Abstract: Self-compacting concrete (SCC) mix designs exhibit complexities in their mechanical properties due to composite nature of the material and the multitude and variety of factors that affect such properties. In this paper, a set of SCC mix designs are made using silica quicksand (as filler) instead of rock powder with other required materials. The tests of fresh concrete such as the slump flow, J-ring, V-funnel, L-box tests and the hardened... More

Abstract: This study aims to show the impact of orientation and glazing type on optimum window size in hot climate using genetic algorithms. In winter the optimization of window size is obtained thanks to thermal gains from solar radiation, taking into account this free heat gains from the sun reduces heating demand of the building. In summer the optimization of window size is complex, in this case, the window is considered as a heat gains element. For a... More

Abstract: Detailed energy-use information of office buildings’ occupants is necessary to implement proper simulation/intervention techniques. However, acquiring accurate occupant-specific energy consumption in office buildings at low cost is currently a challenging task since existing intrusive load monitoring (ILM) technologies require a large capital investment to provide high-resolution electricity usage data for individual occupants. On the other... More

Abstract: This paper presents a methodology to optimize building envelope energy performance for multi-storey residential buildings using a design performance model approach. Five analysis techniques, applied to a database of parametric simulation results, are proposed to derive information on various building performance features that can support early design decisions. Information may include optimal combination of design parameter values to achieve... More

Abstract: Heuristic optimization is an appealing method for solving some en- gineering problems, in which gradient information may not be available, or yet, when the problem presents many minima points. Thus, the goal of this paper is to present a new heuristic algorithm based on the Anthropic Prin- ciple, the Anthropic Principle Algorithm (APA). This algorithm is based on the following idea: the universe developed itself in the exact way to allow the... More