Lifecycle Design of Buildings, Systems and Materials Conference Proceedings

University of Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands, hosted the CIB W115 conference on Life Cycle Design of Buildings Systems and Materials from 12- 15 June 2009. Unique feature of the conference was its attempt to bridge the gap between the theory and practice in the field of sustainable building construction by involving construction Industry (region of Twente, The Netherlands) into the debate during the conference. Innovation in sustainable construction has been presented through number of case studies by the industry members of the Innovation Platform Twente (working Group IDF).
The conference was organized by the University Twente, Innovation Platform Twente ( Working group IDF) and CIB. The emphasis of the conference was on innovative design and construction methods and assessment methods that will incorporate effective use of materials into the whole life cycle of buildings and building materials.
The conventional way of construction has become a burden to the dynamic and changing society of the 21st century. Developers and real estate managers warn that there is a miss-match between the existing building stock and the dynamic and changing demands with respect to the use of buildings and their systems. A report by the World Resource Institute projects 300% rise in material use as world population and economic activity increases over the next 50 years. Steel price is rising. Raw materials are gradually diminishing and becoming expensive, landfill sites are filling up forcing disposal fees to increase and making the waste management exceptionally expensive.
The physical impact of increasing building mass in industrialised nations and developing world has become undeniable in 21st century. The appetite for raw materials and landfill sites, as well as acceleration of the changing demands by users clearly indicates that a fundamental change in the way buildings are designed and constructed is needed.
During the conference the state of the art papers have been presented with respect to life cycle design of buildings and materials. This subject integrates issues from spatial adaptability and flexibility of building systems to material efficiency and energy saving (embodied energy).
Development of the research agenda with respect to this topic deal with issues such as, life cycle performance and strategies, design methodology, systems development, reuse, renewable materials, cad manufacturing, and development of performance measurement tools (transformation capacitymeasurement tool, life cycle costing, life cycle assessments etc.). Background on CIB W115
This CIB W115 Commission on Construction Material Stewardship aims to:
• Drastically reduce the deployment and consumption of new non-renewable construction materials, to replace nonrenewable materials with renewable ones whenever possible, to achieve equilibrium in the demand and supply of renewable materials and ultimately to restore the renewable resource base
• Carry out these tasks in ways to maximize positive financial, social and environmental and ecological sustainability effects, impacts and outcomes.

State of the Practice in the Design of Tall, Stiff, and Flexible Tieback Retaining Walls

Tieback walls are often used for temporary support of excavations in cases where it becomes necessary to limit the area of the excavation in order to protect highways, railroads, structures, and other important man-made features that are located immediately adjacent to the excavation. In some instances the tieback wall system will remain as a permanent structure. Permanent tieback wall systems are used as guide walls and approach walls on navigation projects, and as retaining walls on highway and railroad protection and relocation projects. The structural design of tieback wall systems involves
• Selection of appropriate design and performance standards.
• Determination of the loadings and loading combinations to be used for design.
• Design of wall structural features such as tiebacks, soldier beams, wales, lagging, and facing systems.
• Detailing of all structural features to meet safety requirements and constructibility requirements.
• Selection of appropriate contract specifications to ensure that the completed structure meets all strength and serviceability requirements and provides corrosion protection suitable for the intended service life of the wall.
The state of the practice with respect to the design and evaluation of tieback wall systems is covered by this report. It is important to recognize that the subject matter covered herein is presented only as background information as to the state of the practice and as such is not in any way intended to represent Corps design guidance. No endorsement of the procedures described herein is implied or intended. The state of the practice will be illustrated with respect to the design and evaluation of five tieback wall systems. The systems selected (listed on following page) are described in detail in Chapter 2.
• Vertical sheet-pile system with wales and post-tensioned tieback anchors.
• Soldier beam system with wood or reinforced concrete lagging and posttensioned tieback anchors. For the wood-lagging system, a permanent concrete facing system is required.
• Secant cylinder pile system with post-tensioned tieback anchors.
• Continuous reinforced concrete slurry wall system with post-tensioned tieback anchors.
• Discrete concrete slurry wall system (soldier beams with concrete lagging) with post-tensioned tieback anchors

Drainage of Highway Pavements

This report provides guidelines and design procedures for the drainage of highway pavements. The guidelines should be of interest to roadway and hydraulic design engineers. Safety specialists concerned with grate inlets and pavement spread may also find this manula useful. There is also an archived version of the publication that provides access to the document sections through a series of links within the PDF document.

Handbook of Civil Engineering Calculations (2ed) [Mathcad-enabled]