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In this paper, the main factors in the analysis of the railway concrete sleepers areinvestigated and new recommendations are made in order to improve the accuracy of the currentpractices in analysis of the railway track system. First, a comprehensive literature survey isconducted, then, FEM models for a railway track system are developed and used to discuss andevaluate the assumptions commonly used in the analysis of the railway track system. The analysisfactors investigated include stress distribution under a concrete sleeper, rail-seat load, anddynamic coefficient factor. Finally, recommendations and needs for continuation of the researchare presented.

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According to performance-based seismic design method by using energy concept, in this paper it is tried to investigate the duration and damping effects on elastic input energy due to strong ground motions. Based on reliable Iranian earthquake records in four types of soils, structures were analyzed and equivalent velocity spectra were computed by using input energy. These spectra were normalized with respect to PGA and were drawn for different durations, damping ratios and soil types and then effects of these parameters were investigated on these spectra. Finally it was concluded that in average for different soil types when the duration of ground motions increases, the input energy to structure increases too. Also it was observed that input energy to structures in soft soils is larger than that for stiff soils and with increasing the stiffness of the earthquake record soil type, the input energy decreases. But damping effect on input energy is not very considerable and input energy to structure with damping ratio about 5% has the minimum value.

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In the present investigation, the cyclic load deformation behaviour of soil-fly ash layered system is

studied using different intensities of failure load (I = 25%, 50% and 75%) with varying number of cycles (N =

10, 50 and 100). An attempt has been made to establish the use of fly ash as a fill material for embankments of

Highways and Railways and to examine the effect of cyclic loading on the layered samples of soil and fly ash.

The number of cycles, confining pressures and the intensity of loads at which loading unloading has been

performed were varied. The resilient modulus, permanent strain and cyclic strength factor are evaluated from

the test results and compared to show their variation with varying stress levels. The nature of stress-strain

relationship is initially linear for low stress levels and then turns non-linear for high stress levels. The test

results reveal two types of failure mechanisms that demonstrate the dependency of consolidated undrained

shear strength tests of soil-fly ash matrix on the interface characteristics of the layered soils under cyclic

loading conditions. Data trends indicate greater stability of layered samples of soil-fly ash matrix in terms of

failure load (i) at higher number of loading-unloading cycles, performed at lower intensity of deviatoric stress,

and (ii) at lower number of cycles but at higher intensity of deviatoric stress.

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Presence of risks and uncertainties inherent in project development and implementation plays

significant role in poor project performance. Thus, there is a considerable need to have an effective risk

analysis approach in order to assess the impact of different risks on the project objectives. A powerful risk

analysis approach may consider dynamic nature of risks throughout the life cycle of the project, as well as

accounting for feedback loops affecting the overall risk impacts. This paper presents a new approach to

construction risk analysis in which these major influences are considered and quantified explicitly. The

proposed methodology is a system dynamics based approach in which different risks may efficiently be

modeled, simulated and quantified in terms of time, cost and quality by the use of the implemented object

oriented simulation methodology. To evaluate the performance of the proposed methodology it has been

employed in a bridge construction project. Due to the space limitations, the modeling and quantification

process for one of the identified risks namely “pressure to crash project duration” is explained in detail.

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Rice Husk Ash (RHA) is a by-product of the agricultural industry which contains high amount of silicon dioxide (SiO2). In this research, for the first time in the Middle East, in order to supply typical RHA, a special furnace was designed and constructed in Amirkabir University of Technology. Afterwards, XRD and XRF techniques were used to determine the amorphous silica content of the burnt rice husk. Attempts were made to determine the optimum temperature and duration of burning. Results show that temperature of 650 degrees centigrade and 60 minutes burning time are the best combination. Then various experiments were carried out to determine properties of concretes incorporating optimum RHA. Tests include compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, modules of elasticity, water permeability and rapid chloride permeability test. Results show that concrete incorporating RHA had higher compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity at various ages compared with that of the control concrete. In addition, results show that RHA as an artificial pozzolanic material has enhanced the durability of RHA concretes and reduced the chloride diffusion.

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The near field ground motions have a high amplitude pulse like at the beginning of the seismogram which are significantly influenced by the rupture mechanism and direction of rupture propagation. This type of ground motion cause higher demands for engineering structures and its response spectrum is dramatically different than far field spectra.

Tabriz is one of the ancient cities in

Azerbaijan province with many industrial factories, financial centers and historical monuments in North-West of Iran. In this region, North Tabriz Fault which has a well known history of intense seismic activity is passing through in close distance of urban area. In this regard investigation of near field ground motion effect on current practice seismic design spectrum in this region is necessary.

Hence, probabilistic seismic hazard analysis is carried out using appropriate attenuation relationship to consider near field effect. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) and several spectral accelerations (SA) over bedrock are estimated for different return periods and maps of iso acceleration contour lines are provided to indicate the earthquake hazard in different points of

Tabriz city.

Afterward, the generated horizontal equal-hazard spectrums considering near field effect are compared with different spectrums developed base on simple pulses model for near field motion. Both types spectrum used to verify current practice seismic design spectrum of Iranian code (2005) and International Building Code (IBC 2000). The results reveal the long-period structures which are seismically designed based on current practice seismic codes are in high risk to be damaged during near fault ground motion.

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An evolutionary structural optimization (ESO) method is used for plastic design of frames. Based on safe theorems some criteria are derived and made an effort to satisfy them during the optimization process. In this regard, equilibrium is checked and yield condition is gradually satisfied during the optimization process. In this method, the amount of used material and the stiffness for each element are improved, simultaneously, to impose upper bound of moment in the element. Frame analysis and optimization algorithm are implemented as PLADOF (PLAstic Design of Frames) computer code. Four examples are presented to illustrate the performance of the algorithm

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Owing to the proximity of certain locations to the thermal power stations, it has always been efforts of Engineers to enhance

the flyash utilization rate in various Civil Engineering Constructions adopting suitable strategies. In the present study, a soilflyash

interface mechanism has been evolved using different soil-flyash ratios to upgrade significantly stabilization of supporting

medium based on CBR tests. The study confirms soundness of approach when a particular interface arrangement gives high

flyash utilization rate along with many fold increase CBR values. A study was carried out to investigate the interface effect of

soil-flyash layered system in terms of CBR values so that an optimum arrangement can be achieved by using flyash in

combination with soil. In this study, 18 samples of different ratios of soil and flyash (1:0.5, 1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2, 1:2.5, 1:3) with three

sets of interfaces N = 2, 4 and 6 were tested to arrive at the most optimized combination of soil and flyash. The results indicate

that the CBR value optimized at soil-flyash ratio 1:2.5 and number of interface N = 4. The present study reveals that soil with

flyash when used in layered system with various numbers of interfaces gives considerable improvement in CBR values. In the

above arrangement about 71 % of flyash and 29 % of soil thus contributing significantly in utilization of flyash in subgrade of

flexible pavements. In the overall study, three equations for number of interfaces N = 2, 4 and 6 have also been developed in

terms of soil-flyash ratio and CBR value, so that CBR value can directly be obtained by substituting the value of soil-flyash ratio

at a particular number of interfaces.

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The use of geotextiles to postpone reflective cracks in asphalt overlay is a popular practice, so researchers are eager to calculate its structural value. This research study has focused on this issue for geotextiles used in the roads of Iran. Twelve sections from the Tehran-Qom road were tested each examined before and after construction of the overlay. The tests were of the Falling Weight Deflectometer type, and at least twelve tests were conducted each time. The data from five sections (four for developing the model and one for evaluating the output) allowed a new mathematical model to be developed. For the seven remaining sections, some foreign and Iranian geotextiles were used as interlayers. The mean structural value for all of the geotextiles was equivalent to that of a 2.92 cm-thick Hot Mix Asphalt overlay, while that for only the Iranian sections was equivalent to 2.28 cm. Economic evaluations, based on construction costs, showed that in 2011 the use of geotextiles was economical in Iran, because fuel and bitumen subsidies had been eliminated and different geotextile brands had been brought to market in the country.

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This research presents a dynamic mathematical system for modeling and simulating the quality management process in construction projects. Through sets of cause and effect feedback loops, all factors that internally and externally affect the quality management process are addressed. The proposed system integrates fuzzy logic with system dynamics simulation scheme to consider the uncertainties associated with the model parameters and estimation of the extra cost and time due to quality defects. Quantification of the consequences of the quality failures is performed based on the α-cut representation of fuzzy numbers and interval analysis. The proposed approach is efficient in modeling and analyzing a quality management process which is complex and dynamic in nature and involves various uncertainties. The proposed approach is implemented in a real submarine water supply pipe line project in order to evaluate its applicability and performance. The negative impacts resulting from quality failures are simulated. These negative impacts are mitigated by the implementation of alternative solutions.

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Critical non-structural equipments, including life-saving equipment in hospitals, circuit breakers, computers, high technology instrumentations, etc., are vulnerable to strong earthquakes, and the failure of these equipments may result in a heavy economic loss. To guarantee function of vulnerable equipment during earthquake peak acceleration and peak base displacement response of system should be limited to allowable levels. Traditional and passive control strategies cannot afford these contradictory targets in same time for broad range of ground motions. In recent years, semi-active control systems have been introduced as an adaptable and reliable alternative to control response under both limitations with low power supply. In this paper, efficacy of smart semi-active controlled floor isolation system which consists of a rolling pendulum system and a semi-active controlled magnetorheological (MR)-damper to control seismic response of equipment has been investigated by using clipped-H_2/LQG and clipped-H_∞ algorithms. The effectiveness of these algorithms was examined for equipment stand on raised floor due to floor motions in seven stories building. The results demonstrate semi-active control effectively decrease response acceleration and velocity of equipment in compare to passive strategy and hold its relative displacement to floor in least value. Furthermore it was shown semi-active control strategy with clipped-H_∞ algorithm in controlling seismic response of equipment compare to clipped-H_2/LQG algorithm and passive strategy (isolation system) have better performance in protecting equipment.

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Investigation of projectiles penetration phenomenon has been carried out in non-cohesive soil (Sand) targets under dry, saturated and compacted conditions. Analytical studies have been performed on the linear and non-linear soil models to obtain penetration depth formulae for ogival nose projectile and the results are verified by experimental studies. In present work, three ogival nose projectiles each having weight of 1.0 kg and nose angle of 15o, 30o and 45o are dropped from a height of 10.0 m in rectangular tank filled up by non-cohesive soil target. The rigid projectiles made an impact on a uniform target material at normal incidence with striking velocity of 14 m/s and proceeded to penetrate at rigid-body velocity. The models require geometrical parameters of the projectile types, velocity and target shear strength for the overall penetration depth of projectile. In addition, some parametric studies have been also carried out for academic and field interest.

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Globally, irrigated agriculture is the largest extractor and the most frequent consumer of groundwater resources, with important groundwater-dependent and largely spread agro-economies. Quality of irrigation water is one of the key factors which have either direct or indirect impact on plant growth, soil and water management practices and plant yields. This work aims at highlighting the importance of periodic assessment of groundwater quality for irrigation, impact of different chemical parameters on plant yield and agriculture and water management practices needed in adverse irrigation water conditions. This study was conducted in semi-arid area where salinity and alkalinity are considered the main threats to the sustainable irrigation agriculture. Thirty representative samples were collected for chemical analyses from various sources of groundwater, within an area of 36 km2, lying in the north-east of the Lakki Marwat district Pakistan. The standard values suggested by WAPDA, FAO and USDA Handbook 60 were used as benchmark for comparison. The electrical conductivity and pH values together classify groundwater as saline-alkaline. It is revealed that none of the water samples has an adverse impact on the yield of barley, sorghum and wheat while 7% and 17% of this water respectively reduce the yield of corn and onion by 50%. Besides, 7% of this water reduces the yield of alfalfa by 25%. This work recommends management practices such as deep ploughing, provision of adequate drainage and crop rotation for improving the use of such water.

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Resource allocation project scheduling problem (RCPSP) has been one of the challenging subjects amongst researchers in the last decades. Most of the researches in this scope have used deterministic variables, however in a real project activities are exposed to risks and uncertainties that cause to delay in project’s duration. There are some researchers that have considered the risks for scheduling, however, new metahuristics are available to solve this problem for finding better solution with less computational time. In this paper, two new metahuristic algorithms are applied for solving fuzzy resource allocation project scheduling problem (FRCPSP) known as charged system search (CSS) and colliding body optimization (CBO). The results show that both of these algorithms find reasonable solutions, however CBO finds the results in a less computational time having a better quality. A case study is conducted to evaluate the performance and applicability of the proposed algorithms.

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The study has been developed a qualitative System Dynamics model to measure sustainability performance of construction project, considering contractors’ tendency to productivity. Construction contractors do not have a clear understanding of sustainability especially in developing countries. However, they welcome higher productivity as a determinant parameter in scheduling and financial success of construction project. Therefore, construction productivity improvement can be employed as an incentive to persuade contractors for implementing sustainability mechanisms in construction project. Sustainability performance has been examined in three aspects of economic, social and environmental by introducing different subsystems and feedback loops. These loops are based on the causal links among the factors affecting construction sustainability and productivity. The findings provide a proper basis for both practitioners and researchers through illustrating the cohesion between productivity and sustainability.