Keynote Speakers

Prof. Junwen Zhang

China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), China

Research Area: Road Support and Rock Mechanics in Mines

Title: Application of negative pillar mining technology in rock burst disaster prevention and control

Abstract: The problem of rock burst in deep coal mining or hard roof can be solved by special surrounding rock pressure release of stagger layout roadway. the stagger layout enables roadway to be away from the stress concentration zone which transfers the pressure and avoids the problem of high ground stress. The gangue pillar structure cushions the dynamic load of falling roof and undertakes the weight of key block. The roof made up by gangue gives enough space for hard roof’s movement which in another way protects the roadway.

Prof. Mohamed A. Ismail

Dept. of Civil Engineering, Miami College of Henan University

Research Area: Concrete Durability, Corrosion Sensors, Smart Materials, Structures Rehabilitation and LCCA.

Title: Recycled Waste Materials in Reinforced Concrete Construction

Abstract: This talk discusses different types of industrial, agricultural and/or natural wastes; some have been already utilized in the concrete industry while many others demonstrate promise for future use. Recycling of those waste materials, found in abundance, not only wards off deleterious environmental hazards, but also have been known to actually produce wealth by adding value through ecology. 

The presented study compiles information about an extensive variety of wastes that could be used in the concrete industry to generate low cost environmental friendly materials. Moreover, it will reveal a combination of these wastes, new approaches to old materials and unique demands related to waste materials. 

The results presented in this talk are not only beneficial both economically and environmentally, they also provide the concrete industry with technical information about valuable resources which play a key role in meeting the challenges of sustainable construction in today’s world. The high demand of natural resources due to rapid urbanization and the disposal problem of industrial and agricultural wastes in developed and in developing countries have created opportunities for utilizing these wastes in concrete.

Many of them have already been used in concrete as additive or replacement to cement, fine aggregates and coarse aggregates. By doing so, these wastes drastically improve many properties of fresh and hardened concrete, paving the way for major developments in concrete and construction industries.

The principal binder in concrete is Portland cement whose production requires exorbitant amount of energy consumption, is costly and a major contributor to green-house gases (GHG; one ton of Portland cement releases approximately one ton of CO2). Furthermore, it consumes huge quantities of virgin materials that cause depletion of natural resources, such as forests, hill, mountains, etc. at an alarming rate. Given that these challenges must be dealt with effectively, the commitment to deploy immense quantities of industrial, agricultural and natural waste materials (palm-oil fuel ash, fly ash, coal and oil-burning by-products, bottom ash, rice husk ash, bagasse ash, metakaolin, used tires, cement dust, stone crushers dust, marble dust, silica fume, glass, etc.) becomes imperative.  Effective utilization of various waste materials in the concrete and construction industry whose growth knows no boundaries and mounting evidence of worldwide interest suffice the need to produce a collective anthology of a wide variety of waste materials available today.

Assoc. Prof. LIM YAIK WAH

Faculty of Built Environment and Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Research Area: Sustainable Architecture, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Building Performance Simulation and Architectural Computing

Title: Building Information Modelling for Sustainable and Integrated Design 

Abstract: Building industry generates as much as 30% construction waste, and it is expected to reach 2.2 billion tons of waste annually worldwide by 2025. Furthermore, studies found that building sector consume about 36% of energy use and contribute to 39% of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions globally. The building sector energy usage is expected to surge by 50% by 2050 if no further action is taken to mitigate this problem. Therefore, the sustainability in building sector requires urgent attention throughout the entire building lifecycle, starting from pre-construction phase until operation and maintenance. 

On the one hand the building industry is considered as one of the most inefficient and wasteful sectors giving negative impacts to the environment, but on the other hand it is slow in adopting technology innovations despite the rise in project complexity and the demand of sustainability. The development of building information modelling (BIM) has been recognised as a platform for sustainable and integrated building design and project delivery. BIM allows a centralised digital modelling for informed and collaborative design decision-making throughout different project phases involving various stakeholders. Hence, it provides better design outcomes, reduced reworks and waste as well as enhanced building performances. 

This talk discourses the current development of BIM and its implementation in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector. The workflows of BIM-based sustainable and integrated project delivery are reviewed, covering different phases of a project. Besides, BIM tools which are commonly employed by AEC sector are presented in relation to their functionalities and outputs. Research on the applications of BIM for sustainable building design decision-making are also discussed. The findings presented in this talk are useful for both researchers and practitioners in the AEC sector. 

Dr Puteri Shireen Jahn Kassim
Sustainability Director 
EAG Consulting Malaysia 

In collaboration with 
Professor Ir Dr Maisarah Ali 
Department Of Civil Engineering 
Iium

Title: Civil engineering, architecture, rating systems and green urbanism: present and future

Abstract: Civil engineering traditionally locates itself within the fields of design, construction and commissioning of infrastructure , site and transport management ,structural design and construction .In green building and masterplan scoring, its role is generally secondary to architecture , planning and urban design, yet recently, developments have seen how it's synthesis with eco-urbanism aspects such as water engineering, landscape and material specification, have reemphasized it's importance and weightage within the scoring system  .This paper relooks at present scoping and ambit of civil engineering  within present rating multidisciplinary  systems , while at the same time. reviewing the future relevance, significance and roles within the integration of its field into a more integrated design approach and systemic thinking in the design of low carbon cities, green urbanism and low carbon architecture.