Infrastructures, Volume 5, Issue 9 (September 2020) – 9 articles

This paper presents the results of a numerical study using the finite element method to assess the effect of wall thickness and a moist region along the wall base on the out-of-plane lateral stability of adobe walls. The models consisted of cantilever unreinforced adobe walls with a thickness of 25 cm, 30 cm, and 40 cm. Numerical analyses were performed for four lengths (L) of the moist region and for dry walls. The moist region was modelled with material characteristics corresponding to partially saturated and nearly saturated adobe. The results showed the detrimental effect of moisture along the lower portion of the wall on the out-of-plane lateral strength. The out-of-plane lateral strength reduction ratio dropped significantly as L increased. A high slenderness ratio was found to be critical for cantilever adobe walls when L extended beyond half of the wall length. The results provided insights concerning the role of wall thickness in the stability against overturning. Full article

Existing maintenance policies have several limitations, mainly due to the lack of knowledge regarding the durability and performance of buildings. Usually, the maintenance policies are insufficiently accurate, neglecting the risk of failure over time and the global costs associated with repairs. In this study, a condition-based maintenance model, based on Petri nets, is proposed to evaluate the impact of three maintenance strategies of ceramic claddings in pitched roofs (CCPR): MS1—only total replacement; MS2—composed of total replacement and minor intervention and MS3—composed of total replacement, minor intervention and cleaning operations. In this study, 146 CCPR were inspected in situ, with a total area of 43,991.6 m². The remaining service life of the CCPR; the global costs over the claddings’ lifetime (considering inspection, maintenance, replacement and disposal costs); the claddings’ degradation condition and the number of replacements during the time horizon are used to evaluate the performance of the different maintenance strategies through a simplified multi-criteria analysis. The results show that the gains in performance, in terms of expected service life and durability, of the consideration of preventive maintenance actions (minor interventions or cleaning operations) outweigh the increase of the operation costs. Full article

The most common methods for detecting chloride-induced corrosion in concrete bridges are half-cell potential (HCP) mapping, electrical resistivity (ER) measurements, and chloride concentration testing, combined with visual inspection and cover measurements. However, studies on corrosion detection in pretensioned structures are rare. To investigate the applicability and accuracy of the above methods for corrosion detection in pretensioned bridge girders, we measured pretensioned I-shaped girders exposed to the Norwegian coastal climate for 33 years. We found that, even combined, the above methods can only reliably identify general areas with various probabilities of corrosion. Despite severe concrete cracking and high chloride content, only small corrosion spots were found in strands. Because HCP cannot distinguish corrosion probability in the closely spaced strands from other electrically connected bars, the actual condition of individual strands can be found only when concrete cover is locally removed. Wet concrete with high chloride content and accordingly low HCP and low ER was found only in or near the girder support zones, which can therefore be considered the areas most susceptible to chloride-induced corrosion. We conclude by proposing a procedure for the inspection and assessment of pretensioned girders in a marine environment. Full article

Infrastructure is a significant factor in economic growth for systems of government. In order to increase economic productivity, maintaining infrastructure quality is essential. One of the elements of infrastructure is roads. Roads are means which help local and national economies be more productive. Furthermore, road damage such as potholes, debris, or cracks is the cause of many on-road accidents that have cost the lives of many drivers. In this paper, we propose a system that uses Convolutional Neural Networks to detect road degradations without data pre-processing. We utilize the state-of-the-art object detection algorithm, YOLO detector for the system. First, we developed a basic system working on data collecting, pre-processing, and classification. Secondly, we improved the classification performance achieving 97.98% in the overall model testing, and then we utilized pixel-level classification and detection with a method called semantic segmentation. We were able to achieve decent results using this method to detect and classify four different classes (Manhole, Pothole, Blurred Crosswalk, Blurred Street Line). We trained a segmentation model that recognizes the four classes mentioned above and achieved great results with this model allowing the machine to effectively and correctly identify and classify our four classes in an image. Although we obtained excellent accuracy from the detectors, these do not perform particularly well on embedded systems due to their network size. Therefore, we opted for a smaller, less accurate detector that will run in real time on a cheap embedded system, like the Google Coral Dev Board, without needing a powerful and expensive GPU. Full article

In the present paper a new and innovative way to approach the regeneration of public buildings and public housing is proposed. It consists in a dissipative steel frame to reduce the displacement demand and to improve the energy efficiency of a real existing structure, inserting buckling-restrained axial dampers (BRAD) type dissipative braces. This system is adaptable to any construction made of reinforced concrete frames and improves energy efficiency and earthquake-resistant performance; moreover, it upgrades the aesthetics of buildings and the quality of life for the users. In fact, the system is capable of assuming different and pleasant architectural shapes offering benefits in terms of earthquake-resistant performance, energy saving, and energy production from renewable sources. The attention to the aesthetic results renders the intervention a redevelopment strategy not only on an architectural scale, but also in the urban contexts for degraded and marginalized suburbs. The performances of the proposed kit were evaluated on a case study consisting in a social house located in the south of Italy. Numerical analyses have been carried out and the results have been reported both from the seismic protection and energy efficiency points of view. As a result, the produced renewable energy from the retrofitting system and the building seismic capacity increased. A rapid and precise control process, able to return a suitable structural dimensioning of the frame, according to the different application contexts, is finally proposed. Full article

Tunnelling projects seldom meet the initial budget requirements. Commonly, these types of projects suffer from cost overruns, which subsequently lead to project delivery delays mainly due to unsuccessful ground investigation as specified in the literature. The presented work scrutinises the effect of ground investigation in cost overruns. More specifically, various cost figures (total cost, construction cost, tunnel cost) are analysed for two case studies i) the Channel tunnel in the UK and ii) the Olmos Tunnel in Peru. Clayton’s relation between ground investigation and the construction cost is utilised and further investigated. In the Channel tunnel, the main problems faced led to a cost overrun of 78% for the total cost, 66% for the construction cost and 77% for the tunnelling cost. In the Olmos tunnel, two main geological scenarios are analysed and the construction cost overrun is calculated at 9.6% and 6.7%. Drawing on the conclusions, this research work proves that ground investigation can be one of the major factors influencing the tunnel cost. Full article

Masonry towers are considered an important part of cultural heritage due to their architectural and historical value. From a structural perspective these kind of buildings are considered slender elements, the same as a cantilever beam. In real cases it is not easy to model with high accuracy these heritage constructions, since the geometry and mechanical properties of the constituent materials are not adequately known. On the other hand, a deep knowledge of the structural and seismic vulnerability of the masonry towers is needed in order to preserve and retrofit, when necessary, their architectural and cultural value. In the present research an exhaustive study is presented, as it regards the assessment of the seismic vulnerability of a heritage masonry bell-tower, built in the 14th century. An innovative protocol of structural survey followed, and it is proposed herein. The geometry of the tower was easily obtained by digital photogrammetry assisted by a drone. The geometrical model was easily converted into a digitalized input, that was introduced into a finite element method (FEM)-based code. The 3D model was used for linear static, linear dynamic and nonlinear static (pushover) structural analyses. The vulnerability of the masonry tower was assessed and at least one kinematic was found to be not verified. Full article

Selected technical problems related to the rehabilitation of cast-iron columns in structures from the turn of the 19th and 20th century are discussed in the paper. Lack of contemporary standard regulations related to the design of cast-iron structures is a significant problem in the design works and experimental investigations on cast-iron columns are frequently required. The paper presents results of the tests concerning principal properties of cast-iron—strength and deformability. The historical design principles are discussed in the light of the results of experimental investigations. As it was demonstrated, the actual load-carrying capacities of cast-iron columns may exceed by several times the values resulting from the 20th century design rules. The conservatism of the design principles resulted, however, from the material uncertainties—lack of homogeneity and hidden defects of the cast-iron. Selected examples of failures of cast-iron columns from 19th-century structures such as post-industrial buildings and engineering structures are discussed. They resulted from errors made during adaptation works. The reasons for these failures and considered methods of repairing the structures are presented. Full article

The reuse of recycled crushed concrete aggregate (RCCA) and reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) can provide a sustainable solution for the disposal of C&D waste materials instead of sending them to landfills. More importantly, it will conserve energy and reduce environmental concerns. Several states in the USA have been using RCCA and RAP as base materials for years, focusing on the quality of the recycled materials. The structure of Recycled Aggregate (RA) is more complex than that of Natural Aggregate (NA). RAs have old mortar adhered on them that forms a porous surface at the interfacial transition Zone (ITZ) and prevents new cement mix from bonding strongly with the aggregates. The objective of this study was to correlate microstructural properties such as microporosity, inter and intra aggregate pores with the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of RAP and RCCA molds, mixed at different proportions. In this paper, the quantity of micropores and their effect on the strength of mixed materials is used as the basis of microstructural analysis of recycled concrete and reclaimed asphalt. Microstructural properties obtained from analyzing scanning electron microscope (SEM) images were correlated with unconfined compressive strength. Intra-aggregate and interaggregate pores were studied for different ratios of cement treated mixture of RAP and RCCA. The results show that addition of RAP considerably increases the number of pores in the mixture, which eventually causes reduction in unconfined compressive strength. In addition, significant morphological and textural changes of recycled aggregates were observed by SEM image analysis. Full article