CivilEng, Volume 4, Issue 3 (September 2023) – 17 articles

The innovation inherent to employing expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads lies in its transformative impact on traditional concrete practices. Through the incorporation of EPS beads in concrete mixtures, a novel approach emerges that significantly alters the material’s characteristics, and opens up new avenues for construction and design. Studying the shear behavior of RC beams made with EPS beads is essential for advancing knowledge, improving design practices, ensuring structural integrity, and promoting the effective and responsible use of innovative materials in construction. This research experimentally investigated the effect of using EPS beads and pozzolana aggregate (PA) on the shear behavior of the RC beams. A total of 27 simply supported rectangular beams were cast, using three novel distinct mix designs, and were subjected to two-point load testing until failure. These three mixes were categorized as follows: a control mix, a mix with only EPS, and a mix with EPS, along with an additive. The ultimate failure load was experimentally recorded for all specimens, and the influence of the temperature (300 °C and 600 °C) on the RC beams made with EPS was examined. The findings revealed a reduction in the concrete compressive strength and density in the beams containing EPS and EPS with superplasticizers of (21.7%, 24.9%) and (11.3%, 16.2%), respectively. Additionally, EPS played a significant role in diminishing the ultimate shear capacity of the beams, compared to the control beams, by about 19.4%. However, the addition of a superplasticizer along with the EPS helped to maintain the beam capacity, to some extent. Conversely, the beams exposed to a temperature of 300 °C exhibited an almost similar capacity to that of the control beams without heating. Nevertheless, at 600 °C, the beams displayed a noticeable decrease in the ultimate load capacity, compared to the unheated control beams. Full article

In developing countries, ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) has not garnered sufficient attention, and its potential industrial applications remain largely unexplored and underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to assess the risk associated with integrating UHPC technology into the construction industry, focusing on economic, technical, and environmental facets, as highlighted by global research endeavors in this domain. In this study, a risk model is validated by analyzing diverse UHPC mix proportions from various studies and assessing the associated risk indices concerning constituent materials. The findings demonstrate that incorporating UHPC as a more robust alternative to earlier generations is plausible when considering multiple perspectives within the concrete industry. The preeminence of compressive strength and the significance of service life as a pivotal cost factor during the maintenance period, coupled with comprehensive risk indices, underscore the excellence of UHPC. Comparing UHPC with high-performance concrete (HPC) and normal concrete (NC), it becomes evident that UHPC exerts a notably lower adverse impact on the ecosystem. Additionally, UHPC proves to be a more economically viable option, warranting the replacement of existing technologies. Full article

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns are one of the most effective reinforced concrete structures, and improving their calculation is a critical task. The purpose of this study was to develop a simplified method for calculating slender CFST columns, taking into account the effect of lateral compression. The idea of the method is to use the equation of a reinforced concrete column’s longitudinal bending, without taking into account the effect of lateral compression. To take into account the lateral effects, the cross-sectional stiffnesses are corrected based on the analysis of the stress–strain state in the cross-sectional plane using the finite element method. The developed method was implemented by the authors in the MATLAB environment. The approbation of the proposed method was carried out on experimental data for centrally compressed columns of a circular cross-section, as well as eccentrically compressed columns of a circular and square cross-section, presented in two papers. For the centrally compressed columns, we conducted a study on the influence of initial imperfections in the form of eccentricities and initial curvatures on the value of the ultimate load. For the eccentrically compressed columns of the circular and square cross-section, the area of their effective operation was determined. Full article

Mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls are recognized for their cost-effectiveness and superior performance as earth-retaining structures. The integration of internally reinforced walls has transformed soil preservation practices, garnering significant attention from the global technical community. The construction method of MSE walls has recently gained widespread popularity, likely due to its cost efficiency and simplicity compared to traditional externally reinforced walls. This paper provides a comprehensive review of MSE walls, including their historical development, aesthetics, benefits, drawbacks, factors influencing lateral displacements and stress responses, and the concept of the MSE wall system. Key approaches for analyzing seismic soil–structure interaction (SSI) issues are emphasized, investigating the dynamic interaction between the structure and soil through various research methodologies. This study incorporates multiple publications, offering an in-depth review of the current state of dynamic SSI studies considering surrounding structures. The findings emphasize the significant sensitivity of the dynamic behavior of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls to soil–structure interaction, highlighting the necessity for continuous research in this area. The paper identifies research gaps and proposes future directions to enhance MSE wall design and application, facilitating further advancements in earth-retaining structures. Full article

This study aims to correct and assess the SCS-CN model. In this research, the 3RM model (written by Shamohammadi) has been modified in such a way that the maximum primary retention (I), maximum secondary retention (F_max), and basin potential retention (S_max) can be calculated using precipitation (P_a). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the total retention model ($S_t=f(F_{max},S_{max},p_a)$) and the runoff model ($Q=f(S_t,p_a)$) using the mountain basins of Iran, including Emameh, Kasilian, Navrood, Darjazin, Kardeh, Khanmirza, and Mashin. The results showed that the primary retention, maximum secondary retention, and retention capacity are, respectively, 2.3, 30.4, and 32.7 mm in Imamah, 2.5, 48.6, and 51.1 mm in Kasilian, 2.4, 26.7, and 29.1 mm in Navrood, 3.2, 21.5, and 24.7 mm in Darjazin, 1.7, 15.0, and 16.7 mm in Kardeh, 2.5, 33.2, and 38.1 mm in Khanmirza, and 4.9, 44.5, and 50.6 mm in Mashine. Additionally, the λ (ratio of primary retention to potential retention) values for all basins are less than 0.2 (suggested by SCS) and vary between 0.05 in Kasilian and 0.1 in the Darjazin, Kardeh, and Mashine basins. The results of fitting the model to the rainfall-runoff data showed that the evaluation indices, including the coefficient of determination (R²), Nash–Sutcliffe (NS), and root mean square error (RMSE), for predicting the runoff in the basins varied between 0.78 to 0.96, 0.78 to 0.961, and 0.86 to 2.28, respectively. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that the model has an acceptable ability to predict runoff for all the studied basins. Full article

The main aim of this paper was to analyze the sensitivity of the five infiltration equations (Kostiakov, Kostiakov–Lewis, Philip, Horton and SCS) and their coefficients to various ponding depths and initial soil moisture under different irrigation managements. The treatments included three qualities of water (electrical conductivity = 6, 3 and 0.6 dS/m), two managements of irrigation (intermittent irrigation and daily irrigation) and three irrigation periods (100, 45 and 8 days). The HYDRUS-1D model was calibrated to simulate infiltration in various initial soil moistures and ponding depths. Evaluating the performance of infiltration equations showed that the Horton and Kostiakov–Lewis had better accuracy and Kostiakov and SCS had less accuracy than the other equations. The empirical coefficients of SCS and Kostiakov had the most and least sensitivities, respectively. Furthermore, Horton was the most sensitive equation, while SCS was the least sensitive one. The output parameters under daily management were the most sensitive to variations in infiltration coefficients, especially when the salinity and sodium contents of water and soil were higher. The results also showed that the effect of the initial soil moisture on the infiltration coefficient in high permeable soil (arising from daily management) was greater; but in low permeable soil (arising from intermittent management), the ponding depth was more effective. It is concluded that the infiltration equations (specifically the SCS equation) and their coefficients (specifically coefficient c) should be calibrated relative to the initial soil moisture, ponding depth, soil solution and water irrigation quality. Particularly in areas with high permeable soil (in the daily management), the calibration of the infiltration equation should be conducted with the initial soil moisture. In these areas, the irrigation period should be controlled. In areas with low permeable soil (in intermittent management), calibration should be carried out relative to the ponding depth. In these areas, the inflow rate should be controlled. Full article

A floodplain is an area of low-lying land adjacent to a river, stream, or other water body that is regularly inundated by water during periods of high flow. Floodplains typically have relatively flat terrain and are composed of sediments deposited by the river over time. Floodplain flow refers to the movement of water across the surface of the floodplain during periods of high flow. This flow can occur as a result of water spilling over the river banks or seeping into the ground and then re-emerging on the surface of the floodplain. Bankfull discharge is the flow of water that just fills the channel of a river or stream to the top of its banks. It is the point at which the river or stream is at its maximum capacity without overflowing onto the floodplain. Bankfull discharge is often used as a reference point for assessing flood risk and planning floodplain management strategies. To examine the bank-to-bank hydro-morphodynamics of a river, it is necessary to comprehend the flow distribution throughout the main stream and floodplain. Along with river hydraulics, bankfull discharge is a crucial parameter for estimating river bank erosion. For evaluating the distribution and generation of river flow over the floodplain and main stream, a variety of modeling tools and approaches are available. This study investigates methods for separating floodplain flow and bankfull discharge from observed discharge data using the one-dimensional momentum equation. A two-dimensional modeling tool (MIKE 21C) was also employed to investigate the usefulness of the proposed method in a region with an enormous floodplain. Full article

Due to periodic variations in temperature and heavy traffic loading, hot-mix asphalt (HMA) pavements undergo considerable distress during their service life. The rheological properties of asphalt binder, when subjected to complex physical and chemical processes, make it stiff and sometimes brittle, which ultimately plays a huge part in pavement deterioration. This phenomenon is commonly known as asphalt aging. Incorporating polymer modifiers with virgin asphalt can work as an effective means to change the binder properties and alleviate the issues related to asphalt aging. Different types of polymers, including elastomers, plastomers, and reactive polymers, can mixed in different combinations with the virgin asphalt to create polymer-modified binders (PMBs). In general, polymers are typically added to the virgin asphalt binder in PMB manufacturing at weight percentages ranging from 3% to 7%. Previous research suggests that many polymer-modified binders (PMBs) show great resiliency and perform extremely well during field and laboratory testing, although the complex nature of asphalt itself makes it significantly difficult to understand the relationship and compatibility of the asphalt–polymer system. This paper aims to develop a comprehensive literature review on the chemical aspects, microscopic structure, and compatibility of polymers with virgin asphalt. It was found that swelling, storage stability, blend morphology, and the polymer mixing technique play a great role in the compatibility of asphalt–polymer systems. Thermoplastic elastomers (e.g., styrene–butadiene–styrene) and plastomers (e.g., ethylene–vinyl acetate) are the most used polymer modifiers for asphalt binders. The compatibility of the polymer–asphalt system can be improved by sulfur vulcanization, antioxidants, hydrophobic clay minerals, functionalization, and reactive polymers, among other techniques. Full article

This paper aims to guide structural engineers on how to apply the rapid nonlinear time history analysis (RNLTHA) procedure effectively to predict seismic demand, taking into account ductility and overstrength, and effects of dynamic phenomena including cyclic degradation of strength and stiffness in structures, in a direct and expedient manner. The shortcoming of the conventional force-based approach of design involving the use of a force reduction factor to account for nonlinear effects is well recognised. Nonlinear static (pushover) analysis and dynamic nonlinear time history analysis (NLTHA) are offered as alternative methods of analysis by major codes of practices to achieve better optimisation in the use of materials. NLTHA has advantages over pushover analysis in being more direct and capable of capturing cyclic response behaviour. Despite the merits of NLTHA, its adoption in the industry has been limited, mainly because of the complexity and the higher analysis cost involved. RNLTHA proposed in this article uses a macroscopic model of the building to fulfil the purpose of NLTHA, whilst saving computational time and achieving a good degree of accuracy, as verified by comparison with results generated from SeismoStruct. Full article

Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) has shown significant promise in enhancing the safety and reliability of civil infrastructures. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has recently become essential due to the increasing demand for the safety and sustainability of civil infrastructures. Thus, SHM provides critical benefits for future research to develop more advanced monitoring systems that effectively detect and diagnose the damage in FRC structures. This study investigates the potential of an Electro-Mechanical Impedance (EMI) based SHM system for detecting cracks in FRC prisms subjected to four-point repeated loading. For the needs of this research, an experimental investigation of three FRC specimens with the dimensions 150 × 150 × 450 (mm) were subjected to three different loading levels where no visual cracks formed on their surface. Next, prisms were subjected to reloading until they depleted their load-carrying capacity, resulting in pure bending fracture at the mid-span. A network of nine cement paste coated Piezoelectric lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) transducers have been epoxy bonded to the surface of the FRC prisms, and their frequency signal measurements were utilized for quantitative damage assessment. The observed changes in the frequency response of each PZT sensor are evaluated as solid indications of potential damage presence, and the increasing trend connotes the severity of the damage. The well-known conventional static metric of the Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) was successfully used to quantify and evaluate the cracking in FRC specimens while improving the efficiency and accuracy of damage detection. Similarly, the dynamic metric of a new statistical index called “moving Root Mean Square Deviation” (mRMSD) was satisfactorily used and compared to achieve and enhance accuracy in the damage evaluation process. Full article

This paper is aimed at serving the needs of structural engineering designers of an important structure (or a group of structures located on the same site) who is seeking guidance on how to obtain accelerograms and/or derive response spectra that accurately represent the site subsoil conditions as informed by the borelogs. The presented site-specific seismic action model may be used to replace the default seismic action model stipulated for the designated site class. Presented in this article is a procedure for generating soil surface motions in an earthquake, and their associated site-specific response spectra, taking into account details of the soil layers. Dynamic site response analyses are involved. The conditional mean spectrum methodology is employed for selecting and scaling accelerograms for obtaining input motion on bedrock. The selection depends on the natural period of both the site and the structure. Multiple borelogs taken from within the same site are analysed to identify the critical soil column models without having to conduct site response analysis on every borelog. The technique for simplifying the soil layers utilising the shear strain profile is introduced to further cut down on the time of analyses. The procedures described in this article have been written into a web-based program that is freely accessible to engineering practitioners. Full article

During the tender phase of public construction projects in Portugal, documents that describe the project are mandatorily submitted to open data repositories. However, in their current state, most of these repositories do not allow for benchmarking analysis due to a lack of data treatment and cohesion. This paper seeks to diagnose the main trends during the public construction project’s tender phase by performing a descriptive statistical analysis on the Portuguese Public Procurement Database (PPPData), a database that compiles 5172 public procurement contracts in Portugal from 2015 to 2022, to respond to the research gap in construction procurement benchmarking. The results of this statistical analysis draw out the main trends, uncover which tender variables can influence budget compliance, and diagnose Portugal’s public procurement in terms of its geographical, temporal, financial, and performance dispersion. This paper concludes that the award criteria are not correlated with final project performance and that multifactor assessment criteria do not necessarily lead to better performance. High-value projects awarded solely with the price award criterion tend to perform worse than those awarded with the multifactor assessment. The study also identified frequent errors and omissions in construction reporting; thus, there is a need for error mitigation tools. Full article

Current formulas to assess the shear capacity of headed steel stud anchors and post-installed (PI) anchors in case of pryout failure (sometimes known as pull-rear failure) have been derived either based on the indirect-tension resistance model or are fully empirical based on push-out test results. In both cases, the predicted pryout capacity is clearly conservative and underestimates the true pryout capacity of anchorages, especially for stiff anchors with low embedment-to-diameter ratios (h_ef/d < 4.5). This paper proposes an empirical and a semi-empirical formula to predict the concrete pryout capacity of headed steel studs and PI anchors. They were derived based on an improved indirect-tension model which accounts for the stud diameter and the stud spacing in a group of anchors. Furthermore, a database of 214 monotonic shear tests from the literature, including own tests (push-off and horizontally shear tests), is reevaluated and compared to the provisions of EN1992-4. The scope of this assessment proposal includes single and group of headed steel studs and PI anchors attached to a stiff steel plate as well as shear connectors in composite structures without metal deck embedded in normal-weight concrete. Full article

This paper presents the use of continuous wavelet transform (CWT) to capture the frequency contents, spectra of dominant frequencies and associated time durations of real earthquakes for generating artificial excitations to perform endurance time analysis (ETA) of structures. Applying CWT to three sets of forty earthquakes, the 90 percentile frequencies that span the ranges 0.08–18.41 Hz, 0.61–12.73 Hz, and 0.56–15.53 Hz; with associated time durations of 20, 15 and 16 s, respectively, for these earthquake sets are extracted. Artificial excitations that contain these ground motion characteristics are generated, progressively scaled up and applied to the target structure until failure. The scaling used is a block-shaped envelope that increases in size by a factor of 3/2 over time. Nonlinear seismic analyses of a steel frame and a concrete bridge bent using these artificial excitations have shown that the method not only successfully predicts the base shear–roof displacement responses of these structures, it also correctly identifies behavior such as weak story, concrete spalling, and core cracking. When compared with the increment dynamic analysis and time history analysis using multiple earthquakes, the proposed method is capable of producing comparable results with a significant reduction in computational time and a much smaller output file size. Full article

For massive monolithic foundation slabs, the problem of early cracking due to the intense heat release of concrete during the hardening process is relevant. The purpose of this article is to develop a simplified method for determining thermal stresses during the construction of massive monolithic foundation slabs. The proposed technique is based on the hypothesis of parabolic temperature distribution over the thickness of the structure at each moment of time. In addition to the parabolic distribution, the half-wave cosine distribution is also used. A hypothesis is also introduced about the same conditions of heat exchange with the environment on the lower and upper surfaces of the foundation. As a result, formulas are obtained that establish a direct relationship between thermal stresses and the temperature difference between the center and the surface. The solution to the test problem for the foundation slab is presented and compared with an alternative technique that does not use the hypothesis about the character of the temperature distribution over the thickness. Also, the inverse problem of determining the allowable temperature drop between the center and the surface of the structure is solved, at which the stresses on the upper surface at each moment of time will not exceed the tensile strength of concrete. Full article

The current paper presents the results of a study that analyzed and evaluated the efficiency of the largest container ports in the wider area of the Mediterranean Basin. The research question that this paper seeks to respond to is how the resources (inputs) of a container port reflect its level of activity and efficiency. In particular, what is the relationship between ports’ infrastructures, equipment and their productivity and the ports’ ability to attract economic activities as well as the extent of their effect on a port’s efficiency? The methodology uses the data envelopment analysis (DEA) output-oriented model following a cross-sectional approach. The research conducts two modeling approaches, the CCR and the BCC model. The analysis goes deeper and compares port efficiency estimates in relation to medium-sized and large ports’ classification and their total market share. The main findings indicated an average efficiency of 0.88 and 0.89 assuming constant and variable returns of scale, respectively, implying that the ports can increase their output levels up to approximately 1.2 times without any change in their inputs. Full article

Seismic isolation is a powerful tool for mitigating seismic risk and improving structural performance. However, some parameters, such as earthquake inputs and soil characteristics, influence the technology’s performance. This research aims to investigate the effects of soil–structure interaction (SSI) with regard to different moderate earthquakes associated with different distances of the source to the site, frequency content, and different soil characteristics on the seismic response of the isolated bridges. Near-fault (NF) and far-field (FF) records are applied to the conventional and isolated bridge with and without considering the underlying soil. For this reason, using the direct and simplified methods, three soil properties representing rock, dense, and stiff soils are modeled in Abaqus software. Nonlinear time history analysis (NLTHA) is carried out, and structural responses of both approaches in terms of maximum deck acceleration, base shear, and displacement of the deck and the isolation system are studied. Results demonstrate that the difference between the two approaches is significant. Using the simplified method is a rather simple approach that roughly captures the important features of the record characteristics and SSI. Furthermore, careful attention should be paid to the base shear responses and the isolator displacement demands, as they are significantly amplified in softer soils. In addition, the peak ground acceleration to peak ground velocity ratio (PGA/PGV) plays a decisive role in all dynamic responses. Records with a lower PGA/PGV ratio cause higher dynamic responses in terms of displacement and acceleration/force, regardless of the distance of the ruptured fault, while NF records show higher dynamic responses compared to FF records. Full article