Largest Civil Engineering Projects Research Articles

Geotechnical Characterization of Quito’s North-Central Zone as Applied to Deep Excavation in the Urban Setting

This paper describes an in-depth soil characterization study in the La Carolina financial district of Quito (Ecuador). As there was very little information available on the geotechnical structure of Quito’s volcanic soil, particularly in this area, where large-scale property development has taken place, the aim was to provide information on soil parameters to engineers working on large geotechnical and civil engineering projects based on the results of a thorough and comprehensive study of such properties. A series of field tests were performed at three different sites, where thin-walled tube samples were collected for lab testing to estimate the index properties and mechanical parameters. These index properties were then combined with conventional two-way drainage oedometer tests and stress-path triaxial testing to evaluate compressibility, stiffness and strength. The subsoil was found to be partly composed of slightly overconsolidated volcanic soils. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses were also conducted to determine mineralogical and microstructural features and evaluate their influence on the mechanical behavior of the volcanic soil. This type of research is frequently applied to the study of landslides in urban environments, where it is essential to understand their failure mechanisms, especially in slopes generated by the construction of important engineering works. Therefore, based on this geotechnical characterization study, parameters were subsequently determined for the Mohr–Coulomb (MC), Hardening Soil (HS), and Hardening Soil with Small-Strain Stiffness (HSsmall) soil constitutive models, and these were applied to a numerical study of the Soil Nailing system behavior for the construction of a five-level underground car parking structure of an important building located in the north-central sector of the city of Quito. It was verified that the HSsmall and HS constitutive soil models better reproduce the behavior of this type of structure. Finally, the multiple geotechnical parameters determined in this study significantly contribute to the analysis of these structures in this soil type.

Analysis of factors causing rework and their mitigation strategies in construction projects

Rework has turned into a problem in the building sector since it causes unwanted and pointless effort wastage. Both the design and construction phases of construction projects are affected, and it results in decreased project cost, quality, and schedule performance. Rework costs in large civil engineering projects might be anywhere between 5% and 20% of the contract value. It is crucial to effectively reduce rework as much as possible. Before rework can be managed properly, its underlying causes should found. So as to quantify rework in construction projects. The objective of this study was to find the contributory factors in the building sector, as well as how it affects project costs. The reasons for producing rework in construction projects and mitigation strategies to prevent rework in construction projects were identified based on research of the literature and expert opinion. Data from construction industry experts was gathered through a questionnaire survey. After statistical analysis of the data obtained from the questionnaire survey, structural equation modelling (SEM) was created. The findings of this study demonstrate that important reasons for rework were a lack of coordination and communication, errors and omissions, and changes brought about by parties. The results could improve the performance of the construction project by helping everyone understand why rework happens and how to cut it down as much as possible.

The role and function of the dispute adjudication board (dab) in the fidic forms of contracts

Dispute Adjudication Boards (DABs) can be categorized as form of alternative dispute resolution methods, or more specifically they can fall under the generic category of adjudication. They originate from the USA, presented for the large civil engineering projects in 1960s. At a later stage they were introduced as mandatory under the International Organization of Consulting Engineers ( FIDIC) 1999 edition. Currently, the FIDIC forms of contracts provide for standing and ad hoc DABs, slowly shifting to standing by default, comprised of one or three members. The DAB member(s) have broad authorities, including the inquisitorial powers, the possibility to inspect and make insight of the construction site. The procedure in front of the DAB has many similarities with the arbitration procedure, especially in the preparation and filing of the written submissions. The same can be said for conducting the hearings, the order of presenting the arguments at the hearings, the proposal and questioning of witnesses. However, the DABs timeline is denser, and the DAB is free to determine its procedural rules and the parties are free to agree on certain procedural aspects. The benefit of the DABs can be described as a means of resolving disputes by avoiding cost, time and inflexibility. The main dilemma which will be addressed in this Article is whether the DABs are suitable for solving more complex construction disputes. In that respect the DAB in more complex disputes is a “preface” of the arbitration to come, or as the new 2017 FIDIC edition states “condition precedent to arbitration”

Smart Construction: Remote and Adaptable Management of Construction Sites through IoT

Construction sites for large civil engineering projects consist of very different workflows, depending on the size and type of the project (e.g., highway construction). Managing and coordinating such complex projects is a difficult task. Lack of proper digital and reliable data makes the near permanent physical presence of a project manager necessary. But even on site, they have to rely on manual and slow reporting ad hoc information gathering processes. In this article, we report our experience in using Smart Construction, an Internet of Things cloud-based platform for large civil engineering projects. The platform allows project managers to remotely manage multiple construction sites in different locations at the same time and promptly intervene to adapt their operation according to real-time data analytics results. We performed two experiments on real construction sites to collect real world data by using the platform under realistic conditions.We discuss the challenges that we encountered and the results of the performed data analysis.

Risk Diagnosis and Management with BBN for Civil Engineering Projects during Construction and Operation

The authors demonstrate how expert knowledge about the construction and operation phases combined with monitoring data can be utilized for the diagnosis and management of risks typical to large civil engineering projects. The methodology chosen for estimating the probabilities of risk elements is known as Bayesian Belief Networks (BBN). Using a BBN model one can keep on updating the risk event probabilities as the new evidence (monitoring information) becomes available. Furthermore, the updated probabilities estimated using the available data for the construction phase serve as background information for the subsequent phase. The integrated two-object model of construction-operation may be then used to optimize the decision making, thus minimizing the risks. To better show how the proposed approach works the authors use the example of the road tunnel constructed and operated under the Dead Vistula River in Gdansk.

Using the MACBETH Method to improve the scenario analysis tool PESTEL in large civil construction projects

El artículo presenta un estudio metodológico que realiza una priorización de los factores de análisis PESTEL en los entornos de pre-construcción y montaje de grandes proyectos de ingeniería civil. El objetivo es comprobar si es posible utilizar la metodología de apoyo a la toma de decisiones MACBETH para generar una escala de jerarquía entre los criterios que podrían comportarse como una distribución de Pareto. Según una elección de un experto, cuatro de las diez alternativas representan 72,16% de la preferencia del experto consultado. La respuesta no representa una distribución de Pareto, pero no invalida la hipótesis. Es posible que el juicio de algún especialista se acerque a tal fenómeno.

The method of securing water supply resources of existing dam by using Blue dam

To improve stability of the water resources that were seriously affected by climate change and various environmental effects and to supply the clean water always, continuous efforts are essential. Provision of measures with respect of hardware is basically essential to improve the water resources stability due to the topographic characteristic in Korea. However, building a new dam becomes gradually very difficult because of a hardship in selecting right places, opposition forces such as environment and local residents, negative publicity for large civil engineering projects, and so on. The present study, therefore, proposes the Blue dam as an alternative for securing the water resources of a new concept considering domestic conditions. To evaluate the effect of the Blue dam, the Hec-ResSim model is used and the probabilistic discharge flow rate is applied. As a result, when Dam Yeongcheon is applied as a study area, securing water resources of 14 million tons are predicted be secured and the flood control of 15.4 million tons is expected, in comparison with operation of the existing dam only. Consequently, Blue dams are supposed to carry out the function of securing water resources, controling flood, maintaining eco-environmental instream flow, generating hydroelectric power, and providing spaces for recreational activities.

Geophysics at Australia’s Desalination Plants

In recent years major coastal desalination plants have been constructed at various locations around Australia. Engineering geophysics has contributed to the successful completion of these major projects. During 2009-10 two of Australia?s largest desalination plants with a combined capacity of 370Megalitres/day (upgradable to 670Ml/day) were commissioned in Sydney, NSW and at the Gold Coast, Queensland at a total cost of approximately $A2.5 billion. Case studies at these desalination plants discuss aspects of the land, borehole and marine geophysical technologies that were applied during the feasibility and design phases of these projects. These technologies were used to investigate geotechnical conditions at the proposed plant sites and along the land and marine sections of the sea-water intake and brine outlet tunnels. These studies had a significant impact on the geotechnical risk assessments and the final design of these desalination plants and involved the use of electromagnetic, gravity and seismic methods. The case studies demonstrate the value of appropriate geophysics to large civil engineering projects.

A DESIGN FRONTIER: Corporate Identity and Design Management at Eurotunnel

THE EUROTUNNEL LINKING the U.K. and France under the English Channel is the largest civil engineering project in the world. In this vast and intricate undertaking, Peter Gorb and Raymond Turner distill how corporate identity and design have been managed, how they function, and how they are staffed. Among the outcomes of the study are valuable lessons concerning distinctions between identity and design management and their respective positions in an organizational structure.

A case study on the feasibility and performance of an UWB-AoA real time location system for resources management of civil construction projects

The application of integrated satellite and modern wireless positioning technologies for ubiquitous real-time resources management in large scale civil engineering projects can greatly optimize the time and cost in the construction process, and is now the trend for modern construction project man- agement. As the outdoor conditions of most civil construction sites are open to sky, satellite position- ing with the popularly used Global Positioning System (GPS) has been proved to be very e‰cient and eective. However, the condition in indoor and underground construction site is very complicated due to the fact that dierent construction activities would be carried out in dierent congested areas, involving heavy construction plant, equipment, pro- fessionals and technical personnel. Nowadays dier- ent emerging technologies such as Wi-Fi and ZigBee can be adopted for position and tracking in indoor environments. Nevertheless, under the very com- plicated construction site conditions these technolo- gies may fail due to movement of human resources and construction plant, variation of metrological conditions, and serious multipath eects of signals. It is considered that Ultra Wide Band (UWB) tech- nology is more suitable for indoor construction site environments. In this paper, a case study on the attempt of integrating GPS with Ubisense Real- time Location System (RTLS) for resources man- agement in an underground railway construction site is discussed. Laboratory and field tests have shown that the RTLS can provide better resources management capability in terms of positioning accuracy and stability than Wi-Fi and ZigBee tech- nologies under complicated construction environ- ments. The test results show that the system can normally achieve better than 15 cm accuracy, and better than 1 m under adverse geometrical site condition. However, the high instrumental set up cost and the requirement for high quality data trans- mission cable for high precision time synchroni- zation between sensors may deter wide application of similar system for resources management in con- struction sites.

Limitation of Liability Clause Violates Anti-Indemnity Statute

Many large civil engineering projects find the project’s engineers earning fees that are a small fraction of the ultimate cost of the project, and similarly, a small fraction of the potential liability arising out of the engineering for the project. To mitigate this risk, some engineering contracts include a limitation of liability clause that limits an owner’s claims against the engineer to a maximum amount—for example, the fee or available insurance. To reap the benefits of such provisions, it is important that they be drafted in such way as to comply with the peculiarities of the law of the jurisdiction governing the contract. The engineering firm in Lanier at McEver, L.P. v. Planners and Engineers Collaborative, Inc. 2008 belatedly discovered that the terms of its particular limitation of liability clause ran afoul of Georgia’s anti-indemnity statute.

Design of the Dubai Metro light rail viaducts—superstructure

The Dubai Metro light rail scheme is a flagship project in the United Arab Emirates. It is currently one of the largest civil engineering projects under construction and, when completed, it will be the longest fully automated rail system in the world. The first phase of the rail system is due to be opened in September 2009 and will include over 42 km of precast concrete viaduct. The majority of the viaduct utilises a slender precast segmental post-tensioned concrete U-shaped trough form for its construction, with a width of 10 m, a total depth of 2·04 m and span lengths up to 44 m. The slender deck slab and profiled edge beams result in both an economic and aesthetically pleasing structure which has been rapidly constructed while being suitable for the harsh environment of the Middle East. The wide U-shape of the deck is unusual for concrete bridges and presented a number of challenges, including complex three-dimensional and dynamic behaviour. This paper discusses the design and construction of the viaduct superstructure. It presents the structural arrangement and design of the precast segmental U-shaped trough deck, describing the challenges encountered in the detailed design phase of the project.

The landmark Metsovitikos Bridge, Greece

Egnatia motorway in northern Greece is one of the largest civil engineering projects in Europe; Metsovitikos Bridge is one of its two landmark structures. A scheme incorporating a pier-less suspension bridge with inclined hangers was originally selected by the client through a design competition between three distinguished European firms of consultants. Despite the novelty and elegance of this scheme, its well-advanced design was abandoned due to uncertainties regarding the long-term stability of a landslip behind one of the cable anchorages. The design was subsequently replaced by a balanced cantilever bridge scheme with a main span of 235 m, believed to be the longest-span bridge of its kind in the Balkans. This paper explains the suspension bridge design, outlines its advantages and disadvantages, and describes the design and construction of the balanced cantilever bridge in some detail.

Expansion of Existing Monitoring System on Great Man-Made River Project Using Acoustic Fibre Optic Technology

Acoustic monitoring has played a major role in the management of one of the world's largest civil engineering projects. After experiencing failures on their pipeline between 1999 and 2001, the Great Man-Made River Authority (GMRA) undertook an aggressive condition assessment program. This program led to the development of a comprehensive Pipeline Risk Management System (PRMS), making the Great Man-Made River Project one of the best managed pipelines in the world. The planned expansion of the existing acoustic monitoring system, a key component of the PRMS, will allow for monitoring of over 700km of pipeline. This paper will discuss steps taken to-date, the acoustic monitoring technology and the expansion of this key component to the management strategy for the pipeline.

Ranking and classification of construction coordination activities in Indian projects

The efforts of contractors, consultants and owners need to be appropriately coordinated in large civil engineering projects, whose success can be defined in terms of compliance to schedule, economy in cost, adherence to quality, and non‐occurrence of disputes. Based on the hypothesis that coordination activities affect the different dimensions of project success differently, and that different stakeholders prioritize the activities differently, a questionnaire survey covering senior Indian construction professionals was carried out. For this a list of 59 coordination activities influencing successful completion of a construction project was drawn up. These coordination activities were ranked for the four success dimensions using statistical tools on the responses received. ‘Regular monitoring of critical path activities’; ‘monitoring the budget on all activities and taking corrective action’; ‘application of sound technical practices’; ‘implementation of all contractual commitments’ are the most important coordination activities corresponding to schedule, cost, quality and no‐dispute performance criteria, respectively. Results show that project coordination issues can be addressed by attending to essentially the four broad groups of coordination activities—resource handling, planning, team building and contract implementation. Findings presented in the paper could interest construction professionals and help them identify and concentrate on important coordination activities.

Seismic design of Egnatia Motorway bridges, Greece

Egnatia Motorway in Greece is currently one of the largest civil engineering projects in Europe with over 600 bridges on its main axis alone. With the motorway traversing a wide range of seismically active terrains, a variety of bridge forms with different earthquake protection systems are constructed or planned on this project. This paper provides general information on Egnatia Motorway bridges and describes the technical requirements for their seismic design. Measures taken to resist potential seismic forces are outlined for a few major bridges, and computer software developed for seismic hazard risk assessment of the bridges on this project is described.

Strain gauge measurement as a tool for assessment of post-tensioning in building structures below a historic brickwork vaulted arch

The effectiveness of post-tensioning applied to concrete structures is accurately described in literature and normative documents. However when applying this post-tensioning to an underground structure, this effectivenessmay be doubted, since the surrounding soil mass introduces opposing friction and disturbance of the uplifting forces. In order to assess this operation on the new foundation of a historic brickwork arch, strain gauge measurements are carried out, applying long grid length gauges to top and lower surface of the foundation slab. The conditions for these measurements are very difficult due to various reasons inherent to large civil engineering projects. The results indicate that a longitudinal as well as a transverse disturbance of the effectiveness is present. Nevertheless the average measured values correspond satisfactorily to the calculated values at the moment of measurement. Since the causes of this disturbance will mostly disappear in the final stage of construction, as the soil will be excavated under the foundation, the final values of post-tensioning effectiveness will comply with the design. The non-destructive testing method presented in this paper has made it possible to justify the design and prove that no additional post-tensioning operations would be needed in successive construction phases.

A4. UNRWA, IMPACT OF THE FIRST PHASE OF THE SECURITY BARRIER ON THE QALQILYA, TULKARM, AND JENIN DISTRICTS, GAZA CITY, JULY 2003 (EXCERPTS).

The separation wall, one of the largest civil engineering projects in Israel's history, has been criticized even by the U.S. administration, with Condoleezza Rice stating at the end of June 2003 that it ““arouses our [U.S.] deep concern”” and President Bush on 25 July calling it ““a problem”” and noting that ““it is very difficult to develop confidence between the Palestinians and Israel with a wall snaking through the West Bank.”” A number of reports have already been issued concerning the wall, including reports by B'Tselem (available at www.btselem.org), the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (available at www.palestinianaid.info), and the World Bank's Local Aid Coordination Committee (LACC; also available at www.palestinianaid.info). UNRWA's report focuses on the segment of the wall already completed and is based on field visits to the areas affected by the barriers, with a special emphasis on localities with registered refugees. Notes have been omitted due to space constraints. The full report is available online at www.un.org/unrwa.

The role of Manchester Airport

This paper reviews the role of Manchester Airport in the transport network of the North West. The airport is now more than just a transport interchange, but affects the economy and environment over a wide area. A second runway was opened in February 2001, one of the largest civil engineering projects in the region. Increasingly attention is focused on how airports will manage the growth in road traffic and the pressure on surface access connections. At the same time, there is increasing concern about the effect on the environment of the forecast growth in air and road traffic.

Water Margins: Competing Paradigms in China

A global water crisis is widely predicted to occur in this century. China is both water-poor – in per capita terms one of the world's twelve most deprived (and increasingly water-polluted) countries – and, at the same time, also water-rich. This “blue gold” wealth makes China a potential water-power of “Saudi-Arabia” dimensions. While China's potential remains largely undeveloped, the country faces growing water pressures: highly uneven distribution between North and South, urbanization, population increase, degradation of the environment, and rapidly rising demands for energy, irrigation, and town water. The Three Gorges Dam project is the largest hydro-development project in the world and possibly the largest civil engineering project in history. This paper looks at less well-known development projects for the major rivers of China's South and Southwest including the Lancang (Mekong) and the Upper Yangzi. It also discusses the plans for a “Cascade” of dams on the Lancang, which will have a significant impact on Southeast Mekong riparian countries, plans to “transfer” water from the Yangzi to the North China plain, and the idea of a global “super dam” in the Tibetan Himalayas. The paper argues that the Chinese government favors the “modern” paradigm of water engineering at a time when that paradigm is being abandoned in the developed world in favor of safer, more economical, and more sustainable options.