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In this work, a new method of bricks making based on waste paper has been developed for the thermal insulation of buildings. This method involves converting paper waste into aggregates and combining them with a Portland cement binder. A physical and thermal characterization of the Aggregate of Waste Paper (AWP) is carried out, followed by a structural study by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Six Paper Brick Types are made with the mass dosage variation of the composite. After drying the bricks in the open air for 28 days, experimental investigations were carried out to determine the density, the water absorption, the compressive and flexural strength, and the propagation speed of ultrasonic waves. In addition, a SEM analysis combined with an Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analysis (EDX) is performed to examine the adhesion between the AWP and the cement particles. The characterization results of the aggregates showed a low density and thermal conductivity amounting to170kg/m3 and 0.06 W/m.K, respectively, and the analysis of their microstructure by SEM demonstrated that their structure is composed of randomly distributed fibers. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the paper bricks are more resistant, since the compressive strength varies between 3.43 and 6.43 MPa, and their thermal properties are lower compared to the conventional bricks, from 0,0851 to 0,0978 W/m.K. Therefore, these findings clearly indicate that the newly made bricks represent an innovative solution for thermal insulation in buildings that can also be used as a structural material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for cost-effective and thermal efficient structural materials onto beating the high cost of construction is gaining more attention among researchers. This study focused on the blending of cement and sand with waste paper pulp into cost-effective structural materials. The composites were prepared in four mix groups with each containing a fixed amount of sand at 5, 10, 15, and 20 wt.% (by weight of pulp). Cement was varied at 10, 20, 30, and 40 wt.% in each group, and curing was done for 28 days. Properties evaluated are compressive, bending, and splitting strengths. It was observed that increasing cement and sand contents enhanced strengths; howbeit, the blend of 30 wt.% cement/15 wt.% sand resulted in a reduction in bending strength even as 30 wt.% cement/20 wt.% sand engendered a decrease in bending and splitting strength. The microstructural features showed that inherent fibers of the pulp were well bonded with hydration products and sand content yielding good performance in the composites. The optimization procedure carried out depicted a combination of 35.27% cement and 20% sand as the optimum composition. Experimental outcomes were modelled for the purpose of prediction of responses. The models were confirmed statistically fit showing how varying cement content affected strength responses at fixed sand proportion. ANOVA affirmed the significant contribution of cement and sand on the strength responses. Compliance reliability was observed to be dependent on the interactive pattern between cement and sand. Going by the standard prescription for the strength properties, cement and sand content of 35.27 and sand 20 wt.% satisfied all strength requirements for low-cost construction having a compliance reliability of 1.31. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hemp plant Cannabis sativa Linn, referring to industrial hemp, is a high-yielding annual industrial crop grown providing fibers from hemp stalk and oil from hemp seeds. Although hemp is a niche crop, hemp production is currently undergoing a renaissance. More than 30 countries grow hemp, with China being the largest hemp producing and exporting country. Europe and Canada are also important actors in the global hemp market. Traditionally, hemp as a fiber plant has been used for the production of apparels, fabrics, papers, cordages and building materials. The hurds, as waste by-product of fiber production, were used for bedding of animals, the seeds for human nutrition, e.g., as flour, and the oil for a wide range of purposes, from cooking to cosmetics. Hemp has also been an important crop throughout human history for medicine. Other more recent applications include materials for insulation and furniture, automotive composites for interior applications and motor vehicle parts, bioplastics, jewelry and fashion sectors, animal feed, animal bedding, and energy and fuel production. Foods containing hemp seed and oil are currently marketed worldwide for both animal and human nutrition. They also find applications in beverages and in neutraceutical products. Hemp oil is also used for cosmetics and personal care items, paints, printing inks, detergents and solvents. It is estimated that the global market for hemp consists of more than 25,000 products. Currently, the construction and insulation sector, paper and textile industries, and food and nutrition domains are the main markets while the cosmetics and automotive sector are growing markets. Innovative applications, e.g., in the medical and therapeutic domains, cosmeceuticals, phytoremediation, acoustic domain, wastewater treatment, biofuels, biopesticides and biotechnology, open new challenges. Hemp is also the object of numerous fundamental studies. This review presents and discusses the traditional and new uses of industrial hemp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high cost of building materials occasioned by the increased cost of constituent materials has contributed immensely to the problem of housing deficit faced in Africa and major developing countries of the world. Waste paper can be recycled into bricks but there are limited studies to that effect. Waste glass is used as partial cement replacement to reduce the cost of cement and is also used as a pozzolan. This study focused on the development of paperbricks from the wastes of paper and glass. Response surface method (RSM) was involved in the design of the experiment involving 4 factors: glass powder replacement of cement (A), curing duration (B), compaction pressure (C), and water/cement ratio (D). Box-Behnken method was engaged for the 4-factor, 3-level design. The result of ANOVA showed that experimental inputs had a significant effect on compressive strength response. Factors A, B, and C had a synergetic effect on the response while factor D had an antagonistic effect on the response. Combined interaction between the factors that the response depended on the interactive patterns of the factors. A statistical fit model was developed to predict the compressive strength of the composite. RSM optimization revealed a combination of 36.68%, 57.82 days, 8.50 MPa, and 0.364 for factors A, B, C, and D, respectively, predicting a strength value of 7.358 MPa. Validation experiment carried out using the optimal conditions yielded 7.54 MPa; a deviation of + 0.0247. Since the deviation is less than ± 0.05, the model was statistically validated and fit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart structures of 4D printing are perhaps interdisciplinary research area with significant development and applicability future. The cornerstone of 4D printing is smart materials. When a stimulus is put in front of this structure, it changes into a different structure. This article initially provides a succinct insight of the aforementioned 4DP: SMs-SSs: 4D printing (4DP) technology imminent enlargements of smart material's (SMs) prospective to physique smart structure (SSs). Investigation into 4D printing has pulled in phenomenal enthusiasm. The research work of 4DP: SMs-SSs has stimulated promising future. The paper discusses smart materials and their potential towards mainstream 4D printing for smart constructions (4DP: SMs-SSs). Cursory research write-up on smart materials associated 4D printing approaches to process them based on adaptability to stimuli, fabrication, control mechanisms, multi physics modeling, and existing as well as emerging functionalities. Indeed, innovative structural initiatives could perhaps inspire new paradigms for stimulate positive structures. Novelty structures are being thoroughly researched, and new ideas will be incorporated. Programmability, reactivity toward and adaptability to their circumstances, and automation are all functionality of 4D-printed items. The article's conclusion is that 4DP: SMs that can create intelligent/smart structures (SSs) will even trigger a massive era of construction material. This article shows an insight into how quickly technology is changing, how some researchers and scholars are figuring out what it can do, and how engineers could use the ideas. The adoption of smart materials will assist in resolving the problem to a greater extent. 4D printing relies on shape memory alloys/polymers (SMAs/SMPs) as so forth organic materials. Imminent enlargements of smart materials prospective to physique smart structures are still being experimented with by scientists and engineers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors analyze the problem of rationally selecting a procedure for determining the chloride ion contect in concrete and reinforced concrete structures, since the presence of chlorides affects the rate of corrosion of reinforcing steel. A review of the standardized and certified methods of the quantitative chemical analysis for determining the chloride ion content in concrete and reinforced concrete structures is given. The paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the procedures, commonly used in the construction industry, which are based on argentometric, phototurbidimetric, and potentiometric (ionometric) methods using the following criteria: "Purpose and scope of the analytical procedure," "Analytical method," "Measurement instruments and reagents," "Preparation for analysis," "Conducting analysis," and "Processing measurement results." A relevant for the construction businesses selection of the rational procedure of quantitative chemical analysis based on the complex quality indicator (cost of the procedure) has been proposed. A justification was provided for the construction companies to use the procedures based on the argentometric and potentiometric methods, if the mass fraction of chloride ions in concrete is greater than or equal to 0.5 or 0.05%, respectively. The proposed approach to selecting a rational analytical procedure can be used in practice to optimize the process of studying characteristics of construction materials, including for the purpose of ensuring safety of buildings and structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The honeycomb structure has superior compressive strength so that it is being utilized in various fields. In addition, the paper honeycomb has excellent economic feasibility because of its low production cost and has an environment-friendly advantage because its recycling is possible. Securing of flame retardant performance is essential to use it as interior materials of buildings and fireproof doors using the advantage like this. The present research has evaluated combustion and thermal properties according to flame retardant treatment in terms of two kinds of specimens when flame retardant film is attached to paper honeycomb, and when paper honeycomb is impregnated to flame retardant agents. As a result of evaluating flame retardant performance utilizing a cone calorimeter, the case impregnated into flame retardant agents showed the most superior flame retardant performance. Through this result, it was confirmed that the paper honeycomb can be utilized as interior materials of buildings though improvement of flame retardant performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the creation, development, and dissemination of prefabricated concrete rural houses in Jiangsu Province in East China from 1961 to the 1980s, an example of the technological transition provoked by the depletion of forest and timber in China. Through archival research, fieldwork and interviews, the paper examines the two waves of design and dissemination of prefabricated concrete rural houses between 1961 and 1965 and their subsequent 'vernacularisation' in the 1970s and the 1980s. This research provides a twofold insight into the current scholarly debates surrounding built heritage and global climate change. On one hand, it addresses a historical context of concrete overuse in contemporary China, a matter of critical importance in relation to carbon emissions and global climate change. On the other hand, it offers a counter-argument to today's call for reintroducing timber structures in many places, as evidenced by the case of East China, where the widespread use of materials like concrete was primarily a consequence of the ecological crisis following decades of deforestation and timber resource depletion. In addition, the 'vernacularisation' of concrete structures manifested by this case still provides lessons for today's efforts to popularise more eco-friendly construction materials and technologies, especially in rural areas, and the prefabricated concrete houses possess potential heritage values as trackers of ecological changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

About ¾ of Botswana is covered by Kgalagadi Sands (KS). KS are invariably closely graded, consist of medium to fine sub-rounded particles and contain insignificant amounts of silty and clayey fractions. As a result of these physical and chemical properties, KS lack packing and therefore compactibility, have very high voids ratios and are cohesionless. Consequently, the wet and dry strengths (compressive, shear and flexural), dimensional stability, durability and aesthetics of building blocks moulded with KS alone, in the very rare cases where they occur with silts and clays of the right quantities and quality, are well below acceptable values. This position paper describes the extensive experimental work currently underway at Botswana’s major multi-disciplinary Research and Development (R&D) Centre—Botswana Technology Centre. The work seeks to render this immensely abundant and widely available, but hitherto unusable resource, utilizable in construction. The affordability of the resultant KSBB shall derive from the local availability of KS as a raw material, usage of locally manufactured manually operated equipment and exploitation of local, largely unskilled labour force under supervision by semi-skilled artisans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalysts and photocatalytically modified materials based on titanium dioxide are used in a wide range of applications. Modified building materials are interesting for further research activities. These materials should be used as a substrate for photocatalysts to degrade a great variety of organic and inorganic pollutants like NO etc.Therefore methods to analyse the activity of these materials are necessary. Some national and international standards deal with photocatalytic degradation of different chemicals. However building materials show a different behaviour because pores and pH-values are not within their scope. Some standards and concepts were tested with building materials. A short overview of standards is given and some measurements are shown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying purchase intention by analyzing the Query and the Document of the product description (Q &D) text is one of the most important means of promoting Purchase Rate (PR). In view of that customers sometimes cannot describe their purchasing intention in queries, this paper aims to identify purchase intention from implicit queries by computing semantic similarity between Q &D and proposes a novel model based on Word2Vec algorithm, Long Short-term Memory (LSTM) and Deep Structured Semantic Model (DSSM). Besides, an empirical analysis is conducted through the Keras framework and based on the factual retrieval data of the Home Depot, an E-commerce website selling building materials in America. The results show that the proposed model has achieved improving F1-score on test dataset compared with other existing models. The novel model combines Word2Vec and LSTM to extract text features and applies DSSM to further fetch high-dimension representations by maximizing semantic similarity between the user query and the description of the correct merchandise. Our proposed model can be used to remove or minimize subjective factors in extracting features, improves the performance of purchasing intention identification, and also improves the customer experience of online shopping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites have become attractive structural materials for various applications owing to their exceptional characteristics like high strength-to-weight ratio, low density, and high elastic modulus. Although, CFRP composites are becoming the first choice for designing lightweight structures for advanced automobiles, aerospace, rockets, satellites, and other niche areas, however, delamination and poor interfacial properties limit their applications. This review is focused on the state-of-the-art progress in CFRP composites added with various types of nanoparticles to improve their interfacial strength and delamination resistance. Additionally, the review paper briefly discusses different characterization techniques to assess the interfacial shear strength and interlaminar shear strength for CFRPs. The paper also highlights the challenges with nano-reinforced CFRP composites such as dispersion of nanoparticles, machinability, limitations of different fabrication methods, and health issues owing to the by-products. These challenges must be addressed to harness the full potential of nano-reinforced CFRPs in real-world applications. The present article provides a pathway to extend the knowledge of recent trends on CFRP composite and future aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of high-performance lightweight fillers (LWFs) using mixed colour recycled glass and paper sludge ash (PSA) has been investigated. PSA has low sintering activity at temperatures below 1200 °C and therefore glass was added to promote liquid-phase sintering. This allows sintering to occur with simultaneous gas evolution from the decomposition of calcium carbonate present in PSA and this results in extensive pore formation and the production of foamed materials. The lightweight porous materials formed are suitable for use as LWFs. Key process parameters including PSA content, particle size of the raw materials and sintering conditions have been optimised. Optimum processing of glass containing 20 wt% PSA at 800 °C produces particles with physical and mechanical properties comparable to leading commercially available LWF products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Buildings are a basic requirement for human beings and an essential part of the built environment, with significant environmental impacts. In addition to their complex and diverse material use, buildings are expected to have a long lifespan, typically more than 50 years. This paper aims to evaluate the environmental performance of materials and construction activities for a typical residential building. Life cycle assessment methodology was applied using Simapro©software. A cradle-to-gate analysis was carried out. The results were analyzed based on the Ecoinvent 3.8 database and Eco-Indicator 99. The results show that reinforcing steel (21%) and concrete production (16%) are the most dominant processes, accounting for almost 37% of the overall environmental impact. Transportation also had an overall impact of around 15%. Brick production and use accounted for 11.23% of the overall impact, followed by lime mortar production (11%). Asphalt coating production and use had the 6th highest impact with 9.7% of the overall impact. Ceramic production accounted for 5% of the overall impact, followed by cut stone products with 3.58% of impact. Steel use, plaster mixing, excavation processes, laminate, fiberboard, paint, and glass production and use had around 7% of the overall impact in total. Besides, the resource depletion impact category showed the highest value among the three main impact categories. On the other hand, fossil fuels and respiratory inorganic impact categories were the most affected sub-impact categories among the 11 study impact categories. As material and designing codes, technology, and construction methods differ based on regions and countries, this paper demonstrates the importance of even smaller portions of materials such as Laminate production in the Land use and asphalt felt production in the Fossil fuels impact categories in, especially for countries with insufficient studies and databases for construction activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing the shortage of special building materials packaging machinery with thermal insulation and low intelligence, this paper designs a set of mechanical and electrical integration packaging unit control system to reduce the risk of material transportation for different stakeholders. According to risk management tools, the system takes Mitsubishi PLC as the control core and combines with communication module, servo motor drive system and touch screen man–machine interface to realize the risk simulation and automatic control of the packaging unit. The simulation results of PID control model show that the parameters such as speed and torque can be stabilized in a relatively short period of time when the load is suddenly changed within 1.5 s. Theoretical verification of the system has small steady-state error, rapid response, and good control effect. The man–machine interface design was carried out and the actual corresponding test experiment was carried out. The experimental results showed that the overall operation rate of the packaging unit system reached 98.15%, the pass rate was 99.03%, and the production capacity was about 9600 packs/hour, which met the production requirements. The control system of the building material packaging unit designed in this paper realizes the equipment intelligence, has a high degree of automation, and shows good potential application value in the aspects of building information, reduction of construction risks and manufacturing intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brake system is one of the most important systems on the vehicle, especially from the aspect of traffic safety. The use of the braking system comes with many undesirable effects, such as brake wear and noise emission. The noise that originates from brakes is related to the wear of brake elements, the applied materials for manufacture, to the elements which are connected to each other, and all of this represents a very challengeable problem in the automotive industry. In this paper are presented the dominant parameters that influence noise formation, where the main focus was placed on brake pads, as well as how the noise influences people's health. After that, further, in the paper, it was analyzed the influence of the brake pads' construction on the noise formation, and at the end are given the measures for noise reduction. The conclusions of the paper show that the construction of brake pads significantly influences noise emission, noise negatively influences on the people health, and because of the negative influence on the people health, some solutions show that it is necessary to include insulators in the construction of brake pads, and if the space in which people reside is observed, it is necessary during construction to use materials which will prevent noise conduction, into the space in which people reside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue publishes selected papers from the Session D6 of the Chinese Materials Conference 2019 (CMC-2019) held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China, in July 10-14, 2019. All the papers published in this special issue have been selected by the guest editors based on their quality of scientific research, submitted as regular papers to this journal, and gone through the journal's regular rigorous peer-review process. [Extracted from the article]

This paper aims to establish a unified typology for the culturally significant kulla stone houses built in the cross-border region of Kosovo, Albania, and Montenegro during the 18th and 19th centuries. Despite some attempts at typological categorisation on the national level, a joint typology for this region currently needs to be improved. Based on existing literature and field research, the paper identifies the specificities of different geographical locations while validating the core attributes common to all typological variations. The findings suggest that the joint typological classification of kulla in the Balkans should primarily be based on architectural elements and, to some extent, setting, building materials and techniques, while functional composition is consistent across all types. The paper argues that defining a common typology for the Albanian kulla stone houses in the Balkans is crucial for evaluating, preserving, and developing kulla as serial properties and for their future regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C/SiC composites are high-temperature structural materials with excellent properties, such as high-temperature resistance and light weight, and are widely used in aerospace fields as advanced materials. Pores are common and unavoidable defects inside composite components, especially affecting mechanical properties and further affecting the safety and life of the components during the service stage. Conventional methods for pore characterization in regular-shaped composites are not suitable for special-shaped C/SiC composite components. To accurately evaluate the effect of pore defects on component properties, in this paper, an effective method is proposed to characterize the spatial distribution state of isolated pores in a special-shaped C/SiC composite component. The isolated pores in the C/SiC composites are identified and localized based on the fractal dimension of local fine characterization of X-ray computed tomography (CT) images using fractal theory. A very strong correlation is found between the fractal dimension of the pore segmentation images and pore characteristics, which is used to identify the connected and isolated pores in C/SiC composites. According to the CT images and fractal dimension statistics analysis results, isolated pores were accurately identified and located. The nondestructive evaluation of isolated pore distribution state inside the studied component was achieved via three-dimensional visual characterization. The minimum volume of the isolated pores identified by the proposed method is 5832 μm3. The results provide a strong basis for further analyzing the effect of pore defect distributions on the mechanical properties of composite components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper "Differences in interactions within viral replication complexes of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and SARS-CoV coronaviruses control RNA replication ability" by Katti et al. is timely and insightful. In the paper "Fabrication and characterization of Sr-doped hydroxyapatite porous scaffold", Zhou et al. introduced a novel method of fabricating a three-dimensional Sr-doped hydroxyapatite (HA) porous scaffold. Naleway, Carlson, and their team contributed a paper titled "Biotemplating of a highly porous cellulose-silica composite from I Apium graveolens i by a low-toxicity sol-gel technique.". [Extracted from the article]

Material management technology has always been the basic and core technology of traditional construction projects. But now, because traditional material management consumes more resources and has low efficiency, it has gradually been replaced by modern material management systems represented by computer technology, thus saving a lot of enterprise input costs and reducing the impact of traditional material management technology on enterprise operating income. Based on this background, this paper introduces improved neural network technology to adapt to the circular economy environment, so as to complete the construction and improvement of the building materials data management system. The system can be used to complete building materials management, basic data management, etc., and can be optimized for the system itself. Through network technology, the client can be connected to the server switch, and Ajax technology and JSP programming language can be used for compatibility processing, so that the system can run better in the Windows environment. According to the simulation experiment designed for the system, the output sample value of the system is close to the measured value, with good prediction accuracy, small error and high stability. Therefore, the application of AdaBoost ANN algorithm can effectively realize the prediction of building materials. In addition, other functions of the system, such as interactive page design, operation interface and database, can better adapt to the circular economy environment and actual user needs. In this paper, the improved neural network is applied to the field of building material design under the environment of circular economy, thus completing the system optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling plastic waste in construction applications is a common concept for innovative concrete development. Enormous studies have been conducted for the past three decades. Yet, there is a need in understanding the behavior of the plastic, its effects on cement composite, and the possible approaches for extending the usage of plastic waste to be an alternative resource component of cement composites. For the first section, the types of plastic and its characteristic as well as the overview on the plastic production and waste generated are discussed briefly. Further, the paper is focused on the relevant information on the plastic waste in cement composites and the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic as plastic aggregate in cement composites. The review also includes the factors that influence PVC aggregate on cement composites which are physical characteristics of PVC plastic aggregate, the effect on mechanical and permeation properties of cement composites. The paper also examines the possible approaches in improving the PVC plastic aggregate characteristics, which can enhance the usage of PVC plastic aggregate for sustainable construction material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural fibres of plant and animal origin have been explored vastly over the last two decades and are gaining importance over synthetic counterparts owing to their biodegradability, renewability, lightweight and better biochemical and strength properties. Plant-based natural fibres such as banana, coir, sisal, jute, kenaf and many others have been studied for industrial applications. Among these, banana fibre is of major interest as banana is one of the most consumed fruit worldwide with annual production of 115.7 million tonnes in the year 2018 and is grown in 130 countries, which makes banana waste available locally. Various parts of banana plant such as fruit, fruit peel, flower bud, leaves and pseudo-stem (banana trunk) are utilized for different industrial purposes. Pseudo-stem is the major portion of banana waste biomass and yields good quality fibre that has the potential for industrial applications in the making of sanitary pads, textiles, pulp and paper, food and reinforced composite materials for automobiles, construction material, aerospace and other composite materials. Recently, Philippine Department of Science and Technology prepared masks from banana fibre which can cut the usage of single usage plastic. This review outlines various methods of extraction of fibre, biochemical and mechanical properties of banana fibre and its applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate significantly affects the performance of building materials and its changing patterns are posed to increasingly exacerbate the projected impacts. Prevention strategies are indeed necessary to ensure avoiding excessive degradation and serious damage to the built environment. In this context, innovative and accessible methodologies and tools are required to investigate and characterize the interaction between material properties and climatic factors. This paper presents an innovative device for the simulation of natural ventilation, relative humidity and temperature fluctuations and for evaluating the performance of building materials subjected to different environmental scenarios. The presented results include the design, construction and validation of a small-scale wind tunnel (2 m × 1.8 m ca. vertical orientation). Key findings outline the adequacy of the tool in reproducing a stable, quality airflow with the following characteristics: achievable operational airflow speed ranges between 0.2 and 0.7 m/s, safe operational temperature is included between 10℃ and 35℃ and allowable operational relative humidity varies between 30 and 99%. Advantages and limitations for laboratory applications are outlined in the paper and future work is also suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the significant growth of the global population, several severe issues have emerged, including pollution, economic challenges, and environmental problems. To tackle these ecological issues, many construction experts are actively seeking new flexible techniques. Among these, Nano-technology stands out as a crucial field aiming to enhance the efficiency of the built environment and play a vital role in addressing future challenges. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of integrating Nano-technology techniques in construction to harness the acquired properties of materials and their impact on the interior thermal environment. The paper is divided into three main parts, each providing a detailed and scientific depiction of the study. The first part begins by shedding light on the concept of sustainability in architecture and the evaluation of sustainable buildings. Additionally, it explores the definition of Nano-technology and its substantial impact on the field of architecture by discussing various architectural terms associated with Nano-technology. The emergence of Nano-architecture is seen as a significant advancement in scientific research, representing a fusion between architecture and Nano-technology. Moving on to the second part of the thesis, it focuses on how Nano-technology techniques influence the work of architects. Nowadays, architects consider the properties of construction materials, construction methods, and energy consumption. These factors are essential in achieving an ideal design that is defined as sustainable. The second part also examines the effect of Nano-technology on the thermal environment, analyzing both national and international projects that have implemented this technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The valorization of phosphate mine waste (PMW) in different fields has recently become attractive to many researchers. This review paper examines the potential use of PMW as a raw material in different applications toward sustainable management strategies. Dewatering, recovery of phosphate and heavy metals, building materials and ceramics applications have been captured in this paper. Based on the origin of deposit and the treatment during ore beneficiation, the PMW shows different mineral compositions and various percentage of chemical elements which make it suitable for most of the studied applications. The objective of this paper is to show the potential of the phosphate mine waste valorization and to identify the knowledge gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The carbon intensity that accompanies concrete manufacturing has been widely investigated. However, depending on the intended use, concrete's embedded materials' quantities can change significantly, affecting its environmental performance. Seldom investigated, sprayed concrete's impact differs from that of typical ready mixed concrete, which justifies a differentiated inspection. Our goals are (i) to prove that sprayed concrete's environmental impacts are under-investigated and (ii) to provide an overview on how concrete's components' production cycles are typically modelled in LCAs. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review (SLR) to gather the widest possible sample of papers in a replicable and transparent manner, aiming to answer two research questions: 'What is the life cycle performance of sprayed concrete?' and 'What are the most frequent methodological choices made to perform an LCA of concrete's constituents?'. We used eight different keyword strings for each of concrete's most used components and searched for documents in databases Springer and ScienceDirect. After 3 conservative filtering rounds, 282 papers were thoroughly and collectively assessed to feed the outcome herein documented. Results and discussion: The investigated literature not only showed a gap in sprayed concrete's environmental impacts documentation but also allowed us to build a literary dossier to ground researches aiming to calculate typical concrete mixes' impact through LCA, assuring comparability with the ecological status quo for that construction material. Practitioners' most frequent methodological choices were documented, along with common standard breaches and limitations in investigated studies. Conclusions: By systematically structuring our research protocol, we covered enough papers to provide a sound overview and to make collective conclusions regarding available literature. We make two main recommendations for LCA practitioners: non-carbon correlated impact categories ought to be investigated—especially as we move towards more carbon-friendly technologies in concrete/cement manufacturing. Second, practitioners should always comply with the transparency requirements of an LCA. Our outcome pointed to an alarming number of published papers that failed to declare basic methodological choices such as data sources, assessment methods used and impact distribution strategies in multifunctional processes' modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lists academic papers published in Volumes 37, 38, and 39 of the scholarly periodical "Journal of Materials Science". "Structure and properties of glass-like carbon"; "Improving cement-based materials by using silica fume"; "Electron backscatter Kikuchi diffraction in the scanning electron microscope for crystallographic analysis"; "Progress in Ostwald ripening theories and their applications to the y'-precipitates in nickel-base superalloys Part II".

The first European settlements in the new world faced technical issues with the help of the XVI century scientific advances. Besides briefly exposing the scientific and technological situation, this paper explores, with the help of reverse engineering, two singular mechanical wits representative of the technological advances introduced in America to overcome different problems. Firstly, a pump, based on an alternative movement system through crankshafts and pistons used against the continuous flooding suffered in the Ciudad de México valley. Although flooding remained a problem (it was solved in the XX century), hydraulic pumps were essential for continuous soil drainage. Secondly, a port crane for handling cannons, military devices, and construction materials during the Lima fortification in the XVII century. For both cases, reverse engineering, through engineering methods, Computer-Aided Design CAD programs, and additive manufacturing, provides virtual and/or tangible mockups that help to analyze and improve our knowledge about the dimensions, materials, and functions of used (and currently lost) mechanical systems during the American colonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing experimental data demonstrate a significant stress-state sensitivity of the properties for a wide class of solids, including metals, rocks, plastics, and other structural materials. Conventional parameters used to describe the material stress state are the stress triaxiality and the Lode angle. However, only dependence of the fracture criteria on the type of stress state is often considered. In the present paper, a version of constitutive relations is proposed which allow to describe the stress-state dependence of the material properties for the entire deformation process and thus to provide a more accurate approach to the estimation of the stress–strain state of solids. The proposed approach is exemplified with the solutions of various spherically symmetry problems for physically nonlinear solids. It can be noticed that the stress-state sensitivity taken into account may result in essential deviations of the solutions obtained from the predictions of the classical models. Although the constitutive relations are essentially nonlinear, in some particular cases, an analytic solution of the problem can be obtained. The approach discussed in this paper provides a relatively simple but realistic continuum model able to describe complicated deformation features of materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two groups of governing equations have been obtained due to the extensive theoretical and experimental studies in the field of mechanics of deformable solids conducted worldwide: (1) constitutive equations and criteria for damage and fracture in an isothermal formulation and (2) relationships between elastoplastic deformations and dissipative heat release. The paper considers the problems of the coupling between the processes of deformation and fracture and the kinetic effects of self-heating of the material due to the development of deformations. These problems are quite complex in the experimental and theoretical terms for relatively limited (up to 0.1), increased (up to 0.2) and large (up to 0.5) strains both under uniform and nonuniform states stresses and strains (with stress concentration factors ranging from 1 to 3). This leads to an essentially nonlinear formulation of coupled thermo-mechanical problems. The paper focuses on the scientific and methodological aspects of the formation of constitutive equations for the structural materials subjected to static and cyclic elastoplastic loading, and on determining the relationship between the processes of deformation and self-heating of the material due to internal heat release that occurs at limited operational strains that are close to isothermal ones as well as large static and cyclic strains that are close to the fracture ones and are accompanied by intensive (up to 500–600 ∘ C) self-heating. The results of the experiments performed on specimens made of two different structural steels with different mechanical properties (heat-resistant and radiation-resistant low-alloy chromium–molybdenum–vanadium steel and austenitic stainless chromium–nickel–titanium steel) are presented. Precision measurements of temperatures of the material at various levels of strains were taken during static and cyclic tests that were carried on smooth and notched specimens under high-vacuum conditions using thermal imaging systems and high-sensitivity thermocouples. The results of the performed computational and experimental studies can be used for the estimation of strength and service life of highly loaded structural components of nuclear reactors, rocket engines, supersonic aircraft and other complex technical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 2019, this journal published "Assessment of the effects of temperature and moisture content on the hygrothermal transport and storage properties of porous building materials" Ferroukhi et al. (Heat Mass Transf 55:1607–1617, 2019). A thorough check reveals that this target paper is riddled with errors. This comment aims at pointing out the flaws, and, given their multitude and magnitude, finally recommends a retraction of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This theoretical paper is devoted to a non-linear rheological model and its application in fracture analysis of a beam structure with an arbitrary number of longitudinal vertical cracks. The beam under consideration is a functionally graded material with viscoplastic behavior. The rheological model is structured by springs, dashpots, and a frictional slider that considers the plastic strains in the beam. The model is with two consecutive units. Solutions for the time-dependent strain energy release rate for each crack in the functionally graded beam structure under external mechanical loading are obtained using the rheological model. The J-integral is applied to control the solutions obtained. The solutions consider the viscoplastic behavior and the progressive variation of functionally graded material properties in the beam structure. It is shown that the solution derived in the present paper can be applied to examine the relation between the distribution of mechanical properties and the longitudinal fracture in functionally graded structural materials with viscoplastic behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two facets of rationalizing natural fires in concrete compartments for structural fire safety. The paper proposes the rate of fire growth corresponding to the maximum possible peak temperature in a compartment, followed by an equation to estimate the equivalent severity between the standard and a natural fire using an energy-based approach. Standard fire curves, applied universally for all design conditions may over- or under-predict real compartment fires. Meanwhile, a full-fledged performance-based design is neither practical nor straightforward to employ in every design situation. The Eurocode parametric temperature–time curves enable engineers to account for specific compartment characteristics, including compartment geometry, building materials, fuel load, and ventilation. Given that different structural fire safety design approaches entail varying levels of complexity, this paper presents simple methods to estimate the worst-scenario compartment fire characteristics. Additionally, fire ratings are established only using standard fire curves, necessitating a scientific means of determining an equivalent severity between natural and standard fires. The energy-equivalence approach used in this paper to establish an equivalent fire severity yields more consistent results than traditional equivalent fire severity methods and empirical formulae for concrete compartments. The proposed equations are developed using simulations of compartment fires and provide insights into the ventilation characteristics that result in the worst-case scenario for both the rate of fire growth and the equivalent time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of a sustainable use of resources with the aim of the reduction of the CO2 footprint, the development of alternative concrete materials has attracted a great deal of attention. In this context, geopolymers, obtained from common clay deposits, are found to be interesting construction materials with very versatile properties. In this paper, a completely novel approach for the evaluation of the suitability of clays for the geopolymer formation is investigated. The method is based on simple and easy-to-handle IR spectroscopic measurements, through which the surface area under the OH stretching band in the IR spectrum of the clay can directly be correlated to the amount of reactive clay components. These reactive components are required for the success of the alkali activation of the clays in order to access geopolymers. Based on the theoretical reaction pathway of the geopolymer formation, the linear relationship between the OH stretching band area and the reactive components can be used for the estimation of the required activator amount for the alkali activation of calcined clays and predict the quality of the casted geopolymer mortar in terms of strength. This new method not only gives an insight into the suitability of a common clay for the geopolymer formation, but also facilitates a straightforward alkali activation procedure without tedious preliminary testing of the required activator amount. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The swift growth of urban areas and industries has resulted in a rise in concrete production and subsequent depletion of resources as well as environmental pollution. In light of environmental considerations, it has become imperative to discover and advance alternative binding construction materials that can substitute conventional Portland cement. Geopolymers have emerged as a viable solution to this issue. Geopolymer composites can benefit from unique attributes and improved performance through the use of nanomaterials. This is achieved by augmenting the composite's microstructural features, creating additional C-S-H, N-A-S-H, and C-A-S-H gels, and filling in nanopores within the matrix. In this paper, extensive experimental laboratory works have been conducted to investigate the effects of adding different dosages (1, 2, 3, and 4%) of nano-silica (NS) particles on the setting times, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, resistance to elevated temperatures, electrical resistivity, bulk electrical conductivity, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy of geopolymer concrete composites. As a result of the addition of NS, the mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, and thermal behavior of geopolymer concrete all improved by 21%, 36%, and 26%, respectively, in comparison to the control GPC mixture. Furthermore, according to SEM observations, the addition of NS improved the microstructural characteristics of the GPC specimens due to the formation of additional geopolymerization products. Finally, it was discovered through statistical and multivariate analysis that the developed model codes, such as ACI 318, ACI 363, AS3600, and CEB-FIP, are not suitable for predicting splitting tensile strength, electrical resistivity from their tested compressive strength values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metakaolin (MK) is one of the most sustainable cementitious construction materials, which is derived through a direct heating procedure known as calcination. Calcination process takes place substantially lower temperatures than that required for Portland cement, making it a more environmentally sustainable alternative to traditional cement. This procedure causes the removal of hydroxyl water from the naturally occurring kaolin clay (Al2Si2O5(OH)4 with MK (Al2O3·2SiO2) as its product. Kaolin naturally exists in large amount within 5°29′N–5°35′N and 7°21′E–7°3′E geographical coordinates surrounding Umuoke, Obowo, Nigeria. Alumina and silica are the predominant compounds in MK, which provide it with the pozzolanic ability, known as the 3-chemical pozzolanic potential (3CPP), with high potential as a cementitious material in concrete production and soil stabilization. Over the years, researchers have suggested the best temperature at which MK is derived to have the highest pozzolanic ability. Prominent among these temperature suggestions were 800 °C (3CPP of 94.45%) and 750 °C (3CPP of 94.76%) for 2 h and 5 h' calcination periods, respectively. In this research paper, 11 different specimens of Kaolin clay obtained from Umuoke, Nigeria, were subjected to a calcination process at oven temperatures from 350 to 850 °C in an increment of 50 °C for 1 h each to derive 11 samples of MK. The MK samples and Kaolin were further subjected to X-ray fluorescence), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) tests to determine the microstructural behaviour and the pozzolanic properties via the 3CPP as to exploit the best MK with the highest cementing potential as a construction material. The results show that the MK heated at 550 °C and 800 °C produced the highest pozzolanic potentials of 96.26% and 96.28%, respectively. The enhancement in pozzolanic potential at optimum calcination temperature is attributed to an increase in the specific surface area upon calcination of kaolinite confirmed by BET results. The SEM and XRD results further supported the above result with the strengthened crystal structure of the MK at these preferred temperatures. Generally, 550 °C is more preferred due to the less heat energy needed for its formulation during 1 h of calcination, which outperforms the previous results, that suggested 750 °C and 800 °C in addition to longer hours of heat exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bayer red mud is a strong alkaline solid waste discharged during alumina production. Due to large emissions and strong alkalinity, red mud is now mostly dammed or buried, which not only occupies huge land but also contaminates the surrounding ecosystem, causing the risk of collapse and landslide. In addition to its overall utilization in building materials, agriculture, the environment, and the chemical industry, red mud also contains valuable metals such as sodium, aluminum, iron, titanium, and scandium and is considered to be an important secondary resource. In this paper, the physicochemical properties and hazards of red mud are first introduced, and then, the overall utilization of red mud is summarized. Then, the latest research progress on the separation and extraction of valuable metals from red mud is reviewed in detail and a new comprehensive utilization method is recommended and evaluated. This paper also provides suggestions for the future development direction of the comprehensive utilization technology of red mud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites (HPFRCC) have shown benefits in improving infrastructure resilience but often compromises sustainability due to the higher upfront cost and carbon footprint compared with conventional concrete. This paper presents a framework to optimize HPFRCC for improving bridge resilience and sustainability. This research considers ultra-high-performance concrete and strain-hardening cementitious composite featuring high mechanical properties, ductility, and damage tolerance. This paper establishes links between resilience, sustainability, mechanical properties of HPFRCC, and HPFRCC mixtures. The investigated mechanical properties include the first crack stress, ultimate tensile strength, and ultimate tensile strain. With the established links, sustainability is maximized while resilience is retained by optimizing HPFRCC mixtures. The framework is implemented into a case study of a bridge that collapsed during construction. Results show that use of HPFRCC enhances resilience, and HPFRCC mixtures can be engineered to minimize the material cost and carbon footprint while retaining high resilience. Highlights: ● A practical framework is presented to improve bridge resilience and sustainability. ● High-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites are tailored in the framework. ● Effects of mechanical strength and ductility of materials on bridge resilience are evaluated. ● Material cost and carbon footprint are minimized while bridge resilience is improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globally, cement is the highest utilized pozzolanic material in construction. Consequently, yearly ordinary Portland cement is manufactured in enormous amounts worldwide. Manufacturing of cement is a natural resource and energy consuming process which involves greenhouse gas CO2 release in the air in vast amount. The utilization of ordinary Portland cement in construction can be lessened by replacing it with some other by-product cementitious material having equal or higher mechanical strength and durability. This paper discusses the impact of cement manufacturing on the environment and gives the background to the requirements for the invention of alternate binders over conventional binders like cement. Many researchers attempted to produce an environmentally friendly binder, "Geopolymer". This paper aims to present an overview of past and recent studies on the utilization of flyash and other waste materials in developing geopolymer as a sustainable construction material. Description of the production of geopolymer, the chemistry of geopolymerization, microstructural analysis, and its relationship with mechanical strength and durability of geopolymer are reviewed. Moreover, the influence of the inclusion of calcium-based waste material in geopolymerization is reviewed and reported. Many researchers reported higher strength of a flyash-based geopolymer composite than the conventional cement composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gypsum-based composite is a widely used material in construction applications; it is a traditional material that is frequently used in non-structural and decoration, such as dry walls and ceilings, because to its benefits, which include environmental aspects, sound and heat insulation capabilities, and fire resistance. Brittleness, poor mechanical properties, and high water absorption are the main drawbacks of gypsum-based composites, limiting their use. Fibers have been employed to improve the performance of gypsum-based composites in a number of research investigations. Natural date palm fibers (DPF) are considered efficient candidate for natural reinforcement in composites that dedicated to various applications due to many reasons, mainly, their low cost, good thermophysical and mechanical properties compared to man-made fibers. Date palm fibers-reinforced gypsum-based composites showed good overall performance and would be more commercially viable as building materials. This paper reviews previous research on date palm fiber-reinforced gypsum-based composites. This paper summarizes, evaluates, and discusses the sources and properties of gypsum and DPFs, the influence of these fibers on the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites, and it highlights the fiber surface treatments to improve the fiber–matrix adhesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan lying on a high seismic region, many residential buildings constructed during the Soviet Union are still in service. These buildings were not properly designed against earthquakes and special seismic detailing was not well considered according to the local design code. Therefore, this paper presents an analytical seismic assessment of two typical reinforced concrete moment frame residential structures constructed in this era, representing 812 buildings with almost identical construction materials, geometries, and structural details. Two-dimensional nonlinear models were developed for these buildings in each orthogonal direction based on the structural details collected from a Kazakh government agency. Incremental dynamic analyses were then performed using 24 historical strong ground motions with fault characteristics similar to those in the Almaty region. Structural global and local seismic responses were investigated. A new approach was proposed to define structural global inter-story drift limits at different damage states based on local seismic demands considering uncertainties of earthquakes and structural nonlinear dynamic responses. Based on these inter-story drift limits, the structural fragility curves were then developed to identify the damage probability of these buildings, which were further used to roughly estimate repair costs at different earthquake intensity levels. It has been found that these buildings are vulnerable to destructive earthquakes due to poor structural details. They possess a high probability of incurring extensive damage (high repair cost) or even collapsing (irreparable) at the earthquake intensity level, with a return period of 475 years or 2475 years, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of material management is to arrange the use of materials reasonably, which is particularly important for the construction industry. Wireless communication can transmit a lot of information in time in production, which can promote the management and arrangement of building materials. In order to explore the management method of prefabricated materials, this paper compares the prefabricated building materials management based on BIM with the traditional method and the management method combining BIM and wireless communication through sampling survey and sand table simulation. This paper compares the material procurement, storage and quality in the construction stage and analyzes the material management differences of different technical methods in different stages. The results show that the average inventory turnover rate of BIM-based management method is 6 times, and that of conventional method is 4 times. However, in the construction stage, the gap between the two methods is narrowed. The combination of wireless communication and BIM leads the whole process in inventory turnover rate. The turnover times of prefabricated building materials management method based on BIM Technology is reduced to 3 times, and that of conventional method is reduced to 2 times. However, the turnover times of BIM combined with wireless communication is more than 4 times. Therefore, BIM-based prefabricated building materials management can reduce the use of funds and the occupation of warehouse, and control the quality of materials better than the traditional methods. However, the combination of BIM and wireless communication can achieve better results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a physical and mathematical model and the results of evaluation calculations of the process of gas release from structural materials located inside a nonpressurized instrument compartment (NPIC) of a high-orbital spacecraft. Also presented is a model of the dynamics of the pressure drop of the residual gas inside the NPIC, after passing through the active phase of the flight and entering the calculated orbit. It is shown that the main reason for the significant (2–3 week) duration of the process of gas-pressure reduction of an NPIC to a value that allows the inclusion of high-frequency and -voltage equipment is the process of gas evolution from structural and paintwork materials located inside the NPIC. The intensity of outgassing, in turn, depends on the diffusion processes of outgassing substances within the materials themselves. An analysis of the influence of the geometry of the ventilation openings on the duration of the decrease in pressure inside the NPIC to the required level indicated the insignificance of this influence. The physical and mathematical models presented in the paper make it possible to estimate the characteristic time for reducing the pressure inside the NPIC to the required level and, thereby, select the materials inside the NPIC in order to reduce the period of reaching the allowable pressure inside the NPIC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The instrumented indentation method, based on the digital recording of the parameters of the entire process of continuous local deformation of the material by an indenter, provides more complete and accurate information about the material's behavior under load. Obtaining such information without compromising the integrity of a critical structure during operation increases its value. Therefore, more and more attention has recently been paid to portable installations and devices that use the instrumented indentation method. To date, no such equipment is manufactured in Ukraine. Therefore, there is a need to develop portable equipment for conducting such tests in the field under various modes of static and cyclic loading in the macro range of forces. The paper describes an updated portable installation PIIT-02M for determining the strength characteristics of structural elements in service by instrumented indentation, which was developed following the requirements of ISO 14577 and is intended for testing at the macro level. The system of fastening the portable installation on the test object was updated from mechanical (hooks and chains) to electromagnetic. This made it possible to conduct tests on pipes and flat surfaces, including sheet materials and structures made of them, significantly increasing the test efficiency and expanding the range of applications. Comparative tests on a 12 mm thick structural carbon 20 steel plate using the previous mechanical fastening system and the new electromagnetic one showed that the indentation diagrams obtained overlap well. Based on the results of tests of high-strength steels, the portable installation PIIT-02M allows one under both laboratory and operating conditions to record the process of indentation of the indenter into specimens of structural materials with high accuracy and, accordingly, to determine their mechanical characteristics by instrumented indentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report on our experimental findings regarding the release of easily condensing substances from certain structural materials utilized in spacecraft, and we evaluate the impact of thin condensate films on the integral optical coefficients of external thermal control coatings (TCCs) of spacecraft. To simulate the space environment and solar radiation, the experiments were conducted in a vacuum. We found that the flux densities of the components released from the materials' surfaces reach 5.4 × 10–7 g cm–2 s–1 and exhibit an exponential decrease over time. Furthermore, thin condensate films with a thickness of 100 Å can significantly degrade the integral optical coefficients of TCCs by tens of percent. These effects can alter the heat balance of the spacecraft. The experimental research methods used in this study can be applied to a broad range of materials, and the results have implications for the design and construction of various types of spacecraft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Adequate and affordable housing is essential in tackling poverty and improving living and indoor health conditions for lower and medium-income families, in both developed and developing nations. However, there is a lack of affordable housing which directly causes homelessness and formation of slum-dwellings. Sub-Saharan Africa has the most urban slum dwellers with an estimated 53.6% of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa dwelling in urban slums. Additionally, the housing deficit in South Africa currently stands at about 2.2 million units, with a projected housing demand of 500,000 housing units over 20 years. Given the climate crisis and need for affordable housing in South Africa, low-cost and low-carbon solutions are essential. Sandbag building technology (SBT) is one such promising solution, consuming less energy during construction and operation than conventional technologies as well as regulating the internal temperature of the building through thermal mass. However, there is still a need to assess how this simpler construction style and locally sourced building materials perform from a whole life cycle perspective. Thus, this paper presents a life cycle assessment (LCA) determining the holistic sustainability of a vernacular, sandbag house design in South Africa. Methods: The environmental LCA analysed the SBT under two scenarios: manual and automated, based on extraction of sand. The life cycle cost (LCC) analysis evaluated the SBT house from the different life cycle stages: design, production and operation, and disposal. The findings show that the carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions depend largely on the availability of locally sourced sand and whether the process is manual, automated, or both. Results: Upfront embodied CO2e emissions total 189 and 174 kgCO2e/m2 for the automated and manual scenarios, respectively. Assuming no decarbonisation, the operational emissions equal 7966 kgCO2e/m2, but could be as low as 1444 kgCO2e/m2 (achieving net zero by 2050). Whole life embodied CO2e impacts, i.e. stages A and C, total 262 and 247 kgCO2e/m2 for the automated and manual scenarios, respectively. The difference between the manual and automated scenarios can be significant at 15 kgCO2e/m2, equating to an additional 1125 kgCO2e for a 75m2 house. The estimated LCC for a 75 m2 building constructed with SBT is R 533,898.01 (US $31,167) or R 7118/m2. Conclusions: The sandbag method remains challenging for multi-storey construction due to the weight; however, it can contribute to low carbon, affordable housing in South Africa as a sandbag house does not need highly skilled labour or expensive materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]