Advances in Civil Engineering
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Acceptance rate19%
Submission to final decision113 days
Acceptance to publication22 days
CiteScore3.400
Journal Citation Indicator0.370
Impact Factor1.8

Long-Term Performance and Durability of Heat-Treated Alkali-Activated Slag Mortar Containing Silica Fume

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 Journal profile

Advances in Civil Engineering publishes original research articles as well as review articles in all areas of civil engineering. The journal welcomes submissions across a range of disciplines, and publishes both theoretical and practical studies.

 Editor spotlight

Chief Editor, Professor Vipulanandan, is based at the University of Houston and his current research interests are in geotechnical, materials and geoenvironmental engineering.

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We currently have a number of Special Issues open for submission. Special Issues highlight emerging areas of research within a field, or provide a venue for a deeper investigation into an existing research area.

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Research Article

Goaf Site Stability Detection in the Overlap Area of Coal Mining Subsidence and Urban Construction

The contradiction between coal mining and urban construction in coal resource-based cities is prominent, which greatly limits the sustainable development of these cities. Pan’an New City is a key mining-induced subsidence area in Xuzhou City, which presents significant challenges to the construction of the new city. Therefore, in order to ensure the safe construction of Pan’an New City, the residual deformation and stability of the goaf sites must be monitored and evaluated. Under such background, based on the measured leveling data of the mining-induced surface deformation in a coal mine near Pan’an New City, this paper first analyzed the accuracy of InSAR monitoring of surface deformation in coal mining subsidence area by SBAS-InSAR technology. Then, the SBAS-InSAR technology was used to monitor the surface subsidence rate and cumulative subsidence in the coal mining subsidence area of Pan’an New City, based on the 29 scene SAR data during Dec. 2020 and Jan. 2022. The results showed that the goaf site in the north and northwest of Pan’an New City is unstable, while the other areas are stable. Finally, according to the monitoring results, the suggestions have been put forward for the construction of Pan’an New Town on the goaf site. The research results have important theoretical and practical significance for the reuse of goaf sites in Pan’an New City and similar areas in Xuzhou.

Research Article

Optimal Mix Design and Mechanical Properties of Rapid-Hardening Foam Concrete

This paper conducts compressive strength tests on foam concrete prepared under four factors and three levels through the design of orthogonal experiments. It delves into the phase change rules of the load–displacement curves obtained under various mix proportions. Furthermore, based on the 1-day and 3-day compressive strength values, the study explores different mix proportion results using range analysis and variance analysis methods, thereby determining the optimal mix proportion that can satisfy the maximum 1-day and 3-day compressive strength values. The results indicate that the compression process of rapid-hardening foam concrete includes four stages: initial compaction stage, elastic stage, yielding stage, and plateau stage, with each stage having different causes. Additionally, the sensitivity sequence of factors affecting the 1-day and 3-day compressive strength of rapid-hardening foam concrete is respectively rapid sulfoaluminate cement (α) > water-reducing agent content (δ) > foam content (β) > water-cement ratio (γ) and rapid sulfoaluminate cement (α) > water-cement ratio (γ) > foam content (β) > water-reducing agent content (δ). With 100% sulfoaluminate cement content, the 1-day and 3-day compressive strength values can reach 1.7054 and 2.5471 MPa, respectively, which are 13 times and 7 times the minimum values of 1-day and 3-day compressive strength under other admixtures. The analysis shows that the content of rapid sulfoaluminate cement has the most significant effect on the 1-day and 3-day compressive strength of rapid-hardening foam concrete, with foam content having the least impact on 1-day compressive strength and water-reducing agent content having the least impact on 3-day compressive strength. By integrating range analysis and variance analysis, the optimal mix proportion that simultaneously satisfies the maximum 1-day and 3-day compressive strength is determined to be 100% content of rapid-hardening sulfoaluminate cement, 4% foam content, 0.55% cement ratio, and 0.12% admixture content. Overall, this study provides theoretical support for the research and development of new rapid-hardening foam concrete materials and has significant practical implications for the emergency repair and construction of infrastructure projects.

Research Article

Development of a Performance Assessment Model for Contractors in Saudi Arabian Construction Projects

Saudi Arabia leads the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in the construction industry, with 63% of the region’s future projects and $1.4 trillion in building and transportation projects. Previous studies have shown that 60% of construction projects are behind the schedule. One of the reasons behind this delay is the inappropriate selection of contractors for construction projects; therefore, the development of a contractor performance assessment model is needed for construction projects in Saudi Arabia. The proposed model includes the major key performance indicators (KPIs) used to measure contractors’ performance in construction projects. Afterward, a questionnaire is conducted with construction professionals to recommend the important KPIs to consider while developing the model. The analytic hierarchy process decision-making technique is applied for assessing relative priorities among the identified KPIs based on expert or decision-maker consensus. The results show that the time category is the most important in selecting the best contractor, emphasizing the significance of timely project completion.

Research Article

Real-Time Quantitative Evaluation on the Longitudinal Slip Performance of Spherical Steel Bearings of Long-Span Bridges

Spherical steel bearings play an important role in the normal longitudinal expansion of the main girders of long-span bridges. With the increase in service time, the wear damage will deteriorate the longitudinal slip performance of spherical steel bearings. In this research, a method of real-time quantitative evaluation on longitudinal slip performance is proposed through monitoring data analysis, correlation analysis, damage evaluation analysis, and experiment data analysis. Monitoring data analysis shows that the temperature field has a good linear relationship with longitudinal displacement. Correlation analysis shows that this relationship is well described by a time-varying multiple linear regression model. Furthermore, bearing friction is used as an index for real-time quantitative evaluation, and a large value of bearing friction indicates serious damage. An evaluation model considering the influence of temperature field and bearing frictions is proposed. The time-varying values of bearing frictions are calculated through Kalman filtering analysis. Experimental results show that the maximum evaluation error of this method is less than 5%, verifying that the proposed method is feasible for real-time quantitative evaluation on the longitudinal slip performance of bridge bearings.

Research Article

Construction Method and Process Optimization of Prestress Reverse Tensioning for Large-Span Bidirectional Suspension Steel Roof Structures

For medium and small-scale steel structure stadiums, in order to minimize the impact of the construction process on the structural state, a prestressing construction process tailored to medium and small stadiums is proposed, taking full advantage of the inherent elastic deformation range of steel structures. The main steps of the process involve the construction of the main truss first. After the main truss construction is completed, it is lowered to a certain position within its elastic range using cables. The roof grid is then connected to the main truss. Once all connections are completed, the cable tension is gradually released. After the cable tension is released, the main truss exhibits a certain degree of rebound. During the rebound process, the roof grid forms a prestressed structure, ensuring stability and integrity between the main truss and the roof. Through numerical simulation, process analysis is conducted on this construction process, and the optimal construction scheme is proposed.

Research Article

Experimental Study on Dynamic Tensile Mechanical Behavior and Fracture Mechanical Characteristics of Sandstone with a Single Prefabricated Fissure

The structural stability of engineering rock mass under dynamic disturbance is directly associated with the fracture mechanics properties in engineering practice. Fully understanding the rock’s fracture mechanical behavior and crack evolution caused by stress concentration at the crack tip in engineering rock mass under dynamic load can offer useful insight into the rock’s dynamic fracture mechanism. A dynamic test using split-Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test system was performed on a single prefabricated fissure sandstone centrally cracked Brazilian disk (CCBD) specimens. Based on the theory of fracture mechanics and one-dimensional stress wave theory, the dynamic crack initiation criterion of CCBD specimen is proposed, and the regression model of sandstone’s dynamic fracture toughness under the coupling effect of fissure angle and strain rate is established by using response surface methodology (RSM). The influence of strain rate and fissure angle on stress wave characteristics, dynamic tensile mechanical behavior, and fracture mechanics characteristic was investigated in this study. The findings demonstrate that: (1) The fissure angle plays a pivotal role in determining the failure mode of sandstone. As the fissure angle increases, three distinct failure modes emerge in the sandstone specimens, while variations in strain rate have minimal impact on the fracture mode of these specimens. (2) Alterations in the fissure angle result in changes to the waveform of transmitted waves. When the fissure angle is below 30°, the transmitted wave exhibits “double peak” characteristics; when it exceeds 30°, a “single peak” waveform is observed. This phenomenon can be attributed to diffraction principles governing incident waves. (3) When the impact pressure is 0.2 MPa, the peak load initially exhibits an increase followed by a decrease, with the peak load reaching its maximum at a fracture angle of 60°; when the impact pressures are 0.3 and 0.5 MPa, there exists a negative correlation between the peak load and the fissure angle. (4) The influence of strain rate on sandstone’s fracture resistance is predominant, with alterations in fissure angle exerting an auxiliary effect on this property. The research results can provide a theoretical and experimental basis for dynamic disaster prevention in urban underground space.

Advances in Civil Engineering
 Journal metrics
See full report
Acceptance rate19%
Submission to final decision113 days
Acceptance to publication22 days
CiteScore3.400
Journal Citation Indicator0.370
Impact Factor1.8
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