Studying climate effects

There are certain things we take for granted in our lives and never really give them much thought. Take construction materials for example. Do you ever stop to think if the building you live in can endure the climate and stand strong in the face of the humidity and heat? Of course not! Why?
Because we just assume that those who are in charge of building know what they are doing.

Notes got a visit last week from two students from the American University of Sharjah who spent their summer studying the effects of local climatic conditions in the UAE on thermal insulation. In other words, they analysed and compared construction materials used in the UAE and abroad, and tested how far they can stand the climate in the country.

The civil engineering juniors spent three months interning at Wacker Chemicals Middle East — a global chemical company with five business divisions in polymer chemistry, specialty and fine chemistry, polysilicon production and semiconductor technologies.

The project

What was the joint project between AUS and Wacker Chemicals all about?

According to Mohammad Sanaobar, technical services manager at Wacker Chemicals Middle East, the European and American construction testing standards do not suit the climatic conditions in the UAE, that is, the heat and humidity.

"So we decided to carry a joint study with two students from AUS to illustrate the effects of the high temperature and humidity on buildings," he said.

The study is based on using a climatic chamber to simulate the local climate. "The result of this study might be a base for enforcing new local standards when using construction materials in the UAE," said Sanaobar.

The future

This experience, according to the engineering students, will benefit them when they graduate and go into the world.

"Now I have a better understanding of the construction business. As a civil engineer this will help me a lot in my line of work," said Mohammad.

Haidar, an Iraqi national, hopes one day to open a dry mix plant in Iraq. "Hopefully I will do that in the next 10 years. I am thinking of getting work experience first then going for my masters in business," he said.

Mohammad on the other hand is thinking of going for a masters in civil engineering or in business administration once he acquires enough work experience.

Students' experience

Despite trying to steer away from complicated jargon, Mohammad Abdullah and Haidar Mahdi saw the internship as an opportunity to learn about the construction code in the UAE.

"We have found out that European standards are used in the UAE, which do not go with the hot weather here. If you think about it, Europe is cooler and is not as hot," said Haider.

Mohammad on the other hand felt that he learned a lot about construction materials, mixing water and cement and what construction applications to use in different weather conditions.

"Moreover, the people in the company and those we worked with were really friendly and helpful. They gave us a lot of support and were very welcoming," he added.