International Journal of Civil Engineering
Volume:6 Issue: 4, dec 2008

Geographic information systems (GIS) are one of the fastest growing computer-based technologies of past two decades, yet, full potential of this technology in construction has not been realized. Based upon GIS capabilities, construction site layout is one of the areas that GIS could be applied. The layout of temporary facilities (TFs) such as warehouses, fabrication shops, maintenance shops, concrete batch plants, construction equipments, and residence facilities has an important impact on the cost savings and efficiency of construction operations, especially for large projects. The primary objectives of this paper are to describe GIS technology and to present application of GIS technology to construction site layout. The study also delineated the methods of location TFs in construction site. An example application of GIS to location optimization of tower crane and concrete batch plant is provided to demonstrate GIS capabilities as compared with previous models. The spatial and nonspatial data which used in construction site layout process are analyzed and arranged on GIS environment and results showed the GIS can solve site layout problem. Finally, areas of additional research are noted.

In this study an empirical model which can be used to predict the rutting parameter (G*/sinδ) for neat and powder rubber modified bitumen describes. The model was developed using 36 unique powder rubber modified bitumen combinations, rubber concentrations were varied at 5% intervals between 5 and 20%. The effects of powder rubber particle size on model accuracy were also studied; ultimately a model was produced with the capability of predicting rutting parameter values over a range of temperatures and rubber concentrations. By definition, the upper limit of the performance grade is dependent on the rutting parameter value; therefore, the relationship was also considered in terms of high end failure temperature. The Rubber Coefficient for rutting parameter (Rcg) was identified as an important parameter in the estimation of rutting parameter (G*/sinδ) with the addition of powder rubber. This term is a quantitative representation of the increase typically witnessed in rutting parameter values with the addition of powder rubber. Ambient ground powder rubber exhibited higher Rcg values than cryogenically ground particles. Additionally, 95% confidence intervals were generated for the predictive model thus providing a range of accuracy for the model. The resulting confidence intervals were approximately +/-1300 Pa; these confidence intervals were seen to capture 92.6% of the 462 data points used. Findings from this research suggest that the differences between cryogenic and ambient powder rubber bitumen are accurately described using the Rcg, furthermore bitumen properties may be predicted using an empirical equation.

The unique behaviour of carbonate sediments under shear loading has stimulated in investigating of their geological and engineering properties. Their shapes are very different varying from needle shaped to platy shaped. Hence, it is important to examine their fabric effect on soil response under shearing condition. To this aim a series of small scale laboratory element testing were carried out on North Cornwall Rock" beach sand. Non-cemented and cemented Carbonate sand response under compression and extension loading and different initial density and confining pressure with samples allowed to be drained were investigated and compared. The results show that the sand shear strength under Extension loading is lower than compression regarding to anisotropic fabric due to platy and needle shape of grains. The anisotropy is reduced with increasing the confining pressure and initial relative density with non-cemented sand. Furthermore, present of cement bounds reduces the anisotropy especially in low confining pressures.

This paper presents the numerical analysis of seismic soil-pile-superstructure interaction in soft clay using free-field soil analysis and beam on Winkler foundation approach. This model is developed to compute the nonlinear response of single piles under seismic loads, based on one-dimensional finite element formulation. The parameters of the proposed model are calibrated by fitting the experimental data of largescale seismic soil-pile-structure tests which were conducted on shaking table in UC Berkeley. A comparative evaluation of single piles shows that the results obtained from the proposed procedure are in good agreement with the experimental results.

Clay soils and their related abnormal behavior such as excessive shrinkage, swelling, consolidation settlement and cracking on drying has been the subject of many investigations. Previous studies mainly evaluated the effects of additives such as lime, cement and sand on these characteristics. Initial results indicated that the soil characteristics were improved. However, reportedly in many cases, these additives resulted in a decrease in plasticity and increase in hydraulic conductivity. As a result, there has been a growing interest in soil/fiber reinforcement. The present investigation has focused on the impact of short random fiber inclusion on consolidation settlement, swelling, hydraulic conductivity, shrinkage limit and the development of desiccation cracks in compacted clays. To examine the possible improvements in the soil characteristics, samples consisting of 75% kaolinite and 25% montmorillonite were reinforced with 1, 2, 4 and 8 percent fibers as dry weight of soil with 5, 10 and 15mm lengths. Results indicated that consolidation settlements and swelling of fiber reinforced samples reduced substantially whereas hydraulic conductivities increased slightly by increasing fiber content and length. Shrinkage limits also showed an increase with increasing fiber content and length. This meant that samples experienced much less volumetric changes due to desiccation, and the extent of crack formation was significantly reduced.