This book provides readers with essential knowledge enabling the successful design of today's new energy efficient HVAC systems. The author introduces important concepts such as Knowledge Categorization, Performance Based Design Standards, and Quantification of Uncertainty in Energy Modeling for Buildings. Pivotal topics that all HVAC and architectural engineers must master in order to navigate the green building renaissance are given focused attention, including the role of renewables, air quality, automatic controls, and thermal comfort. Relevant ASHRAE standards, as well as sustainability scoring systems such as BREEAM, HQE, LEED and CASBEE are explained in depth. Armed with the material contained in this practical reference, students and practitioners alike will become more effective and prepared for engineering success.

This one-of-a-kind, definitive reference offers expansive coverage of geotechnical engineering for civil engineering professionals. Each of the 15 chapters is the work of an engineering expert - putting at your disposal a vast source of engineering experience. The Geotechnical Engineering Handbook brings together essential information related to the evaluation of engineering properties of soils, design of foundations such as spread footings, mat foundations, piles, and drilled shafts, and fundamental principles of analyzing the stability of slopes and embankments, retaining walls, and other earth-retaining structures. The Handbook also covers soil dynamics and foundation vibration to analyze the behavior of foundations subjected to cyclic vertical, sliding and rocking excitations, environmental geotechnology, and foundations for railroad beds. Comprehensive coverage, logical organization, and clear discussions make this the tool of choice for both experienced engineers and those just embarking on their careers.

Facing the challenges of globalization and ecology, the standards for economic, social and environmental performance of companies are becoming more demanding. This book shows what sustainable development means for the business community and presents best practice approaches in environmental management from Japan, the USA, Brazil and seven European countries. The book stresses that international competitiveness depends on the effective use of innovative management tools and has to be supported by an intelligent system of environmental regulation, that is, promoting innovation and eco-efficiency. Experts with many years of practical experience share their know-how on how to achieve excellency in environmental performance and present concrete steps towards a sustainable company.

Polyester-Based Biocomposites highlights the performance of polyester-based biocomposites reinforced with various natural fibres extracted from leaf, stem, fruit bunch, grass, wood material. It also addresses the characteristics of polyester-based biocomposites reinforced with rice husk fillers and various nanoparticles. The book explores the widespread applications of fibre-reinforced polymer composites ranging from the aerospace sector, automotive parts, construction and building materials, sports equipment, and household appliances. Investigating the advantages of natural fibres, such as superior damping characteristics, low density, biodegradability, abundant availability at low cost and non-abrasive to tooling, the book discusses what makes them a cost-effective alternative reinforcement material for composites in certain applications. The book serves as a useful reference for researchers, graduate students, and engineers in the field of polymer composites.

This is the second volume of a comprehensive two-volume treatment of mechanics intended for students of civil and mechanical engineering. Used for several years in courses at Bradley university, the text presents dynamics in a clear and straightforward way and emphasizes problem solving. More than 350 examples clarify the discussion. The diskette included with the book contains EnSolve, a program written by the authors for solving problems in engineering mechanics. The program runs on Macintosh and PC-DOS computers and includes the following: - a unit converter for SI to US units and vice versa - a graphics program for plotting functions and data - a set of numerical subroutines The graphics module will, among other features, fit smooth splines between data, plot regression lines and curves, and change scales ß including from arithmetic to log and log-log. The numerical routines will, for example, find roots of polynomials, solve systems of equations, invert matrices, differentiate and integrate, and solve boundary-value problems.

The Complex Variable Boundary Element Method (CVBEM) has an important role to play in a number of technical engineering situations and can be a tremendous help to scholars and practitioners preoccupied with solving problems in areas such as heat transport, structural mechanics and river hydraulics. As well as describing the extremely useful applications of this method, the authors explain the mathematical background to the CVBEM, which is vital to understanding the subject as a whole. Advances in the Complex Variable Boundary Element Method is the most comprehensive of books on this subject, bringing together ten years of work and boasting the latest news in CVBEM technology. It will be of particular interest to those concerned with solving technical engineering problems - scientists, graduate students, computer programmers and those working in industry may all find the book helpful.

A proper quality of a track and other infrastructure objects represents a basic requirement for train safety and punctuality. Most of the physical systems and their components deteriorate over time. This affects performance and may lead to failures. Albert Einstein said, "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else." Only if we understand how the whole system works, taking into account its imperfections and how they influence its quality and performance will we be able to learn the rules of the game and "play better." The book provides the readers with the necessary functional knowledge of track behaviour and comprehensively covers the function of the various track components, their interaction as elements of the track system, as well as the interaction of the track with railway vehicles. By presenting important tools for a deep understanding of track-behaviour this book aims to be a reference guide for infrastructure managers and to help them to find ways improving track quality for optimum long-term behaviour.

This, the first of two volumes, gives a comprehensive treatment of the civil engineering work relating to sewers and emphasises the practical aspects of repair and renovation. A considerable amount of theoretical work already exists on this subject. However this book is unique in meeting the engineer's need for up-to-date information on the application of theory and incorporates some important recent developments in the field.
The technical aspects of survey and access are dealt with in some detail and the book also provides fundamental data on hydraulics, structural assessment and the use of the Wallingford Storm Sewer Package.

This book addresses the characterization of flow and transport in porous fractured media from experimental and modeling perspectives. It provides a comprehensive presentation of investigations performed and analyzed on different scales.

In this edited book various novel approaches to problems of modern civil engineering are demonstrated. Experts associated within the Lagrange Laboratory present recent research results in civil engineering dealing both with modelling and computational aspects. Many modern topics are covered, such as monumental dams, soil mechanics and geotechnics, granular media, contact and friction problems, damage and fracture, new structural materials, and vibration damping - presenting the state of the art of mechanical modelling and computational issues in civil engineering.

This revised edition of an established classic textbook brings the subject right up to date. It applies economic theory to the formation of demand on the construction industry and to the way the industry responds. This edition provides a topical assessment of the implication for competition of new methods of procurement, includes a new chapter on rehabilitation, repair and maintenance, and extends the use of theory to issues such as the problems of appropriate technology for developing countries, and contractors' diversification.

This volume represents the proceedings of the First International Conference on S- tainability in Energy and Buildings, SEB'09, held in the City of Brighton and Hove in the United Kingdom, organised by KES International with the assistance of the World Renewable Energy Congress / Network, and hosted by the University of Brighton. KES International is a knowledge transfer organisation providing high-quality c- ference events and publishing opportunities for researchers. The KES association is a community consisting of several thousand research scientists and engineers who p- ticipate in KES activities. For over a decade KES has been a leader in the area of Knowledge Based and Intelligent information and Engineering Systems. Now KES is starting to make a contribution in the area of Sustainability and Renewable Energy with this first conference specifically on renewable energy and its application to - mestic and other buildings. Sustainability in energy and buildings is a topic of - creasing interest and importance on the world agenda. We therefore hope and intend that this first SEB event may grow and evolve into a conference series. KES International is a member of the World Renewable Energy Congress / N- work which is Chaired by Professor Ali Sayigh. We are grateful to Professor Sayigh for the collaboration and assistance of WREC/N in the organisation of SEB'09. We hope to continue to work with WREC/N in the future on projects of common interest.

GAS HYDRATE IN WATER TREATMENT Explores current progress in the expanding field of gas hydrate-based desalination As potable water shortages continue to affect billions of people worldwide, seawater desalination and wastewater treatment have the potential to meet freshwater demands in the near future. Gas hydrate-based desalination, a process which requires CO2 and water as solvent, has become an increasingly popular approach--desalination with hydrates is environmentally friendly and can produce cheaper desalted water than other existing conventional technologies. Gas Hydrate in Water Treatment: Technological, Economic, and Industrial Aspects provides detailed, up-to-date reference to the application of gas hydrates in wastewater and seawater desalination treatment. Edited by experienced researchers in the field, this comprehensive volume describes the fundamental aspects of desalination and summarizes the latest research on gas hydrate-based desalination. The authors address a broad range of key topics, including issues related to water scarcity, post-treatment of desalinated water using both conventional and new technologies, hydrate-based desalination methods driven by renewable energy sources, and more. Provides thorough coverage of the technological, waste brine management, economic, and renewable energy and remineralization aspects of gas hydrate-based wastewater treatment Describes the energetic, economic, and environmental impact of gas hydrate desalination Explains the core concepts of gas hydrate-based desalination to help readers evaluate the performance of existing desalination processes Discusses the advantages and challenges of hydrate-based water treatment Compares conventional and gas hydrate technologies used in water treatment Reviews the most recent research in gas hydrate-based desalination Gas Hydrate in Water Treatment: Technological, Economic, and Industrial Aspects is an essential resource for all academics, researchers, process engineers, designers, industry professionals, and advanced students in the field.

This book contains selected papers from the presentations given at the 7th EURO-Working Group Meeting on 'Iransportation, which took place at the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT), Finland, during August 2-4, 1999. Altogether 31 presentations were given and 14 full papers have been selected in this publication through a peer review process coordinated by the editors. The papers in this book cover a wide range of transportation problems from the simulation of railway traffic to optimum congestion tolling and mode choice modeling with stated preference data. In general, the variety of papers clearly demonstrates the wide areas of interest of people who are involved in the research of transportation systems and their operation. They as well demonstrate the importance and possibilities of modeling and theoretical approaches in the analysis of transportation systems and problem solving. Most of the papers are purely theoretical in nature, that is, they present a theoretical model with only a hypothetical example of applica tion. There are, however, some papers, which are closer to the practice or describe applications of and give interesting results of studies made by known methodologies. It is especially noteworthy, that half of the accepted papers deal with planning and operation of public transport."

As the re-emergence of nuclear power as an acceptable energy source on an international basis continues, the need for safe and reliable ways to dispose of radioactive waste becomes ever more critical. The ultimate goal for designing a predisposal waste-management system depends on producing waste containers suitable for storage, transportation and permanent disposal. "Cement-Based Materials for Nuclear-Waste Storage "provides a roadmap for the use of cementation as an applied technique for the treatment of low- and intermediate-level radioactive wastes. Coverage includes, but is not limited to, a comparison of cementation with other solidification techniques, advantages of calcium-silicate cements over other materials and a discussion of the long-term suitability and safety of waste packages as well as cement barriers.

In recent years, building information modeling has become a very active research area of construction informatics with investigation of ICT use within construction industry processes and organizations. The Handbook of Research on Building Information Modeling and Construction Informatics: Concepts and Technologies addresses the problems related to information integration and interoperability throughout the lifecycle of a building, from feasibility and conceptual design through to demolition and recycling stages. Containing research from leading international experts, this Handbook of Research provides comprehensive coverage and definitions of the most important issues, concepts, trends, and technologies within the field.

This book reports on the first empirical validation of "AccuRate," Australia's national benchmark software tool for house energy ratings. The validation was conducted by the University of Tasmania in collaboration with Forest and Wood Products Australia, the Australian Government, the CSIRO and industry partners. The study presented here describes the results of graphical and statistical analysis of variations observed between the measured and simulated data from three different test buildings in Launceston, Tasmania. It shows that, while the AccuRate software is well suited to modeling energy flows, there are discrepancies between the simulated and measured temperatures of the test buildings. Moreover, it highlights possible connections between the discrepancies in all zones and the outside air temperature, wind speed, global and diffuse solar radiation, and possibly the ground model. Beyond its contribution to further investigations into the ongoing improvement and calibration of the Australian NatHERS-supported AccuRate software, this book also meticulously describes the methodology used in conducting the research, which is expected to pave the way for further studies of this type.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of digital signal processing for a multi-disciplinary audience. It posits that though the theory involved in digital signal processing stems from electrical, electronics, communication, and control engineering, the topic has use in other disciplinary areas like chemical, mechanical, civil, computer science, and management. This book is written about digital signal processing in such a way that it is suitable for a wide ranging audience. Readers should be able to get a grasp of the field, understand the concepts easily, and apply as needed in their own fields. It covers sampling and reconstruction of signals; infinite impulse response filter; finite impulse response filter; multi rate signal processing; statistical signal processing; and applications in multidisciplinary domains. The book takes a functional approach and all techniques are illustrated using Matlab.