Methodology For Construction Research Articles

From rubbles to digital material bank. A digital methodology for construction and demolition waste management in post-disaster areas

In 2020, European countries generated 807 mln tons of construction and demolition waste (CDW), accounting for 37.5% of total waste production. The UE Waste Framework Directive of 2008 established as a priority goal to increase the percentage of reuse, recycling and recovery of nonhazardous construction waste to a minimum of 70% by 2020. Pending the report that will define compliance with this goal, the average percentage currently stands at around 50%, of which only 3% involves upcycling operations. This doctoral research defines an operational methodology aimed at implementing digital processes for circularity in the AEC sector, with a focus on post-earthquake emergency Italian contexts. The treatment of CDW in earthquake-affected areas for the purpose of recovery/reuse, in a perspective of circularity, represents an underexplored field and limited, as in the rest of UE, to downcycling operations. By defining planning strategies and digital tools and procedures, the research aims to facilitate the reuse of building elements from post-earthquake demolition and reconstruction operations. The final output of the research consists of a cloud database, a Digital Material Bank (DMB), of informed building elements from post-earthquake selective demolition operations that can be reused in the construction market as a secondary raw material. The CDW management of the 2016 Central Italy earthquake is identified as the scope of application, with a focus on the situation in the Marche region. Finally, the main limitations and possible future scenarios of the research are reported.

Forecasting of financial risks of decline in profit and profitability of companies in the retail industry on the basis of correlation and regression analysis of macroeconomic factors

Aim. Development and realization of the innovative approach to forecasting of financial risks of profit and profitability decrease of retail industry companies on the basis of correlation and regression analysis of macroeconomic factors.Tasks. To identify and substantiate the macroeconomic risk factors of decrease in the retail trade turnover of the Russian companies of the retail industry; to develop a methodology of construction and build regression dependence of the total turnover of the companies of the retail trade industry in the Russian Federation (RF) on the macroeconomic factors; to define parameters of the analytical dependence of the retail trade turnover of the leading Russian retailers on the macroeconomic factors; to reveal and argue the position concerning the restrictions of application of correlation and regression analysis.Methods. The authors applied a systematic approach, providing a comprehensive study of the impact of macroeconomic factors on financial risks of profit and profitability reduction, as well as the correlation and regression analysis, methods of mathematical statistics and econometrics.Results. The methodology of estimation and forecasting of financial risks of profit and profitability decrease of the retail industry companies under the influence of external macroeconomic risk factors based on the use of the regression dependence of the retail industry companies turnover on the selected and grounded macroeconomic factors built in the present article is offered.Conclusions. The methodology of building regression dependences of retail turnover on external macroeconomic factors and the methodology of assessing the impact of these factors on the financial risks of reduced profit and profitability indicators proposed in the study are a methodological basis for forecasting changes in the results and efficiency of economic activities of companies in the retail industry and developing preventive measures aimed at reducing the financial risks of such companies. The quantitative assessments of the impact of macroeconomic factors on the retail turnover of leading Russian retailers obtained in the work allow to identify the most significant external macroeconomic risk factors for each of the companies and give a reasonable forecast of changes in retail turnover, profit and profitability indicators of these companies under the influence of macroeconomic factors.

Landscape Information Model (LIM): a case study of Ołtarzew Park in Ożarów Mazowiecki municipality

BIM is penetrating more and more areas of human activity. Currently, it is not only volume or infrastructure objects that are being digitised, but also public spaces such as parks. To achieve this, a number of BIM tools are used to build a LIM model. The LIM model can contain a quantum of information necessary for the park management process. A municipality, for example, can use the LIM model to perform ongoing maintenance or plan rearrangements of the park space. The model itself can serve as a database for the reconstruction of a park in the event of its destruction, e.g. by forces of nature. This paper presents the LIM model of Ołtarzew Park in Ożarów Mazowiecki (Poland), which can serve as a model for building similar models in other cases. In addition to the construction methodology, examples of analyses are presented and the benefits and advantages of using a LIM are described.

INTEGRATION OF HBIM/GIS TO PRESERVE INFRASTRUCTURE HERITAGE ALONG THE CHINESE EASTERN RAILWAY

Abstract. The infrastructure heritage is the symbol of the highest standard of the technical construction and design methodologies of the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). As an important component of the cultural heritage of the CER, their conservation hasn’t attracted more attention than the architectural heritage part. However, some heritage infrastructure components have been already demolished while others were threatened by urban expansion and natural degradation during the past hundred years. In this study, we have analysed structural features based on the original drawings and fieldwork for the reconstruction of the vanished and invisible parts of CER. HBIM will be used to support the conservation of the surviving elements. In addition, we collected geographical coordinates of the heritages using on-site GNSS records and Google Earth®. We propose a method to facilitate the preservation of this historical infrastructure by building a database that integrates HBIM and GIS, including information about historical data and the status quo. In this way, this database will not only be useful for planning purposes by the government and the conservation agencies, but also it will benefit the entire society and the public through its online display and information collection.

Environmental and energetic behavior of a Beam-down linear Fresnel solar field for low-grade thermal energy applications

Solar concentrators can be used to provide low-grade thermal energy in industry for improving overall efficiency and targeting the emissions reduction goals. In this context, to develop an effective Concentrated Solar Technology for utilizing low-grade thermal energy, different configurations of a beam-down Fresnel solar field are analyzed in terms of thermal energy production and environmental impacts as Global Warming Potential (GWP), Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and Particulate Matter (PM). Once the geometry of the solar field is defined, the yearly incoming energy at the solar receiver is obtained. Subsequently, the GWP, ODP and PM are calculated with the Life Cycle Assessment methodology for construction and operation phase. Those environmentally lighter designs in the construction phase are not those that obtain lower results when the energy they provide is analyzed. The GWP and ODP results showed that producing low grade thermal energy with all but two of those beam-down configurations obtained better results than the conventional heat from natural gas. The case study with lowest carbon footprint represents 34.2 % reduction compared to natural gas and 41 % reduction in ODP. However, PM obtained better results for conventional heat than for the proposed solar fields. Configurations with C = 24 as solar concentration ratio achieved the optimal configuration with a good balance between energy production and the analyzed environmental impacts.

Cyber-physical attack graphs (CPAGs): Composable and scalable attack graphs for cyber-physical systems

Attack graphs are a fundamental security tool focused on depicting how multi-stage attacks can be carried out through a network to compromise specific assets and systems. While attack graphs have been widely utilised in the IT cyber domain, their use in Operational Technology (OT) environments requires new approaches able to properly model and analyse Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). In this paper, we introduce Cyber-Physical Attack Graphs (CPAGs) as a class of attack graphs able to cover both cyber and physical aspects. CPAGs aim at extending the reach of standard attack graphs to cyber-physical networks typically observed in industrial environments and critical infrastructure systems, analyse how an attacker can move within the network, and understand the impact that these actions may have on the system. We propose a constructive methodology to design CPAGs backed up by a formal rule-based approach that specifies how integral parts of the model can be generated and later composed to build more complex CPAGs. We then explore the semantics of CPAGs associated to cyber and physical attack actions as well as their impact on CPS environments. We also discuss potential CPAG-based analysis techniques and focus on risk analysis using Bayesian CPAGs. Finally, we show the application of the proposed model over a realistic scenario on smart farming using our open source tool T-CITY.

Learning From the Past: The Reconstruction of the Minbar of Salah Al-Din in Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Minbar of Salah Al-Din is considered a masterpiece of traditional Islamic arts and crafts heritage. It stood in Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem for nearly 800 years until it was burned down completely in 1969. In 1993, King Hussein of Jordan gave instructions to initiate the process of reconstructing the Minbar based on old photos of the original one and small wooden pieces that remained after the fire. The reconstruction job was commissioned in 2002 and finished in 2006 as a replica of the original one. This paper discusses the lessons learned from the reconstruction process through the analysis of geometric principles and features of the design process and construction of the Minbar, towards the rekindling of this artistic heritage. The Minbar geometric patterns are constructed of many interlocking pieces of wood, each carefully carved to fit together like a three-dimensional puzzle. The novel contribution of this study is in the relationship between the geometric construction of the patterns and the Interlock (ta’sheeq) construction methodology. Which will hopefully provide a deeper understanding of the structure of the Minbar, allowing architects and craftsmen to achieve improved control over their new design’s compositions and structure.

Offshore construction using gravity-base foundations indicates no long-term impacts on dolphins and harbour porpoise

There are concerns about the short- and long-term effects on cetaceans from offshore construction using pile-driving. Gravity-base foundations and anchored floating turbines are alternative installation methods that may have less impact on cetaceans. In this study, we investigated the response of dolphins (Tursiops truncatus and Lagenorhynchus albirostris) and harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) to the construction of wind turbines using gravity-base foundations off Blyth, Northumberland, United Kingdom using cetacean echolocation recorders (C-PODs). Data were collected at nine sites across 3 years (2016–2018) before, during and after construction. Generalised additive mixed models were used to investigate temporal, environmental, and anthropogenic drivers of dolphin and porpoise occurrence from 143,215 h (5967 days) of C-POD data. The models explained 27% and 30% of the deviance in dolphin and porpoise occurrence, respectively. Overall, the results showed no long-term effect on the dolphin occurrence from the construction of the gravity-base wind turbine array. In contrast, porpoise occurrence increased by 32% and 75%, respectively, in the years during and after construction, compared to the before-construction year. Other predictors of dolphin and porpoise occurrence included month, hour of day, tidal currents and vessel sonar activity. Our findings indicate that wind turbine installation using gravity-base foundations had no long-term effects on the occurrence of dolphins or porpoise and may represent an offshore construction methodology that is less impactful to dolphins and harbour porpoise than impact pile-driven turbine installation methods. These results are important for future offshore energy developments; however, further studies are recommended to investigate potential species and location variations.

Top‐down kinetic modeling from power law to elementary steps using KASTER: A methane steam reforming case study

AbstractA top‐down methodology for kinetic model construction including regression against experimental data is proposed using “KASTER.” As a case study, it is applied in the assessment of methane steam reforming (MSR) including water–gas shift (WGS) on a Ni catalyst at 923 K. The degree of detail in the reaction mechanism and the corresponding model is gradually enhanced, typically ranging from a simple power law to a microkinetic model. The reactor equations are solved transiently, preventing the numerical challenges encountered in the steady‐state solution, particularly for microkinetic models. The microkinetic variant indicated that CH4 dissociative adsorption and CO formation are kinetically relevant steps in MSR, while COOH formation is rate‐determining in WGS. However, the model providing the best balance between detail accounted for and parameter significance corresponded to a Langmuir–Hinshelwood–Hougen–Watson (LHHW) mechanism accounting for dissociative adsorption, with CO formation and COOH formation as rate‐determining steps for MSR and WGS, respectively.

A Multiwire Proportional Chamber for Standardization of Large-Area Sources: Methodology and Challenges for In-House Construction

A gas flow windowless multiwire proportional chamber (MWPC) for the standardization of large area sources of alpha, beta, and low-energy photon-emitting radionuclides was fully manufactured in house. Technical drawings were employed prior to construction for the optimization of the chamber design. Specific parameters were tested after manufacture according to predefined specifications. Test results are reported in this paper, together with criticalities encountered during construction and methodologies developed for their minimization. Detailed instructions for machining and assembling MWPC components are provided.

Evaluation of research methodology in construction, productivity research

The article is aimed at considering the content of a large number of published works in the field of construction research and construction productivity, and at deriving an optimal model of construction research methodology based on the works examined. A particularly important issue is also the introduction of modern thinking with a discussion of the consequences for modern researchers.
 Articles published in both construction journals and broader management scientific journals were analyzed. Three broad classifications were used to summarize the methodologies adopted in the documents: qualitative, quantitative and mixed research methods. The research taxonomy also identified three main areas based on the research focus of each study: archival research, empirical research, and modeling proposals.
 In terms of the methodological structure followed, three main categories were recognized: experimental frameworks, data collection methods, and modeling proposals. Based on the results of the assessment, a methodological base was developed and its implementation in a real research project was illustrated. The main conclusion is that the choice of research methodology in published journal articles was an intuitive decision, mainly related to the ontological and epistemological position of the researcher. However, it is also possible to offer general guidance on the choice of the most appropriate methodology regarding the objectives and objectives of the study.
 Particular attention is paid to research related to the construction productivity CP. The CP field is an expedient area of study, since the complex and multifaceted nature of the subject led to the implementation of several methodological approaches. Thus, this study considers different points of view to measure or estimate construction performance.

What is Certain about Uncertainty?

This paper provides a comprehensive survey of existing measures of uncertainty, risk, and volatility, noting their conceptual distinctions. It summarizes how they are constructed, their relative advantages in usage, and their effects on financial market and economic outcomes. The measures are divided into four categories based on the construction methodology: news-based, survey-based, econometric-based, and market-based measures. While heightened uncertainty is typically associated with negative real and financial outcomes, the magnitude of these effects and the interpretation of transmission channels crucially depend on identification considerations.(JEL C83, D81, E10, E52, E60, F10, G10)

Basics of scientific foreign language communication for masters majoring in history: methodological aspect

The present article contextualizes the field of English for Academic Purposes, with a particular focus on the Master studentsʼ professional and academic skills in History and the role of the course in their making further career choices. Although literature presents some theoretical and pedagogical models of EAP course designs, there is still no specific methodology for the discipline construction under the academic program for History Masters. The authorʼs views on the design of the discipline “Basics of Scientific Communication in a Foreign Language” are introduced and methodologically substantiated in the work program as well as practically implemented on the basis of the e-learning educational and methodical complex aimed at the first- and second-year Masters in specialty 032 History and Archeology. The competency-based approach reflects the original conception of EAP in its concentration on discipline-specific texts and academic communication activities appropriate to the academic history where language is foregrounded and seen as constitutive of content encompassing chronological thinking, the ability to identify the time sequence for each historical event; historical comprehension, the skills to read and construct historical narratives imaginatively; historical analysis and interpretation, techniques in comparison and distinguishing experiences, beliefs, ideologies; historical research, including historical issues analysis and decision making, the ability to formulate historical problems in question based on historical sources, find contradictions in historical records, and establish socially significant historical interpretations. The focus on socio-cultural and professional competencies in the ethical dimension provides opportunities to examine the relationships between historical events in their past-present-future time sequencing from the history study perspective. The authorʼs work program on the discipline design and the implemented e-learning educational and methodical complex practically aim at the development of studentsʼ general and professionally oriented communicative competencies in English (linguistic, sociolinguistic, and pragmatic) to succeed in effective communication in their academic and professional environments.

Semi-automatic representation of design code based on knowledge graph for automated compliance checking

Automated compliance checking (ACC) intends to verify the compliance of designs in construction industry by design codes. The ability to interpret and represent semantic information of design codes determines the maximum application scope of ACC. However, design codes are clause texts written in natural languages and existing ACC studies usually use relatively low-complexity code clause samples. At present, the lack of an accurate representation model for design codes leads to difficulties in representing the implicit information, nested logic, and complex relations contained in high-complexity clauses in codes. To address this problem, this research establishes a new representation model based on knowledge graph (KG). Four schemas are proposed into the model including order, complex, event and integration schemas. Further, an accompanying methodology for semi-automatic construction of design code KG (DCKG) is proposed. It includes four parts: interpretation, reconstruction, organization, and implementation. Where the implementation part develops a code annotation platform. In the case study and experiment, a scenario of checking a building information model (BIM) of metro station by GB50157–2013 Code for Design of Metro is adopted to validate the newly proposed representation model and the automated compliance process. The results show that the proposed model and method are correct and feasible, and our model outperforms other models in the representation ability of design codes.

S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts for hydrogen production: Current progress and future prospects

A technological breakthrough and substances that offer real solutions to ecological problems are essential for societal growth in the future. Besides, the challenging technique has turned up hydrogen production by solar photocatalysts in the pace of lacking sustainable energy without carbon exhaust to provide an environmentally friendly and feasible progress. Numerous studies and initiatives were made to improve the conversion of energy production into green fuel utilizing the photocatalytic method. Developing an alternative hydrogen fuel using solar driven water splitting plays a crucial role in achieving carbon neutrality and environmental management. Understanding the photocatalytic pathways is crucial for building an appropriate semiconducting heterojunction, and the problems of solar water splitting are dedicated to this. This review briefly discusses the different types of hydrogen production methods. In this framework, the principles of photocatalysis were defined with their varying homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic combinations. Further, various scheming of photocatalysts such as Z-scheme and S-scheme were described in detail. S-scheme photocatalysts have recently been researched hotspots, due to their excellent redox activity, charge carrier separation, and capacity to act under visible light. In this review, the evolution of S-scheme photocatalysts was described and evaluated, beginning with Z-scheme photocatalysts, and ending with S-scheme photocatalysts. The benefits of S-scheme photocatalysts are also thoroughly examined, covering the design concepts and construction methodologies, and charge transfer mechanisms. Various characterization techniques for determining the S-scheme photocatalysts were discussed. The most recent innovations in their applications in the production of hydrogen evolution were also discussed. To conclude, the future prospects of S-scheme photocatalysts were discussed.

Entropy-maximization oriented interpretable health indicators for locating informative fault frequencies for machine health monitoring

Machine health monitoring is an important domain to provide timely anomaly detection and diagnostic supports for condition based maintenance. Health indicator (HI) construction is an intuitive and efficient way to conduct continuous machine health monitoring. In this study, a maximization-entropy optimization oriented interpretable HI is proposed to locate informative fault frequencies for machine health monitoring. At first, a probabilistic HI is defined based on the sum of weighted spectral amplitudes in normalized square envelope spectrum (NSES) and its newly defined constraint. Next, different from maximization of negative entropy or minimization of entropy for extracting repetitive transients caused by localized faults, this paper provides a new perspective for integrating entropy maximization with maximum sparsity weights to propose a novel convex optimization degradation modeling methodology for construction of HIs. Besides the new perspective of entropy maximization, the novelty of this study lies in that optimized model weights can automatically locate fault characteristic frequencies in the NSES without any prior knowledge so that the probabilistic HI is sensitive to incipient abnormality. Based on the analysis of several run-to-failure bearing datasets, it is demonstrated the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed methodology for machine health monitoring and incipient fault diagnosis.

Practical Synthesis of Tenofovir Alafenamide Fumarate Inspired by New Retrosynthetic Disconnection Featuring a Novel Carbon–Phosphorus Bond Construction Methodology

Tenofovir alafenamide fumarate (TAF) is rising as a mainstay antiretroviral agent for the treatment of HIV and chronic HBV infections. A de novo practical synthesis of TAF circumventing tenofovir (PMPA) has been accomplished on a 7 g scale. This reimagined synthesis of TAF, inspired by a hitherto uncharted retrosynthetic disconnection, centers on the P-alkylation of silylated diphenyl phosphonate 10 (as acceptor) with methylthiomethyl (MTM) ether derivative 11 (as donor) in the presence of NIS/TfOH combination as a promoter to construct the strategic carbon–phosphorus bond. This PMPA-free synthesis of TAF not only removes the intrinsic drawbacks encountered by the PMPA-dependent commercial process but also is beneficial to the diversification of the synthetic portfolio of TAF. Furthermore, this type of P-alkylation reaction with defined stereochemistry could be deployed for the late-stage modification of druglike molecules and natural products to access valuable phosphonate derivatives.

Deoxygenative Radical Boration of Inert Amides via a Combination of Relay and Cooperative Catalysis.

One of the most challenging tasks in organic synthesis is to develop novel methodologies for rapid construction of complex molecules starting from easily available yet inert raw materials. In this context, multi-catalysis strategies have attracted great attention in the discovery of new reactivity profiles that may allow access to many difficult or unattainable transformations. So far the deoxygenative functionalization of ubiquitous amides is usually achieved by nucleophilic attack on the imine or iminium ion intermediate formed via activation of the C=O bond, and these functionalization reagents were often confined to C-based nucleophiles, which largely limited the diversity of the resultant amines. Herein, we disclose a combined strategy of relay and cooperative catalysis with a triple iridium-photoredox-organocatalysis system to achieve an unprecedented reductive boration of amides, affording valuable α-amino boron products which are viable building blocks. In this transformation, the Ir-catalyzed semi-reduction of amides is successfully incorporated with photo-organic catalyzed nucleophilic boryl radical addition, thus delivering the corresponding α-boryl amines in high efficiency.

Setting the stones to restore and monitor European flat oyster reefs in the German North Sea

Abstract Ecological restoration includes specific technical phases over the course of an ecosystem recovery process. In the marine environment and for oyster reef restoration, the installation and implementation of pilot reefs close the gap between feasibility studies with small‐scale experiments and designated upscaling for marine conservation measures. Against this background, this study presents the design, planning and installation of the first pilot oyster reef in offshore sublittoral regions of the North Sea. The work was conducted as part of marine protected area management in the Natura 2000 site Borkum Reef Ground in the German Bight, in the area of historical offshore oyster grounds. It includes logistical considerations, material selection, methodology for reef base construction and deployment of European flat oysters Ostrea edulis as spat‐on‐shell, young and adult single seed oysters, and spat‐on‐reef, as well as the development of an efficient monitoring approach for reef‐associated biodiversity. Native Oyster Restoration Alliance monitoring methodologies, such as underwater visual census and seabed images were selected, tested and successfully adapted for the pilot oyster reef and study site. The evaluation and optimization of offshore sublittoral oyster reef monitoring are presented here, and biodiversity metrics are put into perspective with data from recent and historical studies. Results show a few mobile fauna species (e.g., fish and decapods) as first colonizers after reef construction. One year later, biodiversity increased due to a larger number of invertebrate and fish species. However, the pilot oyster reef community still represents an early recolonization stage, with lower biodiversity than historical records. This study presents a proof of concept for the design, planning and construction of an offshore oyster reef and indicates stages in the recovery process. Strategies to optimize and to complement reef‐monitoring in challenging environments are discussed, emphasizing additional molecular and functional analyses for future assessments.

Computational design exploration of a segmented concrete shell building floor system

The construction industry is responsible for nearly half of the UK's carbon dioxide emissions and the use of an extremely large volume of concrete – the world's most widely used man-made material – accounts for more than 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions. The scale of this problem spawned research to explore the potential for structurally efficient non-prismatic geometries to reduce the amount of concrete used in building elements substantially, thus also reducing their embodied carbon dioxide footprint. In particular, the research focused on segmented thin concrete shells as floor slabs, leveraging computational design and digital fabrication methodologies to automate their production off site. An important part of this research was the development of a computational framework for the design of thin concrete shells in order to make such a construction methodology accessible to building designers in practice. The framework combines solutions for parametric modelling, finite-element analysis, isogeometric analysis, form-finding and optimisation, along with embedded fabrication constraints specific to the project's automated manufacturing system. The application of the developed computational framework in the design of a 4.5 m × 4.5 m prototype is documented in this paper, illustrating how automating concrete construction can transform the industry towards net-zero.