Civil Engineering Commons^™

Weighting The Perceived Importance Of Minimising Economic, Social And Environmental/Cultural Risks In Flood Risk Management, Zeinab Bedri, John O'Sullivan, Mark Adamson

Conference papers

In 2006, the Office of Public Works (OPW) began the National Catchment-based Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM) Programme through a series of pilot studies. A Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) Framework was developed through the CFRAM pilot studies that integrated a range of objectives related to human health and society, the environment and cultural heritage and the economy into the core process of selecting suitable flood risk management measures for a given area or location, and then for prioritising national investments for different schemes and projects. In support of this MCA framework, UCD, was commissioned to undertake a collaborative study with …

Establishing The Key Pillars Of Innovation Required To Execute A Successful Bim Strategy Within A Construction Sme In Ireland, Barry Mcauley, Patrick Carroll

Conference papers

The recent resurgence of the Irish Construction Industry comes at a time of global transition towards an information revolution, with technology now playing a vital role within our post-recessionary society. BIM is now seen as a core technology at the forefront of this transformational change which can present Construction SMEs with opportunities to new financial ventures. If any SME organisation is to be successful with BIM adoption then innovation must be the starting point. The aim of this paper is to establish the enabling factors required for innovating a BIM strategy within a SME Construction Organisation. The methodology involved a …

Calibrating And Evaluating Dynamic Rule-Based Transit-Signal-Priority Control Systems In Urban Traffic Networks, Md Didarul Alam

Civil and Environmental Engineering Dissertations

Setting the traffic controller parameters to perform effectively in real-time is a challenging task, and it entails setting several parameters to best suit some predicted traffic conditions. This study presents the framework and method that entail the application of the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to calibrate the parameters of any control system incorporating advanced traffic management strategies (e.g., the complex integrated traffic control system developed by Ahmed and Hawas). The integrated system is a rule-based heuristic controller that reacts to specific triggering conditions, such as identification of priority transit vehicle, downstream signal congestion, and incidents by penalizing the predefined objective …

How Transportation Network Companies Could Replace Public Transportation In The United States, Matthew L. Kessler

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The quantity of cell phone applications or mobile apps have seen an upsurge at an exponential rate in under a decade. Many have been created for a variety of industries, including transportation. The advent and subsequent commercialized implementation of near-instant transport by a middleman-type of app is now known as a Transportation Network Company or TNC. Examples of the more renowned TNCs are Uber, Lyft and Sidecar.

In recent years, TNCs have cultivated a tremendous following, to the degree of taxicab desertion. Moreover, the massive success of TNCs led to expansion of its capacities into public transportation.

The TNC’s expeditious …

The Effect Of Chemical Composition Of Blast-Furnace Slag On Compressive Strength And Durability Properties Of Mortar Specimens, William J. Johnson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In an effort to make structures more sustainable and durable, supplementary cementitious materials are often used to replace cement. Ground granulated blast furnace slag, for instance, is an industrial by-product of iron refinement and is frequently used in concrete mixture design to not only reduce cost, but also increase later-age strength as well as durability. However, published literature indicates that slags with a high alumina content may have a detrimental effect when concrete is exposed to a sulfate environment. ASTM standard C989 does not suggest any information or guidelines regarding using slags with an alumina content between 11-18%. Therefore, the …

Investigation Of Ternary Binder Based Systems In Terms Of Calorimetry, Shrinkage And In-Situ Xrd, Anxhelina Qorllari, Elsa Qoku, Thomas A. Bier, Teuta Dilo

UBT International Conference

Ternary binders are defined in this study as compositions of Calcium Aluminate Cement (CAC), Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) and Calcium Sulfate (CS̅). Several mixtures were studied, calorimetric and shrinkage technique has been used to follow the hydration during 24 hours. The XRD technique is used as support in the analysis of the hydration products. The results have shown that the initial amount of ��� and �� play a key role in the hydration of ��/���/�� mixtures and especially affect the formation of ettringite. The mechanism of reactions (hydration kinetic) and the reactions speed (acceleration or retardation) depends by the aggregates …

Reducing The Porosity And Sealing Cracks By Using Crystalline Admixture In Conventional Concrete, Visar Krelani, Liberato Ferrara

UBT International Conference

There is a continuous increase of quality on civil engineering materials in developed countries and parallel increase of need for new constructions in developing countries. Professional community should propose solutions for the durability that can resist in different severe environments. The most important factor that can affect concrete durability is represented by the pore distribution. Transport properties can take place through the porous network inside the cementitious composites and the aggregates interface, permitting the ingress of aggressive agents damaging concrete function intrinsically as a material and the wellfunctioning of the entire structure. The use of a crystalline admixture during the …

Using Of Proper Pavement Material For The Intersections With Slow-Moving Traffic, Bekim Selimi

UBT International Conference

Use of proper pavement material for some of intersections need special attention by road designers. At Camp Bondsteel-Kosovo on 2002 were built four road intersections using the concrete as pavement material. Heavy and slow-moving trucks that are turning or accelerating exposed these intersections to some of the highest stress level. After some years this intresections start deteriorating on their surface due to friction. The concrete pavements did not survive this period of usage and after eight years were removed and replaced with asphalt pavements. After more than seven years, the asphalt has shown minor distress but is still in good …

Developing A New Total Sediment Transport Formula, Davut Okeu, Sokol Xhafa, Sevdije Govori, Majlinda Daci

UBT International Conference

Sediment transport is one of the most powerful factor on river hydrology. It has vital importance for water engineering projects. There are many sediment transport formulas in the literature but most of them are derived from small data sets of natural rivers or experimental designs. Each formulation has its own restrictions, which depends on the original dataset of that study. None of them have gained universal acceptance. As a result, investigation towards the development of more accurate and simpler formulae is still necessary and should be continued.

The aim of this study is to derive a new total sediment load …

Heritage Under Pressure The Case Of The “Bypass” In Gjirokastra World Heritage Site Albania, Kreshnik Merxhani, Valmira Bozgo

UBT International Conference

The following article is an account presenting a professional movement opposing a planned and approved project for the construction of a new road known as the “Bypass”, which endangered the Historic Center of Gjirokastra. The project, consisted in the construction of a new road, with the initial aim of diverting automobile traffic from the Bazaar, turning it into a pedestrian zone. However after a few procedural problems were noted, it became clear that the project itself was not fulfilling its original aim, and further more posed a threat to the historical center. During the only public consultation session held for …

The Influence Of The Radius Of The Curve And The Lateral Slope On The Safety Of The Vehicle, Baxhuku Visar, Koca Odisea, Çekiçi Visar

UBT International Conference

The movement of the vehicle in a curve related to the construction of the road is expressed through the influence of the radius of the curve and the transversal inclination of the road. Two of these quantities are fixed quantities ever since the projection and then construction phase of the road. During the vehicle’s movement in the curve, their influence is shown through the critical slide velocity. This critical velocity is defined from the influence of the centrifugal force. For smaller values under critical velocity, this influence is expressed through the safety of the movement or the comfort of the …

Negative Impacts (Sbs) In Residential Buildings Case Studies From Kosovo, Muhamet Ahmeti, Mimoza Sylejmani

UBT International Conference

This paper presents the negative impacts on residential buildings in Kosovo, - as well as the main factors of the occurrence of sick building syndrome (SBS) in residential buildings in the case of Kosovo. It also examines the impact of different materials on this phenomenon and how many constructions in Kosovo are protected from this phenomenon.

For the assessment of the impact of materials on health and the environment, it is necessary to consider all the phases. Starting from the phase of construction, selection of materials, application from the beginning of the use of the building, including all the materials …

The Effect Of Particles Pm10 And Pm2.5 In Dust Emission Of Urban Infrastructure From Thermal Power Plant Technology Kosovo, Afrim Syla

UBT International Conference

Airborne particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 microns (referred to as PM10) is one of the six criteria pollutants used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as indicator of air quality. During the last decade, the health effects of urban aerosols have become a major concern for the society.

The main environmental problems in Kosovo include all issues related to water supply and sanitation system, air quality, solid waste management and urban infrastructure. The major problem remains high pollutions, energy losses and low collection efficiency. The awareness of environmental issues among the general public is poor. Air quality …

Seismic Actions Induced By Cladding Panels On Precast Concrete Frame Structures, Bruno Del Lago, Francesco Foti, Luca Martinelli

UBT International Conference

The strong earthquakes occurred in Southern Europe in the last decade pointed out a poor seismic performance of the connection system of the cladding of precast industrial structures. The cladding of these buildings usually consists of sandwich concrete panels of remarkable mass, connected to the frame structure with mechanical devices. The estimation of the out-of-plane seismic action on these connections is a key step for their correct proportioning. However, the formulation currently provided in the Eurocode 8 for the estimation of the seismic action on non-structural elements was calibrated with different objectives. Furthermore, given there is no in-plane structure-panel interaction, …

Capacity Design For R/C Structures According To En 1998-1:2004, Xhemshir Mulliqi

UBT International Conference

Capacity Design is a design process in which it is decided which objects within a structural system will be permitted to yield (ductile components) and which objects will remain elastic (brittle components). Material nonlinearity need only be modeled for ductile components, while components which will not yield need only consider elastic stiffness properties. In this design philosophy the capacity design approach that is currently used in practice demands strong column/weak beam frames or wall equivalent dual frames, with beam sway mechanisms, trying to involve plastic hinging at all beam ends.This paper aims to present Capacity design procedure for reinforced concrete …

P.M. 2.5 And Air Pollution In Prishtina, Rushiti Bardh, Futko Annea, Zeka Blin, Musliu Afete

UBT International Conference

High concentration of fine particles, the primary concern of worsening air pollution in Prishtina is believed to be fast paced economic and infrastructural growth in the capital of Kosova. This study is mainly focused on measuring the fluctuations of one constituent of air pollution, P.M. 2.5 (which are particles ranging from 2.5 to 10 micro-meters suspended into the environment). The measurements were done in Prishtina, mainly in the parts more frequented by people. Exposed to mixed combustion emission from roads with traffic, construction areas, and/or burning trash are a case of peculiar concern to people near those places. However, due …

Optimal Design Of Grillage Structures With Steel Crossed Beams Using Genetic Algorithms, Ersilio Tushaj, Niko Lako, Fatjon Saliu

UBT International Conference

The optimal problem in the structural design is an important issue in the engineering design. Various authors have analyzed the optimization of steel structures using algorithmic approaches. These techniques are generally grouped in deterministic or meta-heuristic techniques. From the introduction of structural optimization in the 1960’ up to now, various methods have been proposed. A genetic algorithm, is built and applied in this study using MatLab soft R2017a to a crossed beams system. The structural analysis is done with the direct stiffness method with constraints verification based on EuroCode 3:2005 criteria. Results are reported in the study.

Beam- Column Joints For R/C Structures According To En 1998-1:2004, Xhemshir Mulliqi

UBT International Conference

Joints are crucial zones for the transfer internal forces effectively between the connecting elements like beams and columns .The behaviour of reinforced concrete moment resisting frame structures in recent earthquakes all over the world has highlighted the consequences of poor performance of beam column joints. The basic requirement of design is that the joint must be stronger than the adjoining hinging members, usually the beams or columns. This paper aims to present design approach for Beam- Column joints for reinforced concrete (R/C) structures according to the EN 1998-1:2004.

The Effect Of Elevated Temperature On The Lightweight Concrete Containing Waste Pet Aggregate, Semiha Akçaözoğlu

UBT International Conference

In this study, the effect of waste PET as lightweight aggregate (WPLA) replacement with conventional aggregate on the some physical and mechanical properties and residual compressive strength of concrete was investigated. For this purpose, five different mixtures were prepared (the reference mixture and four WPLA mixtures including 30%, 40%, 50% and 60% waste PET aggregate by volume). The fresh and dry unit weights, compressive strengths, flexural-tensile strengths, water absorption and porosity ratios of the mixtures were measured. In addition the specimens exposed to elevated temperatures at 150, 300 and 450 °C and the residual compressive strengths were measured. Test results …

The Effect Of Fine Material Amount On Optimum Water Content Of Roller Compacted Concrete, Kubilay Akçaözoğlu, Bedrettin Menemencioğlu

UBT International Conference

In this study the effect of fine material amount on the optimum water content of roller compacted concrete (RCC) was investigated. The fine aggregate was replaced with calcite which maximum particle size was 63 μ, in amount of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 10% and 14% by weight of total aggregate. Six different mixtures were prepared in the study. The optimum water contents of the mixtures were determined by using modified proctor test. Optimum water content, maximum dry unit weight and maximum fresh unit weight of produced specimens were measured. Optimum water content of specimens decreased depending on increasing fine aggregate …