Challenge For Civil Engineers Research Articles

IMPROVING THE ENGINEERING PROPERTIES OF CLAYEY SOIL USING SILICA FUME AND SISAL FIBER

Building on soft soils continues to be a challenge for civil engineers in the modern world, despite the rapid development of infrastructure projects and advancements in construction technology. They exhibit a large volumetric change upon contact with water, which is the cause of their limited bearing capacity. Various stabilization strategies can be used to handle the soft clay's shear strength issue. In this experiment, sisal fibers and silica fumes were added in different amounts to the clay soil in order to determine the ideal moisture content and strength parameters for reaching the maximum dry density of the soil. By adjusting the amount of sisal fiber for each amount of silica fume, the Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) test has been used to examine the strength of both natural clay and clay modified with silica fume (6%, 12%, 18%) and sisal fibers (0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%) separately, as well as the combination of all the materials. Using a small compaction device, standard proctor test was used to determine the ideal moisture content and maximum dry density. According to the test results, the maximum dry density falls with increasing silica fume content likewise, the maximum dry density increases with increasing sisal fiber content. The addition of 12% silica fume and 2.0% sisal fiber to the clay sample results in a maximum strength when taking the strength parameter into account. Key Words: Compaction test, CBR, UCS, Silica fume, Sisal Fiber

Model Studies on Settlement of an Expansive Soil Slope Stabilized with GGBS

Expansive soils present significant challenges in civil engineering due to their tendency to undergo volumetric changes with variations in moisture content, often resulting in slope instability and settlement issues. This study investigates the effectiveness of stabilizing expansive soil slopes using Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) as an additive. The research employs laboratory-scale model studies to simulate the behaviour of expansive soil slopes subjected to varying levels of GGBS stabilization. The settlement characteristics of the stabilized slopes are analysed under different loading conditions and moisture contents. Experimental results indicate that the incorporation of GGBS enhances the properties of expansive soils, reducing settlement and improving slope stability. The findings contribute to the understanding of sustainable solutions for mitigating settlement issues in expansive soil slopes, offering insights for practical applications in geotechnical engineering.

Optimum Design of Reinforced Concrete Beams with Large Opening Using Neural Network Algorithm

It is quite rare to find researches in the literature connecting neural networks to design challenges in civil engineering, particularly with regard to beam with large openings. Therefore, to ascertain the best cost design for such a beam, an optimization technique is developed, written using MATLAB functions, and verified in this study. Because of the efficiency and dependability of the iterative Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) process, the ACI 318-19 code method is adopted via this algorithm. Using four beam design (decision) variables, which are: beam width b, longitudinal tension reinforcement area As, longitudinal compression reinforcement area A’s, and vertical shear reinforcement area Av; the objective is to minimize the overall beam cost function. The constraints for each of the 60 randomly chosen particles are handled using the self-adaptive penalty function technique, which is applied in all the 100 iterations for each of the four proposed beam design case studies with identical openings. For the developed method, completing all iterations serves as a stopping criterion. Comparative studies are conducted to demonstrate how the compressive strength of concrete and the live load scheme affect the optimal overall beam cost and the associated design variables. The relations between cost of beams and the four design variables, which are presented through graphs and tables, indicate that the beam’s cost is significantly impacted by the loading condition. This is shown by increasing the cost of beam B1, with no sustained live loads, from 722 US dollars to 984 US dollars for beam B4, which has concentrated and distributed sustained live loads. Future research is advised to include modern strengthening techniques for beams with openings, and apply this research to a PSO algorithm with several objectives.

MIVES Technique for Sustainability Assessment in Architecture and Civil Engineering Industries

A subfield of computer science called artificial intelligence studies, develops, and uses intelligent computers. Massive computational resources are needed for complicated structure system modeling and optimization using traditional approaches; nevertheless, Artificial intelligence-driven solutions can often provide practical substitutes for efficiently addressing challenges in civil engineering. This paper presents a study that examines the merits and requirements of multidisciplinary collaboration between architecture and civil engineering students, focusing on the distinctions and overlaps in their aesthetic assessments and visual preferences. To illustrate the difficulties facing the Spanish Combined Value Model for Sustainability Assessment (MIVES), this research study synthesizes the different approaches for sustainability assessment for the construction industry and compares their advantages and disadvantages. The value function concept and expert seminars serve as the foundation for the Multi-Criteria Decision Making technique known as MIVES. Research indicates that the primary areas of interest for artificial intelligence studies in civil engineering are design optimization and structural maintenance and management. Finally, the primary research trends are also highlighted. An overview of artificial intelligence's advancements in civil engineering is given in this paper.

Using Digital Twin Technology to Overcome Challenges in Civil Engineering and Construction: A Review

The purpose of this review article is to address the existing knowledge gap by presenting an extensive overview of the diverse uses of digital technology (DT) in the fields of construction and civil engineering. Additionally, it seeks to demonstrate how DT can effectively mitigate the challenges faced by the sector. A comprehensive review is conducted by collating insights from recent research papers across the globe and providing a holistic, time-efficient, and tailored understanding of the Digital Twin Technology in Civil Engineering and Construction. The review spanned critical areas including infrastructure construction, structural health monitoring, energy efficiency in buildings, seismic evaluation of buildings, safety of heritage buildings, and the diverse applications of digital twins in construction design, monitoring and management. This study acts as a thorough guide for experts, providing them with a consolidated source of knowledge. With the construction industry's complicated difficulties, understanding how digital twins might provide solutions is crucial. Professionals can use this technology to assure not only efficiency but also sustainability, which is becoming increasingly important in today's environment.

Critical Failure Mode Determination of Steel Moment Frames by Plastic Analysis Optimization Principles

Determining the failure or failure mode of structures has long been a challenge for civil engineers. Traditional methods for analyzing structures are costly and complex. Plastic analysis, which involves combining pre-defined mechanisms, offers a less complex approach. However, as the number of potential mechanism combinations, or the search space, increases with the growing complexity of structural members, the effectiveness of this method diminishes. To address this issue, optimizers have been applied in the field of structural engineering to efficiently solve problems with large search spaces. Population-based meta-heuristic algorithms are widely used for their reduced dependency on input parameters. This research focuses on implementing the plastic theory of steel frames using MATLAB software, employing virtual work concepts and pre-defined mechanism combinations. A novel binary dolphin echolocation algorithm is proposed based on the principles of the primary algorithm. This algorithm is then utilized to optimize the plastic analysis method and determine the failure load factor and critical failure mode for sample frames. Additionally, the grey wolf optimizer and whale optimization algorithm are applied to optimize the problem, and the performance of all three algorithms is compared. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm yields accurate results with a minor margin of error compared to the other two algorithms.

Bibliometric and Knowledge Network of Global Research on Pile Foundations: A Review of Recent Developments

Foundation on soft soil has always been a challenge for civil engineers and pile foundation is by far the most suitable and comprehensive idea for construction on soft soil. In this study, we produced a comprehensive overview of pile foundation research from 1992 to 2021 by making use of bibliometric analysis. This study was conducted based on the Web of Science Core Collection Database. In this analysis, data were retrieved and then sieved for different parameters to organize the data into various categories by means of Excel and VOS viewer. The objective of the research was to make an explanatory data set in order to help researchers in the pile foundation area. A database of 4803 publications has been retrieved. The analysis results show that the People’s Republic of China has yielded the greatest number of publications. Studies in this period are focusing on key factors associated with pile foundations such as soil structure interaction, pile group, settlement, liquefaction, bearing capacity etc. as suggested by the keywords analyzed in these publications. Analysis of the most cited articles in the field of Geotechnical and Geoenvironmental Engineering reveals that the research area has expanded from analyzing axial behavior and strength of pile foundations to analyzing seismic responses, further moving to sustainable structure and artificial intelligence applications in the concerned field in the last 30 years.

Numerical Modelling for effect of rainfall on unsaturated soil slopes

Expansive soils are predominant in many parts of the world. Expansive soil treated as problematic soils, as economic and design a safe slope on expansive soils is major challenge for civil engineers. Expansive soils were compacted under unsaturated condition, in various construction projects. Major failures reported in many countries around the world are due to swell shrinkage characteristics causing unstable slopes. Fills and compacted soils have an inherent suction when they are first compacted. The suction is the most important factor which affects the shear strength of unsaturated soil. variation of suction in unsaturated soil is an important factor considered for solving issues like slope stability and bearing capacity failure in unsaturated soil. Rainwater infiltration are major triggering factor for failureof expansive soil slopes. The strength of unsaturated soil changes with water evaporation and infiltration. Due to infiltration of rainwater into the soil a significant change in the pore water takes place. Hence, this fluctuation in pore water pressure responsible for the distinct mechanical behavior of unsaturated soil under different Geotechnical problems.A numerical modeling was done with Plaxis LE software, considering parameters of unsaturated soil. As the changes in pore-water pressure and moisture content are a function of the flow of moisture through the soil-atmosphere boundary.The effect of soil type, rainfall intensity, location of ground water table, permeability functionsareconsidered to reproduce the soil-atmosphere interaction. Obtain results illustrates the combine effect of suction and increase of saturation due to rainfall on slopes. It was observed that rainfall increase the induced matric suction and increase the positive pore water pressure finally results in slope failures.

Effect in mechanical and physical properties of bricks due to addition of waste polyethylene terephthalate

The research article constitutes distinct approach of usage of waste materials in redesigning of engineering bricks. Due to the expanding population, a high demand for brick has been placed exclusively on the building material industry, resulting in a chronic shortage of red clay bricks. The challenge for civil engineers is how waste can be converted to useful building and construction material. This is a radical step towards sustainable and ecological conservation of natural resource. Moreover, this also contributes to the depletion of pollution and safeguard of landfills. The study involves establishment of limitation of plastic waste in a standard brick to achieve better performance and to avoid shrinkage and cracks. The properties of waste bricks were tested such as density, compressive strength, water absorption, Impact value, efflorescence, rebound hammer, penetration value and shrinkage. The article involves the sample in two categories; first category involves the cement-clay bricks and the second category have the plastic waste brick with 20 % and 25 % plastic content. The maximum strength of 20WCB bricks is 52 MPa. The plastic brick is penetrated around 7 mm after 32 min of complete setting. Around 4 % water absorption is seen in waste plastic bricks. It has been seen that the strength value of plastic brick with other masonry bricks are much better. The result demonstrates that by including smash type plastic waste into bricks can result in a significant improvement in brick performance. The positive perspective is favourable to furnish waste and endurance of solutions in construction industry.

The finite element modeling of rigid inclusion-supported embankment

Abstract The design of supported embankments on soft soil is a common challenge for civil engineers. This article aims to evaluate the performance of three advanced constitutive models for predicting the behavior of soft soils, i.e., hardening soil, hardening soil model with small-strain stiffness, and soft soil creep. A case study of a rigid inclusion-supported embankment is used for this purpose. Plaxis 3D program was adopted to predict the settlements in subsoil layers and vertical stresses in the load transfer platform. Comparison between field measurements and result of Plaxis 3D modeling was performed. Results demonstrate that soft soil creep model yields predictions in a good agreement with the field measurements, while hardening soil small strain model gives slightly worst predictions.

Reduced and test-data correlated FE-models of a large timber truss with dowel-type connections aimed for dynamic analyses at serviceability level

The rise of wood buildings in the skylines of cities forces structural dynamic and timber experts to team up to solve one of the new civil-engineering challenges, namely comfort at the higher levels, in light weight buildings, with respect to wind-induced vibrations. Large laminated timber structures with mechanical joints are exposed to turbulent horizontal excitation with most of the wind energy blowing around the lowest resonance frequencies of 50 to 150 m tall buildings. Good knowledge of the spatial distribution of mass, stiffness and damping is needed to predict and mitigate the sway in lighter, flexible buildings. This paper presents vibration tests and reductions of a detailed FE-model of a truss with dowel-type connections leading to models that will be useful for structural engineers. The models also enable further investigations about the parameters of the slotted-in steel plates and dowels connections governing the dynamical response of timber trusses.

Investigation of ANN architecture for predicting the compressive strength of concrete containing GGBFS.

An extensive simulation program is used in this study to discover the best ANN model for predicting the compressive strength of concrete containing Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS). To accomplish this purpose, an experimental database of 595 samples is compiled from the literature and utilized to find the best ANN architecture. The cement content, water content, coarse aggregate content, fine aggregate content, GGBFS content, carboxylic type hyper plasticizing content, superplasticizer content, and testing age are the eight inputs in this database. As a result, the optimal selection of the ANN design is carried out and evaluated using conventional statistical metrics. The results demonstrate that utilizing the best architecture [8–14–4–1] among the 240 investigated architectures, and the best ANN model, is a very efficient predictor of the compressive strength of concrete using GGBFS, with a maximum R2 value of 0.968 on the training part and 0.965 on the testing part. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is performed over 500 Monte Carlo simulations using the best ANN model to determine the reliability of ANN model in predicting the compressive strength of concrete. The findings of this research may make it easier and more efficient to apply the ANN model to many civil engineering challenges.

Shear Strength Characteristics of Recycled Concrete Aggregate and Recycled Tire Waste Mixtures from Monotonic Triaxial Tests.

Recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) is a promising substitute for natural aggregates and the reuse of this material can benefit construction projects both economically and environmentally. RCA has received great attention in recent years in the form of aggregate as well as a geotechnical material of sand size. Next to RCA, another recycled material, which reduces the waste volume and is a part of the present challenges in civil engineering, is tire waste. Despite the good engineering properties of recycled tire waste (RTW), its use is still limited, even after almost 30 years since they were first introduced. To broaden the applicability of reused concrete and rubber, a further understanding of their properties and engineering behavior is required. For this reason, the main subject of this paper is composite materials that consist of anthropogenic soil recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) and crushed pieces of recycled tire waste (RTW). In this study, a series of isotropic consolidated drained triaxial tests were undertaken to characterize the shear strength of eight mixtures of variable grain-size distribution, rubber inclusion (RC), and fine fraction (FF) content. The results show that the introduction of rubber waste leads to changes in the strength parameters of the tested mixtures. Improvements in RCA shear strength were observed, the largest for the mixture M7 with 10% of recycled tire waste. Similarly, the effect of fine fraction content on the angle of internal friction and cohesion was found. Dilation characteristics were observed in all analyzed composites. Based on the results of all tests performed, including physical, geometric, chemical, and mechanical properties of the created composites, it can be stated that the samples would meet local road authority requirements for sub-base applications.

Geometric imperfections of additive manufactured members

Challenges in civil engineering and construction industries increase, and simultaneously it is necessary to provide a sustainable utilization of resources. Optimising material applications and manufacturing processes is therefore essential for modern constructions. Highly optimised structural components are already in use in lightweight constructions as well as in aircraft and vehicle industries. In the course of digitisation, new possibilities have evolved in recent years for producing individual and optimized solutions with regard to the consumption of materials, especially in construction industries. Methods of generative or additive manufacturing are employed to develop various prototypes of structural components. In this context, Wire-Arc-Additive-Manufacturing (WAAM) is a promising method for steel structures. However, it remains to be investigated to what extent dimensional accuracy, surface finish, weld quality and repeated thermal influences from the build-up process affect the structural behaviour of corresponding members. This paper deals with the geometric imperfections of corresponding additively manufactured profiles and exemplifies their influence on the bearing capacity.

Experimental Study on PCC Beams Strengthened With External Wrapping of Basalt Fibre Reinforced Polymer (BFRP)

Infrastructure plays a vital role in development for recent times and humiliation of structural materials that is caused by some environmental effects has to be protected by strengthening of structures. One of the finest challenges in Civil Engineering is strengthening and rehabilitation of existing structures. There are various rehabilitation technique such as external wrapping of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) have been developed. At initial period, strengthening has been done externally using steel plates bonded to the tension side and it has numerous difficulties including durability, manipulation, and heavy weight. The main aim of the study is to investigate the flexural behavior of the PCC beam with respect to orientation of the wrapped basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP). A sequence of 12 PCC beams with 500mm as its length, 100mm as its width and 100mm as its depth are cast with M25 grade concrete. All the 12 specimens are cured for a period of 28 days. Of the 12 PCC beams two beams are control specimens and a comparative study on the orientation of the fiber such as wrapped tension zone, shear zone, U shaped-1, U shaped-2, and fully wrapped are used on the specimen. The fiber is to be wrapped according to the orientation of the beam with epoxy resin. The experimental results shows that PCC beam that is wrapped as U shaped – 2 Shows higher Flexural strength compared to all other fabric orientations. BFRP Fully wrapped beam gives minimum Load carrying capacity when compare with other fabrics. U shaped – 2 orientation has higher load carrying capacity and economical as compared to fully wrapped and all other modes of orientations.

Preface

Department of Civil Engineering, Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai in association with IEI Student chapter has organized a Virtual International Conference on INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS AND CHALLENGES IN CIVIL ENGINEERING on 21 st and 22 nd August 2020. The two day international conference has provided opportunity to enrich and share the knowledge and novel ideas for sustainable development of the society. Renowned speakers from various countries such as Australia, Africa, Kuwait, USA, shared their knowledge in their area of expertise. The conference invited professionals, scientists, academicians, research scholars, industrialists and students to contribute their original research work in the areas but not limited to the following themes.Theme1. Structural and Construction EngineeringTheme2. Geotechnical and Geological Sciences.Theme3. Environmental and Water Resources ManagementTheme4. Transportation EngineeringTheme5. 3D PrintingTheme6. Artificial Intelligence & Internet of Things (IOT)Theme7. Public health and AwarenessList of Key Note Speakers, Expert Committee are available in this pdf.

REPAIR OF FLEXURAL DAMAGED REINFORCED CONCRETE BEAMS USING EMBEDDED BAMBOO REINFORCED EPOXY COMPOSITE

In recent years, repair and retrofit of existing structures such as buildings and bridges have been among the most important challenges in Civil Engineering. Strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) members with steel plates is a conventional method that has been adopted for decades. The corrosive nature of steel plates, its weight and the need for many anchor bolts for attachment makes it inefficient for retrofitting damaged structures. Thus, there is a need to source for an alternative material which does not corrode and still be used in the strengthening of reinforced concrete. Bamboo Reinforced Epoxy Composite (BREC) was used to repair five (5) damaged reinforced concrete beams in this research. Two of the beams were preloaded to 40 % and 60 % of the ultimate load before strengthening with BREC and all the beams were loaded to failure. The RC beams implanted with BREC rods experienced a rise in their load carrying capacity when tested. Beams preloaded up to 40 % and 60 % had an increase in flexural strength of 33.7 % and 39.3 % respectively when compared with beams reinforced with steel reinforcements. BREC rods in concrete is an effective method in increasing the flexural strength of RC beams.

FRCM-confined masonry columns: experimental investigation on the effect of the inorganic matrix properties

Nowadays, the strengthening and the retrofitting are crucial issues in the civil engineering challenge for structural conservation. Innovative techniques, using fiber reinforced polymers (FRPs) composites, have been proven to be very effective in a wide range of applications. However, the organic matrix appears to be inadequate because of its difficult reversibility, especially when referring to historical masonry buildings. In this perspective, a new generation of strengthening systems has been studied, known as fabric reinforced cementitious matrices (FRCMs). They generally consist in a dry fabric-based reinforcement (typically an open-grid or a textile) embedded in an inorganic matrix.The present paper reports and analyses the experimental results on FRCM-confined masonry columns subjected to centred compression test. The main goal of this research consists in evaluating the role of the inorganic matrix in determining the effectiveness of FRCM-confinement. For this purpose, three different inorganic matrices, having different compressive strength, have been considered and used for confining a poor-quality masonry column. The different increases of the axial strength, due to the differences of the compressive strength of the matrices of the FRCM-system, have been assessed. Finally, the experimental results have been compared with the theoretical predictions obtained from the application of an analytical model, available in the literature.

What are the New Challenges in Civil Engineering?

What are the New Challenges in Civil Engineering?

Green initiative in Suranaree University of Technology in Thailand

Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) has participated in the Universitas Indonesia (UI) GreenMetric World University Rankings since 2013. It attempts to pursue campus sustainability programs and policies. The rankings is broadly based on the frameworks of environment, economy, and equity. The measurement criteria are divided into six categories with different point weighting i.e. setting and infrastructure, energy and climate change, waste, water, transportation, and education. These criteria heavily and directly involve the tasks and responsibilities of SUT's the Division of Buildings and Ground. A lot of environmental challenges in civil engineering and infrastructure works need to be achieved. The results of this year self-assessment show that although the university is in the developing stage, it can preserve both natural and planted forests more than 90%. It takes seriously role in green initiative by contributing 30% of total budget on sustainable efforts each year. It receives four national awards in the recognition of energy conservation initiative for green buildings. The university establishes the Integrated Solid Waste Management Plant (ISWM Plant) based on mechanical and biological treatment (MBT) which turns general wastes into valuable and sellable refuse-derived fuel (RDF). Moreover, these sustainable movements are in the continuous improvement process.