Construction Engineering Commons^™

Starting From Scratch: New Construction For The Newer Professional, Von Stange Ed.D.

Von Stange, Ed.D.

Housing construction has many concepts that are foreign to the newer professional. This presentation highlights definitions, concepts, and timelines associated with new construction. This program was presented with Derek Jackson, Director of Housing and Dining Services at Kansas State University.

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 …

Benchmarking Public Private Partnership Environments: East Asian Comparisons, Michael Regan, Jim Smith, Peter Love

Michael Regan

The Public Private Partnerships (PPP) markets in Australia and the UK are considered to be the most sophisticated in the World and used as a model for benchmarking against other countries. In addition the global financial crisis also meant many PPP financiers became risk averse to certain projects and in particular countries. The environment for major infrastructure projects, particularly in ‘riskier’ countries, has become more difficult. Research conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit for the Asian Development Bank evaluated PPP policy and programs in a number of countries in the Asia Pacific. The study benchmarks the UK and Australian PPP …

A Casual [Causal] Relationship Between Building Maintenance Market And Gdp: Hong Kong Study, Yong-Tao Tan, Liyin Shen, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the causal relationship between the building maintenance market and GDP in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach: The Granger causality test is used to investigate the lead-lag relationships between the maintenance and repair work and GDP in Hong Kong. With regression analysis, the future trend of the maintenance market is forecasted. Findings: The results show that the growth of the economy will lead to the growth of the maintenance market, not vice-versa. And the building maintenance market in Hong Kong will keep increasing with the economy growth. Originality/value: This paper shows that the growth …

Using Purchasing Power Parity To Assess Construction Productivity, Rick Best

Rick Best

For many reasons comparing construction productivity between countries is a difficult task. One key problem is that of converting construction costs to a common currency. This problem can be overcome relatively simply by using a basket of construction materials and labour, termed a BLOC (Basket of Locally Obtained Commodities), as a unit of construction cost. Average BLOC costs in each location are calculated from data obtained from a number of sources (quantity surveyors, estimators). Typical building costs obtained from published construction cost data are expressed in BLOC equivalents. Lower BLOC equivalents represent higher productivity as other inputs (largely materials) are …

Efectul Confinării Asupra Conlucrării Betonului Autocompactant Cu Armătura, Marian Sabau

Marian Sabau

Sense In The City: Making The Gold Coast An Intelligent And Sustainable City, Bhishna Bajracharya, David Cattell, Daryl Mcphee, Linda Too, Isara Khanjanasthiti

Linda Too

Many cities are facing challenges of urban sprawl, traffic congestion, diminishing quality of life and increasing pressure on their natural environment. Recent advancements in information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as wireless sensor networks and ubiquitous computing are potential tools for addressing these problems. How can the emerging technologies be used to create smarter, greener and more economically efficient cities? To what extent can ubiquitous technologies add value to place, community and environment? The paper examines current trends in ICTs such as wireless sensor networks, RFID, mobile devices and their potential roles in making cities sustainable. The paper develops a …

Sense In The City: Making The Gold Coast An Intelligent And Sustainable City, Bhishna Bajracharya, David Cattell, Daryl Mcphee, Linda Too, Isara Khanjanasthiti

Daryl McPhee

Many cities are facing challenges of urban sprawl, traffic congestion, diminishing quality of life and increasing pressure on their natural environment. Recent advancements in information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as wireless sensor networks and ubiquitous computing are potential tools for addressing these problems. How can the emerging technologies be used to create smarter, greener and more economically efficient cities? To what extent can ubiquitous technologies add value to place, community and environment? The paper examines current trends in ICTs such as wireless sensor networks, RFID, mobile devices and their potential roles in making cities sustainable. The paper develops a …

Sense In The City: Making The Gold Coast An Intelligent And Sustainable City, Bhishna Bajracharya, David Cattell, Daryl Mcphee, Linda Too, Isara Khanjanasthiti

Bhishna Bajracharya

Many cities are facing challenges of urban sprawl, traffic congestion, diminishing quality of life and increasing pressure on their natural environment. Recent advancements in information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as wireless sensor networks and ubiquitous computing are potential tools for addressing these problems. How can the emerging technologies be used to create smarter, greener and more economically efficient cities? To what extent can ubiquitous technologies add value to place, community and environment? The paper examines current trends in ICTs such as wireless sensor networks, RFID, mobile devices and their potential roles in making cities sustainable. The paper develops a …

Validation Of The Adaptive Reuse Potential (Arp) Model Using Iconcur, Craig Langston

Craig Langston

This paper aims to focus on the adaptive reuse of existing buildings that have become obsolete, an important strategy for sustainable development and a pertinent response to excessive resource usage resulting from typical destruction and redevelopment.

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).

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.

Using Bayesian Networks To Assess The Risk Appetite Of Construction Contractors, David W. Cattell, P.E.D. Love

David Cattell

The pricing of items of construction work using Component Unit Pricing (CUP) Theory requires that contractors have to assess and quantify their risk profiles. Those contractors with a willingness to take on greater risks can then be rewarded with a prospect of greater profits. CUP Theory provides a basis by which this can be accomplished by way of the manner and extent to which contractors spread their overall bid prices amongst all of the constituent component item prices. Conversely, this theory also facilitates that contractors who want to moderate their exposure to risk are able to do so, independently of …

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 …