Construction Engineering Commons^™

Bs News November/December

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Compression Testing And Failure Modes Of Steel-Concrete Composite (Sc) Structures For Nuclear Containment, Patrick Michael Wanamaker, Amit H. Varma

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Although being able to provide much cleaner power than burning coal and other fossil fuels, nuclear power plants are still a tough sell to the general public due to their history of being spontaneously dangerous. The containment structures surrounding these nuclear plants, however, can play a huge role in reducing the risks associated with them. Relatively new designs for these containment assemblies, known as SC (steel-concrete composite) structures, aim to increase the strength and durability of the containment facilities while keeping costs down. By varying the spacing between shear studs, the ratio of concrete to steel, and the ratio of …

Decorative Ferrocement Elements, Letitia Nadasan, Traian Onet, Ana Ioana Petean, Marian Sabau

Marian Sabau

Ferrocement has the versatility that can be 'sculptured' or shaped into numerous fascinating structures and objects for very wide applications. The exposure of this technology to engineers in general is rather minimal in Romania and many are skeptical about it. The potential is not exploited for it being unconventional in nature. Its ability to compete or use as a cheaper alternative and yet a promising technology in ensuring improved living standard and environmental quality must not be neglected. The paper discusses about the applicability of ferrocement in the Romanian scene with respect to recreation and home use. The ferrocement elements …

Project Complexity Mapping In Five Dimensions For Complex Transportation Projects, Douglas D. Gransberg, Jennifer S. Shane, Carla Lopez Del Puerto

Douglas D. Gransberg

Traditional three-dimensional project management theory is based on optimizing the cost-schedule-technical dimensions. Recent studies in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have shown that the current project management body of knowledge may not be adequate to address interrelated and dependent variables encountered on complex projects. This paper reports the findings of an international research team’s detailed study of eighteen complex projects, which confirms the findings of the previous research and proposes a framework upon which a complex transportation project’s scope of work can be better conceptualized and a methodology to graphically display a project’s complexity in order to better understand …

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Efectul Confinării Asupra Conlucrării Betonului Autocompactant Cu Armătura, Marian Sabau

Marian Sabau

Implementation Of Integrated Project Delivery On Department Of Navy Military Construction Projects, Christopher S. Lee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The concept of the project delivery system refers to the overall processes by which a project is designed, constructed, and/or maintained. There are many different types of project delivery systems to fit particular situations involving the owner and his intended project. The project delivery system is what establishes the framework that enables a construction project to be developed and ultimately executed.

The construction industry has observed that projects (both private and public) frequently suffer from factors such as adversarial relationships, low roductivity, high inefficiency and rework, frequent contractual disputes concerning who was at fault, and lack of innovation. Not only …

Bs News July/August

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Experimental Determination On Bond Strength Of Rebar In Self-Compacting Concrete, Marian Sabau, Traian Onet, Ana Ioana Petean

Marian Sabau

Experimental results of the local bond stress-slip relationship of deformed reinforcing bars embedded in confined self-compacting concrete are presented. A total of 58 pull-out specimens were tested. Each one of these specimens simulated the confined region of a beam-column joint. The main analyzed parameters were the concrete type, the confining reinforcement, the reinforcement bar diameter, the embedded length of bars. The results showed that in order to ensure that the bond failure is caused by pull-out, a restraining reinforcement must be provided. The paper also presents a comparison between self-compacting concrete (SCC) and normally vibrated concrete (NVC).

Seismic Performance Comparison Of A Fixed-Base Versus A Base-Isolated Office Building, Nicholas Reidar Marrs

Master's Theses

The topic of this thesis is base isolation. The purpose of this thesis is to offer a relative understanding of the seismic performance enhancements that a typical 12-story steel office building can achieve through the implementation of base isolation technology. To reach this understanding, the structures of a fixed-base office building and a base-isolated office building of similar size and layout are designed, their seismic performance is compared, and a cost-benefit analysis is completed. The base isolation system that is utilized is composed of Triple Friction Pendulum (TFP) bearings.

The work of this thesis is divided into four phases. First, …

Economia De Energie Realizată Prin Folosirea Betonului Autocompactant, Marian Sabau, Traian Onet, Ana Ioana Petean, Letitia Nadasan

Marian Sabau

Betonul autocompactant (BAC) este un beton inovativ care nu necesită vibrare în momentul punerii în operă, acesta fiind capabil să curgă sub propia greutate, poate să umple complet cofrajele şi să ajungă la o compactare corespunzătoare fără a fi nevoie de o compactare mecanică. Această lucrare prezintă avantajele acestui nou tip de beton, materialele constituente, metodele de testare, precum şi dezavantajele care le aduce compactarea prin vibrare asupra betonului obişnuit. Eliminarea vibrării are de asemenea efecte benefice asupra condițiilor de muncă în procesul de producere al betonului.

Precast/Prestressed Concrete Truss-Girder For Roof Applications, Peter S. Samir

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Steel trusses are the most popular system for supporting long span roofs in commercial buildings, such as warehouses and aircraft hangars. There are several advantages of steel trusses, such as lightweight, ease of handling and erection, and geometric flexibility. However, they have some drawbacks, such as high material and maintenance cost, and low fire resistance. In this paper, a precast concrete truss is proposed as an alternative to steel trusses for spans up to 160 ft. without intermediate supports. The proposed design is easy to produce and has lower construction and maintenance costs than steel trusses. The proposed design is …

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Precast Concrete Insulated Wall Panel Corbels Without Thermal Bridging, Mohamed Elkady

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The common practice in corbel design is to block out the insulation in order to provide a solid concrete area at the corbel location. This connection practice results in thermal bridging, which significantly reduces the energy performance of the panel. For example, the PCI Design Handbook indicates that the reduction in thermal resistance caused by a solid part with an area equal to 9% of the total panel surface area is as high as 42%. This paper presents a discussion of a new concept for corbel design of insulated wall panels with the thermal break totally preserved. Two different designs …

Bs News March/April

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Confinement On Bond Strength Between Self-Compacting Concrete And Reinforcement, Marian Sabau, Traian Onet, Ana Ioana Petean

Marian Sabau

Slippage of the beam reinforcement at beam–column connections is an important cause of damage of reinforced frames under static and dynamic loads. This paper presents the effects of confinement in self-compacting concrete (SCC), on the local bond stress vs. slip characteristics of deformed bars in reinforced concrete joints. Prismatic specimens with deformed steel bars embedded for a fixed length equal to three and five equivalent diameters were tested under monotonic loading. The specimens represented the confined region of a beam–column connection. The obtained results indicated that as far as the bond splitting cracks are restrained by reinforcing bars crossing these …

Wind Loading On Trees Integrated With A Building Envelope, Aly Mousaad Aly, Alberto Zasso, Girma Bitsuamlak, Alberto Nicola Longarini, Arindam Gam Chowdhury

Faculty Publications

With the sustainability movement, vegetated building envelopes are gaining more popularity. This requires special wind effect investigations, both from sustainability and resiliency perspectives. The current paper focuses on wind load estimation on small- and full-scale trees used as part of green roofs and balconies. Small-scale wind load assessment was carried out using wind tunnel testing in a global-effect study to understand the interference effects from surrounding structures. Full-scale trees were investigated at a large open-jet facility in a local-effect study to investigate the wind-tree interaction. The effect of Reynolds number combined with shape change on the overall loads measured at …

Bs News January/February

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.