Перевод текстов building engineering и др.
Building construction is an ancient human activity. It began with the purely functional need for a controlled environment to moderate the effects of climate. Constructed shelters were one means by which human beings were able to adapt themselves to a wide variety of climates and become a global species. Building construction today is a significant part of industrial culture, a manifestation of its diversity and complexity and a measure of its mastery of natural forces, which can produce a widely varied built environment to serve the diverse needs of society. Education in the field of Building Engineering as one of the areas of civil engineering is the study of the integrated application of engineering principles and technology to building design and architecture.
Building engineering is an interdisciplinary engineering subject that offers a general engineering approach to the planning, design, construction, operation, renovation, and maintenance of buildings, as well as with their impacts on the surrounding environment. The discipline requires pertinent knowledge integrated from traditional well-established disciplines: civil engineering for building structures and foundation; mechanical engineering for heating, ventilation and airconditioning system (HVAC), and for mechanical service systems; physics for building science, lighting and acoustics; electrical engineering for power distribution and control; chemistry and biology for indoor air quality; architecture for form, function and specifications; economics for project management.
Building engineering students are ideally trained in all phases of the life cycle of a building, and learn to appreciate buildings as an advanced technological system requiring close integration of many sub-systems and their individual components. Technical problems and appropriate solutions are studied to improve the performance of the building in areas, such as energy efficiency, construction management, HVAC and control systems, advanced building materials, earthquake resistance, wind effects on buildings, computer-aided design. The building engineering graduate may work as a consulting engineer, design engineer, project manager, construction manager, cost engineer, facility manager, conservation- utility director, HVAC engineer, operation manager, process engineer, or in research and development, among other career possibilities.
Building engineering academic programmes normally provide an accredited academic degree. The completed degree may be designated as a Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Technology or Bachelor of Applied Science depending upon the university or institute. The length of study is four years and the programme consists of basics of engineering and sciences (technical drawing, engineering mechanics, mechanics of materials, thermodynamics, mathematics, computer programming, surveying), subjects in building engineering sciences (structural analysis and design, soil mechanics, building engineering systems, building economics, construction management, thermal environment and building service systems).
In some programmes, elective courses allow students to specialize in one or more sub-disciplines. Graduates may pursue a postgraduate degree, such as a
Master of Engineering, Master of Applied Science, an Engineer's degree, or a Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering. The Master and Engineer's degree may consist of either research, coursework or a mixture of the two. The Doctor of Philosophy consists of a significant research component and it is often viewed as the entry point to academia.
A central-heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building (or portion of a building) from one point to multiple rooms.
Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation occurs in one place, such as a furnace room in a house or a mechanical room in a large building (though not necessarily at the "central" geometric point). The most common method of heat generation involves the combustion of fossil fuel in a furnace or boiler. The resultant heat then gets distributed: typically by forced-air through ductwork, by water circulating through pipes, or by steam fed through pipes. Increasingly, buildings utilize solar-powered heat sources, in which case the distribution system normally uses water circulation.
In much of northern Europe and in urban portions of Russia, where people seldom require air conditioning in homes due to the temperate climate, most new housing comes with central heating installed. Such areas normally use gas heaters, district heating, or oil-fired systems. In the western and southern United States natural-gas-fired central forced-air systems occur most commonly; these systems and central-boiler systems both occur in the far northern regions of the USA. Steam-heating systems, fired by coal, oil or gas, feature in the USA, Russia and Europe: primarily for larger buildings. Electrical heating systems occur less commonly and are only practical with low cost electricity or when geothermal heat pumps are used. Considering the combined system of central generating plant and electric resistance heating, the overall efficiency will be less than for direct use of fossil fuel for space heating.
Water heating
Common components of a central-heating system using water-circulation include:
* Gas supply lines (sometimes including a propane tank), oil tank and supply lines or district heating supply lines
* Boiler (or a heat exchanger for district heating) — heats water in a closed-water system
* Pump — circulates the water in the closed system
* Radiators — wall-mounted panels through which the heated water passes in order to release heat into rooms
Engineers in the United Kingdom and in other parts of Europe commonly combine the needs of room heating with hot-water heating and storage. These systems occur less commonly in the USA. In this case, the heated water in a sealed system flows through a heat exchanger in a hot-water tank or hot-water cylinder where it heats water from the normal water supply before that water gets fed to hot-water outlets in the house. These outlets may service hot-water taps or appliances such as washing machines or dishwashers.
Electric and gas-fired heaters
Electric heating or resistance heating converts electricity directly to heat. Electric heat is often more expensive than heat produced by combustion appliances like natural gas, propane, and oil. Electric resistance heat can be provided by baseboard heaters, space heaters, radiant heaters, furnaces, wall heaters, or thermal storage systems.
In larger commercial applications, central heating is provided through an air handler which incorporates similar components as a furnace but on a larger scale.
Health and safety law is a body of law that protects the health, safety and welfare of the general public and certain defined sectors of the population such as employees. Most jurisdictions have a framework of health and safety law which will usually be enforced by the state using an inspectorate, regulatory control and the criminal law.
The regulatory framework for health and safety will usually operate alongside a civil law system which would allow individuals to bring a law suit against a person, company or organisation which may have been liable for personal injury or even death. Thus where a employee has been injured through an accident at work in the UK the Health & Safety Executive may instigate a criminal prosecution which may result in a financial penalty (fine) and now in certain circumstances of corporate manslaughter could result in imprisonment of those individuals responsible - however the injured employee can also seek damages for the injury caused in the civil courts under areas of civil law such as negligence and occupiers liability.
A recent example has been the ‘Great White’ disaster in the USA. Here a nightclub caught fire after the rock band ‘Great White’ set off pyrotechnics which in turn ignited the club’s sound proofing which was highly flammable. One hundred people, including one band member, died. The band’s manager, Daniel Biechele and club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian were each charged with 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter with criminal negligence, and 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter in violation of a misdemeanor. Michael Derderian was sentenced to a four year jail sentence with eligibility for a work release programme and Jeffrey Deridian received a suspended ten year sentence and a community sentence whilst Biechele also received a prison sentence. In the civil courts over $1 billion in claims have been made by the families of the dead and injured with defendants including the manufacturers of the soundproofing, the maker of the pyrotechnics, the band and the venue.
The regulatory framework in the UK only began to develop towards the end of the industrial revolution and clearly employers and business at the time had a vested interest to oppose legislation and regulatory control which might affect their business. But progressive societies clearly wish to protect their population and workforce and almost all now have comprehensive legislation. In the United States the law developed in a similar manner. For example In 1891 Congress
passed the first federal statute governing mine safety, marking the beginning of what was to be an extended evolution of increasingly comprehensive federal legislation regulating mining activities. The 1891 law was relatively modest legislation that applied only to mines in U.S. territories, and, among other things, established minimum ventilation requirements at underground coal mines and prohibited operators from employing children under 12 years of age. But many would say that after a golden age of health and safety legislation there is now a major problem as legislation and regulation often does nothing to actually protect the public and employees, and indeed has led to the development of a compensation culture.
In the United Kingdom the primary legislation governing the enforcement of health and safety is the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Section 1 of the Act sets out the preliminary purposes of the act. These are for (i) securing the health, safety and welfare of persons at work and (ii) protecting others against risks to health and safety in connection with the activities of persons at work and (iii) for controlling and managing the use of dangerous substances and (iv) for controlling certain emissions into the atmosphere.
The European Union has instigated a series of Directives in the field of health and safety which must be brought into domestic legislation by all the member countries within agreed time limits. Recent Directives cover noise at work, the manual handling of loads, carcinogens and biological agents.
The tropical regions of the earth can be divided into three major climatic
zones:
- Warm-humid climates are found in a belt near the Equator extending to about 15° north and south. There is very little seasonal variation throughout the year. The air temperature is never excessive, but there is considerable rainfall during most of the year. Relative humidity (RH) is excessively high - at about 75% for most of the time, but it may vary from 55% to almost 100% (RH should not exceed 70% for human comfort).
In this climate the rooms of houses must have adequate shade and ventilation. Usually houses have an open layout so they can gain maximum benefit from the prevailing wind. Walls have less importance here than in other climates. They are used primarily for screening from insects and for their wind penetration qualities.
- Hot-dry climates are found in two belts of latitude between approximately 15° and 30° north and south of the Equator. Two marked seasons occur: a hot and a slightly cooler period. Day time air temperatures are excessively hot (normally higher than the З1°С to 34°C skin temperature), but at night it may fall as much as 35°C. During the day there is too little cloud cover to reduce the high intensity of direct solar radiation. However, at night the clear skies permit a considerable amount of heat to be reradiated to outer space.
In this climate houses must give adequate protection against the excessive heat of the sun. Usually they have compact layouts, so that surfaces exposed to the sun are reduced as much as possible. Walls should be very thick and made of heat storing materials so they hold the heat of the day and give it back to the interior of the house at night.
Composite or monsoon climates are found in large land masses near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Two seasons occur normally. Approximately two-thirds of the year is hot-dry and the other third is warm-humid. Consequently, houses designed to be suitable for one season may be unsuitable for the other.
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