In the last decades, development of innovative solutions is considered as a prominent issue for achieving sustainability within the built environment. One of the most paramount methods of saving energy in a building is by deliberate designing its façade. The façade is one of the perfect options for administering the communication between the outdoors and the internal spaces. Also, an intelligent kinetic design presents a creative method for energy conservation in the buildings. This paper reports the experimental results of thermal performance of residential building coupled with smart kinetic shading system. Moreover, the comparison between two identical apartments is accomplished. One coupled with the proposed system. The system fixed on the window the wall south faced. Indoor air temperature and energy consumption are measured and recorded for both apartments simultaneously. The results showed that this system could lead to improved and decreased the internal temperature of the building about 2-3oC. Consequently, the energy saved by 18-20% compared to the standard building without shading system, the improvement in apartment regards indoor environment quality and energy consumption will reflect directly on the building performance. The experiments were conducted on one apartment only due to financial costs. Consequently, implementation the proposed system on the whole building will enhance the energy consumed within the building.

In the last decades, development of innovative solutions is considered as a prominent issue for achieving sustainability within the built environment. One of the most paramount methods of saving energy in a building is by deliberate designing its façade. The façade is one of the perfect options for administering the communication between the outdoors and the internal spaces. Also, an intelligent kinetic design presents a creative method for energy conservation in the buildings. This paper reports the experimental results of thermal performance of residential building coupled with smart kinetic shading system. Moreover, the comparison between two identical apartments is accomplished. One coupled with the proposed system. The system fixed on the window the wall south faced. Indoor air temperature and energy consumption are measured and recorded for both apartments simultaneously. The results showed that this system could lead to improved and decreased the internal temperature of the building about 2-3oC. Consequently, the energy saved by 18-20% compared to the standard building without shading system, the improvement in apartment regards indoor environment quality and energy consumption will reflect directly on the building performance. The experiments were conducted on one apartment only due to financial costs. Consequently, implementation the proposed system on the whole building will enhance the energy consumed within the building.

In the last decades, development of innovative solutions is considered as a prominent issue for achieving sustainability within the built environment. One of the most paramount methods of saving energy in a building is by deliberate designing its façade. The façade is one of the perfect options for administering the communication between the outdoors and the internal spaces. Also, an intelligent kinetic design presents a creative method for energy conservation in the buildings. This paper reports the experimental results of thermal performance of residential building coupled with smart kinetic shading system. Moreover, the comparison between two identical apartments is accomplished. One coupled with the proposed system. The system fixed on the window the wall south faced. Indoor air temperature and energy consumption are measured and recorded for both apartments simultaneously. The results showed that this system could lead to improved and decreased the internal temperature of the building about 2-3oC. Consequently, the energy saved by 18-20% compared to the standard building without shading system, the improvement in apartment regards indoor environment quality and energy consumption will reflect directly on the building performance. The experiments were conducted on one apartment only due to financial costs. Consequently, implementation the proposed system on the whole building will enhance the energy consumed within the building.

In the high concentrator photovoltaic (HCPV) systems with solar concentration ratios up to 2000 Suns, significant heat is generated in the used solar cell layer. This high generated heat requires an efficient and smart cooling technique to keep it operating at a safe operating temperature. In this paper, another ultra-high concentrator photovoltaic (UHCPV) system with a smaller cell area of 1 mm2 operating at a high solar concentration ratio (CR) up to 10,000 Suns is proposed. This smaller area requires a simple passive cooling technique even at high CR. The optimal dimensions of a passive cooling method using heat spreader are defined. A 3D thermal model for the multijunction solar cell with the heat spreader coupled with the multi-objective genetic optimization algorithm is used to define the optimal heat spreader dimensions . The model is validated with the results in the literature. The model is used to estimate the cell temperature generated electric power, and cell efficiency at different wind speed, ambient temperature, solar radiation, heat spreader length, thickness, and CR. The heat spreader dimensions were optimized for CR = 6000 suns, the optimal thickness and length were 2 mm and a of 47.5 mm, respectively. These dimensions are enough for the safe operation of the UHCPV at CR of 6000 Suns. As a case study, for a UHCPV module with a total number of cells of 10 by 10, the generated power is around 319 W at CR of 10,000 Suns. At the same condition, the monocrystalline silicon solar cell in the PERSEID SOLAR company can generate a maximum power of 144.9 W/m2. For the same area, for the UHCPV module, the generated electric power is around 319 W for 1 m2 of the module. Therefore, around 120% increase in the power can be accomplished with the use of the UHCPV module. In the UHCPV module, the total area of the cell is around 1 cm by 1 cm. Therefore, the module cost could be very low.

A zero-energy building (ZEB) requires an innovative integration of technologies, in which windows play a paramount role in energy reduction, storage, and generation. This study contributes to four innovative designs of sliding smart windows. It integrates air-gap (AG), phase change material (PCM), photovoltaic (PV), and vacuum glazing (VG) technologies. These smart sliding windows are proposed to generate electricity along with achieving ecient thermal insulations and heat storage simultaneously. A two-dimensional multiphysics thermal model that couples the PCM melting and solidification model, PV model, natural convection in the cavity, and the surface-to-surface radiation model in the vacuum gap are developed for the first time. The model is validated with data in the literature. The transient simulations were carried out to investigate the thermo-electrical performance of a window with an area of 1 m by 1 m for the meteorological conditions of Kuwait city on the 10th of June 2018, where the window was oriented to south direction. The results showed that the total solar heat energy gain per unit window area is 2.6 kWh, 0.02 kWh, 0.22 kWh, 1.48 kWh, and 0.2 kWh for the double AG, AG + PV + PCM + VG, PV + PCM + VG, AG + PV + PCM, and the ventilated AG + PV + PCM + VG, respectively. The results elucidate the advantages of the integration of VG in this integrated sliding smart window. The daily generated PV electrical energy in these systems is around 1.3 kWh, 1.43 kWh, and 1.38 kWh for the base case with double AG, PV + PCM + VG, and the ventilated AG + PV + PCM + VG respectively per unit window area.

In this study, a novel interrelationship between the ventilation rate and the solar chimney design parameters, EAHE geometrical specifications, pressure drop, and climatic conditions in the hot arid area was presented based on experimental and numerical comprehensive investigations. This new correlation simplified designing and optimizing of the passive cooling/heating and ventilation system. Moreover, this correlation was used in a case study of passive cooling/heating and ventilation of a two-stories residential building in Egypt by TRNSYS simulation. The indoor operative air temperatures, heating and cooling loads, thermal comfort conditions, energy consumptions/savings, and CO2 emission savings were calculated and analyzed. Two cases were simulated and compared with the basic-case. In case 1, the basic-case combined with the solar chimney and EAHE. Case 2 had a hybrid passive and active ventilation, which included case 1 equipped with electrical fans that continued operating for 24 h. Finally, an economic study was conducted to calculate the payback period and discount payback period for the construction of such a system using the local Egyptian market equipment. The basic case results show that the zonal temperature was more than the ambient temperature yearly, and in summer, the indoor temperature exceeded the surrounding temperature by 5–6 °C. Using the proposed system in case 1 and case 2 attained a zonal temperature around 5 °C and 9 °C less than the ambient temperature in the summer season, respectively. However, the total annual electrical energy and CO2 emission savings were 42.9 kWh/m2/year and 4.545 tons/year, respectively, in case 2. Finally, the simple payback period was 5.4 years, and the discount payback period was 6.8 years.

In this study, a novel interrelationship between the ventilation rate and the solar chimney design parameters, EAHE geometrical specifications, pressure drop, and climatic conditions in the hot arid area was presented based on experimental and numerical comprehensive investigations. This new correlation simplified designing and optimizing of the passive cooling/heating and ventilation system. Moreover, this correlation was used in a case study of passive cooling/heating and ventilation of a two-stories residential building in Egypt by TRNSYS simulation. The indoor operative air temperatures, heating and cooling loads, thermal comfort conditions, energy consumptions/savings, and CO2 emission savings were calculated and analyzed. Two cases were simulated and compared with the basic-case. In case 1, the basic-case combined with the solar chimney and EAHE. Case 2 had a hybrid passive and active ventilation, which included case 1 equipped with electrical fans that continued operating for 24 h. Finally, an economic study was conducted to calculate the payback period and discount payback period for the construction of such a system using the local Egyptian market equipment. The basic case results show that the zonal temperature was more than the ambient temperature yearly, and in summer, the indoor temperature exceeded the surrounding temperature by 5–6 °C. Using the proposed system in case 1 and case 2 attained a zonal temperature around 5 °C and 9 °C less than the ambient temperature in the summer season, respectively. However, the total annual electrical energy and CO2 emission savings were 42.9 kWh/m2/year and 4.545 tons/year, respectively, in case 2. Finally, the simple payback period was 5.4 years, and the discount payback period was 6.8 years.

Basalt fibre reinforced polymer (BFRP) bamboo sandwich structure is composed of BFRP material and bamboo lumber, which can overcome the disadvantages of the industrial bamboo material such as poor shear performance, and severe corrosion damage, and effectively improve mechanical properties. Specimens of BFRP-bamboo sandwich panels were prepared using compression molding technique. Through tensile test, compression test, bending test, and shear test, the basic mechanical properties of the novel BFPR-bamboo sandwich structure were studied. The comparison tests with the control specimens of the laminated bamboo lumber (LBL) and the parallel bamboo strand lumber (PBSL) show that: (1) the tensile capacity of bamboo laminates has increased by 15.1% and 16.5% respectively, and the hybrid principle of composite materials can predict its tensile properties; (2) the compressive capacity increased by 39.9% and 21.8%, and the compressive behaviour can be estimated using the column buckling theory; (3) both the flexural bearing capacity and deformability are improved, and the flexural bending properties can be analyzed based on the theory of composite sandwich structure; (4) after composite with BFRP, the shear capacity can be increased by 44% and 22% respectively.

This paper suggests using a combination of steel and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcements to introduce sustainable reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames (RC-MRFs) characterized by damage-controlled seismic performance, cost-effectiveness, and postearthquake recoverability. The aim of this study is twofold. First, according to a predefined seismic performance of RC-MRFs, this study introduces the optimum replacement ratio of the longitudinal FRP reinforcement of FRP RC-MRFs with steel bars. Second, this study investigates the application of FRP-steel reinforcement details to alleviate damage in the plastic-hinge zones of the beams. A detailed three-dimensional finite-element model (3D-FEM) of an RC-MRF is developed and validated against the experimental results of a large-scale, two-bay, two and half story MRF entirely reinforced with FRP rebars and stirrups. Results indicate that compared with FRP RC-MRFs, for a replacement ratio of FRP reinforcement ≤42%, the serviceability state of the proposed steel–FRP RC-MRFs is characterized by a controlled deformability, and the ultimate state is characterized by an acceptable residual lateral strength ensuring safe exit of the structure from its functionality. Furthermore, when steel reinforcements are only provided at the ends of the beams, the frame lateral deformability is based on the development of two sequential plastic hinges at each end of the beams, leading to higher deformability and lower damage levels.

This paper analytically estimates the damping behaviors of a new type of self-damping fiber reinforce polymer (FRP) cables. Based on the vibration results of scale-model dynamic tests, the modal damping ratios of non-self-damping FRP cable were firstly analyzed using the modified formula of the self-damping FRP cables and the combined Rayleigh and frequency independent damping (CRFID) model. According to the energy dissipation mechanism and structural characteristics of the self-damping FRP cable, analysis modal damping models are proposed. Compared with the test results, the availability of the analysis models is verified. The results indicated that: the damping coefficient of the dynamic strain of a non-self-damping FRP cable is larger than that of a steel cable and a basalt FRP (BFRP) cable, and smaller than that of the carbon FRP (CFRP) cable; the proposed model can effectively evaluate the damping ratios of the in-plane vibration of a self-damping FRP cable under different amplitudes; and the damping ratios of the out-of-plane vibration of self-damping and non-self-damping FRP cables can be well predicted using the CRFID model.