Patrick Almeida CIVE2260 Submission#2 XXXXXXXXXX02/12/22
Title:
Wood damage due to water.
Introduction:
Damage to wood such as wooden floors, building structures like houses, cabins and sheds due to water and undesired moisture can make the home unfit to live and simultaneously can lead to various health problems. Wood damage due to water such as damage to wooden floor not just reduces the beautification of home but also leads to growth of fungi, molds, bacteria, and mildew which create health hazards. According to the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) (https:
iicrc.org/iicrcstandards/), there are following categories of water damage: Category 1: Damage to wood due to clean water such as drinking water, rain, snow, precipitation. Also, damage is limited to small area without much damage due to moisture absorption. Category 2: Damage due to grey water (contaminated water) such as leaky sinks and dishwashers, overflowing toilets etc. In this floor, carpet and drywall may need remedial measures. Category 3: Damage due to highly contaminated and toxic water such as hu
icanes, leaking sewage pipes etc. in this extreme damage to floor and drywall occurs sometimes beyond repair (Fun guy inspection and consulting, 2020).
Hypothesis:
It is expected that exposure of wood to water for long periods of time will cause warping and will reduce the strength of the wood in compression.
Objective(s):
The aim of the project is to test and compare the integrity and size of floor wood when exposed to water for long period of time.
Methods and Experimental design:
The material to be researched will be floor wood of different types. Each floor wood sample(s)/ material(s) will be exposed to water, for 7 consecutive days. Each day the wood will be checked for following properties: (a) structure i.e. physical changes in the wood such as cupping, budging, bending, twisting, expansion, compression etc (b) color i.e. discoloration such as black or dark stains (c) growth of molds and fungi.
Results and Conclusion:
Damage to wood can be natural such as rain, floods, and hu
icanes or man-made such as leaking plumbing pipes, leaking appliances (washing machine, refrigerator etc), overflowing sinks and bathtubs, cracks in the slabs, leaky roofs and windows which attract moisture and water from rain and snowfall. When the wood starts to abso
wate
moisture, it swells and becomes cupped in appearance and long term exposure leads to bulging and hump in wood. Discoloration in the wood starts due to reaction with contaminants in the water or from growth of molds and mildews. Different types of wood floor material react differently to water depending on their porosity and moisture absorption profile such as some wood floors have polymer coating that makes it more resistant to water damage. In our experimental set up, the test results will be recorded every day for 7 consecutive days based on the parameters discussed in the methods section. Each floor wood sample will be compared to each other on the basis of strength, color and growth of fungi/ molds. Through this test, the integrity of the various wood samples will be tested and the wood sample that is most resistant to water damage will be considered for use in future wood floor construction.
References:
Fun guy inspection and consulting XXXXXXXXXXWater Damage and Wood Flooring: What You Need to Know. Accessed on XXXXXXXXXXhttps:
funguyinspections.com/moisture-and-water-damage-can-cause-a-number-of-problems-in-your-home
Institute of inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certificate XXXXXXXXXXIICRC Standards. Accessed on XXXXXXXXXXhttps:
iicrc.org/iicrcstandards
CIVE 2260 and 2261
Communications Project
Information and Guidelines
Revised 2022
Prepared by D. Dulaski, D. Saulnier, C. Shillaber, A. Myers, K. Schulte-Grahame, S. Cranford
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering, Northeastern University
i
Project Component of
CIVE 2260: Materials for the Built Environment
and
CIVE 2261: Material Characterization Laboratory
Copyright © 2019 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
For edits, questions, comments, contact:
Dan Dulaski
Associate Teaching Professor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering
Northeastern University
400 Snell Engineering
360 Huntington Avenue Boston, MA 02115
XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX
Acknowledgements:
J. Hajjar
CEE Industrial Advisory Board
ii
Preface
“A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four
questions, thus: 1. What am I trying to say? 2. What words will express it? 3. What image
or idiom will make it clearer? 4. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?”
― George Orwell, Politics and the English Language (1947)
How does an engineer communicate?
One may say that an engineer can communicate with equations, calculations, design drawings and
specifications, but that is when engineers exchange ideas with other engineers who speak the same
technical language. Engineers must also express technical ideas to the non-engineers, which requires a
fundamental oral and written communication skills. This is particularly important for Civil and
Environmental Engineers, who commonly act as technical liaisons to the public, presenting and
describing publicly funded infrastructure projects to municipalities and communities.
Communication skills are a vital component of this, recognized by academia and industry alike. It is one
of eleven key outcomes required by an undergraduate engineering program in the ABET Engineering
Criteria. Ineffective and poor written communication in engineering workplaces were found to lead to
misinterpretation, inefficiency and time wastage, thereby adversely affecting problem resolution. Indeed,
communication skills are a valuable career enhancer. Communication skills are an essential component
in the education of engineering students to prepare them for their future careers.
During periodic discussion between the Department and the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB), it was
suggested that many of our students who go out on co-op work could be better prepared for the
communication and writing tasks of the profession. Our students were not bad writers per se, but there
was room for improvement with a focus on technical writing as opposed to literary aims. As a direct result
of these discussions, the Communications Program was born.
The Communications Program is a multi-year initiative and commitment by the Department to integrate
communication education (particularly writing and oral presentation skills) to the engineering cu
iculum.
This includes projects at the freshman level, a research report at the sophomore level, and written reports
and presentations at the senior capstone level. Here, a Communication Project is introduced into CIVE
2260 and 2261, which offers:
(a) a wide variety of potential projects, and
(b) access and integration of an experimental laboratory component.
This project presented a nice opportunity to introduce a hands-on approach to scientific research,
experimentation, and an associated report.
This project manual is intended to outline the requirements of the Communications Project, and to
provide some information and guidelines to the logistics of the project throughout the semester. Details
neglected herein will be presented either in class or in the laboratory via lecture, or are assumed to have
een part of your education prior to a
ival at Northeastern University. Note also that the details listed
herein may not encompass the full requirements of the project, and are subject to revision at the behest
of the instructor or professor.
Finally, have fun!
iii
Table of Contents
Table of Contents iii
Table of Contents - Figures iv
Table of Contents - Tables v
Part 1: Research Paper Overview 1
Preamble 1
Outline 1
Part 2: Required Sections and Submissions 2
Proposal 2
Abstract 3
Introduction 3
Literature Review 4
Plagiarism 5
Experimental Design 6
Methods and Theory 7
Analysis and Results 8
Conclusions and Recommendations 8
Submissions Summary 9
Submissions 9
Part 3: General Approaches to Effective Writing 11
General Tips 11
Content 13
Part 4: Formatting 16
Basic Page Format 16
Data, Figures and Tables 16
Table of Contents 18
Significant Figures 18
References 19
Part 5: Journal Articles 22
iv
Table of Contents - Figures
Figure XXXXXXXXXXDescription XXXXXXXXXXPage
1 Figures with Legend Outside of Data Area (left) and Embedded in Data Area (right) 18
v
Table of Contents - Tables
Table XXXXXXXXXXDescription XXXXXXXXXXPage
1 Research Paper Recommended Order and Section Lengths 9
2 Research Paper Submissions 10
3 Cylinder Lengths Before and After Testing 17
Communication Project Information & Guidelines
1
Part 1: Research Paper Overview
Preamble
The primary goal of the research paper is an objective and scientific evaluation of the properties
and/or performance of a material. Over the semester, you will select a material (any material! be
creative!) for which you perform several tests. It is your responsibility to research the material’s
characteristics, design an experiment for testing the material, test the material, and report on the
material’s properties.
Summary: pick a material, research the material, test the material, report your findings.
The paper will consist of six submittals: a proposal, four draft sections and a final paper. Each
submittal will be reviewed and graded by a professional grader. Submitting partial draft sections
will improve the final product, and will ensure that your approach is sound and the paper
equirements are fulfilled. When writing, make sure that each section is long enough to cover the
topic and meets the required word count. Note that figures and tables do not count towards the
equired word count.
Please note that the topics described in each section below are ideas to motivate your creativity
and thought process. Most, if not all, should be included in your write-up. Moreover, there may
e others that should be included – be sure to include whatever is necessary to convey your ideas.
Outline
There are many ways to structure a technical report, but scientific papers generally follow a
conventional format that includes a title, an