Multi-criteria study for recycled concrete aggregate separation process

Construction and demolition waste stream has generated news materials that may be reintroduced into new concrete, e.g. as recycled aggregates. The specific feature of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) is the presence of hardened mortars influencing their behaviour. This study aims to distinguish processes that allow the complete separation and...

Design of polymeric capsules for autonomous healing of cracks in cementitious materials

Now, most of the capsules used to contain polymeric healing agents in self-healing concrete, are made of glass. However, glass capsules cannot be mixed in concrete and are therefore placed manually into the moulds during concrete casting in laboratory tests. This represents a major drawback for an eventual industrialisation. In this study,...

Fourteen processes defining competitive advantage of Brazilian trade contractors

Brazilian Trade Contractors (TC), or Subcontractors and Specialty Contractors, are main players in the Brazilian Building Industry competitiveness. They are part of a highly fragmentized and informal chain, with a great diversity in their value propositions and in their organizational forms. Nonetheless, despite their heterogeneity, most of them...

The mechanics of sustainable urban development: The Case of Lanxmeer, Culemborg, NL

Sustainable urban development projects are initiated almost every day. They are the results of very dynamic processes during which a number of decisions have to be taken according to the local conditions. Eventually each project follows its own path. The aim of this paper is to gain insight in the mechanics of sustainable urban development in...

Shaping decisions and processes for more sustainable urban environments

To know whether eco-cities or, indeed, any so-called sustainable urban environment, will be successful, an understanding is needed about how such places 'come into being'. Understanding how decisions have been made, who makes them and when and how they are made is crucial to ensuring that the 'right' people have been involved at 'right' time. In...