Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities

Populations in United States coastal regions have been steadily increasing over time. With this increased populous comes increased exposure to natural hazards, such as hurricanes, with the resulting coastal inundation and tsunamis. During the past two decades, several notable hurricanes have made landfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States, resulting in billions of dollars in damage and loss of human life. This paper presents the method and results of a study that focused on developing a mechanistic assembly based vulnerability (ABV) procedure that combines structural and nonstructural damage vulnerabilities to quantify damage to residential structures as a result of hurricanes. An example is presented that numerically computes the probability of loss for various surge (flood) levels, rainfall intensities, and wind velocities. The methodology presented in this paper will help enable designers and/or planners to assess the change in anticipated losses as a result of one or more mitigation strategies. It is envisioned that this method can integrate directly into performance-based design of wood-frame buildings dyring hurricanes by providing a loss analysis and estimation framework.

An experimental program has been carried out to study the performance of partially grouted, nominally reinforced (PG-NR) concrete block structural walls under in-plane seismic loading on a shake table. Five reduced-scale structural walls were constructed and tested under scaled versions of the 1940 El Centro, California earthquake, using its N-S component record with a constant axial compression load that represented a single-story building. The test walls were grouped into three categories. Type I and III walls had reinforcement at the wall end cells only, with vertical reinforcement ratios of 0.07 and 0.12%, respectively, based on the gross cross-sectional area of the walls. Type II walls were similar to Type I walls, but with an additional reinforcement bar located midlength of the wall with a vertical reinforcement ratio of 0.10%, also based on the gross cross-sectional area of the wall. The experimental results were documented and discussed with respect to wall lateral load capacity, stiffness degradation, period shift, displacement ductility levels attained, and relevant seismic-force reduction factors. The test results showed that PG-NR masonry walls can comprise a ductile seismic force-resisting system. Subsequently, PG-NR masonry walls have the potential to bridge the gap between unreinforced and reinforced masonry systems. The use of PG-NR masonry also results in a reduced cost compared with traditional reinforced masonry systems used in seismic zones that are typically fully grouted within the plastic hinge zones and require higher reinforcement ratios.

This paper describes the full-scale experimental evaluation of the out-of-plane flexural response of fully grouted RC masonry walls subjected to uniform static pressure and to dynamic pressure resulting from an explosion. The investigation was performed as part of a larger effort to improve the design methodologies for reinforced masonry subjected to blast loading. The masonry walls were non-load-bearing and vertically spanning, which represents a significant amount of common construction in the United States. Both single-wythe and veneer wall sections were evaluated. Two types of concrete masonry units were used, i.e., conventional and A-block concrete masonry units. The results of the program provide a better understanding of the ultimate dynamic capacities and ductility of reinforced masonry walls—both single-wythe and veneer walls—which will ultimately help engineers produce designs that are safer and more economical.

Successful waterproofing of concrete foundations prevents the degradation of environmental and health conditions and of building materials used in belowground stories and extends the service life of concrete constructions. However, despite the important role of waterproofing systems for concrete foundations and the fact that repairing them is either impractical or prohibitively expensive, there is very little useful information or discussion on membrane properties and the detailing required for a durable, watertight design. This paper presents a discussion of the requirements of waterproofing membranes and the auxiliary components used in waterproofing systems for concrete footings, mat-slabs, and pile foundations, along with a schematic representation of suggested systems and their detailing. Flexibility and mechanical resistance are particularly important and reasonably well-documented properties of buried waterproofing membranes, but knowledge of their long-term durability presently relies mostly on empirical data. The cost analysis of some of the suggested waterproofing systems revealed significant differences that, along with the other data presented, should aid building designers and contractors with the design and installation of effective waterproofing solutions for concrete foundations.

In general, the information obtained using a structural condition assessment is used for making decisions about repair needs, but the obtained information does not specify the repair urgency of deteriorating RC structures. Decisions about urgency of repair are usually made by professionals involved in structural condition assessment and hence are typically subjective. Moreover, comparisons between decisions made for several structures become difficult and inconsistent, primarily due to the lack of clearly defined relations between various condition assessment data and associated repair urgency. This paper proposes an innovative model to obtain repair urgency using the information obtained through various condition assessment techniques. The proposed model utilizes a consistent repair priority scale to categorize various types of condition assessment data. For defined categorizations, a normalized condition index function is assigned as a measure of relative importance of repair urgency. Aggregation rules are then discussed, and combined repair urgencies are subsequently computed to achieve rational prioritization. A detailed case study is presented to demonstrate the application of the proposed model.

Sustainability of buildings is one of the main aims in the construction industry. In achieving sustainability, maintenance of buildings and its facilities, which include planning, implementation, and outcome of maintenance activities, becomes an important criterion. This paper aims to identify the significant characteristics of scheduled and condition-based maintenance in office buildings through reviews of relevant literature and a questionnaire survey. The significance of the characteristics was identified through ranking analysis. A semistructured interview was conducted to obtain further details on the characteristics and measures to enhance efficiency of the characteristics. The findings reveal that the dominant characteristics for scheduled maintenance include quality of spare part and material, the level of labor skill and knowledge, and budget allocation for maintenance labor, whereas for condition-based maintenance, the dominant characteristics are the level of manager skill and knowledge, reliability of maintenance data, and financial allocation for the maintenance manager. The study concludes that these dominant characteristics should be considered in the implementation of maintenance strategies.

Financial resources available for the maintenance and rehabilitation of infrastructure are always limited, creating a need for efficient resources management and the ability to predict maintenance actions throughout the infrastructure’s service life. In the context of bridge management, management systems have been developed and are already implemented around the world. Because of a much larger variety of maintenance problems and a reduced number of buildings per owner, building management systems are still quite rare. In fact, efficient methods for service life prediction of building materials still need to be developed. This paper presents a service life prediction method based on the statistical analysis of anomalies obtained from the inspection of in-service buildings and the study of the corresponding degradation curves leading to deterministic models. The method was applied to the prediction of stain evolution in old buildings’ rendered facades in Portugal (Lisbon) caused by the collection of dirt (it does not include deterioration, discoloration, flaking, or peeling paint), an anomaly that leads to periodic painting or cleaning of the facade. The influence of four construction/environment degradation factors on the evolution of stains over time is also analyzed.

Several affordable housing programs were introduced by the government of Malaysia to achieve the objectives of several plans; however, the success of the housing programs was reduced because of reported quality problems and defects. This research aims to identify the types of defects in affordable housing and to determine what is causing the defects, so that solutions may be devised to raise the quality of housing stock in Malaysia. A questionnaire survey was distributed to 310 residents in affordable housing, located in four different regions of Klang Valley, Malaysia. The most commonly occurring defects in affordable housing were leaking pipes, total failure of water supply systems, cracking in concrete walls, faulty door knobs, and concrete walls dampness. This suggests that improvements in workmanship, use of superior materials, and changes to more customer-oriented supervision and monitoring may reduce the incidence of defects. Local conditions, such as heavy rainfall, may influence dampness, and may reduce the generalizability of findings to other areas with different weather patterns. The findings have been reported to the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia to improve the quality of affordable housing.

Building-performance assessment is receiving increased attention within the building industry because of the European Union’s (EU’s) targets to improve energy efficiency and to increase the use of renewable energy technologies. In this context, there is great emphasis placed on the existing building stock as having a huge environmental impact. The continuous assessment of the energy performance of existing buildings comes into focus to ensure the intended performance and operation during the building life cycle. This paper introduces the Energy Performance Integration in Public Corporate Real Estate Management (EPI-CREM) initiative that aims to improve the energy performance and rational use of energy across the public building stock in Europe by embedding energy-saving measures into the existing public corporate real estate management (REM) processes. To this end, EPI-CREM focuses on the integration of energy-improving actions into the long-term maintenance plans of existing buildings. In this paper, the EPI-CREM method and supporting tools are discussed from a functional point of view, followed by an evaluation of the method based on the results of its implementation on pilot buildings in three participating EU countries.

The organizational and project-related practices adopted by design firms can influence the nature and ability of people to perform their tasks. In recognition of such influences, a structured survey questionnaire was used to determine the key factors contributing to design error costs in 139 Australian construction projects. Using stepwise multiple regressions, the significant organizational and project-related variables influencing design error costs are determined. The analysis revealed that the mean design error costs for the sample projects were 14.2% of the original contract value. Significant organizational and project factors influencing design error included inadequate training for employees and unrealistic design and documentation schedules required by clients. From the findings, key strategies for reducing design errors that are attributable to organization and project-related practices are identified.

This paper presents the findings of a research program that was conducted to evaluate the probability of failure of high-mast illumination poles (HMIPs) with preexisting cracks at the pole-to-base plate connection detail. A simplified reliability-based analysis framework is presented to evaluate the safe service life of the cracked HMIPs. Vibrations induced by both vortex shedding and natural wind gusts are considered. The influence of different parameters is assessed, including pole geometry, pole location, terrain effects, local wind characteristics, and the assumed level of fatigue degradation attributable to the presence of a preexisting crack. The safe service lives of different standard HMIP designs that are commonly used by the Texas DOT are calculated. The results indicate that the degradation of the poles is predominantly attributable to vortex shedding–induced vibrations in the second and third vibration modes. The findings also demonstrate that the safe service life of a HMIP depends primarily on the effective stress range at the base of the pole attributable to wind-loading effects.

In most countries, the maximum dimensions and weights of vehicles that circulate on national roads and highways are legally regulated. However, several economic activities imply the circulation of exceptional vehicles or overloads, raising concerns not only about road surface deterioration but also about the structural safety of the bridges that are to be crossed. In a previous publication, the authors proposed a methodology for permit checking of vehicular overloads applicable to girder bridge decks that involves a comparison of code design-load effects with those resulting from the special vehicle being analyzed. The software developed therein [Bridge Investigation for Special Trucks (BIST)] performs a structural safety analysis of the bridges that are to be crossed, providing simplified safety factors associated with a particular overload, based on which the permit decision is made. This paper presents an update of the BIST software that extends the permit-checking methodology to underpass arch bridges. The first part of the paper describes the general methodology of BIST and its application to RC underpass arch bridges. Extension of the methodology involved the development of two- and three-dimensional finite-element (FE) models of a wide range of arch underpasses that were validated and calibrated based on full-scale experimental tests and the assumption of a set of proper conservative simplifications. The second part of the paper presents a study carried out to evaluate the conservativeness and accuracy of the method proposed by comparing the safety factors provided by BIST with those obtained from numerical models of real arch underpasses subjected to a wide range of real vehicular overloads. The safety factors provided by the BIST software were always conservative and reasonably accurate, thereby validating the methodology proposed and enabling fast, economical, and safe permit decision making.

Probabilistic deterioration models such as state-based and time-based models are only capable of predicting future bridge-condition ratings when a sufficient amount of condition data and reasonable data distribution are available. However, such are usually difficult to acquire from limited bridge-inspection records. As a result, these probabilistic models cannot guarantee reliable long-term prediction for each of the bridge elements concerned. To minimize this shortcoming, this paper proposes an advanced integrated method to construct workable transition probabilities for predicting long-term bridge performance. A selection process within this method automatically chooses a suitable prediction procedure for a given situation in terms of available inspection data. The backward prediction model (BPM) is also incorporated to effectively predict the bridge performance when sufficient inspection data are unavailable. Four different situations in regard to the available inspection data are predefined in this study to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed integrated method. The outcomes show that the method can help develop an effective prediction model for various situations in terms of the quantity and distribution of available condition-rating data.

On the morning of December 13, 2000, all three steel girders in a three-girder approach span of the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, fractured. Two of the three girders had a fracture propagate completely through the 3.05-m-deep girders. The bridge was adequately designed and fabricated according to existing code specifications. The failure was caused by the geometric arrangement of the lateral bracing connection into the web of the girders that created a highly constrained condition and prevented yielding of the girder web when overloaded (a situation known as constraint-induced fracture). Other brittle fractures had been observed in steel bridges and ship structures in the United States, which also resulted from this condition. However, the Hoan Bridge attracted more publicity as it was near collapse. The failure of this bridge can serve as a case study for students and professionals. This paper describes the failure and its causes and suggests engineering lessons to be learned. The unique details of the failure offer the opportunity to promote critical thinking and problem solving at levels appropriate to undergraduate students, graduate students, and practitioners, through investigating the cause of failure, emphasizing the lessons learned, and highlighting the resulting change to engineering practice through modifications to code provisions.

A great number of masonry arch bridges are still in service in Europe, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. Assessing the capacity of these historical structures is an important problem both for safety and preservation purposes. This paper addresses the assessment of the Titus Tunnel Bridge, a single-span, Roman stone arch pedestrian bridge (Common Era 70) located in Antakya, Turkey, using analytical and numerical techniques. The bridge is located in an active seismic zone and has survived several major earthquakes. Therefore, it is important to understand the Bridge’s subtle features that have helped the structure survive for the last two millennia. Furthermore, being a single-span semicircular stone arch, the bridge exemplifies the main construction blocks of several masonry bridges around the world. First, the analytical techniques, i.e., Heyman’s geometrical factor of safety and the mechanism method, are used to assess the capacity of the bridge under simple loading conditions and to validate the finite-element (FE) models. Then, discrete FE modeling with explicit time integration is used to investigate the arch behavior under both gravity and earthquake loading conditions. It is observed that the Titus Tunnel Bridge has a significant margin of safety against collapse, which also explains the approximately 2,000-year lifetime of the structure. The results are also used to provide estimates on the maximum expected ground motions in the region using a precarious rocks analogy.

Many of the masonry arch bridges in the network of railway bridge stock belong to the civil engineering heritage of the railways. Therefore, their maintenance and management require careful consideration. An effective procedure for performance evaluation should promote solutions that are directed toward preservation and restoration of arch bridges by evaluating their existing structural capacity. In this paper, experimental methodologies adopted for the performance evaluation of a stone masonry–arch railway bridge are presented. One of the primary objectives of the current study was to evaluate the longitudinal force exerted on the bridge due to increased axle loads of freight wagons. An innovative technique using a flat jack was implemented for the evaluation of longitudinal stress due to increased axle load. Three-dimensional numerical modeling and analysis was carried out to identify the critical locations for fixing the flat jacks for evaluation of live-load stresses. A special instrumentation scheme with which very low strain can be measured was adopted for the evaluation of pier strains. From the field study, the maximum deflection under dynamic test conditions was found to be 0.465 mm and this is within the permissible limit. From the dynamic response measured using the flat jack, the maximum longitudinal stress in the arch due to tractive effort was approximately 0.3 MPa. It has been evaluated that the maximum longitudinal force (per rail) at rail level is 12.31T in the instrumented span. The responses measured from the bridge are within permissible limits. The methodology developed and implemented for the performance evaluation of arch bridges would pave the way for undertaking better and timely maintenance strategies.

This paper presents the results and conclusions of field tests under service loads that were conducted on a corrugated steel plate (CSP) railway culvert. Inductive gauges, extensometers, and accelerometers were used to monitor displacements, strains, and accelerations of this culvert, respectively. The maximum displacement and strain of the CSP railway culvert was $\text{−}0.61\times {10}^{-3}\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{m}$ and $\text{−}54\times {10}^{-6}$, respectively. The biggest displacements and strains were recorded at the culvert crown and quarter points, respectively. The maximum culvert and ballast accelerations were equal to $0.67\hspace{0.17em}\text{and}\hspace{0.17em}1.23\hspace{0.17em}{\text{m/s}}^2$, respectively, and they did not exceed the Eurocode limit of $3.5\hspace{0.17em}{\text{m/s}}^2$. On the basis of the measured displacements, a discrete Fourier transform method was implemented to determine the frequencies of this culvert. The natural frequencies of the culvert were identified (using the ambient vibration test), and they corresponded to approximately two first dominant frequencies extracted from the forced vibration tests. The damping ratios were about 9% (using the ambient vibration test) and 50% (the forced vibration test). The axial thrusts and bending moments of the culvert were calculated based on the measured strains and by using the Sundquist-Pettersson method. The expected internal forces were much higher than those calculated on the basis of the experimental data. The distribution of axial thrusts and bending moments at the circumferential direction of the culvert is strongly asymmetric, which demonstrates the uneven distribution of loads. This is contrary to the available (American and Australian) standards in which the railway load is assumed as a uniform pressure at the level of the culvert crown. Conclusions drawn from the tests can be helpful in the assessment of the dynamic behavior of such CSP culverts.

The mechanical behaviors of secant pile walls under lateral loading are complex with regard to their irregular cross sections and bonding quality of secant faces. A comprehensive model test was designed and conducted to investigate the stress states and failure modes of secant faces, the bearing capacities, and the flexural rigidity of secant pile walls under various lateral loading conditions. The model test consisted of three types of tests (shear, tension, and bending). All the tests accounted for the most sensitive factor affecting the bonding quality of secant faces [i.e., time interval of bonding (TIB)]. The commonly used secant pile wall of plain-reinforced-plain (PRP) type, with RC piles and plain concrete piles (PCPs) arranged alternatively, was chosen for the model test. Based on the interpretation of the test data, the primary findings were obtained as follows: (1) the failure modes of secant pile walls were governed by the bonding quality of secant faces, which depended on TIB; (2) the shear capacities of secant pile walls should be determined in accordance with the failure modes of secant faces; (3) secant faces in tension were more prone to damage than in shear and thus should be avoided in the design of secant pile walls; (4) the contribution of PCPs to the overall bending capacity of the secant pile walls was significant and should be considered in design to fully mobilize the potential bearing capacity of secant pile walls; and (5) stable rigidity of secant pile walls was achieved at the sum of individual rigidities of secant piles in the bending test, thus showing the contribution of PCPs to the rigidity of secant pile walls.

Existing road pavement specifications require that contractors meet only certain material and construction conditions regardless of pavement life. However, performance-based warranty specifications guarantee preservation of the product and designate responsibility for repair of defects to contractors. The warranty contracts and specifications for pavements used since the 1960s in Europe have been adopted in several states of the United States based on state-specific needs, and they have also been used in construction projects. In this study, the performance criteria of warranty specifications in Europe and the United States were investigated to develop performance criteria appropriate for Korea. Automated pavement survey equipment was used to inspect and evaluate indicators of pavement performance with regard to certain performance criteria. Each area of pavement was divided into 2-km sections, which were then subdivided into four 500-m segments. Among the numerous possible indicators, cracking, rutting, international roughness index (IRI), and surface defects (e.g., raveling, bleeding, and microcracking) were selected as performance indicators of asphalt pavement, whereas cracking, IRI, spalling, and D-cracking were selected for concrete pavement. Pavement management system (PMS) data from expressways and national highways were collected and analyzed at a 95th percentile confidence level to determine threshold values of the performance indicators. Warranty periods were also determined for newly constructed asphalt and concrete pavements, as well as asphalt overlay pavement. Remedial actions for the performance indicators were also suggested. Performance indicators and threshold values were evaluated by examining the asphalt overlay sections of national highways constructed between 2005 and 2007. As a result, conclusions were drawn about reasonable performance criteria appropriate for Korea.

Survival model with Weibull hazard function was used to evaluate the influence of different factors on the crack initiation of resurfaced asphalt pavement. Data from Specific Pavement Study 5 experiments of the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) program were used to conduct the analysis. The initiation time of four types of cracks including alligator (fatigue) crack, longitudinal crack on wheel path, non–wheel path longitudinal crack, and transverse crack was evaluated. Analyzed factors include overlay thickness, total pavement thickness, pretreatment pavement serviceability, traffic volume, freeze index, mixture [whether reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is used], and whether milling is performed before overlay. It was found that traffic level was a significant factor for all four types of cracks. High traffic level accelerated the initiation of cracking. Thick overlay delayed the initiation of cracking except for the non–wheel path longitudinal crack, which is mainly caused by poor construction. Total pavement thickness only retarded the initiation of wheel path longitudinal cracking. Incorporating 30% RAP in the overlay accelerated the initiation of early-age fatigue cracking; however, it was not a significant cause for severe fatigue cracking. Severe freeze-thaw conditions accelerated the occurrence of non–wheel path longitudinal and transverse cracks; milling before overlay significantly retarded the occurrence of the two types of cracks.

Roofs covering buildings in the rural areas in Ahar and Varzaghan regions, prior to the August 11, 2012, twin earthquakes, can be categorized into three main groups: flat roofs composed of wooden beams together with a plaster of straw-mud/clay mixture, traditional masonry dome or vault, and rarely, a steel I-beam jack-arch system. Similar to other earthquakes such as the 2003 Bam, Iran, earthquake, the collapse of nonengineered masonry roofs and floor slabs during the earthquakes was the most important factor causing a large number of fatalities. The observed behavior and the performance of the first group of roofs after the earthquakes are demonstrated here, some matters of interest are discussed, and some aspects of the existing construction methods in rural areas are assessed. The poor seismic performance of traditional building roofs made of wooden beams and mud is noted.