Proceedings of SECON’23

To avoid various environmental issues, supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) such as metakaolin, limestone powder, silica fume, rice husk ash, fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS), marble powder and chalk powder are added to self compacting concrete (SCC). This paper attempts to review the effect of these SCMs have on rheological, mechanical and durability characteristics of SCC. The review shows that different SCMs have varied effects on SCC properties. Silica fume, rice husk ash and metakaolin reduce workability but improve mechanical and durability properties. Fly ash, marble powder, limestone powder require less amount of superplasticizer when compared to GGBS, chalk powder and rice husk ash. It can also be seen that the addition of mineral admixtures in optimum quantity helps to improve the packing density of SCC particles resulting in best performance in both fresh and hardened state.

Landslides are more common than any other geological phenomenon throughout the planet. Landslides are generally caused by geological and geomorphological processes that shape the local landscape. Previous research has found that the frequency and amplitude of landslides are increasing in many hilly or mountainous locations due to constant disruption by human activities such as urbanization, agricultural expansion, deforestation, clear-cutting, shifting agriculture, and inadequate road construction. As a result, both the internal and external factors are expected to increase the frequency, size, and volume of landslides. Furthermore, landslides are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity as a result of climate extremes in sensitive mountainous or hilly areas. It is critical to understand how the geographic distribution, frequency, amplitude, and volume of landslides affect the surrounding terrain. The significance of landslides and their effects on the natural environment is often neglected. This study investigates numerous landslides, mitigation techniques, and practical solutions for Idukki's most vulnerable regions. The study’s goals include investigating the use of GIS techniques in landslide prediction and creating an ArcGIS map of landslide hazard zones and a prediction map using Analytical Hierarchy Process. A number of thematic layers, including slope, rainfall, temperature, a geology map, and a map of land use and land cover, must be constructed using GIS and remote sensing data. To perform landslide susceptibility modeling, and hazard assessment, the AHP technique combines numerous remote sensing data with other landslide-related characteristics.

The construction industry is one of the most dynamic, risky, and challenging businesses. However, the industry is loaded with numerous hazards, just like other economic sectors, making it difficult to meet project objectives. A construction project has many phases, all of which involve various risks. The first step in risk management is risk identification. The goal of this research is therefore to investigate key risk factors affecting bridge construction sector based on their probability of occurrences by using Relative Importance Index (RII). This research focuses on bridge projects across Kerala. The data are collected through a survey approach by administering a questionnaire. Professionals involved in the construction of bridges identify the project risks. Software like SPSS Statistics (Statistical Package for Social Science) are adopted to evaluate the collected responses from different personnel from the construction industry. The risks were ranked and grouped into categories as financial, legal and procurement risks. The aim of this study is to find the critical factors affecting bridge projects. This research presents the factors with the highest probability and impact on any project and to check correlation between them through statistics. As a result of the study, recommendations can be suggested to improve the accuracy of their risk response technique and associated cost estimations by taking defined risk elements into account while evaluating alternative risk management approaches.

The functional qualities of asphalt are greatly influenced by filler, which is a key ingredient in the asphalt mixture. Filler materials have the property of filling the voids between coarse aggregate and binder and improves the bond. The qualities of an asphalt mix may change if the type and quantity of filler is altered. One of the most significant building and demolition wastes with a very low potential for recycling are ceramic materials. The accumulation of ceramic waste and pavement damage can be prevented by adding ceramic waste powder as a modifier to bituminous mixture. This research aims to evaluate the effects of using ceramic dust as filler material in bituminous concrete with 25, 50 and 75% contents by total weight of the fines using conventional crushed rock fines as control material. The research work is oriented in comparing the performance of bituminous concrete using laboratory tests including Marshall stability and flow with corresponding volumetric parameters. The analysis of results proved that the value of Marshall stability was improved at all replacement ratios of the ceramic, an overall increase of 22.2% was obtained with 75% ceramic dust. This attempt not only has the potential to significantly reduce the amount of trash, but it will also reduce the usage of non-renewable resources like natural filler and in effect improves strength of flexible pavement.

This study examined the need for skilled labour in Faridabad (Delhi-NCR) construction sector. The study's goal was to assess the current situation of the skilled labour force in the construction sector, the reason behind the low frequency of skilled workers, and their impact on the completion of construction projects. The technique used for data collecting includes the spreading of structured questionnaires. Frequency tables, percentages, mean response analysis, relative importance index, and cross-tabulation were used to analyze the data. Furthermore, the most serious causes of a labour shortage turned out to be a lack of a clear career path, the great mobility of construction employees, and low pay. According to the study, construction companies do not send their skilled personnel to training programs. The study found that the lack of trained labour was causing construction companies to overpay for labour and cause schedule delays in their construction projects. Also, the study indicated that the sampled construction trades had an ageing labour base and that the entry of young workers was quite low.

Vulnerability in simple terms is the diminution of the quality of a network when it is subjected to failures and attacks. It denotes the consequences of a malfunction of a link or node in a network. Road networks being the most important urban infrastructure, evaluating their vulnerability becomes an essential task in understanding the performance of a network. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the robustness or vulnerability of the road network in the Central Business District of Tiruchirappalli City, South India using Geographical Information System (GIS). The critical nodes and links are identified using centrality measures to analyze their ability to withstand unpredicted and exceptional disturbances. The changes in connectivity, coverage and topology are measured using a set of indices such as alpha index, beta index, gamma index, eta index, network density, node density, edge density, grid tree pattern etc. The centre of Tiruchirappalli city is considered for this analysis and the robustness of the study area is determined. This paper focuses on computing the friability of the road network by quantifying the reduction in connectivity and efficiency of the network focusing mainly on graph theoretical parameters on removing the critical nodes and links.

Concrete is said to be the second man – made construction material widely used in the world, and as per the studies, it will be staying at the same positions for the coming decades. With the emerging advancements in the domain of concrete technology, it’s been suggested that the same must be produced with locally available materials, including natural as well as industrial waste products. For controlling the production rate of carbon dioxide using concrete mixing process, several reinforcements are being added into the mix as a partial replacement to the main ingredients of the concrete mix, with consideration of modification in the properties of the concrete in a better manner. Nanotechnology is playing an important role in the concrete industry to make it sustainable from past few years. Nanomaterials have distinct physical and chemical properties which improve the effectiveness of materials. This study focuses on the usage of Graphene Oxide as a nanomaterial reinforcement in the concrete mix with varying proportioning ranges from zero percent to 1 percent by weight of cement. The discussions were made based on the laboratory experiments performed on the fresh and hardened concrete. Durability parameters of Graphene – induced concrete were also noted. The strength of the concrete mix with 0.08% GO has shown a better result comparatively. The values of sorptivity and permeability of the concrete mixes were observed to be reduced with increasing GO content in the concrete mix.

The building sector is one of India’s fastest expanding industries. As the number of construction companies rises, so is the number of high-rise construction projects in Kerala. As the complexity of projects such as the number of stories, size of the building, type of building, legal aspects, stakeholders, management practices, division of labour, technology used, globalization, diversity, and so on increases, so does the need to finish and deliver the project within the estimated time and budget while maintaining a higher level of work quality. The goal of this study is to quantify the top most essential elements affecting the schedule of high-rise building projects throughout Kerala, and to give relevant recommendations and remedies to reduce construction delays. For this investigation, the Delphi approach was used. There are 76 causes of delays that are congruent with the settings and situations in the state of Kerala. The surveys were distributed to other parties, including contractors, owners, designers, consultants, research scholars, architects, and so on. The data from the questionnaire survey will be analyzed using the relative importance index (RII), and the key components will be assessed based on their contribution to the delay.

A steel tubular column is a vertical structural member used in construction to provide essential support. Splice joint is a method of joining two members end to end. When the material being joined cannot be obtained in the desired length, the splice joint is used. For high rise buildings the continuity of columns may break, hence splice connections are provided and columns are installed. Splice joints are deconstructable type joints as the failed parts can be repaired, reassembled or can be even removed when failure occurs. These papers focuses on developing models of square cross section of steel tubular columns with deconstructable splice joint using a finite element software ANSYS and study their structural behavior. This paper includes a parametric study on the effect of axial loading and eccentric loading by varying splice length and thickness, bolt diameter and bolt pattern of square cross section of steel tubular columns with deconstructable splice joints. Bending moment rotation curves were obtained from cyclic load testing.

Certain parts of Kerala are particularly vulnerable, with landslides posing a constant threat. Kerala has experienced several landslides in recent years. Many people have died in landslides in Kerala in recent years. Although the occurrence of natural events is uncontrollable, landslides can be mitigated through good risk management. Heavy rain in Kannur district caused landslides, isolating many hilly areas from the rest of the district. More than 500 number of people have died because of disaster, and approximately 5000 number of relief camps have been established across the state. The taluk of Iritty in Kannur district was chosen for this study because it is prone to landslides. To reduce the severity of landslide and to reduce the post disaster risk in the specific area, they must estimate the extent of the disaster and there is a need to estimate the extent of risk and the various types of vulnerabilities associated with it. The study aims on risk management of landslides at Iritty Taluk during reconstruction and rehabilitation phase. The risk during the reconstruction and rehabilitation stage following the landslide is identified and a questionnaire survey is prepared. The weights are calculated using a 5-point Likert scale. Based on questionnaire surveys of professional personnel and stakeholders who are constantly engaged in risk mitigation and rehabilitation activities in Kannur district and Iritty taluk critical risk factors are identified and analyzed using the relative importance index (RII). Critical risks involved during post disaster recovery at Iritty taluk which is given least importance by the governance with an RII value ≤ 0.7 involves policy framework reconstruction, shelter reconstruction based on experience, animal care, loss of access to common resources, and unemployment is identified, restoration of environment. This statistical study focuses on risk management and aids decision-making in the control of risk during reconstruction and rehabilitation phase of landslide.

Rural roads have been among the most prevalent types of public infrastructure across the world, and they need ongoing expenditures and upgrades to remain functional. Rural roads are also designed systems that exist in every contemporary country and have substantial effects on the economy, the environment, and society. There are a number of road sustainability evaluation techniques that have been created in an effort to encourage more environmentally friendly choices concerning rural road planning, building, and maintenance. Before selecting whether and/or how to create this instrument, as well as what innovations, legislation, and investment approach should be followed, the effects must be thoroughly considered. To examine the environmental sustainability of rural road maintenance, a thorough and trustworthy sustainability rating tool is required. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a tool used to assess the significant impact of a project or development plan on the environment. Environmental impact studies ensure that project decision makers consider possible environmental impacts as early as possible and look for ways to avoid, reduce or compensate for these impacts. By examining the applicability and effectiveness of the sustainability assessment tool i.e., Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which may be used in this sense, this research attempted to provide a deeper insight into the complicated world of environmental sustainability evaluation of rural road maintenance. First, sustainability issues were determined and created environmental sustainability indicators; also, category priority was determined. Moreover, the category priority was evaluated using Delphi expert panel and sizable individuals shared their opinions. Furthermore, the environmental sustainability of real rural road maintenance work in Telangana State was computed using the employed EIA tool.

The focus of the present study is to find the damaged location of the structure of the pinisi ship in the traditional ship launching system. This study uses a numerical experimental method, the analysis stage begins with designing a pinisi ship in the form of a solid three-dimensional scale in actual size, then calculated by finite element method (FEM) using explicit dynamic analysis in ANSYS software. In the launching process, the ship is given a compressive force by pulleys with an analysis time set according to the number of elements and hardware used in the analysis. Based on 3D Pinisi ship data and analysis constraints, it has been found that shear stress on the longitudinal axis and transverse axis of the ship occurs during the ship launching process. Some parts of the Pinisi ship structure experience tensile shear stress and compressive shear due to the pulley force in the launching process. The ship structure is formed from interconnected and reinforced constructions between one another from the bow to the stern of the ship. Due to the interconnected construction, longitudinal structural disturbances will impact and contribute to the lateral direction of the ship structure.

Disposal of waste tires and tubes is a huge problem globally. The present study mainly focuses to study the compressive strength of chemically modified waste types in the construction. Initially the waste tubes are collected and replaced for coarse aggregate at 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% respectively without any surface modification. Results indicate the increase of waste tubes decreases 70% of its compressive strength at 20% replacement. At 5% increment of rubber, the compressive strength decreases up to 40%. The rubber tubes are then chemically treated with calcium hypho chlorite and sodium hydroxide and substituted with coarse aggregate, and the results illustrates that the chemically modified rubber-based aggregates are in par with conventional concrete in compressive strength. The higher compressive strength is attained because of improved bonding between aggregate and cementitious matrix. Hence it is recommended that modified rubber aggregate can be replaced at 5% for coarse aggregate and it will be a viable option to increase the compressive strength in the concrete.

Structural integrity is one of the most important key elements considered during the planning of structures. In general, live load, dead load, and wind load is considered and impact load is not taken into account while designing structures. The action of impact load on a building affects the structural performance severely and causes progressive collapse failure as reported in several case studies worldwide. Unified Facility Criteria [3] guideline recommends various methods to increase the progressive collapse resistance capacity of buildings. The alternate load path method (APM) is one of the methods recommended in the UFC 2016 guidelines. The present work focuses on the study of the effectiveness of APM by analyzing the progressive collapse response of concentrically framed systems having linked column-braced frames (LCBF). The system comprises of braced frame system coupled with the linked column. Inverted V braces are considered for the structural analysis. The result of Pushdown analysis from SAP 2000 shows that during impact, the damage to the structural system mainly occurs in link beams which are rapidly replaceable and system performance can be retrieved.

A Shell foundation has been considered the best shallow foundation for transferring heavy load to weak soils because of the high bearing capacity values, whereas a conventional shallow foundation submits to excessive settlement. In this paper, two parametric studies were carried out on conical shell foundations using FEM software ANSYS to study the effect of the rise to radius (f/r ratio) and thickness on the strength and settlement of conical shell foundations. In the first study, various f/r ratios chosen were 0.5, 0.75, and 1. The results indicated better performances for the conical shell foundation with an f/r ratio of 1, due to its increased membrane stresses and the contact area between the shell and soil. The shell thickness was varied in the second study from 40 to 80 mm, and the results showed that as the thickness increases, the settlement reduces. The ultimate load increases up to a thickness of 70 mm, which is due to the increase in the rigidity of the foundation. From the parametric study, it was understood that f/r ratio and thickness are two main parameters that influence the behavior of shell foundations.

Concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) columns are widely used in the construction industry due to their high strength and durability. However, localized corrosion can significantly reduce the structural integrity of these columns, leading to potential safety hazards. This project aims to investigate the localized surface corrosion damage on ‘L’ shaped orthogonal CFST columns and propose effective strengthening strategies using ANSYS software. The behavior of L-shaped CFST columns under axial loading due to influence of various parameters such as Degrees of Volume loss (DoV), corrosion position and corrosion location are studied. The worst-performed model during axial loading is identified. As an effective strengthening scheme to overcome the damage according to severity, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) wrapping technique is used. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP), Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP), Aramid Fiber Reinforced Polymer (AFRP), and Basalt Fiber Reinforced Polymer (BFRP) are the FRPs used. A study to find out which fiber will help to regain more strength and how many layers of wrapping are needed for the same is done. The findings of this project will contribute to the development of effective strategies for mitigating the effects of localized corrosion in CFST columns and enhancing their structural performance.

This study focuses on the seismic evaluation of an innovative high energy dissipative curved lateral bracing system. Unlike ordinary bracing systems, the system developed in the present study does not produce buckling, making it highly yielding, ductile, with greater load carrying capacity. The system showed appropriate initial stiffness, making it an ideal solution for structures in earthquake-prone areas. The research aims to determine the optimal thickness of the bracing and investigate the effect of span ratio on the performance of the proposed system. In addition, the study compares the performance of the proposed system with and without OGrid bracing, as well as variations in the frame and pattern of bracing. The results show that the OGrid bracing provides better performance than other bracings. The analysis of the proposed system was carried out using ANSYS Workbench 2022 R2, a finite element software tool commonly used for structural analysis. From the analysis it was found that OGrid-I bracing exhibited good ductility and load-carrying properties compared to other types of bracing. Overall, the innovative high energy dissipative curved lateral bracing system with OGrid bracing holds great promise for seismic evaluation and the findings from this project can contribute to the development of safer structures in earthquake-prone regions.

The rate of construction has seen a tremendous growth in the hill-dominated topographical areas. The structures that are been constructed in the hilly areas are focusing on increasing the space at different storey levels than the usual ones, for the purpose of parking or serve as a community hall for various applications. But, one has to be very specific in designing of those buildings as the placement of the structural members (beams and columns) directly affects the strength and stiffness of the structures. With increasing tourism in the hilly areas, people are constructing the buildings with the concept of floating columns, unaware of its effects in case of seismic environment. In context to Indian topography, these areas fall under the category of highly prone seismic zones. This study will be focusing on the analysis of the structures constructed on the hill slopes with the provision of floating columns at different storey levels against seismic loads. With keeping in mind of increasing trend of constructions, different models are considered with varying sloping angle. The analysis tool used in this analysis is ETABS 20 Ultimate. Different models will be analyzed of same structural dimension with varying slope angles and discussion will be focused on feasibility of providing floating columns in high-rise structures on sloping ground. The seismic considerations are followed as per the Indian standard guidelines of IS 1893 (Part I): 2016.

Earthquake has become a common natural hazard. The aftershock studies of recent earthquakes reveal that the effect of earthquakes is severe in low-rise masonry buildings too. Base isolation is an effective strategy to mitigate the effect of earthquakes on structures. The huge cost of conventional isolators makes them unaffordable for developing countries. The Scrap tyre pad isolator is an emerging low-cost technology for the seismic protection of structures. The tread portion of tyre can be cut into pads of definite size and arranged one above the other to form the isolator. In the present study, a masonry building model isolated with scrap tyre pad isolators was analyzed using the response spectrum method in ETABS. The performance was compared with that of masonry building without isolators in terms of lateral displacement, base shear and time period. The analysis results show that scrap tyre pad isolator is also effective in seismic protection of masonry structures.

Over the past few years, the rate of commuters using public transportation has drastically reduced, which has led to a rise in private vehicles with higher levels of traffic congestion, accidents, pollution, etc. The present study aims to identify major significant factors influencing the mode choice decisions of commuters working in Thiruvananthapuram city. The latent attributes influencing the mode choice decision were analysed using the semantic differential technique with a five-point bipolar adjective scale. In order to identify the key latent factors influencing commuters use of public transportation, exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Also, in order to statistically quantify the link between the founded latent variables and the observed variables, confirmatory factor analysis was also carried out. Latent variables integrated mode choice models were developed for different categories of work trips, such as government employees, private employees, and a combined set of employees using multinomial logistic regression. Reliability, convenience, comfort, and safety were identified as latent factors influencing the mode choice behavior of private employees and a combined set of employees. In the case of government employees, travel behavior also depends on their affinity for public transport. Latent variable integrated mode choice models were found to have a relevant role in the mode choice decisions of commuters. Mode choice models reveal that a unit percentage increase in latent variables will result in a considerable increase in the use of public transport services in Thiruvananthapuram city.

This paper presents a novel plastic hinge relocation technique in steel beam column joint with replaceable fuse connection in beam segment. The main objective of this study is to analyze the behavior of the beam member with different cross sections and orientations, and investigate the impact of removing the gap between beam segments to identify an effective specimen that can enhance the moment capacity and performance of the joint and reduce the risk of brittle failure. Finite element analysis (FEA) was conducted using ANSYS software to evaluate the performance of the proposed technique under cyclic loading conditions according to the AISC protocol (AISC in Seismic provisions for structural steel buildings. American Institute of Steel Construction, 2010 [1]), and the hysteresis curve was obtained. The results of this study provide insights into the strength and ductility of the proposed steel beam column joint with replaceable steel fuse angle connections. The proposed technique has the potential to enhance the resilience of structural systems, thereby improving public safety and reducing economic losses. The findings of this study are relevant to the civil engineering industry and can contribute to the development of innovative and resilient structural systems that can withstand extreme events and improve the safety and sustainability of modern infrastructure.

There is a growing global interest in SAP-treated cement-based materials due to their excellent durability, fracture resistance, wide availability, and cost-effectiveness. However, a drawback of SAP usage is the development of macropores when the polymer releases water, weakening the material’s mechanical characteristics. To address this concern, steel slag, a byproduct of steelmaking, is used as a partial replacement for fine aggregate to compensate for the loss of strength. Steel slag emerges as a viable alternative as a partial replacement for natural aggregates when the natural aggregate usage in concrete fails to meet the required quantity and quality standards. This study aims to investigate the mechanical and durability properties of self-curing concrete incorporating steel slag and sodium polyacrylate, a super-absorbing polymer (SAP). The research compares the results of these properties with conventional concrete. In M30 grade concrete, the fine aggregate was substituted with steel slag in 30 and 40% proportions. The percentage of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) by weight of cement was also varied to 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%. Concrete mix with 0.1% SAP and 40% steel slag dosage exhibited superior mechanical properties. Durability tests conducted on this mix combination revealed a better performance compared to control concrete mix.

Cement production is a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and is responsible for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. New studies recommend replacing cement with other supplementary cementitious materials such as Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS), fly ash, etc. The use of these materials can also help to reduce waste, as they are typically disposed of in landfills. GGBS is an industrial waste product that is produced as a by-product during the production of iron. The disposal of GGBS can potentially pose environmental hazards if it is not appropriately managed. GGBS can improve durability and strength when used as an ingredient in concrete. The use of GGBS reduces the amount of cement needed for construction, which in turn reduces the amount of CO2 emission associated with cement production. This study numerically models GGBS mortar which is a combination of 50% cement and 50% GGBS considering economy and strength parameters. ABAQUS CAE 2020 is used for the finite element modeling of the GGBS mortar. The numerical model is validated using the experimental results from the literature. This study provides useful contributions toward sustainable construction practices.

The shear link consists of a central shear link connected to two linked beams through dismountable connections at its two ends, forming a multi-segmental shear link that is replaceable. The replaceable shear link serves as the structural fuse which is connected to the dual steel columns by some specialized connections to be replaced readily after earthquake. The multi-segment shear link helps to energy dissipation at the time of earthquake. The central shear link is designed as the primary fuse, while the linked beams act as a secondary fuse. This study is intended to enhance the seismic resilience of structures by designing an innovative linked columns frame system that can effectively dissipate energy during an earthquake consisting of dual steel columns and the multi-segment profiled replaceable steel shear link. The multi-segment replaceable profiled shear link is composed of a corrugated central shear link connected to two linked beams. To examine the behaviour of multi-segment corrugated shear link the nonlinear finite element model of the proposed link was developed and results were compared with multi-segmental shear link which designed by central link made of flat web plate with stiffeners and without stiffeners. The study indicates that proposed links show higher shear performance and better load carrying capacity. Finite element analysis software ANSYS is used for the analysis. The design parameters include the link length ratio, thickness, and height of the corrugated central shear link. The results are compared in the terms of link rotation, drift angle, shear capacity and strength.

Structures have effectively incorporated passive energy dissipation or supplemental damping systems to reduce excessive vibrations caused by seismic excitation. Negative stiffness devices (NSDs) and inerter-based devices are two passive device types that are gaining popularity in the field of vibration isolation and suppression because they both help to lower structure’s natural frequency, which in turn helps to regulate the acceleration of the structure. Despite their similarities, the mechanical behaviour of these two passive devices clearly differs from one another. NSD can produce a force that is in the same direction of induced displacement and would alter the stiffness of structure-device assembly, thus generating apparent yielding. Inerter-based device is a vibration control device which achieves a large inertance-to-mass ratio. This study attempts to illustrate the effectiveness of a single degree of freedom (SDOF) structure-NSD and SDOF structure-inerter assembly in response reduction in a better perspective. The variability in the seismic input is considered by choosing a wider range of earthquake ground movements that include both near-fault (NF) and far-fault (FF) records. The study indicates that the response control of the SDOF structure is highly dependent on the characteristics of the input earthquake ground motion.

The diagrid structural system, employed in constructing buildings and roofs, can be characterised as diagonal members built as a framework produced by joining various materials such as metals, concrete, or wooden beams. Today's high-rise constructions and large-span structures typically employ diagrid, particularly for complex geometries and curved shapes. Triangles have a natural tendency to remain stable, as has been known since the earliest days. There is still much research being done in this area to get the finest results with improved performance and dependability despite its recent rise in popularity. As a result, experts have utilised them frequently and are well-liked by engineers and architects. Concrete-Filled Steel Tubular (CFST) diagrids can rectify the main disadvantage of diagrid structures over conventional buildings as they are less brittle and more ductile. The poured concrete effectively keeps the steel tube in the CFST from buckling inward. The steel tube causes a tri-axial state of stress in the concrete, which improves the concrete's compressive strength. The steel tube also serves as longitudinal and lateral reinforcement for the concrete core. This paper aims to study the behaviour of CFST diagrid buildings of different heights subjected to earthquake ground motions. The focus is to investigate the influence of ground motion characteristics on the behaviour of steel diagrid buildings and CFST diagrid buildings when subjected to ground motions of varied classes. The response parameter considered is top-storey displacement.

In 2018, 2019, and 2022 the state experienced its highest level of monsoon rainfall of 2346.6 mm, leading to the worst flooding in the past 100 years. 24,536 houses were partially or completely damaged in the flood and 10,000 km of roads were damaged. Kerala’s flood rehabilitation efforts have had varying degrees of success and failure. In light of this context, this study investigates the factors that lead to the implementation of post-flood construction projects in Kerala that are successful by evaluating the crucial success factors for post-disaster construction and planning through the use of questionnaire surveys from identified stakeholders and the identification of various UN sustainability goal 11 criteria that are appropriate for the reconstruction and planning of a flood-affected city through case studies. Finally, formulation of planning policies by identifying indicators through literature review and expert surveys. Structured questionnaires will be the instruments used to survey the various stakeholders involved in Kerala's post-disaster development projects to collect the necessary data. The study aids in identifying project management skills that require development for Kerala's post-disaster housing projects to be implemented successfully. As a result, the research findings can be used to develop project management plans that are suitable for PDR projects in Kerala.

The poor strength and cyclical swell-shrink behaviour of expansive soil make it a problematic soil for civil engineers. Most foundation failures are commonly caused by these soils. Given the increasing need for infrastructure expansion, avoiding these soils for future construction may not be feasible. As such, it is advised to take strengthening measures for expansive soils before constructing any structure. In this study, we have explored the modification of expansive soil by adding eggshell powder and bagasse ash, both of which are waste materials, as stabilisers. A total of 24 groups of stabilised soil samples were prepared by incorporating varying proportions of eggshell powder and bagasse ash as stabilisers. With respect to the dry soil, ESP was added at weight ratios of 6%, 9%, 12%, and 15%, while BA was added at weight ratios of 4%, 6%, 8%, and 10%. The result showed that as the content of eggshell powder increased, there was a notable decrease observed in both the plastic and liquid limits. While the addition of ESP (12%) to the untreated soil sample resulted in a maximum reduction of both the plastic and liquid limits, respectively. In contrast, a rise in the BA concentration resulted in a rise in the plastic and liquid limits. At 4% BA, a maximum reduction in the plastic limit was observed. Furthermore, it was observed that the soil exhibited improved performance when treated with a combination of 15% ESP and 10% BA, representing the optimum percentage of the admixture. The combined use of eggshell powder (ESP) and bagasse ash (BA) admixture was found to be highly effective in enhancing the engineering properties of expansive foundational soil and strengthening the subgrade soil. Additionally, both eggshell powder and bagasse ash have the potential to be used not just for soil stabilisation purposes but also as construction materials.

Construction and Demolition waste (C&D) as a direct consequence of rapid urbanization is increasing around the world. C&D waste generation has been identified as one of the major issues in the construction industry due to its direct impacts on the environment as well as the efficiency of the construction industry. It is estimated that an overall 35% of C&D waste is landfilled globally; therefore, effective C&D waste management is crucial to minimize detrimental impacts on the environment. C&D waste management must be implemented successfully since the industry cannot continue to operate if the resources it depends on are depleted. Considering the environmental, socio-economic, and sustainability impact, sustainable C&D waste management practices have been started globally. The 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) method is the base for sustainable C&D waste management practices. This study focuses on sustainable C&D waste management in Kochi City and helps in evaluating critical success factors (CSFs) by examining the effectiveness of C&D waste management in Kochi. A survey was conducted and survey results were analyzed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel. Descriptive analysis was carried out in SPSS to find CSFs and the results were also validated by using RII analysis done in Microsoft Excel.

Seismic performance of Y-braced frame with double round steel tube aims to study the performance of the Y shaped bracing in a frame under seismic forces. The project involves the designing of the double round steel tube which act as a damper in the frame. The optimum size of the damper or the double round steel tube is to be identified by varying the dimensions in terms of height, thickness, diameter and length. Any one of the parameters is changed keeping all others constant to find the better resulting one. All most 20 combinations were done to find the optimum sized one. Optimization aims to achieve the best yielding damper to be placed. After optimization, the performance of the damper under seismic load is analyzed. The evaluation includes analysis and result comparison of the frame with and without double round steel tube. The finite element analysis software ANSYS is used to find the optimum size of damper and analyze the frames.

With the increase in population, there is a dearth of land suitable for infrastructure development. Due to poor engineering properties, many areas of land remain unutilized which also slows down rapid development. Areas containing peat soil are among the most unutilized land in many regions of the world. Total area covered by peat soil is 4.23 million km2 (Xu et al. in Catena 160:134–140, 2018 [1]). Peat deposits have been discovered to be widespread throughout the world, taking up between 5 and 8% of the planet's geographical area (Mesri and Ajlouni in J Geotechn Geoenviron Eng 133:850–866, 2007 [2]). Peat soils are formed from partially decomposed plant material under anaerobic water saturated conditions. They are categorised based on their level of humification. These peat soils are characterised by high moisture content, low bearing capacity, high porosity, and high compressibility. Different stabilisers used for peat soil stabilization can be broadly categorised into cementitious material (Portland cement, fly-ash C, slag cement etc.), geopolymer and other non-conventional material (envirotac, effective microorganism etc.). Different studies have demonstrated that the unconfined compressive test performed on every type of peat sample with varying quantity of each stabiliser shows a significant increase in the compressive strength. The optimum strength of each stabiliser obtained in different research have been compared in this study. Results of Permeability and UU triaxial tests are also studied by some researchers. It is also found that various places have different peat soil depending on their humification level and environmental condition, thus suitable stabiliser for that place can be found after extensive research with an emphasis on locally available materials. In this article, results of several studies conducted on peat soil are reviewed to understand the improvement of engineering properties of peat soil after stabilization. Each stabilizer is studied thoroughly to understand its feasibility in peat soil stabilization and impact on environment.

Stabilization of soil is essential to create strong foundations for infrastructure. Studies are being conducted to evaluate the efficacy of existing methods and to develop novel methods in the domain of soil stabilization. Though economy, efficiency and sustainability are the key aspects to be considered in any stage of a project, most of the existing practices fails to fulfil these altogether. Using refuse and industrial wastes as additives in ground improvement can help preserve the environment and promote sustainable practices. The present study aims at using agro-industrial wastes viz. eggshell powder and sugarcane bagasse ash as stabilizing materials. Due to the pozzolanic characteristics of these materials, they can be used as a good substitute for industrial lime also. The effect of adding eggshell powder and bagasse ash on the strength and settlement properties of soft soil will be evaluated based on various laboratory tests such as unconfined compressive strength test, permeability test, compaction test, CBR test etc. The best additive proportion was determined based on test outcomes, which assisted in analyzing how soil qualities improved in the presence of additives.

Peat is Geotechnically problematic for any infrastructure as it contains a lot of moisture, low shear strength, and high compressibility. This paper particularly focuses on the improvement of peat in Ziro valley, Arunachal Pradesh using cement and rice husk ash. An environmentally responsible replacement to final disposal using rice husk ash as a soil stabiliser because it is a waste product from the rice industry with pozzolanic qualities. By adjusting the amount of rice husk ash put to the peat soil during all of the usual laboratory procedures as 6, 8, and 12% by weight of soil and cement as 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25%. The strength of peat is greatly enhanced by cement, neutralises the impact of organic matter content, and lessens the impact of acidity. with an increasing amount of cement material, the dry density increases and the optimum water content decreases. With increase in RHA content, MDD decreases but OMC increases. Both unsoaked and soaked CBR test were carried out on peat mixed with cement and RHA. For the test specimen made up of soil, cement, and rice husk ash, it was noticed that the mixture of peat-cement-RHA significantly improved the strength characteristic of parent peat soil. S + 25C and S + 25C + 8RHA can be recommended for treating subgrade.

The use of precast concrete technology is increasing day by day due to its easier installation technique, time saving and money saving benefits. Precast concrete construction is cheaper due to fewer labour. The difference between precast concrete construction and conventional construction is found by analyzing the materials and loading conditions. Outline of the study is to illustrate the process involved in the implication of precast concrete products in the construction industry and compare the same with conventional construction methods. It focuses on various issues related to it directly and indirectly. Various factors affecting the construction process are analyzed and addressed. The design involves identifying the loads which acts upon a structure and the forces and stresses which arise within that structure due to those loads. The design of precast concrete elements such as wall, column and beam are done using Tekla Tedds Software according to Eurocode 2 [1].

The present study considers different types of setback tall building models and compares the aerodynamic study with the 1:1:2 regular-shape tall building model. The setback height is considered at h/2, and 2h/3 levels from the base of the model. The setback distances are arranged on the single side, double side, and around the building at the considered h/2 and 2h/3 levels. This study was conducted by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method. The drag and lift coefficients of the building due to wind load are correlated. Power spectral density (PSD) at the top and setback roofs are also compared. Finally, this study concludes that the model has setbacks around the building efficiently reducing 89% torsional moment compared to the regular square shaped model. The reduced frequency decrease on the setback model has a setback around it. Finally, this study suggests that setback distance and increase of setback number around the model can easily handle the wind velocity and control the torsional moment due to wind.

The water supply of densely populated Ernakulam City of Kerala is carried out from Water Treatment Plant in Aluva, working under Kerala Water Authority. The plant with a capacity of 200 MLD, produces abundant sludge, which is usually disposed by pumping it into the river Periyar. As a sustainable method, utilization of water treatment sludge in pavement design is considered for the study. The water treatment sludge can be effectively used as a filler material in bituminous mix. Conventional filler material is replaced by sludge in 25, 50, 75 and 100% by mass. Trial specimens are prepared by incorporating the sludge in varying percentages. To study the optimum binder content and stability, Marshall Stability flow value test is conducted. The adhesion properties of the mix are understood through the Cantabro test. Comparing the results of Marshall stability test and Cantabro test, bituminous mix with 25% sludge replacement proves sufficient property to be implemented in public works, which can be considered as a sustainable alternative to the current method of disposal.

Self-compacting concrete has the ability to compact and be placed by its own weight and no other external vibrations are required. They show high performance and help with faster construction. The aim of this project is to study the drying shrinkage of self-compacting concrete (SCC) in which the supplementary cementitious material used is fly ash about 30% and the concrete mix design is carried out for M30 grade with a water-cement ratio of 0.4. Then to the optimized SCC mix the hooked end steel fibers of 30 mm with an aspect ratio of 60 are added at different dosages of concrete volume fraction of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5% and the compression test and drying shrinkage test is carried out. The test results of SCC with fly ash and different dosage of steel fibers were compared.

Kochi metro is one of the most thriving transit systems in Kerala, as it is a rapid transit mode that helps in fast and efficient movement of the public. Accessibility of Kochi metro still remains a challenge at some point, though it is a necessary factor to make the metro service more convenient and attractive to the public. Moreover, it is generally perceived that land-use examples and traffic designs are firmly connected through changes in availability. In this work, we survey a group of Kochi metro commuters to study their metro convenience preferences. This study mainly concentrates on three pertinent areas, which are accessibility analysis of Kochi metro, that takes into account both to-metro accessibility and from metro accessibility in order to assess and categorize the performance of the metrosystem, formulation of accessibility index with the data collected and development of mobile application for improving the ease of accessing metro for commuters. A switch from private to public modes of transportation has always been necessary due to expanding urbanization, population growth, and traffic. The study aims to improve the level of accessibility for commoners, to flourish the public transit systems connecting metro stations and regions around and also to reduce the economic woes in most practical ways. After the study, an application embracing relevant information on accessibility of metro stations including nearest public transit systems and their corresponding details will be developed.

Shear Panel Dampers (SPDs) can be mounted vertically in frames to effectively increase its load bearing capacity and ductile performance. Through plastic deformation, SPD can dissipate the energy in the frames under seismic conditions. Vertically installed dampers may impose an additional bending moment on the middle of the primary beam, which results in significant damage of the concrete slab. A novel type of SPDs with bent web panels (BSPDs) were developed to overcome this limitation, where the end plate of the Bent Shear Panel Damper (BSPD) is connected to the web of the beam. Here, the bending moment resulting from the SPDs can be minimized, thereby reducing the damages caused to the concrete slab. The aim of introducing BSPD in a braced steel moment resistant frame (SMRF) is to enhance the seismic resilience of the braced SMRF. This study involves the design, optimisation, and assessment of the damper’s performance under seismic loading. Finite element analysis software ANSYS was used for the analysis and optimization of the damper. The design parameters include the thickness, length, and breadth of the damper. The goal of the optimization is to achieve the best energy dissipation performance. The stress, strain, and deformation properties of the dampers under seismic load are assessed. After the optimization of damper, time hysteresis analysis was done by installing the damper in a 5 storied frame.

The aim of this work is to evaluate the effectiveness of mineral admixtures and steel fibers on the plastic shrinkage of Self-compacting concrete (SCC). SCC is a highly flowable concrete without any segregation used in both dynamic and static states. For the production of sustainable SCC, appropriate supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) are added. An optimum percentage of Fly ash, GGBS, Silica fumes, and steel fibers are incorporated. The workability test and compressive strength test of SCC mixes were done. ASTM C1579-based mould is used for the plastic shrinkage test is also carried out. Plastic shrinkage is the volumetric contraction of fresh contract due to the escape of water from the surface of the concrete. The test results of normal conventional SCC and SCC with optimum SCMs incorporated with steel fibers were compared. CRR (crack reduction ratio) was determined and it was 83, 78 and 73% respectively for MFS30, MGS30, MSS30 compared to that MF30, MG30, MS10 respectively.

Orthogonal composite column is a structural element that consists of two or more individual columns arranged in a perpendicular fashion. This composite column is created by connecting the individual columns with a steel or concrete beam at their intersection. They are often used in high-rise buildings where they provide increased structural stability and load-bearing capacity. This analytical study focuses on investigating the effect of two common types of concrete imperfections, namely Interfacial gap and Cap gap, on the strength of T shaped multi-cell composite column. For this study, the preparing and analysing models of T shaped column without concrete imperfections is to be done and compared with column with imperfections and to study their behaviour. This paper aims to determine the impact of the concrete imperfections on the strength and failure patterns of T shaped composite column using ANSYS software. The results of this study provide valuable insights into the behaviour of T shaped multi-cell composite column with different types of concrete imperfections. The findings can be used to improve the design and construction practices of these structures and enhance their structural integrity and safety.

Development of highways and railways play crucial role in a nation’s economic growth. While rigid concrete pavements are durable with high load bearing characteristics, growing economies mostly rely on flexible pavements which enables easier and economical construction. The strength of flexible pavement is based on the strength of subgrade and load distribution characteristics of intermediate granular layers. In this scenario, to simultaneously meet economy and strength criteria, it is imperative to strengthen and stabilize the load-transferring layers, namely subbase, and base. Geosynthetic reinforcement in planar and cellular forms has been proven effective in improving soil stiffness and providing a stable load transfer platform. The present study investigates the efficiency of geocells over single/multiple layer geogrid reinforcements by a series of three-dimensional model analyses of a flexible pavement section under a standard repetitive wheel load. The geocell network modeled with actual curvature is assumed to be embedded in the granular base with hard contact without separation. Stress transfer mechanisms and deformation profiles under various reinforcement configurations are also studied. Geocell reinforcement is observed to take up a higher proportion of stress caused by the traffic loads compared to single and double-layer geogrid reinforcements. The efficiency of single geogrid reinforcement reduces with an increase in embedment depth. The contribution of lower geogrid is insignificant in the case of the double-geogrid reinforced system.

In beams shear failure occurs when the shear capacity is less than the flexural capacity. Shear strengthening has to be provided under such conditions. The common methods of enhancing the shear capacity of RC beams are Steel plate jacketing, Near mounted surface strengthening method using steel or FRP bars, Externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer strips or laminates. However due to the advantages of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites over other conventional techniques, it has now became a very popular method of shear strengthening. In this paper a total of 3 numbers of shear deficient Reinforced Concrete (RC) beams are designed. A hybrid composite of glass and jute fiber FRP’s is made. Hand layup technique is used to prepare the hybrid composites. These composites are then externally wrapped in beams to enhance the shear capacity. The study is conducted to understand the effect of various wrapping configurations, i.e. full and strip wrapping on the shear strengthening of RC beams. The mechanical properties of glass and jute fiber hybrid composites are determined and the load deflection behavior and ultimate failure load of the beams are analyzed experimentally.

Steel–concrete composite slab utilizes the advantages of steel as well as concrete and also reduces the overall dead loads. Flexural failure, vertical shear failure and longitudinal shear failure are the three major failure modes of a composite slab. The most prominent mode of failure is the longitudinal shear failure which is denoted by the horizontal slip between steel sheet and the concrete layer. In order to reduce slip, inverter U shaped shear connectors are introduced. This study focuses to improve the flexural strength of composite slab by using High-Performance Concrete (HPC), which also incorporated the usage of construction and demolition waste as recycled coarse aggregates. Numerical study is conducted on simply supported one-way slab. Parameters varied and studied are different configurations of inverted U-shaped connectors and overall depth of the slab. The composite slab with inverted U-shaped connector is expected to have more load carrying capacity and flexural strength than composite slab with shear studs.

Sustainable transportation is crucial for promoting long-term health, well-being, and economic prosperity of individuals, societies, and economies. Transportation is responsible for significant greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and environmental degradation. To identify sustainable transportation indicators in urban areas, this study conducted a systematic review of 23 published articles related to sustainable transportation indicators in urban areas, analyzing the articles thematically to identify five main themes: Accessibility, Environment, Infrastructure, Performance, and Economic. The most commonly mentioned subthemes were Gas Emissions, Energy Consumption, and Monthly Fuel Price. The findings also emphasize the importance of considering multiple indicators and subthemes for a coordinated approach to sustainable transportation that maximizes sustainability improvements in urban areas. This study contributes to the ongoing discourse on sustainable urban development and transportation planning by identifying and analyzing key indicators that can be used to measure sustainability in urban transportation systems.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is known as one of the digital tools that can transform and improve the construction industry in terms of project organization and execution. However, with the emergence of new BIM technology in the construction industry, trust issues arise among team members involved in construction projects. The lack of understanding of the new digital technology or misinterpretation of the construction flow can lead to trust issues. Therefore, this study aims to explore trust issues among team members in BIM-based construction projects. In terms of research methodology, a systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted on published articles using preferred reporting items for systematic review. The result of this study portrays a list of identified trust issues in BIM-based construction projects. From there, a theoretical model of trust issues will be developed. This outcome of this study will provide insights into trust issues among industry practitioners to improve BIM-based construction projects for the successful delivery of the project.

High rise structural systems are subjected to different types of loading conditions including dynamic loading where the seismic ground motions are oscillatory which induces inertia forces that varies with time. The response of the structure towards earthquake loading will be different for different structural configuration. In the present study the behaviour of structural configuration towards the earthquake ground motion is evaluated, along with considering the soil structure interaction effects. A realistic approach has been followed by taking into account the soil profile and foundation above which the building structures are resting. A finite element software PLAXIS 3D is used for conducting the analysis. The response of four structures having different aspect ratio and slenderness ratio has been analysed, when it is subjected to ground motion. The ground motion is provided by means of a real time history data of a past earthquake happened in Bhuj, Gujarat, 2001. In India, according to some paleo seismic studies conducted the Kutch region which is recorded as the second most seismically active region in the Himalayan ranges are more prone to experience earthquakes in the coming future which makes this study more relevant. A real soil profile situated in an earthquake susceptible region of Kutch was considered for the study. The dynamic analysis performed in PLAXIS 3D on the structure by taking into account the soil-foundation- structure interaction determines the impact of seismic loading on structures which are situated in seismically active regions in a more precise way. From the results obtained, as the aspect ratio changes from 1 to 1.75 there was a 23% increase in the acceleration response of the structure at the roof level. Similarly when the slenderness ratio was changed by increasing the number of floors considered there was an increase of 4.2% in the acceleration response of the structure towards seismic loading at the roof level making it clear that, with the increase in aspect ratio and slenderness ratio of the structure the displacement, as well as the acceleration response of the structure towards earthquake loading has increased. This shows the influence of configuration parameters of the structures towards its response during dynamic loading condition.

In the past few decades, the terrorist attack on buildings has significantly increased. Blast loads due to explosions cause severe damage to the building’s structural and non-structural elements which may also lead to progressive collapse of the building. Hence, there is a need for the structures to be analysed and designed for blast loads in addition to the conventional loads. An investigation is undertaken to minimize the damage of a G+3 storied building and by improving the mechanical properties such as compressive strength, nonlinear behaviour of M40 grade concrete by adding carbon fibres in different dosages. A finite element model of G+3 storied building has been created using Ansys/LS Dyna to analyse the structure subjected to a blast load with charge weights of 50 kg, 100 kg, 150 kg at 3000 mm standoff distance. The lateral deflections and strains of the structure are determined for different charge weights to study the behaviour of the structure when subjected to blast loads. The addition of carbon fibres has improved the behaviour of structure by reducing the strains and deflections and optimum dosage of fibres is also determined in this paper.

Composite slab with profiled metal decking provides economical solutions for floors of steel framed building systems particularly due to its reduced dead weight. The ability of the slabs to act compositely is governed by the shear interaction between the concrete topping and the profiled steel deck. The longitudinal shear bond failure is reported to be the most common failure mode in composite slabs. Significant end slips occur between concrete and profiled steel sheeting interfaces even before reaching its ultimate bending capacity. The present study aims at investigating various bond improvement methods for a composite slab with High Performance Concrete (HPC) topping containing recycled aggregates from demolition waste. The materials for longitudinal shear bond improvement under consideration includes nitobond, saw toothed steel and eye hooks. Percentage replacement of recycled coarse aggregates were first optimised and the analysis of composite slab after bond improvement is done numerically for different configurations of various shear connectors from which shear strength is computed using codal m-k method. The composite slab under consideration exhibits better performance in terms of load carrying capacity and shear strength compared to normal concrete composite slab. It also reflects in a reduced deflection and end slip.

The success of any infrastructure construction project rely on cost and time aspect of project. Execution of infrastructure project within given timeline and budget is really challenging. It is of essential to study the issues that can arise while project is ongoing. Metro construction sector is currently the one with utmost investment. Pune Metro construction project is such a project that aims to provide a rapid transit system for the growing population of Pune city in India. However, like many other construction projects, it has been plagued by cost and time overruns. In this paper, we have studied factors related Metro construction which lead to cost and time overrun through literature and then validated with the pilot study. Responses of various stakeholders working on project were recorded on the Likert’s scale for each factor considering their overall impact on cost and time aspect of project. Factors are then ranked with relative importance index method for each aspect and the reliability of responses is checked through Cronbach’s alpha test. Through this research, primary causes which affected cost of project most are found as material cost, land acquisition and price escalation while Covid-19 pandemic, land acquisition affected the time schedule of project most. This paper discusses methodology opted by Pune Metro to tackle these risks and recommendations about measures to be taken for avoiding these overruns which were found out through personal interactions with stakeholders and site visits. This study can turn out to be guide for future Metro construction projects, both in India and globally, and help to lower down likelihood of cost and time overruns risk in these complex and important infrastructure projects.

Given the concrete jungle of the metropolitan cities resulting to increasing carbon footprint in the global atmosphere, the need for reduction in carbon emission is the need of the hour. Construction and its allied activities accounting for more than 38% of global carbon emission need to take part in mitigating as such. Many such metropolitan cities saw improper design and town planning resulting to water logging and drainage issues, which are a main concern. One such mitigation strategy is to implement the use of Porous Concrete on light traffic pathways. Porous concrete are construction materials that allows for seepage of water through the appropriate voids in its form without compromising its strength. Porous concrete as pavement materials will also address the drainage issues that the main Indian cities like Delhi and Mumbai are facing. It is so designed to recharge ground water as well by its seepage action. This study focused on the optimum design for strength parameters of Porous Concrete partially replaced with glass powder in 0%, 10%, 15% and 20%. The fresh and hardened properties of the porous concrete are conducted and compared with the nominal sample (controlled sample) of M25 grade porous concrete.

The existing situation and prospects of implementing digital technologies in construction are the subject of this study. The central notion of digital technology is the transition from “paper-based” technologies to computer-aided design tools and then to information modelling of construction things. Digital technologies are studied in experimental and field investigations, the interaction with mathematical modelling is demonstrated, and the current challenges raised in the area are highlighted. 3D printing (3DP) is a civil engineering invention that adds to automation and provides design, greenness and efficiency benefits. The extant studies lack focus on understanding the perceptions of the use of 3D printing in the AEC industry. The current research explores the perceptions of construction stakeholders through the theoretical lens of the technology acceptance model (TAM). The study adopts a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews of practitioners possessing 3D printed construction. Subsequently, the transcribed interviews are coded and thematically analyzed using a text-mining tool. The findings include the themes generated from the TAM framework that serves as a conceptual model for prospective practitioners who aim to develop careers in the 3D printing domain.

Earthquake are one of the most devastating disasters the world is facing from decades and constant researches are conducted for providing various solutions to improve the seismic performance by using the idea of ductility and stiffness in appropriate manner. Ductility enhancement is one of the key principles of seismic design. Various techniques are introduced to improve the ductile behaviour of the buildings in past decades. Reduced web sections are one of the older concepts that follows the idea of predetermined failure at determined weak regions. Incorporating slits allows the weakening of slits thus utilizing plastic strain capacity of material which results in dissipating energy and improving ductile ability of structures. This study focuses on improving the ductile behaviour and energy dissipation characteristics of shear resisting frame with haunched beams by using slits at the shear link. Shear resisting frame (SRF) is an innovative concept where failure occurs by shear yielding. SRF is suitable for low span to depth ratio’s where moment resisting frames can’t be used. SRF with haunched beam is used in this study to prevent sudden transition from prismatic beam to link and thus avoiding sudden discontinuity. The parametric study was conducted on the link separately to avoid the computational time and the link with better performance was attached to the frame to analyze the seismic behaviour of the shear resisting frame with haunched beams (SRFH). Effect of aspect ratio of slits, orientation and number of slits on improving the ductile characteristics of the frame were studied. Slits improved the ductile behaviour of the frame by 75% and energy dissipation increased by more than 100%. Rotation capacity of the links were also improved thus improving the over all seismic performance of the frame.

To efficiently manage all parts of roadway construction projects, a comprehensive and integrated strategy is required. Building Information Modelling (BIM) may provide a comprehensive solution for road widening projects. This article focuses on the use of BIM to determine the influence on materials in road widening construction. The research begins with a literature survey on BIM applications in infrastructure projects. The BIM for the roadway widening project is then discussed, which included the development of a 3D model using BIM and the incorporation of Total station data for analysis and visualization. Monitoring road construction by hand is time-consuming and laborious, and sorting and retrieving data from numerous components gets perplexing. So, the primary goal of this project is to investigate the impact on various materials with respect to the cost overrun of road construction. The study concludes with recommendations for future research on the use of BIM for road infrastructure projects, highlighting the importance of these technologies continuous development and use in the industry.

The demand for novel technology for manufacturing lightweight concrete has increased in the global construction industry. Therefore, studies that explore alternative lightweight concrete systems for structural applications are urgently needed. The objective of this study is to develop Fibre Reinforced Aerated Concrete (FRAC) by the addition of 1%, 1.5%, 2% and 2.5% of glass fibres. Fibre Reinforced Aerated Concrete is examined under compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strengths. The foaming agent used is aluminium powder. Aerated Concrete was strengthened by replacing cement with fly ash and the properties of the Aerated Concrete were enhanced by the addition of glass fibres. The addition of glass fibres will enhance the strength of aerated concrete in compression, Tension and in Flexure. The strength of aerated concrete is maximum for 2% of fibres than other fibre percentages. The study mainly focuses on the comparison of the ability of Glass Fibres in increasing the mechanical properties of the Aerated Concrete (AC) compared to the control specimen.

The damages found in the elevated water tank from previous earthquake events confirm that the failures occur mainly in the staging of the water tank. It is essential to quantify these damages to investigate its performance. Fluid–structure–soil interaction plays an important role in the investigation of structural performance of baffled elevated water tank. With the use of performance-based earthquake engineering, in this study the performance level is investigated by utilizing spectral acceleration as intensity measure and the engineering demand parameter is the top drift of staging. With the use of SAP2000 software various models were developed by considering variations in water level and staging configuration of baffled elevated water tank by considering fluid–structure–soil interactions. Non-linear dynamic analysis were conducted following FEMA P695 guidelines by considering five ground motions with gradually increasing intensities in increments of 0.1 g up to failure and IDA curves were obtained. Fragility curves were made from the IDA curves according to three performance limit states for assessing seismic risk. For evaluating safety margin against collapse, collapse margin ratios were obtained. It shows that cross staging is having a safety margin of 32.5% higher than radial and basic staging. From the result it shows that hard soil is having a safety margin of 99% higher than soft soil and medium soil has 25% higher safety than soft soil. The seismic fragility analysis by considering variation in water level shows that half-filled water level shows more critical condition than Full and Empty condition.

The formation of urban villages is an integral phenomenon of growing cities in India. Such villages become extremely important in the perspective of urban areas as they offer an affordable solution to the needs of many city dwellers. However, it is a hard reality that urban villages lack the availability of services and infrastructure essential to offer a safe living environment to the inhabitants which leaves them at a high-risk level. Fire is recognized as one of the most fundamental services under the 12th schedule of the constitution of India. Fire prevention and firefighting are the subject matter of states and union territories and urban local bodies. Studies have shown that there is a strong disconnect between the policies formed at National, regional & local levels that leaves urban villages at their fate without giving much recognition in planning. The study region, Noida came into existence when the need to develop planned urban centers in proximity to Delhi was realized and hence a lot of villages were engulfed in the development and got converted to urban villages. The development norms applicable in Noida do not highlight the holistic development and planning strategies required for the safety of urban villages. This study presents a benchmarking of policies and norms in Noida, India (southeast Asia) with the case studies identified to understand the key indicators of improvement in existing policies. This study will help the policymakers, planners, and building authorities to position the existing norms with international standards.

This paper presents the development of hybrid fibre reinforced high-performance concrete (HFRHPC) using basalt fibre and steel fibre. The basalt fibre and steel fibre were used to improve the mechanical properties of the concrete. Both fibres were used to improve the tensile strength of the concrete. In this study, the mix proportions of M60 grade HPC has been arrived based on the method proposed by Prof. Aitcin which was derived from the guidelines given by ACI 211.1 The Hybrid fibre-reinforced High-performance concrete was obtained by adding different volume fractions of basalt and steel fibres. The percentages of steel fibres considered include 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2%. Whereas the percentages of basalt fibres considered include 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5%. An attempt was made to obtain the relation between the various engineering properties with the percentage of fibres added. In general, the addition of fibres improved the mechanical properties of both HPC and HFRHPC. However the increase was found to be minimal in the case of while adding basalt fibre. The outcome of this investigation will be useful in structures subjected to stress reversals.

Sludge resulting from wastewater treatment plants has disposal problems. Generally, this sludge is disposed by spreading on the land or by landfilling. However, for cities which are urbanized, sludge disposal by landfilling might not be appropriate due to limited area. Incineration can create very big amount of ash and that must be disposed by other means. With growing social awareness about toxic incinerator emissions and the increasing concern over the disposal of sludge onto agricultural land, it seems obvious that the recovery of sewage sludge as a building and construction material can be considered as an important step in the right direction. The use of sludge in construction industry is considered to be the soundest option both economically and environmentally. Sludge produced in the treatment plant can be effectively used in manufacture of bricks and the quantity of waste produced can be minimized. Red mud (RM) is a by-product from alumina production through Bayer process. The production of RM was estimated about four billion tons. Recycling of this big amount of alkaline waste is considered to be a serious challenge. Utilizing RM as a raw material to make bricks seems like a promising option. Also, there are substances in RM which can lower the sintering temperature of bricks. The current research focuses on the effective utilization of sewage sludge and red mud in clay bricks to minimize the impact of massive dumping of these materials on the environment. Also the study aims to create a material with quality and economy. From the study, it is understood that even though the high organic content will decrease the mechanical properties, it can give out bricks which are environmentally sustainable. As these bricks are third class bricks, it can be effectively used in non-load bearing structures.

Base isolation systems have conventionally been used as a tool for mitigating the impacts of earthquakes on civil structures and to attenuate their seismic responses. Optimal design of base isolator has a vital role in the performance of a structure in response to earthquake. The study focuses on the development of low-cost circular scrap tyre pad (CSTP) base isolator in unbonded configuration. The compression and shear properties of isolators were investigated to check the vertical stiffness and lateral flexibility. The study also investigates the effect of shape factor and vertical pressure on structural properties of isolator. The result reveals that the shape factor and vertical pressure has a considerable effect on the lateral performance of the CSTP base isolator.

Majority of offshore steel platforms in Mumbai High Field in Arabian Sea as well as around the world are about to reach their design life. To continue to operate the platforms after their design life, existing offshore platforms requires re-certification. Also change in design criteria, addition of new facility and damages of the structure may lead to a need for assessment. Underwater and topside surveys are carried out to collect sufficient information about the present condition of the structures for their engineering assessment. The method normally used for assessment of existing offshore structures is In-place analysis based on Design level and Ultimate level check. In-place analysis of the jacket structure has been carried out using SAC’s software to evaluate the structural adequacy of the jacket structure in accordance with code API-RP2A criteria’s for life extension. In-place analysis is based on working stress and considers only linear analysis for the jacket structure. If Jacket structure does not pass design level criteria, advance analysis such as ultimate strength analysis needs to be carried out as per criteria of API-RP-2A to study failure mechanism of the structure and determine Reserve Strength Ratio (RSR). In ultimate strength analysis both material and geometrical nonlinearity is considered and incremental loading is applied to study the behaviour of the structure. This paper intends to provide Re-assessment of existing fixed offshore steel platform and results from the investigation are discussed and conclusions are drawn about the applicability of the proposed framework.

Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) is the key ingredient in concrete, and it is the primary choice in the construction and building environment. OPC’s superior technical qualities have made it a preferred choice for combining newly developed multi-functional materials. Because of its brittle nature, OPC resembles materials with weak resistance to crack formation, low tensile strength, and limited strain capacity. By virtue of their exceptional mechanical qualities, graphene and its derivatives, such as graphene oxide, carbon nanofibers, carbon nanotubes, and silica particles, have demonstrated a means to create a super concrete. Because of the outstanding interfacial interaction capabilities of graphene oxide, it can interface directly with cement particles. GO is a viable option for application as nano reinforcements in cement-based materials due to its outstanding mechanical capabilities, high aspect ratio, and good dispersibility in water. This paper conducts a thorough examination of the mechanical properties and microscopic structure of graphene oxide. Discussions will include matrix composition, pore structure, micro structure, workability, compressive, tensile, and flexural strength etc. In addition, the dispersion of graphene oxide in the cement paste, the improvement of GO dispersion with silica fume, the distribution of porosity and pore size, the solubility of water, the morphology and microstructure, the impact of hydration times on the microstructure, the regulation mechanism of GO in cement hydration products, and fluidity will all be observed and summarised. The composition, pore size distribution, and microstructure of concrete are studied using a variety of microstructure characterisation techniques, such as XRD, MIP, and SEM.

It has been well known from the previous literature that the production process of one ton of cement contributes to the emission of nearly one ton of carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere. Geopolymer concrete is completely devoid of cement and hence is considered as a sustainable alternative to the normal concrete. The key properties investigated in the present study include the compressive strength, flexural strength and water absorption of the fly ash clay based geopolymer concrete (GPC). Three types of clay were used in the study, viz., accumulated clayey soil (clay 1), surface clay (clay 2) and sub-surface clay (clay 3). The clays were incorporated in the system, in its raw state and after incorporating lime. It was observed that the engineering properties got enhanced after incorporating 3% of lime in the clays, when compared to that of raw clay based concrete specimens.

There is no question that the so-called “developing countries” require extensive infrastructure and built environment development. But these issues must be resolved in a way that is both socially and environmentally responsible. Instead of trying to change things after the fact, there is a pressing need to make sustainable interventions now, as these constructed environments are being produced. Yet, there are a number of obstacles to the adoption of sustainable construction technologies and practises, thus some enablers must be created to aid these nations in moving in that direction. There are two main strategies for addressing the financial difficulties of sustainable construction: market-oriented policies that affect the costs of specific types of construction and governance through standards, legal, and regulatory norms. In developed nations where the role of buildings in the economy is waning, sustainable construction goals are being implemented more aggressively on a macroeconomic level. In contrast, building is becoming increasingly significant in less developed or recently industrialised nations, yet sustainable building goals are more challenging to achieve. The adoption of sustainable construction development goals across the entire national economy is crucial for the construction industry at the meso-economic level. The management of sustainable building through legal and regulatory norms and practises and market-oriented policy that influences the costs of specific types of construction are the two complete strategies that are examined in this study. Also, to address some of these issues, the agenda 21 for Sustainable Building in Developing Countries recommended creating a research and development agenda based on a matrix of short-, medium and long-term technological, institutional, and value enablers. The current task is to create regional and national action plans that will allow these recommendations to be put into practise locally.

Due to the appropriate composite action between the steel and concrete, steel concrete composites are gaining popularity in civil industry. Steel that are used in field is of different type. One such variety is Cold Formed Steel, CFS have comparatively high yield point and tensile strength making it suitable for wide range of applications. SFRC is claimed as modern cost-efficient building material as its exhibits more ductile failure. It eliminates the brittle failure in the concrete. In this study twelve built-up column is modelled in solid works and evaluated using ANSYS workbench software. 0.6, 1.2 and 1.8% of steel fibers are added to the infilled concrete and axial load is applied. It is further compared with the analysis of normal concrete filled built-up column. From the analysis report, SFRC filled built-up column has more bearing capacity than the ordinary concrete filled column. The columns filled with 1.8% of steel fiber possess more ductility index and ultimate load capacity. It has less lateral deformation compared to other models. In overall adding steel fibers to concrete increases the ductility and load bearing capacity of the column.

Research has shown that incorporating various types of fibers into a concrete mix can enhance the strength properties of cementitious matrices. Limiting the crack propagation in slab-like concrete structures, such as pavements, airport runways, and continuous slab-type sleepers for high-speed trains is critical. To achieve this, it is essential to address both crack propagation from loading and shrinkage. Distributed short fiber reinforcing, such as polypropylene fibers, is a smart solution in this scenario. The present study uses hybrid combinations of steel and polypropylene fibers in a mortar mix containing 50% cement and 50% Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS). Fibers are randomly distributed as 0.5% of the volume of GGBS mortar. Five hybrid combinations of steel and polypropylene fibers are considered (25, 40, 50, 60, and 75%) to determine the mechanical properties. It is found that the addition of fibers enhances the mechanical properties of the mortar. The hybrid combination of 50% steel fiber and 50% polypropylene fiber in the GGBS mortar is optimum in terms of strength and economy. This study also promotes sustainable construction practices by utilizing GGBS as a raw material, which is an industrial byproduct.

Traffic noise is one of the major environmental pollutants that are encountered in our daily life and it also affects the human health. Due to increase in the vehicular number on roads noise associated with roads has also been considerably rising in recent years. This causes alarming noise pollution. Considering Kerala, which is quite famous for its urbanization even in the remotest areas there is significant rise in number of vehicles and nature of traffic. Due to this, today many cities are witnessing the problem of noise pollution. In order to implement effective measures against traffic noise, the information about its distribution is imperative. The present study undertaken analyzes the spatial characteristics of urban environmental noise by using noise maps produced at different noise monitoring locations in the study area. Noise data was collected at varying intervals viz morning, afternoon, and evening. The spatial distributions of the noise levels during each time interval were evaluated and visualized by preparing noise maps using QGIS software. Covid lockdown has been one of it’s kind situation and hence any works associated with the same has relevance in current context. This study attempts to investigate the impacts of COVID lockdown on the changes in noise pollution levels before and during the lockdown restrictions in different residential, commercial, industrial, and silence zones of the city of Ernakulam, Kerala. A noise prediction model was generated from the data obtained.

Due to the impervious features of conventional pavements and increasing road coverage areas, the heat island effect is becoming more severe, and many environmental problems have appeared [1]. Since, conventional interlocks have a disadvantage of being non-pervious and hindering the chances of water to seep in to the ground we are introducing a pavement block, whose central core portion can withstand the load applied with an M30 concrete mix (IS 15658) and 45% of natural coarse aggregate in this concrete grade is substituted by recycled concrete coarse aggregate (RCCA).The perviousness is achieved by attaching a 3D printed PETG (Polyethylene terephthalate glycol) frame structure with lofted circular holes for water to trickle down. The pavement blocks are subjected to visual inspection, dimension tolerance, compressive strength, water absorption and flexural strength test (three-point test) according to IS 15658. The tests were done on factory made pavement block, pavement block without frame and with frame, for all these tests to get accuracy. The test results showed that pavement block with frame has remarkable strength and the aim of perviousness can be achieved easily. It is identified that the interlock block with 3D printed PETG frame attached for perviousness have more compressive strength compared to interlock block without frame and factory-made block. It is also understood that the block without frame has the least strength compared to other two pavement blocks. The strength of pavement block with frame has a significant increase in strength due to 3D PETG frame.

Roof tiles have proven to be the latest home improvement trend. Homes or other structures in high-rainfall locations are more likely to have such tiles. The strength, beauty, and hardiness of roof tiles are the main factors contributing to their rising popularity. In our project, we propose a light weight and heat-resistant roofing tile and panel made up of glass fibre. We used polyol and isocyanate to make the product heat-resistant. In locations with low-bearing capacity soil, fibre roofing tile is more useful as it reduces the structure’s weight. Our roofing tile is lighter when compared to ordinary roofing tile. In this paper, we observe the methodology, experiment conducted, result, and cost of fibre roofing tile. The methodology explains the procedure to prepare the fibre roofing tile. The final product is obtained by following different steps. After manufacturing the product, different experiments are conducted to check the properties of the roofing tile. Break load test, water absorption test, permeability test, and heat resistance test are the experiments conducted. The results obtained are compared with other ordinary roofing tiles.

Most of the RC framed buildings which are designed for seismic prone regions have to follow the ductile detailing procedure outlined in earthquake resistant design code IS 13920(2016) while the infill wall in the RC frames must follow the procedure outlined in IS 1893 (Part 1): 2016. Earthquake resistant design aims to completely utilize the ductile behaviour of the members and it’s constituent materials. Nonlinear analysis is frequently used to explore the ductile behaviour of the structure which is visible only beyond the yield limit/the linear range of the material behaviour. However, nonlinear dynamic analysis can be time consuming and resource intensive. Therefore, the goal of the present study is to utilise the material strength to full potential while keeping the analysis simple and robust. Hence, a pseudo optimization technique was adopted to improve the existing analysis and seismic design methods. The adopted method employs linear models of a structure whose seismic design has been enhanced and optimised based on modal energy. The pseudo-optimized design is a three-step process. The first step is to perform Pushover analysis to evaluate the seismic capacity of the existing building. In the next step, the variation of storey stiffness, storey strength and modal energy shall be examined along the height of the building considering the in-plane stiffness and strength of unreinforced masonry (URM) infill walls. As a last step, based on the modal energies observed in various structural members, the design is optimised. This method is practitioner friendly and has potential for industry level applications.

Understanding the trend of rainfall series is necessary to manage water resources and to plan future development activities, especially during the construction of large-scale hydraulic structures. In many reported works, trend is estimated using Mann–Kendall test and persistence of the trend in future is estimated using the value of Hurst exponent. But the Hurst exponent only shows the nature of persistence (H > 0.5 persistence, H  < 0.5 anti-persistence and H = 0.5 have equal probability), but it doesn’t say for sure that the series is predictable even if it is persistent. In this study, a method is proposed to check how predictable a time series is. Annual and seasonal rainfall series for a period of 20 years (2002–2021) for 15 rain gauges located in Wisconsin river basin (Wisconsin State of USA) is used which covers almost 20 counties. It is seen that for annual data, increasing trend is found in all the 15 stations. Further, the Hurst exponent indicates the increasing trend is persistent in future also. In seasonal data, 13 stations have increasing trend with Hurst exponent value more than 0.5 in all the stations. Then, the Hurst exponent values are explored for14 different sizes of the series starting from 7th year to 20th year for all the stations. Finally, the relation between predictability and oscillation (in term of standard deviation) of the 14 Hurst exponents is demonstrated. Prediction is performed using Artificial Neural Network to see how the oscillation in the 14 different Hurst exponents of series influences the prediction. The prediction performance with annual data of Reedsburg station is not good (NRMSE = 0.30) when compared to Lac Vieux Desert (NRMSE = 0.08) as evident from the standard deviation values. The Standard deviation in the 14 Hurst exponents of Reedsburg and Lac Vieux Desert are 0.22 and 0.08. Later, the same analysis is done on seasonal data which also corroborates that there is a relation between the oscillation of 14 different Hurst exponents and predictability.

To get around topographical barriers, curved girders are frequently employed in bridge construction. Due to high flexural and torsional rigidity, girders with box cross-section are preferred over I-girders in these circumstances. Patch loading is one of the most typical loads a girder is subjected to. The present study carried out a numerical investigation of horizontally curved box girder under patch loading condition using a finite element model developed in ABAQUS CAE®. The existing experimental data in literature were used to validate the models. The study’s primary goal is to examine the behaviour of the curved box girder under patch load and to analyse how patch load length affect its ultimate strength. The main parameters considered in this study are curvature angle, aspect ratio and web slenderness ratio.

The beam-column joints (BCJs) are one of the critical elements in reinforced concrete structures, having a significant impact on the seismic response of structures. Traditionally, the strong column-weak beam concept has been used during design, which assumes the BCJ as a rigid connection. However, this approach can lead to brittle shear failure at the joint under seismic loads, highlighting the importance of accurately estimating the joint shear strength (JSS) of BCJs to ensure structural safety. There has been a growing interest in replacing steel reinforcement with sustainable alternatives such as glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars. The advantages of GFRP bars include reduced corrosion, improved service life, and lower maintenance costs. While some studies have evaluated the seismic behaviour of BCJs reinforced with GFRP bars, limited research has been conducted on determining the JSS of GFRP reinforced BCJs. The current design codes for estimating JSS rely solely on empirical formulae that consider the effect of concrete strength. However, this approach neglects the influence of other critical factors such as geometry, yield strength of steel, and longitudinal and transverse reinforcements, which are crucial for accurately predicting JSS. This paper proposes a novel approach for predicting JSS in BCJs reinforced with GFRP bars using the response surface methodology. To achieve this, finite element models of BCJs are developed using ABAQUS software, and their JSS at failure is evaluated. The experimental data from the literature are also incorporated to perform surrogate modelling of GFRP reinforced BCJs. The efficiency of the surrogate model is statistically evaluated using the coefficient of determination. Overall, this study presents more accurate approach for predicting shear strength of GFRP reinforced BCJs by considering all possible influencing parameters. This will help in preventing brittle shear failure and improving the durability of structure.

Concrete, being a versatile building material, is employed in a wide range of applications. Under normal circumstances, it performs satisfactorily but deteriorates under extreme situations. To attain the desired characteristics during construction, admixtures are used in cementitious materials. Accelerating admixtures fasten the setting and development of early age strength of the cement composites. Stone, on the other hand, is another significant building material used in the construction industry. The stone industry is also expanding with the construction industry's rise, generating tonnes of debris every year. Stone wastes in various forms, such as slurry, dust/powder, broken slabs, and aggregates, have been dumped on valuable land and watersheds. It creates a nuisance to the ecosystem, thereby becoming a potential environmental threat. In the present study, stone powder, along with accelerating admixtures has been utilized in concrete mixtures to examine its feasibility in terms of ecological and economic aspects. The study aimed to investigate the environmental impact of different additives i.e., stone powder, calcium nitrate, and triethanolamine individually and in combination for various cement concrete mixes. The environmental impact of concrete mixtures was evaluated in terms of embodied energy, carbon footprint, and cost analysis of different concrete mixes and compared with the plain mix. The performance index of different mixtures of concrete was also assessed. Results showed that stone powder was found to be very efficient in lowering the cost, energy use, and CO2 emission among all additives. Compared to other additives, using stone powder in concrete enhanced the performance effectively.

Disputes are an inevitable part of the construction industry. Every year a huge amount of money and time is wasted on the settlement of disputes in construction projects. There can be different causes for the disputes to arise in construction projects. Prevention of disputes can be possible through proper identification and analysis of the factors causing them. This paper is a study on the identification of construction disputes from literature and through a questionnaire survey in Kerala public projects. The responses from the survey were logically analysed using fuzzy-DEMATEL analysis and Relative Importance Index (RII). Fuzzy-DEMATEL categorizes the factors as causes and effects. RII scaling is used to scale the factors that cause disputes causing cost overrun in Kerala public works. Thus, this study intends to find the factors affecting disputes, their inter-relationships and effects on Kerala construction sector.

As the population explodes, the amount of Municipal solid waste generated is also increasing while an effort is made to mitigate the problem of plastic and rubber, Textile waste is often neglected; nearly 16–20 tons per day is disposed of by burning or landfilling. However, it can be utilized in various sustainable applications, such as modifying bitumen. In this study, Textile Pyrolysis Oil (TXPO) modified bitumen was produced by incorporating TXPO at concentrations of 1, 2, and 3% of the total blend weight. The effects of TXPO on the binder were analyzed through tests measuring penetration grade, softening point, apparent viscosity, and mixing and compaction temperatures. Results indicate that adding TXPO to the base bitumen increased penetration values and slightly decreased the softening points of the modified bitumen. Based on dynamic viscosity tests, it was observed that viscosity increased with increasing TXPO concentration. Furthermore, the mixing and compaction temperatures decreased as the modifier content increased. The TXPO-modified bitumen exhibited suitable properties for use as an alternative to base bitumen in pavement applications in low-temperature regions. Additionally, it is a sustainable solution as it incorporates Municipal solid waste into the production of the modifier.

In the absence of ductile design, beam-column joints form weak links in the frame during seismic activities, hence jeopardizing the entire structure. Deducing from the views of researchers, estimation of joint shear strength of RC beam-column joint is a necessity with a complexity. This complexity highlights the importance of machine learning models due to their data handling and predictive capabilities. This study used 233 beam-column joints with 132 exterior and 101 interior joints for training and testing the ensemble machine-learning models and an Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. The performance indices of the models built and their comparison is carried out to find the optimum model to be deployed. The sensitivity analysis of the features considered was conducted to infer the differences in exterior and interior beam-column joints’ behavior.

The development of Industry 4.0 has caused the global construction sector to move towards digitization. However, site safety is still one of the ignored aspects in terms of digitizing construction practices. The usage of technology-assisted solutions to support current practices is expanding. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a noteworthy invention in the construction industry. Based on an intelligent model, BIM combines structured, cross-disciplinary data to provide a digital representation of an asset that lasts the duration of its life. With BIM's potential advantages, safety procedures can be enhanced, and superior safety solutions can be offered. To do so, assessing the prior research and current trends in BIM based site safety management is crucial. The paper aims to provide a technology landscape for BIM in construction site safety through a detailed patentometric analysis using leading database Espacenet. The patent data from the year 2016–2023 is considered for analysis. The selected data is analyzed for country-wise, year-wise patents and it also discusses the IPC, CPC codes for the patents in the arena of BIM for construction safety. Currently, China is leading the forefront of patenting BIM based construction safety solutions. The landscaping has unfolded the fact that BIM based site safety management is an emerging domain. The thorough patentometric analysis presented in this paper summarizes cutting edge innovations. It highlights the prior art as well as provides a pathway for strategic patenting with improved chances of publication and granting of patent thereof.

Numerous studies conducted on the recent and past earthquake incidents shows that, around 40–50% of the failures of the structures is due to the collision between adjacent structures. The out of phase vibration caused by the lateral loads leads to collision, if sufficient separation is not provided. Studies on pounding of two adjacent buildings shows, the more flexible of the two gets affected more. Whereas the studies on 3 buildings arranged in a series shows opposite phenomena, that is the stiffer structure is affected more during pounding. Also, it was observed that the floor of one building hitting column of other building is more critical than the floor-to-floor collision; since it can lead to the brittle failure of the column. This study is focused on the behaviors of buildings under floor to column pounding when arranged in series. 3 MRF buildings arranged in series with different floor height were analyzed using ETABS Software. The effects of pounding depend on building characteristics, separation gap distance, ground motion characteristics and the characteristics of underlying soil.

Railway sleepers are essential components of railway tracks that support the rails, maintain their position, and transfer weights to the track ballast. Nowadays, prestressed concrete sleepers are commonly used due to their improved endurance during high-cycle fatigue, which increases their durability. However, the accumulation of damage to a concrete sleeper over its service life can result in failure, especially from rail loads that have the potential to cause cracking in the sleepers. To study this failure pattern, a three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model of prestressed concrete railway sleepers is developed using Abaqus software, based on the geometry of the Mainline Broad-Gauge sleeper (RDSO/T-2496). The model incorporates a concrete damage plasticity model to simulate the behaviour of high-strength concrete, with solid elements used to model the prestressing strands. The static analysis was performed according to IRS-T39 to estimate the moment of resistance and fracture. This study provides a comprehensive and realistic model for the analysis of prestressed concrete railway sleepers undergoing fatigue. The results of this study will help in the design and maintenance of railway tracks, leading to improved durability and reduced maintenance costs.

Corrosion in members is a significant durability problem in reinforced concrete; it reduces load-carrying capacity. This study collected corroded reinforced concrete beam specimens tested under flexural loads from the published literature. The whole database comprises 177 corroded beam specimens. A few parameters of the corroded beams, such as width, beam depth, compressive strength of concrete, yield strength of steel reinforcement, percentage weight loss etc., were collected from the literature. Two different machine-learning-based model was trained to predict the residual flexural strength of the corroded beam. K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), were used to train the models for predictions. Comparative analysis of the models was done using six statistical indices R2, Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), a-20 index, and Nash Sutcliffe, to propose the best of the two model for prediction. The results from the SVM model show an R2-value of 0.989 and that of the KNN model show 0.809. The proposed ML models are reliable, accurate, fast, and cost-effective. This model can be utilized as a structural health-monitoring tool to detect the early damages in the RC beams.

Due to several benefits provided by the combined contribution of steel and concrete the usage of steel–concrete composite structures has been extensively accepted in the building industry for decades. In order to transfer loads from one member to another, connections are an essential component of a structure. The failure criteria of the bolted beam to column connections vary due to the strength and mechanical properties of individual components. In the present study, the cyclic load carrying capacity of steel beam to bolted concrete filled steel tube connection is evaluated using finite element software ANSYS. The failure modes, strength and overall behaviour of the specimens have been studied. Blind bolted concrete filled steel tube was numerically validated and a comprehensive parametric study was conducted to determine the effect of the following parameters. The infill concrete, tube wall thickness of the steel tube connections and thickness of plate used in the beam column connection are selected as parameters for the current study. The effect of these parameters on the seismic behaviour and corresponding changes in failure mode is detailed in this study. The blind bolted CFST connections has improved strength, stiffness, moment capacities and lateral resistance and thus it has broad applications and future scopes in various fields.

In modern buildings, seismic loading is an added important factor to account in safe structural design. Seismic dissipation systems are utilized to protect critical components in the structure from the energy released during earthquakes. Metallic yield dampers are low-cost components providing energy dissipation through yielding. Steel dampers have indeed gained significant attention and research due to their stable hysteretic behaviour, as well as their ease of availability and construction compared to other metals. Steel possesses excellent mechanical properties, such as high strength, ductility, and toughness, making it an attractive material for structural damping applications. Bent shear panel dampers (BSPD) are shear panel dampers (SPD) with bent in the middle and connected to the web of the composite beam in the frame to overcome the drawbacks of traditional SPDs a relatively new addition to the yielding metallic damper, with the properties of easy assembly and low cost. The bent panel can help maintain the lateral stiffness and energy dissipation capability of the frame. In the present study behavior of BSPD is to be evaluated using finite element software ANSYS Workbench to enhance the ductility and thereby to improve the energy dissipation capacity. The failure modes, strength and overall behavior of the specimens need to be studied. Some parameters which include effect of slits and the effect of low yield materials mainly aluminum. Number of slits is a crucial parameter that defines the stiffness and compactness. Slits proves to be an innovative energy dissipation technique which not only reduces cost but also gains sufficient ductility by plastic hinge formation at the slits. Slit improves the ductile behavior and energy dissipation by more than 100%.low yield material aluminum improves the energy dissipation capacity and improves the ductility of the material slightly and shows high improvement in stiffness. Perforations lessen elastic stiffness and yield strength in comparison to unperforated specimens.

An alternative shear reinforcement technique has been proposed which is the flamingo technique, instead of the traditional vertical stirrup, it is made prefabricated. Five reinforced concrete beams were used with dimensions (200 × 300 × 1800) mm, two reference (with stirrups and without stirrups) and three beams using flamingo technique having diameter with (8 mm), and free ends by constant inclination angle (45°). This study aims to determine how a change in length of free ends affects the Flamingo technique. The length of free ends was used (50–50%), (75–50%) and (60–80%) from the effective depth of beam. According to the resuts, found that the beams showed an improvement in shear strength of by (108.3, 116.7 and 153.7%) when compared with beam without stirrup, and by 25, 30 and 52.2% over the reference beam with stirrup, as well as, it was observed that the beam containing ratios of 50 and 50% exceeded other ratios by 17.9 for the beam 80–60 and by 11.9 for the beam 75–50%,on other hand, the deflection improved by (10.01%, 10.9%, and 30%) respectively, compared to reference beam with stirrup.

The utilization of ultrafine materials in concrete has gained significant notice in modern times for its potential to enhance the properties of concrete. The drying shrinkage of concrete, which happens when concrete loses moisture and contracts, is one of the main issues in the workplace’s building. If this is not handled correctly, it may result in cracks and damage. This study examined the impact of ultrafine materials on the drying shrinkage of concrete, and the results are presented in this report. The research involved using ultrafine slag and ultrafine fly ash as partial replacements of cement in concrete for a grade of M35. The specimens were prepared with ultrafine of 10% replacement with cement as optimal, and the drying shrinkage was measured and compared to a control specimen without ultrafine materials. In the investigation, the hardened properties, including compressive strength and flexural strength, as well as the shrinkage test, were carried out. The findings revealed that the utility of ultrafine materials decreased the drying shrinkage of concrete, with ultrafine slag being more effective than ultrafine fly ash. The pozzolanic reaction of these materials contributed to the formation of additional calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel, which packed any voids and reduced the overall porosity of the concrete, resulting in a reduction in drying shrinkage. In conclusion, the study suggests that the utilization of ultrafine materials in concrete can effectively decrease the drying shrinkage of concrete, with ultrafine slag being more effective than ultrafine fly ash. However, further research is recommended to investigate the long-term effects of using these materials on the endurance of concrete. This investigation highlights the potential of ultrafine materials as a sustainable solution to boost the properties of concrete, particularly the drying shrinkage of concrete.

The effects of vertical irregularities on the response of a structure cannot be underestimated. The presence of vertical irregularities will change the overall response of a structure. In this study effects of different types of vertical irregularities on seismic response and seismic vulnerability of a structure have been analyzed. A six-story reinforced cement concrete building is used as a benchmark building and 28 new models are made by incorporating vertical irregularities in the benchmark model for analysis. The response of all the models is analyzed by using the pushover analysis. SPO2FRAG software is used for the assessment of the seismic vulnerability of models. From the analysis results, it is observed the change in stiffness, mass and position of irregularities in a structure will have a significant effect on the overall response of a structure. The results of the study are presented in terms of story displacements, inter story-drift ratios, capacity curves and median capacity plots.

It has been several decades since mild steel and cold twisted deformed bars got replaced by Thermo Mechanically Treated (TMT) bars or otherwise called Quenched and Self Tempered (QST) bars. Though TMT bars are manufactured with the supreme technologies of tempcore, thermex, etc., researchers have indicated a lack of quality in rebars. The present study is conducted on 12 mm TMT steel rebars. The rebars of different chemical compositions were collected from construction sites for assessing the quality of the rebars based on their microstructure. The present state of affair at the construction site on quality checks on rebars are very much lacking. The study also emphasizes the need for better and expanded checks on quality standards for steel rebars used in concrete structures before embedment. An optical microscope-based characterization of rebar microstructure is conducted. A chemical test, the nital TM ring test is done to estimate the microstructure phase distribution in the collected rebars. The specimens collected were from different sites in the state of Kerala. The use of TMT rebars in the construction sector has undoubtedly enhanced construction quality in many ways. Proper quality checks play a pivotal role in further quality enhancement of reinforced concrete.

Soil erosion is a naturally occurring process that affects all landforms determined by four fundamental factors: soil characteristics, vegetative cover, topography, and climate. Various soil erosion control is processed to lessen and delay from happening using different parts of a plant. Hence, this study aimed to produce BafNet and compare it to Coconet in terms of water absorption capacity, tensile strength, and net efficiency or soil reduction efficiency. It was revealed that the banana pseudo-stem fiber (BPSF) rope could absorb more water than the coco fiber rope by 39%. Also, it is stronger than the coco fiber rope by 165.2 N and 5.85 MPa for a one-meter rope having a diameter of 6 mm. For torrential rain on a silty type of soil at a 30° slope, the results exhibited that BafNet is more efficient than the Coconet by 11%.

The multiple stress creep and recovery (MSCR) test is the most commonly used method to characterise the rutting resistance of bituminous binders. However, the stress levels of 0.1 and 3.2 kPa, employed in this test as per ASTM D7405 are insufficient to represent the non-linear viscoelastic behaviour of modified bitumen under practical traffic conditions. Therefore, the modified binders are required to be characterised at higher stress levels. The present study intended to analyse the permanent deformation behaviour of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pyro-oil modified bitumen using variation in stress levels of the MSCR test. The base bitumen VG30 is modified using ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) and styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) polymers. The base and polymer modified bitumen are further modified with HDPE pyro-oil which was obtained from the pyrolysis of HDPE plastic waste. MSCR test with additional stress levels of 5, 6.4, 10, 12.5, and 25 kPa is used to characterise the base, polymer, and pyro-oil modified bitumen. It was found that higher stress levels than the standard 3.2 kPa are required to obtain the non-linear behavior of polymer modified bitumen. The addition of pyro-oil increased the rutting resistance of EVA modified bitumen, whereas the same is found to be decreased for SBS modified bitumen.