ABSTRACT. Globally, there is a growing proportion of the need to optimize monitoring and facility management of new and existing built facilities. Smart buildings provide waste reduction to the environment, flexibility to facility users, and optimization opportunities to the owner. Several research projects explore the monitoring, management, and maintenance of smart buildings toward efficient facility management (FM). However, there is a lack of defined, effective, efficient, and successful marketing schemes for smart buildings. Furthermore, smart buildings utilize the different technological possibilities and advancements in the smart building business and impact relevant stakeholders such as clients, facility managers, and users. Therefore, the study aims to develop a marketing strategy for smart buildings. The study adopts an integrative approach as the underpinning theory. The study's methodology adopts a robust analysis of different market strategies for various building types in the construction industry. In addition, lessons are deducted from the building typologies, such as sustainable buildings, tall and green buildings. The proposed marketing strategy requires four defined phases: segmentation, targeting, positioning and differentiations. The marketing directions focus on activities, actors, and tools through a comprehensive, detailed, and interpretative literature review. The proposed adaptable market strategy integrates client and facility users, focusing on the main drivers for marketing smart buildings. Therefore, the study is significant for facility managers, developers, and facility users.

ABSTRACT. The infrastructure construction industry is typically characterized by large-scale, complex technologies, long completion times, and challenging collaboration. The provisioning of digital representations in 3D by combining physical properties with geospatial data would assist in addressing some of these challenging issues. These technologies would also provide fundamental basis for the creation of metaverse to support sustainable, innovative infrastructure design and construction. Hitherto most studies were focused primarily on integration techniques rather than providing comprehensive workflow for exploiting projects data to support engineers. This study aims to help engineers and decision makers better understand the opportunities and implications of the virtual environment 3D or Metaverse by examining the key emerging trends driving and enabling the development of data workflows for a selected infrastructure project. To build possible levels of workflow, the methodology involved incorporating 3D geometric data acquired from Building Information Models (BIM) and processed with geospatial location. The optimum data workflow and associated advantages for the construction industry have been determined. This paper also describes the concept and workflow approach, including specific data structures, data conversion, and a prototype solution. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the concept's robustness and both in terms of technical implementation and adoption for expediting business processes.

ABSTRACT. The State of Qatar witnessed an unprecedented transformation during the past three decades in various sectors, more specifically in public infrastructure. The rapid transformation coupled with urbanization has increased the density of public infrastructure assets both at the surface and sub-surface. Ashghal, the Public Works Authority (PWA) contributes to achieving the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 (QNV) by leading the transformation of Qatar’s public infrastructure delivery and improving operational efficiency. Augmented Reality (AR) Technology that interfaces digital information with the real-world environment both spatially and temporally engenders tangible impact in the area of construction planning, operations, and maintenance of public works and assets. AR Initiative is identified as part of the Geospatial Strategic Master Plan for PWA. AR Technology has proven successful in various industries like entertainment, health, manufacturing, etc., however, it has serious limitations and lacks adopting changes in large-scale implementation in the context of public works. In this paper, the intent, technology selection, and implementation roadmap are discussed through a case study. This case study presents various use cases considered in the public works domain including the use of AR with Geospatial and BIM Technology. This paper further discusses the strategy for deployment, best use, limitation, and factors to be considered for full-scale deployment. This paper summarizes the study outcomes of the current effort undertaken by PWA in deploying AR solutions and discusses the feasibility of AR solutions in public work is a myth or reality.

ABSTRACT. Early in 2020, doctors around the globe identified the virus responsible for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Rapidly spreading, the virus reached every continent. As part of its efforts to prepare for the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and Qatar National Vision 2030, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), the State of Qatar, is on a fast-track mission to implement major infrastructure projects to revamp roads and sewer networks. Managing the human workforce on construction project sites becomes a significant challenge considering the pandemic. Large infrastructure projects are always characterized by many workers interacting in proximity at the work site. Immediately at the pandemic’s beginning, management was instructed to leverage technology to empower decision-makers with Covid-19 monitoring tools across all the infrastructure construction projects. Thus, the Engineering Services Department created an ArcGIS Dashboard for engineers, contractors, and higher management to track the construction projects’ COVID-19 status. Maps and data are combined in ArcGIS Dashboards to highlight significant patterns and measures. This paper explores the workflow established with direct communication and a submission system from the contractors and project managers to help collect and monitor critical health parameters of workers to prevent the propagation of Covid-19 infection. The study concluded that implementing a GIS safety dashboard for workers can help reduce the risk of project shutdowns due to novel Coronaviruses and provide an effective tool for organizations to improve occupational health and safety standards at worksites.

ABSTRACT. Digital technologies have brought a new performance momentum in all industries and businesses wherever it is fully adopted from manufacturing to healthcare to climate change monitoring. In construction, the digital transformation has been limited to design phases while missing the operations part. It becomes crucial for the world’s largest ecosystem to accelerate this digitalization at full scale. In infrastructure projects, digitalization is introduced to the operational level as a ready-made tool that lacks flexibility. This paper describes the barriers to the digital transition in construction operations, combined with the emerging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic from planning and progress monitoring aspects. Adoption of lean construction implementation in infrastructure projects in the State of Qatar, requires adoption for digital tools for data collection, verification, and analysis. This process is continuously improved at the project level to deliver a digital tool that is tailored to the infrastructure projects. This paper describes the initial steps for digital transformation in infrastructure projects in-line with a digital maturity growth.

ABSTRACT. The construction industry is faced with several Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) challenges and opportunities that include, but are not limited to, a massive carbon footprint, the physical impacts of climate change, green building certifications, supply chain, innovative product design, pollution control, health and safety, diversity and inclusion, community development, business ethics, and biodiversity. With these ESG issues front and center in daily headlines, investors, shareholders and all other stakeholders are demanding greater transparency in relation to the construction industry’s interaction with the environment and the society in which they operate and upon which they depend for long-term business continuity. ESG factors are becoming fundamental nonfinancial information for the long-term valuation of a company, for the investment decision-making process and in determining capital allocations. All the key players in the construction industry, including engineering and construction services firms, manufacturers and distributors of construction materials, buildings products and furnishing companies, real estate developers, and real estate services companies, need to convince stakeholders that they are delivering optimal outcomes when it comes to the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.

In this paper we will address and discuss the following questions: What are the key ESG challenges and opportunities that construction industry is facing? How are these key ESG challenges identified and acted upon? What are the enablers used by the construction industry to address and manage ESG factors? Among these enablers, we will look in details at the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS) and its capability to satisfy the investors ESG disclosures needs.

ABSTRACT. Hospitals operation is becoming a major focusing points on China as there is a huge market because of aging population. The management of healthcare institute is crucial as it contains operational activities that can be harmful to public health such as medical waste as well as medical equipment that has to be maintained timely. In particular with the pandemic COVID-19 situation, the maintenance of these medical equipment is the foundation to ensure the healthcare service can operate functionally. Hence, this research is focusing on how medical facilities are being managed in Chinese healthcare institute as well as to understand whether and how BIM can impact healthcare facility management. A mixed methodology was used to interview facilities managers in the province of East China region during COVID-19 period. The result of this research shows that by adopting BIM, the quality and efficiencies of facility management in key hazard assets in hospitals can be improved in principle because of the large amount of asset data and hospitals’ information.

ABSTRACT. This study reports the statistical significance of using Graphene Oxides (GOs), Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNPs) and Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) on the mechanical properties of cement paste. Samples containing several nanoparticles' weight fractions were prepared and tested for flexure and compression. The testing results were then statistically analyzed using the t-statistical method to investigate the significance of using nanomaterials on the properties of cement paste. The results highlighted the significance of using GOs and CNTs on the flexural strength of cement paste. Mixes containing 0.04% GOs, 0.08% GOs and 0.12% CNTs could enhance the flexural strength by at least 45 % compared to the plain control mix. On the other hand, test results showed the significance of using 0.04% GNPs, 0.08% CNTs and 0.12 % GOs in increasing the compressive strength of cement paste by at least 10 % compared to the plain control mix. Microstructural analysis using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) showed that proper nanofilaments dispersion in most batches. Furthermore, the analysis highlighted the nanoparticles’ impediment within the cement hydration products.

ABSTRACT. Waste plastic bottles (WPB) (polyethylene terephthalate (PET)) type are used widely for water storage and eventually become environmental burden. This study investigated an innovative application of the WPB to partially replace the fine aggregate in concrete nonstructural element. This study evaluated the effect of plastic content on concrete mechanical and physical properties. The WPBs were ground into < 5 mm in size equal to the fine aggregate size. Therefore, different percentages of WPB were used namely 10, 20 and 30%. The results revealed that 20% of the WPB showed the best results to produce light weight concrete. The compressive strength was reduced by 20% only with 20% of WPB which it declined by 42% with higher WPB content. Moreover, concrete with 20% of WPB content achieved ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) of 3 km/s which indicated a satisfactory level of concrete integrity. This indeed clearly indicated that the plastic content should be carefully selected before full applications. This study suggested that each cubic meter of concrete can accommodate around 100 kg of WPB. Indeed, that will reduce the pressure on landfills and the environment by having this innovative application.

ABSTRACT. This study investigated the effect of Natural Pozzolana (NP) and Fly Ash (FA) substitutes on concrete's mechanical and microstructural properties. Mixes containing 10 – 50 % cement substitute ratios were prepared and tested for flexure and compressive strength after 28 days of curing. Then, qualitative microstructural analysis was performed using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). In terms of compressive strength, the mixes containing only 10% replacement ratios of both NP and FA showed an improvement of 10% compared to the plain control mix. On the other hand, all mixes containing FA could attain at least a 25 % development in their flexural strength compared to the control mix. The microstructural analysis illustrated that adding FA and NP enhances cement hydration by improving the formation of dense hydration products such as calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium hydroxide (C-H), which are mainly responsible for the performance of the improved mechanical properties of concrete.

ABSTRACT. Calcium nitrate synthesis of in urea-formaldehyde shell has recently been used to produce self-healing microcapsules for construction applications. The original synthesis was based on water-in-oil emulsion with sulfonic acid as fundamental ingredient of the oil (continuous) phase. It has been modified herein by changing the composition of the continuous (oil) phase by mixing anionic surfactant, Aerosol OT (AOT) with hexane to prepare the solution while keeping the aqueous phase unchanged. The submicron refined calcium nitrate microcapsules. In order to characterize the microcapsules encapsulated using the aforementioned procedure, a Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was utilized. The obtained microcapsules had satisfactory diameter and shell thickness. To assess the effect of the prepared microcapsules on the compressive and flexural strengths, mortar mixes containing 75% microcapsules (by weight of cement), as an introductory dosage, were made. It has been demonstrated that incorporating the self-healing microcapsules prepared using the procedure suggested in this study did not cause significate reductions in the mortar samples’ strengths. Hence, the encapsulation methodology presented here may be utilized to investigate their self-healing efficiency in cementitious materials.

ABSTRACT. Concreting in arid environment is a delicate operation, due to many problems, such as the premature evaporation of mixing water which affects the material consistency and the shrinkage cracking which threatens its durability. The present experimental work is conducted to investigate the physical and the mechanical behaviour of cement mortar reinforced by recycled polypropylene fibres under arid conditions, at 45 °C and 30 % RH. The used polypropylene fibres are recycled from a domestic plastic waste. The tests realized in this investigation include the workability, the total shrinkage, the flexure and the compression tests. Through this investigation, the beneficial effect of recycled polypropylene fibres as reinforcement of cement mortar is well demonstrated, particularly under arid environmental conditions. The obtained results showed a substantial increase in the flow time of about 53 % in mortar reinforced by 1 % of recycled polypropylene fibres (1RPFM). It is also shown that under arid conditions, the presence of 1 % of recycled polypropylene fibres in cement mortar leads to a considerable decrease in total shrinkage of about 46 % and an increase in the flexural and compressive strength of about 24 and 26 % respectively, compared to control mortar (CM) at the age of 194 days. Overall, the used recycled polypropylene fibres have presented a high capacity to improve the different properties of cement mortar and make it a suitable composite for concreting in arid environment.

ABSTRACT. The interaction between steel fiber and surrounding cement-based matrix and concrete materials is crucial in the behavior of Steel Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (SFRC). This interaction is generally measured through a single fiber Pull-out test. Considerable research has been conducted in this field. However, the big effort has been directed to the analytical and experimental methods, whereas very limited research has been performed using the finite element method. Having an authentic numerical model, numerical parametric studies together with experiments can serve as an essential tool to enhance the understating of bond behavior. Therefore, this study attempts to numerically investigate the behavior of fiber bond in SFRC composites. The bond behavior was investigated using different approaches of modeling bond in the LS-Dyna explicit software. The validation of the finite element model was performed with the comparison of computed and experimental Pull-out force obtained from the literature. It is shown that the validation is possible for all investigated approaches and the computation results showed a good agreement in Pull-out force and relative displacement with experimental results of previous studies. Finally, the validated model is employed as a powerful tool to simulate the bond behavior of a single steel fiber embedded in a cement-based matrix.

ABSTRACT. This study focuses on numerical and statistical analyses to predict the mid-span moment capacity of RC beams strengthened with fabric reinforcement cementitious mortar (FRCM) laminate. A finite element modeling (FEM) has been built to simulate twelve RC beams strengthened with two types of FRCM, namely Polyparaphenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO) FRCM and Carbon (C) FRCM. The FE models were verified based on experimental work available in the literature. The finite element models have shown a good agreement with experimental results in terms of maximum load-carrying capacity, load-deflection curves, and concrete strain values. The numerical simulation was followed by a parametric study on 42 models using face cantered response surface methodology (RSM). Combining FEM and RSM, a novel mathematical model has been proposed to predict the mid-span moment capacity of the RC beams strengthened with FRCM. The results of the proposed model have shown optimal predictability with R2 equal 90.34%. In addition, the proposed model agreed with the ACI design procedures and the existing literature.

ABSTRACT. Doha experienced a remarkable transformation since oil and natural gas exportation began in the mid-twentieth century. Rapid urbanization and globalization ('process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide involving goods, services, data, technology, and capital') characterize this transformation. Doha expanded to accommodate significant population increases and lifestyle changes. The urban expansion was auto-centric and suburban, similar to post-war development in the United States and other western societies. Qatari citizens 'emptied' Old Doha as they moved to contemporary villas in new developments at the suburban periphery. In response, the Qatari government launched plans for Msheireb Downtown Doha. Its purpose is to attract Qataris back to Doha's historic center by providing a walkable, mixed-use urban environment promoting a new model of sustainable urbanism. The design and planning explicitly seek to become rooted in Qatari social identity while preserving cultural heritage and historic resources. Our paper investigates the urban form and function of Msheireb Downtown Doha to evaluate its success. It examines the urban morphology, including figure-ground and pedestrian sheds analysis from crucial locations and surveys of ground-level land uses, active/inactive frontages, and the pattern of building heights. The goal is to illustrate and understand the project's urban form and function logic. Based on this, we argue that Msheireb Downtown Doha does satisfy the inhabitants' desire for a downtown lifestyle. It offers a model for urban regeneration consistent with the Qatar National Vision 2030 for an advanced society, sustainable development, and a high standard of living for people.

ABSTRACT. Aesthetic control is concerned with the visual appearance of the built environment, specifically in the urban setting. The built environment aesthetics can directly influence place identity, property values and the business owners’ financial status in the area. People’s behavior in terms of choosing a place to live or do business is also affected by the locality’s aesthetics. Qatar has invested heavily in the built environment over the last two decades, which has shed light on the importance of government adopted aesthetic control measures to preserve the identity of Qatar's built form. This paper reviews the current control measures and provides some directions to adopt in the building permit process in support of Qatar’s National Master Plan 2032. The paper recommends a strategy to the Ministry of Municipality and Environment for a swift implementation of aesthetic/design control in Qatar until a fully integrated solution is adopted to align with the built environment as proposed in the Qatar National Master Plan 2032. Digital tools can foster designs that can restore the quality of compromised ecosystems. A partnership platform can be created between the building permit unit and pre-selected private design-oriented consultants. Lastly, this research initiative could be used by other countries subject to similar development dynamics as a precedent to further develop their own aesthetic control measures.

ABSTRACT. Being a developing country, Bangladesh has faced rapid growth in urbanization in the past few decades. This results in decreasing parks and other green spaces in urban areas. Rajshahi is one of the divisional districts in Bangladesh that is prone to rapid urbanization, though the urbanization rate of Rajshahi is less than the other megacities in Bangladesh. As a result, it is important to preserve the parks in Rajshahi before they are diminished. To assess the quantity and preserve the present urban green infrastructure in Rajshahi, it is necessary to identify and categorize them according to their regional characteristics. This paper aims at evaluating the urban green spaces in Rajshahi and finding out whether the existing urban green spaces are enough to meet the goal of a sustainable city. It is done by analysing the regional characteristics of urban parks and green spaces located in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, based on GIS data and categorizing them according to their physical size to determine their catchment area. Statistical data and aerial images are processed and simulated through ArcGIS software and correlated with cadastral plans for accurate identification. Explanatory factors regarding UGS loss in a specific region are also investigated using socio-economic, cultural, and geographic in order to find out the reason for UGS change. The resultant data shows that only "6.14 " m2/capita urban open spaces is available for the urban inhabitants which are insufficient for achieving sustainability goals and should be preserved in order to enhance the liveability of the city.

ABSTRACT. Qatar is a Middle Eastern country characterised by an arid climate. Key challenges in urban planning in general are uncertainties of the future, especially when it comes to water resources and specifically stormwater. While textbook of urban planning concentrates the most on social and economic factors that promote prosperity for the communities, in many arid areas the concept of planning from a climate change and specially stormwater might be looked at as the least important in the priority list of criteria required for a successful and practical urban planning. This situation poses a challenge to urban planners in general, especially with limited available standards and criteria of planning from a stormwater and climate change perspectives.

This paper intends to shed some lights on the above-mentioned challenges of planning from stormwater perspective and provide a more practical approach to urban planning from climate change perspective, and aims at providing the urban planning community with the basics of optimizing the challenge of rainfall and possible flooding in such an arid area like Qatar.

ABSTRACT. Energy efficiency in the built environment has been adopted through several initiatives depending on the context of implementation; this paper further assesses Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a toolkit designed to tackle energy-related concerns in buildings. The paper leverages energy efficiency program cases of the gulf countries’ level of BIM adoption. This case study design was qualitatively approached in which literature and authoritative contents were reviewed to ascertain the region’s adoption of the technology as a body Gulf Cooperation Council. (GCC) and independently as a country (member states). It was identified that only Saudi Arabia and the UAE have BIM tied to their energy efficiency programs, unlike other member states that have energy efficiency programs with little or no trace of BIM. The GCC management committee is therefore saddled with the responsibility of implementing BIM. Utilizing BIM for sustainability will lead to significant savings through a combination of accurate energy monitoring, immediate decision support systems, actuators, and consumption form recognition.

ABSTRACT. Inclusive design is about designing accessible spaces for individuals with different needs. It beholds the ability to affect people's behaviour in the built environment, especially People With Disability (PWDs). Inclusive design aims to remove the barriers that hinder the accessibility and interaction of PWDs within their surroundings, enabling equal opportunities and expanding the scope of their activities. Ensuring an inclusive environment is the responsibility of architects, planners, engineers and facility managers. It is essential to ensure that buildings' design and operation align with inclusive principles through regular assessments. Many comprehensive assessment tools have been developed by scholars and used in the industry. Still, when issues arise like insufficient funding, the decision-makers should be able to prioritize inclusive design criteria in a defined assessment checklist. Addressing accessibility at the building level is particularly important to provide a suitable environment that facilitates users' interaction with the built environment. This study aims to identify prioritized accessibility assessment criteria for PWDs in higher education facilities through the lens of experts and to provide justifications for selecting the highest and lowest priorities. A targeted sampling methodology was adopted for the semi-structured interviews. Findings include a list of the highest and lowest prioritized criteria, identification of criteria with significant differences, justifications for selections and a close-up look into the influence of experts' experience on the criteria rankings. Furthermore, this paper provides insight into significant inclusive design criteria for improved FM decision-making processes and the strategy for managing the challenges of inclusive design in new and existing facilities

ABSTRACT. E-scooters have become a popular mode of transportation for first and last-mile excursions in recent years. Their usage as a short-distance public transit system is commonly regarded as an efficient solution to minimise carbon emissions while also being handy for individuals on the go. The need for charging, however, has become problematic as a result of the popularity of e-scooters because it effectively renders the scooter that is presently being charged inoperable. A relatively new method being used involves swapping batteries in e-scooters rather than transferring full scooters to be recharged, reducing out-of-service time to a few minutes rather than hours. To reduce trip distances and maximise fuel economy for battery swapping operators, a system for determining the most effective path to switch the e-scooters' batteries will be required.

This paper aims to do this through the use of Tabu Search (TS) algorithm to determine the optimal number of battery swapping operators for an area and then to ascertain the most efficient routes for each operator. This method will then be compared to Simulated Annealing in order to determine which method is the most optimal for this scenario. The data used to evaluate this method was obtained from the 2019 Chicago pilot program. The results showed adapted tabu search in the total distance travelled, leading to shorter charging trips comparing to simulated annealing.

ABSTRACT. Prediction of the sediment transport in streams requires an accurate estimation of bed shear stress (for bed load) and eddy viscosity (for suspended load). In general, shallow water models employ empirical relationships to estimate the bottom shear stress. However, with the advancement of computing systems, the utilization of advanced turbulence models is getting common. In this paper, a number of model versions are reviewed based on their predictive abilities against the well-known bottom boundary layer properties in open channels and computational economy. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons have been made to infer that the choice of model versions should be based on the field application. For example, the bottom shear stress is very well predicted by the k- model whereas the cross-stream velocity profile and turbulent kinetic energy are predicted more efficiently by k- model versions. This study may be useful for researchers and practicing engineers in selecting a suitable two-equation model for calculating various bottom boundary layer properties.

ABSTRACT. Wadi Dayqah dam (WDD) is still not operating, and its operation targets are not yet fixed. Arid hydrology and the presence of new users require a new look at this dam operation plan. The updated and optimal operation plan of WDD is the central research gap about this dam. In this study, to fill this gap, Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) is used to model the system and six scenarios, including the reference target of 35 MCM per year suggested goal that considers different operation targets as well as a modification to water system configuration by the addition of an upstream dam. This model is validated and used for 37 years of historical flow. Results show that the reference scenario is less than 55%, and an annual goal of 15 MCM has a maximum of 85% supply reliability. Adding a 20 MCM upstream dam can increase reliability by 5%. It is recommended that to enhance the economic aspects of the dam, suitable energy generation schemes are studied with unique configurations, such as pumped-storage hydro, as well as studying the other sizes of upstream dams that can contribute more to water distribution and energy generation.

ABSTRACT. The dynamics of fine particle entrapment, transport, and deposition within pore systems, particularly the ability of mobile fines to impair permeability within porous media, are critical to a variety of natural and manmade phenomena, impacting oil and gas recovery, slope stability, filter capacity, and the efficiency of lab-on-chip diagnostics in medical disciplines. According to the research, clogging of pore throats in the porous media is not a random process; clogged throats, in particular, modify flow conditions and promote subsequent clogging nearby which is called dependent clogging. Over the last several decades, significant efforts have been made to identify and parameterize the role of dependent clogging in permeability reduction, with studies applying a combination of physical investigation and numerical simulation to this objective. In this work, we deploy a coupled computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method-based framework to investigate fines migration and consequent pore-throat clogging within a geologically realistic pore system extracted from an x-ray microtomographic image of a sand pack. The analysis of the simulation results revealed a spatial correlation between the clogged throats, implying that throats in close proximity became clogged dependently around the same time. Furthermore, dependent clogging was observed to be more frequent than independent clogging and it impacts system permeability more efficiently. This suggests that the distribution of clogged throats has a significant impact on the system's permeability reduction other than the total number of clogged throats

ABSTRACT. The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has been established to be responsible for the planning, design, procurement, construction, delivery and asset management of all infrastructure and public building projects in the State of Qatar such as all roads, drainage network, schools and hospitals. Considering the large number of projects with construction activities ongoing at the same time, it is a challenge to develop a unique and standardized tool for monitoring of environmental management performance of each project, each department or Ashghal wide. Being a supportive department to all other Ashghal departments, with a main role of ensuring the conformity of projects to environmental regulations and standards, Quality and Safety Department (QSD) of Ashghal has started several initiatives to improve environmental management performance of projects. This paper provides a brief information about some of those initiatives, such as a portal for monthly reporting of environmental management performance (EPMS), a unique annual award which was developed to increase awareness for sustainable practices in construction and assist in guiding minimization and/or reduction of adverse environmental impacts caused by construction projects (Ashghal Green Award); and a list of Ashghal approved third-party environmental service providers which will be used as a vendor list in all Ashghal projects. In addition, Ashghal QSD chemical and microbiological laboratories as well as mobile noise and air quality monitoring trucks serve to support projects departments to improve environmental impacts resulted from construction activities on the environmental sensitive receptors located within or nearby the project.

ABSTRACT. Wad Dafiaa Wastewater Treatment Plant, in East Nile Locality - Khartoum State, was established in 1963. The plant is designed with an operating capacity of 17,000 m3 / day. The plant mainly serves the industrial area in Khartoum North, in addition to some residential areas. The study aimed to know the characteristics of the sludge generated from the treated water in the Wad Dafiaa sewage plant. By identifying total solids, heavy metals (lead, Cadmium, and chromium), and pH, in addition to fecal and coliform bacteria. Then to find the possibility of using sludge as an agricultural fertilizer directly or after treatment, or it cannot be used. To obtain the characteristics, samples were taken from the plant and analyzed according to the standard methods used in sludge analysis. The results showed that the total solids in the sludge were (604) mg/L. Heavy elements such as lead, Cadmium, and chromium are within the permissible limit. The pH of the sample was (4.6). As for the result of the biological analysis, it was found that the total count of bacteria (uncountable) and the Coliform bacteria is greater than 18 colony. The study concluded that the results obtained from physical and chemical tests are within the permissible limits. As for the bacterial results, they are higher than the permissible limit for direct use, but it is within the limits of its use for agricultural purposes after treating the bacteria.

ABSTRACT. Crude oil, gasoline, and diesel fuel spills pollute groundwater in many coastal areas. BTEX is a hydrocarbon of concern due to its high-water solubility, which allows it to spread widely in the subsurface environment. The mobile phase of LNAPLs percolates through porous soil and accumulates above the water table. Subsurface geological, pollutant morphology, and hydrogeologic site features make natural attenuation difficult to understand. Texture and vertical spatial variability affect soil hydraulic properties and water and contaminant distribution in soil profiles. Changes in rainfall strength and frequency and increased water demand may increase groundwater level oscillations in the next century. Five sets of columns, including one soil column and one equilibrium column, were operated for 150 days. One of the columns was operated under a steady state condition (S), and four columns under transient water table condition. The stable column (S), and the Fluctuating column 1 (F1) contain homogenized soil, while the fluctuating columns 2, 3, and 4 contains heterogenous soil. ORP values at the middle of the columns varied cyclically with WTF. EC values affected greatly by fluctuation and temperature and the statistical test p-value 3.119e-10 < 0.05 implying that there are statistical differences between EC values of these columns. On the other hand, pH for the five columns were fluctuated in the same range (P-value 0.3694 > 0.05). Soil layering affects the attenuation of BTEX, as the peak concentrations for benzene occurred at second imbibition cycle for the homogeneous soil, while for the heterogeneous soil occurred between second and fourth imbibition cycles.

ABSTRACT. The removal of turbidity is a prime objective in the treatment of seawater, especially in the production of potable water. The water turbidity exists because of the colloidal particles or large-weight molecules that remain in suspension in the untreated solution. This study investigated the performance of a new gel layer for the treatment of highly turbid seawater. Based on the periodic turbidity values in the Arabian Gulf over the year, the chosen seawater samples had the turbidity values of 4.8 NTU, 76.1 NTU, and 99.7 NTU. The gel filtration layer showed promising adsorption capabilities and its physical appearance achieved a cohesive matrix form which resulted in good mechanical strength. The proposed gel filter was effective enough for the removal of turbidity from the selected seawater samples with more than 98.5% efficiency.

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the flexural performance of rectangular concrete-filled steel tubes (CFSTs) beams that are partially incorporated with demolished concrete lumps (DCLs). In total, three CFST beams were prepared and tested under flexure through a four-point bending setup. These three specimens are selected from a bigger ongoing research project that considers further parameters. The three beams varied in the presence of DCLs within the CFST section and the maximum particle size of the DCLS. The DCLs were mixed with mortar and were isolated at the center of the CFST section and surrounded by normal concrete. The flexural behavior of the CFST beams was analyzed and discussed through the use of moment versus displacement, moment versus strain, and deflected shape graphs. The test results showed that the CFST beams with partially incorporated DCLs had similar flexural behavior to the normal CFST beam. The displacement at ultimate capacity was reported to be lower for the beams with incorporated DCLs, especially the beam with the higher DCL maximum particle size. However, the displacement at yield was found to be lower for the specimen that was fully cast with normal concrete. Finally, it was observed that the failure mode was the same for all three beams.

ABSTRACT. The thermal incompatibility in transverse direction between concrete and fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) bars may cause tensile circumferential cracks within concrete under low temperatures, and consequently, the failure of concrete cover. This Paper presents a theoretical study to investigate the transverse thermal deformation of concrete beams reinforced with two overlapped FRP bars in cold regions where the climate temperature may reach -40°C. Numerical and analytical models are developed to predict the transverse thermal strains at the FRP bar/concrete interface of the concrete cover zone and the bars interaction zone and also at the external surface of concrete cover for overlapped glass FRP (GFRP) bars reinforced concrete beams under low temperature variations and having a ratio of concrete cover thickness to FRP bar diameter varied from 1.0 to 3.2. Comparisons between the results predicted from the non linear finite element model and those obtained from the analytical model in terms of transverse thermal strains are presented.

ABSTRACT. The construction industry accounts for a high percentage of global energy-related CO2 emissions (37 % in 2021 based on United Nations Environmental Programme - UNEP) leading to an increasing need for solutions to reduce aggressively the energy demand in the built environment. Previous research showed that adding natural fibers such as Palm Tree Fronds (PTF) enhances the thermal behavior of concrete but may have negative effect on its mechanical properties as it may reduce dramatically its compressive strength and hence its durability. The work conducted previously by the authors confirms the research findings for different grades of concrete. Therefore, the possibility of adding another type of waste to compensate the compressive strength of concrete was explored. This additional material was chosen based on environmental consideration and the solution of adding Ceramic Waste Powder (CWP) was adopted. According to literature review, adding CWP may enhance not only the mechanical resistance of concrete but also its workability and its resistance to segregation. In this aim, different groups of mixes are performed to obtain the optimal mix for a high strength sustainable concrete: Control mix, CWP mix where CWP was added to replace 33% of the cement mass, and (CWP+PTF) mix where CWP (33% of the cement mass) and PTF (0%, 0.5% and 1% of sand volume) were added to the mix. The results of the compressive strength at early age (1 day) showed that the best results were obtained for the (CWP + PTF) mix with 0.5 % of added PTF.

ABSTRACT. A massive urban development is recognized worldwide, resulting in an increased demand for building materials such as reinforcing steel, which is one important material in the construction industry. Due to the high cost of reinforcing steel and its scarcity in many countries, researchers leaned towards finding an alternative, less expensive, renewable and environmentally friendly material. Synthetic and natural fibers, such as glass fiber, bamboo and plam leave, had been under study to serve as reinforcing steel alternatives. This research studies the bending behavior and strength of concrete beams reinforced with bamboo and palm leaves. Six samples were prepared, three of which were reinforced with palm leaves and three with bamboo. A reference beam sample was also prepared for comparative purposes. Three point bending test was carried out and bending behavior and collapse mechanism were studied. The results showed that the use of palm leaves and bamboo as an alternative to steel reinforcement in concrete improves the beams’ structural behavior. The palm leaves and bamboo reinforced samples showed distinctly different patterns of failure.

ABSTRACT. The building industry is responsible for 40% of global CO2 emissions and 36% of global energy consumption. Therefore, it is not surprising that construction industry is motivated to embrace more environmentally friendly procedures and turning to more environmentally friendly materials and manufacturing processes. Driven by ever-stricter environmental norms and regulations, as well as the high expenses, galvanizing is considered as an affordable, environmentally friendly, and green corrosion protection method. In order to prevent corrosion and produce a tough, long-lasting surface, clean steel is coated with a layer of molten zinc during the hot-dip galvanizing process. It has the extra benefit of completely covering the steel, making it more durable than conventional coatings that just adhere chemically or mechanically. As a result, it is not only very efficient but also very environmentally friendly. A single, one-time treatment will completely coat a product's interior and exterior, giving it a coating that can shield steel and keep it from needing maintenance for more than 70 years. In this paper, galvanizing will be introduced as an efficient, affordable, and environment friendly corrosion protection method. Technical issues related to the process are presented and challenges associated with galvanizing are addressed. The experimental part includes measuring the zinc coating layer using optical microscopy. Failure cases related to galvanized structures which include bridges, bolts, and fire affected monopole are discussed, root causes were analyzed, and recommendation were provided.

ABSTRACT. Ferrocement is a modern material that is considered composite as it is made of cement mortar and tightly packed layers of wire mesh. Recent ferrocement applications include prefabricated rooftop elements, load-bearing panels, and bridge slabs. However, in various parts of the world, particularly the eastern hemisphere, numerous individuals and research groups have made significant efforts to study the engineering of ferrocement which includes tensile, compressive, impact, and fatigue strength, as well as cracking behaviour. Despite this, the shear strength of ferrocement slabs has received scant consideration. However, since ferrocement is increasingly used in structural applications, transverse shear has become a determining design factor. This paper presents the behaviour of ferrocement slabs when subjected to punching shear. Eleven square slabs with dimensions 916 mm were cast, and their thicknesses were adjusted along with the wire mesh and mortar strength. After 14 days of curing, these slabs were removed from the water tank, de-moulded, and tested. Prior to testing, the top surface of these slabs was bleached to reveal the crack pattern clearly. The slabs failed in punching instead of flexural failure and they demonstrated ductile behaviour. A comparison for the observed results for the strengths and behaviour of the slabs was made.

ABSTRACT. The depletion of natural resources is a big challenge for the sustainable manufacture of concrete. Replacing part of the natural aggregates (NA) with recycled aggregates will have a marked economic and environmental impact. The composite developed in this study is a concrete in which the natural aggregates (sand and gravel) have been substituted by recycled concrete aggregates with the following percentages: 0%; 15%; 30%; 50% and 100% of gravel or sand volume. Seven different concrete mixes were prepared. This experimental study consisted, after having characterized all the used materials and evaluated the physical and mechanical properties of the concrete, to make small-scale reinforced concrete beams containing recycled concrete aggregates and having a dimension of 10x15x140 cm. These beams were subjected to four-point bending test. Deflection, strains and crack width were recorded. The aim is to investigate the influence of recycled aggregates on the flexural behavior of these beams compared to a reinforced concrete control beam containing natural aggregates. The obtained results show that the behavior of recycled concrete aggregate beams is similar to that of conventional reinforced concrete beams. The incorporated recycled aggregates did not have a great influence on the flexural bearing capacity of the tested beams. A slight reduction occurs due to the decrease in the compressive strength of concrete.