• Title/Summary/Keyword: Roofing system

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Ecological Green Roofs in Germany

  • Kohler, Manfred
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.7 no.4
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    • pp.8-16
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    • 2004
  • The industrialization of central Europe more than 100 ago marked the beginning of densely concentrated buildings in quickly growing cities. A cheap type of roofing material of that time was tar. But it was dangerous because it was high inflammable. Then some roofer had a splendid idea. They used sandy material as a final layer atop the impermeable tar layer. These roofs were much more fire resistant than the typical roofs. In this sandy layer some plant species began to grow spontaneously. This was the beginning of the green roof history of modern Europe. A number of these green roofs survived both world wars. In the early 80's in Berlin alone, 50 such buildings existed and they continued to be waterproof until the present day. Since the 1992 Earth Summit of 1992 in Rio de Janeiro(http://www.johannesburgsummit.org/html/basic_info/unced.html) the term "sustainable development" became of central interest of urban designers. In city regions green roofs had become synonymous with this term. With a small investment, long-lasting roofs can be created. Further back in history, more exciting examples of green roofs can be found. The hanging gardens of antiquity are well-known. There are also green roofs built as insulation against cold and heat all over the world. For over 20 years, roof greening in central Europe has been closely examined for various reasons. Roof greening touches several different disciplines. Of primary interest is the durability of the roofs. But ecologists are also interested in green roofs, for instance in biodiversity research. The beneficial effect of greening on water proofing was also proven. For some time, the issue of fire protection was investigated. According to tests, green roofs received a harsh careful rating. Their fire protective property is considered similar to that of tile roofs. Another recent impulse for the green roof movement in Germany has come from the evident improvement of storm water retention and the reduced burden on the sewer system. The question of whether and how much energy green roofs can save has become an urgent question. The state of the research and also various open questions from a central European point of view will be discussed in the context of international collaboration. Apart from academic considerations, those who involve themselves in this issue take a predominantly positive view of the numerous existing green roofs in Germany. In some cities, green roofs are the typical construction technique for new buildings. A few outstanding examples will conclude this review. In Germany, about 20 companies, some of which operate internationally, specialize in green roof consulting. Learning from each other in an open-ended way with respect to different construction techniques and applications in various climatic regions can only be accomplished through such international collaboration as is taking place here.

Development of Solar Warehouse for Drying and Storing the Agricultural Products (농산물(農産物) 건조(乾燥) 및 저장(貯藏)을 위(爲)한 태양열(太陽熱) 저장고(貯藏庫)의 개발(開發)에 관(關)한 연구(硏究))

  • Kim, Man Soo;Chang, Kyu Seob;Kim, Soung Rai;Jeon, Byeong Seon
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.9 no.1
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    • pp.357-370
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    • 1982
  • Recent concern regarding price and availability of fossil fuels has spurred the interest in alternative sources for farm crop drying. Among the available options such as biomass energy, wind power, nuclear energy and solar energy etc., the increasing attention is being directed to the utilization of heat from solar energy especially for farm crop drying. Even though solar energy is dispersed over a large land area and only a relatively small amount of energy can be simply collected, the advantages of solar energy is that the energy is free, non-polluting. The study reported here was designed to help supply the informations for the development of simple and relatively inexpensive solar warehouse for farm crop drying and storage. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to determine the performance of the solar collector fabricated, to compare solar supplemented heat drying with natural air drying and to develop a simulation model of temperature in stored grain, which can be used to study the effects due to changes in ambient air temperature. For those above objectives, solar collector was fabricated from available materials. Corrugated steel galvanized sheet, painted flat black, was used as absorbers and clear 0.2mm polyethylene sheet was the cover material. The warehouse for rough rice drying and storage was constructed with concrete block, and the solar collector was used as the roof of warehouse instead of original roofing system of it. The results obtained in this study were as follows: 1. The thermal efficiency of the solar collector was average 26 percent and the overall heat transfer coefficient of the collector was approximately $25kJ/hr.m^2\;^{\circ}K$. 2. Solar heated air was sufficient to dry one cubic meter of rough rice from 23.5 to 15.0 percent in 7 days and natural air was able to dry the same amount of rough rice from 20.0 to 5 percent in l2 days. 3. Drying with solar heat reduced the required drying time to dry the same amount of rough rice into a half compared to natural air drying, but overdrying problems of the bottom layer were so severe that these problems should be thoroughly analyzed. 4. Simulation model of temperature in stored grain was developed and the results of predicted temperature agreed well with test results. 5. Based on those simulated temperature, changes in the grain-temperature were a large at the points of the wallside and the damage of the grain would be severe at the contact area of wall.

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