Recycling automotive waste has increasingly become an alternative solution towards producing sustainable materials given the rising issue of raw material shortages and waste management challenges at global level. The improper end-of-life vehicle (ELV) waste management poses detrimental impacts on the environment. This paper proposes a novel method to develop thermal insulation sandwich panels using ELV waste, motivated by the critical needs of creating high-performance thermal insulation for buildings. Six sandwich panels (P1-P6) of different weight and ratio of shredded ELV particles were manufactured. The sandwich panels structure was made of three layers: a core, and a glass face sheet bonded to each side. The core structure composed of Polycarbonate (PC) from headlamp lenses and polyurethane (PU) from seat, bonded using resin casting approach. Thermal conductivity of the samples was measured using guarded hot-plate apparatus. Results corroborated that thermal conductivity of ELV-based sandwich panels reduced remarkably compared to panel without ELVs, recorded at 15.51% reduction. Composition gives the best thermal performance was made of mixed ELV core materials of ratio 50%PC:50%PU, it has a thermal conductivity value of 0.1776 W/mK. The transparency data were obtained using Haze-gard plus haze meter. The best luminous transmittance value was exhibited by P2 (100% PC), 67.47%. The best clarity value and haze value were shown by P6 (25% PC: 75% PU), 55.13% and 52.6% respectively. ELV waste can be recycled to develop useful sustainable thermal insulation to improve thermal and optical transparency performance of buildings as a substitute for conventional materials which have a relevance for future façade concepts.
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused massive losses for the global economy. Scholars have used different methods to study the transmission mode and influencing factors of the virus to find effective methods to provide people with a healthy built environment. However, these studies arrived at different or even contradictory conclusions. This review presents the main research methodologies utilized in this field, summarizes the main investigation methods, and critically discusses their related conclusions. Data statistical analysis, sample collection, simulation models, and replication transmission scenarios are the main research methods. The summarized conclusion for prevention from all reviewed papers are: adequate ventilation and proper location of return air vents, proper use of personal protective equipment, as well as the reasonable and strict enforcement of policies are the main methods for reducing the transmission. Recommendations including standardized databases, causation clarification, rigorous experiment design, improved simulation accuracy and verification are provided.