cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.6
title: A STRUT AND TIE MODEL FOR FRCM-STRENGTHENED REINFORCED CONCRETE DEEP BEAMS

description: Exiting literature revealed that fabric reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) is a promising material for the strengthening of shear deficient reinforced concrete (RC) beams. However, most of the available experimental studies are devoted to the use of FRCM system for the strengthening of slender beams and limited literature is available on the strengthening of deep beams using FRCM system. Moreover, there is no available literature on the analytical modelling of FRCM-strengthened deep beams. In this paper, a simple strut and tie model (STM) has been used to predict the ultimate load carrying capacity of RC deep beams strengthened in shear using FRCM system. The model accounts for the internal transverse reinforcement ratio and axial rigidity of the FRCM system. The proposed model is validated against an experimental results of RC deep beams strengthened with different types of FRCM system available in the literature.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.7
title: A STUDY OF ENDOWMENT EFFECT IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECT DISPUTE RESOLUTION

description: It has been reported that the average dispute value (the additional entitlement included in the contract to resolve disputes) was US $84 million and average length of dispute (the period between the time a dispute is formalized and it is settled) was 14.6 months in Asia in the year of 2016 (Arcadis Global Construction Dispute Report 2017). These figures are not impressive in terms of the non-productive use of valuable resources. Endowment effect (EE), which was firstly coined by 2017 Nobel laureate in economics science professor Richard Thaler, is a behavioral phenomenon that people attribute more value to the things they own. EE would derail making rational decisions. This study explores the application of EE on disputants' behavior in construction project dispute resolution (CPDR). In this regard, four sources of EE in CPDR were identified. These are i) ownership, ii) loss aversion, iii) status quo bias and iv) bargaining habit.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.8
title: A STUDY OF HUMAN GAIT FOR VIBRATION SERVICEABILITY EVALUATION

description: The vibration serviceability problem of structures such as building floors, footbridges, large balconies, and monumental stairs due to human movements has become an important issue, which requires careful attention of designers and engineers. Design engineers often create Finite Elements models of structures to predict their dynamic properties and their responses due to human movements. Therefore, one important aspect of the dynamic analysis of structures is the identification and quantification of excitation forces due to human movements. As part of this research study, measurements of ground reaction forces (GRF) from a number of individuals were conducted at the Virginia Tech Vibration Testing Laboratory using an instrumented force platform. The subjects walked at various speeds synchronized using a metronome. The same tests were subsequently repeated while the subjects ascended and descended over an instrumented mock stair. Considering the periodicity of human excitation force, the Fourier Series parameters (Fourier Coefficients and corresponding phase angles) of the measured forcing functions were computed. Correlations between the measured GRF's on a flat surface and an inclined surface (stair) were established. The results of the analysis were compared to the available information in the literature in an attempt to check their accuracy.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.9
title: ACCURATE MODELING OF CURVED STEEL IGIRDER BRIDGE

description: A curved and/or skewed steel I-girder bridge, in addition to the basic vertical shear and bending effects, will be subjected to torsional and warping effects. Thus, simplified hand calculation and line girder methods, might not be enough when bridges are to be analyzed. Refined methods, termed by AASHTO, have to be adopted. This paper has investigated the closeness and difference between curved bridge finite element models using 2-D gird and 3-D shell elements of I-girders, both are part of AASHTO refined method. Moreover, the results are calibrated by comparing analysis result with various two-dimensional and three-dimensional computations with varied curvature effects. It is concluded that when introducing torsional effects to finite element models, the modified torsional constant J with consideration of warping effect should be taken into the 2-D grid model as a refined model. When using 3-D shell elements as the refined model, stiffeners and connection plates play an important role of global model stiffness and should not be ignored, especially for sharp curved steel I-girder bridges.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.10
title: ADOPTING NON-CONVENTIONAL MATERIALS IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING DELIVERY

description: The second greatest human need is shelter and this indicates the necessity for everyone to be housed. Adequate housing provision reduces a host of other risk that the sustainable development goals are expected to reduce or even eliminate. However, due to policies, rapid population growth, rural-urban migration, housing provision for the homeless populace fall short. This paper highlights the prospects and problems of using non-conventional materials for low cost or affordable housing provision. The non-conventional materials investigated included earthworm cast as partial replacement of cement, stabilized earth bricks, bamboo, ash from waste incineration. A survey research was designed, and 200 questionnaires were distributed to both professionals and end users of housing. The findings showed that funding was a major obstacle to affordable housing provision, but this could be improved by employing non-conventional sustainable materials. The findings also showed that thought there was inadequate funding, lack of awareness of some of these materials were critical to the utilization of these materials. It was recommended that the potential users be sensitized to promote sustainable construction practices.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.11
title: ADOPTION OF CLOUD BASED LEARNING IN INSTITUTES OF HIGHER LEARNING

description: Every developing nation is moving away from the typical classroom teaching to the evolution of the 21st century. Most developed countries and nations have progressed beyond traditional learning methods in classrooms to virtual environment means of learning, which includes cloud-based learning. However, the same cannot be said of the academic system in institutes of higher learning in Nigeria. Based on this knowledge, this study would aim to look at the challenges faced in the adoption of cloud-based learning and teaching service delivery in institutes of higher learning in Nigeria. It will also consider the benefits and drivers for cloud-based learning in the country. This study shall be conducted using systematic reviews from relevant literature published on cloud-based learning and indexed on top rated databases like Springer, Emerald insight and Scopus. Findings from this study would show the benefits and drivers for adopting cloud-based learning and its impact on those promoting academic productivity in the country, which includes the learners in institutes of higher learning in Nigeria. Further findings from this study will highlight ways to deal with challenges observed from the adoption of cloud-based learning in institutes of higher learning in the country and how governmental support can aid in using cloud-based learning to improve the quality of education delivered in institutes of higher learning in Nigeria as benefited by developed nations across the world
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.12
title: AMASS: ADVANCED MANUFACTURING FOR THE ASSEMBLY OF STRUCTURAL STEEL

description: This paper describes a collaborative project between the US, Ireland, and Northern Ireland (UK) to investigate advanced manufacturing cutting techniques for the creation of a new class of intermeshed steel connections that rely on neither welding nor bolting. To date, advanced manufacturing equipment has only been used to accelerate traditional processes for cutting sheet metal or other conventional fabrication activities. Such approaches have not capitalized on the equipment's full potential. This project lays the groundwork to transform the steel building construction industry by investigating the underlying science and engineering precepts for intermeshed connections created from precise, volumetric cutting. The proposed system enhances the integration between design, fabrication, installation and maintenance through building information modeling platforms to implement advanced connections. Fully automated, precise, volumetric cutting of open steel sections introduces intellectual challenges regarding the load-transfer mechanisms and failure modes for intermeshed connections. The research activity addresses knowledge gaps concerning the load resistance and design of steel systems with intermeshed connections. Physical tests, finite element simulation and multi-scale modeling are being used to investigate the mechanics of intermeshed connections including stress and strain concentrations, fracture potential and failure modes, and to optimize connection geometry.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.13
title: AN ENGINEERING RELIABILITY ANALYSIS METHOD BASED ON ADAPTIVE METAMODELS

description: In practical engineering problems, numerical analyses using the finite element (FE) method or other methods are generally required to evaluate system responses including stresses and deformations. For problems involving expensive FE analyses, it is not efficient or straightforward to directly apply conventional sampling-based or gradientbased reliability analysis approaches. To reduce computational efforts, it is useful to develop efficient and accurate metamodeling techniques to replace the original FE analyses. In this work, an adaptive metamodeling technique and a First-Order Reliability Method (FORM) were integrated. In each adaptive iteration, a compactly supported radial basis function (RBF) was adopted and a metamodel was created to explicitly express a performance function. An alternate FORM was implemented to calculate reliability index of the current iteration. Based on the design point, additional samples were generated and added to the existing sample points to re-generate the metamodel. The accuracy of the RBF metamodel could be improved in the neighborhood of the design point at each iteration. This procedure continued until the convergence of the reliability analysis results was achieved. A numerical example was studied. The proposed adaptive approach worked well and reliability analysis results were found with a reasonable number of iterations.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.14
title: AN INVESTIGATION OF FATAL ACCIDENTS IN DEMOLITION WORK OF BUILDINGS

description: Buildings constructed in Japan during a period of high economic growth, 19541973, have deteriorated, and many need to be demolished. In the course of that demolition work, accidents have occurred, but the causes and circumstances of many of them are largely unknown. This study investigates accidents that occurred during building demolition work in Japan between 2010 and 2014, with the goal of preventing future accidents. The results show that fatal accidents while demolishing buildings accounted for 6.5% of all fatal accidents on construction sites. The greatest number of fatal accidents can be attributed to falls and collapsing walls. The causes of falls were found to be two-fold. First, in the process of demolishing a building, frequently, a hole is cut in the floor and scrap materials are thrown into it to dispose of them
description: however, workers have been known to fall into this hole and be injured fatally. It was also found that many workers do not use full harnesses. The cause of collapsing walls was identified as follows. When a wall is demolished, its lower part is often cut through to weaken it, at which point the wall can collapse, crushing workers. Analysis of the study results shows that greater attention must be paid to creating a system that promotes fall prevention and safe wall-cutting on demolition sites.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.15
title: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE CONTRACTUAL ROADWAY SAFETY TERMS IN TRANSPORTATION PPP PROJECTS

description: Roadway safety is an important aspect of all transportation facilities. With operation and maintenance becoming contracted roles under public-private partnerships (PPP), it is expected that safety rates will improve beyond those experienced in traditional delivery. The international experience shows that PPPs experienced mechanisms designed to provide safer roads. In the United States, PPP is gaining momentum and several states initiated PPP projects. While studies show the potential of PPPs for improving cost efficiency and expediting the delivery time, few researches investigated the correlation between PPP and roadway safety. To fill the gap, this study investigated seventeen PPP projects through content analysis of their agreement and procurement documents. The findings show that PPP projects were lacking further consideration toward safety beyond what is normally available in traditional delivery. Safety was an objective in most (76%) of the projects, however, without direct mechanisms to implement such objective. Around half of the projects have mentioned safety as part of proposal evaluation but only two projects have assigned points/weights in the evaluation. None of the projects provided for a direct link between the compensation to the achievement of improvements in the safety rates. Generally, PPPs are meant to provide public agencies with means to achieve particular objectives. It is recommended to use the particulars of PPPs in performance measures and payment mechanisms to enforce roadway safety in highways infrastructure.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.16
title: ANALYSIS OF BUCKLING AND BENDING FAILURE OF ALUMINIUM COLUMN SECTIONS USED IN EMERGENCY RESTORATION TOWERS

description: This paper presents an experimental analysis of buckling and bending failure modes of a 2.58 m long, 460ื460 mm2 6061-T6 Aluminum alloy column section used in emergency restoration towers. The main objective is to determine the bending and buckling load capacities of the column section through experiments, as these values are critical in an emergency tower (guyed mast) design. Within the context of this overarching goal, a secondary objective is to ascertain whether the presence of certain manufacturing non-conformance affects the loading capacity of the section significantly. Finally, finite-element analysis (FEA) simulations are conducted in order to compare the experimental data with numerical results. The results show that the ultimate bending and buckling load capacities of the column section are 383 kN and 3,868 kN respectively. Furthermore, the results indicate that the presence of manufacturing non-conformances such as air bubbles and delamination do not have a detrimental effect on the load capacity of the column. Of the two non-conformances studied, the specimen with bubbles had a 1% difference from the good specimen, and the delaminated specimen had a 10% deviation. Comparison of experimental data with FEA simulation results shows that the numerical solution tends to overestimate the stiffness of the column, and that the FEA approach may require further calibration.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.17
title: ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO A SUCCESSFUL CONSTRUCTABILITY PROCESS IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION

description: The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Every Day Counts Program (EDC) has resulted in state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) putting evermore emphasis on speeding up the delivery of highway and bridge construction projects for use by the driving public. This has resulted in an increase in the use of integrated project delivery methods and adding alternative technical concepts (ATCs) to traditional design-bidbuild (DBB) contracts. ATCs have exhibited great potential for delivering substantial benefits like cost savings, increased constructability, and quicker project delivery. Previous research has found that knowledge of project constructability was lacking in state DOT planning, programming, and environmental staffs. At the same time, the permitting process for several government agencies has become increasingly restrictive. The intent of this paper is to report on the research team's progress in an ongoing effort to furnish the US government with a uniform set of guidelines for the application of the constructability process during all phases of project development and delivery. The research uses surveys, focus groups and interviews to determine which states have implemented formal programs to ensure that the constructor is furnished with a set of contract documents that affords said constructor with the best possible opportunity to successfully construct the project with the highest quality standards, within the contract duration and without exceeding the construction budget.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.18
title: ANALYSIS OF THE MAINTENANCE WORK ORDER DATA IN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

description: The growing number of aging buildings is of critical importance to the economic and social well-being of a country. For institutional organizations, particularly those with large building portfolios, an effective facility management approach is required to ensure these buildings function properly for their missions. As a part of facilities management, building maintenance activities occupy a significant role in reaching the goal of delivering an acceptable level of performance while minimizing costs and failures. Historical work order data may potentially include a substantial value for assessing the condition of building systems by helping to identify frequent and common building maintenance activities. As an exploratory study on building maintenance activities in educational institutions, this paper conducts an analysis of historical work order data collected from six educational institutions in the State of Colorado and Connecticut in the United States between 2008 and 2018. Within this context, a total of 877,668 work orders have been analyzed to identify possible trends of the maintenance activities with building age and building type. The results of this study provide a preliminary understanding of the frequent maintenance activities in the data sets with their relations of building age and building type. The need for the comprehensive statistical analysis is apparent to better understand any possible trends in the maintenance activities and their correlations between building age and building type.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.19
title: APPLICATION OF LEAN METHODS FOR PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT IN STEEL FABRICATION SHOPS: A CASE STUDY

description: The objective of this paper is to identify tools and methodologies to increase productivity in commercial steel fabrication shops. The effectiveness of these tools and methodologies has been demonstrated through a case study in a Canadian steel fabrication shop. Three different productivity improvement concepts were identified as suitable for the steel fabrication environment. Lean, Six Sigma, and the Theory of Constraints (TOC). Lean was retained as being the most suitable to steel fabrication due to its low cost, focus on quality, and built in continuous improvement process. In the case study, Lean tools were identified and applied to address three top productivity issues. A baseline was established for existing productivity for a fitting station over a period of two weeks. Selected tools were implemented, and a session was conducted to educate the workers on the new processes and tools. Lastly, the productivity was recalculated, the results were analyzed, and recommendations were made
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.20
title: ASSESSMENT OF BLENDED LEARNING EDUCATION MODEL: UPTAKE AND REASONS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION

description: The emergence and integration of information technology in modern age education training have changed the face of education across the globe. The need for the blend of information and communication technology tools in construction education training is of the high essence as it enhances students learning capacity through visuals and other means. Therefore, the study investigates the level of the blend of ICT with the traditional method of learning among lecturers within the built environment departments in Covenant University in Nigeria and reasons for its use were also examined. A survey method was adopted for the study
description: 125 structured questionnaires were administered to the randomly selected lecturers and 100 were retrieved. The data collected was analyzed with Mean item score, percentage, and Mann-Whitney U respectively. The result revealed that the adoption of the ICT tools, which include interactive whiteboards PowerPoint, a learning management system, and video clips among the lecturers is very high. The reasons attributed to its use is due to the visual platform it provides for the students while weblogs, web conferencing, and mobile phone were the lesser used tools. In conclusion, the study recommends that Covenant University management should increase the funding of ICT tools and also enhance the lecturers training in the use of blended learning style.
DOI: 10.12755/isec.res.2019.21
title: ASSESSMENT OF BUILDING INFORMATION MODELING UPTAKE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

description: The need for digitization of industries' production process has been given high attention in the 21st century. This is due to the upsurge in technology in the present age. Industries which include manufacturing, telecommunication and aviation among others have set the pace for others to follow in the use of digital tools in their production process. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining the awareness and level of uptake of a digital tool like Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the management of construction project and the challenges limiting its use within the built environment. The study adopted a survey method by randomly selecting 120 construction practitioners in construction firms operating in Lagos state Nigeria. Likewise, 120 structured questionnaires were distributed to the targeted respondents, however, 100 questionnaires were retrieved. The data collected from the survey were processed using Mean item score, percentage, and relative importance index. Findings garnered from the study revealed that construction organization awareness of the BIM tool is very high, however, its uptake in the construction industry is not encouraging. It further revealed that the driving factor in encouraging the BIM adoption cut across the government, the construction industry and the clients. In conclusion, the study recommends that the trio should provide an adequate support structure and push for BIM implementation in construction project delivery.