Recently, the concept of green architecture has become a common interest in various disciplines; innovative materials are continuously developed to fulfill the green architecture requirements. Translucent concrete (TC) or light-transmitting concrete (LTC) is produced as one of those innovative types of materials which allows external light to transmit through interior spaces by using some light elements like optical fibers with concrete. This paper aggregates and reviews the previous studies in terms of translucent concrete' applications, proper ratio and arrangement pattern of optical fibers, light-transmitting, mechanical, thermal and energy-saving properties. We reviewed the remarkable studies carried out especially last 10 years in translucent concrete techniques. Notwithstanding the advantages, literature concurs that several gaps were found in translucent concrete studies. Translucent concrete' strength and proper ratio of fibers are key limitations. The gap between studies examining the effect of using different ratios of optical fibers on the material strength and on energy-saving concluded that the proper ratio of fibers should be less than 5% for strength, and the optimum ratio ranges 4.3% to 6% for energy-saving. We identify possible areas for future research and suggest recommendations in the conclusion to fill these gaps.
Green roofs have been gaining popularity in recent years, as an effective way to solve many environmental problems, many countries concerned with the application of green roofs in cities. In spite of the importance of using green roofs on buildings, the use of green roofs in Egypt is still absent. Egypt has been suffering recently from increasing energy demand compared to production rates, especially in the residential sector as a result of high population growth and high temperatures. Where the main objective of the study is to reduce energy consumption, reduce carbon dioxide emissions and increase the insulation on the roofs of residential buildings, this paper is working to try applying green roofs on residential buildings in Egypt through a proposed methodology for the design and evaluation. In this context, uses and applies different sections of green roofs on residential buildings in eight climate zones of Egypt in accordance with the requirements of thermal performance of the Egyptian energy code.
Green Roofs Analysis and Design software (GRAD) 1 st version is a data-base-driven tool, which has been developed from detailed green roofs sections calculation at residential buildings according to the Egyptian climate zones, and Egyptian energy code. The goal was to create an easy tool that enabled architects, developers, and others to ease the process of green roof sections use and selection. In addition to obtain quick estimates of how green roof design decisions might impact building energy use and design decisions. The Green Roofs Analysis and Design program performs the green roof sections within a database of 784 green roof sections, which has been designed at a previous stage, to estimate the residential roof building energy reduction in Egypt. The outputs from each user provide basic characteristics of a green roof project; produces information for two green roof systems (built-in system, module system). The program can be used in the design and analysis of green roofs sections in Egypt; and also the software program can be used to compare the impact of different variables which effect on buildings thermal behavior.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.