Search results for: causes of construction project delays

Authors: Shweta Lall

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The intent of this paper is to demonstrate the role of computerized auxiliary science in advancing the desired and necessary alliance of historians, surveyors, topographers, and analysts of architectural conservation and management. The digital era practice of recording architectural and cultural heritage in view of its preservation, dissemination, and planning developments are discussed in this paper. Geomatics include practices like remote sensing, photogrammetry, surveying, Geographic Information System (GIS), laser scanning technology, etc. These all resources help in architectural and conservation applications which will be identified through various case studies analysed in this paper. The standardised outcomes and the methodologies using relevant case studies are listed and described. The main component of geomatics methodology adapted in conservation is data acquisition, processing, and presentation. Geomatics is used in a wide range of activities involved in architectural and cultural heritage – damage and risk assessment analysis, documentation, 3-D model construction, virtual reconstruction, spatial and structural decision – making analysis and monitoring. This paper will project the summary answers of the capabilities and limitations of the geomatics field in architectural and cultural conservation. Policy-makers, urban planners, architects, and conservationist not only need answers to these questions but also need to practice them in a predictable, transparent, spatially explicit and inexpensive manner.

Keywords: architectural and cultural conservation, geomatics, GIS, remote sensing

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Authors: E. Maoz

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Background: As a teaching method, project-based learning is strongly linked to developing students’ critical thinking skills. It combines creative independent thinking, team work, and disciplinary subject-field integration. In the 'Introduction to Nursing Research Methods' course (year 3, Generic Track), project based learning is used to teach the topic of 'Evidence-Based Nursing'. This topic examines a clinical care issue encountered by students in the field. At the end of their project, students present proposals for managing the said issue. Proposals are the product of independent integrative thinking integrating a wide range of factors influencing the issue’s management. Method: Papers by 27 groups of students (165 students) were content analyzed to identify which themes emerged from the students' recommendations for managing the clinical issue. Findings: Five main themes emerged—current management approach; adapting procedures in line with current recent research recommendations; training for change (veteran nursing staff, beginner students, patients, significant others); analysis of 'economic benefit vs. patient benefit'; multidisciplinary team engagement in implementing change in practice. Two surprising themes also emerged: advertising and marketing using new technologies, which reflects how the new generation thinks. Summary and Recommendations: Among the main challenges in nursing education is training nursing graduates to think independently, integratively, and critically. Combining PBL with classical teaching methods stimulates students cognitively while opening new vistas with implications on all levels of the profession: management, research, education, and practice. Advanced students can successfully grasp and interpret the current state of clinical practice. They are competent and open to leading change and able to consider the diverse factors and interconnections that characterize the nurse's work.

Keywords: evidence based nursing, critical thinking skills, project based learning, students education

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Authors: Ehsan K. Hazaveh

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This research project explores creative methods of storytelling through photography to portray a vulnerable and marginalised community: former refugees living in Wellington, New Zealand. The project explores photographic representational techniques that can not only empower and give voice to those communities but also challenge dominant stereotypes about refugees and support humanitarian actions. The aims of this study are to develop insights surrounding issues associated with the photographic representation of refugees and to explore the collaborative construction of possible counter-narratives that might lead to the formulation of a practice framework for representing refugees using photography. In other words, the goal of this study is to explore representational and narrative strategies that frame refugees as active community members and as individuals with specific histories and expertise. These counter-narratives will bring the diversity of refugees to the surface by offering personal stories, contextualising their experience, raising awareness about the plight and human rights of the refugee community in New Zealand, evoking empathy and, therefore, facilitating the process of social change. The study has designed a photographic narrative framework by determining effective methods of photo storytelling, framing, and aesthetic techniques, focusing on different ways of taking, selecting, editing and curating photographs. Photo elicitation interviews have been used to ‘explore’, ‘produce’ and ‘co-curate’ the counter-narrative along with participants. Photo elicitation is a qualitative research method that employs images to evoke data in order to find out how other people experience their world - the researcher shows photographs to the participant and asks open-ended questions to get them to talk about their life experiences and the world around them. The qualitative data have been collected and produced through interactions with four former refugees living in Wellington, New Zealand. In this way, this project offers a unique account of their conditions and basic knowledge about their living experience and their stories. The participants of this study have engaged with PhotoVoice, a photo elicitation methodology that employs photography and storytelling, to share activities, emotions, hopes, and aspects of their lived experiences. PhotoVoice was designed to empower members of marginalised populations. It involves a series of meeting sessions, in which participants share photographs they have taken and discuss stories about the photographs to identify, represent, and enhance the issues important to their lives and communities. Finally, the data provide a basis for systematically producing visual counter-narratives that highlight the experiences of former- refugees. By employing these methods, refugees can represent their world as well as interpret it. The process of developing this research framing has enabled the development of powerful counter-narratives that challenge prevailing stereotypical depictions which in turn have the potential to shape improved humanitarian outcomes, shifts in public attitudes and political perspectives in New Zealand.

Keywords: media, photography, refugees, photo-elicitation, storytelling

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Authors: Irene Bruna Seu

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This paper draws on a three-year research project investigating everyday moral reasoning in relation to donations and prosocial behaviour in the humanitarian context. The analysis focuses on the principle of deservingness by which members of the public decide who and under which conditions to help and illustrates how the speakers engage in ideological dilemmas. The paper focuses on the theme ‘Something for nothing’ to examine how the position of ‘deserving’ and the speaker’s rights and duties in relation to victims of humanitarian crises are negotiated. Discursive analyses of this dilemmatic storyline of deservingness illuminate the cultural and ideological resources buttressing this construction. They also illustrate how humanitarianism intersects and clashes with other ideologies and value systems. The presentation will focus on the role of Individualism underpinned by Neo-liberalism ideology. The data propose that neo-liberal ideology, which endorses self-gratification, materialistic and individualistic ethics play an important role in decisions regarding humanitarian helping. The paper argues for the need for psychological research to engage more actively with the dilemmatic nature of moral reasoning in the humanitarian context, and to contextualize decisions about giving and helping within the socio-cultural and ideological landscape in which the helpers operate.

Keywords: humanitarianism, individualism, ideological dilemmas, discourse, neo-liberalism, prosocial behaviour

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Authors: Jaehwan Jung, Sung-Ah Kim

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Building Information Modeling (BIM) provides project stakeholders with various information about property and geometry of entire component as a 3D object-based parametric building model. BIM represents a set of Information and solutions that are expected to improve collaborative work process and quality of the building design. To improve collaboration among project participants, the BIM model should provide the necessary information to remote participants in real time and manage the information in the process. The purpose of this paper is to propose a process model that can apply effective architectural design collaborative work process in architectural design education in BIM-Cloud environment.

Keywords: BIM, cloud computing, collaborative design, digital design education

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Authors: Osvaldo Collazo, Cristiano Valerio Dos Santos

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Early maternal separation has been shown to bring about many negative effects on behavior in rats. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of early maternal separation on risky choice in rats. One group of male and female Wistar rats was exposed to an early maternal separation protocol while a control group was left undisturbed. Then both groups were exposed to a series of behavioral tests, including a test of risky choice, where one alternative offered a constant reward while the other offered a variable reward. There was a difference between groups when they chose between a variable and a constant reward delay, but no other difference was significant. These results suggest that early maternal separation may be related to a greater preference for shorter delays, which is characteristic of more impulsive choices.

Keywords: early maternal separation, impulsivity, risky choice, variability

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Authors: Cristobal García

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The visual inspection of bolted joints in wind turbines is dangerous, expensive, and impractical due to the non-possibility to access the platform by workboat in certain sea state conditions, as well as the high costs derived from the transportation of maintenance technicians to offshore platforms located far away from the coast, especially if helicopters are involved. Consequently, the wind turbine operators have the need for simpler and less demanding techniques for the analysis of the bolts tightening. Vibration-based structural health monitoring is one of the oldest and most widely-used means for monitoring the health of onshore and offshore wind turbines. The core of this work is to find out if the modal parameters can be efficiently used as a key performance indicator (KPIs) for the assessment of joint bolts in a 1:50 scale tower of a floating offshore wind turbine (12 MW). A non-destructive vibration test is used to extract the vibration signals of the towers with different damage statuses. The procedure can be summarized in three consecutive steps. First, an artificial excitation is introduced by means of a commercial shaker mounted on the top of the tower. Second, the vibration signals of the towers are recorded for 8 s at a sampling rate of 20 kHz using an array of commercial accelerometers (Endevco, 44A16-1032). Third, the natural frequencies, damping, and overall vibration mode shapes are calculated using the software Siemens LMS 16A. Experiments show that the natural frequencies, damping, and mode shapes of the tower are directly dependent on the fixing conditions of the towers, and therefore, the variations of both parameters are a good indicator for the estimation of the static axial force acting in the bolt. Thus, this vibration-based structural method proposed can be potentially used as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the tightening torques of the bolted joints with the advantages of being an economical, straightforward, and multidisciplinary approach that can be applied for different typologies of connections by operation and maintenance technicians. In conclusion, TSI, in collaboration with the consortium of the FIBREGY project, is conducting innovative research where vibrations are utilized for the estimation of the tightening torque of a 1:50 scale steel-based tower prototype. The findings of this research carried out in the context of FIBREGY possess multiple implications for the assessment of the bolted joint integrity in multiple types of connections such as tower-to-nacelle, modular, tower-to-column, tube-to-tube, etc. This research is contextualized in the framework of the FIBREGY project. The EU-funded FIBREGY project (H2020, grant number 952966) will evaluate the feasibility of the design and construction of a new generation of marine renewable energy platforms using lightweight FRP materials in certain structural elements (e.g., tower, floating platform). The FIBREGY consortium is composed of 11 partners specialized in the offshore renewable energy sector and funded partially by the H2020 program of the European Commission with an overall budget of 8 million Euros.

Keywords: SHM, vibrations, connections, floating offshore platform

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Authors: Ya-Chen Chen

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The primary objective of this research project is to rectify or supplement the commonly overlooked aspect that the United Kingdom has, in fact, profoundly influenced Director King Hu's cinematic career. Predominantly focused on Hu's connections with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States, thereby neglecting his significant milestones in the UK. Notably, his inclusion in the 1978 International Movie Guide in the UK was instrumental in establishing his reputation and categorizing him among the top five global directors of the time. Additionally, the financial sponsorship from the UK-based Goldcrest Film Company brought his unfinished project, "The Battle for Ono," closer to fruition. Beyond these aspects, this study delves deeply into how Director King Hu and film critic Derek Elley navigated the rise of global (especially British and Hong Kong) feminism and how they reacted to gender dynamics or gender politics—masculine and feminine, yin and yang, male and female—in their cinematic focuses. These are facets often overlooked in the broader film community. Given the scarcity of attention these points usually receive, this research project serves as a targeted intervention, spotlighting these critically under-explored yet crucial topics.

Keywords: King Hu, 1978 International Movie Guide in the UK, Derek Elley, UK-based Goldcrest Film Company

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Authors: Castillo-Acevedo J, Mena-Rivero R, Silva-Poot H

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In Mexico, as largely of the developing countries, the rural housing is a study object, since the diversity of constructive idiosyncrasies for locality, involves various factors that make it vulnerable; an important aspect of study is the progressive deterioration that is seen in the rural housing. Various social programs, contribute financial resources in the field of housing to provide support for families living in rural areas, however, they do not provide a coordination with the self-construction that is usually the way in which is built in these areas. The present study, exposes the physical situation and an economic assessment that presents the rural self-constructed housing in three rural communities in the south of the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, which were built with funding from federal social programs. The information compilation was carried out in a period of seven months in which there was used the intentional sampling of typical cases, where the object study was the housing constructed with supports of the program “Rural Housing” between the year 2009 and 2014. Instruments were used as the interview, ballot papers of observation, ballot papers of technical verification and various measuring equipment laboratory for the classification of pathologies; for the determination of some pathologies constructive Mexican standards were applied how NMX-C-192-ONNCCE, NMX-C-111-ONNCCE, NMX-C-404-ONNCCE and finally used the software of Opus CMS ® with the help of tables of the National Consumer Price Index (CPI) for update of costs and wages according to the line of being applied in Mexico, were used for an economic valuation. The results show 11 different constructive pathologies and exposes greater presence with the 22.50% to the segregation of the concrete; the economic assessment shows that 80% of self-constructed housing, exceed the cost of construction it would have compared to a similar dwelling built by a construction company; It is also exposed to the 46.10% of the universe of study represent economic losses in materials to the social activities by houses not built. The system of self-construction used by the social programs, affect to some extent the program objectives applied in underserved areas, as implicit and additional costs affect the economic capacity of beneficiaries who invest time and effort in an activity that are not specialists, which this research provides foundations for sustainable alternatives or possibly eliminate the practice of self-construction of implemented social programs in marginalized rural communities in the south of state of Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Keywords: economic valuation, pathologies constructive, rural housing, social programs

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Authors: Sowmiyaa V. S., Tiruvengala Padma, Dhanasekaran B.

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Due to urbanization, traffic congestion, air pollution and fuel consumption underground metros are constructed in urban cities nowadays. These metros reduce the commutation time and makes the daily transportation in urban cities hassle free. To construct the underground metros deep excavations are to be carried out. These excavations should be supported by an appropriate earth retaining structures to provide stability and to prevent deformation failures. The failure of deep excavations is catastrophic and hence appropriate caution need to be carried out during design and construction stages. This paper covers the construction aspects, equipment, quality control, design aspects of one of the earth retaining systems the Diaphragm Walls.

Keywords: underground metros, diaphragm wall, quality control of diaphragm wall, design aspects of diaphragm wall

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Authors: Kamonwat Suksumek, Seeronk Prichanont

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Access block refers to the situation where Emergency Department (ED) patients requiring hospital admission spend an unreasonable holding time in an ED because their access to a ward is blocked by the full utilization of the ward’s beds. Not only it delays the proper treatments required by the patients, but access block is also the cause of ED’s overcrowding. Clearly, access block is an inter-departmental problem that needs to be brought to management’s attention. This paper focuses on the analysis of strategies to address the access block problem, both in the operational and intermediate levels. These strategies were analyzed through a simulation model with a real data set from a university hospital in Thailand. The paper suggests suitable variable levels for each strategy so that the management will make the final decisions.

Keywords: access block, emergency department, health system analysis, simulation

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Authors: Trude Tørset, María Díez Gutiérrez

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The west coast of Norway features numerous islands and fjords. Ferry services connect the roads when these features make the construction challenging. Currently, scientific effort is designated to assess potential ferry replacement projects along the European road E-39. The inconvenience of ferry dependency is imprecisely represented in the transport models, thus transport analyses of ferry replacement projects appear as guesstimates rather than reliable input to decision-making processes of such costly projects. Trips including ferry connections imply more inconvenient elements than just travel time and cost. The goal of this paper is to understand and explain the extra inconveniences associated to the dependency of the ferry. The first scientific approach is to identify the characteristics of the ferry travelers and their trips’ features, as well as whether the ferry represents an obstacle for some specific trip types. In doing so, a survey was conducted in 2011 in eight E-39 ferries and in 2013 in 18 ferries connecting different road categories. More than 20,000 passengers answered with their trip and socioeconomic characteristics. The travel patterns in the different ferry connections were compared. The analysis showed that the trip features differed based on the location of the ferry connections, yet independently of the road category. Additionally, the patterns were compared to the national travel survey to detect differences in the travel patterns due to the use of the ferry connections. The results showed that the share of commuting trips within the same travel time was lower if the ferry was part of the trip. The second scientific approach is to know how the different travelers perceive potential benefits for a ferry replacement project. In the 2011 survey, some of the questions were about the relevance of nine different benefits this project might bring. Travelers identified the better access to public services and job market as the most valuable benefits, followed by the reduced planning of the trip. In 2016, a follow-up survey in some of the ferry connections was carried out in order to investigate variations in travelers’ perceptions. The growing interest in ferry replacement projects might make travelers more aware of the potential benefits these would bring to their daily lives. This paper describes the travel behaviour of travelers using a ferry connection as part of their trips, as well as the potential inconveniences associated to these trips. The findings might provide valuable input to further development of transport models, concept evaluations and cost benefit analysis methods.

Keywords: ferry connections, ferry trip, inconvenience costs, travel behaviour

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Authors: Afshin Jahangirzadeh, Shatirah Akib, Keyvan Kimiaei, Hossein Basser

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Coastal defense structures were built to protect part of shore from beach erosion and flooding by sea water. Effects of coastal defense structures can be negative or positive. Some of the effects are beneficial in socioeconomic aspect, but environment matters should be given more concerns because it can bring bad consequences to the earth landscape and make the ecosystem be unbalanced. This study concerns on the negative impacts as they are dominant. Coastal structures can extremely impact the shoreline configuration. Artificial structures can influence sediment transport, split the coastal space, etc. This can result in habitats loss and lead to noise and visual disturbance of birds. There are two types of coastal defense structures, hard coastal structure and soft coastal structure. Both coastal structures have their own impacts. The impacts are induced during the construction, maintaining, and operation of the structures.

Keywords: ecosystem, environmental impact, hard coastal structures, soft coastal structures

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Authors: Sawsan Domi

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Identifying urban patterns of traditional settlements perfumed in various ways. One of them through the three-dimensional ‘reading’ of the urban web: the density of structures, the construction materials and the colors used. Objectives of this study are to paraphrase and understand the relation between the formation of the traditional settlements and the shape and structure of their structural method. In the beginning, the study considered the components of the historical neighborhood, which reflected the social and economical effects in the urban planning pattern. Then, by analyzing the main components of the old neighborhood which included: analysis of urban patterns & streets systems, analysis of traditional architectural elements and the construction materials and their usage. ‘’Hamasa’’ Neighborhood in ‘’Al Buraimi’’ Governorate is considered as one of the most important archaeological sites in the Sultanate of Oman. The vivid features of this archaeological site are the living witness to the genius of the Omani person and his unique architecture. ‘’Hamasa’’ Neighborhood is also considered as the oldest human settlement at ‘’Al Buraimi’’ Governorate. It used to be the gathering area for Arab and Omani tribes who are coming from other governorates of Oman. In this old settlement, local characters were created to meet the climate problems and the social, religious requirements of the life. Traditional buildings were built of materials that were available in the surround environment and within hand reach. The Historical component was containing four main separate neighborhoods. The morphological structure of ‘’Hamasa’’ was characterized by a continuous and densely built-up pattern, featuring close interdependence between the spatial and functional pattern. The streets linked the plots, the marketplace and the open areas. Consequently, the traditional fabric had narrow streets with one- and two- storey houses. The material used in building facilities at ‘’Hamasa’' historical are from the traditionally used materials. These materials were cleverly used in building of local facilities. Most of these materials are locally made and formed, and used by the locals. ‘’Hamasa’’ neighborhood is an example of analyzing the urban patterns and geometrical features. The old ‘’ Hamasa’’ retains the patterns of its old settlements. Urban patterns were defined by both forms and structure. The traditional architecture of ‘’Hamasa’’ neighborhood has evolved as a direct result of its climatic conditions. The study figures out that the neighborhood characterized by the used construction materials, the scope of the residential structures and by the streets system. All formed the urban pattern of the settlement.

Keywords: urban pattern, construction materials, neighborhood, architectural elements, historical

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Authors: B. D. Patni, Ashwani Jain, Arindom Chakraborty

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The world’s highest mountain range has been forming since the collision of Indian Plate with Asian Plate 40-50 million years ago. The Indian subcontinent has been deeper and deeper in to the rest of Asia resulting upliftment of Himalaya & Tibetan Plateau. The complex domain has become a major challenge for construction of hydro electric projects. The Himalayas are geologically complex & seismically active. Shifting of Indian Plate northwardly and increasing the amount of stresses in the fragile domain which leads to deformation in the form of several fold, faults and upliftment. It is difficult to undergo extensive geological investigation to ascertain the geological problems to be encountered during construction. Inaccessibility of the terrain, high rock cover, unpredictable ground water condition etc. are the main constraints. The hydroelectric projects located in Himalayas have faced many geological and geo-hydrological problems while construction of surface and subsurface works. Based on the experience, efforts have been made to identify the expected geological problems during and after construction of the projects. These have been classified into surface and subsurface problems which include existence of inhomogeneous deep overburden in the river bed or buried valley, abrupt change in bed rock profile, Occurrences of fault zones/shear zones/fractured rock in dam foundation and slope instability in the abutments. The tunneling difficulties are many such as squeezing ground condition, popping, rock bursting, high temperature gradient, heavy ingress of water, existence of shear seams/shear zones and emission of obnoxious gases. However, these problems were mitigated by adopting suitable remedial measures as per site requirement. The support system includes shotcrete, wire mesh, rock bolts, steel ribs, fore-poling, pre-grouting, pipe-roofing, MAI anchors, toe wall, retaining walls, reinforced concrete dowels, drainage drifts, anchorage cum drainage shafts, soil nails, concrete cladding and shear keys. Controlled drilling & blasting, heading & benching, proper drainage network and ventilation system are other remedial measures adopted to overcome such adverse situations. The paper highlights the geological uncertainties and its remedial measures in Himalaya, based on the analysis and evaluation of 20 hydroelectric projects during construction.

Keywords: geological problems, shear seams, slope, drilling & blasting, shear zones

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Authors: Adya Uluwita, Fernando Pedrosa, Georgi Georgiev, Christian Bernard, Raoul Masterson

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CERN is an international organisation funded by 23 countries that provide the particle physics community with excellence in particle accelerators and other related facilities. Founded in 1954, CERN has a wide range of accelerators that allow groundbreaking science to be conducted. Accelerators bring particles to high levels of energy and make them collide with each other or with fixed targets, creating specific conditions that are of high interest to physicists. A chain of accelerators is used to ramp up the energy of particles and eventually inject them into the largest and most recent one: the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Among this chain of machines is, for instance the Proton Synchrotron, which was started in 1959 and is still in operation. These machines, called "injectors”, keep evolving over time, as well as the related infrastructure. Massive decommissioning of obsolete cables started in 2015 at CERN in the frame of the so-called "injectors de-cabling project phase 1". Its goal was to replace aging cables and remove unused ones, freeing space for new cables necessary for upgrades and consolidation campaigns. To proceed with the de-cabling, a project co-ordination team was assembled. The start of this project led to the investigation of legacy cables throughout the organisation. The identification of cables stacked over half a century proved to be arduous. Phase 1 of the injectors de-cabling was implemented for 3 years with success after overcoming some difficulties. Phase 2, started 3 years later, focused on improving safety and structure with the introduction of a quality assurance procedure. This paper discusses the implementation of this quality assurance procedure throughout phase 2 of the project and the transition between the two phases. Over hundreds of kilometres of cable were removed in the injectors complex at CERN from 2015 to 2023.

Keywords: CERN, de-cabling, injectors, quality assurance procedure

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Authors: Behailu Shigute Habtemariam

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The aim of the study was to examine the effects of training load on some selected fitness performance variables of volleyball players in the case of U-17 female volleyball project players in the central Ethiopia region. Methods: In this study, quasi-experimental design was used. For the purpose of this study, twenty-three volleyball players were used as a subject from the two projects. The data collected through fitness performance assessment were analyzed and interpreted into a meaningful idea using manually as well as with computer in order to compare physical fitness variables and changes observed among participants. Those are taking part in the effects of training load on some selected physical fitness variables. The collected data were analyzed by means of the Statistical Package for Social Science version (SPSS V 20). The independent t-test was used to show the mean differences between the groups, and the paired T-test was used to compare the mean differences of the pre and post-training within each group. The level of significance will be set at Alfa 0.05. Results: The results are displayed using tables and figures. A significant difference was found in the mean differences of pre-test values (19.7 cm) and post-test values (37.5 cm) of the Durame city project on the flexibility test (MD =17.8 cm, P = 0.00). On the other hand, there was a significant difference in the mean difference of pre-test values of (18 cm) and post-test values (26.3 cm) of the Hosana city project on the flexibility test ( MD = 8.3 cm, P = 0.00). Conclusion: According to the results of the present studies, there were significant improvements from pre to post-test at Durame City and Hosana City projects on agility, flexibility, power, and speed fitness tests. On the other hand, a significant difference was not found before beginning the exercise between the two projects; however, a significant difference was found after 12 weeks of training.

Keywords: overload, performance, training, volleyball

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Authors: Jan-Peter Mund, Christian Kind

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In view of the ongoing climate change and global warming, fires along railways in Germany are occurring more frequently, with sometimes massive consequences for railway operations and affected railroad infrastructure. In the absence of systematic studies within the infrastructure network of German Rail, little is known about the causes of such embankment fires. Since a further increase in these hazards is to be expected in the near future, there is a need for a sound knowledge of triggers and drivers for embankment fires as well as methodical knowledge of prediction tools. Two predictable future trends speak for the increasing relevance of the topic: through the intensification of the use of rail for passenger and freight transport (e.g..: doubling of annual passenger numbers by 2030, compared to 2019), there will be more rail traffic and also more maintenance and construction work on the railways. This research project approach uses satellite data to identify historical embankment fires along rail network infrastructure. The team links data from these fires with infrastructure and weather data and trains a machine-learning model with the aim of predicting fire hazards on sections of the track. Companies reflect on the results and use them on a pilot basis in precautionary measures.

Keywords: embankment fires, railway maintenance, machine learning, remote sensing, VIIRS data

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Authors: Venkata Ramana Pamu

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This paper is a case study of a 5310 ML capacity Raw Water Reservoir (RWR), situated in Indian state Rajasthan, which is a part of Rajasthan Rural Water Supply & Fluorosis Mitigation Project. This RWR embankment was constructed by locally available material on natural ground profile. Height of the embankment was varying from 2m to 10m.This is due to existing ground level was varying. Reservoir depth 9m including 1.5m free board and 1V:3H slopes were provided both upstream and downstream side. Proper soil investigation, tests were done and it was confirmed that the existing soil is sandy silt. The existing excavated earth was used as filling material for embankment construction, due to this controlling seepage from upstream to downstream be a challenging task. Slope stability and Seismic analysis of the embankment done by Conventional method for both full reservoir condition and rapid drawdown. Horizontal filter at toe level was provided along with upstream side PCC (Plain Cement Concrete) block and HDPE (High Density poly ethylene) lining as a remedy to control seepage. HDPE lining was also provided at storage area of the reservoir bed level. Mulching was done for downstream side slope protection.

Keywords: raw water reservoir, seepage, seismic analysis, slope stability

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Authors: Mukul Anand

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Quality oriented affordable shelter for all has always been the key issue in the housing sector of our country. Homelessness is the acute form of housing need. It is a paradox that in spite of innumerable government initiated programmes for affordable housing, certain section of society is still devoid of shelter. About nineteen million (18.78 million) households grapple with housing shortage in Urban India in 2012. In Indian scenario there is major mismatch between the people for whom the houses are being built and those who need them. The prime force faced by public authorities in facilitation of quality housing for all is high cost of construction. The present paper will comprehend executable techniques for dilution of cost factor in housing the homeless. The key actors responsible for delivery of cheap housing stock such as capacity building, resource optimization, innovative low cost building material and indigenous skeleton housing system will also be incorporated in developing these techniques. Time performance, which is an important angle of above actors, will also be explored so as to increase the effectiveness of low cost housing. Along with this best practices will be taken up as case studies where both conventional techniques of housing and innovative low cost housing techniques would be cited. Transportation consists of approximately 30% of total construction budget. Thus use of alternative local solutions depending upon the region would be covered so as to highlight major components of low cost housing. Government is laid back regarding base line information on use of innovative low cost method and technique of resource optimization. Therefore, the paper would be an attempt to bring to light simpler solutions for achieving low cost housing.

Keywords: construction, cost, housing, optimization, shelter

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Authors: Tianyu Gao

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Digital architectures use computer-aided design, programming, simulation, and imaging to create virtual forms and physical structures. Today's customers want to know more about their buildings. They want an automatic thermostat to learn their behavior and contact them, such as the doors and windows they want to open with a mobile app. Therefore, the architectural display form is more closely related to the customer's experience. Based on the purpose of building informationization, this paper studies the steel structure design based on BIM. Taking the Zigan office building in Hangzhou as an example, it is divided into four parts, namely, the digital design modulus of the steel structure, the node analysis of the steel structure, the digital production and construction of the steel structure. Through the application of BIM software, the architectural design can be synergized, and the building components can be informationized. Not only can the architectural design be feedback in the early stage, but also the stability of the construction can be guaranteed. In this way, the monitoring of the entire life cycle of the building and the meeting of customer needs can be realized.

Keywords: digital architectures, BIM, steel structure, architectural design

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Authors: Babitha Elizabeth Philip

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This paper aims to study in general about bridges without expansion joints. Integral Abutment Bridges (IAB) fall into this category of bridges. They are having a continuous deck and also the girders are integrated into the abutments. They are most cost effective system in terms of construction, maintenance, and longevity. The main advantage of IAB is that it is corrosion resistant since water is not allowed to pass through the structure. The other attractions of integral bridges are its simple and rapid construction, smooth and uninterrupted deck which provides a safe ride. Also damages to the abutments can be avoided to a great extent due to better load distribution at the bridge ends. Damages due to improper drainage are not seen in IAB because of its properly drained approach slabs thus eliminating the possibility of erosion of the abutment backfill and freeze and thaw damage resulting from saturated backfill.

Keywords: continuous bridge, integral abutment bridge, joint bridge, life cycle cost, soil interaction

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Authors: V. Ivanov, J. Chu, V. Stabnikov

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Different biotechnological methods for the production of construction materials and for the performance of construction processes in situ are developing within a new scientific discipline of Construction Biotechnology. The aim of this research was to develop and test new biotechnologies and biotechnological grouts for the minimization of the hydraulic conductivity of the fractured rocks and porous soil. This problem is essential to minimize flow rate of groundwater into the construction sites, the tunneling space before and after excavation, inside levies, as well as to stop water seepage from the aquaculture ponds, agricultural channels, radioactive waste or toxic chemicals storage sites, from the landfills or from the soil-polluted sites. The conventional fine or ultrafine cement grouts or chemical grouts have such restrictions as high cost, viscosity, sometime toxicity but the biogrouts, which are based on microbial or enzymatic activities and some not expensive inorganic reagents, could be more suitable in many cases because of lower cost and low or zero toxicity. Due to these advantages, development of biotechnologies for biogrouting is going exponentially. However, most popular at present biogrout, which is based on activity of urease- producing bacteria initiating crystallization of calcium carbonate from calcium salt has such disadvantages as production of toxic ammonium/ammonia and development of high pH. Therefore, the aim of our studies was development and testing of new biogrouts that are environmentally friendly and have low cost suitable for large scale geotechnical, construction, and environmental applications. New microbial biotechnologies have been studied and tested in the sand columns, fissured rock samples, in 1 m3 tank with sand, and in the pack of stone sheets that were the models of the porous soil and fractured rocks. Several biotechnological methods showed positive results: 1) biogrouting using sequential desaturation of sand by injection of denitrifying bacteria and medium following with biocementation using urease-producing bacteria, urea and calcium salt decreased hydraulic conductivity of sand to 2×10-7 ms-1 after 17 days of treatment and consumed almost three times less reagents than conventional calcium-and urea-based biogrouting; 2) biogrouting using slime-producing bacteria decreased hydraulic conductivity of sand to 1x10-6 ms-1 after 15 days of treatment; 3) biogrouting of the rocks with the width of the fissures 65×10-6 m using calcium bicarbonate solution, that was produced from CaCO3 and CO2 under 30 bars pressure, decreased hydraulic conductivity of the fissured rocks to 2×10-7 ms-1 after 5 days of treatment. These bioclogging technologies could have a lot of advantages over conventional construction materials and processes and can be used in geotechnical engineering, agriculture and aquaculture, and for the environmental protection.

Keywords: biocementation, bioclogging, biogrouting, fractured rocks, porous soil, tunneling space

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Authors: M. N. Akhtar, J. N. Akhtar

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The present study evaluates the properties of class F fly ash as a replacement of natural materials in civil engineering construction industry. The low-lime flash similar to class F is the prime variety generated in India, although it has significantly smaller volumes of high-lime fly ash as compared to class C. The chemical and physical characterization of the sample is carried out with the number of experimental approaches in order to investigate all relevant features present in the samples. For chemical analysis, elementary quantitative results from point analysis and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)/dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) techniques were used to identify the element images of different fractions. The physical properties found very close to the range of common soils. Furthermore, the fly ash-based bricks were prepared by the same sample of class F fly ash and the results of compressive strength similar to that of Standard Clay Brick Grade 1 available in the local market of India.

Keywords: fly ash, class F, class C, chemical, physical, SEM, EDS

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Authors: Mary Hanhoun, Jilla Bamarni, Anne-Sophie Bougard

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INSPIR’ECO is a 18-month research and innovation project that aims to specify and develop a tool to offer new services for industrials and territorial planners/managers based on Industrial Ecology Principles. This project is carried out on the territory of Salaise Sablons and the services are designed to be deployed on other territories. Salaise-Sablons area is located in the limit of 5 departments on a major European economic axis multimodal traffic (river, rail and road). The perimeter of 330 ha includes 90 hectares occupied by 20 companies, with a total of 900 jobs, and represents a significant potential basin of development. The project involves five multi-disciplinary partners (Syndicat Mixte INSPIRA, ENGIE, IDEEL, IDEAs Laboratory and TREDI). INSPIR’ECO project is based on the principles that local stakeholders need services to pool, share their activities/equipment/purchases/materials. These services aims to : 1. initiate and promote exchanges between existing companies and 2. identify synergies between pre-existing industries and future companies that could be implemented in INSPIRA. These eco-industrial synergies can be related to: the recovery / exchange of industrial flows (industrial wastewater, waste, by-products, etc.); the pooling of business services (collective waste management, stormwater collection and reuse, transport, etc.); the sharing of equipments (boiler, steam production, wastewater treatment unit, etc.) or resources (splitting jobs cost, etc.); and the creation of new activities (interface activities necessary for by-product recovery, development of products or services from a newly identified resource, etc.). These services are based on IT tool used by the interested local stakeholders that intends to allow local stakeholders to take decisions. Thus, this IT tool: - include an economic and environmental assessment of each implantation or pooling/sharing scenarios for existing or further industries; - is meant for industrial and territorial manager/planners - is designed to be used for each new industrial project. - The specification of the IT tool is made through an agile process all along INSPIR’ECO project fed with: - Users expectations thanks to workshop sessions where mock-up interfaces are displayed; - Data availability based on local and industrial data inventory. These input allow to specify the tool not only with technical and methodological constraints (notably the ones from economic and environmental assessments) but also with data availability and users expectations. A feedback on innovative resource management initiatives in port areas has been realized in the beginning of the project to feed the designing services step.

Keywords: development opportunities, INSPIR’ECO, INSPIRA, industrial ecology, planification, synergy identification

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Authors: Z. Chen, C. S. Poon

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In Hong Kong, about 1,000 tonnes of sewage sludge were produced every day in 2014 representing a major fraction of the total solid municipal waste. Traditionally, sewage sludge is disposed of at landfills. This disposal method causes environmental issues and uses up precious space in landfills which are becoming saturated one by one. To tackle the disposal problem, Hong Kong government has just built a sewage sludge incinerator. Through incineration the volume of waste can be reduced up to 90% by converting sewage sludge into ash. Whilst sewage sludge ash (SSA) still needs to be disposed of at landfills, research has been conducted at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on using SSA to substitute cement for the production of construction materials. Results demonstrated that SSA contained many open and isolated pores and thus can reduce the cement dilution effect resulting in only slight decrease in the flexural and compressive strengths of cement mortar. The incorporation of SSA in cement mortar can be up to 20% of the binder, without too much worry about adverse effect on strength development of mortar. There was some enhancement in strength using ground SSA in comparison to the original SSA. The original SSA shortened the relative initial setting time of cement paste but ground SSA caused slight delay in the setting of cement paste. The research also found that increasing the percentage of SSA lead to decreasing workability of cement mortar with the same water/binder ratio, and ground SSA was beneficial to workability although grinding increased the surface area of SSA. This paper summarizes the major findings of the research.

Keywords: cement replacement, construction material, sewage sludge ash, waste recycling

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Authors: Festus A. Olutoge, Ahmed A. Akintunde, Anuoluwapo S. Kolade, Aaron A. Chadee, Jovanca Smith

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Geopolymer concrete's (GPC) compressive strength was investigated. The GPC was incorporated with rice husk ash (RHA) and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), which may have potential in the construction industry to replace Portland limestone cement (PLC) concrete. The sustainable construction binders used were GGBFS and RHA, and a solution of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium silicate gel (Na₂SiO₃) was used as the 12-molar alkaline activator. Five GPC mixes comprising fine aggregates, coarse aggregates, GGBS, and RHA, and the alkaline solution in the ratio 2: 2.5: 1: 0.5, respectively, were prepared to achieve grade 40 concrete, and PLC was wholly substituted with GGBFS and RHA in the ratios of 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0. A control mix was also prepared which comprised of 100% water and 100% PLC as the cementitious material. The GPC mixes were thermally cured at 60-80ºC in an oven for approximately 24hrs. After curing for 7 and 28 days, the compressive strength test results of the hardened GPC samples showed that GPC-Mix #3, comprising 50% GGBFS and 50% RHA, was the most efficient geopolymer mix. The mix had compressive strengths of 35.71MPa and 47.26MPa, 19.87% and 8.69% higher than the PLC concrete samples, which had 29.79MPa and 43.48MPa after 7 and 28 days, respectively. Therefore, geopolymer concrete containing GGBFS incorporated with RHA is an efficient method of decreasing the use of PLC in conventional concrete production and reducing the high amounts of CO₂ emitted into the atmosphere in the construction industry.

Keywords: alkaline solution, cementitious material, geopolymer concrete, ground granulated blast furnace slag, rice husk ash

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Authors: Esayas Geleta

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Within the last two decades in many sub-Saharan African countries, a large-scale acquisition (lease, concession, outright purchase) of extensive areas of farmland commonly labeled as ‘idle’ and ‘under-utilized’ has resulted in displacement and dispossession and dispossession without ‘compensation.’ This paper seeks to critically illustrate the processes and the consequences of the ‘land grabbing project’ in Ethiopia. Drawing on the theory of participatory development and empirical studies undertaken in Ethiopia, the paper elucidates the power dynamics that influence how and why dislocation and dispossession occur. The paper then demonstrates why the land-grabbing project, which was hugely supported by many international organizations, has largely failed in Ethiopia. Through a critical analysis of the process of ‘land grabbing’ in Ethiopia, the paper contributes to a more adequate and critical understanding of contemporary land deals and their social and environmental consequences.

Keywords: land grabbing, human rights, dispossession, resistance, governance

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Authors: Shelly-Ann Gajadhar

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Over the last twenty years, the traditional economic motivations of foreign direct investment have been amalgamated with geopolitical motivations. This is evidenced by the extensive ratification of bilateral investment treaties (BIT) globally and the emergence of state-owned multinational companies (SOMNCs) that directly compete with local domestic enterprises (LDE). This paper investigates the impact that Chinese SOMNCs have on LDEs within Trinidad and Tobago’s construction sector and, determines whether knowledge transfer occurs. The paper employed semi-structured interviews of industry experts and concluded that LDEs predominantly experience adverse spillovers, inclusive of a long-term competition effect, with no technology transfer occurring.

Keywords: foreign direct investment, bilateral investment treaties, knowledge transfer, international business, Caribbean

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Authors: Olakunle Felix Adekunle

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Risk management is recognised as an essential tool to tackle the inevitable uncertainty associated with business and projects at all levels. But it frequently fails to meet expectations, with projects continuing to run late, over budget or under performing, and business is not gaining the expected benefits. The evident disconnect which often occurs between strategic vision and tactical project delivery typically arises from poorly defined project objectives and inadequate attention to the proactive management of risks that could affect those objectives. One of the main failings in the traditional approach to risk management arises from a narrow focus on the downside, restricted to the technical or operational field, addressing tactical threats to processes, performance or people. This shortcoming can be overcome by widening the scope of risk management to encompass both strategic risks and upside opportunities, creating an integrated approach which can bridge the gap between strategy and tactics. Integrated risk management addresses risk across a variety of levels in the organisation, including strategy and tactics, and covering both opportunity and threat. Effective implementation of integrated risk management can produce a number of benefits to the organisation which are not available from the typical limited-scope risk process. This paper explores how to expand risk management to deliver strategic advantage while retaining its use as a tactical tool.

Keywords: risk management, success, organization, strategy, project, tactis, vision

Procedia PDF Downloads 400