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Displacement measurement in large-scale structures (such as excavation walls) is one of the most important applications of close-range photogrammetry, in which achieving high precision requires extracting and accurately matching local features from convergent images. The purpose of this study is to introduce a new multi-image pointing (MIP) algorithm is introduced based on the characteristics of the geometric model generated from the initial matching. This self-adaptive algorithm is used to correct and improve the accuracy of the extracted positions from local features in the convergent images.

In this paper, the new MIP algorithm based on the geometric characteristics of the model generated from the initial matching was introduced, which in a self-adaptive way corrected the extracted image coordinates. The unique characteristics of this proposed algorithm were that the position correction was accomplished with the help of continuous interaction between the 3D model coordinates and the image coordinates and that it had the least dependency on the geometric and radiometric nature of the images. After the initial feature extraction and implementation of the MIP algorithm, the image coordinates were ready for use in the displacement measurement process. The combined photogrammetry displacement adjustment (CPDA) algorithm was used for displacement measurement between two epochs. Micro-geodesy, target-based photogrammetry and the proposed MIP methods were used in a displacement measurement project for an excavation wall in the Velenjak area in Tehran, Iran, to evaluate the proposed algorithm performance. According to the results, the measurement accuracy of the point geo-coordinates of 8 mm and the displacement accuracy of 13 mm could be achieved using the MIP algorithm. In addition to the micro-geodesy method, the accuracy of the results was matched by the cracks created behind the project’s wall. Given the maximum allowable displacement limit of 4 cm in this project, the use of the MIP algorithm produced the required accuracy to determine the critical displacement in the project.

Evaluation of the results demonstrated that the accuracy of 8 mm in determining the position of the points on the feature and the accuracy of 13 mm in the displacement measurement of the excavation walls could be achieved using precise positioning of local features on images using the MIP algorithm.The proposed algorithm can be used in all applications that need to achieve high accuracy in determining the 3D coordinates of local features in close-range photogrammetry.

Some advantages of the proposed MIP photogrammetry algorithm, including the ease of obtaining observations and using local features on the structure in the images rather than installing the artificial targets, make it possible to effectively replace micro-geodesy and instrumentation methods. In addition, the proposed MIP method is superior to the target-based photogrammetric method because it does not need artificial target installation and protection. Moreover, in each photogrammetric application that needs to determine the exact point coordinates on the feature, the proposed algorithm can be very effective in providing the possibility to achieve the required accuracy according to the desired objectives.

The purpose of this study is to present a diagram for the lateral earth pressure of c–φ soils exerted on anchored walls in presence of surcharge.

To this end, two-dimensional plane strain modeling of anchored wall was carried out in Plaxis software. To validate the numerical model, two excavations with different specifications were simulated and the model results were compared with the available results. Subsequently, a parametric analysis was done and based on its results, a diagram was proposed for the lateral earth pressure of c–φ soils including the surcharge effects.

The proposed diagram without the surcharge and cohesion effects is a trapezoidal with zero value at the ground surface that is linearly approaching the apparent earth pressure of sand according to Terzaghi and Peck (1967) at 0.1H (H: wall height). The surcharge and cohesion effects at the ground level is 4 Ka*q and 0, respectively, and below 0.1H, they are treated as the same way for lateral earth pressure of a retaining wall. It should be emphasized that the apparent pressure diagram for design does not resemble the real distribution of earth pressure against the wall and it is for calculating the values of the anchors loads.

The available diagrams to determine the earth pressure exerted on the anchored walls are related to sandy or clayey soils and do not take the presence of surcharge into account. Thus, the proposed diagram is quite original and different from the previous ones.

This study aims to investigate the behavior of different types of stone columns, including the short and floating columns, as well as the ordinary and the geosynthetic encased stone columns (OSC and GESC). The effectiveness of the geosynthetic encasement and the impact of the installation using the lateral expansion method on the column performance is evaluated through a three-dimensional (3D) unit cell numerical analysis.

A full 3D numerical analysis is carried out using the explicit finite element code PLAXIS 3D to examine the installation influence on settlement reduction (ß), lateral displacement (U_x) and vertical displacement (U_z) relative to different values of lateral expansion of the column (0% to 15%).

The findings demonstrate the superior performance of GESC, particularly short columns outperforming floating counterparts. This enhanced performance is attributed to the combined effects of geosynthetic encasement and increased lateral expansion. Notably, these strategies contribute significantly to decreasing lateral displacement (U_x) at the column’s edge and reducing vertical displacement (U_z) under the rigid footing.

In contrast to previous studies that examined the installation effect of OSC contexts, this paper presents a comprehensive investigation into the effect of geosynthetic encasement and the installation effects using the lateral expansion method in very soft soil, using 3D numerical simulation. The study emphasizes the significance of the consideration of geosynthetic encasement and lateral expansion of the column during the design process to enhance column performance.

Anchorage with concrete bearing pad is commonly used in Iran for stabilization of excavations because of the ease of construction, less costs and less time consumption than the soldier pile method. In this method, a wall facing which includes the concrete bearing pads at the location of the anchors and a shotcrete layer between the bearing pads is constructed parallel to the excavation operation similar to the nailing method.

In this paper, using the finite element software Abaqus, a three-dimensional model of the above-mentioned type of wall is constructed, and the effect of spacing and size of bearing pads on the wall behavior is discussed.

According to the obtained results, the size of the concrete bearing pads has little effect on wall deformations, but the internal forces and bending moments developed in the shotcrete layer between the bearing pads are greatly influenced by the bearing pads dimensions and spacing.

Owing to the discrete elements of the wall facing, the behavior of this system is completely three-dimensional.

The purpose of this paper is to research the ecological properties of building materials used in some traditional buildings in Turkey and discuss the environmental benefits thereof.

Building materials used in some traditional buildings are investigated by a field study in the selected area. In this investigation, after the usage aims of the building materials are explained, the ecological properties and environmental benefits are discussed.

According to the results of the study, it is found that these materials being obtained from totally natural, local and renewable resources have source‐efficient and energy‐efficient features. They have significant ecological characteristics since they are easily recyclable and re‐usable, utilize agricultural wastes and do not produce any wastes.

In almost every part of Turkey, there exist a large number of traditional buildings with ecological properties which were built at various times in history. However, it is impossible to give examples from each one of them in this study. Therefore, this study is designed to cover the buildings located at the rural area of province Kirklareli, Thrace zone. In further studies, it is possible to compare them with building samples from other region of Turkey and the World.

This study researches the ecological properties of building materials used in some traditional buildings. It is considered that these data would provide guidance for the building designs of today. In the rural areas where population increase rates are not so high, it is possible to use such materials for the buildings. A widespread use of these materials will prevent the environmental problems that arise out of buildings from getting higher in Turkey and in the world.

The next month or two behind us and this decade will have passed, to merge in the drab background of the post‐war years, part of the pattern of frustration, failure and fear. The ‘swinging sixties’ some called it, but to an older and perhaps slightly jaundiced eye, the only swinging seemed to be from one crisis to another, like the monkey swinging from bough to bough in his home among the trees; the ‘swingers’ among men also have their heads in the clouds! In the seemingly endless struggle against inflation since the end of the War, it would be futile to fail to see that the country is in retreat all the time. One can almost hear that shaft of MacLeodian wit christening the approaching decade as the ‘sinking seventies’, but it may not be as bad as all that, and certainly not if the innate good sense and political soundness of the British gives them insight into their perilous plight.

Earthworks are the embankments and cuttings that allow a railway to maintain a certain line, level and grade through the landscape. Earth embankments consist of an engineered bank of earth that carries the railway above the natural ground. A cutting is used to carry the railway through ground with a natural level above the line of the railway. Modern (post 1960s) earthworks are carefully engineered to perform well. However, many railways run on earthworks that were constructed over 100 years ago without the use of mechanised plant. The quality of construction of older earthworks was often poor compared with present-day engineering practice. Ageing of the earthwork structures, and the greater demands of heavier and faster trains and climatic change, means that earthworks suffer ultimate and serviceability failures that can present operational difficulties. Older earthworks that fail or do not perform well require maintenance and repair, and sometimes complete replacement. This chapter explores the main engineering considerations for modern earthworks, and the challenges associated with older earthworks including their modes of failure and upgrade and repair.

Long before calories and joules were used to indicate energy values in relation to food, popular belief had it that some foods could increase man's output of labour, his physical strength and endurance, even his fertility. The nature of the foods varied over the years. From earliest times, flesh foods have inspired men to “gird their loins” and “put on armour”, but too long at the feasting tables produced sloth of body and spirit. Hunger sharpens the wit, which makes one wonder if that oft‐quoted statement of poverty and hunger before the Great War—“children too hungry learn”—was quite true; it is now so long ago for most of us to remember. Thetruism “An army marches on its stomach” related to food in general and relating feats of strength to individual foods is something more difficult to prove. The brawny Scot owes little to his porridge; the toiling Irish labourer moves mountains of earth, not from the beef steaks he claims to consume, but for the size of the pay‐packet at the end of the week!

For most people, especially those with fixed incomes, household budgets have to be balanced and sometimes the balance is precarious. With price rises of foods, there is a switch to a cheaper substitute within the group, or if it is a food for which there is no real substitute, reduced purchases follow. The annual and quarterly reviews of the National Food Survey over the years have shown this to be so; with carcase meat, where one meat is highly priced, housewives switch to a cheaper joint, and this is mainly the reason for the great increase in consumption of poultry; when recently the price of butter rose sharply, there was a switch to margarine. NFS statistics did not show any lessening of consumer preference for butter, but in most households, with budgets on a tight string, margarine had to be used for many purposes for which butter had previously been used. With those foods which have no substitute, and bread (also milk) is a classic example, to keep the sum spent on the food each week about the same, the amount purchased is correspondingly reduced. Again, NFS statistics show this to be the case, a practice which has been responsible for the small annual reductions in the amount of bread consumed per person per week over the last fifteen years or so; very small, a matter of an ounce or two, but adequate to maintain the balance of price/quantity since price rises have been relatively small, if fairly frequent. This artifice to absorb small price rises will not work, however, when price rises follow on one another rapidly and together are large. Bread is a case in point.