Journal of Civil Engineering, Science and Technology

EDITORIAL SCOPE: GEOTECHNICAL EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING EDITION

Imtiyaz Akbar Najar — 2023-09-25

One of the main civil engineering disciplines is currently the focus area of the Journal of Civil Engineering, Science, and Technology (JCEST): geotechnical and earthquake engineering. We are honoured to present this editorial focusing on the dynamic and evolving field of geotechnical earthquake engineering, with an emphasis on seismic soil-structure interaction (SSI). These studies offer valuable insights into novel design methodologies, materials, and analysis approaches, which are crucial for ensuring the safety and resilience of infrastructure. This editorial paper collected information from the freely-accessible SCOPUS database to identify common keywords used in published papers pertaining to geotechnical earthquake engineering from 2015 to 2023. The analysis reveals that the ‘seismic’ and ‘structure’ terms are the most frequently utilised keyword in articles related to this field. As the editors of our esteemed journal, it is our privilege to shed light on this critical area of research that plays a pivotal role in ensuring the safety and resilience of civil infrastructure subjected to seismic forces.

INVESTIGATION OF DRAINAGE IN URBAN AREA USING GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM IN THE CASE OF NEKEMTE TOWN

Shiferaw Garoma Wayessa — 2023-09-18

Drainage is an important aspect of the urban, rural, forest, and agricultural environments as it aids in the removal of excess water volume. In Nekemte town, where this study is conducted, different drainage problems are encountered in different places. Most drainage structures built in this area were built without a thorough drainage investigation, causing a slew of issues for the people who lived there, particularly during the rainy season. The problems that increase the drainage problems from time to time in Nekemte town were caused by the illegal use of drainage structures (components) like pipes, culverts, and ditches, and their consequence is the overflow of water because of illegal waste (solid waste) in the drainage lines. The objective of this study was to investigate drainage problems using ArcGIS software in the case of Nekemte town. To achieve this objective, a digital elevation model of the area was created from contours. Different hydrological patterns were developed using the ArcGIS hydrology tool and combined with other tools to identify cross-drainage requirements. In the study area, there are ten (10) watersheds and an outlet (pour point). Three (3) stream orders exist in the study area. Protected areas are those that are at least fifty (50) meters from the stream network. The watershed, road (current and proposed), low drainage density, and stream order are all considered when calculating an area’s cross-drainage requirement. In the study zone, there are cross-drainage requirements in twenty (20) different places. Seventeen (17) of those cross-drainages lead to exits in the protected zone. The discharge of the area is also computed using the rational method. In general, this study found that cross drainage between Wollega and the stadium is inadequate and improperly placed.

ASSESSING THE PUBLIC AND EXPERTS’ PERCEPTION TOWARDS THE PROPOSED CONGESTION PRICING SCHEME IN JORDAN

Ghadeer Al-Mawajdeh — 2023-09-18

This study aims to investigate the attitudes of both the public and the experts towards the Congestion Pricing (CP) scheme by considering the case of Amman City in Jordan. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies was adopted. A predesigned survey with 600 respondents was the primary source of data in addition to semi-structured comprehensive interviews conducted with knowledgeable individuals experienced in the related fields including wholesalers. The analysis of the collected data was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Science SPSS IBM software together with the SPSS AMOS (Analysis of Moments Structural Equation Modeling Software) and Excel spreadsheets programs to carry out CFA, RII, descriptive statistics, and socio-economic index. The results showed that more than half of the respondents (58%) have never heard of CP. 47% of those who are aware of CP were in favor of implementing it. Greater support was given to the CP implementation during the Peak hours (55%) compared to their support of all-hour implementation (26%). The RII results revealed that CP can reduce road congestion (RII=69.8%), helps protect the environment (RII=70%), and limit recreation and shopping preferences (RII=64.7%) and this aspect could be better publicized as an effective means of maintaining social distance and reducing the risk of infection during Covid-19 pandemic. Moreover, people with greater socio-economic educational class tended to perceive a higher personal change in travel habits when CP is implemented. People’s level of acceptance of the implementation of CP was found to be affected by several meaningful factors. The CFA revealed that a more significant factor was the "potential benefits and economic revenue of implementing CP". The main causes of traffic congestion in Amman, the capital of Jordan, were identified through interviews with experts from various concerned parties which included poor public transport system and parking management, increasing car ownership, and inadequate policies to control traffic congestion. The experts advised that the CP implementation should be linked with other related strategies and be evaluated periodically. They also suggested a minimum of 3.5 years’ time framework in case of introducing the CP scheme. This period is needed for issuing new CP legislation and developing an acceptable level of public awareness of the system. Furthermore, the implementation of CP might not always seriously damage the wholesaler's own business or economic competitiveness. Based on the results of the study, recommendations for developing and implementing an effective CP system in Amman were outlined.

COMPACTION CHARACTERISTICS AND WORKABILITY OF THE LATERITIC SOIL-IRON ORE TAILINGS IN PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION

K. Ishola — 2023-09-18

The mining waste deposit such as iron ore tailings (IOT) in Nigeria is a menace to the environment by constituting a nuisance to the mining industry, and its effect on lateritic soil as a compaction and plasticity reduction material for road pavement is considered in this study. The used natural lateritic soil was classified as A-7-6(11) or CL by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and Unified Soil Classification System (USCS) respectively. Up to 16% of the soil’s dry weight was modified with iron ore tailings (IOT). Studying the effects of IOT on the altered soil focused on its cation exchange capacity, plasticity, compaction properties and California bearing ratio (CBR). British Standard Light (BSL) energy was used for the compaction process. However, the results of regression analysis showed that the optimum moisture content had a substantial impact on the soil CBR values. The results of the tests show that as the IOT content increased, plasticity and compaction characteristic values increased. Although an optimal 10% IOT treatment of lateritic soil significantly improved its strength properties, the plasticity characteristics recorded exceeded the requirement specified by the Nigerian General Specifications for direct use as a subbase or base material. Thus, reusing 10% iron ore tailings as filling materials required additional percentages of other pozzolanic materials to lessen the environmental problems associated with their deposition.

INVESTIGATING THE ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE IMPACT OF MASS RAPID TRANSIT ON NEARBY COMMUNITIES AT BATU 11 CHERAS, MALAYSIA

Ming Han Lim — 2023-09-18

Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) in Malaysia is designed to provide commuters with a comfortable journey that is highly functional and safe. Besides, it allows commuters to explore the city with ease and convenience. Due to the extension of the network throughout the years, the noise generated from MRT had increased and this environmental noise tends to annoy the adjacent community. This research aims to evaluate the environmental noise impact generated by MRT on the surrounding community at Batu 11 Cheras Station. A total of 4 monitoring points were selected for environmental noise impact assessment. After that, a sound level meter was set up at these monitoring points to measure the sound level and some parameters such as LAeq, Lmax, Lmin, L10, L50, and L90. For each monitoring point, the noise level was measured for 6 hours continuously from 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. Based on the results, the noise levels at critical monitoring points exceeded 2.71% of the permissible sound level in Batu 11 Cheras Station. While for the maximum sound level, all four-monitoring points A, B, C and D had exceeded 2.75%, 10.13%, 4.38%, and 7.13%, respectively. For community annoyance impact, little levels of environmental impact and subjectively perceived noticeable differences were found at all the monitoring points.

EVALUATION OF SEISMIC PERFORMANCE OF HOSPITAL BUILDING USING PUSHOVER ANALYSIS BASED ON ATC-40

Dermawan Zebua — 2023-09-25

Hospitals are crucial healthcare facilities that play a significant role in improving the health level of people in Aceh. The Cut Nyak Dien Meulaboh Aceh Regional Referral Hospital is located in an area with a high earthquake intensity, making earthquake-resistant building aspects indispensable. The hospital was designed in 2016, but changes were made to its structural elements during construction. The aim of this study was to establish the performance level criteria for the hospital building structures that underwent design changes in practice. The research revealed that the structure could exhibit nonlinear behaviour, as shown by the distribution of plastic hinges that started with the yielding of the beam, followed by yielding of the column. This aligns with the planning concept of strong weak beam earthquake-resistant column (SCWB). The pushover analysis results demonstrated that the performance point displacement in the x-direction was 0.052 m with a base shear of 20090.204 KN and the displacement in the y-direction was 0.058 m with a base shear of 19832.572 KN. With a maximum story drift value based on ATC-40 during an earthquake in the x and y directions of D > 0.01, the structure falls under the category of Immediate Occupancy.

PERFORMANCE OF STEEL FIBER EXTRACTED FROM OLD WASTE TYRES ON MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF CONCRETE FOR RIGID PAVEMENT CONSTRUCTION

Mesihib Firdawok — 2023-09-26

The application of Waste Recycled Steel Fibers (WRSF) extracted from waste tyres in fiber-reinforced concrete production has great benefits in civil engineering. Thus, this creates a need to study the appropriate length and dosages of recycled steel fiber in fiber-reinforced concrete. In this experimental research, the effects of varying lengths (5cm and 10 cm) and dosages (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3%) of WRSF on various mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced concrete for rigid pavement construction were studied. The aggregates were taken from a stockpile, commercially available cement Dangote Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), and potable water. Non-probable sampling techniques were adopted to collect extracted waste steel tyres. The quality test for sand (fine) and coarse aggregate satisfies the requirements specified in the ASTM. The concrete mix design was done in two categories; the first was a control mix concrete and the second was the experimental mix concrete with the addition of steel fibers with varying lengths (5cm and 10 cm) and dosages (1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3%) of WRSF in concrete (percentages were determined by density for each fiber). The mix ratio of cement: sand: aggregate (1:2:3) with a constant water-to-cement ratio of 0.53 was used throughout this investigation. The outcome showed that the fiber fraction with 1.5% and 10cm of fiber had the maximum compressive strength which was 45.59 MPa, while for the fraction with 1% and 5cm of fiber, the maximum compressive strength was 43.85 MPa. The flexural strength had a maximum value of 5.88 MPa at 3% fiber content for 5cm fiber and 5.09 MPa at 3% for 10cm of fiber. The maximum tensile strength attained was 4.74 MPa and 3.50 MPa at 3% WRSF for 5cm and 10cm of fiber, respectively. The strain value had a maximum value at 3% for both 10cm and 5cm of fiber which were 0.53 and 0.6 respectively. The concrete strength which was obtained with the addition of steel fiber showed reasonable improvement in compressive, indirect tensile, and flexural strength. However, as the percentage of WRSF increased, the workability of concrete reduced.