Numerical analysis of robustness assessment of steel planar framed structures under sudden external column removal is presented. The analysis is based on the previous experimental and numerical analyzes conducted in the Ph.D. project.Advanced and validated finite element models of steel structures with bolted end plate joints were used using Abaqus software. Six different cases of analysis using flush and extended bolted end-plate joints were performed. The actual results of the axial forces and rotations of the joints, failure models, and other important factors about structure behaviour are presented. The clear division of the results obtained depended on the type of joint used in the structure. In the cases of application of extended end-plate joints in frame analysis, the required level of robustness was reached in all cases and stopping of collapse development was obtained. In all cases of frame analysis with flush end-plate joints, an insufficient level of robustness on progressive collapse was obtained and partial failures of the structures were reached. Due to the location of the external column, the catenary actions to mitigate progressive collapse were very limited.

In this study, the uniaxial compression test and PFC ^2D numerical simulation were carried out on the artificial rock specimen with T-shaped prefabricated fractures. The effects of the lengths l₁, l₂ of the main fractures, the length l₃ of the secondary fracture, and the angle β between the secondary fracture and the loading direction on the uniaxial compressive strength and crack evolution law of specimen were studied. The research results show that the change of l₁, l₂ and β has obvious effect on the compressive strength and crack growth of the specimen, but the change of l₃ has little effect on the compressive strength of the specimen. When l₃ = 40 mm and l₁ ≠ l₂, the angle β influences on the crack propagation and failure mode of the specimen.

Perforated sheets are materials which – maintaining good mechanical properties – are characterized by reduced mass in comparison to full sheets. Their elastic properties are important features that are considered in the context of these materials’ design applications. Compared to full sheets, they are characterized by reduced mass while simultaneously preserving good strength properties. This article presents an experimental and numerical analysis of the effect of key parameters of the hole mesh (open area, hole diameter and orientation relative to the direction of greatest hole concentration) in association with the type of material and sheet thickness �� on the value of the effective Young’s modulus of perforated sheet. A significant influence of open area (the share of holes in the sheet, as a percentage) and orientation angle was determined. On the basis of experimental results and computer simulations, a mathematical dependency allowing for calculation of this parameter’s valuewas proposed. The average deviation of calculated values from experimental is less than 4%.

It is the foundation of tunnel engineering to classify the rock mass surrounding tunnels. However, it is not easy to precisely determine the class of rock mass in practice as sufficient geological exploration need to be completed before rock mass classification, and there exists some disputes referring to the rationalization of dozens of methods for rock mass classification through the world. The principles and procedures of the basic quality method, which are widely used in China, are presented in this paper, and the application process of the basic quality method is showed with a project case of Zhongnanshan highway tunnel which has operated in safety for nearly a decade. Then, both the advantages and disadvantages of the basic quality method are analyzed in terms of practical engineering applications. In consideration of the defects of the basic quality method, the concept of the subclassing of surrounding rock in grade III–V is developed in the end and the criterion is given to determine the subclass of rock mass. This study is aimed at providing some useful ideas and a reference for rock classification in highway tunnel engineering.

Construction objects must be protected not only at the stage of their construction, but also during exploitation. Particular attention should be paid to objects included in the list of monuments. The Act on the Protection of Monuments and the Guardianship of Monuments states that any building that is important for history and science can become a heritage building and should therefore be preserved. The aim of this article was to improve the method of visual assessment of the technical condition of heritage buildings with the use of fuzzy logic. The improved method is to facilitate the comparison of assessments of the technical condition of a building performed at intervals specified in the regulations, often by different people. The research was conducted on the basis of technical expertise prepared for five examined buildings that were tenement houses entered in the register of monuments. The use of the visual method provides for the assessment of individual elements of the object by an expert and a verbal description of the elements using a five-point scale. A significant limitation of this method is uncertainty associated with the exact ranges of the acceptable values, as these ranges are subjective and depend on the opinion of an evaluator. The impact of this limitation can be reduced by applying fuzzy logic. In the fuzzy logic model, as input variables the following were applied; assessments of the technical condition of individual elements of the object (underground structure, load-bearing walls, ceilings, roof, other elements) and an integral indicator of the technical condition of the entire historic object, calculated as the output value.

The speed of test vehicles on the high-speed car track of the automobile test field is very high. Reducing the construction error of asphalt pavement is very important to ensure the safety of the test vehicle. In order to realize the paving of asphalt concrete pavement with super-large lateral inclination in the curve section of the high-speed car track in the automobile test field, a special paving control device and control method for the construction on the curve section with super-large lateral inclination were developed. Use the direction of the hanging hammer under the GPS device of paver to adjust the position of GPS device in real time, so that the geometric centre line of GPS device is always perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The reference control line is preset in the paver operation control device, and the lateral displacement deviation of the paver is adjusted to synchronize the data of the paver control device with the travel route. The precise control of the paver’s forward route is realized, the construction precision of the super-large inclined asphalt pavement on the high-speed car track of the automobile test field is achieved, and the construction efficiency is greatly improved. It has important reference value for similar projects such as automobile testing field and racing track.

The article presents and describes the methodology of the conservation of stone structures that are architectural monuments discovered as part of the work carried out during archaeological excavations in Tanais. The authors’ experiences presented in the article result from many years of cooperation between the Faculty of Civil Engineering at Warsaw University of Technology and the Antiquity of Southeastern Europe Research Centre at the University ofWarsaw. Examples of preserved masonry structures come from an excavation in Tanais near Rostov-on-Don. Works on stone structures located in the area of archaeological excavation are characterised by a unique specificity covering both formal issues, resulting from international standards and agreements regulating the conservation of historic buildings, as well as technical and environmental issues. The primary technical issues include ensuring the safety of further excavation works, protection of masonry structures against the destructive effects of atmospheric conditions and preparing the structure for possible exhibition in archaeological parks organized on the site of excavations. The article presents the procedures that should be used to conserve this type of structure and the specific sustainable technological and material solutions used in the shown objects.

The operating subway tunnel is often damaged due to excessive deformation in China. In order to ensure the safe for operation, remediation and protection measures must be taken, especially in soft soil areas. This paper presents a case study on remedial scheme of damaged TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) tunnel adjacent to excavation combining with MJS (Metro Jet System) and micro-disturbance grouting technology in Hangzhou, China. The track bed settlement, horizontal displacement and convergence of the TBM tunnel caused by MJS and micro-disturbance grouting construction were analyzed and discussed. The results showed the characteristics of soil layer under the tunnel have significant influence on the treatment effect. Even if multiple grouting was adopted, the treatment failure may occur under the combination action of external loads such as traffic load or surcharge load, which should be considered when civil engineers design remediation scheme. The results can provide practical experience and guidance for similar treatment scheme of damaged TBM tunnel.

The main aim of the study is an assessment of models suitability for steel beams made of thin-walled cold-formed sigma profiles with respect to different numerical descriptions used in buckling analysis. The analyses are carried out for the sigma profile beam with the height of 140 mm and the span of 2.20 m. The Finite Element (FE) numerical models are developed in the Abaqus program. The boundary conditions are introduced in the formof the so-called fork support with the use of displacement limitations. The beams are discretized using S4R shell finite elements with S4R linear and S8R quadratic shape functions. Local and global instability behaviour is investigated using linear buckling analysis and the models are verified by the comparison with theoretical critical bending moment obtained from the analytical formulae based on the Vlasow beam theory of the thin-walled elements. In addition, the engineering analysis of buckling is carried out for a simple shell (plate) model of the separated cross-section flange wall using the Boundary Element Method (BEM). Special attention was paid to critical bending moment calculated on the basis of the Vlasov beam theory, which does not take into account the loss of local stability or contour deformation. Numerical shell FE models are investigated, which enable a multimodal buckling analysis taking into account interactive buckling. The eigenvalues and shape of first three buckling modes for selected numerical models are calculated but the values of critical bending moments are identified basing on the eigenvalue obtained for the first buckling mode.

The column is one of the most significant structural elements, which is designed to support mainly the compressive load. Strengthening of existing reinforced concrete columns is required to enhance ductility and increase load capacity to sustain the overload as sometimes there may be a change in use. Ten rectangular concrete columns were constructed and tested. H/b ratio was kept constant and equals 6 for all columns The aim of this work is to study the behaviour and efficiency of RC columns strengthened with steel jackets subjected to axial load. An experimental study of the behaviour of ten strengthened concrete columns with slenderness ratio (t / b) equals 6 was carried out. Variables such as aspect ratio ( H / b), the volume of steel batten plates, and spacing of steel batten plates at centres ( S) were considered. The results showed that using this method of strengthening is very effective and an increase in the axial load capacity of the strengthened columns is obtained.

In order to grasp the strength characteristics and permeability of chlorite schist, the triaxial compression permeability test of chlorite schist was carried out by using a rock triaxial servo testing machine equipped with seepage device. Based on the test results, the failure strength, initial permeability and permeability development of rock samples under different confining pressure and different pore water pressure are compared, and the failure types of rock samples under triaxial compression permeability and their influence on permeability are analyzed. The results show that the increase of confining pressure is conducive to the improvement of failure strength of chlorite schist, and the increase of pore water pressure reduces the failure strength, which is related to the inhibition of crack development in rock samples by confining pressure and the promotion of crack expansion by pore water pressure. The mechanical deformation of chlorite schist in triaxial compression permeability process has experienced initial compaction stage, linear elastic stage and crack stable propagation to failure stage. As a consequence, permeability shows three trends of decline, stable development and rise, which is closely related to the development of the internal structure of rock samples at each stage. During the failure of triaxial compression permeability, there is a local compression zone in chlorite schist, and the rising rate slows down due to the influence of the compression zone.

The implementation of processes comprising the overall project management consists in the use of various tools, methods and techniques depending on the type of the project. The knowledge of the industry and the characteristics of construction projects make it possible to select those which, on the one hand, will not cause difficulties for the contractors and on the other, will, in fact, constitute a necessary complement to the technical skills of the project manager. Construction companies face situations that have a profound impact on the failure of projects. Such occurrences include a large number of simultaneously implemented projects, the appointment of a person who knows the project mainly from the implementation side as the project manager, a failure to perform risk analysis and procedures that become irrelevant when deadlines are approaching. After reviewing the available construction projects, analysing the literature, consulting experts and making observations, the authors determined that the majority of difficulties and failures result from omissions or errors that take place during the project planning and implementation stages. The following paper outlines the selected elements of project management, whose application in construction projects may significantly affect their final success and the results obtained. It also includes an example of the use of modern management methods, which certainly include risk management methods. A utilitarian tool addressing the effects of risk analysis is a contingency plan. Contingency may be translated as eventuality, possibility and sometimes also as coincidence.

The use of FRP materials as external reinforcement of masonry structures has been recognized as an effective and minimally invasive method ofwall strengthening. The available literature and research reports confirmthe positive effect of the strip-like arrangement of composites with a horizontal, diagonal and – as shown in the paper – vertical configuration. The problem here is the proper estimation of the benefits of such FRP reinforcement, namely determining the real increase in shear strength. The paper described selected calculation procedures that can be found in the available literature (proprietary solutions), as well as in the published guidelines for the design of masonry walls strengthening using FRP materials. The results of experimental tests of sheared masonry walls made of AAC blocks and strengthened using vertical strips of carbon and glass fibres are briefly presented. Finally, based on the presented formulae, the values of the theoretical shear force resulted from the FRP contribution were calculated and detailed discussed.
The comparison of the experimental and theoretical shear forces showed that only one of the presented calculation methods gave a high agreement of the results for both carbon and glass sheets. In addition, it was noticed that in two cases the effects of strengthening – depending on the material used – drastically differed, which was not observed in the research.

In recent years, carbon fibres have been extensively used to strengthen concrete structures. In most cases, the lamination process is carried out using epoxy resin as matrix. In some cases, especially when strengthen structural elements made of weak concrete, it is possible to replace the epoxy resin with an inorganic, cement matrix, while at the same time maintaining a sufficient efficiency of strengthen understood as the percentage increase in the compressive strength of concrete samples due to the applied reinforcement in relation to the reference concrete. In these studies, elements of carbon fibres mats that are reinforced with a cement matrix were used as the starting product for fibre recovery. The laminate, which was used to reinforce concrete elements, was detached from the concrete surface and subjected to processing in order to obtain clean carbon fibre scraps without cement matrix. Then, the obtained carbon material, in shaped form, was used to strengthen self-compacting, high performance, fibre reinforced concrete (SCHPFRC). For comparative purposes, this concrete was also strengthened by carbon fibre mats (with one and three layers of CFRP). Each samples were tested in uniaxial compression test. The compressive strength of concrete reinforced with 1 and 3 layers of CFRP was higher by 37.9 and 96.3%, respectively, compared to the reference concrete. On the other hand, the compressive strength of concrete reinforced with 1 and 3 layers of carbon fibre scrapswas higher by 11.8 and 40.1%, respectively. Regardless of the reinforcement technique used, the composite elements showed a higher deformability limit in comparison plain concrete. The obtained results showed that it is possible to reuse carbon fibre to strengthen structural elements made of SCHPFRC effectively, using simple processing methods.

Persistent air pollution (SMOG) in large cities in countries based on energy and coal heating is a serious and growing problem. Improving air quality is currently the main challenge for the metropolises of Central and Eastern Europe. Despite intensive efforts, the average annual concentration of PM2.5 in this area exceeds the standard recommended by the World Health Organization (recommended standard – 25 μg). Data from environmental institutions show that, for example, in Kraków (Poland), the number of days with PM 2.5 concentrations drastically exceeding the permissible standards in the last year was 96. The article describes the method of controlling air purification in the apartment using automation devices, control software and applications available for smartphones, tablets and personal computers. The presented solution uses technologies that can use free (alternative) software, extending the functionality of devices and increasing the flexibility of the control system. The main goal is to maximize the comfort of home users and to minimize the cost of electricity consumption. Additionally, the existing air cleaning devices are adapted to the needs of the air cleaning control system.

The tower at Lublin Castle, known as the donjon, is the only monument of Romanesque art on the eastern side of the Vistula River. The cylindrical, brick building is part of the Lublin Castle complex. During contemporary restoration work, the 13th-century walls were uncovered, making it possible to retrieve the original materials. The article presents the mineralogical, chemical and granulometric characteristics. The analytical methodology included: qualitative mineralogical analysis of the whole sample by X-ray diffraction (XRD); morphological studies with elemental evaluation and microanalysis of the binder by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Residue determination of hydrochloric acid-insoluble parts and their granulometric analysis were performed. This methodology enabled to determine the composition of the mortars. It was found that the tested mortars have a similar mineralogical structure, but slightly differ in the proportion of individual components, primarily aggregate fractions. The samples consist mainly of quartz, calcite, and silicates. Moreover, the lime binder of the mortars was shown to be microcrystalline in nature. The aggregate used in historical mortars predominantly consisted of quartz sand and minerals of the feldspar and silicate group. The condition of the mortars requires conservation interventions. The performed characterization of the historic mortars was important for designing compatible restoration mortars.

The research paper reviews issues associated with the impact of groundwater flow on soil characteristics and parameters, hence, the entire structure of a building set on it.Water seepage through the ground, building subsoil or structural elements of buildings made of soil affects the soil skeleton and may lead to changes in the arrangement of individual grains relative to each other, i.e., a modified soil structure. Soil solid phase (soil skeleton) deformations resulting from seepage forces are called seepage-induced deformations. The article characterizes typical seepage-induced deformations and specifies a criterion defining the beginning of the phenomenon. The case study involved using data on cracks and deformations in a historic building, as well as water seepage in its subsoil. Seepage was analysed, and zones where the seepage process initiation criterion was exceeded, were determined based on subsoil water level monitoring data. The determined zones coincide with the location of building cracks and scratches and confirm the possible cause behind building damage.

The subject of this paper is the analysis of possible influence of climate change on the energy performance of building and indoor temperatures. The model is based on the Maison Air et Lumière house, which concept was developed as part of the Model Homo 2020 project. It was a low-energy, single family, detached house. The model was divided into three thermal zones and developed by using SketchUp software. The analysis of the climate change was made on the example of the city in Poland – Kielce and described in the first part of the paper. Dynamic calculations of the building model were performed by using the TRNSYS software. The calculations were made for three different scenarios relating to existing technical systems: ventilation, ventilation + heating, ventilation + heating + cooling. Annual energy consumption and rooms air temperature changes were estimated for each variant. The results showed higher risk of summer discomfort and change in energy balance of building what indicates the need to use the cooling system in the future during the summer to reduce the discomfort of overheating. In the variant without the cooling system, the percentage of time with an indoor temperature above 27°C increased from 23.7% to 44.2% in zone 2. The energy demand for heating was reduced by 23.4% compared to the current climate, and the energy consumption for cooling (with the cooling option) increased significantly by 232% compared to the current demand. Summarizing, research indicates that with global warming, the energy demand for heating will decrease and the cooling demand will increase significantly in order to maintain the required user comfort.

The paper presents the results of a comparative study of the land system of the city square and adjacent buildings for Rzeszów in Poland. The study made use of a cadastral map at a scale of 1:2880 and a modern land and building record map. For the purpose of adjusting reference systems, the cadastral map recorded in the form of a digital raster image, in accordance with applicable provisions of polish law (Journal of Laws No. 263 §49), was subjected to a two-stage calibration. The first stage consisted in carrying out initial calibration with the employment of first-degree affine transformation. In the second stage, final calibration was performed using mathematical transformation that considered the distortions detected in the previous stage. The results showed shifts, consolidations, and divisions of land parcels with regard to the present state, and changes to property structure. The proposed method may prove useful for further research on historical urban system morphology, and on restoration and renewal of the urban tissue.

Large floors of industrial enterprises, warehouses, stores, and shopping centres are quite heavily loaded with production technologies, transport mechanisms, stored material or shelf stackers. Regarding simple reinforcement and construction, industrial floors have been used in recent decades mainly reinforced with fibres from so-called fibre-reinforced concrete. Most slab failures are caused by extreme loads on the unbearable subsoil, a small amount of fibres, or by the shrinkage of concrete due to insufficient structural design of sliding, shrinking and expansion joints. Recently, however, in several constructions, structural failures have occurred caused by a volume-unstable subsoil in the form of a mixture of slag or metallurgical debris. The article deals with some failures of fibre concrete floors in practice, their methods of diagnostics and laboratory analysis of samples. The results are supplemented by practical examples of floor failures with respect to their origin.

In recent years, some expressway tunnels have started broadcasting warning sounds, such as fire alarms, to improve driver attention and traffic safety. However, there is few research on it, and in contrast to previous studies, we have considered different evaluation indices and through field measurement to determine the effectiveness of this practice. The characteristics of three warning sound signals, i.e., fire alarm, dynamic music, and voice command, in a tunnel were analyzed usingMATLAB. Considering pupil diameter and blink duration as evaluation indexes, the change in the mental state of the driver after hearing a warning sound was analyzed. Based on Markov chain theory, the change in the gaze region and gaze shift of the driver under the condition of a warning sound was analyzed. Results shows fire alarms and voice commands can increase the mental load of drivers, but the degree of impact was not determined. Dynamic music does not affect the mental load of the driver. The fire alarm and dynamic music attracted the attention of the driver; conversely, as the voice command warns the driver to focus on safety, it did not impact the attention of the driver. The research results provide a scientific reference for the selection of warning sounds in expressway tunnels and new research ideas for the prevention of traffic injuries in expressway tunnels.

Ground settlement during and after tunnelling using TBM results in varying dynamic and static load action on the geo-stratum. It is an undesirable effect of tunnel construction causing damage to the surface and subsurface infrastructure, safety risk, and increased construction cost and quality issues. Ground settlement can be influenced by several factors, like method of tunnelling, tunnel geometry, location of tunnelling machine, machine operational parameters, depth & its changes, and mileage of recording point from starting point. In this study, a description and evaluation of the performance of the arti?cial neural network (ANN)was undertaken and a comparison with multiple linear regression (MLR) was carried out on ground settlement prediction. The performance of these models was evaluated using the coefficient of determination R2, root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). For ANN model, the R2, RMSE and MAPE were calculated as 0.9295, 4.2563 and 3.3372, respectively, while for MLR, the R2, RMSE and MAPE, were calculated as 0.5053, 11.2708, 6.3963 respectively. For ground settlement prediction, bothANNandMLRmethodswere able to predict significantly accurate results. It was further noted that the ANN performance was higher than that of the MLR.

Rehabilitation treatments applied to a local road prone to terrain subsidence from mining excavation should be designed considering cost-efficient and effective reinforcement solutions. In the analysed case, a glass-fibre mesh was applied under asphalt concrete layers in 2008, in one lane while another was left without the reinforcement. The main objective of this paper was to investigate the effectiveness of reinforcement by analysing the amount of produced on the pavement and the influence on pavement deflection. It was found that the reinforcement retracted the number of cracks, however, did not affect the bearing capacity. The influence of the applied geosynthetic was manifested in the values of the radius of curvature. The overall technical state of the road requires immediate treatment and the applied reinforcement proved obsolete because in this particular case of road located in the mining active terrain the glass fiber mesh did not prolong the life of the pavement.

To promote the application of rubber-cement composites as the main bearing structure and key components in practical engineering under frequent dynamic disturbances, in this work, the split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) cyclic impact tests of rubber-cement composite specimens with four different confine modes were carried out in which the impact load increased sequentially. The relationship between average strain rate, ultimate strain and impact times and the relationship between peak stress, damage energy, ultimate strain and incident energy were analyzed. The results showed that the appropriate confine reinforcement treatment can make rubber-cement composite give full play to its deformation ability when it was completely damaged. Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheet and steel cylinder can work together with the rubber-cement composite matrix to resist impact load, which effectively improves the structural strength, damage fracture energy, and cyclic impact resistance of the rubber-cement composite. Finally, based on the effect difference of confine modes, the simplified plane force models of rubber-cement composite specimens with four different confine modes were established, which clearly revealed the completely different impact resistance mechanism of the rubber-cement composites with different constraints under cyclic impact loading.