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Questions tagged [building-physics]

The physics of buildings, specifically thermal conduction, convection, & radiation; heating and cooling; ventilation; transmission and management of water vapour & pollutants

38 votes
2 answers
19k views

What is the purpose of these diversions in a natural gas line?

The campus where I work has a long covered walkway (~.5 mile) which has several labeled pipes running under the roof (chilled water, fuel oil, air...). All of the pipes run dead straight except for ...
Gretchen's user avatar
  • 483
3 votes
2 answers
306 views

Cooling tower for nuclear power plants

Cooling towers for nuclear power plants often have the shape of a hyperboloid. At first glance, I thought that an obvious reason for this would be the smaller sectional area, meaning the tower would ...
Philipp Imhof's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
84 views

Can a horizontal foundation safeguard against earthquakes?

I have not taken any course in civil engineering. What I was taught was that a broad base would prevent something from toppling. So it makes me wondering instead of nailing the foundation of a ...
Chong Lip Phang's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
141 views

Can a crisscrossed metallic skeleton resist earthquakes for buildings?

To follow up with my previous question on the seismic design of buildings, I would like to ask if it makes sense to support buildings with strong thick 'crisscrossed' metallic frames. I have the ...
Chong Lip Phang's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
142 views

Controlled demolition of a sky scraper?

Sky scrapers are often found in dense urban environments. Is there a known method to controllably demolish a sky scraper with minimal collateral damage?
Sparkler's user avatar
  • 223
1 vote
3 answers
140 views

Tensile Force on Line of Bolts

I'm presented with a problem requiring some analysis to determine if an antenna bracket mounted to a concrete blockwork wall is sufficiently strong enough to endure a wind load given the known surface ...
TMcC's user avatar
  • 13
1 vote
1 answer
107 views

how would one calculate the % of heat not absorbed by a heat sink?

I'm planning on building a plant growth chamber inside a sealed/insulated 55 g rain barrel, and I'm trying to figure out how much of the heat from my lights will enter the chamber, and how much ...
Jefferson Gately's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
133 views

What does this equation mean?

$$\propto \dfrac {\text {Cross-Sectional Area}}{\text {Volume}} $$ I've seen this equation on my textbook (physics). Let us imagine that there are two pen with $7$ and $3$ lenght. Which is harder ...
Cargobob's user avatar
  • 123