Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2015 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 5 Articles
The first electric power station in Greece is a registered monument of the international\nindustrial heritage. The building consists of three longitudinal parts with a total area of\n4800 m2 approximately in plan and has two levels of a height of 3 m and 12 m respectively.\nThe structural system consists mainly of stone masonry walls and a steel roof. Nowadays\nthe building is scheduled to be reused as a Museum of Electric Power and the need for\nstructural upgrade arose mainly from current seismic requirements. According to the\nstructural assessment study, the prevailing problem of the building is the combination of\nthe presence of very high walls, interrupted by transverse walls at a distance of approximately\n80 m, and the complete lack of horizontal diaphragms. The building�s architectural,\nhistoric and technological value is significant and its preservation, by minimization of\ninterventions, posed several problems to the retrofit design. New steel frames connected\nto and cooperating with the masonry walls were designed to bear the vertical roof loads\nand restore the horizontal diaphragm at the roof level, while also reducing the seismic\nactions at the walls. The total required strength was achieved by additionally implementing\nvertical post-tensioning bars and FRP strips....
The construction industry is dominated by small- and medium-scale contractors (SMCs) who face an emerging trend of unique\nchallenges in the implementation of projects. The study was aimed at examining inhibiting factors that influence performance of\nSMCs in terms of ââ?¬Å?quality of work,ââ?¬Â ââ?¬Å?tender estimation,ââ?¬Â ââ?¬Å?tender preparation,ââ?¬Â and ââ?¬Å?timely completion of construction projectsââ?¬Â in\nMalawi. A survey questionnaire was administered to 370 players in the construction industry which included public sector clients,\ncontractors, consultants, and construction resource trainers in order to elicit data from 118 variables that were identified through\na careful literature review. The inhibiting factors were generally dominated by economic issues, which was an emerging trend to\nwhat has been previously reported in the sub-Saharan region. The first highest ranked inhibiting factors were high lending interest\nregimes offered by financial institutions; stringent conditions to access capital; fluctuation of currency; stringent requirements for\nobtaining bonds; and high taxes. The research lays the foundation for further understanding of inhibitors on performance of SMCs\nin an evolving world which is being impacted by global factors and punctuated by sudden changes...
Rising damp is one of the most severe phenomena that leads to decay and deterioration of both old and modern types of buildings.\nThis study employed a holistic approach to dampness investigation and sought to examine the problem of rising damp in the walls\nof two residential apartments in Kumasi, Ghana. The study sought to determine the types of soluble salts and their concentrations\nin the soils and accumulated percentages in the walls over time and whether there exists any linkage between the salts in the walls\nand those in the ground. Results from the geotechnical survey of the building sites found that the soils on site 1 consisted of silty\nsandy gravel with some clay particles and those on site 2 consisted of silty sandy soil with some clay and traces of gravel. The study\nidentified several groups of salts in the walls of the buildings, with the most damaging and dangerous being magnesium sulphate,\nmagnesium chloride, and sodium sulphate salts. Similar salts were identified in the soil samples from the trial pits. The results\ntherefore indicate a linkage between the salts found in the ground and those found in the walls and therefore confirm the presence\nof rising dampness....
The study of the motivation of construction workers is limited to a relatively small body of knowledge. Although there is\nconsiderable research available regarding motivation and productivity, few researchers have provided a comprehensive analysis\non the motivation of construction workers. The research stated that productivity in construction has not improved compared\nto other industry sectors such as manufacturing. This trend has been echoed in publications throughout the past five decades,\nand suggested that motivation is one of the key factors impacting productivity. This paper offers a comprehensive review of the\npublished work that directly links the key wordsââ?¬â?construction and motivation. The findings have been presented in five themes,\nthat is, motivation models, environment and culture, incentives and empowerment, and worker management. This paper concludes\nwith two methods suggested by previous researchers to improve motivation of construction workers: (1) relevant worker incentives\n(intrinsic or extrinsic) and (2) improved management practices, specifically regarding communication with workers....
pressurizer during the pre-delivery hydrostatic test. The measured strain curves are discussed\nto find the deformation features of the cylinder. The stresses of cylindrical base\nmetal, longitudinal welds and girth welds are calculated and compared with the theoretical\nvalues. The stresses in girth welds and upper head nozzle welds show non-uniformity at\nthese areas. The possible reasons are discussed for this phenomenon. The stress intensity\nis calculated and evaluated according to the allowable limit. The fatigue usage factor is\nevaluated by considering the effect of internal pressure rise-and-fall cycle to pressurizer�s\ntotal fatigue life. The evaluated results show that the hydrostatic test has little effect on the\nintegrity or fatigue life of the pressurizer. This test provides the basic deformation data of\nthe pressurizer, which plays an important role in the ageing assessment and management\nduring operation....
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