cometadata/datacite-titles-descriptions-related-identifiers huggingface dataset:
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.14
title: CONSTRUCTABILITY STUDY OF ASPHALT PAVEMENTS INCORPORATING SHALLOW GEOTHERMAL ENERGY

description: The incorporation of geothermal energy in heating and electricity production has rapidly increased during the last three decades. This paper focuses on the use of shallow geothermal energy in asphalt pavement, herein called Ground Coupled Hydronic Asphalt Pavement (GCHAP) system. GCHAP consists of a series of pipes embedded within the asphalt layer coupled with another network of pipes embedded in the soil. A circulating fluid acts to exchange the heat energy between the soil and the asphalt layer. The system can be used for cooling the pavement, which results in decreasing permanent deformation in the summer. This paper presents a study on the constructability and performance of such systems on a large-scale section. Numerical analyses and a pilot study were conducted to select the system design components. A 9.6 x 4 meter GCHAP section was constructed on a municipal road in addition to another control section. The secondary network of pipes was placed three meters below the ground. Sensors were embedded within the GCHAP system to record and compare the temperature of the pavement to that of the control section. The results showed that GCHAP section can decrease the pavement temperature leading to an increase in resistance to permanent deformation. Moreover, the constructability study showed the importance of performing a pilot study before constructing the system to ensure the resilience of the pipes.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.15
title: CROWD-SOURCED VISUAL DATA COLLECTION FOR MONITORING INDOOR CONSTRUCTION IN 3D

description: Complete and accurate 3D monitoring of indoor construction progress using visual data is challenging. It requires (a) capturing a large number of overlapping images, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive to collect, and (b) processing using Structure from Motion (SfM) algorithms, which can be computationally expensive. To address these inefficiencies, this paper proposes a hybrid SfM-SLAM 3D reconstruction algorithm along with a decentralized data collection workflow to map indoor construction work locations in 3D and any desired frequency. The hybrid 3D reconstruction method is composed of a pipeline of Structure from Motion (SfM) coupled with Multi-View Stereo (MVS) to generate 3D point clouds and a SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm to register the separately formed models together. Our SfM and SLAM pipelines are built on binary Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF (ORB) descriptors to tightly couple these two seperate reconstruction workflows and enable fast computation. To elaborate the data capture workflow and validate the proposed method, a case study was conducted on a real-world construction site. Compared to state-of-the-art methods, our preliminary results show a decrease in both registration error and processing time, demonstrating the potential of using daily images captured by different trades coupled with weekly walkthrough videos captured by a field engineer for complete 3D visual monitoring of indoor construction operations.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.16
title: DELAY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: CAUSES, EFFECTS AND MITIGATION MEASURES

description: The main objectives of this paper are to determine the main causes of delays that occur in construction projects in Cyprus and their effects, and suggest measures that can assist in their effective control and reduction. Seeing that no relevant work has been undertaken for the case of Cyprus, a detailed literature review was carried out to identify the most significant causes of delay at the international level. Based on the review, a survey questionnaire was distributed to members of the construction industry of Cyprus. The analysis of the results indicated variations requested by the client, mistakes and missing information from consultants' drawings, and low productivity and inadequate programming of works from the contractor's side to be the main causes of delay. By considering the delay causes analysis specific mitigation measures are proposed that are mainly related to the programming of the works, work progress and productivity monitoring, and the appointment process of the parties involved in a construction project.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.17
title: DESIGNING RESILIENT ROOF SYSTEMS

description: Recent powerful climate storms in the USA have the government discussing the need for resilient buildings: Buildings that can withstand severe storms, provide life safety and be quickly repaired. A building's roof is often the first line of defense in the changing climate conditions with its catastrophic natural disasters. The roof, if designed properly, can mitigate the impacts of these emergencies and allow a building to withstand and recover from the disruption caused. Resilience is increasingly being viewed as an important performance objective for governmental, educational, commercial and industrial construction. Interest in resiliency is high and is being actively discussed at all levels of the building industry: Governmental, Codes and Standards and Trade Organizations1, 2, 5 . This paper will review key resilient roof system elements that need to be considered by roof system designers: Best design and detail practices for roofing to achieve resiliency. The needed level of design and detailing will be reviewed. Recommendations to achieve resilient roof systems will be provided.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.18
title: DEVELOPMENT OF CONTRACTORS' MITIGATION PRACTICES TOWARDS RISKS OUT OF CONTRACTORS CONTROL IN THE SAUDI CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

description: Research has shown that public construction projects in Saudi Arabia have exhibited poor performance for the past three decades. Recent studies have identified that contractors are not the main party that cause risks as owners, designers, and other parties have the major share of causing risks in the industry. The traditional risk management practices have been ineffective at helping contractors deliver projects on time and within budget while meeting quality expectations. The aim of this study is to develop a risk mitigation model for the contractors to mitigate risks out of contractors' control (caused by other parties). The developed model is validated through identifying contractors' perceptions who work in public construction projects in Saudi of the new approach through conducting a questionnaire survey. The developed model focuses on increasing accountability of project parties through mitigating parties' activities and risks, measuring the activities and risks deviations (time and cost), and identifying sources of deviations. Transparency is utilized in the model through sharing weekly updates of the activities and risks combined with updated information of performance measurements of all project parties. The analysis of the study results showed that project risks will be minimized and performance of projects can be increased if contractors shift their focus using the new model from only managing their own activities and risks to managing all project parties' activities and risks.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.19
title: DIVERSITY AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING IN CONSTRUCTION: A MATHEMATICAL MODEL

description: Conventional wisdom in the management literature holds that diversity is positively correlated with performance. Yet, the findings from the construction field indicate that this is not always the case. In an effort to study the interaction between diversity and performance in the construction industry, this paper presents the elements of a theoretical mathematical model to explore the relationship between diversity and knowledge sharing which is a precursor of performance. This model includes five dimensions of diversity: ethnicity, age, experience, language and education. At the heart of the mathematical model is a fuzzy based system that generates the probability of knowledge sharing among members with different demographic attributes. The presented fuzzy system will, in future work, become the foundation of an agent based model used to study the impact of worker interactions on productivity.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.20
title: EFFECT OF CONCRETE CREEP ON THE SHORTENING OF VERTICAL ELEMENTS IN HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

description: Vertical structural elements are commonly subjected to the time-dependent behavior effects caused by creep which causes shortening in these elements in the direction of the load being applied. Significant amount of creep takes place instantaneously with loading and carries on for the long-term dimensions. In high-rise buildings, the axial shortening in columns is inevitable, so it cannot be ignored. The shortening is differential between vertical structural members due to the difference in axial stiffness and load distribution areas on these elements. Conventional structural analysis assumes that all structural loads are instantaneously applied to the entire completed structure. The construction sequence and loading sequence may be different depending on the construction plan. Therefore, the actual structural behavior can be significantly different from the conventional analytical behavior based on the above assumption. The objective of this study is to highlight the effect of concrete creep behavior on the shortening of vertical elements specifically in high-rise buildings. In this study, we will be considering the ACI 209R-92 model. Based on experimental data, a procedure is developed to compute the elastic shortening due to creep. A 250 meters high-rise is studied taking into consideration the stress and modulus of elasticity depending its construction time and height.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.21
title: EFFECT OF GRADATION AND REPLACEMENT LEVEL ON ALKALI-SILICA REACTIVITY OF MINERAL FILLERS

description: Mineral fillers are used in concrete for a number of reasons, which include achieving self-consolidation properties. Different fillers are available depending on the type of the original rock. Alkali-silica reaction might occur if the filler is produced from a reactive rock. The present research focuses on evaluating the applicability of the current accelerated mortar bar test, described in ASTM C1260 and CSA A23.2-25A, in evaluating their reactivity. Three different fillers are used: a calcium-carbonate filler, a carbonate silica filler with 27% SiO2, and a siliceous filler produced from reactive aggregate. Two different gradations of the filler obtained from reactive aggregate are tested: 1) Gradation finer than 75 ตm
description: 2) Gradation with 30% passing 150 ตm sieve but is retained on 75 ตm sieve and remaining 70% passing 75 ตm. Results showed that the calcium-carbonate filler and the carbonate silica filler did not show any expansion higher than the non-reactive sand, while the filler obtained from reactive aggregate did not show expansion higher than the control at 14 days for both gradations, with the expansion showing at later age. This might be due to the high surface area of fillers and the reduced permeability affecting the rate of expansion. Hence, the need to extend the testing period beyond the 14-day specified in the standard to be able to see the expansion.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.22
title: EFFECTIVENESS OF FRCM SYSTEM IN STRENGTHENING RC BEAMS IN SHEAR USING HYBRID NSE/EB TECHNIQUE

description: This paper presents an experimental study on the efficacy of a recently introduced hybrid "near surface embedded/ externally bonded" NSE/EB fabric reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM). Seven medium scale RC beams, deficient in shear, were constructed and tested under three-point loading. Six beams were strengthened using hybrid NSE/EB-FRCM technique and one beam was left un-strengthened as a reference. Two main test variables were considered
description: viz., strengthening configuration: full versus intermittent strengthening configuration and FRCM type: glass FRCM versus polyparaphenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO). The test results revealed that the hybrid NSE/EB-FRCM strengthening technique is effective in enhancing the shear capacity of the strengthened beams. The strengthened specimens showed an average of 67% higher shear capacity relative to the reference specimen. With regard to the FRCM type, G-FRCM strengthened specimens showed an average of 73% enhancement in the shear capacity, which was 12% higher than the value for PBO-FRCM counterpart. Moreover, the strengthened beams showed higher deflection at the ultimate load than that of the reference specimen. Furthermore, the hybrid NSE/EB-FRCM technique has shown to be a promising alternative to the conventionally used externally bonded FRCM system with the potential to reduce the debonding of FRCM from the concrete substrate.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.23
title: EVALUATING PPP PROJECTS USING A LEAN FRAMEWORK

description: A Public Private Partnership (PPP) describes an arrangement between the public and the private sectors for providing a public asset or service. PPPs are characterized by their long-term nature, complex contractual agreements, and distinct risk allocation formulas, all which distinguish them from traditional procurement routes. Performance evaluation is a prerequisite of performance improvement and is vital to the realization of project success, particularly in PPP projects. In fact, the absence of an effective performance evaluation framework in PPPs serves as a trigger for generating below optimum service quality. Although several performance evaluation frameworks exist, they prove more suitable for traditional projects, which highlights the need to account for the unique features of PPPs. This paper first introduces the various perspectives, from the literature, used to classify project success and evaluate performance. The paper then addresses the aforementioned need by introducing a new framework for evaluating project success, using the lean concepts of transformation, flow, and value. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are suggested as part of the framework to serve as performance measures on PPP projects. The introduced lean framework is the first of its kind and fills the gap in PPP research by being one of the few performance evaluation tools customized for PPPs.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.24
title: EVALUATION OF CREDIT ACHIEVEMENTS OF LEED-CERTIFIED BUILDINGS

description: Nowadays, the concept of green building is no longer an alternative but a necessity.  The acceptance of a building as "green" depends on having a certificate.  LEED is one of the widely used green building certification systems in Turkey.  The main objective of this study is to find out whether there were statistically significant differences between the credit achievements of 105 newly constructed and certified buildings in Turkey, which were certified according to four different levels, and to determine which of these credit achievements are weak.  For this purpose, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed and the findings were interpreted.  Findings revealed that the highest level of achievement of these buildings was in sustainable sites, water efficiency, innovation in design, and regional priority credits, while the lowest level of achievement was in energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality credits.  The analyses revealed that the achievements in the energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality credits of green buildings are relatively low when compared to the ones in other credits.  There may be several reasons behind these low levels of achievement such as poor green culture, high investment cost of necessary systems, absence of reusable, recycled, and renewable materials, etc.  If these problems, most of which are peculiar to developing countries, can be overcome, higher certification levels can be achieved.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.25
title: EVALUATION OF SIMULATION TECHNIQUES FOR MODELING PROGRESSION OF CONSTRUCTION CLAIMS

description: The unstructured and dynamic nature of construction projects and the on-site work complexities have been inevitably leading to claims. These evolve according to a staged mechanism set forth in the adopted conditions of contracts. More specifically, claims might progress expeditiously or drag depending on the nature of the applied mechanism and the behavior and interaction among contractual parties. As such, this complex problem of claim progression, which entails a lot of parameters and variables, is addressed in detail in this paper by resorting to three simulation techniques namely: (1) Discrete-Event Simulation (DES), (2) Agent-Based Modeling (ABM), and (3) System Dynamics (SD). The purpose behind this study is two-fold: (1) capturing and visualizing, through three different simulation models, the dynamic and interaction among the different entities as claims are progressing and defining the weak links hindering the efficiency improvement of such a process, and (2) comparing DES, ABM, and SD simulation approaches, using choose-by-advantage technique, and evaluating the advantages and drawbacks of each when studying the progression of claims. Results of all approaches are presented and analyzed followed by a discussion of the effectiveness of each simulation technique and the potential applicability of a hybrid approach in modeling the progression of claims.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.26
title: EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE FLEXURAL BEHAVIOR OF CONCRETE BEAMS REINFORCED WITH STIFF BIAXIAL GEOGRID

description: Limited research exists on the benefits of using geogrids to reinforce Portland cement concrete structural and non-structural members. Preliminary research findings have shown that the inclusion of geogrids in Portland cement concrete leads to a definitive improvement in the post-cracking behavior in terms of ductility, load capacity, and crack propagation control. However, the geogrid sheet caused partial discontinuity in the concrete section which in some cases lead to complete separation of the bottom concrete layer. Through a rigorous experimental program, this study aims to verifying and further enhancing the current knowledge regarding the behavior of geogrid-reinforced concrete elements as well as proposing a geogrid reinforcing configuration that is expected to maintain the continuity throughout the concrete section while achieving or improving the aforementioned benefits. A total of nine concrete beam specimens were prepared and tested under four-point bending. Testing results and observations re-confirmed the reinforcing benefits of geogrids and proved that the proposed configuration is very effective as it resulted in better post-cracking behavior while overcoming the concrete separation problem.
DOI: 10.15129/4d2063a1-9c41-44ee-ac7f-7a4fab130852
title: Coinage metal complexes of selenoureas derived from N-heterocyclic carbenes

description: NMR spectroscopic data for a series of new chemical compounds prepared as part of a synthetic chemistry study. Data are a format obtained from the proprietary Bruker Topspin software, but the FID file is a software-independent file that can be opened by any software used for the processing and visualisation of NMR spectroscopic data.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.27
title: FAST-PACED CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW KHALIFA PORT BRIDGE PROJECT

description: The significant growth and development in the United Arab Emirates in recent years necessitated considering advanced construction techniques for bridge structures. This paper presents features of the New Khalifa Port Project which consisted of bridge structures with a combined length of 3.64 km. The strict project design criteria, schedule and budget represented significant challenges which required considering specific designs using efficient precast elements and construction methods. The bridge structural system consisted of 39.8 m long precast, pretensioned modified AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) girders with cast-in-place concrete deck slabs. The main challenge was to optimize the size of the precast girder as the self-weight of the initially proposed elements exceeded the lifting capacity of the available equipment. The other challenge was to correlate between the British Standards and AASHTO LRFD (load and resistance factor design) code to design the girders for static and dynamic loads. The casting yard was set at 70 km from the project site and delivery roads were assigned to accommodate the special tandems carrying girders weighing 80 tons each. Lessons learned during design, fabrication, transportation and construction of the precast girders add on to the efficiency of the Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) processes.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.28
title: GLASS FIBER POLYMER ON THE FRESH AND HARDENED PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE

description: The study describes an experimental study into the relationship among incorporation of Glass Fiber on the fresh and hardened properties of concrete. The effect of fiber fractions on the slump, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength of Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) were investigated for volume fraction (VF) of 0%, 1%, 2% and 4%. In order to serve the purpose, concrete cylindrical and prism specimens were made with various rates of fiber-glass polymer. The cylinder specimens were tested at 7 and 28 days for compressive strength and at 28 days for splitting tensile strength, whereas the prism specimens were tested at 28 days for flexural strength. The experimental test results show that the additions of glass fiber polymer to concrete decrease slump, but increase compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and flexural strength. In addition, an analytical model has been proposed to predict slump of fresh concrete.
DOI: 10.14455/isec.res.2018.29
title: HUMAN RESOURCE ALLOCATION IN ENGINEERING DESIGN COMPANIES

description: The human capital is a major asset for engineering companies. On-time completion of project tasks and cost effectiveness are contingent on proper allocation of human resources. In practice, most engineering mangers assign resources according to availability without considering the level of employee's expertise while making the assignment decision. This may result in lower quality of design production or a difficulty in meeting deadlines in case an employee requires training or coaching. To better attain project requirements, the assignment practice could be improved by including resource characteristics and critical project information. This paper is part of an ongoing study that aims to develop a reliable resource assignment mathematical model that takes into account engineers' years of experience, their level of familiarity with different software programs used by the company, and other task-related attributes. Examples of the latter include scheduled submission date, and range of estimated period required to complete a task. The output of the model consists of assignment variables through pairing a group of human resources to a group of tasks with the objective of minimizing project duration and cost while maximizing resource utilization. Extensions to the model can allow engineering managers to monitor and control the progress of the project or the lack thereof.