Research Method For Construction

Technology provided the author of this book with the inspiration to develop a more comprehensive research method to assess buildings: Analysing Buildings from Context to Detail in time: ABCD Research Method. Technology, at academic level, should be considered in the analysis of a building. In this book the focus is on construction engineering, the study of the requirements associated with constructing buildings. Providing information on practice is a key element in construction engineering, which is a learning process.

This book highlights the use of commercially available recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) extracted from multiple construction and demolition sites, considering it as a viable alternative to conventional aggregate. It further describes the advanced techniques, such as, scanning electron microscopy, nanoindentation, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray microtomography shedding light on the deep-rooted causes of inferior macro-mechanical performance of RAC and the advantages of particle packing method design approach in this regard. It then describes the improved properties of RAC with the help of macro-mechanical performance studies, microstructural characterization and fracture analysis. The systematic and in-depth presentation of the use of recycled coarse aggregate as an alternative to conventional aggregate for the preparation of structural concrete will guide researchers on subsequent research in RAC and provide assistance to structural engineers and concrete manufacturers for the usage of RAC.

This book presents the proceedings of an International Conference on Advances in Engineering Structures, Mechanics & Construction, held in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, May 14-17, 2006. The contents include contains the texts of all three plenary presentations and all seventy-three technical papers by more than 153 authors, presenting the latest advances in engineering structures, mechanics and construction research and practice.

The 121 revised full papers and 52 short papers presented together with the abstracts of 3 invited papers and those of the keynote speeches were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 467 submissions. The papers cover a wide range of topics, including e-learning platforms and tools, learning resource management, practice and experience sharing, e-learning standards, mobile learning, education and remote classrooms, effectiveness of VR for education, life long learning, collaborative environments, remote group simulations, collaborative learning, virtual reality in education, game design and development, game engine development, game AI and artificial life, game physics, game rendering, virtual characters/agents, online/mobile game/video game, storytelling and game narrative, affective interaction in games, digital museum, digital heritage, animation techniques, augmented reality, and mixed reality.