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Search results for: SOIL QUALITY
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Geotechnical Aspects of Dike Construction Using Soil-Ash Composites
PublicationAn analysis of using of anthropogenic materials, mainly ashes from Coal Combustion Products (CCP), for dike construction is shown. Perspectives of anthropogenic materials application in geotechnical engineering and their advantages in sense of the carbon dioxide reduction are discussed. According to regulations of Kioto Protocol 2005 and EU agreement “Energy Roadmap 2050” recycled materials have higher usage priority than natural...
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Probabilistic estimation of diverse soil condition impact on vertical axis tank deformation
PublicationThe calculations of fuel tanks should take into account the geometric imperfections of the structure as well as the variability of the material parameters of the foundation. The deformation of the tank shell can have a significant impact on the limit state of the structure and its operating conditions. The paper presents a probabilistic analysis of a vertical-axis, floating-roof cylindrical shell of a tank with a capacity of 50000...
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A mixture of cellulose production waste with municipal sewage as new material for an ecological management of wastes
PublicationChemical contaminants present in cellulose production waste and municipal sewage sludge condition the necessity to treat these wastes before they are introduced into the environment. Environmental use of the these wastes appears to be justified owing to the content of organic substances as well as the considerable fertilising value. The aim of the study was to assess chemical composition and ecotoxicity of cellulose production...
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Application of Passive Samplers in Monitoring of Organic Constituents of Air
PublicationThe principles of passive dosimetry, which has been known for over 100 years, are finding an ever increasing use in analytical practice and are being used as a convenient technique for isolation and enrichment of analytes from various environmental media. Due to its simplicity, a variety of designs, as well as the possibility of using a number of different final determination techniques, passive dosimetry has been applied in...
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Zastosowanie mieszania wgłębnego i iniekcji strumieniowej do wzmocnienia podłoża pod budynkiem basenu.
PublicationPrzedstawiono jeden z pierwszych przykładów zastosowania w Europie nowoczesnej technologii wgłębnego mieszania gruntu na mokro (ang. wet Deep Soil Mixing) w celu posadowienia budynku basenu na uwarstwionym podłożu zawierającym grunt organiczny. Technologia DSM, wprowadzona w Polsce przez firmę Keller, polega na mechanicznym mieszaniu in situ gruntu z zaczynem cementowym i pozwala na formowanie w gruncie kolumn z cementogruntu w...
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Report of Eurocode 7 application for pile foundation design in Poland
PublicationThe EC7 rules of geotechnical design are in use in Poland for several years, even though there is no National annex. With regard to pile foundations, there are valid EC7 recommendations concerning design approaches, load partial coefficients, correlation coefficients and capacity partial coefficients. Polish designers can be quite flexible when it comes to choose a method for static, bearing capacity and settlement calculations....
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NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF CRATER CREATING PROCESS IN DYNAMIC REPLACEMENT METHOD BY SMOOTH PARTICLE HYDRODYNAMICS
PublicationA theoretical base of SPH method, including the governing equations, discussion of importance of the smoothing function length, contact formulation, boundary treatment and finally utilization in hydrocode simulations are presented. An application of SPH to a real case of large penetrations (crater creating) into the soil caused by falling mass in Dynamic Replacement Method is discussed. An influence of particles spacing on method...
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Pylon foundation of a cable stayed bridge at the motorway ring road of Wrocław
PublicationThe largest bridge of the motorway ring road of Wroclaw is a cable stayed bridge over the Odra river near Rędzin. Due to hydrogeological conditions of the ground it was not convenient to use standard bored piles of high length. Instead shorter piles were applied with additional improvement by cement injections at the pile toes. This decision was possible by extending ground investigation program and application of numerical modeling...
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The Use of Vegetables in the Biomonitoring of Cadmium and Lead Pollution in the Environment
PublicationLead and cadmium emitted from various anthropogenic sources have the ability to accumulate in tissues of living organisms. The phenomenon of accumulation of metals in the body is harmful and undesirable. On the other hand, the ability of plants to accumulate heavy metals from the individual elements of the environment has been used in biomonitoring of pollution. Leaf and root of vegetables have particular predisposition for accumulating...
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The importance and availability of marine certified reference materials
PublicationTraceability and reliable results are the two pillars of analytical methods; certified reference materials (CRMs) meet this requirement. ISO 17034:2016 credentials provide brief information on general requirements for the competence of Reference Material Producers (RMPs). The different types of CRMs have been produced in recent years for chemical analysis in food, water, soil, and sediment matrices in recent years. This review...
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A new cold-active β-galactosidase from Arthrobacter sp. S3* - gene cloning, overexpression, purification and properties
PublicationA psychrotrophic bacterium producing a cold-active β-galactosidase was isolated from Spitsbergen soil and classified as Arthrobacter sp. S3*. The gene encoding β-galactosidase was isolated from the genomic DNA library, sequenced, cloned, expressed in Escherichia coli, purified by ion exchange chromatography and characterized. The Arthrobaster sp. S3* β-galactosidase is a homotrimeric enzyme composed of 74,4 kDa subunits. It is...
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Preliminary estimation of groundwater recharge on Brda river outwash plain
PublicationEstimation of groundwater recharge is one of the most challenging subjects in hydrogeology. It is a critical factor influencing the pollution migration, assessment of aquifer vulnerability to contamination, small-scale groundwater budget calculation, modeling of nutrient cycling and detailed flow path calculations. In Poland an infiltration rate method is widely used, which depends on a system of rate coefficients referring to...
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Elastic wave propapagation in diagnostics of self-drilling system of grouted anchors
PublicationThe paper presents an experimental investigation of elastic wave propagation in a self-drilling hollow bar system, which is commonly used in geotechnical industry as the element of grouted ground anchors and soil nails. The single self-drilling hollow bar and self-drilling system of two bars connected by a coupler were considered. Longitudinal waves were excited at one end of the bar and registered at both ends, by means of PZT...
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Large deformation finite element analysis of undrained pile installation
PublicationIn this paper, a numerical undrained analysis of pile jacking into the subsoil using Abaqus software suit has been presented. Two different approaches, including traditional Finite Element Method (FEM) and Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) formulation, were tested. In the first method, the soil was modelled as a two-phase medium and effective stress analysis was performed. In the second one (ALE), a single-phase medium was assumed...
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Interaction of Novel Ionic Liquids with Soils
PublicationWith the constant development of new ionic liquids, the understanding of the chemical fate of these compounds also needs to be updated. To this effect, in this contribution, the interaction of a number of novel ionic liquids with soils was determined. Therefore, three novel headgroups (ammonium, phosphonium or pyrrolidinium) with single or quaternary substitution were tested on a variety of soils with high to low organic matter...
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Structural design and sensitivity analysis of semi-rigid pavement of a motorway
PublicationThis paper presents application of mechanistic-empirical methods in design of semi-rigid pavement for a section of a motorway in Poland. The stage construction was assumed. Three fatigue criteria were applied in the design. For asphalt fatigue cracking and subgrade soil the criteria from the Asphalt Institute (USA) were applied. For fatigue cracking of cement stabilized bases the Dempsey (USA) and De Beer (South Africa) criteria...
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Detection of sulfonamide resistance genes via in situ PCR-FISH
PublicationDue to the rising use of antibiotics and as a consequence of their concentration in the environment an increasing number of antibiotic resistant bacteria is observed. The phenomenon has a hazardous impact on human and animal life. Sulfamethoxazole is one of the sulfonamides commonly detected in surface waters and soil. The aim of the study was to detect sulfamethoxazole resistance genes in activated sludge biocenosis by use of...
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Removal of organic matter and nitrogen in an horizontalsubsurface flow (HSSF) constructed wetland undertransient loads
PublicationA monitoring campaign in a horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland under the influence of transient loads of flow-rate, organic matter, nitrogen and suspended solids showed an irregular removal of COD and TSS and lower both removal efficiencies and mass removal rates than the ones observed in other studies for similar operating conditions. This circumstance is associated to the presence of large amount of particulate organic...
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Isolation and Characterization of Phenol-Degrading Psychrotolerant Yeasts
PublicationIn this study, the potential of selected psychrotolerant yeast strains for phenol biodegradation was studied. From 39 strains isolated from soil and water samples from Rucianka peat bog, three psychrotolerant yeast strains: A011, B021 and L012 showed the ability to phenol degradation. The result shows that all three yeast strains could degrade phenol at 500 mg l-1 and 750 mg l-1 concentration, whereas strains A011 and L012 could...
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Pore Water Pressure Development in Soft Soil due to Installation and Loading of Controlled Modulus Columns
PublicationExcess pore water pressure (EPWP) development and decay due to the installation and static loading tests of controlled modulus columns (CMC) in soft soil was measured with piezometers equipped with low air entry (LAE) filters and a piezocone (CPTU) equipped with a high air entry (HAE) filter. The HAE filter allows for detailed detection of EPWP in short time intervals during construction of CMC. The influence zone due to the installation...
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The Current State-of-the-Art in the Determination of Pharmaceutical Residues in Environmental Matrices Using Hyphenated Techniques
PublicationSeveral thousand tons of pharmaceuticals and their transformation products (metabolites and degradation products) are introduced into the environment each year. They affect both human health and the environment, therefore, analytical procedures enabling the determination of a wide range of pharmaceuticals at trace levelswithminimal effort, time, and energy are required. Nowadays, hyphenated techniques are commonly applied in pharmaceutical...
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The Fate of BTEX Compounds in Ambient Air
PublicationAs a result of the industrialization and urbanization in the world, human pressure on the environment is intensifying, leading to detrimental changes in both biotic and abiotic compartments. One of the many consequences of this state of affairs is the increasing rate of emission into the atmosphere of volatile organic compounds, including the so-called BTEX (benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylenes) compounds. The authors review...
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Environmental fate of BTEX compounds in ambient air
PublicationAs a result of the industrialization and urbanization in the world, human pressure on the environment is intensifying, leading to detrimental changes in both biotic and abiotic compartments. One of the many consequences of this state of affairs is the increasing rate of emission into the atmosphere of volatile organic compounds, including the so-called BTEX (benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, xylenes) compounds. The article reviews...
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Contaminants in airport runoff water
PublicationDespite the many positives ensuing from the rapid expansion of the air transport sector, airport operations as a whole are a substantial source of environmental pollution.Increases in aviation developments have serious consequences on the surrounding air, soil and water bodies like lakes, rivers and ground water. The present work deals with the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls...
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Sources and Fate of PAHs and PCBs in the Marine Environment
PublicationThe assessment of a hazard resulting from the pollution of the environment by chemical compounds is in principle limited to the determination of their concentrations in its various compartments. But for solving many problems in this context, knowledge of the emission sources, transport pathways, and sites of deposition is of great benefit. By far the largest amounts of pollutants, regardless of where they were discharged, end up...
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Green Aspects of Miniaturized Sample Preparation Techniques
PublicationCorrect monitoring and control of the state of the environment and scientific research on the subject of environmental protection often require that determinations of compounds present at very low concentrations be made in samples characterized by a matrix of complex composition (e.g., biological samples, water and soil samples). Moreover, due to the limited number of analytical techniques which are sufficiently sensitive to conduct...
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Detection, identification and determination of resveratrol in wine. Problems and challenges
PublicationResveratrol is a compound synthesized by plants in response to unfavorable conditions of growth like mechanical injury, siege of bacteria or fungi and UV exposure. It is concentrated mostly in grapes skin and further more in the products made from grapes especially red wines. Each wine is characterized by different amount of given stilbene since its occurrence is affected by many factors like: types of grapes, environment (climate,...
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Overheating of underground power cable line due to its partial exposition to solar radiation
PublicationCurrent-carrying capacity of underground power cable lines depends, among others, on thermal resistivity of the soil and cables layout: trefoil formation, flat formation with or without spacing. If conditions for heat transfer in the ground are favorable, the current-carrying capacity is relatively high. Therefore, it generates risk of the power cables overheating, if part of the cable line is located vertically in the air, to...
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SHORT REVIEW AND 3-D FEM ANALYSIS OF BASIC TYPES OF FOUNDATION FOR OFFSHORE WIND TURBINES
PublicationSome problems of the foundations of offshore wind turbines are considered in this paper. A short review is presented on the two basic types of foundations, i.e. monopiles and gravity foundations, including their basic features and applications as well as general design considerations. Also, some issues regarding analysis are discussed, including geotechnical problems and modelling techniques. A numerical model of offshores turbine...
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Comparing the Effectiveness of ANNs and SVMs in Forecasting the Impact of Traffic-Induced Vibrations on Building
PublicationTraffic - induced vibrations may cause damage to structural elements and may even lead to structural collapse. The aim of the article is to compare the effectiveness of algorithms in forecasting the impact of vibrations on buildings using the Machine Learning (ML) methods. The paper presents two alternative approaches by using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Support Vector Machines (SVMs). Factors that may affect traffic-induced...
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A hyperelastic model for soils with stress-induced and inherent anisotropy
PublicationIn this paper, modelling of the superposition of stress-induced and inherent anisotropy of soil small strain stiffness is8presented in the framework of hyperelasticity. A simple hyperelastic model, capable of reproducing variable stress-induced9anisotropy of stiffness, is extended by replacement of the stress invariant with mixed stress–microstructure invariant to10introduce constant inherent cross-anisotropic component. A convenient...
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Effect of solar radiation on current-carrying capacity of PVC-insulated power cables – the numerical point of view
PublicationPower cables are usually buried in the soil, which results in their relatively high current-carrying capacity. However, there are cases in which the starting/final section of a cable line runs along a pole of an overhead power line. Power cables can be directly exposed to solar radiation then, and this negatively influences their current-carrying capacity as well as estimated life of the cables’ insulation. An analysis of thermal...
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CLEANING METHODS FOR DUST DEPOSITED ON THE FRONT COVER OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE
PublicationPhotovoltaic modules are one of the renewable energy sources with great potential for application in various regions of the world as well as for different terrain. They are, however, sensitive to external factors, affecting the overall amount of energy generated, such as solar irradiance, shading effects and any form of soil build-up on the front glass cover of solar device. The latter issue happens over a course of weeks, months...
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The influence of global climate change on the environmental fate of anthropogenic pollution released from the permafrost
PublicationThis article presents a review of information related to the influence of potential permafrost degradation on the environmental fate of chemical species which are relased and stored, classified as potential influence in future Antarctic environment. Considering all data regarding climate change prediction, this topic may prove important issue for the future state of the Antarctic environment. A detailed survey on soil and permafrost...
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Effective Friction Angle Of Deltaic Soils In The Vistula Marshlands
PublicationThis article presents the results of laboratory tests on soft, normally consolidated soils from the Vistula Marshlands. Samples of high-plasticity organic soils (muds) taken from 3.2–4.0 m and 9.5–10.0 m depth, as well as peat deposit at 14.0 m, are analysed. Presented case study confirms the applicability of the Norwegian Institute of Technology (NTH) method based on Cone Penetration Tests (CPTU) and allows for a conservative...
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Buried Object Characterization Using Ground Penetrating Radar Assisted by Data-Driven Surrogate-Models
PublicationThis work addresses artificial-intelligence-based buried object characterization using 3-D full-wave electromagnetic simulations of a ground penetrating radar (GPR). The task is to characterize cylindrical shape, perfectly electric conductor (PEC) object buried in various dispersive soil media, and in different positions. The main contributions of this work are (i) development of a fast and accurate data driven surrogate modeling...
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Brief Literature Review and Classification System of Reliability Methods for Evaluating the Stability of Earth Slopes
PublicationThe issue of slope stability is one of the most important and yet most difficult geotechnical problems. Assessing slope stability is particularly difficult because of the many uncertainties involved in the process. To take these uncertainties into account, probabilistic methods are used, and the reliability approach is adopted. There are many methods for reliability assessment of earth slope stability. However, there is no system...
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SUBSOIL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE VISTULA RIVER DIKES
PublicationThe results of CPTU tests are used to determine the strength parameters of a dike subsoil. Stress state and stress history of the subsoil under the flood embankment was evaluated with CPTU and DMT tests. Normally consolidated soil was found under the central part of the dike, while the subsoil near the dike toe is found to be overconsolidated. Due to consolidation the undrained shear strength of the subsoil under the central part...
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Shear band evolution phenomena in direct shear test modelled with DEM.
PublicationA direct shear test is widely used in the geotechnical engineering field. It is an easy and quick test to measure the shear properties of soil. This test often replaces more expensive and difficult tri-axial shear test. Despite that the direct shear test is known and used for a long time, it is still not well investigated at the grain scale. This paper deals with the micro behaviour of the cohesionless sand inside the direct shear...
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Green Sample Collection
PublicationThe term of “green sample collection” is directly associated with both passive and dynamic analytical tools which allow for simultaneous management of the stage of collection and isolation and/or enrichment of a broad spectrum of chemical compounds from environmental samples. The use of passive sampling techniques at the stage of sample collection makes it possible to obtain in a simple yet inexpensive manner an analytical information...
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Bioactive and biodegradable cotton fabrics produced via synergic effect of plant extracts and essential oils in chitosan coating system
PublicationFunctional antibacterial textile materials are in great demand in the medical sector. In this paper, we propose a facile, eco-friendly approach to the design of antibacterial biodegradable cotton fabrics. Cotton fiber fabrics were enhanced with a chitosan coating loaded with plant extracts and essential oils. We employed Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV–Vis spectrophotometry, optical...
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Impact of thermal backfill parameters on current-carrying capacity of power cables installed in the ground
PublicationProper design of power installations with the participation of power cables buried in homogeneous and thermally well-conductive ground does not constitute a major problem. The situation changes when the ground is non-homogeneous and thermally low-conductive. In such a situation, a thermal backfill near the cables is commonly used. The optimization of thermal backfill parameters to achieve the highest possible current-carrying capacity...
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Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in bottom sediments: Identification of sources
PublicationPolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can enter the environment from various sources. They are synthetic chemicals and as such are present in the environment mainly as mixtures containing various amounts of PCB congeners. It is therefore difficult to pinpoint the source of PCB emissions into the environment and the pathways along which they migrate there. The situation is different where locating the emission sources of polycyclic aromatic...
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New Trends in Sample Preparation Techniques for the Analysis of the Residues of Pharmaceuticals in Environmental Samples
PublicationPharmaceutical residues in the environment is a field of special interest due to the adverse effects to either human health or aquatic and soil environment. Pharmaceuticals have been already detected in underground, surface and wastewaters, soils, manure and sediments. The growing awareness of environmental pollution arising from human activity forces the need for their comprehensive determination. Environmental samples are complex...
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CO2 EMISSION TO THE ATMOSPHERE FROM CARBONATE WATERS: THE STUDY CASE OF THE LUBLIN UPLAND AND ROZTOCZE REGIONS
PublicationThe concentration of carbon dioxide dissolved in water (CO2(aq)) was measured in consecutive phases of the hydrological cycle. Its potentially possible degassing from groundwaters to the atmosphere was also assessed. The research was conducted in the area of occurrence of carbonate rocks of the Lublin Upland and Roztocze (SE Poland). The results of the measurements of CO2(aq) concentration varied as follows (min-max/mean): precipitation...
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Forecasting of railway track tamping based on settlement of sleepers using fuzzy logic
PublicationThe sleepers in a railway track transfer vertical, transverse and longitudinal loads to the track ballast and subgrade. The sleepers allow for keeping the distance between the rails constant. The thickness of ballast should be between 16 and 35 cm depending on the design standard of the track, and it should be densified where the ballast supports the sleeper. The exploitation causes contamination of the ballast, crushing the material...
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Using River Formation Dynamics Algorithm in Mobile Robot Navigation
PublicationRiver Formation Dynamics is a heuristic optimization algorithm based on the manner, in which drops of water form the river bed. The idea is to imitate the movement of drops on the edges between given nodes thus performing a search based on their height, which is modified through the mechanism of soil erosion and sediment deposition. In this way decreasing gradients are constructed, and these are followed by subsequent drops to...
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A Proposed Machine Learning Model for Forecasting Impact of Traffic-Induced Vibrations on Buildings
PublicationTraffic-induced vibrations may cause various damages to buildings located near the road, including cracking of plaster, cracks in load-bearing elements or even collapse of the whole structure. Measurements of vibrations of real buildings are costly and laborious. Therefore the aim of the research is to propose the original numerical algorithm which allows us to predict, with high probability, the nega-tive dynamic impact of traffic-induced...
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Numerical Solution of the Two-Dimensional Richards Equation Using Alternate Splitting Methods for Dimensional Decomposition
PublicationResearch on seepage flow in the vadose zone has largely been driven by engineering and environmental problems affecting many fields of geotechnics, hydrology, and agricultural science. Mathematical modeling of the subsurface flow under unsaturated conditions is an essential part of water resource management and planning. In order to determine such subsurface flow, the two-dimensional (2D) Richards equation can be used. However,...
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Vibro piles performance prediction using result of CPT
PublicationVibro piles belong to the group of full displacement piles with an expanded base, characterised by a very high load capacity, especially in non-cohesive soils. The problem is to adopt a reliable method for the determination of full load–settlement (Q–s) curve. A frequent difficulty is the determination of the load capacity limit based on the static load test because the course of the load–settlement curve is of a linear nature....