Browsing by Author "M.T.R. Jayasinghe"

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item: Conference-Full-text
Adoption of Precast Hollow Core Panels for External Walls of Multistorey Buildings
(University of Ruhuna, 2023-03-16) R. Subakaran; H.M.S.T. Herath; M.T.R. Jayasinghe; T.M. Rengarasu
Due to the increasing population and reduced availability of usable lands for construction activities, many residential and commercial buildings are becoming medium- to high-rise structures globally. Complementing this trend, the Sri Lankan construction industry has incorporated precast products as core elements in several projects due to their better performance, enhanced quality, elevated control, reduced leading time of construction, adaptability of novel technologies in construction and controlled material processing during manufacturing. During the past decade, precast wall panels became one of the popular precast panel elements satisfying both load-bearing and non-load bearing structural requirements in Sri Lanka. Originally, precast wall panels were intended to be used as internal partition wall panels, which are not expected to resist loading nor undergo significant deformations. This paper focuses on verifying the usability of such precast panels as external wall panels in multi-storey buildings, where their load resistance is investigated under lateral wind loads and vertical deformations due to column shortening effects. In addition, using the shape optimization technique in-built into ABAQUS CAE advanced finite element software, a better layout for the precast wall is also proposed and their performance is compared with the current standard layout under similar loading and boundary conditions. It was found out that the optimized precast hollow core panels are 19.88% less in volume with similar performance and can be used as external wall panels to withstand wind induced lateral loads in multistorey buildings. The recommendations on how many panels shall be used in a single assembly are also presented.
item: Conference-Full-text
Thermal Performance of Precast Panel Buildings
(University of Ruhuna, 2023-03-16) G.W.T.I. Madhushanka; S.S. Bandaranayaka; M.T.R. Jayasinghe; H.M.S.T. Herath; T.M. Rengarasu
Energy consumption by buildings plays a major role in the sustainable and economic development of a country. In Sri Lanka, the electricity supply is not adequate to meet the rising demand. Therefore, the cost of electricity can be expected to increase in the future, resulting in a corresponding increase in the operating cost of dwellings. Several energy-efficient building materials with low thermal conductivities have been developed to increase the thermal comfort of buildings and reduce operational costs. Precast sandwich panels were assumed to be one of them. This paper presents a comparative study among precast panels, bricks, and hollow concrete blocks to evaluate the merits of precast sandwich panels and methods to increase their thermal performance. A selected housing unit was modeled and analyzed for thermal performance using DEROB-LTH for different wall materials. From the obtained results, it shows the window area is a crucial factor and for a low window area, the most thermally favorable material is precast panels. Then the model was altered to investigate the passive techniques that can apply to the house for better thermal comfort. It was recommended to use window shadings with sufficient length and to increase window opening percentage.