut, Low-energy buildings, Plant nursery,

Stadium, Marina, Triumphal arch, Sport Club, etc

2. Construction Methods

Classification is based on the following building elements

Structural frame

Exterior bearing walls

Interior bearing walls,


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Exterior nonbearing walls and partitions,

Interior nonbearing walls and partitions,

Floor construction including supporting beams and joists,

Roof construction including supporting beams and joists.Fire-Resistance Rating is the other factor in determining construction class.

Fire-Resistance rating typically means the duration for which a passive fire

protection system can withstand a standard fire resistance test.

There are two major sources identifying the construction types: International

Building Code (IBC) and Insurance Services Office (ISO). ISO is traditionally

what insurance companies use to denote type; however, IBC is what Architects and

Builders use.

ISO:

1. Class 1: Frame- Buildings with exterior walls, floors, and roofs of

combustible construction or buildings with exterior walls of

noncombustible or slow-burning construction with combustible floors and

roofs.

o Masonry veneer is thin layers of brick, stone, or stucco, used for

appearance purposes rather than structural support.

o Metal Clad is a building with a metal exterior wall may not look like

frame construction, but when the metal skin is attached to wood studs

and joists, ISO classifies the building as frame.2. Class 2: Joisted Masonry- Buildings with exterior walls of masonry or fire-

resistive construction rated for not less than one hour and with combustible

floors and roofs.

o brick

o concrete either reinforced or non-reinforced

o hollow concrete masonry units

o tile

o stone

3. Class 3: Light Noncombustible-

buildings with exterior walls, floors, and roofs of noncombustible or slow-

burning materials

building supports of noncombustible or slow-burning materials


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noncombustible or slow-burning roof decks on noncombustible or slow-

burning supports regardless of the type of insulation on the roof surface

4. Class 4: Masonry Noncombustible - buildings with exterior walls of masonry not less than four inches thick,

or

buildings with exterior walls of fire-resistive construction with a rating of

not less than one hour, and

noncombustible or slow-burning floors and roofs regardless of the type of

insulation on the roof surface

5. Class 5: Modified Fire Resistive -

buildings with exterior walls, floors, and roofs of masonry materials

described in the definition of fire resistive(Class 6) less thick than

required for fire-resistive structures but not less than four inches thick, or

fire-resistive materials with a fire-resistance rating less than two hours but

not less than one hour

Materials include:

o concrete

o plaster

o clay tile

o brick or other masonry units

o gypsum block

o gypsum wallboard

o mastic coatings

o mineral and fiberboard

o mineral wool

6. Class 6: Fire Resistive -

Walls:
http://www.isopropertyresources.com/Training-Education/Construction-Briefs/Class06-pg2.htmlhttp://www.isopropertyresources.com/Training-Education/Construction-Briefs/Class06-pg2.html


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o solid masonry, including reinforced concrete not less than four inches

thick

o hollow masonry not less than 12 inches thick

o hollow masonry less than 12 inches thick, but not less than eight inches

thick with a listed fire-resistance rating of not less than two hours

o assemblies with not less than a two-hour fire-resistance rating

Floors and roofs:

o reinforced concrete not less than four inches thick

o assemblies with not less than a two-hour fire-resistance rating

Structural metal supports:

o Horizontal and vertical load-bearing protected metal supports

including pre-stressed and post-tensioned concrete units with not less

than a two-hour fire-resistance rating

IBC:

TYPE 1 and 2 Construction are those types of construction in which the

building elements are of noncombustible materials (i.e., concrete and steel)

TYPE 3 Construction is that type of construction in which the exterior

walls are of noncombustible materials and the interior building elements are

of any material permitted by this code. Fire-retardant-treated wood framingshall be permitted within exterior wall assemblies of a 2-hour rating or less.

TYPE 4 Construction is that type of construction (Heavy Timber, HT) in

which the exterior walls are of noncombustible materials and the interior

building elements are of solid or laminated wood without concealed spaces.

Fire-retardant-treated wood framing shall be permitted within exterior wall

assemblies with a 2-hour rating or less.

TYPE 5 Construction is that type of construction in which the structural

elements, exterior walls and interior walls are of any material permitted by

code. (Most One and Two Family Dwellings in Blount County are of thistype of construction).

A = Protected - Protected means that all structural members of a building or

structure has an additional fire rated coating or cover by means of sheetrock, spray

on, or other approved method. This additional fire rated coating or cover extends

the fire resistance rating of structural members at least 1 hour.


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B = Unprotected Unprotected means that all structural members of a building or

structure has no additional fire rated coating or cover. Exposed members are only

fire resistant according to their natural ability and characteristics.

Sprinkled A building or structure is fully protected by a complete fire sprinkler

system.Un-sprinkled A building or structure that is not protected by a fire sprinkler

system.

3. Materials Used

On the basis of materials used in construction, a building can be classified as -

1. Mud Building

2. Clay Building

3. Rock/Stone Structures

4. Thatch House

5. Brush House

6. Igloo

7. Wood House

8. Bamboo House

9. Brick Buildings

10. Concrete Buildings

11. Metal Frame Buildings

12. Glass House

13. Plastic Houses

14. Fabric Tent/House

15. Foam Hut

16. Marble Buildings

17. Tiled House


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Conflicts:-

Our basic job is to characterize the buildings on the basis of materials and

utilities. There are numerous different kinds of materials being used forconstruction purpose but here we cant list out all the materials as our domain of

working has some limitations as listing out all the possible materials for

construction may take much longer time and may need more hands to work. For

example, if we consider bamboo as one of the materials used but if we look into its

sub categories then we will have to mention around a hundred types of bamboo

which grow in different parts of the world. Also for metals, there are several types

of metals available in different parts of world. But iron is the main metal being

used in different types of construction.

Another main conflict is that the total list of materials used in construction of

any building may contain materials which do not reside in our list. This conflict

need not be handled in this project as it would require us to go into minute details

of sub-divisions of material based on various chemical and physical properties.

Solution:-

The only solution to this is to go as deep as possible into the minute details of each

material and categorizing each based on its chemical and physical properties. So,

instead of just listing the substantial materials being used we should rather go for a

list possibly including each and every materials used for construction purpose i.e.

from nail to concrete, which cannot be done here. Moreover, since the technology

keeps improving with time and new methods and materials of constructions are

found by analyzing certain new cases that pop up, this conflict is very difficult to

be kept up to date and solved.


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Ascertain The Materials

Requirements Of The Subsystem:-

These are the requirement of this subsystem from other sub-systems

1. Categorizing The Buildings:

This subsystem is responsible for finding out hte concise list of building

types.

The building types can be on the basis of this construction methods, the

materials used or their functionality.

Based on the list of buliding types, the materials used for each type of

building will be determined.

For Eg. :

Stone

Building Lime

Gypsum

Glass

Ceramics

Steel

Aluminium

Cement

Concrete

Admixtures

Bitumen

Geotextile

Timber


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Plywood

Engineered Wood

Polymers and plastics

Mud

Ice Bamboo

Brick

Fabric

Marble

Rubber

Plaster of Paris

thatch

brush

foam

List of all materials that can be used List of different types of buildings

Categorised on the basis of functionality

Revised list of materials. Concise list of buildings

List of different types of buildings

categorised on the basis of constructionmethods. The materials used in each

Type of building is figured out

And given as output in this sub-system

the data from the above

subsystem is used for LCA andrest of the work.


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Objectives of Sub-System:-

1. Determining a list of all the possible materials that can be used in the

construction of a building.

2. Figuring out the list of materials necessary for building a particular type of

building.

Characteristics of Sub-System:-

Overall material/product selection criteria:

Resource efficiency

Indoor air quality

Energy efficiency

Water conservation

Affordability

The sub-system will examine each building type for determining the list ofmaterials used for it.

Only the materials used in the construction purpose solely will be considered, not

the ones used inside the buildings for other purposes.

Details Of Further Sub-Levels:-

Prepare the complete list of materials that can be used for any constructionpurpose.

Based on each bulding type, prepare a corresponding list of materials used in

the construction of that building.


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The different types of materials are grouped into categories and while

evaluating, the most suitable among the sub group will be considered. For

example:- All the types of glasses.

The materials used for inside furnishing should not be taken into account.

A threshold volume can be decided which will indicate that which materials

should be counted and which should be neglected. the materials used for

inside furnishing should not be taken into account.

Unmanageable Challenges:-

There are many different types of material and we cannot evaluate taking allthe different types into consideration.

The materials used in a very low volume are neglected. so the calculations is

not that accurate as it should be.

Manageable Challenges:-

There are many materials used in a building but are used in a very low

volume so it is tough to decide that which materials can be neglected.


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Calculation Of Volume Of Materials

Objective Of The Subsystem:-

Prior to construction and design of a building it is imperative that different

construction materials to be used be identified depending on the housing typology

used and their volumes or amount be calculated.

The correct type of material is required to be identified correctly depending

on the typology, landscape, climate and other environmental conditions before

considering the amount of material to be used.The volume of material required is necessary to be calculated so as to avoid

wastage of material due to deterioration due to weather and climatic conditions and

even to get the right amount at right time for financial and transportation

convenience. For instance if less amount of material is insufficient amount of

material is bought, then it would increase financial pressure due to transportation

which simultaneously increases pressure on nature/environment .

Moreover some material are volatile and chemically reactive(which can

cause great harm to nature) and therefore have to be bought at the right time when

its usage is substantial.

Requirement Of The Sub-System:-

Determination of volumes of different construction materials require the

knowledge of different construction materials that shall be used in the construction

of the building. The architect plan or the layout plan of the building to be

constructed would also be needed to calculate the volume of a wall, a room, an

apartment and thus the entire building. Knowing the volume of (say a wall) would

enable us calculate the quantity/volume of the different materials needed to

construct that wall.

The subsystem makes use of the information provided by the housing

topology subsystem so as to determine the construction materials to be used

in the construction of a particular building in a specific region.


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Housing topology subsystem provides the information of the construction

types that can be viable in that particular area of that topology. And

depending on this construction type the type of material is identified and its

volume and other calculations are done.

Whenever we have a choice between two or more material which can beused to do the same construction work in that topology then the more easily

available material is given higher priority.


The only sole work of this subsystem is to calculate the volume of the

construction materials required for constructing a building from a particular

topology.

APPROACH FOLLOWED:

The approach followed is simple. We first compute the volume of a wall,

determine the construction materials to be used in that wall, estimate the size or

volume of a unit material and then accordingly compute the total volume of that

material needed for that wall. We then proceed in this manner taking into account

all the possible structures (the floors, the walls, and the roof for each and every

room) until the volume for a particular material is determined for the whole

building.

For example we first calculated the number of bricks required constructing a

wall of a given dimension with the help of a software then we calculated the total

volume of the bricks with the formula -

V=l*b*h*(number of bricks)

We also know the volume of the wall then the volume of the mud/cement is

calculated by subtracting the volume of bricks from the total volume of the wall.

Volume of cement/mud= Volume of wall volume of total bricks


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DETAILS OF THE APPROACH:

BuildingType

(LXBX

H)

MudHouse

(3X3X3)

Claybuilding

(3X3X3)

Rock StoneStructure(3X

3X3)

ThatchHouse

(3X3X3)

BrushHouse

(3X3X3)

Mud(m

^3)

1.06 2.3

Clay(m^

3)

2.56 0.2

Cement(

m^3)

0.5

Concret

e(m^3)

Glass(m

^3)

Tiles(m

^3)

Iron(m^

3)

0.7


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Wood(m

^3)

2 4.7 3.2

Steel(m

^3)

Bricks(

m^3)

2.9 1.4

Stone(m

^3)

8.9

Polymers and

Plastic

(m^3)

Ice(m^3

)

Bamboo

(m^3)

2.8

fabric(m^3)

Brush(m

^3)

0.5 0.8 2.4

POP(m^

3)

Foam(m

^3)

Clay

tiles(m^

3)

2.4


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Another example is constructing an Igloo.

As we know generally it is hemispherical in shape so radius and thickness of

the igloo is known and volume is calculated by the formula-

Volume= 2*pi*r*r*(thickness)

Mathematically volume of the gate can also be calculated.

Buildin

g Type

(LXBX

H)

Igloo

(radius

=

1.5 m)

Wood

House

(5X5X

5)

Bamboo

House

(5X5X5)

Brick

House

(3X3X3)

Concr

ete

Buildi

ng

(3X3X

3)

Metal

Frame

building

(3X3X3)

Mud(m^3)

Clay(m

^3)


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Cement

(m^3)

1.06 2.3 1.2

Concret

e(m^3)

1.9 1.3

Glass(

m^3)

0.09 0.2 0.3

Tiles(m

^3)

0.09 0.09

Iron(m

^3)

2.3 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.7

Wood(

m^3)

28.3 2.2 0.36

Steel(m

^3)

0.08 1.2

Bricks(

m^3)

2.9 2.1 1.6

Stone(m^3)

0.07

Polyme

rs and

Plastic

(m^3)

1.9 1.5 1.5 1.1

Ice(m^

3)

2.826

Bambo

o(m^3)

12.5

fabric(

m^3)


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Brush(

m^3)

0.9 0.9 0.9

POP(m

^3)

0.75 0.9

Foam(

m^3)

Clay

tiles(m

^3)

2.4 2.4

Another example is a Bamboo house.

According to the design(as desired by the user) particular mathematical

formula for that design can be derived and according to that volume can be

calculated, here the design seems to be some thing like a cuboid so volume

(excluding gate and extended roof) comes out to be length*breadth*height.


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Another one is a Foam House

Buildin

g Type(LXBX

H)

Glass

House(3X3X3)

Plastic

House(3X3X3)

Fabric

TentHouse

(2X2X3)

Foam

House(Radius

=1.5m)

Tiled

House(3X3X

3)

Marble

Building(3X3X5)

Mud(m

^3)

Clay(m^3)

Cement

(m^3)

1.06 0.5


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Concret

e(m^3)

Glass(

m^3)

1.3 0.1 0.05

Tiles(m

^3)

0.09

Iron(m

^3)

0.6 0.4 1.3

Wood(

m^3)

0.12 2.2

Steel(m

^3)

0.2

Bricks(

m^3)

2.9

Stone(

m^3)

0.17 8.9

Polymers and

Plastic

(m^3)

0.6 2.7 0.08 1.5

Ice(m^

3)

Bambo

o(m^3)

fabric(

m^3)

0.03 0.07

Brush(

m^3)


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POP(m

^3)

0.37 0.9

Foam(

m^3)

2.83

Clay

tiles(m

^3)

2.4


Problem:

It may not be possible to determine the exact quantity or volume of various

construction materials say cement, clay etc. Only an estimate may be made.

Solutions:

To be on the safer side the quantity of such materials ordered should be

greater than the estimated quantity to take care of any surplus needs.

But the more appropriate and mathematical way is subtracting the

volume of others materials used for constructing from the total volume

of the building calculated.


The current implementation, though the best, still has several issues.

The first concerns determination of volumes of different construction

materials to be used in circular shaped structures or structures having a

non linear shape. An example being a dome shaped building.

Computation of volumes is always ambiguous and only a fair estimate

may be made at best.


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Unwarranted environmental conditions like untimely rain may render

some or whole of the material/s unsuitable to be used for construction

purposes.


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Divide The Country Into Climatic Zones


The following are the requirements of this subsystem from the other subsystems.

A detailed list of all the construction materials to be used in the

construction of a building. This list is provided by the subsystem which isassigned with the task of ascertaining the materials to be used in a

buildings construction.

The materials to be used are decided taking into consideration the type of

building most suited to the topography of the region.

The system requires the rainfall and temperature distribution data of the

country for the division into different climatic zones.

We require the distance between different climatic zones. For this we

calculate the distance between major cities of each climatic zone.


The climatic condition of a region give us an insight into what kind of

materials can be found in this region , what are the natural resources abundantly

available in the region , what would be the kind of houses that people would preferthe most.

This sub system provides information of different construction materials

found in various climatic zones found across the country. With the help of this

information we determine whether a particular material is found in the region in

which the building is being constructed. If not, it provides us with the minimum

distance i.e. the nearest location from which that material can be brought from.


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To facilitate the process of ascertaining the minimum distance from which aparticular construction material can be procured from, we

Divide the entire country into different climatic zones

For referring to each climatic zone, we choose a few major cities in each one

of them.

The physical division into various grids allows us to determine the nearest

available location of a particular material.

While the division on the basis of climate allows us to determine which material

can be found in a particular location.

Further Details:-

The basic purpose of dividing the country on the basis of climate is to

determine the availability of materials in different locations, hence, we

primarily consider those parameters that affect the growth or existence of

different materials.

So we use the following climatic variables to do the division.

Rainfall

Temperature

Humidity

Solar Radiation

These factors affect the growth and existence of natural materials like

bamboo, wood, sand etc. The physical geography or topography of a region

also plays an important role in this regard. For example a particular kind of

rock can be found only on hilly regions and some kind of soil is specific toGangetic plains. So all this is taken into account while making this division.

The country has been divided into basically 20 climatic zones on the basis of

the above mentioned parameters average rainfall, temperature, humidity and

solar radiation covering the climate types of the entire country. This has been


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shown by taking the example of 50 odd cities which lie in either of the

climatic zones.

To make the physical division, we choose a unit of suitable length so as to

have sufficient number of grid points to cover the entire country. We alsochoose this length keeping in mind that there should be sufficient number of

grid points in each climatic zone.

We refer the rainfall and temperature distribution map of India (attached

below) to divide the country into different climatic zones. We classify a

region as a different climatic region if it has distinctly different temperature

and rainfall parameters.

RAINFALL DISTRIBUTION MAP


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TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION MAP


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The division of the country on the basis of climatic factors

may not be able to give a very clear idea about the availability of certain artificialmaterials like paint and wires. For these materials we refer the exact data.

Also in certain cases when the nearest location of

availability of materials is in another climatic zone physically but very close to the

required location, the system does not give the required output.

Relation With Other Subsystems:-

The housing topology subsystem provides details of the housing style most

suited in a particular region considering various climatic factors. This

subsystem makes use of the above assessed details and determines whether

the construction materials needed for that specific housing topology are

present within that particular climatic sub-region.

Another subsystem which deals with calculating the minimum distance

where the material can be transported from, in case a construction material is

not available within that subsystem makes use of the information provided

by our subsystem, whether the material is present in that region or not.

The subsystem which concerns itself with calculating the life cycle of a

construction material makes use of various factors such as transportation

head which makes use of the data garnered by our subsystem.


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TABLES


The various requirements taken up by our sub-system from the other sub-systems

are:

1. List of all the building types:

This sub-system is responsible for listing out the various types of buildings

based on certain criteria:

This provides us with the various types of buildings based on

functionality,construction type and materials used or we may say depending

upon the topology of the area, climate and other non-human conditions

different construction types and various kinds of materials are used.

Our sub-sytem takes up the data from this sub-system i.e buildings based on

material.

2. Each geographic zone categorized based on the climatic conditions there:

This sub-system provides us with the information about the division of the

country into grids or the important cities .

This sub-system also provides us with the classification of the different cities

into different climatic zones.

Our sub-system utilises these two data sets and stores them accordingly.

3. List of all the materials used for each of the building types:

Figuring out the list of materials necessary for building a particular type of

building.


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Accumulating all the types of materials for all the different types of

buildings which is stored by our sub-system accordingly.

4. The amount of each material required on an average for each building type:

This provides the list of the different types of materials that would be

required for the construction of the buliding.

This also provides the complete data of the amount of material that would be

required for each types of buliding classsified on the basis of materials.

5. The final calculation of the feasibility of construction using the data from

the database and the amount of each material required:

This sub system provides the life cycle energy of a building and the CO 2emission of each buliding which has been picked for the calculation of the

amount of material.

This information is required for us to be displayed and display the fissibility.


The major objectives of our subsystem are:-

To Build and maintain a table which gives us the information as to

which material is available in which zone.


which zone comes under which climatic conditions.


which material is used in which building typology.

We will take the user query which gives typology and location as an

input and tell the user whether the building is feasible or not.


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To build a proper user friendly interface in which the user can easily

check if a building is feasible or not.


1. Information regarding Various Housing Topologies.

Table name: bldg_material

The data in this table which will tell us the materials required for various

housing topologies. Based on this data we can check if the area in which the user is

building if feasible or not using the following two tables.

This table will contain the follwing attributes:

Building Topology : This attribute can contain the following values :

'Bamboo House'

'Brick Buildings'

'Brush House''

'Clay Building'

'Concrete Buildings' 'Fabric Tent/House'

'Foam Hut'

'Glass House'

'Igloo'

'Marble Buildings'

'Metal Frame Buildings'

'Mud Building'

'Plastic Houses'

'Rock/Stone Sructure'

'Thatch House'

'Tiled House'

'Wood House'


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Material : This attribute contains the list of the materials that each

building topology will require for the construction and would be

picked from a list that would be pre-populated.

2. Information regarding Material Available in Various Zones:

Table name: material_zone

This will contain the information regarding all the materials available in the

local region of each grid block. Using this data we will check whether the material

is available or not. If the material is not available, then we will identify the nearestzone which contains the needed material.

This table will contain the following attributes:

Materials: This attribute contains the list of possible materials that are

available in the various zones that have been identified earlier.


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Cl_zone: This attribute lists the various climatic zones that have been

identified by the other sub-system earlier.

3. Distribution of Climatic Zones Across the Country:

Table name: location_zone

This will contain all the data corresponding to each and every climatic zone.

It will tell us which grid block falls in which climatic zone. In order to measure the

nearest distance between 2 climatic zones this data would be required.

This table will contain the follwing attributes:

City: This attribute contains the list of pre-populated cities that havebeen identified geographically.

Zone: This attribute lists the zones identified earlier. Cities fall under

zones.

4. Distance between the different climatic zones :

Table name: distance

This table stores the distances between any two climatic zones. This table is

useful for carrying out calculations. Calculations regarding the transportation cost

of materials involved distance between two climatic zones. Further, it is also useful

for the life cycle energy and CO2 emission calculation.

5. Query input view:

This view file will build a form through which input could be taken.

Input consists if the location in which the building is to be constructed and thetopology of the building that the user wished to build.


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6. Output view:

This view file will give as an output whether the building is feasible in

the given location or not.

7. Life cycle energy emission view file:

This file would show the life cycle energy calculated by the

controllers.

8. CO2 emission view file:

This file would display the CO2 emission associated with the building.This is a calculation done in a seperate controller function which takes many

inputs.

9. Listing all the materials used in a building topology:

Controller name:building_materials

Inputs:building topology

Output:list of materials required.

10. Finding whether a material is available locally:

Controller name:material_availability

Inputs:List of materials,zone

Output:available or not.

11. Calculation of life cycle energy:

Controller name:LIFE_CYCLE

Inputs:distance table,list of materials required

Output:life cycle energy of each material.


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12. Calculation of CO2 emission:

Controller name:CO2_emission

Inputs:specific energy cost and density of each material.

Output:CO2 emission level


Maintaining data tables and integrating them in an appropriate manner is

itself a challenge. The major challenge with the interface is that it should be such

that a user can easily use it and the database should also be accessible with this

interface.

Another challenge is associated with measuring the distance of two points.

Some proper implementation has to be done in order to measure distance between

two points.


The data associated with this application is such that the calculations might

sometimes be different from actual value. Although web2py has friendly user

interface and manages the database efficiently, but it is a bit slow compared to

other interfaces. Sometimes the query which the user might want to access could

be answered by using the data available. For an example if the user enters a small

town as a location, there is a probability that the database table does not contain the

location(although we might have the data for the location but we wont be able to

recognize the location).


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Life Cycle Energy &Carbon Dioxide Emission


These are the requirements of this sub-system from other sub-systems:

1. List Of Materials For Each Housing Topology:

To calculate the Life Cycle Energy and Carbon Dioxide Emission, we will

need the exact list of all the major materials used for any Housing Topology given

as a input.

2. Volume Of Each Material Used:

The Life Cycle Energy and Carbon Dioxide Emission will vary with

increasing amount of volume of that material used. Hence, the volume of eachmaterial used will be needed.

3. Closest Climatic Zone Where Material Is Available:

The calculations for Life Cycle Energy and Carbon Dioxide will require that

we know, for each material, the closest climatic zone where it is available, after the

climatic zone given as the input.

4. Distance Between The Climatic Zones:

We shall need the approximate distance between each climatic zone because

the Carbon Dioxide Emission and Life Cycle Energy will vary with varying

distance between the given climatic zone and the one the material is available in.


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Calculate Life Cycle Energy:

Life Cycle Energy is analyzed by means of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).

This analysis includes energy upstream, transportation and production phases.

The analysis of energy upstream phase is carried out using iterative computation,

while direct energy consumption and environmental emission, indirect energy

consumption and environmental emission are considered.

Calculate Carbon Dioxide Emission:

The Carbon Dioxide Emission refers to the Carbon Dioxide released into theatmosphere corresponding to the amount of energy spent in producing a particular

material.


1. This is the final subsystem of the project and it gives the final calculation with

regard to the set of Housing Topology and Climatic Zone given as input.

2. It gives, as the output, the calculated values of Life Cycle Energy and Carbon

Dioxide Emission, and declares if it is feasible to construct that building for

sustainable housing.


Life Cycle Energy:

LCA includes 3 phases: energy upstream phase, transportation phase, and

building materials production phase. LCA is quantification and analysis of the

input (energy consumption) and output (environmental emission) data in life cycle

of the production or its service system in the determinate scope, and involves mass


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data collecting and a lot of calculating. A LCA calculating program with a large

quantity of calculating and iteration function is made BESLCI(Building Energy

System Life Cycle Inventory). However, this program should be upgraded when

introducing new materials or new blocks. So the calculating procedure need to be

reprogrammed and the old database should be updated continuously when it isused.

According to the characteristics of energy production, it can be divided into

three categories. First, all of the energy is used as a process fuel, such as coal

which is completely combusted in power generation process. Second, energy is

partly used as a process fuel, and the remaining part is taken as the raw materials,

such as coal exploitation process. Some coal is used as fuel in combustion process

(producing emissions), and the remaining part is utilized as a raw material (not

producing emissions). Third, all of the energy having been dealt with is used as a

raw material, with no chemical reaction, such as natural gas compression and

liquefaction.


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Comprehensive energy refers to the overall energy consumption when

producing one unit product. Energy unit covers a various kinds of forms, so energy

is converted into standard coal when making energy statistics. Conversion

coefficient can be calculated with thermal equivalent. Life cycle energy

consumption of building materials in production phase is obtained by:


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Carbon Dioxide Emission:

Firstly, for calculating Carbon Dioxide Emission we will have a table with

Specific Energy Cost for each material which can come in input. Specific EnergyCost shall be in MJ/Kg. We shall use the density of each material to calculate the

Volumetric Energy Cost in GJ/m3 since we know the volume of each material used

in the Housing Topology and not the weight.

For every material using the volume used, we can find the total energy used

in producing that amount of that particular material. We can obtain the

corresponding value of Carbon Dioxide Emission. The global average for this

relation stands as 0.098 tCO2 = 1 GJ. This is the same as 1 MJ = 0.098 kgCO2 =

98 gCO2 or 1 kgCO2 = 10.204 MJ.

MaterialSpecific energy

cost (MJ/kg)

Density @ STP

(g/cm3)

Volumetric

energy

cost (GJ/m3)

Aluminium 220 2.7 590

Asphalt

concrete

2.4 2.3 5.5

Concrete 0.95 1.1 1.0

Copper 70 8.9 630

Glass 16 2.5 40

Plastic

(LDPE)80 0.92 74

Steel 35 7.8 270
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_concretehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_concretehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LDPEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LDPEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminiumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_concretehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asphalt_concretehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concretehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LDPEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LDPEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel


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4. System Threats

1. The system may not be able to account for the extra expenses that

sometimes need to be added like in cases of natural disasters, accidents ,

excess rain fall etc.

2. There are some cities which have been enlisted in the various climatic zones

that may be residing at the border of the country . But, we calculate the

availability of the material based on the distance .

3. There may be many materials that are not specifically not present in our list ,

but may be considered a part of one of the enlisted items.

4. We may be missing some of the products or by-products which also need to

be accounted during the calculation of the CO2 emission and life cycle

energy calculation.


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5. Self Assessement Of The DesignIn Meeting The System

Objectives

The system has been build in such a way that it will provide a very easy touse interface in which a person enters a location and the type of building

he/she wishes to build and the system returns whether that structure should

be brought up at that location or not based on sustainability and feasibility.

The system is designed in such a way that , this can be taken up in future and

made more precise and more detailed i.e this can be made a self-learning

system that keeps on improving itself gradually as it is feeded with more andmore data.

The data that has been used to estimate has been picked after a lot of search

and research although it has been assumed that the data that we have got

from the sources are correct and useable .


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6. Learnings From The System

Design

There should always be understanding between the various sub-systems, all

the sub-systems which rely on the others should specify there way of input

and way of output.

One should always be flexible with the model, because there are a lot of

things that need to be changed during course of implementation.

The scope of the system should be one thing which should be decided prior to

dividing the sub-systems.

One should keep in mind the future problems that may turn up and should

have an insight as to how the model would end up.

Sustainable Housing CDR

Documents

Transcript of Sustainable Housing CDR