Online Sustainability Disclosure: Assessing Customer’s Influence And The Use Of Web As A Medium Of Communication Among The Public Listed Companies In Malaysia

Sejak dekad yang lalu, pelbagai isu alam sekitar, sosial dan ekonomi yang disebabkan oleh syarikat korporat telah menjejaskan kehidupan pelbagai pihak yang berkepentingan. Over the past decade, various environmental, social and economic issues caused by the corporate companies are affecting various stakeholders

Connection in Joints for Thin-Walled Steel Sections and Sheeting

Thin-walled cold-formed members are thin, this will give rise to behavioural phenomena, which are not usually encountered in the more familiar hot-rolled sections. When compared to hot-rolled steel sections, cold-formed thin-walled steel sections are more likely to fail in local buckling, distortional buckling, various global buckling and shear buckling. This paper will discuss types of connection in Jjoints for coldformed thin-walled sections and steel sheeting. Bolts, screws, blind rivets or cartridge fired pins are commonly used in joints for coldformed thin-walled sections or steel sheet connections. Fasteners in light gauge steel tend to be relatively less stiff than their counterparts in heavier construction so that connection flexibility can be significant in certain assemblies. Furthermore, as in any load-bearing structure, it is important that connections are not brittle and this implies that there should be adequate deformation capacity

MODELING OF TRANSIENT HEAT TRANSFER IN FOAMED CONCRETE SLAB

This paper reports the basis of one-dimensional Finite Difference method to obtain thermal properties of foamed concrete in order to solve transient heat conduction problems in multi-layer panels. In addition, this paper also incorporates the implementation of the method and the validation of thermal properties model of foamed concrete. A one-dimensional finite difference heat conduction programme has been developed to envisage the temperature development through the thickness of the foamed concrete slab, based on an initial estimate of the thermal conductivity-temperature relationship as a function of porosity and radiation within the voids. The accuracy of the model was evaluated by comparing predicted and experimental temperature profiles obtained from small scale heat transfer test on foamed concrete slabs, so that the temperature history of the specimen calculated by the programme closely matches those recorded during the experiment. Using the thermal properties of foamed concrete, the validated heat transfer program predicts foamed concrete temperatures in close agreement with experimental results obtained from a number of high temperature tests. The proposed numerical and thermal properties are simple yet efficient and can be utilised to aid manufacturers to develop their products without having to conduct numerous large-scale fire tests

Engineering Performance Of High Strength Concrete Containing Steel Fibre Reinforcement

The development and utilization of the high strength concrete in the construction industry have been increasing rapidly. Fiber reinforced concrete is introduced to overcome the weakness of the conventional concrete because concrete normally can crack under a low tensile force and it is known to be brittle. Steel fibre is proved to be the popular and best combination in the high strength concrete to result the best in the mechanical and durability properties of high strength concrete with consideration of curing time, steel fibre geometry, concrete grade and else more. The incorporation of steel fibre in the mortar mixture is known as steel fibre reinforced concrete have the potential to produce improvement in the workability, strength, ductility and the deformation of high strength concrete. Besides that, steel fibre also increases the tensile strength of concrete and improves the mechanical properties of the steel fibre reinforced concrete. The range for any high strength concrete is between 60MPa-100MPa. Steel fibre reinforced concrete which contains straight fibres has poorer physical properties than that containing hooked end stainless steel fibre due to the length and the hooked steel fibre provide a better effective aspects ratio. Normally, steel fibre tensile strength is in the range of 1100MPa-1700MPa. Addition of less steel fibre volumes in the range of 0.5% to 1.0% can produce better increase in the flexural fatigue strength. The strength can be increased with addition of steel fibre up to certain percentage. This paper will review and present some basic properties of steel fibre reinforced concrete such as mechanical, workability and durability properties

Evaluation of Active Cooling Systems for Non-Residential Buildings

Cooling systems are an essential element in many facets of modern society including cars, computers and buildings. Cooling systems are usually divided into two types: passive and active. Passive cooling transfers heat without using any additional energy while active cooling is a type of heat transfer that uses powered devices such as fans or pumps. This paper will focus on one particular type of passive cooling: air-conditioning systems. An air-conditioning system is defined as controlled air movement, temperature, humidity and cleanliness of a building area. Air conditioning consists of cooling and heating. Therefore, the air-conditioning system should be able to add and remove heat from the area. An air-conditioning system is defined as a control or treatment of air in a confined space. The process that occurs is the air-conditioning system absorbs heat and dust while, at the same time, cleaning the air breathed into a closed space. The purpose of air-conditioning is to maintain a comfortable atmosphere for human life and to meet user requirements. In this paper, air-conditioning systems for non-residential buildings will be presented and discussed

Elastic Modulus of Foamcrete in Compression and Bending at Elevated Temperatures

This paper will presents the experimental results that have been performed to examine and characterize the mechanical properties of foamcrete at elevated temperatures. Foamcrete of 650 and 1000 kg/m3 density were cast and tested under compression and bending. The tests were done at room temperature, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, and 600°C. The results of this study consistently demonstrated that the loss in stiffness for cement based material like foamcrete at elevated temperatures occurs predominantly after about 95°C, regardless of density. This indicates that the primary mechanism causing stiffness degradation is microcracking, which occurs as water expands and evaporates from the porous body. As expected, reducing the density of LFC reduces its strength and stiffness. However, for LFC of different densities, the normalised strength-temperature and stiffnesstemperature relationships are very similar

Construction Waste Material Management and Logistic System

Construction is one of the industries that produces significant amount of waste. Construction site produces waste as a result of construction work. In the context of direct waste, it is a mixture of surplus materials arising from any kind of construction works, be it construction, site clearance, excavation, renovation or refurbishment. Construction waste consumes a large amount of natural resources and hence a strategic management is significant to reduce or manage construction waste. There are studies showing that waste represents a relatively high percentage of production costs. Previous researcher defined waste as the loss of any kind of resources produced by activities which generate direct or indirect costs and do not add any value to the final product from the point of view of client. The society’s concern has gone from the perspective of efficiency to the impact to the environment. It is undeniable that the waste generated has caused an impact to the environment. However, building waste can hardly be recycled as it may be highly contaminated in the process of production or assembly. Building materials and inventory on site will contribute to waste generation if not handled properly and systematically. This paper will discuss some important elements of construction waste and management such as waste material management, construction logistic system and generation of construction waste

Distinctive Structural and Non-Structural Building Defects and Failures in Educational Buildings

Although the maintenance-free building may be a theoretical possibility, all buildings are subject to the vagaries of defects, failures, deterioration and variation. The examples of these problems are fungus growth, peeling paint, termite attack, dampness, defective rainwater goods, roof defects, harmful growth, settlement, foundation failure, roof collapse and others. There are a great number of building defects and failures arose and being reported officially by mass media, especially problems with educational buildings. Theoretically, all buildings tend to deteriorate over period of time due to aging or other factors, regardless the types of buildings. There are several main factors can be taken into account such as design fault, poor maintenance, poor workmanship, building age and location of building. This paper will discuss on distinctive structural and non-structural building defects and failures than frequently happened in educational buildings. This paper is noteworthy to render varies of problems generally faced by Malaysian educational buildings to the public. As such, the awareness among them can be raised or improved. Furthermore, the public will concern, especially the government authorities should emphasize the laws and regulations to enforce the safety of construction work as well as the procedure in giving approval to the occupation of educational buildings

Appraisal of Salt Crystallisation and Rising Damp Problems in Building

It should be pointed out that salt crystallisation and rising dampness are two separate but interconnected processes. Both of these damages must be understood if damage is to be minimized and if corrective measures are to be successful. However, the term rising damp has been usually used to cover both aspects, it tends to overlook the role of salt, and issues that will increasingly significant due to the buildings are getting older and as the soils are becoming more saline. Hence this paper will focus on background and an understanding of salt crystallisation and rising damp problems. Furthermore, the discussion also will include the indications, causes and effects of both damages

Approaches to Construction Waste Management in Malaysia

The concept of construction waste management was introduced a long time ago but the effort of waste minimization has, for the most part, merely been observed and not practiced. Additionally, an increasing allocation of landfills has indicated a growing production of waste. However, the allocation of funding or skills for the prevention of waste has been scarce as waste minimization has not been given enough attention. One such example is the undertaking of different stages of construction, which often does not account for future problems in construction waste. Hence, this study is intended to investigate common waste management practices on construction sites in Malaysia. As part of this investigation, site observations and questionnaires were conducted to collect information from the respondents. Comprehensive literature reviews also helped to understand the latest norms as well as previous practices in waste management. The results reflected that certain areas of knowledge and implementation showed great gaps with the same mistakes appearing frequently, pointing to the conclusion that known causes of excess waste are often not rectified and suggestions for improvement are not fully incorporated in standard practices