Life-cost approach to building evaluation comprehensively addresses in a reader-friendly, accessible way the fundamentals of life-cost studies in the built environment. It includes the time-value of money, discounted cash-flow analysis, differential price-level movement and affordability fluctuations. Contemporary issues such as occupancy costs, sustainability implications and value adding are also addressed. Replete with illustrations and examples, this innovative book provides a holistic approach to evaluation that integrates life-costing to broader social and environmental criteria. Important features include: - presentation materials to facilitate face-to-face and online learning - review questions - worked tutorial exercises, and - example examination papers.

Life cycle assessment enables the identification of a broad range of potential environmental impacts occurring across the entire life of a product, from its design through to its eventual disposal or reuse. The need for life cycle assessment to inform environmental design within the built environment is critical, due to the complex range of materials and processes required to construct and manage our buildings and infrastructure systems. After outlining the framework for life cycle assessment, this book uses a range of case studies to demonstrate the innovative input-output-based hybrid approach for compiling a life cycle inventory. This approach enables a comprehensive analysis of a broad range of resource requirements and environmental outputs so that the potential environmental impacts of a building or infrastructure system can be ascertained. These case studies cover a range of elements that are part of the built environment, including a residential building, a commercial office building and a wind turbine, as well as individual building components such as a residential-scale photovoltaic system. Comprehensively introducing and demonstrating the uses and benefits of life cycle assessment for built environment projects, this book will show you how to assess the environmental performance of your clients’ projects, to compare design options across their entire life and to identify opportunities for improving environmental performance.

This book highlights fundamental research on the design and application of engineering materials, and predominantly mechanical engineering applications. This area includes a wide range of technologies and materials, including metals, polymers, composites, and ceramics. Advanced applications include manufacturing cutting-edge materials, testing methods, and multi-scale experimental and computational aspects. The book introduces readers to a wealth of engineering applications in transport, civil, packaging and power generation.

Contents: Let's Refurbish; Problems (Structural and Building Systems Analysis); Diagnosis (Investigations, Testing, Case Studies); Options--Long Term, Short Term, Value Engineering, Performance Specifications, etc.; Documentation; Cost Factors; Site Organizations; Typical Solutions; Is It Worth It? The only practical reference guide on special repair and renovation problems of "modern" buildings. 175 illustrations (100 halftones).

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 8th International Conference on Concrete under Severe Conditions - Environment and Loading - CONSEC2016, September 12-14, 2016, Lecco, Italy