• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.1337-1353
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• 2015

Seismic upgrading of existing structures is a technical and social issue aimed at risk reduction. Sustainable design is one of the most important challenges in any structural project. Nowadays, many retrofit strategies are feasible and several traditional and innovative options are available to engineers. Basically, the design strategy can lead to increase structural ductility, strength, or both of them, but also stiffness regulation and supplemental damping are possible strategies to reduce seismic vulnerability. Each design solution has different technical and economical performances. In this paper, four different design solutions are presented for the retrofit of an existing RC frame with poor concrete quality and inadequate reinforcement detailing. The considered solutions are based on FRP wrapping of the existing structural elements or alternatively on new RC shear walls introduction. This paper shows the comparison among the considered design strategies in order to select the suitable solution, which reaches the compromise between the obtained safety level and costs during the life-cycle of the building. Each solution is worked out by considering three different levels of seismic demand. The structural capacity of the considered retrofit solutions is assessed with nonlinear static analysis and the seismic performance is evaluated with the capacity spectrum method.

• Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.53-71
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• 2022

The overall purposes of this study are to identify actions taken to counter predatory publishing practices as well as to propose an ICT-based model to detect such practices. The need to raise quantitative performance metrics to support career goals has created immense pressure on researchers to publish in the literature as frequently as possible. This "publish or perish" syndrome appears to be fueling a rise in scholarly journals and conferences that provide quicker and easier routes to publication. However, such avenues sometimes involve questionable academic practices with important ethical ramifications. One notable example is the proliferation of predatory publishing, including predatory journals and fake conferences. The widening impact of such activities is beginning to prompt academic societies, publishers, and institutions to take measures. This paper discusses the issues on predatory publishing practices, and some of the actions taken by various stakeholders to address these practices. In order to build a transparent and sustainable scholarly publishing ecosystem, this study highlights multi-dimensional and specific solutions, including reforms to research ethics codes, research management rules, and legal protection from exploitative practices. This paper proposes an ICT-based cooperative model for monitoring of predatory publishers as a potential solution to create a sustainable and transparent infrastructure for a scholarly publication system guarding against misconduct in publishing practices.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.299-310
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• 2022

Environmental protection has been infused into the development of numerous fields by the Chinese government. The government's implementation of green development has also shifted its focus to green transformation and governance of highpolluting companies. In the context of green and sustainable development, this study employs DEA data envelopment analysis to compare the operating efficiency of listed firms that implemented Green Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) in China in 2018. The conclusions of this study are as follows: First, China's green M&A enterprises are unevenly dispersed among the country's east, middle, and western regions. Second, compared to before the implementation of Green M&A, operational efficiency has improved in most industries. Third, the difference in Green M&A across industries is generally favorable, showing that most organizations have improved their operational performance as a result of Green M&A implementation. In 2018, however, the gap in operating efficiency is more negative. Fourth, whereas the eastern and western areas' operational efficiency has improved as a result of Green M&A, the central region's has not. Based on this conclusion, this study makes recommendations for China's future sustainable development of heavily polluted firms.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.591-603
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• 2022

The flexural strengthening of reinforced concrete beams by external bonding of composite materials has proved to be an efficient and practical technique. This paper presents a study on the flexural performance of reinforced concrete continuous beams with three spans (one span and two cantilevered) strengthened by bonding carbon fiber fabric (CFRP). The model is based on equilibrium and deformations compatibility requirements in and all parts of the strengthened continuous beam, i.e., the continuous concrete beam, the FRP plate and the adhesive layer. The adherend shear deformations have been included in the present theoretical analyses by assuming a linear shear stress through the thickness of the adherends. Remarkable effect of shear deformations of adherends has been noted in the results. The theoretical predictions are compared with other existing solutions that shows good agreement, and It shows the effectiveness of CFRP strips in enhancing shear capacity of continuous beam. It is shown that both the normal and shear stresses at the interface are influenced by the material and geometry parameters of the composite beam.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.47-64
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• 2023

Due to their efficient use of materials, hybrid reinforced concrete-steel (RCS) systems provide more practical and economic advantages than traditional steel and concrete moment frames. This study evaluated the seismic design factors and response modification factor 'R' of RCS composite moment frames composed of reinforced concrete (RC) columns and steel (S) beams. The current International Building Code (IBC) and ASCE/SEI 7-05 classify RCS systems as special moment frames and provide an R factor of 8 for these systems. In this study, seismic design parameters were initially quantified for this structural system using an R factor of 8 based on the global methodology provided in FEMA P695. For analyses, multi-story (3, 5, 10, and 15) and multi-span (3 and 5) archetypes were used to conduct nonlinear static pushover analysis and incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) under near-field and far-field ground motions. The analyses were performed using the OpenSees software. The procedure was reiterated with a larger R factor of 9. Results of the performance evaluation of the investigated archetypes demonstrated that an R factor of 9 achieved the safety margin against collapse outlined by FEMA P695 and can be used for the design of RCS systems.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.183-199
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• 2024

In this paper, a closed-form rigorous solution for interfacial stress in continuous steel beam with variable section strengthened with bonded prestressed FRP plates and subjected to a uniformly distributed load is developed using linear elastic theory and including the variation of fiber volume fractions with a longitudinal orientation of the fibers of the FRP plates. The results show that there exists a high concentration of both shear and normal stress at the ends of the laminate, which might result in premature failure of the strengthening scheme at these locations. The theoretical predictions are compared with other existing solutions. Overall, the predictions of the different solutions agree closely with each other. A parametric study has been conducted to investigate the sensitivity of interface behavior to parameters such as laminate and adhesive stiffness, the thickness of the laminate and the fiber volume fractions where all were found to have a marked effect on the magnitude of maximum shear and normal stress in the composite member. This research gives a numerical precision in relating to the others studies which neglect the effect of prestressed plate and the shear lag impact. The physical and geometric properties of materials are taken into account, and that may play an important role in reducing the interfacial stresses magnitude.

• The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.29-37
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• 2024

Purpose: Numerous prior researchers have identified only that sustainable management of ESG factors promotes business value creation and shapes enhanced innovation performance. This study aims to determine the positive relationships between ESG management and economic development, focusing on the mutual benefits and risks and the various stakeholders involved in managing change. Research design, data and methodology: This study selected the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement as a key methodology. Literature search used the following databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. The quality assessment criteria for selected prior studies ranged from issues like design, sample size and the representativeness of the subjects, validity of measurements, and analytical strength. Results: The findings of this study indicates that there are four critical solutions for economic development triggers using ESG strategy, such as (1) ESG and Innovation-Driven Growth, (2) ESG and Human Capital Development, (3) ESG and Operational Efficiency, (4) ESG and Market Opportunities. This study insists that public-private partnerships are critical for enhancing sustainable economic development and meeting the needs of society. Conclusions: It is, therefore, important for governments and policymakers to play a critical role in setting the proper framework that allows for the uptake of ESG and an enabling environment for sustainable economic development.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.1-14
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• 2005

It is important to control performance and a Sustainable Collaboration (SC) for the successful Supply Chain Management (SCM). This research developed a control model which analyzed SCM performances based on a Balanced Scorecard (ESC) and an SC using Support Vector Machine (SVM). 108 specialists of an SCM completed the questionnaires. We analyzed experimental data set using SVM. This research compared the forecasting accuracy of an SCMSC through four types of SVM kernels: (1) linear, (2) polynomial (3) Radial Basis Function (REF), and (4) sigmoid kernel (linear > RBF > Sigmoid > Polynomial). Then, this study compares the prediction performance of SVM linear kernel with Artificial Neural Network. (ANN). The research findings show that using SVM linear kernel to forecast an SCMSC is the most outstanding. Thus SVM linear kernel provides a promising alternative to an SC control level. A company which pursues an SCM can use the information of an SC in the SVM model.

• Computers and Concrete
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.119-132
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• 2020

There is a growing interest in the use of by-product materials such as ceramics as alternative materials in construction. The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanical properties and durability of sustainable concrete containing waste ceramic powder (WCP), and to predict the results using artificial neural network (ANN). In this order, different water to binder (W/B) ratios of 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 were considered, and in each W/B ratio, a percentage of cement (between 5-50%) was replaced with WCP. Compressive and tensile strengths, water absorption, electrical resistivity and rapid chloride permeability (RCP) of the concrete specimens having WCP were evaluated by related experimental tests. The results showed that by replacing 20% of the cement by WCP, the concrete achieves compressive and tensile strengths, more than 95% of those of the control concrete, in the long term. This percentage increases with decreasing W/B ratio. In general, by increasing the percentage of WCP replacement, all durability parameters are significantly improved. In order to validate and suggest a suitable tool for predicting the characteristics of the concrete, ANN model along with various multivariate regression methods were applied. The comparison of the proposed ANN with the regression methods indicates good accuracy of the developed ANN in predicting the mechanical properties and durability of this type of concrete. According to the results, the accuracy of ANN model for estimating the durability parameters did not significantly follow the number of hidden nodes.

• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.333-348
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• 2023

Fast infrastructure development boosts the demand for shotcrete. Despite sand and stone being the most common coarse and fine aggregates for shotcrete, excessive exploration of these materials challenges the ecological environment. This study utilized an industrial solid waste, high-titanium heavy slag, blended with steel fibers to form Wet Shotcrete of Steel Fiber-reinforced High-Titanium Heavy Slag (WSSFHTHS). It investigated its workability, shotcrete performance and mechanical properties under different water-to-cement ratios, fly ash content, superplasticizer dosage, and steel fiber content. The tunnel excavation and support were investigated by conducting finite element numerical simulation analysis and was used in 3 tunnel lining pipes in Zhonggouwan tailing pond. The major findings are as follows: (1) The water-to-cement ratio (w/c ratio) significantly impacted the compressive strength of WSSFHTHS. The highest 28-day compressive strength of 60 MPa was achieved when the w/c ratio was 0.38; (2) Adding fly ash improved the workability and shotcrete performance and strength development of WSSFHTHS. The best anti-permeability performance was achieved when the fly ash constituted 15%, with the lowest permeability coefficient of 4.596 × 10-11 cm/s; (3) The optimum superplasticizer dosage for WSSFHTHS is 0.8%. It provided the best workability and shotcrete performance. Excessive dosage resulted in water bleeding and poor aggregate encapsulation, while insufficient dosage decreased flowability and adversely affected shotcrete performance; (4) The dosage of steel fibers significantly impacted the flexural and tensile strength of WSSFHTHS. When the steel fiber dosage was 45 kg/m³, the 28-day flexural and tensile strengths were 8.95 MPa and 6.15 MPa, respectively; (5) By integrating existing shotcrete techniques, the optimal lining thickness was 80 mm for WSSFHTHS per simulation. The results revealed that after using WSSFHTHS, the displacement of the tunnel surrounding the rock significantly improved, with no cracks or hollows, similar to the simulation results.