The paper presents a new method for designing railway route in the direction change area adapted to the Mobile Satellite Measurements technique. The method may be particularly useful in the situations when both tangents cannot be connected in an elementary way using a circular arc with transition curves. Thus, the only solution would be the application of two circular arcs of opposite curvature signs, that is, the use of an inverse curve. It has been assumed that the design of the geometrical layout will take place within an adequate local coordinate system. The solution of the design problem takes advantage of a mathematical notation and concentrates on the determination of universal equations describing the entire geometrical layout. This is a sequential operation involving successive parts of the mentioned layout. This universal algorithm can be easily applied to the computer software which will allow generating, in an automatic way, other geometrical layouts. Then, the choice of the most beneficial variant from the point of obtained trains velocities while minimizing the track axis offsets will be held using the optimization techniques. The current designing methods do not provide such opportunities. The presented method has been illustrated by appropriate calculation examples.

Wladyslaw Koc

Design of Reverse Curves Adapted to the Satellite Measurements

Base flexibility of structures changes and can increase the demands on structural elements during earthquake excitation. Such flexibility may come from the base connection, foundation, and soil under the foundation. This research evaluates the effects of column base rotational stiffness on the seismic demand of single storey frames with a range of periods using linear and nonlinear time history analysis. The base rotational stiffness ranges considered are based on previous studies considering foundation and baseplate flexibility. Linear and nonlinear spectral analyses show that increasing base flexibility generally increases frame lateral displacement and top moment of the column. Furthermore, moments at the top of the columns and the nonlinear base rotation may also increase with increasing base flexibility, especially for shorter period structures. Since many commonly used baseplate connections may be categorized as being semirigid, it is essential to design and model structures using realistic base rotational stiffness rather than simply use a fixed base assumption. The overall results also illustrate the range of increased seismic demand as a function of normalized rotational stiffness and structural period for consideration in design.

J. Borzouie

J. G. Chase

G. A. MacRae

G. W. Rodgers

G. C. Clifton

Spectral Assessment of the Effects of Base Flexibility on Seismic Demands of a Structure

Load associated fatigue cracking is one of the major distress types occurring in flexible pavement systems. Flexural bending beam fatigue laboratory test has been used for several decades and is considered to be an integral part of the new superpave advanced characterization procedure. One of the most significant solutions to prolong the fatigue life for an asphaltic mixture is to utilize flexible materials as rubber. A laboratory testing program was performed on a conventional and Asphalt Rubber- (AR-) gap-graded mixtures to investigate the impact of added rubber on the mechanical, mechanistic, and economical attributes of asphaltic mixtures. Strain controlled fatigue tests were conducted according to American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) procedures. The results from the beam fatigue tests indicated that the AR-gap-graded mixtures would have much longer fatigue life compared with the reference (conventional) mixtures. In addition, a mechanistic analysis using 3D-Move software coupled with a cost analysis study based on the fatigue performance on the two mixtures was performed. Overall, analysis showed that AR modified asphalt mixtures exhibited significantly lower cost of pavement per 1000 cycles of fatigue life per mile compared to conventional HMA mixture.

Mena I. Souliman

Annie Eifert

Mechanistic and Economical Characteristics of Asphalt Rubber Mixtures

Plain concrete and steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC) cylinder specimens are modeled in the finite element (FE) platform of ANSYS 10.0 and validated with the experimental results and failure patterns. Experimental investigations are conducted to study the increase in compressive and tensile capacity of cylindrical specimens made of stone and brick concrete and SFRC. Satisfactory compressive and tensile capacity improvement is observed by adding steel fibers of 1.5&#x25; volumetric ratio. A total of 8 numbers of cylinder specimens are cast and tested in 1000&#x2009;kN capacity digital universal testing machine (UTM) and also modeled in ANSYS. The enhancement of compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of SFRC specimen is achieved up to 17&#x25; and 146&#x25;, respectively, compared to respective plain concrete specimen. Results gathered from finite element analyses are validated with the experimental test results by identifying as well as optimizing the controlling parameters to make FE models. Modulus of elasticity, Poisson&#x2019;s ratio, stress-strain behavior, tensile strength, density, and shear transfer coefficients for open and closed cracks are found to be the main governing parameters for successful model of plain concrete and SFRC in FE platform. After proper evaluation and logical optimization of these parameters by extensive analyses, finite element (FE) models showed a good correlation with the experimental results.

Md. Arman Chowdhury

Md. Mashfiqul Islam

Zubayer Ibna Zahid

Finite Element Modeling of Compressive and Splitting Tensile Behavior of Plain Concrete and Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Cylinder Specimens

Chemical stabilization involves the use of chemical agents for initiating reactions within the soil for modification of its geotechnical properties. Cement and lime stabilization have been the most common stabilization methods adopted for soil treatment. Cement stabilization results in good compressive strengths and is preferred for cohesionless to moderately cohesive soil but loses effectiveness when the soil is highly plastic. Lime stabilization is the most preferred method for plastic clays; however, it proves to be ineffective in sulphate rich clays and performs poorly under extreme conditions. With such drawbacks, lots of researches have been undertaken to address the issues faced with each stabilization method, in particular, the use of solid wastes for soil stabilization. Solid waste reuse has gained high momentum for achieving sustainable waste management in recent times. Research has shown that the use of solid wastes as additives with and replacement for conventional stabilizers has resulted in better results than the performance of either individually. This review provides insight into some of the works done by earlier researchers on lime/cement stabilization with industrial wastes as additives and helps to form a sound platform for further research on industrial wastes as additives to conventional stabilizers.

Jijo James

P. Kasinatha Pandian

Industrial Wastes as Auxiliary Additives to Cement/Lime Stabilization of Soils

Fatigue sensitivity of four different asphalt binders and three different asphalt mixes was evaluated in the study. Binders were subjected to Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test at three temperatures of 10, 20, and 30&#xb0;C. Four-point beam bending test (4PBBT) was conducted on the asphalt mixes at a temperature of 20&#xb0;C for strain amplitudes varying from 200 to 1000 microstrains. Tests like retained Marshall Stability and indirect tensile strength (ITS) were also carried out to judge the mix performance. Experimental studies demonstrated that elastomeric modified binder and mixes gave the best performance in fatigue. Plastomeric modification was found to be highly strain susceptible and resulted in poor fatigue performance. The fatigue life of stone mastic asphalt (SMA) was found to be almost five times higher than the dense graded mixes. For similar strain levels, the results of LAS test could be linearly correlated with the 4PBBT results.

Nikhil Saboo

Praveen Kumar

Performance Characterization of Polymer Modified Asphalt Binders and Mixes

Pavement construction is one of the most costly parts of transportation infrastructures. Incommensurate design and construction of pavements, in addition to the loss of the initial investment, would impose indirect costs to the road users and reduce road safety. This paper aims to propose an optimization model to determine the optimal configuration as well as the optimum thickness of different pavement layers based on the Iran Highway Asphalt Paving Code Number 234 (IHAP Code 234). After developing the optimization model, the optimum thickness of pavement layers for secondary rural roads, major rural roads, and freeways was determined based on the recommended prices in &#x201c;Basic Price List for Road, Runway and Railway&#x201d; of Iran in 2015 and several charts were developed to determine the optimum thickness of pavement layers including asphalt concrete, granular base, and granular subbase with respect to road classification, design traffic, and resilient modulus of subgrade. Design charts confirm that in the current situation (material prices in 2015), application of asphalt treated layer in pavement structure is not cost effective. Also it was shown that, with increasing the strength of subgrade soil, the subbase layer may be removed from the optimum structure of pavement.

Ali Reza Ghanizadeh

An Optimization Model for Design of Asphalt Pavements Based on IHAP Code Number 234

A digital elevation model (DEM) is an important spatial input for automatic extraction of topographic parameters for the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT). The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of DEM resolution (from 5 to 90&#x2009;m) on the delineation process of a SWAT model with two types of watershed characteristics (flat area and mountain area) and three sizes of watershed area (about 20,000, 200,000, and 1,500,000 hectares). The results showed that the total lengths of the streamline, main channel slope, watershed area, and area slope were significantly different when using the DEM datasets to delineate. Delineation using the SRTM DEM (90&#x2009;m), ASTER DEM (30&#x2009;m), and LDD DEM (5&#x2009;m) for all watershed characteristics showed that the watershed sizes and shapes obtained were only slightly different, whereas the area slopes obtained were significantly different. The total lengths of the generated streams increased when the resolution of the DEM used was higher. The stream slopes obtained using the small area sizes were insignificant, whereas the slopes obtained using the large area sizes were significantly different. This suggests that water resource model users should use the ASTER DEM as opposed to a finer resolution DEM for model input to save time for the model calibration and validation.

Waranyu Buakhao

Anongrit Kangrang

DEM Resolution Impact on the Estimation of the Physical Characteristics of Watersheds by Using SWAT

The behaviour of a novel steel beam-to-column connection, the saddlebag, subjected to cyclic and progressive collapse, was evaluated in this paper. The cyclic behaviour considered the interstory drift angle and flexural strength in accordance with 2010 AISC Seismic Provisions, while progressive collapse assessment was evaluated through the plastic hinge rotation angle based on acceptance criteria provided in the UFC 4-023-03 guideline. From the cyclic test, one complete cycle of an interstory drift angle of 0.06&#x2009;rad was satisfied for the saddlebag connection, which is an indication of the effectiveness in accordance with 2010 AISC Seismic Provisions. Besides, the new proposed connection developed adequate catenary action, which is a fundamental criterion to resist against progressive collapse. The resulting fuller hysteretic loops with large energy dissipation capacity in the proposed saddlebag connection guarantee its ability to address the inelastic deformation demands in earthquake conditions.

Iman Faridmehr

Yusof Ahmad

Mahmood Md. Tahir

Mohd Hanim Osman

Cyclic and Explosive Evaluation of New Proposed Steel Joint

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Advances in Civil Engineering publishes original research articles as well as review articles in all areas of civil engineering. The journal welcomes submissions across a range of disciplines, and publishes both theoretical and practical studies.

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Chief Editor, Professor Vipulanandan, is based at the University of Houston and his current research interests are in geotechnical, materials and geoenvironmental engineering.

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Advances in Civil Engineering - Table of contents 2016

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Advances in Civil Engineering publishes original research articles as well as review articles in all areas of civil engineering. The journal welcomes submissions across a range of disciplines, and publishes both theoretical and practical studies.

Advances in Civil Engineering