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Environmental issues are often neglected in previous studies on site layout evaluation problems. To address this research gap, a comprehensive evaluation model is developed to evaluate construction site layout planning in this paper. The proposed evaluation model includes four aspects: (1) land use; (2) safety; (3) logistics; and (4) sustainability evaluations. To make the results of the evaluation more accurate, the evaluation model includes the subjective factors that need to be scored by the experts and the objective factors that could be gained from the inspections of the projects and the related materials. Then, the entropy weight method-based Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is chosen to solve the proposed multicriteria evaluation model. In this paper, the construction site layout planning for four different typical and practical cases, which include two commercial mixed buildings, a residential building, and a sewage treatment plant, is studied. The evaluation results proved that the proposed model is suitable to evaluate common types of construction, such as residential and commercial buildings but not specific functional types, such as the sewage treatment plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the perspective of transportation infrastructure upgrading, this paper discussed the motivation behind industrial firms' pollution transfer to provincial borders. Using a panel data set of 41 cities in China's Yangtze River Delta from 2005 to 2020, this paper empirically tested the impact of intracity and intercity transportation infrastructure upgrading on pollution transfer through a two-way fixed-effects model. The results revealed the following: First, intracity transportation infrastructure upgrading forces local industrial firms to transfer pollution outward. Second, intercity transportation infrastructure upgrading accelerates pollution transfer to provincial borders. Third, in the central region, intracity transportation infrastructure upgrading does not significantly impact local pollution transfer. Intercity transportation infrastructure upgrading can aggravate border pollution, whether in the eastern or central regions. Furthermore, border pollution is more serious in the central region. The results have important practical significance for improving China's regional development planning and environmental governance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rail running band is a mathematical representation describing the continuous strip-shaped spatial surface resulting from the rolling contact operation of train wheels on the rail surface, which establishes a direct mapping relationship with the wheel–rail interaction, and the nature of this interaction significantly influences the safety and comfort of train operations. Therefore, accurate detection of the running band is crucial for enhancing the safety and comfort of train travel. Traditional running band detection relies on manual inspection methods, utilizing a scale for measurements on the rail. However, this approach is characterized by high labor costs, slow detection speeds, and a lack of systematic data preservation. This paper proposes R2Bnet, a lightweight semantic segmentation algorithm that achieves pixel-level detection of rail running bands. R2Bnet is an enhanced encoder-decoder architecture built upon ShuttleNet. Different from ShuttleNet, R2Bnet optimizes the number of repetitive codecs in ShuttleNet and redesigns the encoder's residual structure to match the unique characteristics of rail running bands, allowing the backbone network to effectively capture long-range dependencies. Furthermore, R2Bnet integrates an efficient channel attention mechanism to enhance focus on critical regions and optimize feature representations. The F -measure and mean intersection over union (mIOU) achieved by R2Bnet on 300 testing images were 98.47% and 0.9617, respectively. Notably, R2Bnet outperformed six state-of-the-art models for semantic segmentation and demonstrated a significant 39% improvement in speed compared with the average speed of the six networks provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, the finite-element numerical software COMSOL Multiphysics is used to simulate the electric pulse rock-breaking process, and the novel numerical model takes into account the multiple fields of electrical, thermal, and mechanical physics. The electric field strength inside the rock under the action of the electric pulse is updated by the full coupling function of COMSOL (version 6.1) software, and the electric damage variable χ is used to describe the process of electric breakdown inside the rock, to simulate the formation of plasma channel in the process of electric pulse rock-breaking. The voltage change curves and plasma channel trajectories in the electric breakdown process of the model in this paper are compared with the literature to verify the accuracy of the model. The formation process of plasma channels captures the temperature and stress changes during the whole process of electric pulse rock-breaking, to reveal the mechanism of the electric pulse rock-breaking process. With the presence of conductive particles inside the rock, the particles can effectively promote the formation of plasma channels, increase the area of electrical damage, and improve rock-breaking efficiency. Before the formation of the plasma channel, the internal temperature of the rock is about 600 K, and the stress is about 10−2 MPa; when the channel is formed, the energy of the electric pulse is mainly concentrated in the plasma channel, and the temperature of the plasma channel rises to 104 K. When the maximum stress exceeds the critical stress of the rock, the rock undergoes fracture. Furthermore, an appropriate increase in the rise time of the electric pulse increases the speed and area of rock-breaking, subsequently improving the efficiency of rock fracture. The results of the numerical modeling in this paper help to better understand the mechanism of the electric pulse rock-breaking process, which is of great engineering significance for the development of new electric pulse rock-breaking technology in the realm of geotechnical engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers tips on how to write an award-winning paper about engineering. According to the article, a prerequisite to writing a good paper is an in-depth understanding of the subject. This understanding should be beyond words and deep into concepts. To do this, one must have first-hand experience on the research that you are conducting.

This paper presents an assessment of recycling of thermally treated fluvial sediments as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM). Different calcination treatments were conducted with temperatures ranging between 450°C and 950°C. For each calcined sediment, a detailed characterization was carried out. Subsequently, blended cements containing 25% calcined sediments (CS) were prepared and tested, including portlandite consumption, hydration kinetics, and compressive strength development (41 and 52 MPa at 7 and 90 days, respectively). The results showed that blended cement based on CS at 750°C provided the most favorable hydration kinetics and the highest compressive strength. An optimization design of experiment was followed to maximize the substitution rate of CS. The resulting multivariable function suggests a replacement rate up to 20% to produce a blended cement equivalent to CEM II 52.5 N, and up to 30% to produce a cement equivalent to CEM II 42.5 N. The reported technoenvironmental findings corroborate the use of CS as SCMs and motivate future research on their effect on concrete properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academics have been devoting a growing attention to different matters involving public-private partnerships (PPPs), and, as the use of PPPs for delivering infrastructure evolves worldwide, so does the number and type of papers addressing this procurement model. The objective of this paper is to undertake a comprehensive literature review of papers relating to PPPs and private finance initiatives (PFIs), using a bibliometric analysis. More than 600 papers published between 1990 and 2014 were examined. None of the previously existing studies analyzed such a large sample of papers. The research found that PPP studies appear to have a steady momentum toward growth. Engineering journals (and engineering as a research area) have been particularly active in this field. Authors based in Europe and Asia had written almost two-thirds of the papers, with transportation and health sectors at the top of sector-based papers. Most of the existing work is focused on aspects of contract design, risk sharing, and analyzing the contract performance and benefits, and neglects areas such as contract termination and renegotiation. The management of PPPs will be the next big challenge for PPP scholars and professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One-layer (0.15-mm-thick) and 15-layer (5.43-mm-thick) graphene composites have been fabricated through the impregnation of epoxy resin into porous graphene nanoplatelet (GnP) paper. Three different flake sizes of GnPs were used for the 1-layer graphene com- posites: 5 μm, mixed 5 μm and 25 μm, and 25 μm. The largest graphene flakes showed the best material properties in terms of tensile strength and elongation at break. Both tensile and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) test results demonstrated that the 15-layer graphene composite had better material properties than the 1-layer graphene composites. The storage modulus of 15-layer graphene composite was 170% higher than that of neat epoxy. The transverse surface of 15-layer graphene composite exhibited a higher elastic modulus but lower hardness than the top surface. Ballistic limit test results showed that the combination of polyurea (PU) and a 15-layer graphene composite coating can increase the ballistic limit of TC-128 steel plate slightly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Forensic Engineering Division's (FED) Outstanding Paper Award given to Misko Cubrinovski, Jennifer Haskell and Anna Winkley.

A personal narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of being involved with the JTE from the beginning, and thought it would be worthwhile to look back and see how the journal has evolved over the years and possibly learn some lessons that can be useful for future directions.

The Journal of Management in Engineering (JME) has introduced a new award, the Decade Award, to recognize the impact of scholarly work in the engineering management domain in civil engineering a decade after its publication. The award selection process goes beyond traditional metrics such as citations and evaluates the depth and quality of impact. The inaugural Decade Award was given to the paper titled "Practical Application for Integrated Performance Measurement of Construction Projects" by Nassar and AbouRizk. The paper has had significant impact within the construction industry and academia, influencing performance measurement systems, project management processes, project due diligence, peer reviews, and project management software companies. It has also sparked related research, been included in project management courses, and influenced project management professional academies and training institutions. The committee aims to refine and enhance the award selection process in the future. [Extracted from the article]

Fine grid management is one of the important development directions of transportation planning that has not been fully considered in previous literature. This paper explores the application of the fine grid management method in transportation planning. Based on a case study of Chuanhui, China, this paper proposes a data-driven fine grid partitioning method for determining traffic analysis zones (TAZs). The TAZs are partitioned based on quadrilateral and hexagonal grids. This paper also summarizes a set of criteria for evaluating the impact of different fine grid partitioning methods based on the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model. The results show that our fine grid partitioning method for determining TAZs based on quadrilateral grids can achieve a relatively low level of predicted value bias and variable correlation degree bias when the number of TAZs is larger, and it has obvious advantages. Finally, policy implications are proposed to promote the refinement of transportation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the changing paradigm of the State's functions and the increasing private sector participation in urban planning, public–private partnership (PPP) arrangements gain prominence in the development of cities, whether in the construction and operation of new infrastructures or in interventions in urbanized areas. Regarding urbanized areas, urban regeneration practices constitute an important response in the face of urban degradation observed in different cities, as well as an alternative to the consumption of new land. Despite their use in different contexts, the PPP option in urban regeneration projects encounters many obstacles related to high investment risk, low financial and social return, and the numerous sources of uncertainty generated by these projects. The present work consists of a systematic literature review of papers on PPP in urban regeneration projects, seeking to identify the main research topics addressed so far and what gaps can be identified. It uses a hybrid methodology considering a systematic quantitative review, a semantic analysis, and a narrative analysis. The findings show that the literature on the topic is recent and has been increasing in recent years, with emphasis on Europe, followed by North America and Asia. The literature presents a high variety in terms of journals, authors, and institutions. As for the methodology adopted in the articles, it highlights the use of quantitative methodologies. Five main topics were found: policy, projects, governance, financial and economic issues, and management and contract issues. The topics found show the complexity of PPPs in urban regeneration projects. The gaps observed refer mainly to financial and economic issues, as well as management and contract issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the goal in publishing papers is to make useful contributions to the state of knowledge and practice in transportation engineering. It mentions that the papers receiving at least one award-quality designation in the review process are considered; winners generally have multiple award-quality designations; and the role of the referees in selecting the best papers as well as in enhancing the quality of the journal is absolutely critical.

This document is a closure to a previous paper titled "Effects of Movement Induced by Ground Improvement on the Performance of an Excavation Support System in Underconsolidated Clay." The closure addresses comments and requests for additional information made by a discusser. The closure provides construction information, including the layout of ground improvement works and the installation of deep soil mix columns and jet grout piles. It also discusses the selection of jet grout pressures, undrained shear strength properties of marine clays, and field performance observations. The closure concludes by addressing the limitations of the numerical modeling used in the original paper. [Extracted from the article]

In this article the author discusses the rules for writing a case study paper. The author states that case study papers offers documentation of the investigation, analysis, and/or performance of a geotechnical project and it present information that will advance geotechnical and geoenvironmental engineering practice.

The article announces that the paper "Failure Investigation at a Collapsed Deep Excavation in Very Sensitive Organic Soft Clay" by R. P. Chen and colleagues has received the Outstanding Paper Award for 2015 from the American Society of Civil Engineers Forensic Engineering Division.

Energy saving has become a key concern of metro systems to reduce operating costs and meet the requirements of sustainable development. Energy-efficient timetabling, an effective way to reduce traction energy consumption, has gotten much attention in recent decades. However, limited research about energy-efficient timetabling simultaneously considered realistic speed profiles and the influence of train loads, which change greatly in different sections and significantly affect energy consumption. Therefore, this paper proposes an energy-efficient timetabling approach to improve regenerative energy utilization based on varying train loads and realistic speed profiles for bidirectional metro lines. First, based on the operational and safety constraints, this paper constructs an integer energy-efficient timetabling model where dwell times and nonuniform headways are taken as decision variables. Besides, the turnaround process is also considered to ensure rolling stock circulation efficiency. Sectional passenger volumes are employed to determine the varying train loads. Energy consumption is calculated based on realistic speed profiles. Owing to the complexity of the model, an improved adaptive large neighborhood search (ALNS) algorithm is designed to solve this model according to its characteristics. Finally, numerical examples are conducted based on the practical data from Shanghai Metro Line 17. The results indicate that the proposed approach effectively solves the energy-efficient timetabling problem with varying train loads and realistic speed profiles for bi-directional metro lines. The approach is suitable for off peak hours and can reduce energy consumption effectively, and the reduction is up to 11.9% for the presented cases. The improved ALNS algorithm can find good solutions within reasonable times in different cases. Moreover, compared with the widely used genetic algorithm in the literature, the improved ALNS algorithm is more efficient in solving the proposed energy-efficient timetabling problem in different cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost estimating in the construction industry is challenging due to the high uncertainty associated with the supply chain, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. Some research studies have addressed such problems by developing models that predict material cost. In fact, all material can be interconnected and interrelated with lead-lag relationships such that any inflation in one material's price can be associated with inflation in other materials' prices, referred to as transmission of inflation. Despite the latter, none of the existing studies have investigated inflation transmission among all construction materials. This paper fills this knowledge gap. The authors used a multistep research methodology. First, Producer Price Index (PPI) data for 16 construction materials were collected and sorted. Second, the vector autoregression technique was used to model the relationships between each pair of material and subsequently validate the associations using the Granger causality test. Third, network analysis was performed to identify the inflation transmission capacity (out-degree centrality), inflation susceptibility (in-degree centrality), and inflation intermediatory capacity (betweenness centrality) for each material. Finally, modularity-based clustering was conducted to categorize the materials based on their price indices' interconnections and examine inflation transmission path among different sectors of construction-related material. The results show that metals and plastic products are generally the highest transmitters of inflation to other construction material including "Fabricated structural metal products" and "Plastic construction products." Furthermore, the results show that "Concrete products," "Flat glass," "Brick and structural clay tile," and "Architectural coatings" are also high transmitters of inflation and thus can be key indicators of increase in the overall construction cost. This paper provides the industry stakeholders with leading indicators and early warning signs for the inflated material prices. Contractors and owners can utilize those warning signs to enhance their procurement plans and budgeting decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The described data set must be publicly available through a digital object identifier (DOI), cited in the paper, and a link provided within the paper to ensure online access to the published data set. Reviewers of an ASCE JSE data paper manuscript will ensure the paper meets the formatting, data and metadata, validation, and data access criteria. The authors provide a DOI and data archive link as well as the metadata such as instrumentation, location and methods, and summary plots of the data. [Extracted from the article]

This document is a closure response to a discussion on the prevention of water intake blockage by ice during supercooling events. The authors thank the discussers for their input and acknowledge that the impact of slush ice on intakes, which occurs after the supercooling event, was not covered in the paper. The paper focused exclusively on water intake blockage during supercooling events, as stated in the title and introduction. The authors explain that this focus was necessary due to the large amount of material already included and the need to capture all methods, reliable or not, that have been proposed in the past. The authors also address terminology concerns related to the forms of ice during supercooling events and afterward. They note that a consistent and widely accepted terminology for underwater ice forms does not currently exist. Overall, the paper provides a summary of solutions for water intake blockage during supercooling events and acknowledges that a comprehensive report covering all ice problems at water intakes, including the impacts of slush ice, remains to be written. [Extracted from the article]

Small-scale model houses were built with different masonry products in order to investigate the environmental performance of sustainable construction materials. Three model houses were designed and developed as per the standards one with recycled paper mill waste (RPMW)-cement bricks, another with fly ash bricks and the third with ferrocement wall panels. In order to assess the indoor temperature for these particular sustainable building materials, the temperature inside the model houses was monitored over the study location for the period of a year. The economic viability for the developed model houses was also analyzed. Wall surface temperature readings on the exposed south facade were used to estimate thermal conduction of the wall assembly. Detailed analysis revealed that the developed RPMW-cement brick model house was more thermally resistant and economical than the fly ash brick and ferrocement wall panel model houses. Energy efficient building minimizes energy consumption through the reduction of indoor temperature, making the RPMW-cement brick model house the best choice for construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on goal in publishing papers is to make useful contributions to the state of knowledge and practice for transportation engineering. Topics include the papers receiving at least one award quality designation in the review process are considered like winners generally have multiple award quality designations, and the role of the referees in selecting the best papers as well as in enhancing the quality of the Journal is absolutely critical.

The identification of damage to concrete bridge surfaces is of great significance to maintaining the durability and reliability of bridges. However, it is difficult to identify small areas of damage, especially in high-resolution images. To conduct damage identification research in a targeted manner, this paper proposes a method of multidamage identification in high-resolution images based on You Only Look Once version 5 (YOLOv5). In this paper, a data set labeled with four types of damage (crack, spallation, hole, and rebar) is used for training, validation, and testing. To ensure that the network adequately learns the damage features, the high-resolution images are cropped into subimages via the autoadaptive window cropping method (AWCM) proposed in this paper. The cropping method can crop images according to the label information and protect the damage features from destruction during the cropping process. To avoid overfitting, it is necessary to balance the volume of different types of damage. After balancing, the count for each category is as follows: crack (4,980), spallation (5,225), hole (5,211) and rebar (5,020). The balanced data set can be used to train the deep learning network and construct the multidamage identification model. After identification, the subimages, and the prediction boxes of damages in them are restored to their original high-resolution images. The results show that the mean average precision (mAP) of all classes is 94.2%, and the values for cracks, spallation, holes, and rebars are 86.9%, 98.1%, 92.3%, and 99.4%, respectively, which indicates that the proposed method outperforms the other three methods (inputting original images directly, the sliding window cropping method, and the random centroid cropping method). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a discussion of various research papers on different topics. The first paper explores the influence of downstream channel width on flow features in a T-shaped open-channel confluence. The authors conducted numerical simulations to study flow characteristics such as stagnation zone location, tributary inflow angles, separation zone dimensions, flow acceleration, secondary flow patterns, and bed shear stresses. The second paper focuses on the backwater effect in a T-shaped junction channel, examining the impact of junction angle, width ratio, discharge ratio, and bed level discordance. The third paper discusses the backwater effect in river channels caused by variations in bed level and width ratios, finding that increasing discharge upstream and enlarging the downstream width of the main channel can mitigate the backwater effect. The final report analyzes the properties of the star system GJJ211936, including its spectral type, luminosity, and distance from Earth. It also examines the potential habitability of the system's exoplanets and emphasizes the importance of further research in the search for extraterrestrial life. [Extracted from the article]

The use of externally bonded composite systems is recognized as an effective solution for strengthening existing reinforced concrete (RC) structures. Steel-reinforced grout (SRG) is an attractive option, because of its compatibility with the concrete substrate and mechanical properties. However, a critical aspect is the delamination that might affect the steel textile–mortar and the mortar–concrete substrate interfaces. An experimental and theoretical investigation of the SRG–concrete bond is reported in this paper. In particular, the bond performances of SRG-to-concrete joints, which varies the width of the SRG fabric, the displacement rate, and the applied load eccentricity, are analyzed for the stress that is associated with the bond capacity, slip, and failure modes based on the results that are obtained by direct single-lap shear tests. To assess a data set for model calibration, the findings of this paper and those in the technical literature are collected. Therefore, a machine learning (ML) approach that is based on an artificial neural networks (ANN) algorithm is implemented, and a new analytical formulation for the prediction of the SRG-to-concrete bond capacity is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation infrastructures and operations can be severely impacted during flood events, leading to significant disruptions to the flow of goods and services. Although numerous studies have evaluated the direct impacts of flood events on the performance of transportation infrastructures, the indirect impacts or cascading effects have been rarely assessed. Hence, this paper examines the cascading effects of floods on transportation infrastructure using data mining algorithms. First, 33 effects of flood events on transportation infrastructure have been identified based on data collected for multiple flood events in New York and New Jersey. Second, association rule mining analysis was implemented to identify the key co-occurrences between flooding and the different events. Third, network analysis was conducted to quantify the co-occurrences or key combinations among the events. Fourth, cluster analysis was used to group or prioritize the cascading effects and co-occurring events into highly connected clusters to identify the most critical ones based on two scenarios: (1) without consideration of co-occurrences (Scenario 1); and (2) with consideration of co-occurrences (Scenario 2). The findings provided insights that while some cascading impacts could be individually critical/frequent (under Scenario 1), other cascading impacts could also result due to a combination of different effects that might not be perceived to be critical on the individual level but rather become critical when combined with other cascading events (under Scenario 2). The outcomes of this paper demonstrate the importance of considering the co-occurrences between the events and cascading effects, rather than analyzing them in isolation. This study adds to the body of knowledge by offering an analytical approach that could be used to identify and prioritize critical cascading effects of flood events on the operations and performance of transportation infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-rise structures with large aspect ratios are subjected to unexpected motions under wind excitation. Structural vibrations induced by vortices in the wake were captured by aeroelastic real-time hybrid simulation (aeroRTHS) in the companion paper. An effective and practical method is critical for explaining the mitigation of adverse wind loading impact upon these structures. Analyzing the performance of structural control devices against wind excitation in an aeroelastic wind tunnel test often is time- and cost-intensive. In this paper, aeroRTHS testing is extended to include (1) a vibration control device numerically added to the numerical substructures and tested to mitigate the cross-wind oscillation in the aeroRTHS framework; and (2) the use of 128 pressure sensors installed on two side faces of a physical building model in a boundary layer wind tunnel (BLWT) at the University of Florida Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure Equipment Facility (UF NHERI EF) to provide a more complete description of the wind-force distributions imparted on nine building configurations both with and without a tuned mass damper (TMD) at various constant wind speeds. Wind-force distribution was characterized in the time domain in terms of time histories of equivalent forces and displacements, and envelopes of wind forces. Frequency response analysis was conducted based on power spectral densities of input equivalent wind forces and output structural dynamic response. Results from the aeroRTHS tests demonstrated that the aeroRTHS method is capable of investigating aeroelastic structures with passive mitigation devices. The aeroRTHS tests in the wind tunnel demonstrated that the augmentation of buildings with TMDs is an effective way to attenuate the cross-wind vibration in tall buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under various stress paths, the deformation characteristics represented great differences. In this paper, a series of cyclic triaxial tests have been conducted with Fujian standard sand. By comparing the constant deviatoric (CDS) and constant axial stress paths (CAS), the influence mechanism of the cyclic amplitude of the deviatoric stress was discussed. The test results showed that the stress path significantly influenced the volumetric and shear strains. The increasing and decreasing trend in the volumetric strain (ɛv) was consistent with the spherical stress (lnp). Compared with the two stress paths, the slope of the ɛv−lnp curve during the loading and unloading stages was larger under the CAS path. In the CDS path, qc almost did not affect the cumulative volumetric strain, and in the CAS path, the effect was obvious. The shear strain curve was in accordance with the direction of the stress path. As the cyclic number increased, the shear strain gradually accumulated. The shear strain accumulation under the CAS path was larger. The shear strain largely depended on the relative position between the critical state line (CSL) and the stress state of the soil during cyclic loading and unloading. Practical Applications: In practical engineering, the soil will experience various stress paths. For example, in slope or earth–rock dam engineering, where the water level rises and falls repeatedly, the soil often goes through the stress path of constant deviational stress with the cyclic increase and decrease in the spherical stress. In foundation pit engineering, the soil often experiences the stress path of the constant axial stress (CAS) with cyclic loading and unloading of the lateral stress. The stress path greatly influences the deformation and strength of soil. Therefore, the previous two stress paths are compared in this paper to discuss the influence of the cyclic amplitude of deviatoric stress. Under three different consolidation states, the cyclic amplitude of the deviatoric stress significantly influenced the volumetric and shear strains. The shear strain largely depended on the relative position between the critical state line (CSL) and the stress state of the soil during cyclic loading and unloading. Therefore, in practical engineering, if the stress path in the experiment differs from the actual value, the influence of the stress path should be properly considered. The results should be modified according to the degree of influence of each stress condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social risk of a community renewal project is a macro concept, which is composed of many micro social risk factors. Community renewal projects involve a large number of stakeholder subjects, and the relationship between the subjects is intricate and complex, which leads to a more diversified source of social risk factors behind community renewal projects. There are interactions and interdependence among many factors, and complex interactions form a coupled relationship between the factors. In this paper, an original corpus is constructed based on online and offline data, and 19 risk factors of community renewal projects and the coupling effects of the factors are identified through the grounded theory. The factor weights are solved through the analytic network process (ANP). The dynamic evolution model of social risks is constructed through the system dynamics model based on the factors, the coupling effects of the factors, and the factor weights, so as to simulate the dynamic evolution process of the social risks. The results show that factors such as the management mechanism soundness have larger weights, and in the process of social risks evolution, core factors such as unsound management mechanism will trigger a series of other risk factors, which will increase the overall social risks. This paper identifies the key factors of social risks, clarifies the complex coupling relationship between the factors, provides a dynamic evolution model, reveals the dynamic evolution process of social risks, and provides theoretical basis and countermeasure suggestions for efficiently identifying and controlling the social risks of community renewal projects. Practical Applications: Community renewal projects involve numerous stakeholders, including the government, enterprises, and residents. These stakeholders interact frequently, creating complex relationships that significantly impact the project. The diverse factors from these stakeholders can lead to significant social risks in community renewal projects, with these factors influencing and interacting with each other. This paper constructs a dynamic evolution model of social risks, which can reveal how social risk factors from diverse entities evolve dynamically. It uncovers the micro-level components behind the macro concept of social risks, helping managers and practitioners clarify the constituent factors of social risks and their dynamic interrelationships. By predicting social risks and their evolution in community renewal projects, this model provides a theoretical basis and feasible suggestions for efficiently identifying, evaluating, analyzing, and controlling social risks. Ultimately, it contributes to enhancing the efficiency and sustainability of community renewal projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enhancement of construction safety performance heavily relies on effective safety training. While virtual reality (VR) technologies have been utilized to improve construction safety training programs, the extent and mechanisms of improvement brought by VR remain unexplored. This study provided explanations on how the effectiveness of VR-based safety training for a heterogeneous workforce was achieved by investigating two mechanisms, namely embodied cognition and emotion arousal, from the physiological perspective. Randomized controlled experiments were conducted with three forms of safety training, namely paper-based training, VR-based learning, and VR-based experiencing, for both novice learners (NPs) and learners with prior knowledge (PPs). Digital eye-tracking and physiological devices and measurements were used to collect objective data. The results revealed better hazard recognition performance in both VR-based learning and VR-based experiencing groups than that in paper-based training groups. The results also revealed that VR-based learning was more effective for NPs than for PPs in acquiring safety knowledge, but VR-based experiencing was more effective for PPs than for NPs in stimulation of emotions. This means that the NPs benefit more from embodied cognition provided by the immersive environment of VR-based learning, and the PPs would be trained better with emotional arousal from the thrill of VR-based experiencing. The discovered mechanisms of embodied cognition and emotion arousal shed light on the underlying processes that contribute to the positive outcomes and promotion of VR-based training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management (JWRPM) launched a Reproducibility Review Program in 2020 to address the lack of reproducibility in water-related journals. The program encourages authors to publish data, models, code, and directions with their articles so that independent reviewers can replicate their work. The program has five objectives, including promoting reproducibility, facilitating the use of reproducible work, and recognizing authors who make their work more reproducible. The program has already awarded Silver and Bronze badges to several manuscripts and plans to expand to other journals. Challenges include incorporating reproducibility reviews into the submission process and educating authors about the program. The program aims to improve reproducibility in the water resources field and shift towards reproducibility as the default in research. [Extracted from the article]

One of the key tasks to ensure infrastructure safety is the periodic detection of bridge cracks. Since manual crack detection is subjective and inefficient, it is very important to develop an automatic crack recognition system by using machine vision. Inspired by the pyramid vision transformer (PVT) and the feature pyramid network (FPN) variants, a method combining PVT, residual transformer (REST), holistically nested edge detection (HED), and downstream detection tasks is proposed in this paper, which is named EVPTMFF (efficient visual pyramid transformer and multiple-feature fusion). Based on the PVT, the multiheaded attention module was replaced and the efficient attention module was adopted, which could process the data efficiently and flexibly. To improve the performance of EVPTMFF, the original perceptual field windows were changed. The adjacent windows were partially overlapped, which was more conducive to feature interaction and improves detection performance. To prove the generalization ability of the model, three different data sets related to bridges were collected and formed. We carried out experiments on these three data sets, and EVPTMFF showed good results. Especially for larger data sets, the performance advantage was more significant. Practical Applications: The crack detection model proposed in this paper presents a good detection effect under different illumination and interference. And the detection results, collected data, time, and other information are saved to the bridge crack detection software. This can help engineers quickly and accurately detect cracks on the bridge surface, as well as predict the development trend of cracks and possible safety issues. In practical application, the bridge crack detection system can help engineers find and solve the bridge crack problem in time and avoid the security risks and economic losses caused by cracks. At the same time, the efficiency and accuracy of bridge maintenance can be improved, and the maintenance cost and time can be reduced. The bridge crack detection system can be integrated with other hardware equipment and management systems to form a complete bridge management platform, which contributes to the traffic construction and social and economic development of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document serves as a closure to a previous article on the effect of relative density and particle morphology on the bearing capacity and collapse mechanism of strip footings in sand. It addresses points raised by discussers regarding shear strain contours, unit bearing capacity, friction angles, and settlement curves in different sand samples. The authors provide explanations and observations based on the original paper's findings, highlighting the differences between sand types and loading stages. They also discuss the development of shear strain localization and shear banding during model footing loading. The text emphasizes the importance of considering factors such as factor of safety and serviceability limit state in the design of footings. [Extracted from the article]

Pressurized irrigation network systems constitute an important water-saving approach, but their relatively high costs limit their promotion. Pipe diameter optimization is the most direct way to reduce irrigation costs and can bring significant economic benefits. In recent years, material technology developments have improved networks' impact resistance, resulting in traditional flow velocity constraints no longer applying to current network designs, and appropriately increasing the velocity has become an engineering requirement. In addition, with the update of engineering construction standards, the location of pipe diameter changes is no longer limited to pipe section connections and is allowed to change between standard pipes. Therefore, this paper removes the constraint of the upper limit of flow velocity, defines it as a factor related to the maintenance cost of the network, and establishes a pipe section optimization model. Further, this paper changes the minimum optimization unit from pipe sections to standard pipes and establishes a standard pipe optimization model. The results show that compared with traditional optimization methods, the pipe section optimization model that deletes the upper velocity limit can reduce costs by 5.1%, in which the velocity will not increase infinitely but will be stable within a reasonable range. The standard pipe optimization model can reduce irrigation costs by 12.1%. It is worth noting that the two models were optimized to balance the head loss; their energy costs did not change significantly with the reduction in pipe diameter. In addition, this paper changes the structure of the traditional algorithm and designs a structure of double selection and parallel variation, achieving a faster and more accurate solution than the classic genetic algorithm. Practical Applications: Smart irrigation is an irrigation method based on advanced technology and data analysis that can manage water resources more accurately and efficiently. As an essential part of smart irrigation, pressure networks have the characteristics of saving water resources, improving the water utilization coefficient, and facilitating management and control. Their promotion can promote the development of agriculture. However, high network costs limit the popularity of smart network irrigation. Therefore, this study is based on the latest material technology, cancels the upper limit of flow velocity, and establishes a pipe section optimization model. Furthermore, this paper changes the minimum optimization unit from pipe sections to standard pipes and establishes a standard pipe optimization model. The research results show that the standard pipe optimization model can significantly reduce irrigation costs. This has practical significance for increasing farmers' income and promoting the development of smart pipeline irrigation. In addition, this paper changes the structure of the traditional algorithm and designs a structure of double selection and parallel variation, achieving a faster and more accurate solution than the classic genetic algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current active earth pressure calculation theory cannot take into account the influence of the foundation inverse slope. For the translational mode retaining wall in this paper, taking cohesive backfill as the research object, the clay within the crack depth range is equivalent to uniform overload, using the upper limit theory, establishing the energy conservation equation of the velocity field and force, and the analytical formula of the tensile crack depth and the slip surface of the cohesive backfill being obtained. By taking into account the soil arching effect, setting up the static equilibrium equation by horizontal layer analysis, deriving the active earth pressure calculation expression of cohesive backfill, it is possible to consider the influence of the basement inverse slope. In the case of cohesionless backfill, the formula can be reduced to the theoretical solution. By comparing the calculated results with the experimental values and relevant theories, this can verify the applicability of the formula. The result of research shows that, with the increase of the basement inverse slope angle, the development of the tensile crack will be promoted, the dip angle of the slip surface changes little, and the resultant force and overturning moment will decrease, which is conducive to the antisliding stability and antioverturning stability of the wall, reducing the project cost. The active earth pressure distribution of cohesionless backfill is independent of whether there is an inverse slope in the basement. The theoretical formula obtained in this paper can be used as reference for the design of the retaining wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When deciding which project to fund, the comparison of project-required resources and monetary or financial benefits is relatively straightforward (as these can be presented in dollar values). In contrast, comparing the nonmonetary benefits of projects can be challenging. The literature often overlooks this problem and only provides high-level approaches (e.g., comparing a project's contributions to the organization's strategic goals). Such approaches are inefficient as they are highly subjective and may be impacted by decision-makers' bias. To this point in time, the literature has not effectively addressed this problem. This literature gap and the practical importance of the problem motivate the development of detailed step-by-step methodological processes to reduce subjectivity and enable a quantitative comparison of the nonmonetary benefits of projects. This paper develops such a novel straightforward methodology and illustrates its application through a case study where nonmonetary benefits of a railway construction project are compared against a hospital expansion project. In addition to this methodological contribution, this paper also contributes to the current literature on construction engineering and management by showing how to perform an effective comparison of the nonmonetary benefits in the project investment decision. The paper also sheds light on how the reasoning structures of different project decision makers may be impacted by their degree of optimism. Practical Applications: Construction projects may deliver a range of dissimilar benefits. Unlike monetary values (such as required resources and financial or monetary benefits), the comparison of nonmonetary benefits (e.g., social values) of different proposals can be challenging. This paper provides a two-phased methodology to facilitate this comparison. In the first phase, two straightforward questions are asked to draw benefit satisfaction graphs, and in the second phase, different future scenarios are integrated to make the comparison process more reliable. Ultimately, a methodology is developed to show how the nonmonetary benefits of different projects can be compared. It is then illustrated on a case from the Australian government where the nonmonetary benefits of a railway construction project are compared against those of a hospital expansion project to assist with the decision as to which project should be given a higher priority to be funded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Density is an important indicator for evaluating diesel fuel quality that directly affects the injection timing and injection rule of the engine, and also has a significant impact on the spray broken particle size, the spray penetration distance, the spray cone angle, and so forth, which in turn affects the combustion process and pollutant emission of the compression-ignition engine. Therefore, it is important to accurately predict the diesel fuel mixture density in industrial and compression-ignition engines. However, the mathematical models for predicting the density of diesel fuel mixture with changed temperature are relatively lacking and less accurate, especially for ternary diesel fuel mixtures with different physicochemical properties. This paper proposes a mathematical model including binary and ternary diesel mixtures under changed fuel volume fraction and temperature, and published data were used for verification. The data verification results show that: for the density prediction of binary diesel fuel mixtures at constant temperature, the average relative deviation (ARD) is 0.0245%, the RMS error (RMSE) is 0.000344, and the correlation coefficient (R) is 0.9993. For the density prediction of binary diesel fuel mixtures at changed temperature, the ARD is 0.0609%, the RMSE is 0.000695, and R is 0.9980. For the density prediction of ternary diesel fuel mixtures at constant temperature, the ARD is lower than 0.0571%, the RMSE is lower than 0.000610, and R is higher than 0.9861. For the density prediction of ternary diesel fuel mixtures at changed temperature, the ARD is 0.0484%, the RMSE is 0.000513, and R is 0.9996. The diesel mixed fuel density prediction model proposed in this paper has good accuracy and calculation convenience, and provides important reference value for measuring or designing the density of diesel mixed fuel in the field of compression-ignition engines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first seismic tests on a full-scale all-composite frame structure, constituted by pultruded glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) profiles, to the best of the authors' knowledge. These tests were performed in the scope of the FRP-Quake project, which aimed to provide an in-depth understanding of the dynamic and seismic behavior of all-GFRP structures, and to develop structural systems with adequate seismic resistance. Therefore, an extensive research program was conducted, from the material and component scales to the structural full-scale, which encompassed the development of appropriate beam-to-column bolted connection systems. The experimental campaign presented in this paper was composed of shaking table tests on a full-scale, two-story, three-dimensional (3D) frame of I section pultruded GFRP profiles connected with bolted stainless steel parts. First, modal identification tests were performed, which show the influence of adding floor masses, bracings, or both on the dynamic characteristics of the structure, which were accurately predicted with relatively simple linear finite-element (FE) models. Then, the frame structure was subjected to 18 base displacement histories with increasing intensity, which was based on the design earthquake for mainland Portugal. The results showed that the structure maintained its integrity for intensities up to 37% higher than the normative requirements. This showed the feasibility of using this type of all-GFRP structures in seismic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of externally bonded (EB) fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) systems for the strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures is a widely accepted technique. In these strengthened systems, debonding of the FRP laminate from the concrete substrate is a commonly observed failure mode, which controls the strength of the bonded joint. Debonding failure often limits the utilization of the strength of carbon fiber–reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates, which reduces the efficiency of the strengthening system. This paper presents a novel methodology to improve the load-carrying capacity (i.e., ultimate load) of CFRP-to-concrete bonded joints, therefore improving the utilization of the CFRP material strength. A bidirectional glass fiber–reinforced polymer (GFRP) interlayer is introduced between the CFRP laminate and the concrete substrate, therefore, distributing the load that is applied to the CFRP laminate over a larger bond area than that of typical CFRP-to-concrete bonded joints. A series of single-shear pull test specimens were fabricated and tested to investigate the behavior of the newly proposed bonded joints. A vacuum curing technique was employed to achieve a good quality bonded interface. The test results showed a significant increase in the ultimate load. In addition, the test results showed that the GFRP laminate width and stiffness significantly affect ultimate load (up to 156% increase). Considering the significantly lower cost of GFRP compared with CFRP laminates, the proposed method could provide an economical solution to improve the efficiency of EB CFRP strengthening systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology provides the capability to automate the collection of commercial vehicle drivers' hours of service (HOS), and this can potentially lead to fewer errors. This study compares the use of paper-based and automated (or electronically recorded) hours of service for three motor carriers using process analysis. Potential errors are categorized by operations within an information-based process, and results demonstrate that a reduction of errors can be achieved with an electronic system. The analysis shows that some of the errors that occur with paper-based systems (e.g., verification of accurate records) still exist with electronic recordings, and there are some additional minor errors. However, data collection, entry, and storage are improved, as the system requires fewer steps and less manual requirements within the process. The study provides a systematic and structured comparison of the two methods, highlighting the error types that occur in both. Policymakers can consider this comparison when making recommended revisions to HOS documentation procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author aims to make potential authors aware of various factors that influence decisions on the suitability of a paper for publication and focuses from the perspective of the review process. He summarizes a review process which can be seen in terms of three stakeholders namely the author, the editor and reviewer with each of them having their rights and responsibilities. He cites the primary responsibility of a reviewer to evaluate the accuracy of the paper's technical content.

Traditional deicing approaches such as salting pollute the environment and corrode reinforcing steel bars in concrete. Meanwhile, recently emerging carbon nanofiber material has improved electrical conductivity, a large heating capacity at low voltage, high strength, and, in particular, natural immunity to corrosion. This material offers an excellent alternative as the heating element in electrical resistive deicing systems. This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of a deicing system that has embedded carbon nanofiber paper heating elements and to evaluate the effects of several key parameters on the performance of such a deicing system. A physics-based finite-element model was built, validated by test results, and used to assess the performance of such a deicing system when applied to roadway conditions. Factors considered include air temperature, wind speed, pavement and insulation layer thicknesses, and heating input. Results show that the proposed system can be very effective for roadway deicing. Future research is needed to validate its feasibility and effectiveness in a field experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The special collection on the EMI Conference Student Competition Finalist Papers is available in the ASCE Library (https://ascelibrary.org/jenmdt/emi student finalist papers). This online collection is comprised of invited papers based on the paper/poster winners and finalists of the student paper/poster competitions that take place every year during the annual Engineering Mechanics Institute (EMI) Conference, starting from the 2020 EMI conference. [Extracted from the article]

Labor shortage and low labor productivity are critical issues in the construction industry. Robotics, as a powerful technology to improve productivity in the digitization era, is being used to assist in addressing these problems. Particularly in recent years, interest in construction robotics research has risen remarkably. To gain a deeper understanding of this burgeoning research field, this study provides a bibliometric analysis of 498 related papers retrieved from WoS (Web of Science). Performance analysis and science mapping were used in the paper to identify the research trends, relationship among authors, top publication sources, regional activities, as well as knowledge base and dominant research sub-fields. The results indicated that the number of papers focusing on construction robotics has been continuously growing since 2013. "Automation," "system," and "design" have been the most addressed topics in construction robotics. The findings are indicative of identifying the deficiencies in existing research and provide directions for future research. Those include greater attention paid to the experimental results of on-site construction robots, while ignoring the impacts of practical construction situations, and the development of off-site construction robots needs more support. For theoretical research, there is a lack of studies on human–robot collaboration workflow and management models. Therefore, the study would be valuable in providing practitioners and researchers with a better perspective on the development of construction robotics and facilitating the building of the intellectual wealth of robotics in the construction industry. Our study analyzed 498 papers related to construction robotics from 1974 to 2022 through bibliometric approaches (mathematical and statistical methods). The study counted the numbers of construction robotics papers by year, identified most active scholars and top publication sources, and analyzed the relationship among regions. Most importantly, the paper identified the knowledge base of the research field of construction robotics and reviewed various relevant studies from theoretical and practical application perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To develop a new modification method with environmentally friendly and seismically resistant characteristics for saturated loess foundations, lignin extracted from paper industrial wastes was selected for mixing into the loess. Mixtures with different lignin contents were prepared under static pressure. A series of dynamic triaxial tests were performed by applying sine loads after the lignin-modified loess specimens were saturated and consolidated on the dynamic triaxial apparatus. The microstructural images and the mineral components of the modified loess with different lignin contents were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Based on the test results, the variation regularity of the dynamic residual deformation and the dynamic pore water pressure of the lignin-modified loess was analyzed. The microstructural characteristic parameters of the lignin-modified loess were extracted, and the relationship between these parameters and the lignin contents was obtained. Based on the dynamic triaxial test, the SEM, and the XRD results, the mechanical mechanism of the liquefaction resistance of the lignin-modified loess is discussed. The results show that lignin can significantly improve the resistance of cyclic shear deformation of the saturated loess and can effectively control the increase of the pore water pressure. When the lignin content was 4%, the liquefaction resistance of the lignin-modified loess was the most significant. Compared with the unsaturated compacted loess, the number of small and micropores in the lignin-modified loess increased significantly, and the apparent pore ratio decreased. Additionally, the arrangement sequence of pores deteriorated, the pore structure became more complex, and the pores were more compactly arranged. However, when the lignin content was higher than 4%, the microstructural characteristic parameters reflected a reduction in compactness of the lignin-modified loess. No other new minerals were formed in the lignin-modified loess except for a small amount of albite (NaAlSi3O8), which was generated by the ion exchange between the lignin and loess. Furthermore, the liquefaction resistance mechanism of the lignin-modified saturated loess mainly included the filling and cementation of the lignin, thinning of the electric double layer in the modified loess, reinforcement of the lignin fiber, adsorption of fine particles and water by the fiber, and ion exchange between the lignin and loess. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To that end, they developed a novel pricing-based market-driven framework, and designed a system-optimal multiperiod tradable credit scheme for urban transportation infrastructure as a bilevel model. The award selection committee is also pleased to note that the paper was very well motivated, the data and developed methods were presented in a concise and interesting manner, and the paper's contributions and practical implications were clearly and interestingly articulated. An important contribution of the paper is the development of the system-optimal multiperiod tradable credit scheme, which allows central authorities to periodically meet their emission standards for metropolitan transportation infrastructure. [Extracted from the article]