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Article
Publication date: 1 January 1987

Charles Hendey

Introduction The development of a national railway network in the United Kingdom was inextricably linked with the progress of the Industrial Revolution. Railways dominated and…

Abstract

Introduction The development of a national railway network in the United Kingdom was inextricably linked with the progress of the Industrial Revolution. Railways dominated and pervaded British society and economy for over 100 years and even now their influence is still strong.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Article
Publication date: 13 June 2020

Sahar Ghobadi and Hadi Shahir

The purpose of this paper is to study the distribution of active earth pressure in retaining walls with narrow cohesion less backfill considering arching effects.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the distribution of active earth pressure in retaining walls with narrow cohesion less backfill considering arching effects.

Design/methodology/approach

To this end, the approach of principal stresses rotation was used to consider the arching effects.

Findings

According to the presented formulation, the active soil pressure distribution is nonlinear with zero value at the wall base. The proposed formulation implies that by increasing the frictional forces at both sides of the backfill, the arching effect is increased and so, the lateral earth pressure on the retaining wall is decreased. Also, by narrowing the backfill space, the lateral earth pressure is extremely decreased.

Originality/value

A comprehensive analytical solution for the active earth pressure of narrow backfills is presented, such that the effects of the surcharge and the characteristics of the stable back surface are considered. The magnitude and height of the application of lateral active force are also derived.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 38 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 August 2019

Wei Du, Lei Luo, Songtao Wang, Jian Liu and Bengt Ake Sunden

The purpose of this study is to enhance the thermal performance in the labyrinth channel by different ribs shape. The labyrinth channel is a relatively new cooling structure to…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to enhance the thermal performance in the labyrinth channel by different ribs shape. The labyrinth channel is a relatively new cooling structure to decrease the temperature near the trailing region of gas turbine.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the geometric similarity, a simplified geometric model is used. The k − ω turbulence model is used to close the Navier–Stokes equations. Five rib shapes (one rectangular rib, two arched ribs and two trapezoid ribs) and five Reynolds numbers (10,000 to 50,000) are considered. The Nusselt number, flow structure and friction factor are analyzed.

Findings

Nusselt number is tightly related to the rib shape in the labyrinth channel. The different shapes of the ribs result in different horseshoe vortex and wake region. In general, the arched rib brings the highest Nusselt number and friction factor. The Nusselt number is increased by 15.8 per cent compared to that of trapezoidal ribs. High Nusselt number is accompanied by the high friction factor in a labyrinth channels. The friction factor is increased by 64.6 per cent compared to rectangular ribs. However, the rib shape has a minor effect on the overall thermal performance.

Practical implications

This study is useful to protect the trailing region of advanced gas turbine.

Originality/value

This paper presents the flow structure and heat transfer characteristics in a labyrinth channel with different rib shapes.

Details

International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, vol. 30 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0961-5539

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 September 2019

Majid Pouraminian and Somayyeh Pourbakhshian

This paper aims to study the shape of the concrete arched bridge by particle swarm optimization algorithm.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to study the shape of the concrete arched bridge by particle swarm optimization algorithm.

Design/methodology/approach

Finite element model of open-spandrel concrete arch bridges was constructed using a number of parameters. Design variables of optimization problem include height of skewback abutment, height of arch crown, position of crown with respect to global axes and left and right radius of up and down arches. After parametric modeling of bridge geometry and application of multi-objective particle swarm optimization, the shape optimization of bridge arch was determined. The concrete volume used in bridge substructure construction and maximum principal tensile stress of concrete arch body was adopted as two objective functions in this study. The optimization problem aims to minimize the two objective functions. Geometric and stress constraints are also included in the problem.

Findings

Based on the results presented in the paper, the Pareto front is generated which helps the decision-maker or designer to pick the compromise solution from among 20 optimum designs according to their subjective preferences or engineering judgment, respectively. Moreover, to help the decision-maker, the two multiple objective decision-making methods were used for selection of the best solution from among nondominated solutions.

Originality/value

This research aims to solve an interesting optimization problem in structural engineering. Optimization of arch bridges structure was done for reducing construction costs and increasing safety for the first time.

Details

World Journal of Engineering, vol. 16 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1708-5284

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 November 2017

Samad M.E. Sepasgozar and Martin Loosemore

The purpose of this paper is to address the gap in knowledge by exploring the role of customers and vendors in diffusion of modern equipment technologies into the construction…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to address the gap in knowledge by exploring the role of customers and vendors in diffusion of modern equipment technologies into the construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

To address the need to consider both vendors and customers in the innovation diffusion process and the need for in-depth cross-sectional studies, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 147 participants including 85 vendors and 62 customers of modern construction technologies at company, project and operational levels in Australia and North America. Thematic analysis and an analytic hierarchy process illustrate the critical role of both customers and vendors in the diffusion process of modern equipment technologies.

Findings

A new conceptual model is presented which classifies modern equipment technology customers into four categories: visionaries (group I); innovators (group II); pragmatists (group III); and conservatives (group IV) based on the way in which they interact with vendors in the innovation diffusion process. The results also reveal that there is a significant emotional/affective aspect of innovation diffusion decisions which has not been recognised in previous research.

Originality/value

The major contribution of this study is that it analyses the role of both vendors and customers in the equipment technology diffusion process at three different levels (strategic, project and operational) in large corporations and small-to-medium-sized businesses. The findings not only advance construction innovation research beyond traditional linear models of innovation, but also provide new knowledge which enable customers and vendors to interact more effectively in the diffusion of new construction equipment technologies.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 24 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 8 February 2021

Claire Thurgate

The purpose of this study is to generate an understanding of becoming an assistant practitioner (AP) through a work-based learning programme so that work-based learning programmes…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to generate an understanding of becoming an assistant practitioner (AP) through a work-based learning programme so that work-based learning programmes are designed and delivered to enable practitioners to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to undertake new roles from within.

Design/methodology/approach

The study, based on the lived experience of developing from a health-care assistant to an AP, was based on the philosophical assumption of understanding an experience at a particular time. Constructivism (Denzin and Lincoln, 2008) provided the conceptual framework and phenomenology of the theoretical perspective. Experiential learning, action, reflection and professional knowledge framed the literature review to inform understanding at the commencement of the study. Eight participants were selected, through purposive sampling, from one acute NHS Trust in South East England. Their matron and mentor were interviewed for contextualisation. Interviews occurred at 3 stages, 4 months after commencing the foundation degree (FD), 16 months after commencing the FD and 6 months after completing the FD. Each transcript was considered before moving to the next transcript, this allowed super-ordinate themes to be considered within groups before ascertaining similarities and differences across groups. The emergent and super-ordinate themes were synthesised to inform three over-arching super-ordinate themes.

Findings

The following over-arching super-ordinate themes emerged from the analysis of the participants’ transcripts from the three phases of the study: recognising the transition; the transition was not linear but was complex and influenced by the individuals’ behaviour, their ability to reflect and take action and to demonstrate professional knowledge. Supporting the journey; the workplace culture needed to support experiential learning and provide time and space to facilitate reflection. Being an AP; a change in professional knowledge and behaviour resulted in enhanced confidence and self-belief and the ability to be an AP.

Originality/value

This study, based on the lived experience of developing from a health-care assistant to the AP, where participants remained in their place of work rather than undertake placements which is a requirement of regulated programmes, demonstrated that individuals need to recognise the consequences of the behaviours, engage in experiential learning, take action and demonstrate a change in professional knowledge.

Details

Journal of Workplace Learning, vol. 33 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1366-5626

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1992

Theresa Hammond and Leslie S. Oakes

Uses Harding′s 1986 book. The Science Question in Feminism,as a framework for examining the implications of some feminisms foraccounting. First explores feminist empiricism which…

1512

Abstract

Uses Harding′s 1986 book. The Science Question in Feminism, as a framework for examining the implications of some feminisms for accounting. First explores feminist empiricism which challenges the exclusion of women from prominent professions. Second, addresses feminist postmodernism, which explores the differences among women and contends that no over‐arching feminist theory can be found. Third, analyses the feminist standpoint. Advocates that the current masculine system be replaced by one that is infused with a feminist perspective. Discusses and critiques each of the three theories, and explores the implications for accounting.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 5 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 March 2020

Faham Tahmasebinia, Samad M.E. Sepasgozar, Sara Shirowzhan, Marjo Niemela, Arthur Tripp, Servani Nagabhyrava, ko ko, Zuheen Mansuri and Fernando Alonso-Marroquin

This paper aims to present the sustainable performance criteria for 3D printing practices, while reporting the primarily computations and lab experimentations. The potential…

1414

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present the sustainable performance criteria for 3D printing practices, while reporting the primarily computations and lab experimentations. The potential advantages for integrating three-dimensional (3D) printing into house construction are significant in Construction Industry 4.0; these include the capacity for mass customisation of designs and parameters for functional and aesthetic purposes, reduction in construction waste from highly precise material placement and the use of recycled waste products in layer deposition materials. With the ultimate goal of improving construction efficiency and decreasing building costs, applying Strand7 Finite Element Analysis software, a numerical model was designed specifically for 3D printing in a cement mix incorporated with recycled waste product high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and found that construction of an arched truss-like roof was structurally feasible without the need for steel reinforcements.

Design/methodology/approach

The research method consists of three key steps: design a prototype of possible structural layouts for the 3DSBP, create 24 laboratory samples using a brittle material to identify operation challenges and analyse the correlation between time and scale size and synthesising the numerical analysis and laboratory observations to develop the evaluation criteria for 3DSBP products. The selected house consists of layouts that resemble existing house such as living room, bed rooms and garages.

Findings

Some criteria for sustainable construction using 3DP were developed. The Strand7 model results suggested that under the different load combinations as stated in AS1700, the maximum tensile stress experienced is 1.70 MPa and maximum compressive stress experienced is 3.06 MPa. The cement mix of the house is incorporated with rHDPE, which result in a tensile strength of 3 MPa and compressive strength of 26 MPa. That means the house is structurally feasible without the help of any reinforcements. Investigations had also been performed on comparing a flat and arch and found the maximum tensile stress within a flat roof would cause the concrete to fail. Whereas an arch roof had reduced the maximum tensile stress to an acceptable range for concrete to withstand loadings. Currently, there are a few 3D printing techniques that can be adopted for this purpose, and more advanced technology in the future could eliminate the current limitation on 3D printing and bring forth this idea as a common practice in house construction.

Originality/value

This study provides some novel criteria for evaluating a 3D printing performance and discusses challenges of 3D utilisation from design and managerial perspectives. The criteria are relied on maximum utility and minimum impact pillars which can be used by scholars and practitioners to measure their performance. The criteria and the results of the computation and experimentation can be considered as critical benchmarks for future practices.

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2020

Jiang Hu and Fuheng Ma

The purpose of this study is to develop and verify a methodology for a zoned deformation prediction model for super high arch dams, which is indeed a panel data-based regression…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to develop and verify a methodology for a zoned deformation prediction model for super high arch dams, which is indeed a panel data-based regression model with the hierarchical clustering on principal components.

Design/methodology/approach

The hierarchical clustering method is used to highlight the main features of the time series. This method is used to select the typical points of the measured ambient and concrete temperatures as predictors and divide the deformation observation points into groups. Based on this, the panel data of each zone can be established, and its type can be judged using F and Hausman tests successively. Then hydrostatic–temperature–time–season models for zones can be constructed. Through the comparative analyses of the distributions and the fitted coefficients of these zones, the spatial deformation mechanism of a dam can be identified. A super high arch dam is taken as a case study.

Findings

According to the measured radial displacements during the initial operation period, the investigated pendulums are divided into four zones. After tests, fixed-effect regression models are established. The comparative analyses show that the dam deformation conforms to the natural condition. The factors such as the unstable temperature field and the nonlinear time-dependent effect have obvious effects on the dam deformation. The results show the efficiency of the proposed methodology in zoning and prediction modeling for deformation of super high arch dams and the potential to mining dam deformation mechanism.

Originality/value

A zoned deformation prediction model for super high arch dams is proposed where hierarchical clustering on principal component method and panel data model are combined.

Details

Engineering Computations, vol. 37 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-4401

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2020

Sümeyye Gider and Zeynep Gül Ünal

The preventive health institutions were founded in Istanbul as a result of the Ottoman Empire's policy to fight epidemic diseases that affected all parts of the world in the…

Abstract

Purpose

The preventive health institutions were founded in Istanbul as a result of the Ottoman Empire's policy to fight epidemic diseases that affected all parts of the world in the nineteenth century. The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical and current state of these heritage buildings.

Design/methodology/approach

Through the original documents, photographs and floor plans dating nineteenth and early twentieth century obtained from the Ottoman State Archives, historical development and architectural features of the buildings have been identified. And the original geographical locations of the buildings, especially the destroyed ones, are investigated by the historic maps. Plan and façade features, construction techniques are examined according to the information gained from the newspapers, journals and health annuals of the period.

Findings

This paper presents the findings of an MSc thesis conducted on the historical approach of preventive health institutions and preservation problems of the Pendik Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology. In the study, it has been examined that institutes in five different functions which were established after the foundation of the Quarantine Council in 1838 with parallel to the course of epidemics and scientific development in the West. In Istanbul, eight quarantine stations, three disinfection stations, one rabies laboratory, one vaccination institute and five bacteriology institutes have been documented. Some of these institutions fell out of use due to the loss of their original function and have been abandoned and demolished, some of them have survived with functional changes. The extant samples of these preventive health institutions are studied on the purpose of investigating their conditions of preservation.

Originality/value

Late Ottoman period preventive health institutions in Istanbul have been the subject of the researches within the field of medicine and science history to date. There is no study in Turkish and International literature discussing these institutions in terms of architecture. In the study these buildings have been thoroughly examined based on their architectural features and heritage values. The glass plate photographs of the Pendik Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, floor plans and some photographs of the other institutions which are obtained from Ottoman State Archives and newspapers of the period have been published for the first time in this paper.

Details

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, vol. 11 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2044-1266

Keywords

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