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This Paper is the result of a research project on a pavement management system that was performed by the Transportation Division of Iran University of Science and Technology. Information used in the project was gathered from 20 zones of the Tehran Municipality. Any maintenance and repair system for roads has a number of general and coordinated activities in conjunction with programming, designing, construction, Maintenance, Evaluation, and research on road pavement. Prediction of pavement condition is one of the most important parts of, such system. Prediction models have their application at the network level as well as project level activities. At the network level it is used in predicting the condition for budget programming. While in project level it is used in economical analysis. Many factors have been used in determination of pavement condition. These factors are the design life of the pavement, loading, climatic condition, and the type of road. To be able to plan for future improvements we need to predict the future condition of the pavement. In this paper, factors affecting the prediction of pavement condition are discussed. A model is developed exclusively for Tehran based on the distress data collected.

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Ambient vibration test is an effective and economical method for identification of dynamic properties of structures such as dams. Mathematical models generally are developed for the design purpose. Structural and material parameter are assumed from similar projects or limited material tests. Therefore it is usually desirable to verify the results obtained from mathematical model by performing vibration test on the actual as-built structure and process its, data correctly. There are addressed in this paper. A modification of mathematical model could then be performed.

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The reliable operation of spillways, in emergency as well as normal conditions, is one of the vital components in dam safety. Free or uncontrolled overflow spillways are the most reliable choice however. They usually impose higher construction cost and /or results in wasting a considerable amount of water or live capacity of the reservoirs. Employing fuse gates might be a way of reconciling dam safety with maximized storage capacity. The operation of the system can be controlled to within a few centimeters, and the entire installation is not lost for floods less than the maximum design flood. The installation offers more or less the same level of safety as ungated spillways, but avoids their inherent storage capacity loss. Optimum design of fuse gates in particular installation calls for a mathematical model. The model developed in this work includes structural, hydraulics and operational constraints while maximizing the expected cost over the useful life of the project. Accounting for the lost benefit (i.e., water lost as a result of gate tilting) has an influenced effect on the optimum design. To test the performance of the model, data from Zarineh Rud dam in Iran has been used and its result is compared with a direct search technique. The model is capable of helping the design engineer to select the best alternative considering different types of constraints.

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In the present paper, ANN is used to predict the tidal level fluctuations, which is an important parameter in maritime areas. A time lagged recurrent network (TLRN) was used to train the ANN model. In this kind of networks, the problem is representation of the information in time instead of the information among the input patterns, as in the regular ANN models. Two sets of data were used to test the proposed model. San Francisco Bay tidal levels were used to test the performance of the model as a predictive tool. The second set of data was collected in Gouatr Bay in southeast of Iran. This data set was used to show the ability of the ANN model in predicting and completing of data in a station, which has a short period of records. Different model structures were used and compared with each other. In addition, an ARMA model was used to simulate time series data to compare the results with the ANN forecasts. Results proved that ANN can be used effectively in this field and satisfactory accuracy was found for the two examples. Based on this study, an operational real time environment could be achieved when using a trained forecasting neural network.

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This research include, more than 400 erosion tests performed on coarse and fine grain suspension materials. The purpose of tests was to determine erosion characteristics of mixtures of different materials. Samples of the .same constituents in different groups were cured tit two different setting time of // and 16 !tours before they were subjected to the constant hydraulic heads of 20 and 40 cm for ct time period of 30 urinates. The amount of erosion was measured as the weight loss of the samples offer the test. /n general the lower setting tune and the higher hydraulic head for a large group of samples showed higher erosion. For uniform sand samples when the cement content was 60-70 % the percentage of erosion (PE) was below 2. For the mixture of sand-cement, with the clay content below, 20% the percentage of erosion was below 2 and it increased to 15.5 for the clan, content of 58dc. Die addition of bentonite in the soil-cement mixtures in general did not affect the erosion.

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This paper presents the long-term deformations of reinforced high-strength concrete columns subjected to constant sustained axial forces. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of binder systems containing different levels of silica fume on time-dependent behaviour of high-strength concrete columns. The experimental part of the work focused on concrete mixes having a fixed water/binder ratio of 0.35 and a constant total binder content of 500 kg/m3. The percentages of silica fume that replaced cement in this research were: 0%, 6%, 8%, 10% and 15%. The mechanical properties evaluated in the laboratory were: compressive strength secant modulus of elasticity strain due to creep and shrinkage. The theoretical part of the work is about stress redistribution between concrete and steel reinforcement as a result of time-dependent behaviour of concrete. The technique used for including creep in the analysis of reinforced concrete columns was age-adjusted effective modulus method. The results of this research indicate that as the proportion of silica fume increased, the short-term mechanical properties of concrete such as 28-day compressive strength and secant modulus improved. Also the percentages of silica fume replacement did not have a significant influence on total shrinkage however, the autogenous shrinkage of concrete increased as the amount of silica fume increased. Moreover, the basic creep of concrete decreased at higher silica fume replacement levels. Drying creep (total creep - basic creep) was negligible in this investigation. The results of the theoretical part of this researchindicate that as the proportion of silica fume increased, the gradual transfer of load from the concrete to the reinforcement decreased and also the effect of steel bars in lowering the concrete deformation reduced. Moreover, the total strain of concrete columns decreased at higher silicafume replacement levels.

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The flow characteristics of triangular weir are studied under free and submerged flow condition. This paper reports the results of an investigation carried out to establish the stage-discharge relationship for sharp and broad crested triangular weir. The stage-discharge relationships are deduced by the application of the
theorem of the dimensional analysis and the incomplete self-similarity theory coupled with experimental data.

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A numerical model is introduced for solution of shallow water flow equations with negligible physical dissipations due to canal roughness and turbulence effects. Two-dimensional velocity distribution and water depth of the flow field are computed by solving the depth average equations of continuity and motion. The equations are converted to discrete form using cell vertexfinite volume method on triangular unstructured mesh. The formulation of the added numericalviscosity is chosen in such a way that preserves the accuracy of numerical results. The accuracy ofthe model is assessed by computing the challenging case of inviscid frictionless flow in a canal with a 1800 bend. The computed results are compared with analytical solution which is obtainedfrom potential flow theory. Simulation of frictionless free surface flow in a constant width meandering sinusoidal canal is considered as an application of the model. The algorithm produced encouraging results.

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In this study, an artificial neural networks (ANN) was used to optimise the results obtained from a hydrodynamic model of river flow prediction. The study area is Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in southwest Idaho, USA. First a hydrodynamic model was constructed to predict flow at the outlet using time series data from upstream gauging sites as boundary conditions. The model, then was replaced with an ANN model using the same inputs. Finally a hybrid model was employed in which the error of the hydrodynamic model is predicted using an ANN model to optimise the outputs. Simulations were carried out for two different conditions (with and without data from a recently suspended gauging site) to evaluate the effect of this suspension in hydrodynamic, ANN and the hybrid model. Using ANN in this way, the error produced by the hydrodynamic model was predicted and thereby, the results of the model were improved.

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Partnering is the master key element for project quality. It opens the doors to commitment and communication between the parties and provides the mastic which turns disparate groups with varying aims into a coherent team with common objectives (Baden-Hellard).There has been considerable business emphasis placed upon the development of collaborative relationships across companies in recent years. Construction is no exception. The presence of trust in the relationships has been cited as central to successful business and project outcomes (Partnership Sourcing Ltd. 1994, Latham1994). Trust is central to the development of non- adversarial business relationships, and hence provides fertile ground for the development of practices such as partnering, strategic alliances and supply chain management.The paper focuses upon the partnering concept in construction and discusses the role of trust as a key dimension for reducing adversarial relations in project working environments.

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This paper specifies the relationship among various factors contributing to road accidents including geometrical design characteristics, environmental and traffic specifications, by multiple regression analysis. The main objective of this paper is identification of problems associated with the safety issue of road networks by application of accident prediction models. Data from previous accidents were used to develop the models. Results of this study showed that the rate of road accidents is to a large extent dependent on the rate of traffic volume. Type of road and land-use are other important factors influencing the number and intensity of accidents. The mountainous roads in this respect require special attention regarding their safety factors. The quantitative rate of road safety upgrading has also been specified by adding traffic lanes in road networks.

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The main purpose of this research is evaluation of effect of chemicals on permeability of sand- bentonite mixtures. The coefficients of permeability of sand- bentonite mixtures in water, solutions of sodium and calcium chlorides, sodium hydroxide, acetic acid, methanol and carbon tetrachloride were calculated using parameters obtained in 1- D consolidation test and Terzaghi’s theory. At each void ratio permeability of samples in water is the lowest and that for carbon tetrachloride is the highest. For all fluids the permeability index Ck is decreased as the percentage of sand is increased. The largest Ck belongs to the samples tested in water and the smallest Ck belongs to the samples tested in carbon tetrachloride.

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Arational approach is introduced for numerical modeling of unbounded soil foundations based on coupled dynamic periodic infinite and conventional finite elements (IFE-FE). The model can be applied for analysis of various dynamic problems in geomechanics, especially in Soil Structure Interaction (SSI), where determination of stiffness properties and response of unbounded soil domains are of prime importance. In numerical SSI analysis, there exists important problems a) the discretization of natural soil foundation, especially defining the boundaries to prevent reflecting body waves and avoiding spurious results, b) the definition of the matrices related to the soils impedance functions which are essentially dependant on the excitation frequency, c) the evaluation of free field motion of the natural foundation, especially those of irregular geometry and material diversity. An efficient way and integrated solution to these important problems is found to be the use of periodic infinite elements. The wave equation of motion is derived numerically for discretization of the soil domain. Shape functions and mapping coordinates for dynamic periodic infinite elements are presented in this paper. The accuracy of the IFE is examined for the evaluation of free field motion of a visco-elastic soil foundation. Derivation of impedance function is shown and leads to the determination of dynamic stiffness characteristics of the unbounded soil medium including spring and dashpot coefficients. Application of the approach introduced here is shown by analysis of SSI for a semi-tall building subjected to earthquake loading. Other advantages of the approach are the substantial reduction in degrees of freedom involved in numerical SSI analysis, the computational time and costs without sacrificing the accuracy of the results.

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Existence of discontinuities causes higher deformability and lower strength in rock masses. Thus joints can change the rock mass behaviour due to the applied loads. For this reason properties and orientation of the joint sets have a great effect on the stability of rock slopes. In this paper, after introducing some numerical methods for evaluating the factor of safety for the stability of slopes, stability of jointed rock slopes in the plane strain condition is investigated with the strength reduction technique this method is modified and applied in the multilaminate framework. First of all, stability of one homogeneous rock slope is investigated and compared with the limit equilibrium method. Then stability of a layered rock slope is analyzed with some modifications in the strength reduction technique. Effects of orientation, tensile strength and dilation of layered joint sets on the factor of safety and location of the sliding block are explained.

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Flow regime in dam's bottom outlet is divided in pressurized flow and free surface flow by the gate located for discharge control. Down stream tunnel involves high velocity Multi component Air –water flow studied by mathematical model. In this research work, we used Finite volume mixture two phase flow model. Because of high Reynolds number, standard two equations k-e turbulence model was used. Model was verified by backward-facing step flow and results have been compared with experiments founded by Durst and Schmitt. Air demand ratio has been determined as function of Froude number at contracted section. Flow patterns have been compared at two categories of slug & stratified flows, Air mean concentration profile has been obtained at down stream tunnel. Comparison of flow pattern at two case with and without of aeration was investigated. Pressure drop behind of the gate and formation of vortex flow after the gate section have been discussed. Measurement of flow discharge and determination of contraction coefficient of the gate was outlined.

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The use of Value Engineering (VE) methodology in construction industry has grown significantly, mainly in view of its extensive benefits. The main task in evaluation phase of VE workshop is to assess alternative ideas, proposed for each function. This phase of VE, hence, could be deemed as a Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problem. This paper presents a fuzzy decision support system (DSS) to be employed in evaluation phase of VE. The proposed multi alternative decision model may be recommended where alternatives’ preferences ratios are different, and scores assigned to each alternative idea are uncertain. As use of VE has greater payoffs at the earlier stages of the construction projects, in which most of the criteria are still vague and not precisely defined, exploiting this DSS may result in more tangible model of decision making process and satisfactory outlook of VE studies in construction projects. A ranking methodology in a spreadsheet template is also provided to facilitate the ranking process. Performance of the proposed methodology is tested using a case example in the tunneling industry.

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Explosion has always been regarded as one of the most complicated engineering problems. As a result, many engineers have preferred rather simplified empirical approaches in comparison to extremely complex deterministic analyses. In this paper, however, a numerical simulation based on the combined finite/discrete element methodology is presented for analyzing the dynamic behavior of fracturing rock masses in blasting. A finite element discretization of discrete elements allows for complex shapes of fully deformable discrete elements with geometric and material nonlinearities to be considered. Only a Rankine strain softening plasticity model is employed, which is suitable for rock and other brittle materials. Creation of new lines/edges/bodies from fracturing and fragmentation of original objects is systematically considered in the proposed gas-solid interaction flow model. An equation of state is adopted to inexpensively calculate the pressure of the detonation gas in closed form. The model employed for the flow of detonation gas has resulted in a logical algorithmic procedure for the evaluation of spatial distribution of the pressure of detonation gas, work done by the expanding gas and the total mass of the detonation gas as functions of time indicating the ability of model to respond to changes in both the mass of explosive charge and the size of the solid block undergoing fracture. Rock blasting and demolition problems are amongst the engineering applications that are expected to benefit directly from the present development. The results of this study may also be used to provide some numerical based reliable solutions for the complex analysis of structures subjected to explosive loadings.

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The objective of this paper is to present a new method for protecting the lives of residents in catastrophic earthquake failures of unreinforced masonry buildings by introducing some safe rooms within the buildings. The main idea is that occupants can seek refuge within the safe rooms as soon as the earthquake ground motions are felt. The information obtained from the historical ground motions happened in seismic zones around the globe expresses the lack of enough safety of masonry buildings against earthquake. For this potentially important reason, an attempt has been made to create some cost-effective seismic-resistant areas in some parts of the existing masonry buildings, which are called safe rooms. The practical method for creating these areas and increasing the occupant safety of the buildings is to install some prefabricated steel frames in some of their rooms or in their halls. These frames do not carry any service loads before earthquake. However, if a near field seismic event happens and the load bearing walls of the building destroy, some parts of its floors, which are in the safe areas, will fall on the roof of the installed frames consequently, the occupants who have sheltered in the safe rooms will survive. This paper expresses the experimental and theoretical work executed on the steel structures of the safe rooms for bearing the shock and impact loads. Finally, it was concluded that both the strength and displacement capacity of the steel frames were adequate to accommodate the distortions generated by seismic loads and aftershocks properly.

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A new chemical grouting method has been developed for conglomerate formations based on the experimental studies. Due to the lack of chemical grouting experience of conglomerate formations, the testing programs were performed to evaluate the performance of chemical grouting in the water sealing of part of conglomerate foundation of Karkheh earth dam using a combination of field and laboratory tests. First, the chemical grouts alone were examined with regard to viscosity-time behavior, gelation time, temperature-influence, stability, and deformability. These laboratory tests, led to the selection of the final chemical grout which was a solution of sodium silicate, water, and ethyl acetate as reactant. The second step tested grout-soil interaction: The injectability and permeability reduction of the selected chemical grout was examined in field injection tests. In this step two field tests were performed including shallow test holes without hydrostatic pressure and full scale tests under dam real hydrostatic pressure head. Based on these two field injection tests, performed in the conglomerate foundation of Karkheh dam, a new chemical grouting method for conglomerate formations is proposed and satisfactory results led to the recommendation of this method for eventually successful application.

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A meshless method namely, discrete least square method (DLSM), is presented in the paper for the solution of free surface seepage problem. In this method computational domain is discredited by some nodes and then the set of simultaneous equations are built using moving least square (MLS) shape functions and least square technique. The proposed method does not need any background mesh therefore it is a truly meshless method. Several numerical two dimensional examples of Poisson partial differential equations (PDEs) are presented to illustrate the performance of the present DLSM. And finally a free surface seepage problem in a porous media is solved and results are presented.