THEMATIC TRENDS OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL PAPERS WITHIN NOCMAT 1984-2014 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

OHAYON Pierre1, a, SHARAFI RAD Ali2b, GHAVAMI Khosrow3c

1Faculdade de Administração e Ciências Contábeis/Universidade Federal do Rio de

Janeiro - FACC/UFRJ, Brazil

2Departamento de Engenharia Industrial/ Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (DEI/PUC-Rio), Brazil

3Departamento de Engenharia Civil/ Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro

(CIV/PUC-Rio), Brazil

apohayon@facc.ufrj.br, ba.sharafii@gmail.com, cghavami@puc-rio.br

Keywords: NOCMAT, International Conferences, Papers, Trends

ABSTRACT

The last International Conference on Non-Conventional Materials and Technologies held in Brazil

in 2014 has coincided with 30th

anniversary of NOCMAT, after the first one held in Rio de

Janeiro/Brazil in 1984. The series of NOCMAT have proven to be a leading forum where scholars,

governmental and non-governmental agencies, practitioners exchange innovations of low energy

cement technologies, new ecological materials and systems such as bamboo and natural fibers. The

accelerated rhythm in which the results of the research on NOCMAT are applied in practice is not

at a desired speed. This is principally due to the conventional materials and technologies imported

from industrialized countries which are dominating the economy, financial, administrative, and

human resources in developing countries. NOCMAT projects which benefited from an

unconditional enthusiasm by researchers are seen by the community as suspicious not because of

their “few” results but of their “any” results obtained. To show the reliability and durability of the

newly developed materials and technologies, in addition to the results obtained in the laboratories,

large scale constructions should be built and permanently monitored, requiring higher and

continued investments from sponsoring agencies and private organizations. The general objective of

this article is mapping the papers presented within all the thematic areas of NOCMAT Conferences.

Four different data and analysis are presented related to mapping papers: (1) by the participating

authors; (2) by involved Institutions; (3) by participating Countries and Year; and, (4) by NOCMAT

Themes, along 30 years.

1. INTRODUCTION – NOCMAT RESEARCH CONTEXT

The understanding of sustainability in building construction has undergone changes over the years.

First attention of specialists was directed towards the topic of limited resources, especially energy,

and its impact on the natural environment. Now emphasis is placed on technical issues such as

materials, building components, construction technologies and energy-related design concepts as

well as on non-technical issues such as economic and social sustainability.

The pursuit of sustainable development as defined in the Gro Harlem Brundtland Report [1] as

“development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs” has become a major issue when trying to meet the challenge

of providing proper housing for an increasing world population. Recently, Pierre Papon emphasized

the necessity to take time because progress is not so fast as we think and also developments are

becoming heavier [2].

To increase understanding of sustainable materials, also known as Nonconventional Materials and

Technologies (NOCMAT) using organic materials, which are used either alone or as reinforcement

in different types of matrices such as soil, cement and polymers, many research programs have been

carried out all over the globe. In recent years, there has been an increase in research into the use of

natural and non-conventional construction materials, which have suitable physical and mechanical

properties for structural applications, and are desirable as ecological alternatives to more commonly

used industrialized materials.

The study of non-conventional materials and technologies (NOCMAT) for construction began in

the 1970’s. This field of research has continued to grow in the decades since. The increased use of

locally available natural and waste materials in construction can promote environmental

sustainability and aid in the eradication of extreme poverty.

Many of the world’s most poverty-stricken people live in remote locations, typically rich in natural

resources. In many of these areas, the use of steel and reinforced concrete in construction has

become a symbol of economic status. These materials are imported for use when local, natural

materials can also be used to create structures that can successfully meet the intended need at a

lower cost and environmental impact (considering precautions are taken to prevent deforestation or

depletion of other resources).

Organizations like ABMTENC - Brazilian Association of Non-Conventional Materials and

Technologies [3] at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and the INBAR -

International Network for Bamboo and Rattan strive to achieve sustainable development and

poverty alleviation by promoting the use of these two natural resources Bamboo and Rattan [4].

Since the development of industrialized materials, including steel and concrete, natural materials

have been abandoned for their structural use. While the mechanical properties of natural materials

are less predictable than those of the industrial materials, the natural materials are readily available

in many rural locations and can be used with significantly less processing. The availability of steel

and cement, on the other hand, depend on the presence of factories and an abundant feedstock

supply to create these materials, as well as adequate infrastructure to permit transportation to the

locations for their use.

Now, with energy consumption and sustainability becoming increasingly important issues in the

construction industry, industrialized materials are not always optimal when there are many natural

materials that have excellent structural properties, are renewable, and require minimal energy input

to be construction-ready. Therefore, as the progress of the civil engineering industry relies on the

continued development of different materials in construction, non-conventional materials

(NOCMAT) should be considered in the search for the low-energy structural materials of the future.

2. ABMTENC´S CONTRIBUTIONS TO NOCMAT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

The Brazilian Association of Non-Conventional Materials and Technologies – ABMTENC was

founded on 29th of March 1996, at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro – PUC-Rio,

by professor Ghavami and the rector of the University, the Vice Rector Jesus Hortal Sanches S.J.,

the previous Rector - Father Laércio Moura S.J., and the deans and scientists, engineers, architects

and many other professionals, who are interested to the study and development of the science of

non-conventional materials and technologies.

Once professionals, organizations and institutions in Brazil have been brought together to share

their common goals of assisting science and developing non-conventional materials and

technologies, ABMTENC intends to develop research and the expand the knowledge of this field,

as well as encouraging communication between scientist and universities, institutions and non-

governmental organizations throughout the inside of country and abroad, also. ABMTENC intent to

share knowledge of these sciences through the publication of books and magazines, as well as

promoting meetings, congresses, conferences, courses and techno-scientific reunions.

ABMTENC’s success depends fundamentally on the interest and participation of its members,

individuals and enterprises that want to share advances in research into non-conventional

technologies and materials in many different fields of application such as: Bamboo, environment,

sanitation, bau-biologie, composites materials with vegetal fibers, earth architecture [3].

3. NOCMAT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES

The former International Conference on Non-Conventional Materials and Technologies (IC-

NOCMAT) has been realized in Pirassununga, State of São Paulo/Brazil in November 2014,

coinciding with the 30th

anniversary of NOCMAT.

This IC-NOCMAT follows previous successful events in João Pessoa/Paraíba-Brazil (2013),

Changsha, Hunan/China (2011), Cairo/ Egypt (2010), Bath/England (2009), Cali/Colombia (2008),

Maceió/Alagoas-Brazil (2007), Salvador/Bahia-Brazil (2006), Rio de Janeiro/RJ-Brazil (2005),

Pirassununga/ São Paulo-Brazil (2004), João Pessoa/Paraíba-Brazil (2003), Hanoi/Vietnam (2002),

Bhubanewar/India (1997) after the first NOCMAT 1984 held in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil.

3.1 Study Objetive and Methodology

The aim of this study is to map and analyze thematic trends of scientific and technical production

within the NOCMAT conferences systematizing 1267 papers published in them. Since its first

edition in 1984 to his last in 2014 are highlighted: (1) the production of published articles and

authorship; (2) the chronology of the thematic areas; (3) the geographical distribution by country;

(4) the institutional origin; (5) axes and thematic trends. The technical themes of knowledge

application considering the thematic areas identified in each NOCMAT conference were pointed

out for trend analysis.

It is included in the field of studies on State of the Art1 [5] that aims to understand the evolution and

trends of scientific and technological knowledge produced on certain topics or areas of expertise.

Articles published in conferences and magazines coming from dissertations, doctoral theses or even

activities of research and development (R&D) are one of the main forms of scientific

communication for knowledge in construction. This field permits to examine national policies,

programs and strategies that aim to foster notably open access (OA) and discuss how OA policies

are monitored and enforced [6]. This knowledge capital oriented to practical applications has been

studied by many intellectuals in order to assess high quality processes concerning research and

1“The term ‘state of the art’ refers to the highest level of general development, as of a device, technique, or scientific

field achieved at a particular time. It also refers to the level of development (as of a device, procedure, process,

technique, or science) reached at any particular time as a result of the common methodologies employed” [5].

technological development such as accountability, productivity and measurement, absorptive

capacity, intellectual property, among many others [7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12].

4. DATA AND ANALYSIS

In this topic are presented the level of production covering all the 14 NOCMAT conferences

realized in different countries since 1984 to 2014, this one being its last edition. All the data were

extracted from CD-ROMs and Books of abstracts/full papers and made available by ABMTENC

Association.

4.1 Mapping papers by the participating authors

NOCMAT 1984 - the first of the series held in Rio de Janeiro/Brazil, began with a single overall

theme entitled "Low-Cost and Energy Saving construction Materials". Since the second NOCMAT

held in Bhubaneswar/India in 1997 until now, emerged the term "Non-Conventional" in the

Conference’s title.

Table 1, Graphs 1 and 2 present the distribution of all the papers by year (NOCMAT Conference

serie), country of the authors, and number of authors per paper (1 to 11).

Table 1: Number of Papers per Participating Authors

Participating Authors

Year City Country 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Total

papers %

1984 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 31 16 11 4 1 - - - 1 - - 64 5.1%

1997 Bhubaneswar India 8 5 7 3 - 1 - - - - - 24 1.9%

2002 Hanoi Vietnam 8 22 16 10 4 2 1 - - - - 63 5.0%

2003 João Pessoa Brazil 3 13 24 11 6 1 - - 1 - - 59 4.7%

2004 Pirassununga Brazil 3 13 18 13 3 5 2 - - - - 57 4.5%

2005 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 6 21 17 18 6 4 1 - - - - 73 5.8%

2006 Salvador Brazil 5 23 34 7 12 3 2 - - - - 86 6.8%

2007 Maceió Brazil 4 23 18 16 12 4 - 1 - - - 78 6.2%

2008 Cali Colombia 9 35 24 16 19 9 1 - - - - 113 8.9%

2009 Bath UK 19 30 23 27 13 6 - - - - - 118 9.3%

2010 Cairo Egipt 16 26 34 23 14 5 - 1 - - - 119 9.4%

2011 Hunan China 6 28 44 39 13 6 2 1 - - - 139 11.0%

2013 João Pessoa Brazil 18 27 43 20 10 13 4 3 - - - 138 10.9%

2014 Pirassununga Brazil 2 30 33 26 18 18 6 1 1 - 1 136 10.7%

138 312 346 233 131 77 19 7 3 - 1 1267 100%

Graph 1: Number of Papers per Participating Authors Graph 2: Number of Papers per Year

The data collected totalize 1267 papers for all the NOCMAT Conferences serie. Graph 1 shows that

52% of the papers (658 papers) are published by 2 or 3 authors and, 89% of the papers (1129

papers) are published by more than one author. Graph 2 indicates a significant growth of the

number of papers presented from 1984 to 2014.

4.2 Mapping papers by the involved centers of NOCMAT knowledge (Institutions)

Tables 2 and Graph 3 present the distribution of all the papers by involved Institution in all

NOCMAT Conferences serie from 1984 to 2014.

Table 2: Number of Papers per Institutions

Institutions

Year City Location 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total p.

1984 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 49 11 3 1 - - 64

1997 Bhubaneswar India 17 7 - - - - 24

2002 Hanoi Vietnam 41 17 5 - - - 63

2003 João Pessoa/ Paraíba Brazil 36 18 2 2 1 - 59

2004 Pirassununga/ Brasil Brazil 36 20 1 - - - 57

2005 Rio de Janeiro/ Brasil Brazil 46 21 4 1 1 - 73

2006 Salvador/ Brasil Brazil 62 21 2 - 1 - 86

2007 Maceió Brazil 46 26 5 - 1 - 78

2008 Cali Colombia 61 43 8 1 - - 113

2009 Bath UK 64 38 14 2 - - 118

2010 Cairo Egito 70 28 20 1 - - 119

2011 Hunan Changsha China 88 40 10 1 - - 139

2013 João Pessoa Brazil 84 33 16 5 - - 138

2014 Pirassununga Brazil 78 39 12 6 - 1 136

Total papers

778 362 102 20 4 1 1267

Percentage

61.4% 28.6% 8.1% 1.6% 0.3% 0.1% 100.0%

Graph 3: Number of Papers per Participating Institutions

The data from Table 2 and Graph 3 show that about 37% of the papers (464 papers among a total of

1267) are published by 2 and 3 institutions and about 39% of the papers (489 papers) are published

by more than one institution in all NOCMAT Conferences serie. The level of multiple authorship

increased indicating a greater integration of human resources and institutions.

Table 3 and Graph 4 show the number of Institutions which participated in all NOCMAT

Conferences serie.

Table 3: Number of Institutions per Year and Higher Number of Papers Presented by an Institution

Year Institution Institution with highest no of papers Country n

o

1984 67 LEHIGH Lehigh University USA 4

1997 21 PUC-Rio Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro Brazil 5

2002 55 Hanyang Hanyang University Korea 6

2003 46 PUC-Rio Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro Brazil 9

2004 38 USP Universidade de São Paulo Brazil 8

2005 57 CEFET Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica Brazil 9

2006 53 UFPB Universidade Federal da Paraíba Brazil 14

2007 54 UFAL Universidade Federal de Alagoas Brazil 8

2008 81 UNIVALLE Universidad del Valle Colombia 16

2009 122 BATH University of Bath UK 19

2010 69 HBRC Housing and Building National Center Egypt 16

2011 87 HNU Hunan University China 17

2013 116 UFPB Universidade Federal da Paraíba Brazil 14

2014 92 USP Universidade de São Paulo Brazil 22

Graph 4: Number of Institutions per Year

Table 3 shows that the number of institutions participating in NOCMAT Conferences serie

increased, in a very significant growth, from 21, its lowest level (in 1997/India) to 122, its highest

level (in 2009/UK).

Graph 4 shows an increasing number of institutions participating to the NOCMAT Conferences

from 1984 to 2014. Table 3 shows that the highest number of papers by institutions is increasing

from 1984 (4 papers from LEHIGH) to 2014 (22 papers from USP). In average 4.5 institutions are

added in each next NOCMAT Conferences serie.

The data collected reveals that 566 Institutions have participated in all NOCMAT Conferences

serie. In average, 40 Institutions have participated in all of them.

Table 4: Number of Institutions Participating in all NOCMAT Conferences Serie by each Country

Item Countries No of Countries

No of

Institutions %

1 Brazil 1 128 22.6%

2 UK 1 53 9.3%

3 China 1 46 8.1%

4 USA 1 39 6.9%

5 Colombia 1 31 5.5%

6 India 1 26 4.6%

7 Mexico 1 19 3.4%

8 Argentina 1 17 3.0%

9 Egypt 1 16 2.8%

10 Japan 1 15 2.6%

11 France 1 13 2.3%

12 Spain 1 12 2.1%

13 Algeria, Canada 2 10 3.5%

14 Australia, Iran, Italy 3 9 4.8%

15 Portugal 1 8 1.4%

16 Germany 1 7 1.2%

17 Korea, Romania 2 6 2.1%

18 Cuba, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Poland, Thailand, Vietnam 7 4 4.9%

19 Ghana, Libya, Malaysia, South Africa, Venezuela 5 3 2.6%

20 Belgium, Chile, Ecuador, Greece, Nepal, Pakistan, Sweden, The Netherlands 8 2 2.8%

21 Bolivia, Botswana, Chili, Cypre, Denmark, Jordan, Kuwait, Mozambique,

Paraguay, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Senegal, Singapore, Switzerland,

Taiwan, Tanzania, Turkey, UN

19 1 3.4%

Total 60 567* 100%

* One of the institutions (INBAR) is an international institution located in two countries (China and also Nepal). For

this reason in this Table the number of institutions is 567 and not 566.

Table 4 shows that among all institutions that participated in all the NOCMAT Conferences serie,

Brazil is in first position with 128 participating institutions. One of its important impact is the

increasing number of call for R&D projects sponsored by the Brazilian Ministry of Science,

Technology and Innovation [13].

4.3 Mapping papers within NOCMAT Conferences by participating Countries and Year

Table 5, Table 6, Graphs 5 and 6 present the distribution of all the papers by participating country

and year of NOCMAT Conferences serie.

The data from Table 5 show that 130 papers are published by authors from 2 countries and 148

papers among 1267 are published by more than one country in all NOCMAT Conferences serie.

602 countries have participated in all NOCMAT Conferences serie.

2 (1) Algeria, (2) Argentina, (3) Australia, (4) Belgium, (5) Bolivia, (6) Botswana, (7) Brazil, (8) Canada, (9) Chile, (10)

Chili, (11) China, (12) Colombia, (13) Cuba, (14) Cypre, (15) Denmark, (16) Ecuador, (17) Egypt, (18) France, (19)

Germany, (20) Ghana, (21) Greece, (22) India, (23) Iran, (24) Italy, (25) Japan, (26) Jordan, (27) Korea, (28) Kuwait,

(29) Libya, (30) Malaysia, (31) Mexico, (32) Mozambique, (33) Nepal, (34) New Zealand, (35) Nigeria, (36) Pakistan,

(37) Paraguay, (38) Peru, (39) Philippines, (40) Poland, (41) Portugal, (42) Qatar, (43) Romania, (44) Russia, (45)

Senegal, (46) Singapore, (47) South Africa, (48) Spain, (49) Sweden, (50) Switzerland, (51) Taiwan, (52) Tanzania,

(53) Thailand, (54) The Netherlands, (55) Turkey, (56) UK, (57) UN, (58) USA, (59) Venezuela, (60) Vietnam.

Graph 5 shows significant growth of the number of papers engaging authors of two countries. For

NOCMAT Conferences held in Brazil and India, respectively in 1984 and 1997, just 3 papers were

presented by authors from 2 countries. In 2014, the number increased to 16. Researchers of different

countries are being involved in common projects and engaging resources from multiple sponsor

agencies, increasing engagements at the international level.

Table 6 (which indicates more specifically the location of each NOCMAT Conference) and Graph 6

show that NOCMAT Conference 2009 held in United Kingdom (University of Bath) integrated 30

countries, the highest registrated in all NOCMAT Conferences serie. In average, 17 countries have

participated in all NOCMAT Conferences serie.

Table 5: Number of Papers per Participating Countries

Participating Countries

Year City Location 1 2 3

Total

papers %

1984 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 61 3 - 64 5.1%

1997 Bhubaneswar India 21 3 - 24 1.9%

2002 Hanoi Vietnam 54 7 2 63 5.0%

2003 João Pessoa Brazil 52 6 1 59 4.7%

2004 Pirassununga Brazil 52 5 - 57 4.5%

2005 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 66 6 1 73 5.8%

2006 Salvador Brazil 81 5 - 86 6.8%

2007 Maceió Brazil 64 12 2 78 6.2%

2008 Cali Colombia 96 12 5 113 8.9%

2009 Bath UK 101 15 2 118 9.3%

2010 Cairo Egypt 104 14 1 119 9.4%

2011 Hunan Changsha China 126 12 1 139 11.0%

2013 João Pessoa Brazil 123 14 1 138 10.9%

2014 Pirassununga Brazil 118 16 2 136 10.7%

Total papers 1119 130 18 1267 100.0%

Graph 5: Number of Papers for two Participating Countries per Year

Table 6: Number of Countries per Year

Year Location City Number of Countries

1984 Brazil Rio de Janerio 17

1997 India Bhubaneswar 9

2002 Vietnam Hanoi 21

2003 Brazil João Pessoa 17

2004 Brazil Pirassununga 11

2005 Brazil Rio de Janeiro 17

2006 Brazil Salvador 12

2007 Brazil Maceió 16

2008 Colombia Cali 17

2009 UK Bath 30

2010 Egypt Cairo 15

2011 China Hunan Changsha 16

2013 Brazil João Pessoa 27

2014 Brazil Pirassununga 19

Graph 6: Number of Countries per Year

4.4 Mapping papers within NOCMAT Conferences by Themes

Tables 7, 8, 9 and 10, Graphs 7, 8 and 9 present the distribution of all the papers included in

different Themes.

Table 7 shows the number of papers presented by each NOCMAT Conference and by different

themes. It can be observed in this Table that NOCMAT Conferences of 1997, 2003, 2004, 2005 and

2006 were not included. The reason is that the proceedings of these one didn´t associated papers to

themes.

Table 8 shows the number of Themes increased from 1 (in 1984/Rio de Janeiro-Brazil) to 14 (in

2014/Cairo-Egypt) and average is 7 Themes for all NOCMAT Conferences serie. It is observed that

the numbers of knowledge areas are increasing and being included in new Themes along the

NOCMATs.

Regarding the number of papers presented in each Theme, Tables 7 and 9 show those being most

focused by the authors in each NOCMATs. For instance “Inorganic Matrix Composites” with 44

papers is the most focused Theme in NOCMAT Conference 2008/Cali-Colombia.

Table 7: Themes per NOCMAT Conferences Serie

Themes List No of Papers

1984 64

Low Cost and Energy Saving Construction Materials

64

2002 63

Bamboo, Soil and Waste Materials 30

Concrete and Composite Materials 33

2007 78

Bamboo as construction material 10

Composites materials 21

Durability aspects of non-conventional materials

3

Environmentally friendly, energy efficient construction

3

Non-conventional materials and technologies management

2

Other topics of interest 3

Technology applied for low costing houses 7

Vegetable fibers and soil construction 7

Waste materials in building construction 22

2008 113

Bamboo, Guadua and Others 14

Inorganic Matrix Composites 44

Organic Matrix Composites 15

Residues and Subproducts Valorization 8

Sustainable Technologies 16

Techniques and Characterization 16

2009 118

Bamboo 8

Case studies 18

Cement, lime and concrete materials 20

Earth building 21

Innovative masonry 11

Natural fibres and fibre composites 11

Recycled materials 6

Straw bale 7

Timber 16

2010 119

Advances in research methodologies and materials testing

15

Applications in improving building safety through materials and constructional development

7

Construction materials and technologies to deliver affordable housing

13

Construction materials and technologies to reduce climate change

2

Durability and performance of construction materials

12

Environmentally friendly, energy efficient construction

16

Infrastructures systems and materials 6

Innovations in development of low carbon 8

materials and technologies

Life cycle assessment of materials 3

Low cost housing concepts, prototypes and applications

5

Miscellaneous 1

Recycling of industrial, agricultural and urban waste stream materials

21

Seismic engineering resistance, flood mitigation and disaster prevention

5

Standards and guidelines 5

2011 139

Bamboo materials 17

Bamboo structures 19

Case study of non-conventional buildings 7

Cements and concretes 16

Low carbon, energy saving design and practice

39

Natural fibers and materials 8

Non conventional mortars, renders and earth building

4

Recycled materials 21

Timber and masonry 8

2013 138

Advances in research methodologies and material testing

8

Bamboo and wood 22

Cement, mortar and concrete 31

Construction materials and technologies to deliver affordable housing and low energy

15

Earthen Materials and Constructions 19

Life-cycle assessment of materials and durability

3

Natural fibers and materials 20

Recycling of industrial, agricultural, and urban waste stream materials

13

Standards, guidelines and policy issues 7

2014 136

Advances in research methodologies and material testing

15

Applications in improving welfare and comfort

8

Construction materials and technologies for sustainability, energy, efficiency, affordable housing

16

Durability, life cycles and performance of building materials

9

Earth architecture and construction 11

Natural fibers and plant-based materials (bamboo, straw, plant fiber)

22

Non conventional and innovating research and technology

16

Non-conventional structures 6

Recycling of industrial materials, agricultural and urban waste

33

Table 8: Number of Themes per Year

Year 1984 2002 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2014

No of themes 1 2 9 6 9 14 9 9 9

Table 9: Themes with most focused in each NOCMAT Conference

Year Theme

1984 Low Cost and Energy Saving Construction Materials

2002 Concrete and Composite Materials

2007 Waste materials in building construction

2008 Inorganic Matrix Composites

2009 Earth building

2010 Recycling of industrial, agricultural and urban waste stream materials

2011 Low carbon, energy saving design and practice

2013 Cement, mortar and concrete

2014 Recycling of industrial materials, agricultural and urban waste

Table 10: Number of Papers per Main and Sub-Groups of Themes

Main and Sub-groups No of Papers

Bamboo and Natural fibers 188

Bamboo 120

Natural fibers 61

Vegetable fibers 7

Cement, Composite and Concrete Materials 180

Cement, Composite and Concrete Materials 180

Construction Material 321

Building 30

Climate 2

Earth 51

Housing 159

Masonry 11

Straw bale 7

Technologies 16

Timber 24

Durability 21

Energy 19

Energy 19

General 51

Case Study 18

Miscellaneous 4

Residues 8

Seismic 5

Technologies 16

Material and Testing 58

Infrastructures 6

Life cycle 6

Low carbon material 8

Testing 38

Non-conventional materials 38

Building 4

Case Study 7

Technology 16

Structures 6

Durability 3

Management 2

Recycling 94

Recycling 94

Safety 7

Safety 7

Standards 12

Standards 12

Grand Total 968

Table 10 and Graphs 7, 8 and 9 were created by the authors of this paper. Data collected were

categorized in Main and Sub-groups of Themes.

Table 10 and Graph 7 show a strong presence of papers related to the Sub-themes “Construction

Materials” with 321 papers, “Bamboo and Natural Fibers” with 188 papers, and “Cement,

Composite and Concrete Materials” with 180 papers among a total of 968 papers.

Graph 7: Number of Papers per Main Group of Themes

Graph 8: Number of Papers for 3 main groups per NOCMAT Conferences Serie

Graph 8 presents the concentration of papers in the 3 main groups of Themes by NOCMAT

Conference serie. For “Construction Material” Theme, the highest number of papers has been

presented in 1984/Brazil (64 papers). For “Bamboo and Natural Fibers” Theme, the highest number

of papers has been presented in 2011/China (44 papers). For “Cement, Composite and Concrete

Materials” Theme, the highest number of papers has been presented in 2008/Colombia (59 papers).

Graph 9: Number of Papers per Sub-groups of Themes

Graph 9 presents all the the papers in each Sub-groups of Themes. Among 28 sub-groups of

Themes, the five more expressive cover 506 papers (ie, 52% of a total of 968 papers). Sub-group

“Management” presents one of the lowest numbers of papers.

FINAL REMARKS

This study mapped 1267 papers along 30 years and 14 NOCMAT Conferences showing regularity

with increasing production in a wide range of NOCMAT sub-groups of Themes. This varied

interest is of great importance, because since the 1st NOCMAT Conference in 1984, they become a

core subject in scientific and technological policies aiming at a more environmentally friendly and

sustainable construction, and also allowing a new "NOCMAT culture" within an increasing number

of countries and public and private institutions notably of education and research. Universities are

creating multidisciplinary courses integrating Engineering with Management, Economy, Biology,

Agriculture Sciences among others traditional knowledge areas. R&D projects integrate more and

more researchers specialized in theses areas.

These transformations sponsored especially by research funding agencies with increasing grants and

scholarships for NOCMAT Themes in civil engineering, led to a greater appreciation of studies and

research results presented in different editions of these NOCMAT Conferences. Thus, guidelines for

studies that integrate different areas of knowledge, such as nanotechnology for civil engineering,

with significant implications for academic backgrounds to be created, gain increased importance.

In turn, thematic application areas identified in this study, negligible as compared to others, permit

to identify thematic gaps that require more attention from now on, notably a greater and deep sense

of accountability.

For the future NOCMAT Conferences some improvements are suggested. Among existing data

structure, it is recommended a database and integrated information system mainly on authors,

academic level and area, countries and institutions, and themes. The database related to each

submitted paper should consider one or more different defined themes. It also should be considered

a defined application area regarding the papers content by the Organizer Committee for each

submitted paper into the database.

Suggestions for future studies in the field of studies on State of Art should map and analyze authors’

network regarding the institutions and countries, and also, themes centrality and closeness. This

mapping should be continued to recognize the new themes and areas trends, their increasing or

stagnation.

A Science and Technology Observatory for “NOCMAT” not yet existing should be created. This

one should have the function of "observing", "tracking", "anticipating" and "monitoring" the

development of knowledge areas with a "keen" eye on critical issues, notably those presented in

NOCMAT Conferences [14]. As a central issue for a transition to create the NOCMAT

Observatory, institutions concerned with these materials and technologies should be initially

involved. Their role and success for the creation of a pertinent NOCMAT Observatory depends

fundamentally on the interest and participation of its members, individuals and enterprises, and

more specifically, in an initial step, the IC-NOCMAT (International Committee). This paper shows

that 566 institutions engaged, 60 countries involved in NOCMAT Conferences serie along 30 years

of experience justify such an integrative initiative.

Finally, for this engagement new fundamental values for NOCMAT Conferences serie should be

considered, those presented by ABMTENC: “The rapidly changing world is facing many threats

and serious challenges. The glory of modern industrialization has been in doubt with ample facts of

environmental deterioration problems. Yet, Development and survival are still the central issues

facing a great portion of mankind. The world needs new role models of development and

industrialization that are characterized by environmentally friendliness and sustainability.

Construction industry is in the forefront facing today's challenges. Providing durable, efficient and

effective infrastructure system, affordable housing, clean water, energy, communication and

sanitation is fundamental to economic prosperity, social justice, political stability and quality of

Life”.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank ABMTENC Association which made available all the NOCMAT

Conferences data and the 16th

Nonconventional Building Materials and Technology International

Conference 2015 “Construction for Sustainability – Green Materials & Technologies”, August 10-

13, 2015, Winnipeg, Canada organizers for their valuable effort and proceedings for the

discussions, which form the basis of the meeting. Also, financial support given by FAPERJ and

FACC/UFRJ are appreciated.

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