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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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The purpose of the present study, is proposing a more flexible model comparing with linear regression model, to estimate the rate of household trip production and its prediction in the�project horizon. For this purpose, a combined model composed of poission distribution and the possible distribution of A. in the form of negative binominal distribution are used. Then the proposed model was conducted on a real case (Karaj City). Then the result of model processinghas been compared to .the real observation in the peak hours in Karaj city.

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In this research, the Integrated Noise Model (INM), has been calibrated to perform the noise pollution evaluation in the vicinity of Mehrabad International Airport (MIA). First a conceptual model was developed to analyze the compatibility of airport noise with the land use based on the most widely accepted noise pollution standards. Second, the data generated from the INM package was compared with real data acquired from the test stations positioned around airport. Finally, the outputs of the calibrated model was compared with the noise pollution standards. The results show that more than 70 percent of the land use in the vicinity of airport are not compatible with the accepted noise levels. The generated noise contours was superimposed on the digital map of the city and the areas which violated the permitted levels was recognized. Moreover, the more noise sensitive facilities such as hospitals, schools, and residential units can be positioned in areas which have the permitted noise levels. The model and the procedure can be used to design new airports. Noise evaluation of existing operational airports can be performed by the model developed in this research.

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In a large scale cyclic storage system ,as the number of rule parameters and/or number of operating period increase, general purpose gradient-based NLP solvers and/or genetic algorithms may loose their merits in finding optimally feasible solution to the problem. In these cases hybrid GA which decomposes the main problem into two manageable sub-problems with an iterative scheme between GA and LP solvers may be considered as a sound alternative This research develops a hybrid GA-LP algorithm to optimally design and operate a nonlinear, non-convex, and large scale lumped cyclic storage system. For optimal operation of the system a set of operating rules are derived for joint utilization of surface and groundwater storage capacities to meet a predefined demand with minimal construction and operation cost over a 20 seasonal planning period. Performance of the proposed model is compared with a non-cyclic storage system. The management model minimizes the present value of the design and operation cost of the cyclic and non-cyclic systems under specified and governing constraints, employing the developed GA-LP hybrid model. Results show that cyclic storage dominates non-cyclic storage system both in cost and operation flexibility.

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Risks mean cases of uncertainty of project, the impact of which is realized as a threat (negative aspect) and/or opportunity (positive aspect). The traditional viewpoint on risk is a negative viewpoint that implies damages, loss and harmful consequences. Judgments such as this on risk merely emphasize on risks management and pay less attention to opportunities management. It is clear that some uncertainties might be profitable for the project as in many cases, it could be the source of loss. In a developed attitude, focus is made on a common process that could address the integrated management of both opportunities and risks to aim at maximizing the positive effectsopportunities-, and minimizing negative effects- risks-. Therefore, existence of causal-effect relations between risks, relationship, effects of risks and opportunities on each other and variety of strategies in facing risks gives no alternative for risk management team than taking integrated management of risks and opportunities. In another word, reaction to risks, with respect to risks and/or relevant opportunities, separately, will be never effective. In this paper, for the purpose of integrated management of risks and opportunities, the stages of quality analysis and reactions to risk are combined. The method which is used for reaction towards risk is a procedure based on dynamic system. Dynamic system is highly important among uncertainties due to considering the type and intensity of effects. By using dynamic system and attention to the relationship between uncertainties (risks/ opportunities), reaction to risk and decision making on employing suitable strategies to face risks will be more precise and accurate.

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Construction industry consists of several phases in which a variety of stakeholders are involved. As construction projects are becoming larger, more complex and more diverse, the design phase has been more important factor for the success of projects than ever before. However, it is considered that most of design work occurred in actual design process is intangible. Such recognition makes the design phase more unsystematic and arbitrary, which finally weakens the competitiveness of whole project. In order to solve these problems, this study developed a web-based system for integrated design management (IDMS) which consists of 8 modules including design document, schedule, quality, and building permit management. This section is intended to validate the system implementation and its effectiveness. Two characteristics have made this research significantly different from previous studies. First of all, users of the system including architects and other design professionals were continuously involved starting from the development phase to the validation phase. The other unique characteristic is that the actual design project was applied as a test bed in the final verification stage. The research team applied the actual data which had been generated while each business process, and verified the effectiveness of system implementation. The authors expect that such a user-centered approach enable the system more robust and effective.

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This paper presents an inspection and diagnosis system customized for rendered walls, both interior and external. It classifies all anomalies capable of affecting renderings and most of the likeliest corresponding causes and is supplemented by anomaly-cause and inter-anomaly correlation matrices. In addition, the diagnosis, repair and maintenance techniques suitable for these anomalies are classified. Examples of the files that contain the exhaustive characterization of the anomalies and diagnosis, repair and maintenance techniques are also presented. The system is the result of an intense literature review, which allowed collecting and organizing the information available on pathology of renders. Next it was validated by mathematical manipulation of the data collected from standard inspections of 55 buildings, in which 150 renderings (100 exterior and 50 interior) were examined. The system proposed may be included in a proactive maintenance strategy, since it is robust, reliable and has been statistically validated. The systematic structure of this system is innovative and can help the inspector by making his/her work more objective and standardizing procedures. Anomalies in wall renderings may be prevented/minimized if buildings are properly managed by developing and implementing proactive maintenance plans that cover the following areas: technology (adequate maintenance and repair solutions, including the selection of materials and execution techniques), economy (minimizing running costs) and functionality (appropriate use).

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It has been brought to our attention that the article [1], published in International Journal of Civil Engineering, is a republishing material from a previous publication published in Journal of Energy Engineering[2]. The editorial board of IJCE consider this action as an infringement of professional ethics and therefore the decision has been made to retract of the article.
 
The authors’ response provided by Journal of Energy Engineering to us, was not satisfactory from this journal's point of view for this unfortunate situation (the documents are kept in the journal’s offices). Any inconvenience this may have caused by authors to the Readers due to improper action of the authors should be apologized by them.
 
[1] “Application of Small-Scale Experimental Models for Thermal Comfort Assessment of Sustainable Building Materials” by S. P. Raut, S. A. Mandavgane, and R. V. Ralegaonkar. International Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 12, No. 4, Transaction A: Civil Engineering, December 2014
Received: May 2013, Revised: December 2013, Accepted: January 2014.  This article should be considered as retracted.
 
[2] Thermal Performance Assessment of Recycled Paper Mill Waste–Cement Bricks Using the Small-Scale Model Technique” by Sanjay Raut, Sachin Mandavgane, and Rahul Ralegaonkar. J. Energy Eng., 2014, 140(4): 04014001.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EY.1943-7897.0000171
Submitted on April 9, 2013; approved on October 25, 2013; published online on October 29, 2013.