Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Architectura

Performance of agro-waste cementitious material in the high-strength reinforced concrete applications: a review

Manish Khanna, Senthil Kasilingam — Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The rapid urbanisation and rising demand for high-performance concrete (HPC) have driven research towards sustainable, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective alternatives to traditional cement. Agricultural waste cementitious materials, such as fly ash, rice husk ash, and bagasse ash, have been used as cementitious material due to their pozzolanic properties. This review explores the feasibility of incorporating these agro-waste materials in high-strength reinforced concrete (HSRC) applications, focusing on their effects on the durability, sustainability and mechanical properties of concrete. Previous studies indicate that the partial replacement of cement (5–10%) with such waste materials can enhance the mechanical strength due to the additional calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gels, which improve its microstructural densification. Moreover, this material’s fineness improves the durability by reducing its permeability, enhancing the sulphate and chloride resistance, and mitigating the alkali-silica reaction (ASR). Utilising agricultural waste also significantly lowers the related carbon emissions, minimises industrial waste disposal, and promotes sustainable construction practices. However, challenges such as the variability of the chemical composition, proper processing (grinding and calcination), and standardisation issues must be addressed for broader implementation. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of agro-waste cementitious materials in HSRC, highlighting their benefits and limitations while emphasising the need for further research to optimise their performance and reliability in structural applications.

Stability analysis of the Mamak Dam’s behaviour under various water levels in the reservoir

Noor Halim, Zbigniew Lechowicz, Mirosław Lipiński — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 00:00:00 +0000

A dam is an engineered construction designed to store water primarily for human needs. When a dam fails, it has the potential to become a substantial disaster. Some primary causes of dam failure are excessive water leakage, landslides and earthquakes. In general, the current performance evaluation of the Mamak Dam falls into the “fairly good” category, even in the aftermath of the earthquake event with a magnitude of 6.5 Mw in 2018. In this study, the dam’s stability is analysed under seismic events, rapid drawdown and maximum daily rainfall infiltration. It is concluded that the upstream and downstream slopes were generally found to be safe in all design situations. Nevertheless, the impact of the maximum design earthquake (MDE) is notable in both pseudo-static and dynamic analyses, causing a reduction of over 50% in the factor of safety (FoS) – ultimately falling below the minimum safety threshold. Conversely, the operating basis earthquake (OBE) has a relatively minor effect on the FoS.

Engineering and physical bases and environmental safety of plasmo-chemical disposal of hazardous medical waste

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The unrestrained growth in the amount and rate of production of hazardous medical waste in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war critically exacerbates the environmental situation in Ukraine. At the same time, existing traditional methods and technological means are not able to ensure their complete environmentally safe processing and disposal. The paper considers an alternative high-temperature technology for plasma-chemical pyrolysis of medical waste at 1,100−1,250°C, which is implemented in the form of a Plazmon-3 mobile plasma pyrolysis unit, designed and built based on the PUN-1 domestic universal plasma generator. The paper also describes the design, principle of operation, engineering and physical principles underlying the creation of the Plazmon-3, designed to dispose of any type and category of medical waste by destroying it under the action of a high-temperature plasma torch generated by the PUN-1 DC plasma generator, as well as its main operational characteristics. Air, nitrogen, argon, helium, and other gases can be used as plasma-forming gases for the installation. The paper describes the advantages of using high-temperature plasma-chemical pyrolysis for the disposal of hazardous medical and other wastes, which make this technology, in terms of its environmental safety, beyond competition and, unlike its smoke-emitting counterparts, capable of destroying medical waste directly at the point of its generation without forming environmentally hazardous residues and emissions.

Analysis of the impact of the global crisis in 2021–2024 on the development time of multifamily blocks

Katarzyna Wieczorek, Justyna Dzięcioł — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The study describes the timeline of a construction project comprising six residential buildings, green spaces, and a playground. The project was carried out in the Warsaw area between 2022 and 2024. The investment was undertaken following significant events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, and the armed conflict in Ukraine. The study focuses on the analysis of selected phases of construction work performed as part of the investment described. The specific tasks highlighted include the installation of window joinery, the construction of internal masonry walls, the installation of partitions and balcony railings, as well as the delivery and installation of lifts. Additionally, general data on the work progress, construction schedule, and entries from the construction logbook referring to the specific completion dates of various stages were examined. Based on the provided data, an analysis was conducted to compare the time required to complete individual construction tasks against the schedule established during the project planning phase. The text addresses the challenges of meeting deadlines in large construction projects, where the technology used, the number of personnel employed, and the scale of the investment contribute to the extension of the construction process by the contractor.

Integration of architecture and art in the works of Ludwig Peter Kowalski

Piotr Opałka — Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The article addresses the issue of integrating architecture and stained glass art using the example of Ludwig Peter Kowalski, an outstanding artist, one of the most outstanding stained glass designers of the 20th century, and a renowned academic lecturer at art schools in Wrocław and Berlin. The aim of the project was to formulate functional, formal, technical, and design recommendations. The research was conducted both in Poland and, above all, in Berlin. A mixed-methods approach was used here, combining multiple case studies and qualitative research, including archival research and in situ analysis.

Predicting long-term strength of compressed concrete

Olena Romashko-Maistruk — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The article characterises the features of compressed concrete deformation under the action of long-term loads. The aim of the research presented in the article was to establish the analytical dependence of determining the long-term strength of compressed concrete. It hypothesises that the specific potential energy of its ultimate deformation (destruction) is invariant and independent of the concrete loading mode. Other researchers’ critical analyses have confirmed the functional dependence of the level of long-term strength of compressed concrete not only from its standardised elastic-plastic characteristics but also from the concrete strain rate. The proposed methodology evaluation for determining the long-term strength of compressed concrete is reduced to a comparison of the relevant theoretical calculated results with the various researchers’ published experimental data.

A critical review of the implementation of building information modelling (BIM) in construction processes in Poland: deep insights

Andrzej Borkowski, Gabriela Buniewicz — Tue, 15 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The increasing digitisation of the construction industry is generating global interest in building information modelling (BIM) methodology. Recognising the tangible benefits it brings, many countries are choosing to begin work on implementing the so-called mandate, defining national implementation plans and introducing legal regulations. The purpose of this article was to conduct an in-depth study and literature search on the current state of BIM implementation in Poland. As part of a structured implementation of the work, the previous activities of central government bodies towards the so-called BIM mandate were examined. The ongoing optionality of BIM application in public procurement is shown, as well as the lack of coordinated top-down activities, as they play a major role towards national implementation. In addition, the relevance of NGO activities in the process of popularising BIM was presented. As a result of the critical analysis, an assessment and discussion of the possible future directions of BIM implementation in Poland was made.

Performance of agro-waste sugarcane bagasse ash in concrete under durability tests

Neha Bhardwaj, Senthil Kasilingam — Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The concrete industry frequently uses waste material known as sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) because of its excellent pozzolanic qualities. Cement is a rare and essential component of concrete construction that is in high demand all over the world. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is generated widely due to the infrastructure development in the construction sector. To lower CO₂ emissions, concrete must contain less cement. Replacing some of the cement in concrete with agricultural wastes such as rice husks and sugar cane bagasse significantly reduces the material’s environmental impact. Therefore, this study focuses on the durability performance of concrete with sugarcane bagasse ash as a partial replacement for cement at 5%, 10% and 15% by weight. The durability of the concrete was studied through the electrical resistivity test, rapid chloride infiltration test, initial surface absorption test, as well as carbonation after 7 days and 28 days. It was observed that the SCBA is a pozzolanic substance with good binder qualities that may be utilised in concrete mixtures to partially replace costly cement.