An Additive Statistical Modeling Approach to the Analysis of Transport Infrastructure Flood Risk-Based Resilience

Australia is a very vulnerable region to flood events, and the frequency of flood events and damage has increased dramatically over the past decades. Although flood has impacted diverse types of buildings and built infrastructure, there has been limited research investigating flood risk management specific to transport infrastructure in Australia and the factors that might influence the resilience of the transport infrastructure to flooding. To develop an appropriate design management system for roads and bridges specific to risk assessment from flooding requires a multitude of factors to be identified and analyzed. In this study, we review the range of critical factors necessary to represent the resilience of bridges to extreme flood events and demonstrate a novel mathematical approach to evaluate the relationship between the bridge resilience and flood risk. We use additive statistical approach in arriving at a framework to evaluate the resilience of bridges. The findings confirm that metrological characteristics such as annual exceedance probability and probable maximum precipitation and structural integrity of the bridge represented by the structural age of the bridge and mechanical properties of the soils have a substantial impact on the resilience of the Australian transport infrastructure, particularly bridges located on main roads

Design combined support under arbitrary impulsive loading

Rock bolts and cable bolts are usually considered to experience static loads under relatively low-stress conditions. However, in burst-prone conditions, support elements are subjected to dynamic loading. Therefore, it is important to understand cable bolt behaviour under dynamic loading conditions, particularly their energy absorption capacity. Rock bolts and cable bolts as well as steel mesh are widely used as permanent support elements in tunnelling, underground excavations and surface slope stability. This paper aims to determine the amount of the dissipated energy which can be taken into account to design combined yielding supports when subjected to dynamic loading. A ground support approach is suggested for underground excavations undertaking a range of mining-induced coal burst. A bench mark based on the largest expected impact loading is considered to conclude the level of coal burst risk and select an appropriate approach, whether quasi-static or dynamic, for the mine support

Numerically and Analytically Forecasting the Coal Burst Using Energy Based Approach Methods

Coal burst is referred to as the violent failure of overstressed coal, which has been recognised as one of the most critical dynamic failures in coal mines. This chapter aims to analytically and numerically evaluate the energy transformation between the different strata and coal layers. An accurate closed-form solution is developed. Due to the complexity of the causes and mechanisms contributing to the coal burst occurrence, 3D finite element modelling as well as discrete element models will be developed to validate the suggested analytical assessments of rock/coal burst occurrence. The energy concept is emphasised in order to improve the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of coal burst. Only with enhanced understanding of the driving mechanisms, a reliable coal burst risk assessment can be achieved

A New Concept to Numerically Evaluate the Performance of Yielding Support under Impulsive Loading

The dynamic capacity of a support system is dependent on the connectivity and compatibility of its reinforcement and surface support elements. Connectivity refers to the capacity of a system to transfer the dynamic load from an element to another, for example, from the reinforcement to the surface support through plates and terminating arrangements (split set rings, nuts, etc.), or from a reinforcement/holding element to others via the surface support. Compatibility is related to the difference in stiffness amongst support elements. Load transfer may not take place appropriately when there are strong stiffness contrasts within a ground support system. Case studies revealed premature failures of stiffer elements prior to utilising the full capacity of more deformable elements within the same system. From a design perspective, it is important to understand that the dynamic-load capacity of a ground support system depends not only on the capacity of its reinforcement elements but also, and perhaps most importantly, on their compatibility with other elements of the system and on the strength of the connections. The failure of one component of the support system usually leads to the failure of the system

Examining the impact of students’ attendance, sketching, visualization, and tutors experience on students’ performance: a case of building structures course in construction management

The aim of this paper is to examine students' performance in a computation-based course by evaluating the effects of key factors including sketching, visualization resources provided to them during the lectures, their attendance and tutors' experience. A systematic review was conducted including 192 articles published during January 2010 to December 2019. Further, a case study has been conducted in which 633 students from non-engineering backgrounds were taught a core course of construction over three-yearly sessions from 2017 to 2019. The performance has been assessed through two quizzes of 10% weight each, assignment of 40% weight and a final exam with 30% weight in 2017-18 and 40% weight in 2019 were utilized with an attendance criterion of below 75% as low attendance. The statistical result highlights that a clear difference of 14% overall marks exist between the students with less than 75% attendance and the ones with 75% and above in 2017 and a 10% gap in 2018. Students with high marks in sketching secured higher overall marks as compared to others highlighting that the sketching skill is useful to construction students. The findings contribute to the body of education knowledge by evaluating key influential factors and provide a useful benchmark to other educators in the field

Earthscraper: A Smart Solution for Developing Future Underground Cities

This chapter reports on the finite element analysis of the “earthscraper,” proposed by BNKR Arquitectura. It was proposed as an alternative building method for the future, as it requires less surface area and lower operating costs than an equivalent aboveground structure. A 2D model of the cross section of the structure was created using Strand7 for steady-state thermal analysis. This solver gave internal temperature ranging between 20 and 38°C between the bottom apex and the surface, respectively. This provides a comfortable temperature by default, displaying the lesser dependency on heating and cooling costs. A 3D model was also created to analyze the effect of lateral earth pressure by the use of the linear static solver. Results give a maximum lateral displacement of 527 mm and 19.8 mm on the exterior and interior walls, respectively. The model was used for earthquake analysis in accordance with AS/NZS1170.4, requiring the natural frequency and spectral response solvers. Twenty-five modal frequencies were found, with 99.6% of the mass of the structure contributing to the direction under analysis. The maximum horizontal displacement of the structure under the designed earthquake loads was found to be 19.2 mm

Floating Cities Bridge in 2050

A floating cities bridge is designed to connect two floating cities or nearby land to resolve the problem of shortage of construction land due to an increase of population and sea level. The Yumemai floating bridge is referenced as a sample structure; the member sizes and dimensions are modified to suit the need of the project. A finite element structure is built using Strand7, which includes dead load, live load, tidal wave, and wind load. Based on the loads, both static and dynamic analyses are conducted to determine the stress and deflection of the structure. The report outlines the modeling techniques, element types, and analysis solvers used in modeling and analyzing the structure. This report discusses the results obtained from the analysis. The advanced material with low density applied is introduced, which has a good resistance of corrosion and high strength. The main objective of the current chapter is to suggest and design the procedure which can be used as floating structural elements in the future

The Feasibility of Constructing Super-Long-Span Bridges with New Materials in 2050

This chapter explores the possibility of designing and constructing a super-long-span bridge with new materials in 2050. The proposed bridge design has a total span of 4440 m with two 330-m end spans and a central span of 3780 m. The height of the two pylons is 702 m, and the deck width is 40 m. The features of this structure include the combination of a suspension bridge and cable-stayed bridge, application of carbon fibre materials, extension of deck width and pretension techniques. Linear static analysis, dynamic analysis and theoretical analysis are conducted under different loading cases. In linear static analysis, the stresses under critical load combinations are smaller than the ultimate strength of the materials. However, the maximum deflection under the dead and wind load combination exceeds the specified serviceability limit

Simulation of the reinforced concrete slabs under impact loading

Many older structures were designed for static loads but more recently there has been a growing awareness that some must be designed to resist both dynamic impact and static loads. An accidental impact load can be caused by mishaps in industry as well as accidents stemming from transportation or man-made disasters. There are number of ways of predicting how an impact load will affect a concrete slab, some of which may be impractical or expensive but because there have been significant developments in technology, numerical techniques rather than experimental approaches have become popular methods for developing detailed responses Therefore, to numerically examine reinforced concrete slabs subjected to impact load in order to better understand their behaviour, may be considered a cost effective matter