Abstract
The New
Engineering Building (NEB) at NUI Galway will consolidate all engineering education
and research activities into one building which will not only provide a
learning environment, but will itself act as a teaching and learning tool. It
will provide a living laboratory for engineering, where live data sets from
numerous types of sensors will be used to illustrate structural engineering and
building performance concepts in undergraduate teaching and in the development
of full-scale research in structural engineering and energy. As well as
instrumentation of the building to monitor its performance, many structural elements
are made highly visible, adding further to the learning effectiveness. In
addition, the building contains green-building initiatives providing real-life examples
for engineering students.
This
paper concentrates on the concept of the new engineering building as a living
laboratory for structural engineering. In particular, the installation and
preliminary findings from embedded sensors in structural elements are
presented. The performances of three types of structural elements are being
continuously monitored from initial construction stages through to final use of
the building. The internal strains and temperatures of a 40 tonne prestressed
reinforced concrete transfer box beam, a precast double-tee unit and a novel void-formed
flat slab flooring system are being monitored through vibrating wire gauges,
electrical resistance gauges and thermistors. Preliminary findings from these
sensors are presented, as well as comment on how this information can be used
for undergraduate teaching.
| Original language | English (Ireland) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Bridge and Concrete Research in Ireland (BCRI2010) |
| Place of Publication | Cork |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sep 2010 |
Authors (Note for portal: view the doc link for the full list of authors)
- Authors
- Cannon E., Goggins J.