CE 4921 Sustainable development in Civil Engineering

2016
Recap questions-set 1

The following questions are designed to help you reflect on the principles, theories and
applications behind the Sustainability debate. These questions are not a comprehensive list of the
areas that you should understand, nor are they prescriptive of exam content. However, successful
completion of these questions should indicate a suitable level of comprehension in the areas
considered.

1. Use the IPAT equation, estimate the percentage increase in the amount of energy that
would be required, worldwide, in 2050, relative to 2015. To estimate the increase in
population and affluence (the P and A in the IPAT equation), assume that population grows
1% per year and that global economic activity per person grows 2% per year. Assume that
the energy consumption per dollarof GDP (the T in the IPAT equation) remains at 2015
levels. How much does this estimate change if population growthis 2% and economic
growth is 4%?
2. An industry burns coals at a rate of 1.00 kg/second. The concentration of sulphur in coal is
3%. What is the annual rate of emission of SO2? Assume amount of sulphur in ash is 5%.
What methods could be used to reduce the SO2production from the industry?
3. Before considering the specific engineering case studies held within the myriad of green
developments, it is really important to develop a strong understanding of what the global
biosphere is, how it maintains its living conditions, and what requirements human settlement has
on an area.
1. Explain how, even with a steady population, increasing prosperity is likely to put additional
strain on world resources.
2. Give brief definitions of the following terms:
a. Ecological Footprint
b. Biomimicry
c. Biophillia
d. Factor 4
e. Ecological economics
4. State the basic principle of natural cycles, and by choosing one of carbon, nitrogen, or
phosphorus as an example, outline the general activities, and describe how human activity is
altering the balance of equilibrium.
5. Describe the triple bottom line, and briefly comment on the difficulty evaluating the specifics that
may be used to give values (in the two categories other than economic).
6. Explain why deforestation is accelerating the underlying principles of climate change

7. Perform a Life Cycle Assessment on the following case study in order to determine which
of the four concrete designs is more sustainable. This case study is based on the University
of Queenslands Global Change Institute (GCI), which was the first building in the world
to successfully use Geopolymer concrete for structural purposes. This Building used 33
pre-cast floor beams to make three suspended floors. Base your calculations on ONLY 1
pre-cast floor beam.
Case Study Information:

Each Floor beam used 518 kg of steel reinforcement

Life span 50 years

Exposed Surface Area 2x A1 (LxW)

Estimate the total weight of each beam to be 32 Tonnes

1. Use the information above to calculate the total quantities, total amount of CO-e and
total energy consumed for each concrete designs.

2. Use the transportation information above calculate the total tonne-km, total amount of CO-e
and total energy consumed for each concrete designs.

3. Use the information above calculate the total amount of CO-e and total energy consumed for
each concrete designs.
a) First calculate the total CO-E captured, this will be a negative value.
b) Assume that a patch repair the size of 2m2 is required, Design 4 does not need a
patch repair.

4. Use the information above calculate the total amount of CO-e and total energy consumed for
each concrete designs.
All concrete is demolished, transported to a landfill and crushed. Of the total crushed concrete
60% is recovered and used as Crushed Concrete Aggregates (CCA).