http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/85 2026-02-05T02:36:43Z 2026-02-05T02:36:43Z Naylor, John Osmond http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/6564 2025-10-03T14:40:08Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Algorithmic thinking to promote full-culm bamboo durability in architectural design Authors: Naylor, John Osmond Abstract: Full-culm bamboo is a fast growing, strong, environmentally sustainable construction material. Inappropriate use of bamboo in buildings results in physical degradation. This leads to negative societal perceptions and an underutilisation of this construction material. Design professionals have a role in changing attitudes to bamboo through the exemplar and appropriate specification in their designs. Bamboo-growing, tropical low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are some of the poorest and most vulnerable societies to natural disasters, and by 2050 the tropics will be home to one half of humanity. In order to build the required buildings without negative environmental impact, a diversification of materials will be required, and locally available bio-based materials can supplement existing practice. This research identifies the poor natural durability of bamboo as a key reason for negative societal perceptions and argues that many mainstream architectural design methods and tools pose limitations to design for full-culm bamboo. Quantitative surveys with construction industry professionals and students working in bamboo growing regions were employed, followed by qualitative interviews with Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Case study research in Colombia, paired with a literature review, examined best practices and revealed how poor natural durability can manifest. Design guidance for durability in ISO 22156 (2021) is synthesised in this research along with the methods and tools used by design professionals, including algorithmic design tools, in a novel design approach for bamboo structures. Using algorithmic thinking for protection by design, this design approach can be applied to analogue design methods or scripted digitally. A symposium set evaluation criteria for this design approach, identifying Haiti’s construction sector as a tropical LMIC context. The research proposes that supporting design professionals to make durability a key consideration in early design stages, can increase the service-life and status of bamboo structures, and promote greater use of locally available bio-based materials in construction. Description: Ph. D. Thesis.

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Pudyastuti, Purwanti Sri http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/6528 2025-08-01T11:46:45Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Integrated flood management for transboundary river basin : a case study in Bengawan solo river basin - Indonesia Authors: Pudyastuti, Purwanti Sri Abstract: Bengawan Solo River flows from Upper Bengawan Solo Sub-catchment located in Wonogiri-Central Java Province to Java Ocean through some regions in Central Java and East Java Provinces, Indonesia. The length of the river is about 600 km, and the total area of Bengawan Solo River Basin is about 19,778 km2 . The average annual rainfall in the upper catchment of the river basin is approximately 1935 mm. In the end of December 2007, some regions in Central Java and East Java Provinces (Indonesia) located in Bengawan Solo River Basin were flooded due to high rainfall intensity which caused the overflow of River Bengawan Solo and release of excessive water from Wonogiri Dam in the upstream catchment. Some regions in the affected areas were inundated for several weeks. This flood phenomenon was the biggest flood in the river basin during the last 40 years. The flood continues to occur annually since then. This research aims to improve the understanding of the flood generating mechanisms and the nature of flooding in Indonesia, particularly in the Bengawan Solo River Basin, and to use this understanding to inform robust methods of flood risk management taking into account present and future climate as well as possible land use management strategies. The quality of the rainfall data in Bengawan Solo river basin is unsatisfactory with the average of cross-correlation 0.31. However, this research used the data because it is the only in situ data available in the river basin by selecting the most complete data from the available gauging stations. The Pettit test was applied in this research to detect the abrupt change of extreme rainfall in selected gauging stations. Moreover, the Mann-Kendall test was applied to investigate the trend of extreme rainfall. The annual maximum daily rainfall and monthly maximum daily rainfall during rainy season (October – March) were used in Pettit and MannKendall test. The SHETRAN simulation was implemented in this research to investigate the impact of land use change to peak discharge using three different land use scenarios. Besides using in situ data, the SHETRAN simulation also used 3-hourly TRMM rainfall data. According to the results of the SHETRAN simulation, the peak discharge rises considerably with expanding urbanization; consequently, planned control over land use change and development is required to prevent future issues. Improved hydrometry data availability is also necessary for more accurate flood modelling. The big flood event in December 2007 could be triggered by high precipitation (which was recorded as the highest maximum precipitation). The flood continues to occur recently, although the maximum rainfall is not as high as the one occurred in December 2007. Considering the result from SHETRAN simulation and the fact that the number of buildings is increasing in Bengawan Solo River Basin, it can be understood that flooding will continue to occur although there is no upward trend of extreme rainfall. Since flooding is likely to occur, attempts must be done to minimize the risk and reduce the severe impact of flooding. Learnt from this research with the limitation of reliable data, it is suggested that the agencies and authorities responsible in flood management in Bengawan Solo River Basin should improve the gauging networks and data base related to flood management, including hydrological and hydraulic data. Furthermore, the attempts have been done by Mekong River Commission and approach introduced by Cap-Net might be adopted by some modification appropriate to Bengawan Solo River Basin condition. Providing early good flood forecasting and warning system, conducting capacity building for all related stakeholders, enhance coordination and cooperation among related agencies and authorities, and development flood measure both structural and non-structural could be implemented to reduce the flood risk and minimize severe impact of flooding in Bengawan Solo River Basin. Description: PhD Thesis

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z Vignola, Marta http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/6492 2025-06-16T11:14:30Z 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Microbial community assembly and its impact on functions in water filtration processes Authors: Vignola, Marta Abstract: Water filters, extensively employed in the modern drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs), are populated by a high diversity of bacteria. Little is known about what forces determine the structure of those bacterial communities and how their assembly affects the quality of the final potable water. Two contrasting ecological theories explain how natural microbial communities assemble, shaped by environmental deterministic factors (Niche based theory) or merely stochastic forces (Neutral community model-NCM). Moreover, no simple and standardized culture-independent method that allows direct cell quantification in filter media samples, free from biases introduced by simplifying assumptions or technical method limitations, is currently available. The aim of this work was to further the understanding of the factors involved in the assembly of microbial communities in water filters and develop a new method for their quantification using flowcytometry. The shaping effect of two contrasting drinking water filter materials (quartz sand and granular activated carbon) was studied in laboratory-scale columns, while, the role played by neutral dynamics was tested by applying an explicit model of neutral assembly to the community compositions of distinct full scale filters. Results suggested that filter medium has the potential of shaping different filter microbial communities whose different compositions affect the quality of the post-filtration in terms of pathogens presence and Triahalomethanes (THMs) formation potential. Stochastic forces play a weak role in the assembly of lab-scale water filters with contrasting materials, but they seem to play a more prominent role in driving the assembly of full-scale systems as suggested by the agreement between the experimental data and the model. An accurate and highly reproducible method for enumerating cells on sand grains using flowcytometry has been developed and tested against other culture-independent quantification approaches typically used for such samples Description: PhD Thesis

2018-01-01T00:00:00Z Agunbiade, Abiola http://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/6292 2024-10-01T10:37:32Z 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: A new approach to transport investment appraisal for developing economies : a case study of Lagos, Nigeria Authors: Agunbiade, Abiola Abstract: There is currently no standardised approach to transport investment appraisal (TIA) that can be applied in developing economies. There is a need to develop economy standards to reduce the reliance on 'traditional' Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA). TIA in developing economies often fails to include the full costs of road accidents, Wider Economic Impacts (WEI) (consisting of indirect benefits from transport investments) and appraisal of monetised and non-monetised impacts. There was an end-user demand to develop a method that improves the presentation and clarity of appraisal results to decision-makers. This facilitated a more efficient selection of the most appropriate transport investments among various options. The shortcomings in the current methodology can lead to less viable transport investments and even a biased view of schemes. This research addresses a clear gap in the appraisal approach for these developing economies. In Nigeria, it has been identified that the transport sector contributes less than 2% to the GDP of the country. There is a need for a new approach to transport appraisal, as the current approach cannot fully capture and improve understanding of the full impacts of essential transport investments. Transport investments can deliver much more transformative and wider benefits for local and regional communities in Nigeria. Overdependence on conventional CBA limits the chances of achieving socio-economic integration and development. The demonstration for the first time in Nigeria and West Africa of this new appraisal framework used a case study of Lagos and a mixed-method research approach was adopted, combining surveys with interviews. This was undertaken to explore the willingness to pay of commuters to reduce their chances of death from road accidents and to estimate the resource cost (human capital) lost by the economy per fatality and injury from road accidents. This research successfully applied the economic valuation methods (Willingness-to-pay and Human Capital) to determine the value of a statistical life for a fatality as $262,005 and $81,656, respectively. This is important as it can be adopted for transport appraisal in Lagos, Nigeria in the future. Also, for the first time in Africa, this research has successfully developed a model that can estimate the indirect wider impacts of transport investments (WEIs) from transport investments for developing economies namely Agglomeration Impacts, Output Change in Imperfectly Competitive Markets and Labour Supply Impacts. Finally, and significantly, this research provides a breakthrough in developing a multi-criteria decision analysis model that forms a holistic approach to TIA, which has not been formally achieved ii and applied in developing economies until now. Direct analysis of the performance matrix was adopted with qualitative and numerical scores to help improve and simplify decision-making. The model is categorised by economic, environmental, and social criteria, combining qualitative (non-monetised impacts) and quantitative (monetised impacts from the CBA and WEIs) assessments and qualitative and numerical scores. This is a clear advance in the stateof-the-art and a significant contribution to knowledge in transport investment appraisal for developing economies. Description: PhD Thesis

2024-01-01T00:00:00Z