79 publications from this institution
Sewage sludge is a product of wastewater treatment plants.This study aims to evaluate adding different percentages of sewage sludge as a weight ratio to gypsum soil to develop some physical and mechanical soil properties.Samples of soil were obtained from the city of Ramadi, and the sewage sludge was accumulated directly at the Al-Rustamiyah wastewater treatment plant located north of Baghdad, Iraq.The laboratory experiment was undertaken on the original gypsum soil samples and the soil treated with sewage sludge ash.This study also involves testing XRF and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (ESD) of the sewage sludge material.There was a rise in the liquid limit and plasticity index for Atterberg limits.The compaction results indicated increased maximum dry density and optimal moisture content.The optimum unconfined compressive strength (UCS) value is obtained by adding 20% of sewage sludge.The best maximum dry density was achieved with 20% sewage sludge ash.After adding sewage sludge ash, the dry density of gypsum soil increased significantly to 1.65 g/cm 3 .Also, the optimum water content is gradually increasing.The bearing capacity ratio for the untreated soil was 5%, and the California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values were recorded as 22.3% for the gypsum soil treated with SSA at 20% with a curing time of 14 days.There is a significant increase in cohesion values with between 10 and 20 percent of the sewage sludge added to the soil.This increase has a significant effect on engineering soil behaviour.The elements are found in sewage sludge ash, based on XRF, EDS, and SEM tests: Si (10.5%),Al (3.6%), Ca (15%), and Fe (6.2%).Sewage sludge can be used successfully as an additive to improve the properties of gypseous soils by a weight ratio of 20%.
The construction industry has been broadly developed and improved over the last decades.One of the functional innovations in this sector is the employment of steel fibers.This work assesses the impacts of using Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (SFRC) on the properties of hollow-core slabs.The hollow core slab (HCS) is considered in this research.Also, this study explored the influence of utilizing some SFRC fractions on the characteristics of hollow-core slabs.Four case studies were addressed, including (A) Conventional concrete, (B) Concrete with Type 1 SFRC, (C) Concrete with Type 2 of SFRC with a ratio of 0.5%, and (D) Concrete with Type 2 with a portion of 1%.ANSYS software package was used to guide numerical analysis and modeling of HCS and identify major parameters that affect the HCS performance with the help of Finite Element Analysis (FEA).Depending on the numerical results, it was found that using SFRC between 0.5% and 1% in concrete tubes tested numerically provided significant rates of durability, minimized deflection, and enhanced the mechanical behavior of concrete.Furthermore, the work outcomes confirmed that optimum displacement was attained when the SFRC ratio was 1.5%, corresponding to load values of 25 kN to 200 kN.Besides, the findings affirmed that using the first type of SFRC accomplished a considerable decline in the deflection of concrete.Deflection reduction ratios of 4.16% and 6.23% were obtained after adding the first and second types of SFRC into the reinforced hollow concrete core, respectively.Meanwhile, adding the first and second types of SFRP into non-reinforced hollow concrete core accomplished a reduction portion of 12.2% and 20.39%, respectively.
This study aims to explore the impact of construction managers' political skills on the relationship between quality management practices and the success of inter-organizational construction projects in Pakistan. Objectively, it examines how project managers' political acumen influences the effectiveness of quality management strategies and, consequently, project success. Employing a survey-based methodology, the research encompasses a broad spectrum of professionals involved in various construction projects across Pakistan. Through this analysis, the study identifies key challenges to project success and assesses the correlation between managerial political skills and the effective implementation of quality management practices. The findings reveal a notable positive relationship between these elements, highlighting the critical role of skills such as communication, stakeholder management, and conflict resolution. Additionally, the research underscores the interconnected nature of managerial competencies and identifies key factors impacting project success through advanced statistical techniques like principal component analysis and median absolute deviation. Significantly, this research provides novel insights into the role of human factors in the Pakistani construction industry's project management, proposing actionable strategies for skill enhancement and offering a comprehensive overview of factors influencing project success. These findings not only show the current skills and practices landscape but also lay the groundwork for future research and strategy implementation to boost industry-wide success. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2024-010-01-019 Full Text: PDF
Although water has an indispensable place for people to survive, it is a destructive substance that has negative effects for structures. Although the places that need the greatest strength in the structures are the basics and basements, the water that does the greatest damage to the structures is the groundwater that affects the foundations and basements. For this reason, underground water protection systems should be applied in the structures. If necessary studies are carried out and precautions are not taken, groundwater affects the structure in various ways and causes adverse situations in the structure over time. Waterproofing practices that are not made or miscarried significantly reduce building life, threaten human safety and health, cause irreversible problems in building safety. Therefore, what protection systems against groundwater systems, system characteristics, uses and principles are discussed in the structures. Accordingly, the materials used in waterproofing applications are classified and their characteristics, application procedures and bases are explained. This study will help learn material classes and uses and will soliden the choice of accurate waterproofing practices and materials.
Bu çalışmada, mevcut eski binalarda saha çalışmaları sonucu kentsel dönüşüm kanunu ile riskli yapı tespitlerinde kullanılmak üzere yapılan donatı tespitleri ve malzeme değerlerinin deneysel verileri kullanılmıştır. Kullanım türü konut olan beş katlı iki bina üzerinde elde edilen deneysel veriler kullanılarak Deprem Bölgelerinde Yapılacak Binalar Hakkında Yönetmelik 2007(DBYBHY2007)’ e göre doğrusal olmayan hesap yöntemleri uygulanarak güçlendirme uygulanmıştır. Güçlendirme Sta4Cad programı kullanılarak yapılmış olup elde edilen deneysel değerlerin ve zemin parametrelerinin programa girilmesi ile analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Doğrusal olmayan analiz yöntemlerinden artımsal eşdeğer deprem yükü yöntemi(aedyy) ve artımsal mod birleştirme yöntemi(amby) kıllanılarak mevcut binaların performans seviyeleri can güvenliği performans seviyesini sağlayacak değerlere çıkarılmıştır. 1 ve 2 numaralı bina ayrı ayrı sadece mantolama ve perde duvar uygulanarak güçlendirilmiştir. Binaların mantolama ve perde duvar uygulanmış analiz sonuçları kendi aralarında karşılaştırılmıştır.
Turkey in terms of location, is located in an active earthquake zone. The safety of buildings against earthquakes is important. Risky structures need to be identified and made resistant to earthquakes.There are also rapid screening methods for rapid use of post-earthquake structures and analysis of risk situations. Heavy damage assessment is made after the earthquake in Turkey. The original methods used in these studies were used. Bending and shearing damages are prominent in the detection work. It is aimed to make observational analysis on a structure by making use of the fast scanning methods and the methods used in heavy damage assessment studies after the earthquake. The structure examined within the scope of this analysis is located in Kadıköy District of Istanbul and was built in 1991. To determine the risk situation of the building, an observational analysis was made and it was concluded that it was risky. It has been understood that post-earthquake damage assessment studies can be used to detect risky structures, so that fast and economical determinations can be made. It is recommended to make fast revision methods for the determination of risky structures and to make revisions and additions in accordance with the methods used in post-earthquake damage assessment studies.
Journal Article Evaluation of a New Method for Cardiovascular Reasoning Get access William J. Long, PhD, William J. Long, PhD Affiliations of the authors: MIT Laboratory for Computer science, Cambridge, MA (WJL); New England Medical Center and Tufts University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA (SN, MGC) Correspondence and reprints: William J. Long, PhD, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, 545 Technology Square, Room 420A, Cambridge, MA 02139. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Shapur Naimi, MD, Shapur Naimi, MD Affiliations of the authors: MIT Laboratory for Computer science, Cambridge, MA (WJL); New England Medical Center and Tufts University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA (SN, MGC) Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar M. G. Criscitiello, MD M. G. Criscitiello, MD Affiliations of the authors: MIT Laboratory for Computer science, Cambridge, MA (WJL); New England Medical Center and Tufts University, School of Medicine, Boston, MA (SN, MGC) Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Volume 1, Issue 2, March 1994, Pages 127–141, https://doi.org/10.1136/jamia.1994.95236144 Published: 01 March 1994 Article history Received: 06 July 1993 Accepted: 10 November 1993 Published: 01 March 1994
Sustainable construction has evolved into a global priority to mitigate the impacts of climate change, as the construction industry significantly contributes to environmental degradation and the overexploitation of resources. This study considers the effects on sustainability, particularly the inadequate management of resources, the ecological impact, and the anticipated degradation of the structures, all of which are due to the omission of the structural analysis during the design phase of the reinforced concrete (RC) structure. A methodical survey was conducted in three major cities among 258 professionals in the construction sector in Burundi, a developing country that has suffered socio-political and infrastructural challenges. The study examines the impact of these challenges on construction results. Quantitative analysis was carried out using SPSS v.30 and Amos 26 Software. For this research, reliability analysis, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test (KMO), Bartlett test, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and the Relative Importance Index (RII) were used to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the data. The results indicate that many projects are taking place in the absence of proper structural analysis due to financial constraints, poor quality materials, lack of qualified personnel, poor enforcement of regulations, and insufficient monitoring. These parameters have led to structural deficiencies compromising sustainability. The study recommends that government agencies, professional construction workers, and building owners improve regulation, teaching effectiveness, and professional responsibility to ensure that fundamental practices, such as structural analysis and the use of right sustainable materials, are logically applied to improve public safety and environmental resilience.
In die-casting molds, heat-checking is the typical failure mechanism. Optimizing the parameters that decrease this failure venture should be considered when designing and heat treating steels. The quality of die steels and their treatment continue to improve. This research investigated properties of the traditional materials 1.2343 and 1.2344 and the new steels (Dievar and TOOLOX 44) when applied to the die-casting mold specimens, after different experimental cycles. Also microstructures of the mentioned materials were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test. Chrome-molybdenum-silicon-vanadium steels have good hardening ability in oil and in air. Therefore, the hot-work steels have considerable toughness and plastic attributes through both regular and higher temperatures. So, it is a good traditional die-casting material. However, another special die steel, such as Dievar, is a particularly developed steel grade; its exclusivity profile is exceptional due to its chemical composition and the use of the latest production techniques. Dievar has good heat-checking and gross-cracking resistance as a result of both high toughness and good hot strength. An additional material, a new prehardened tool steel known as TOOLOX 44, exhibits control of the failure described above by optimizing the parameters of impact toughness that could reduce the heat-checking failures. A variety of heat treatment parameters exist for various reasons because the heat treatment operation is performed by a variety of companies. This issue of the diversity in heat treatments is resolved by TOOLOX 44; this steel is quenched and tempered in delivered state.
Bu çalışmanın amacı, zeminlerde birçok bağıntıda değişken olarak kullanılan birim hacim ağırlık değerinin karşılaştırılması ve sonucunda deneysel değerlere karşılık gelen ampirik değere en yakın katsayının bulunmasıdır. Bu amaçla birim hacim ağırlık değerleri tespit edilirken yaklaşık aynı zemin koşulları olacak şekilde farklı bağıntılarla hesaplanan ya da deneysel yöntem uygulanarak elde edilen sonuçlar değerlendirilmiştir. Deneysel yöntemler ve ampirik yaklaşımlarla türetilen tüm eşitlikler incelendiğinde (zeminler sınıflandırıldığında), literatürde kullanılan tahmini birim hacim ağırlık değerleri ile boyuna dalga (Vp) hızından elde edilen birim hacim ağırlık değerleri arasında ilişkinin düşük olduğu, buna karşılık deneysel yöntemlerle bulunan birim hacim ağırlık değerinin yüksek olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. İki sonuç arasındaki ilişkiye dayanarak deneysel yöntemlerle elde edilen değerin güvenilir olduğu kabul edilerek Vp hızından elde edilen bağıntıya bir katsayı atanmıştır. Bu sebeple daha hızlı ve maliyeti düşük olan sismik yöntemlerden birim hacim ağırlık değerinin tahmin edilmesi önerilmiştir.
In recent years the number of medium rise buildings is slowly increasing in North Cyprus. As a result, the need to use new construction materials and technologies is becoming more essential. Using hot rolled steel and cold rolled galvanized light gauge steel for building frames are two of the possible alternatives to reinforced concrete building frames currently used in the market. The number of steel framed buildings so far is less than five percent of all the buildings. Steel is an imported material. It is mainly used for the industrial buildings, either as truss roof system and/or complete portal frame and/or truss roof steel framed single storey structures. The engineers are not knowledgeable enough, the lack of training, inadequate fabrication facilities and many years of having used to reinforced concrete framed structures are the main reasons for engineers not using enough steel framed structures. The first part of this paper investigates the problems and possible solution of steel usage for structures in North Cyprus by analysing the number of buildings constructed after the year 2000. The second part summarizes the problems relating to the local reinforced concrete framed building construction, including inadequacies of repair, quality control, material quality and isolation of buildings from the external effects. Sustainability, stability and repair aspects for steel structures in comparison to reinforced concrete structures in North Cyprus are also briefly discussed in this paper.
A total of four reinforced concrete (RC) columns were tested to compare the structural capacities of RC columns produced by natural perlite aggregates and conventional concrete. The structural performance of the RC columns made from natural perlite aggregates were compared for to conventional RC columns regarding the same concrete strength levels, sectional properties, and reinforcement layouts of conventional RC columns. The RC columns were tested under a combined constant axial load ratio of 30% with cyclic loading for two concrete strength levels, namely, of 25 and 40 MPa. Load-displacement curves, energy absorption capacities, stiffness degradation, the moment-curvature relationship, the plastic hinge mechanism and the ductility index were experimentally obtained at two different concrete types along with the measured stress-strain properties of the conventional and perlite concrete. The test results showed that the construction of the RC columns using only perlite may become possible in future by providing an adequate concrete stress-strain capacity, which will be improved.
This study assessed the quality of groundwater in south of Basrah governorate from three regions (Zubair, Safwan and um-Qaser), as well as its expediency for drinking purposes and irrigation.Fifty groundwater specimens from various locations were, whereas their physical and chemical parameters were assessed.The WQI was used to measure overall water quality, and the results were displayed using GIS.The calculation of the Water Quality Index (WQI) took twelve physiochemical parameters into account, including pH, EC, TDS, TH, Ca +2 , Mg +2 , Na + , K + , SO 4-2 , Cl -, HCO 3 -and NO 3 -.The groundwater in Basrah was found to be of generally low quality, with significant levels of salinity, hardness, and TDS.The groundwater in the research region was not fit for human consumption, according to (WHO, 2011) standards for drinking water.Applying WQI revealed that, with the exception of two wells, the ground water in the research area was classed as very poor-unsuitable type.The GIS analysis assisted in identifying the places with the best water quality and those with the most serious issues.The groundwater of research region was used for irrigation purposes.The indices considered included SAR, SSP AND MH%.The groundwater from the study area is generally in good condition and may be utilized for irrigation, as shown by the estimated water indices when compared to the accepted standards.
There are several environmental, economic, and energy reasons why RC is gaining popularity around the world. Key environmental problems include the potential for groundwater contamination due to the washing out of fresh concrete brought back from project sites, as well as the loss of natural sources of high-quality aggregate materials. The RC concrete (RCA) impact on the fundamental characteristics of traditional con-crete is investigated besides the effect of different ratio effects of water-cement (w/c). The concrete as crushed rubble obtained from several Iraqi demolition sites and landfills is utilized to examine the properties of (RCA). This work utilized sand as natural, and concrete as crushed from various sources as aggregates around Baghdad city. A total of forty-five concrete mixtures were cast into nine groups. Groups were created to examine the impact of recycled coarse aggregate (CA) quality/content, dosage of cement, and w/c ratio. Strengths of compressing and splitting, and modulus of elastic tests were conducted. The findings demon-strated that the concrete rubble (CR) may be turned into recycled aggregate (RC) and utilized in the concrete manufacturing with qualities adequate for the vast majority of structural concrete applications in Iraq. Fur-thermore, the concrete strength has decreased by 6% to 30%, depending on the proportion of RC utilized to replace natural aggregate and the w/c ratio.
