Effect of intrinsic microscopic properties and suction on swell characteristics of compacted expansive clays

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd The complex swelling mechanism in expansive clays during moisture ingress can be succinctly explained by an examination of their core mineralogy, microfabric, grain size and suction response. This note has attempted to investigate these influential factors on five different expansive clay samples to enable further understanding of swell behaviour. Laser diffractometry tests were performed on the expansive clays to determine the clay-sized particle structure

Cross-border shipment route selection utilizing analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method

Becoming a member of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), Thailand expects a growth of cross-border trade with neighboring countries, especially the agricultural products shipment. To facilitate this, a number of strategies are set, such as the utilization of single check point, the Asian Highway (AH) route development, and the truck lane initiation. However, majority of agricultural products traded through the borders are transported using the rural roads, from growing area to the factory, before continuing to the borders using different highways. It is, therefore, necessary for the Department of Rural Roads (DRR) to plan for rural road improvement to accommodate the growth of the cross-border trades in the near future. This research, thus, aims to select potential rural roads to support cross-border shipment utilizing the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method. Seven key factors affecting rural roads selection, with references from transport and other related literatures, are extracted. They include:1) cross-border trade value, 2) distance from border to rural road, 3) agriculture and processed agriculture goods transported across the border, 4) compatibility with national strategies, 5) area characteristics around the rural road, 6) truck volume, and 7) number of rural roads in the radius of 50 kilometers from the border. Interviews are conducted with the experts based on seven key factors to collect data for the AHP analysis. The results identify the weight of each factor with an acceptable consistency ratio. It shows that the cross-border trade value is the most important factor as it achieves the highest weight. The distance from border to rural road and the compatibility with national strategies are also found crucial when making rural road selection decision. The Department of Rural Roads could use the results to select suitable roads, and plan for road improvement to support the crossborder shipment when the AEC is fully implemented