Journal of Environmental Engineering (Transactions of AIJ)
Online ISSN : 1881-817X
Print ISSN : 1348-0685
ISSN-L : 1348-0685
Volume 83, Issue 747
Displaying 1-10 of 10 articles from this issue
  • Study on the evacuation movement time in high-rise building Part 1
    Nobuhiko SHINOZAKI
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 403-413
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     The purpose of this study is to contrive quantitative evaluation methods for evacuation safety performance of building based on elucidation of analysis method of appropriate evacuation moving time. There are "method based on guidelines" and "method prescribed by the notification" in the calculation methods of evacuation time currently used in Japan. But neither calculation method can calculate appropriate evacuation time in the confluence state of evacuation crowd. In order to solve the problem, this study attempts to establish appropriate analysis method of evacuation time which cannot be calculated by these conventional calculation methods using the evacuation simulator developed in the previous paper. In conventional evacuation behavior studies, full-scale experiments are sometimes performed, but as the full-scale experiments are not easy to perform, there is a demerit that it is difficult to get enough data to find regularity. On the other hand, the simulation is not actual experiment, but it is possible to reproduce as much as possible and there is a merit that the full particulars in the reproduction state can be surveyed in a large viewpoint.
     In this paper, the merit of the simulation is focused, the building evacuation simulation on the multi-story building was performed instead of full-scale experiment. And properties considered as significant in the simulation results were extracted and fundamental mechanism of the state transition of stairs confluence in building evacuation was analyzed based on analysis of density transition in stairs. In addition, the basic calculation methods of stairs inflow completion time of each floor in building evacuation of the multi-story building which cannot be calculated by the conventional calculation methods contrived based on the fundamental mechanism were shown in Tables1 to 3. Furthermore, using the calculation methods and the simulation, six case studies placed a high-density floor on each floor were performed and the calculation methods were evaluated. As a result, the following findings were shown.

     In the case that high-density floor is placed on lower floor, stairs inflow completion time is extended at the upper floor above the high-density floor. Also the total of stairs inflow completion time on each floor becomes longer than in the case of the placement on higher floor.
     In the case that high-density floor is placed on upper floor, stairs inflow completion time is not extended at the lower floor than the high-density floor. Also the stairs inflow completion time of the higher floor that is high-density becomes longer than in the case of the placement on lower floor.

     As described above, the calculation method proposed in this paper based on the analysis of confluence state transition in staircase in building evacuation can analyze appropriate evacuation time, and it is possible to present quantitative performance values that could not be presented by conventional calculation method. On the other hand, in the application range of the theoretical analysis and the calculation method shown in this paper, the evacuation start time and the staircase shape of each floor are all the same. And the number of persons on each floor is set to be more than a certain number of persons where the inside of staircase on each floor reaches saturation state. The theoretical analysis and the calculation methods that expand these application ranges will be reported in the next paper.
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  • Kazuyuki SUZUKI, Takashi HISADA, Akinori SATO, Yoshifumi OHMIYA
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 415-424
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     Glass panes used for fire protection windows has not only flame barrier performance but also parts requiring scattering prevention performance, crime prevention performance and impact resistance in the event of breakage of the glass in some cases, laminated glass is often used . In general, Poly Vinyl Butyral is used as the interlayer. Furthermore, in combination with Low-E glass which has become very popular in recent years, combined double glazing glass which has a radiant heat reduction effect is also used. Fire protection window with tempered fire resistance glass has passed the certification test based on know-how of each manufacturing company so far and has been adopted after various fire certification, but there are not standards for ensuring clear fire prevent performance.
     Regarding heated glass on fire, the test data was accumulated on the single glass, the insulated glass unit (IGU) and the Low-E IGU based on the fire test, and the thermal stress generated in the glass can be explained by grasping the temperature difference were revealed. However, the temperature properties of the laminated glass composed of the tempered fire resistance glass to be heated are not systematically clarified, and it is necessary to obtain basic knowledge.
     Therefore, in this study, considering the behavior of laminated glass and laminated IGU made of tempered fire resistance glass which is heated based on the knowledge obtained in the previous report.

     The fire test condition is shown below.
     ·These fire tests were performed for Laminated glass and Laminated IGU.
     ·Tempered fire resistance glass was mainly located on fire side.
     ·Fire tests were performed along the ISO834 Heat Curve for each specimen.
     ·The temperature of the glass was measured by thermo couples with a data logger.
     ·Surface Compression, Edge Cover of Glass, and Emissivity of Low-E glass were treated as parameters for heat stress of glass, ΔT and breakage factor of the glass were checked by fire tests.
     ·Laminated glass by heating is affected by the interlayer, its behavior is confirmed.

     Findings are as follows.
     (1) As the temperature difference between the glass surface and the edge increases, high surface compression stress is required.
     (2) The temperature difference between the glass surface and the edge increases as edge cover becomes deep, and the glass tends to break more easily.
     (3) The interlayer of the laminated glass foams and a layer of air is formed, and the temperature of the surface of the unheated side glass tends to be low. When the interlayer foams by heating, a foamed part and an unfoamed part are generated.
     (4) If Low-E glass is used in laminated IGU, the emissivity of Low-E glass influences the foaming time of the interlayer and the failure behavior of the unheated side glass.
     (5) Transmission of radiant heat flux of laminated glass and laminated IGU on fire was estimated.
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  • Through daylighting simulation using annual standard weather data in Tokyo
    Nozomu YOSHIZAWA, Yasuhiro MIKI, Hideki YAMAGUCHI, Hiroto TAMURA
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 425-434
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     Improving the energy-efficiency of buildings is an important issue, and until 2020 newly-built buildings will be gradually required to conform to energy saving standards under the Energy Saving Act (Act on the Rational Use of Energy) established in 2015 and enforced in 2017. Electricity consumption for lighting in non-residential buildings is not negligible even after high efficiency LED lightings have become widespread. Therefore, the Energy Saving Act places importance on daylight harvesting as an energy-saving method in non-residential buildings, of which openings are indispensable for a better working environment. In this research, annual daylight simulation was conducted to acquire basic data to examine the estimation method which makes it possible to evaluate the energy-saving effect of daylight harvesting in simple and quantitative way.
     A basic model for the simulation was 39.8m wide, 15m depth and 2.8m high, and it was supposed to be an office room with daylight harvesting systems using sensors on the ceiling facing the floor. We changed several factors which will influence the effect of daylighting use: Window-to-Wall ratio, window orientation, the number of surface having the window (1, 2, 3), venetian blind position (fixed to 0, 30, 45, 60 degrees, automatically controlled blinds to cut sun light) and depth of the space (7.8m, 15m, 22, 2m) and so on. Simulation programme Radiance was used for this simulation using standard annual daylight data (TWD9302/L) which include annual solar luminance and sky luminance distribution per 1 hour in Tokyo metropolitan area. Working hours in this office was set to be from 8:00 to 21:00 on weekdays. The calculation steps was as follows: 1) Calculate the annual daylighting illuminance per hour measured at the sensors on the ceiling facing the floor, 2) Calculate the dimming rate of luminaires when average desktop illuminance is kept to 750lx by using only LED luminaires, 3) Calculate the sensor illuminance when LEDs were turned on at the dimming rate for desktop illuminance 750lx, 4) When LEDs in one zone are fully turned on, the sensor illuminance in other zones are calculated, 5) Based on 1) – 4), calculate the annual dimming rate per hour in each dimming zone, by solving simultaneous equations. 6) Assuming the LEDs' dimming rate and its power consumption is in a linear relationship, annual electric power consumption of luminaires per unit floor area (kWh/m2) is calculated, and annual primary energy consumption(MJ/(m2·year)) and energy-saving rate of daylight harvesting were computed.
     In the case of general daylight harvesting in Tokyo, which has side windows, fixed venetian blinds and sensors on the ceiling facing the floor, there was a clear correlation between Window-to-Floor ratio and annual energy savings of artificial lightings, regardless of the room shapes or window orientation (East/South/West). When the Window-to-Floor ratio is 10%, approximately 10% of the annual electric power consumption can be reduced, and in the case of 20% aperture ratio, we could have about 20% of energy-saving effects. In addition to that, when using the automatic control venetian blinds system, of which positions are changed to cut direct sunlight, the energy-saving effects of daylight harvesting increases by a factor of 2, compared with those of 45 degree fixed blinds. The results show that the Window-to-Floor ratio will become one of the valid indexes to evaluate the energy-saving effects of daylight harvesting in simple and quantitative way.
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  • Marina KONTA, Hikaru KOBAYASHI
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 435-441
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     In recent years, various types of daylight utilization techniques are being studied for the purposes of saving the lighting energy of building space and improving workplace productivity and comfortability. To introduce daylighting from a side window of office space, various kinds of lighting louvers and ducts using curved mirrors have been proposed. These curved mirrors are designed based on non-imaging optics and their lighting performance is not significantly affected by the solar trajectory. While lighting devices using such curved mirrors are capable of controlling direct sunlight, they visually obstruct the window surface and hinder diffused sunlight in case of cloudy weather. In this paper, we propose a new fixed type daylighting louver made of transparent material with refraction and total reflection, which is characterized as having no change in light distribution in a room regardless of solar altitude.
     This new transparent louver gathers light rays with a profile angle of 20 to 80 degrees of sunlight and emits the light in the room at + 5° to 35° from the horizontal direction, allowing the light to be widely distributed without causing glare. The light distribution range is adjusted by using a parabola on the total reflection surface. As shown in Fig. 9, the louver is configured with three interfaces to play the roles of light taking part (Entrance surface), light guiding part (Guiding surface) and light emitting part (Emitting surface). We used the edge ray (Light rays entering through the top and bottom edges of the incident end) for the maximum and minimum sunlight incident angles (profile angle) to determine the cross sectional shape.
     Combining the effects of the refracting surface and the total reflection surface allows the louver to be compact as compared with other louvers using mirror surfaces. In addition, while the reflectance of an aluminum mirror used for a general mirror louver is about 80%, the reflectance close to 100% can be obtained by total reflection at the interface between the transparent material and air. Also, the decrease in reflectance due to dust does not occur in the case of total reflection.
     In this paper, the louver's performance was verified by the optical simulation and its 1/10 scale model experiment was conducted. From the simulation, it was confirmed that the transparent louver can control the light ray with accuracy equal to or higher than that of the conventional mirror louver. By the scale model experiment, we evaluated the perception of light in real space including the complicated effect of diffused light, light environment in the room, and the appearance of the louver, which are difficult to understand only by simulation. From the experiment, we confirmed that the louver was practically usable. In addition, even under cloudy weather conditions, the entire louver unit was not darkened since the sky light was unblocked by the louver. The present study shows the feasibility to realize a highly efficient daylighting device utilizing the characteristics of the transparent material with refraction and total reflection.
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  • Studies on indoor environments and energy consumption of dwellings in Mongolia, Part 1
    Bilguun BUYANTOGTOKH, Qingyuan ZHANG
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 443-451
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     In this study we clarified indoor environments of residential buildings in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia by questionnaire and measurement. Five structure types were considered in this study. Questionnaires were conducted for 374 apartments and 18 apartments were randomly selected from the surveyed apartments for measuring indoor air temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration. Ventilation rate of tested apartments was estimated based on the indoor CO2 concentration and heat loss coefficient of the apartments was compared according to structure types. Indoor environment of the residential buildings is typically hot and dry. Heat loss coefficient is high for non-insulated structures, which implies high potential of energy savings by thermal retrofitting.
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  • No. 1 Actual investigation at active construction sites
    Keita YAMAZAKI, Shigeo SUGA, Nao TAKAHASHI, Kouhei KUWABARA, Koichiro ...
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 453-463
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     In an effort to decrease the number of casualties caused by heatstroke, we used a survey to measure the effects of air-conditioned wear and the differences between morning and afternoon on the physiological responses and reported comfort levels and thermal sensations of construction workers in summer. Measurements of the thermal environment, such as air temperature, humidity, wind speed and MRT; physiological responses such as skin temperatures, tympanic temperatures, heart stroke, activity, and three-directional (X, Y and Z) acceleration; and the survey to assess psychological response were carried out at indoor and outdoor construction sites over four days each. There were sixty-six interior workers (IW), thirty-one with air conditioned wear (ACW) and thirty-five without ACW. There were thirty-two plumbers (PL), twenty with ACW and twelve without ACW. There were forty-two reinforcing bar placers (RBP), twenty with ACW and twenty-two without ACW. There were forty-four form workers (FW), twenty-four with ACW and twenty without ACW. These numbers are based on the number of working hours logged, not on the n umber of subjects participating in the survey.
     Skin temperature of RBP and PL workers at the outer construction site with ACW were significantly lower than those without ACW (p<0.01). Tympanic temperature of RBP workers with ACW was significantly higher than those without ACW (p<0.001). Tympanic temperature of PL workers was significantly higher than those of RBP workers with ACW (p<0.05), and lower than that of RBP workers without ACW (p<0.01). Acceleration in the Y-axis, of workers at the outer construction site with ACW was significantly higher than those without ACW (p<0.001), probably due to movement for their walking. Acceleration in the X-axis of workers at indoor construction site was significantly higher than those without ACW (p<0.001), probably due to their increased activity in cutting boards and pipes.
     The effects of ACW on comfort and thermal sensation were estimated as below.
     The reported comfort level of four occupational workers at the indoor and outdoor construction sites with ACW were significantly higher than those without ACW (p<0.001). The reported thermal level of both IWs and PLs with ACW were significantly lower than that without ACW (p<0.001). The reported thermal levels of PWs with and without ACW were significantly higher than those of RBPs (p<0.001). Without ACW, the reported thermal level of the IWs was significantly lower than those of the PLs (p<0.05). The reported thermal level of workers in outdoor construction site with ACW was significantly lower than those without ACW (p<0.001).
     Lastly, differences in the physiological and psychological responses between the morning and the afternoon were investigated at the indoor and outdoor construction sites. Tympanic temperature and activity of workers at the indoor construction site in the afternoon were significantly higher than those in the morning (p<0.01, p<0.05). Skin temperature of workers at outdoor construction site in the afternoon was significantly higher than those in the morning (p<0.01). It was suggested that the increase of casualties caused by heatstroke in the afternoon was due to these physiological parameters.
     The effects of ACW on both the psychological and physiological responses such as skin and tympanic temperature of workers at outdoor construction site were significantly estimated. The differences between the skin and tympanic temperatures of workers at indoor construction site with and without ACW were so small, that the only significant differences between those with and without ACW were psychological responses.
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  • Yosuke MOCHIZUKI, Kazuki MAEDA, Kazuyo TSUZUKI, Yuki NABESHIMA
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 465-472
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     The aim of this study was to investigate sleep in evacuation shelter-analogue settings in winter using disaster relief blankets and ordinary futons. Subject experiments were conducted to examine the sleep variables using actigraphy and the environmental conditions in a gymnasium during winter. The Sleep Efficiency Index and sleeping time decreased significantly in the first night when using disaster blankets. The mean skin temperature was significantly lower for sleeping times using disaster blankets. However, no significant difference in rectal temperature was found between the blankets and a pair of futons.
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  • Study on air environmental quality in schools using administrative data as an evidence (Part 3)
    Go IWASHITA
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 473-480
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     Cooling equipments have been remarkably introduced to school classrooms recently, and the saturation level of air conditioners in public schools is reached almost 100% in Tokyo City Area. Before cooling equipments were installed to classrooms, an appropriate amount of ventilation might have been maintained because windows of classrooms were mostly open during summer period. On the other hand, the ventilation rates were often reduced during winter period because of less frequency of window opening. Such less ventilation and worse air quality could be caused during summer period as well in accordance with the introduction of cooling equipments. Indoor air environment audit in schools has been conducted regularly by local government in Japan. The audit is conducted every two months in large scale schools which total floor area was over 8000 m2, and conducted generally once or twice a year in all schools irrespective of school size. Although the results of this audit could be useful to realize the indoor air quality in schools during various seasons, the results of the measurements are little made public from the local government. Therefore the results of the audit were used as the evidence in previous study. In the Law for Maintenance of Sanitary Environment in Buildings, it is demanded the CO2 concentration in the room to be 1000 ppm or less. In the previous study, it was reported that the mean CO2 concentration in the target elementary school classrooms was blow 1000 ppm during summer and midterm period. Furthermore the mean CO2 concentration in the secondary school classrooms was above 1000 ppm during all periods in the previous study. Recently indoor air quality monitoring in public building has been conducted worldwide. The French Indoor Air Quality Observatory (OQAI) was commissioned to assess children's exposure to various indoor air pollutants in schools. In the French study, the ICONE (Indice de CONfinement d'air dans les Ecoles) index was used to evaluate air stuffiness during occupied periods. One of the purposes of this study is to use the ICONE index to the results of air environmental audit for school classrooms in Tokyo district X. The analyzed schools in this study are elementary and secondary public schools located in Tokyo metropolitan district X. The period of analysis was set as 6 years from 2007 to 2012 fiscal year. The following conclusions were obtained;
     1) In 63 % of elementary schools and 20 % of secondary schools, the ICONE index during summer period showed the lowest value, i.e., the lowest air stuffiness, and that during winter period showed the highest.
     2) During summer period the percentage of schools with a ICONE score of 3, 4 or 5 in secondary schools was significantly larger than that in elementary schools. During winter period the difference in the above percentage between elementary and secondary schools was contrastively small.
     3) The tendency that the windows are apt to close by introducing cooling equipments might be more detected in secondary schools than elementary schools.
     4) The relationship between the number of occupants and the suspended particles concentration was not clear. The evidence that students or their activity are primary source of particulate matter was not obtained.
     5) The worldwide data comparison for IAQ in schools could be useful, and the results of the audit should be utilized as feedback information to improve the indoor air quality.
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  • Motoya HAYASHI, Hoon KIM, Mikiko TAKEKUMA, Haruki OSAWA
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 481-490
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     The aim of this study is to keep indoor air quality well considering the infiltration of chemicals from concealed spaces in detached houses. The building standard law was revised to prevent sick house syndrome in 2003. The use of continuous ventilation systems, the prohibition of chlorpyrifos, the control of the emission rate of formaldehyde and the countermeasure toward the infiltration from the concealed spaces like the ceiling space have been regulated after this revision.
     In this study, the infiltration characteristics of VOCs from the concealed spaces, were investigated using the measurement data of 8 new wooden houses with exhaust ventilation systems or exhaust and supply ventilation systems in Saitama prefecture. The structurer and building materials of these houses are general in Japan. The structures of these houses were wooden post and beam structures. The floor is made with plywood and flooring. The wall is made with plasterboard and vinyl cloth/plaster finishing. The ceiling is also made with plasterboard and vinyl cloth/plaster finishing. The results showed the followings.

     1. The indoor emission rates and the infiltration rates from the concealed spaces can be calculated from airtight levels of houses, ventilation rates, VOCs concentrations when the ventilation system is used and when the air is exhausted.
     2. The equivalent leakage area of houses were 0.5~3.0 (cm2/m2). The decompression levels were -5.3~6.0 (Pa) when the ventilation systems were used and 9.7~60.3 (Pa) when the air is exhausted.
     3. The indoor VOCs concentrations when the air is exhausted were higher than the VOCs concentrations when the ventilation systems are used in most houses.
     4. The infiltration rates were significantly higher than the indoor emission rates not only in houses with the exhaust ventilation systems but also in houses with the exhaust and supply ventilation systems.
     5. The indoor VOCs concentrations increases with the indoor decompression level.

     These studies showed that the indoor VOCs concentrations depend on the infiltration rates from concealed spaces in new houses in Japan. Therefore, the countermeasure toward the infiltration from the concealed spaces and the control of air quality in the concealed spaces, are still important.
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  • Eisuke TOGASHI, Yasunobu TANAKA, Yuki MATSUDA
    2018 Volume 83 Issue 747 Pages 491-501
    Published: 2018
    Released on J-STAGE: May 30, 2018
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
     The theoretical efficiency of heat pumps improves as the temperature difference between the high-temperature heating medium and low-temperature heating medium is reduced. In Japan, the annual average temperature is around 20°C, which is close to the temperature zone in which humans feel thermally comfortable. Therefore, if heat is interchanged between seasons by preparing an object with a sufficiently large heat capacity, there is the possibility that a comfortable thermal environment can be formed with high efficiency using a heat pump with a relatively small temperature difference. The ground represents one of the most promising objects with such a heat capacity, and heat pump systems that take advantage of the ground's heat capacity are generally called ground source heat pump (GSHP) systems., The main purpose of GSHP systems is to increase the efficiency of the heat pump cycle by using the heat capacity of the ground. Therefore, to maximize its efficiency and sustainability, it is not sufficient to consider only short-term trends, and heat transfer and temperature fluctuations must be examined across seasons and years. In predicting such long-term temperature fluctuations and improving the efficiency of the system, a computer simulation can be effective. In this paper, we report on development of a model of ground heat exchanger using virtual ground temperature not dependent on the type of ground heat exchanger and the thermal properties of ground soil. The procedure for estimating the parameters of the model from the operation data is presented. In addition, the accuracy of the model is verified by applying this method to the data collected at an existing building in Fukuoka, Japan. For the horizontal ground heat exchanger, the average error from the measured value was 0.22°C and the maximum error was 0.91°C. For the vertical ground heat exchanger, the average error was 0.30°C and the maximum error was 1.89°C. By conducting calculations by combining the developed ground heat exchanger model with the model of the ground source heat pump and air heat source heat pump, the relationship between the ground heat exchanger operation period and the COP (Coefficient Of Performance) was clarified.
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