Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering

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The objective of this study is to establish a reliable way to determine the residual stress in clay sampled from the field. During saturation in triaxial test, using residual stress as back pressure as opposed to the traditional saturation methods leads to better sample quality. In this research the residual stress within the sample is measured and compared against the one that can be predicted with the help of the equation proposed by Skempton based on the account of change in total stress during sampling. The results do not exhibit any predictable trend, in fact sometimes the prediction is quite good while the rest of the time not good. Thus in the absence of a perfect sample, the use of Skempton’s equation is more reliable.

The construction of the Black sea motorway in northern Turkey started in 1998. The motorway is located along the shore line. To provide shoreline protection, T-head groins were placed along the coast at selected locations which may be prone to erosion. The objectives of this paper are to evaluate the performance of the 13 T-head groins built at Kiyicik, Turkey. The shore survey and sediment analyses were conducted and analyzed in relation to bathymetry assessments and sediment grain size characteristics (d25, d50, d65, d90). Effectiveness of the T-head groins was evaluated for shore line protection. Sediment accumulation profiles differed based on positions of the T-head groins along the shore line. The grain sizes of the sediments accumulating at theT-head groins were significantly different depending on their location.

The project titled “Seismic analysis of Indoor Auditorium” has been taken up with an objective to determine the seismic response and behaviour of an Auditorium constructed in Chennai area. Even though Chennai is considered as least prone to major earthquake, it is expected that a structure would survive major earthquakes without collapse that might occur unexpectedly during the life of the building. It should also be noted that after the Bhuj earthquake, Indian Standard IS: 1893 was revised and Chennai city was upgraded from zone II to zone III which leads to a substantial increase of the design ground motion parameters. Hence, this project presents an exploratory analysis of the seismic performance of multi-storey buildings system built in the specified area with a comparative study of the structures under past major earthquakes. Computer modeling is undertaken using Ansys is a multi-purpose software which enables to run and simulate tests or working conditions. It also helps in determining and improving weak points, computing by 3D simulations in virtual environment.

Due to increased impact of drought on water availability at different scales there is need to understand droughts especially in upper Tana River basin which is a critical and largest water system in Kenya. There is need to correlate trends of drought as influenced by the climate variability of the present times. Drought frequency, duration and intensity in the basin have been increasing. The influencing hydro-meteorological parameters and their interaction are necessary in developing measures for mitigating impacts of droughts. It is important to have a timely review of drought definitions and fundamental concepts of droughts, classification of droughts, types of drought indices, historical droughts and artificial neural networks with special focus of Kenyan a basin. Out of the review, this paper draws conclusions where gaps for more focused research especially for a typical river basin in Kenya exist. By developing effective drought forecasting tool for on-set detection and drought classification and drought forecasting, information on decision making on matters of drought preparedness and mitigation programmes will be available for proper water resources management.

The purpose of our study is to evaluate, monolithic houses that were popular thirty and forty years ago. The world as a whole understands the use of Monolithic Domes and EcoShells. According to a non-profit group Domes for the World Foundation whose mission is for helping people to help themselves by building safe Monolithic Dome or EcoShell structures. Dome structures are being built around the world in much needed areas. They save lives everywhere and can save human life in the United States. Every few months, news brings another tornado that destroyed property or took away human life. In 2012, a Christmas day tornado struck Mobile, Alabama. Tornados are not a seasonal event so buildings and structures for tomorrow need a prevention plan to save life and housing destruction. It is time to examine a monolithic dome structure which meets the prevention plan from storm and tornado destruction. Today, we know much more about tornados. Almost every large tornado near a city has a good chance of being filmed. Thirty and forty years ago, very little coverage was filmed until after the storm when everyone was picking up the pieces. Today, more people have dash cams and cell phones that can record video. The 21st century brought technology to almost everyone and it is possible to see filmed video of a tornado shortly after it strikes.