Construction Cost

Due to the inherent randomness of environmental, hydraulic, and structural parameters, the safe design of rubble-mound berm breakwaters requires probabilistic approaches and reliability-based analyses. This study presents a comprehensive probabilistic assessment of rubble-mound berm breakwaters, emphasizing the influence of correlations and interactions among environmental variables. The primary objective was to evaluate failure probabilities over the service life of the structure by exploring different dependency structures among environmental parameters and assessing available empirical formulas for two major failure modes: berm recession and overtopping. Four dependency structures-independence, Gaussian copula, Frank copula, and D-vine copula-were used to model parameter correlations. Reliability assessment was conducted using FORM, SORM, and Importance Sampling methods, with performance compared against benchmark Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) results. A case study on the rubble-mound berm breakwater at Tombak Port employed multiple empirical formulas for both berm recession and overtopping failure modes. Results demonstrated that, under the D-vine structure, the Torum (2007) formula yielded the lowest failure probability (28.9%), while Hall and Kao (1991) reported the highest (72.01%) for berm recession. Correlation structures significantly influenced outcomes, with a maximum observed difference in failure probability of 4.94%. For overtopping, five empirical formulas were analyzed, with Van der Meer and Janssen (1994) showing the lowest failure probability (27.99%) and Van der Meer and Sigurdarson (2012) the highest (69.56%), while the remaining formulas produced results between 45% and 67%. Sensitivity analysis using the FORM method showed that wave height and wave period are generally the most significant load parameters, while the density and mass of the armor layer stones are the most critical resistance parameters. Moreover, considering the correlation between environmental parameters brings the order of importance closer to physical reality and highlights that accounting for correlations and the statistical characteristics of variables is essential when assessing failure probability.

Performance-based maintenance contracts differ significantly from method-based contracts that have been traditionally used to maintain roads. Road agencies around the world have moved towards a performance based contract approach because it offers several advantages like cost saving, better budgeting certainty, better customer satisfaction with better road services and conditions. Payments for the maintenance of road are explicitly linked to the contractor successfully meeting certain clearly defined minimum performance indicators. It is indeed a difficult task to estimate contract value of these maintenance works when no definite quantity of work is known. There is an abundance of literature when the objective function is to determine how much of the road section can be managed with the available funding. On the contrary, when the objective function is to determine how much money is required to maintain the road to certain specified performance conditions, there seems to be a deart...

This paper presents a procedure to optimize the construction of mass concrete structures using genetic algorithms. Due to cement hydration, thermal and shrinkage strains take place in concrete at early ages and, if they are restrained, tensile stresses develop in the concrete structure. As a consequence, cracks may appear if the magnitude of the generated stresses reaches the concrete tensile strength. In this study, transient hydration and thermal and stress fields were calculated using a coupled thermo-chemo-mechanical model implemented in a 3D finite element code. The optimization criterion is construction cost and the decision variables are material types, characterized by their mechanical and hydration properties; placing temperature, the height of lifts and time intervals between lifts. The constraint imposed on the decision variables is the early age cracking of the structure. A dynamic penalty scheme that allowed a certain level of cracking for the preliminary generations proved to be efficient in driving the genetic algorithm to an optimal solution. To show the potential of the proposed methodology, the construction phase of a small hydropower plant dam was optimized. The results indicated that the procedure can be successfully used in the design of massive concrete structures.

Plants cope with the environment by displaying large phenotypic variation. Two spectra of global plant form and function have been identified: a size spectrum from small to tall species with increasing stem tissue density, leaf size, and seed mass; a leaf economics spectrum reflecting slow to fast returns on investments in leaf nutrients and carbon. When species assemble to communities it is assumed that these spectra are filtered by the environment to produce community level functional composition. It is unknown what are the main drivers for community functional composition in a large area such as Amazonia. We use 13 functional traits, including wood density, seed mass, leaf characteristics, breeding system, nectar production, fruit type, and root characteristics of 812 tree genera (5211 species), and find that they describe two main axes found at the global scale. At community level, the first axis captures not only the 'fast-slow spectrum', but also most size-related traits. Climate and disturbance explain a minor part of this variance compared to soil fertility. Forests on poor soils differ largely in terms of trait values from those on rich soils. Trait composition and soil fertility exert a strong influence on forest functioning: biomass and relative biomass production.

Renovation usually increases the aesthetic and market value of buildings. Consequently, with the rapid growth of the city's population and skyrocketing demand for decent housing, the current trend of building conversion and renovation of existing and dilapidated property stock within city centres has become rampant. The rise in demand has pushed beyond the boundaries that every real estate investor wants to maximize profit, and it has resulted in the prevalence of uncontrolled building development, land use conversion, and non-compliance with building requirements, etc. Renovations that involve changes in building elements (especially the window system) that can influence energy saving and ventilation efficiency have thus become very common. However, the effects of building renovations on ventilation and energy efficiency have not been fully examined, particularly in Enugu (Nigeria), a rapidly growing colonial metropolis. This research employed a qualitative research approach to investigate the effects of building renovation on ventilation and energy saving in Achara layout, Enugu City, Nigeria. Four blocks of flat residential buildings were the derived sample size using a judgmental sampling technique. Physical measurements, an observation schedule, and oral interviews with site workers centred on window size, area, property, and fenestration type were used to collect empirical data involving the window system. The result reveals a very significant difference between the as-built and renovated window design systems of all studied variables. Its conclusion hinged on the fact that a renovated structure does not encourage effective natural ventilation and hence will consume more energy in cooling and lighting. It recommends the re-introduction of appropriate window systems and construction techniques for the tropical environment to reduce heat stress build-up within building units.

This research presents a new mathematical framework for the optimal design of elliptical isolated footings under vertical load and two orthogonal moments. The suggested method considers the spatial variation of contact pressure between the footing and the supporting soil, facilitating an accurate representation of structural requirements. New formulations for bending moment, unidirectional shear, and punching shear are generated using volume integration, accurately representing the complex stress distribution beneath elliptical foundations. Lagrange multipliers are utilized to identify the crucial points of maximum and minimum contact stresses for elliptical and circular footing shapes. A thorough numerical analysis illustrates the benefits of the suggested strategy by contrasting its results with those of a conventional design methodology. The findings demonstrate that the newly created model produces more cost-effective designs while maintaining structural integrity and performance, underscoring its potential as a significant asset in engineering practice. A MATLAB code for design using new formulas is programmed and results obtained compared to those from literature and were more efficient and economic.

This paper discusses our experiences in estimating the cost and staffing requirements for the Standard Installation/Division Personnel System (SIDPERS-3) software development project. SIDPERS-3 is the US Army military personnel system, a management information system (MIS). The system will be fielded at multiple locations on personal computers, including ruggedizcd PC's with limited capacity. It will use the XDB relational database.

In the second half of 2007 a major upgrade has been implemented on the Frascati DA NE collider in order to test the novel idea of Crab-Waist collisions. New vacuum chambers and permanent quadrupole magnets have been designed, built and installed to realize the new configuration. At the same time the performances of relevant hardware components, such as fast injection kickers and shielded bellows have been improved relying on new design concepts. The collider has been successfully commissioned in this new configuration. The paper describes several experimental results about linear and non-linear optics setup and optimization, damping of beam-beam instabilities and discusses the obtained luminosity performances.

After a long preparatory phase, including a wide hardware consolidation program, the Italian lepton collider DAFNE, is now systematically delivering data to the KLOE-2 experiment. In approximately 200 days of operation 1 fb-1 has been given to the detector limiting the background to a level compatible with an efficient data acquisition. Instantaneous and maximum daily integrated luminosity measured, so far, are considerably higher with respect to the previous KLOE runs, and are: L(inst) ~ 2.0 1032 cm-2s-1, and L(day) ~ 12.5 pb-1 respectively. A general review concerning refurbishing activities, machine optimization efforts and data taking performances is presented and discussed.

Particle factories are facing their future by looking at the possibility of upgrading the luminosity by orders of magnitude. The upgrade challenges are more stringent at lower energies. Double symmetric rings, enhanced radiation damping, negative momentum compaction and very short bunches at the collision point are the main features of a -factory feasibility study presented in this paper. The bunch length of few millimetres at the crossing point of the beams is obtained by applying the Strong RF Focusing principle. The collider design fits the existing DAFNE infrastructures with completely rebuilt rings and upgraded injection system.

The strong RF focusing is a recently proposed technique to obtain short bunches at the interaction point in the next generation colliders. A large momentum compaction factor together with a very high RF gradient across the bunch provide a modulation of the bunch length along the ring, which can be minimized at the Interaction Point (IP). No storage ring has been so far operated in such a regime, since it requires uncommonly high synchrotron tune values. In this paper we present the proposal of creating the experimental conditions to study the strong RF focusing in DA NE. The proposed machine lattice providing the required high momentum compaction value, the upgrade of the RF system including the installation of a multi-cell superconducting cavity, the upgrade of the cryogenic plant and a list of the possible beam experiments are illustrated and discussed.

PLS-II is an upgraded third generation synchrotron which includes many insertion devices with improved beam properties. Top-up or top-off operation is short time-interval injection to make roughly constant current and is essential to provide high intensity beam. When the elec-trons are injected to synchrotron, the stored beam is dis-turbed by small error of the injection system and the beam quality at the beamline can be decreased. We present this injection transient motion at PLS-II.

With this document we propose a new electron positron colliding beam accelerator to be built in Italy to study flavor physics in the B-meson system at an energy of 10 GeV in the center-of-mass. This facility is called a high luminosity B-factory with a project name "SuperB". This project builds on a long history of successful e+e-colliders built around the world, as illustrated in Figure .1. The key advances in the design of this accelerator come from recent successes at the DAFNE collider at INFN in Frascati, Italy, at PEP-II at SLAC in California, USA, and at KEKB at KEK in Tsukuba Japan, and from new concepts in beam

Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) describe the probability that a new treatment or intervention is cost-effective. The net benefit regression framework (NBRF) allows cost-effectiveness analysis to be done in a simple regression framework. The objective of the paper is to illustrate how net benefit regression can be used to construct a CEAC. One hundred patients referred for ambulatory monitoring with syncope or presyncope were randomized to a one-month external loop recorder (n = 49) or 48-hour Holter monitor (n = 51). The primary endpoint was symptom-rhythm correlation during monitoring. Direct costs were calculated based on the 2003 Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) fee schedule combined with hospital case costing of labour, materials, service and overhead costs for diagnostic testing and related equipment. In the loop recorder group, 63.27% of patients (31/49) had symptom recurrence and successful activation, compared to 23.53% in the Holter group (12/51). The co...

The objective of this study was to verify the potential of SNAP III (Scheduling and Network Analysis Program) as a support tool for harvesting and wood transport planning in Brazil harvesting subsystem definition and establishment of a compatible route were assessed. Initially, machine operational and production costs were determined in seven subsystems for the study area, and quality indexes, construction and maintenance costs of forest roads were obtained and used as SNAP III program input data. The results showed, that three categories of forest road occurrence were observed in the study area: main, secondary and tertiary which, based on quality index, allowed a medium vehicle speed of about 41, 30 and 24 km/hours and a construction cost of about US$ 5,084.30, US$ 2,275.28 and US$ 1,650.00/km, respectively. The SNAP III program used as a support tool for the planning, was found to have a high potential tool in the harvesting and wood transport planning. The program was capable of...

Using the commissioning process, states are beginning to improve and optimize their existing building stock as well as ensure that their new construction projects perform according to design. This paper reports on the progress a number of states are making in the area of commissioning for both new construction and existing buildings. It discusses the various programmatic approaches they are using to incorporate commissioning into state energy management programs and new construction projects. It also reports the results of a recent survey of members of the National Association of State Facility Administrators (NASFA) on their use and understanding of commissioning for new construction and existing buildings. The results of two commissioning case studies, one for a new construction project in the State of Montana and one for an existing building in the State of Tennessee are

The State of Tennessee recognizes that significant amounts of energy may be wasted in existing state buildings due to inefficient operation and maintenance of heating, cooling, and ventilating equipment and unnecessary operation of lighting systems. In 1994, the State of Tennessee began to explore the benefits of building commissioning to better understand how existing-system commissioning might improve state building performance. This effort resulted in an initiative that seeks to educate and obtain a commitment from key administrative state government officials, explore the barriers to efficient buildings in Tennessee, and develop guidelines for implementing building commissioning programs and activities for the state. The Department of General Services' State Building Energy Management Program is primarily responsible for this effort. Although they have experienced both successes and set backs in making commissioning business as usual for the state, they remain convinced that...

The construction industry in Yemen is associated with severe difficulties and constraints that have are common features in most developing countries. There exists a strong requirement for improved construction methodologies, management practices and legislative reform. This paper is to determine the major impediments to any intended development in the local construction industry. Data associated with the research was collected using a structured questionnaire, distributed to appropriate professionals and other stakeholders operating in Sana’a and Aden cities. Findings signified that the main barriers to development are institutional and administrative weakness, red tape and corruption, followed by the lack of infrastructure, also the ineffective law. Likewise, the most important factors that causing high construction costs are imported materials, inflation, and unstable economy and construction wastes. So, to start out any economical and technical development appropriate and authori...

The Construction industry in Yemen confronts many development constraints, such as the inadequate implementation of appropriate building materials and labour construction technologies. Thus, this research looks over building materials and labour construction technologies used on the local housing construction projects by verifying the percentage of construction expenditure consumed by the main construction components (Materials, Labour and Overhead and Profit), along with the implemented construction technologies. The paper conducts a survey to acquire the cost distribution of the construction main components. The outcomes of the survey were discussed; the discussion was supported by literature on similar issues from some countries. The outcomes confirmed the relatively limited percentage in labour cost and profit, and the elevated percentage of construction materials cost, which are because of the excessive and inappropriate use of materials. What’s more, established that the exces...

A unique gas exchange system is described in which photosynthesis, transpiration, and stomatal conductance can be measured on leaves during SO 2 fumigations. SO2 concentrations can be continuously monitored and manipulated between 0 and 2.0 ppm. Rates of total SO2 uptake and SOz absorption through stomates of a fumigated leaf can also be determined. Using this system we compared the effects of SOz on the gas exchange rates of two shrub species that co-occur in the Californian chaparral. Diplacus aurantiacus, a deciduous shrub, was more sensitive to SO2 fumigation than Heteromeles arbutifolia, an evergreen shrub. The differences in photosynthetic sensitivity could be attributed, in large part, to differential SO 2 absorption rates.

Price: Microfiche A01 Printed Copy A1 1 Codes are used for pricing all publications. The code is determined by the number of pages in the publ~cation. lnformation pertaining to the pricing codes can be found in the current issue of the following publications, which are generally available in most libraries: Energy Research Abstracts, (ERA): Government Reports Announcements and Index (GRA and I); Scient!fic and Technical Abstract Reports (STAR): and publ~catlon.

This report presents a commemorative history of the Iowa Highway Research Board. It covers a fifty-year time period, beginning with the organization of the Iowa Highway Research Board in December 1949. It examines some of the Board's principal projects and its resulting contributions to the field of highway research. The contents are organized as follows: Introduction; (1) Early Efforts at Highway Research in Iowa; (2) Germination of the Iowa Highway Research Board; (3) The Justification of Research; (4) The Fruits of Research; (5) The Dissemination and Significance of Research; Conclusion; Appendix A - Chair and Vice Chair of the Iowa Highway Research Board; Appendix B - Members and Alternates of the Iowa Highway Research Board, 1950-1999; and Appendix C - Iowa Highway Board Research Projects, 1949-1999. A Selected Index is provided.

The transition to low-carbon heating systems is essential to achieving net-zero emissions targets and mitigating the adverse impacts of climate change. The development and deployment of cleaner heating technologies present a significant opportunity to reduce carbon emissions by at least 20%. In colder climates, such as those found in Europe and the United Kingdom, space heating constitutes a critical component of residential energy demand and remains indispensable for ensuring indoor thermal comfort.

This study evaluates several low-carbon heat sources suitable for residential applications, with a specific focus on a 150 m² dwelling exhibiting a space heating demand of 11.5 kW. Heat delivery is assumed to occur via a radiant floor heating system. The analysis considers the technical readiness of each heat source, their integration potential with existing grid infrastructure, and associated capital and operational costs. Despite challenges related to intermittency and implementation, the examined technologies offer substantial emission reductions. These challenges may be mitigated through continued innovation, research, and system optimisation.

This paper presents calculations of detector solenoid effects on disrupted primary beam in the ILC 14 mrad extraction line. Particle tracking simulations are performed for evaluation of primary beam loss along the line as well as of beam distribution and polarization at Compton Interaction Point. The calculations are done both without and with solenoid compensation. The results are obtained for the baseline ILC energy of 500 GeV center-of-mass and three options of beam parameters.

Originally the PEP-II injection kickers where powered by one power supply. Since the kicker magnets where not perfectly matched, the stored beam got excited by about 7% of the maximum kicker amplitude. This led to luminosity losses which were especially obvious for trickle injection when the detector is on for data taking. Therefore two independent power supplies with thyratrons in the tunnel next to the kicker magnet were installed. This also reduces the necessary power by about a factor of four since there are no long cables that have to be charged. The kickers are now independently adjustable to eliminate any non-closure of the kicker system and therefore excitation of the stored beam. Setup, commissioning and fine tuning of this system are discussed.

Choosing a project for which benets accrue to all involved agents but brings major costs or additional benets to only one agent is often problematic. Siting a nationwide nuclear waste disposal or hosting a major sporting event are examples of such a problem: costs or benets are tied to the identity of the host of the project. Our goals are twofold: to choose the ecient site (the host with the lowest cost or the highest localized surplus) and to share the cost, or surplus, in a predetermined way so as to achieve redistributive goals. We propose a simple mechanism to implement both objectives. The unique subgame-perfect Nash equilibrium of our mechanism coincides with truthtelling, is ecient, budgetbalanced and immune to coalitional deviations. * HEC Montréal, Institut d'Économie Appliquée and CIRPÉE. † We are grateful for stimulating conversations with Francis Bloch, Lars Ehlers, Hervé Moulin, Nicolas Sahuguet and Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné as well as for feedback from participants of the Montreal Natural Resources and Environmental Economics Workshops and the Economics Workshop of HEC Montréal.

Constructed wetland systems (CWSs) can offer cost-effective wastewater treatment in developing countries like Pakistan. This study focused on optimizing design and operational parameters of CWSs in horizontal surface flow (HSF), vertical surface flow (VSF), and hybrid mesocosms for treating sewage and textile effluents using local hydrophytes: Lemna minor, Typha latifolia, and Eichhornia crassipes. Pollutants and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, and Zn) were removed under different flow configurations, bedding materials, hydrophyte species, and hydraulic retention times (HRT) to optimize the overall contaminant removal efficiency (RE). Key findings indicated that the hybrid CWS achieved a maximum RE of 63.62% for total suspended solids (TSS) and 57.9% for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) at an HRT of 3 days, with efficiencies declining at longer retention times. Additionally, the hybrid system showed maximum metal removal, with Cd and Cr RE reaching 75.2% and 70.5%, respectively. The study also highlighted the critical role of hydrophyte species and HRT in optimizing RE. Furthermore, the choice of hydrophyte species significantly influenced pollutant removal, with treatment cells containing mixed hydrophytes achieving the highest removal efficiencies (63.62%), followed by Eichhornia crassipes with high Cd (643.33 mgkg-1) and Cr (1103.72 mgkg-1) uptake. A lower HRT of 3 days resulted in the highest overall removal efficiency of 57.5%, which decreased with longer HRTs (from 6 to 9 days). Optimizing design and operational parameters is crucial for maximizing CWS treatment potential.

Risk analysis and prediction is a primary monitoring strategy to identify abnormal events occurring in chemical processes. The accidental release of toxic gases may result in severe problems for people and the environment. Risk analysis of hazardous chemicals using consequence modeling is essential to improve the process reliability and safety of the refineries. In petroleum refineries: toluene, hydrogen, isooctane, kerosene, methanol, and naphtha are key process plants with toxic and flammable chemicals. The major process plants considered for risk assessment in the refinery are the gasoline hydrotreatment unit, crude distillation, aromatic recovery, continuous catalytic reformer, methyl-tert-butyl-ether, and kerosene merox units. Additionally, we propose a threat and risk analysis neural network for the chemical explosion (TRANCE) model for refinery incident scenarios. Significantly, 160 attributes were collected for the modeling on the basis of the significance of failure and hazardous chemical leaks in the refinery. Hazard analysis shows that the leakages of hydrogen and gasoline at the gasoline hydrotreatment unit, kerosene at the kerosene merox plant, and crude oil at crude-distillation units were areas of profound concern. The developed TRANCE model predicted the chemical explosion distance with an R 2 accuracy value of 0.9994 and MSE of 679.5343.

Geosynthetic reinforcement has been increasingly used over voids or piles in soft soil to support embankments and minimise differential settlement. Due to differential settlement, soil arching is formed and less pressure is applied onto the reinforcement. This problem is often simulated using trapdoor tests. The reinforcement effect on displacement and soil arching has not been fully understood. In real applications, multiple voids or multiple spans of piles exist under embankments. The effects of multiple voids or spans of piles on displacement and soil arching have not been well investigated. This paper reports a series of two-dimensional trapdoor tests conducted to investigate soil displacements above single and double trapdoors without or with reinforcement. Analogical soil, made of aluminium bars, was used as embankment fill. Paper was used as reinforcement. Two different embankment heights were investigated. The experimental tests showed that both embankment height and reinforcement reduced the vertical displacement on the top of the embankment, and higher embankment caused more soil failure at the edge of the stationary support but reduced the vertical stress on the reinforcement. The maximum tensile strain happened at the edges of the trapdoor. Trapdoors spaced at twice the trapdoor width did not cause much interaction between each other.

A series of experiments were conducted to investigate and characterize the concept of ferrofluidic induction -a process for generating electrical power via cyclic oscillation of ferrofluid (iron-based nanofluid) through a solenoid. Experimental parameters include: number of bias magnets, magnet spacing, solenoid core, fluid pulse frequency and ferrofluid-particle diameter. A peristaltic pump was used to cyclically drive two aqueous ferrofluids, consisting of 7-10 nm iron-oxide particles and commercially-available hydroxyl-coated magnetic beads (~800 nm), respectively. The solutions were pulsated at 3, 6, and 10 Hz through 3.2 mm internal diameter Tygon tubing. A 1000 turn copper-wire solenoid was placed around the tube 45 cm away from the pump. The experimental results indicate that the ferrofluid is capable of inducing a maximum electric potential of approximately +/-20 V across the solenoid during its cyclic passage. As the frequency of the pulsating flow increased, the ferro-nanoparticle diameter increased, or the bias magnet separation decreased, the induced voltage increased. The type of solenoid core material (copper or plastic) did not have a discernible effect on induction. These results demonstrate the feasibility of ferrofluidic induction and provide insight into its dependence on fluid/flow parameters. Such fluidic/magneto-coupling can be exploited for energy harvesting and/or conversion system design for a variety of applications.

Spreadsheets have been used to compare some 90 possible small PV concentrator designs that might be suitable for use at remote sites. They have apertures of about 2m 2 , use BP Solar LBG cells, and employ small aperture modules to reduce heat sinking and construction costs. Designs include fixed V-troughs and CPC's, single axis tracked cylindrical lens and mirror systems, and 2-axis tracked spherical-symmetry systems. Performance and volume production costs were estimated. Four promising systems were constructed as prototypes: A -Point-focus Fresnel lenses, 2-axis tracking; Cg = 32x; and 69x with secondaries. B -Line-focus mirror parabolic troughs, 1-axis tracking, Cg = 20x. C -SMTS ('Single-mirror two-stage'), 1-axis tracking, Cg = 30x. F -Multiple line-focus mirror parabolic troughs, E-W 1/day manual tracking, Cg = 6x. The prototypes were tested at Reading, and three for up to a year's field trial at ZSW's test site, Widderstall, in Germany. The best system efficiencies, normalised to 25°C and excluding the end losses of linear systems, were 12.5%, 13.2%, 13.6% and 14.3% for collectors A, B, C, and F, respectively. The collectors were practical and robust, and the performances of collectors B, C and F are only 10% below the estimates in the spreadsheet calculations. The best collectors have estimated production costs between 1.5 and 1.8 US $/Wp, yielding energy costs at a good site (excluding BOS and overheads) of between 5 and 7 cents/kWh (18 and 25 cents/MJ). On the same cost basis a conventional PV array costs 4.3 $/Wp, and 18 cents/kWh (65 cents/MJ).

The combined efforts of many people have made this report possible. First, we would like to thank ali of our sponsors for making it possible for us to attend this ISU summer session and have the opportunity to work on the Space Solar Power Program project. Throughout the summer many distinguished speakers shared their knowledge and experience with us providing invaluable help in producing a quality report. We would like to thank them for taking the time to prepare their lectures and visit us in Kitakyushu. Special thanks goes to the entire ISU faculty and staff for their patience and perserverance in helping us during the trials and tribulations of producing the final report. The SSPP faculty and staff deserve recognition and our thanks for providing guidance and reviewing the report at each stage of its development, for staying up ali night with us and putting up with last minute changes and panics. This report would not have been possible without the help of the computer staff keeping the fileserver and printers limping along under intensive workloads. Finally, we would especially like to thank the sponsors of the Space Solar Power Design Program.

Freshwater shortage difficulties make it necessary to find new sources of supply. Nowadays desalination is the solution adopted in many countries to solve this problem. All around the planet, regions with lack of freshwater match up with those with large amounts of available solar radiation. Therefore, solar desalination can be a suitable and sustainable option to tackle the water scarcity problems in those particular areas, especially in the coastal ones. Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermal membrane technology developed since late 60's which uses low exergy heat to drive a separation process in aqueous solutions. One of its applications is desalination where thanks to its separation principle, very high distillate quality can be obtained. MD is a thermally driven process that differs from other membrane technologies in that its driving force, rather than the total pressure, is the difference in water vapour pressure across the membrane, caused in turn by a temperature difference between the cold and the hot side of it. In comparison with other membrane-based desalination processes like reverse osmosis (RO), MD shows very high rejection rates and much lower operational pressures, also the nature of MD membranes (larger pore sizes than RO) makes them much less sensitive to fouling. Compared to conventional thermal desalination processes like MSF or MED, MD is less demanding regarding vapor space and building material's quality [1] leading to potential lower construction costs. Amongst its advantages, its low operating temperatures (ranging between 60-90°C [2]) make possible the use of low-grade heat, the kind of energy delivered by static solar collectors, as the only thermal supply. This, jointly with its low operational pressure and small footprint, make solar membrane distillation (SMD) in principle, a promising technology. Despite these advantages, SMD has been developed to a lesser extent, compared with other solar desalination technologies like PV-driven RO or solar stills, and although many encouraging laboratory experiences can be found in literature, large-scaling and module design is still an issue. It is precisely because of this preliminary state MD is in, that very preliminary, low energy efficiency and not commercial available MD prototypes are still found. In MD there is still a trade-off between efficiency (heat consumption) and production (distillate per square meter of membrane), as a result very high specific distillate fluxes can be attained (up to 80 kg h -1 m -2 of membrane [3]) but heat losses (mainly trough the membrane by conduction) are still substantial. Under the framework of an European project (MEDESOL: Seawater Desalination by Innovative Solar Powered Membrane Distillation) which main objective was to develop a stand-alone desalination system based on multi stage MD to supply decentralized rural areas [4], the status and future possibilities of currently developed MD have been evaluated. This paper presents the results obtained from the experiments realized with two different pre-commercial MD modules, coupled to a solar field comprised of static collectors. Both modules were tested in the same facility under the same conditions, in order to make a reliable comparison between them. Data on energy efficiency, production ratios and operational issues will be shown.

This paper discusses the design and construction of the foundation for a bridge approach embankment which consists of back-to back mechanically stabilized earth walls (MSE) constructed within a wetland area. The walls are highest at the bridge abutment with a maximum height of 10 meters. Soil improvement was undertaken to provide suitable foundation for the approach embankment. The soil improvement consisted of installation of vibro concrete columns (VCC) penetrating the soft soil into suitable sandy soil layers in conjunction with a geotextile reinforced sand platform to transfer the embankment fill load to the VCC. This solution constituted the first use of VCC by a US Department of Transportation to support an approach embankment. The design concept of the embankment supporting system is outlined. However, emphasis is given to the behavior of the geotextile component of the system. The performance of the embankment supporting system is assessed based on monitoring data obtained f...

The presented work discusses one of the many response phenomena in the field of fluid–structure interaction, i.e. vortex-excited vibrations. The dynamic model of the examined bicable ropeway is created. Mathematical equations are derived and solved by means of numerical simulation. A methodology for studying the vortex-excited vibrations in aerial ropeways is suggested. All results, obtained during the simulation, are compared to experimental data and the coincidence satisfies the engineering criteria. The proposed models are user-friendly and flexible and thus their applicability for scientific and engineering purposes is actuated.U radu se razmatra jedna od brojnih pojava odziva iz područja interakcije fluida i strukture, tj. vrtlogom uzbuđene vibracije. Napravljen je dinamički model istraživane žičare sa dva čelična užeta. Matematičke jednadžbe su izvedene i riješene pomoću numeričke simulacije. Predložena je metodologija za istraživanje zračnim vrtlogom uzbuđenih vibracija žičar...

Main parameters of the linac-ring type charm-tau factory are discussed. Different sets of parameters for an electron linac and a positron ring have been considered. It is shown that L=10^33 cm-2 s-1 and even more can be achieved. The physics goals of this machine in investigation for charmed particles and tau lepton properties are briefly discussed. Advantages of the proposed machine in comparison with standard (ring-ring) type charm-tau factory proposals will be the possibility of the search for rare decays of tau lepton and charm quark and study of D^0-D^-0 oscillations.

In CTF3 the beam compression of the driving beam structure between the main linac and the decelerating section is obtained with a delay loop and a combiner ring which increase the pulse current by a factor 10. The design of the combiner ring is presented. Tunable isochronicity condition, corrected up to second order, should assure preservation of the correlation in the longitudinal phase space during the compression. Path-length tuning devices are included in the combiner ring layout to compensate for orbit variations.

Advanced management accounting techniques have been seen by IFAC's (1998) evolution framework as a shift towards value creation and providing timely and relevant information needed for decision making. The adoption of advanced management accounting techniques, such as Target Costing (TC), requires organizations to be able to deal with challenges and problems that may occur during the adoption process. In today's competitive environment, many companies are continuously seeking to produce high quality and functional products based on customers' expectations gleaned from market research. In meeting these objectives, TC has been widely adopted under the original leadership of Japanese TC since the 1960s. Hence, this paper aims to review the literature investigating the TC practices in non-Japanese contexts. The study focuses on the TC concept and its application in ten countries. The information is based on 35 articles which were written in English, translated, and published in various refereed international journals. Furthermore, this paper discusses the factors, issues and challenges that influence TC application in the countries, as well as the applicability level of this technique in the Malaysian context. In general, the evidence reviewed reveals a significant variation in TC practices, steps followed and participants involved in TC application in the 10 countries surveyed. In addition, environmental factors and issues relating to product features improvement are crucial for a successful implementation of TC. The paper concludes by stating that efficient supply chain management is an important element in successful TC implementation. Essentially, manufacturing firms should establish closer ties with suppliers who have a distinctive role to enhance product value in TC practices.

This paper examines the long-term impact and short-term dynamics of macroeconomic variables on international housing prices. Since adequate housing market data are generally not available and usually of low frequency, a panel cointegration analysis consisting of 15 countries over a period of thirty years is applied. Pooling the observations allows us to overcome the data restrictions which researchers face when testing long-term relationships among single real estate time series. This study does not only confirm results from previous studies but also allows for a comparison of single country estimations in an integrated equilibrium framework. The empirical results indicate positive effects on house prices arising from an increase in economic activity, construction costs, and the short-term interest rate and negative effects stemming from an increase in the long-term interest rate. Deviations from the long-term equilibrium result in a dynamic adjustment process that can take several years.

Commissioning (Cx) of new and existing buildings has been shown to reduce energy usage and can also produce non-energy related benefits such as improved occupant comfort. When compared with other initiatives such as installation of high efficiency equipment or installing photovoltaic systems, commissioning is highly cost-effective, resulting in short investment payback periods. Despite the proven benefits, commissioning is not "business as usual," and this is generally attributed to the following factors: 1. The costs and benefits of commissioning are not clearly understood by the decision-makers in the commercial buildings industry. 2. This (Point 1) is further complicated due to the lack of a single definition of what the commissioning process includes. 3. Commissioning focuses on the operation of systems and their interactions, and there is a perception that operational improvements may not persist over time. 4. While commissioning can be explained as a logical sequence of steps, the details are complex and the outcomes aren't tangible in the same way that, for example, high efficiency lighting is. That means it takes time for the buildings industry to become familiar and comfortable with the process. This report is the result of an international research project that collected data to help overcome the barriers listed in items 1, 2, and 3. The core purpose of this report was to collect data that would be of use in promoting commissioning of new and existing buildings. A secondary purpose was to define methods for determining costs, benefits, and persistence of commissioning along with understanding national differences in the definition of commissioning. Research was grouped under two broad headings: Commissioning Cost-Benefit, and Commissioning Persistence. Literature Review of Commissioning Cost-Benefit Methodologies Twelve studies were summarized, focused on studies where the cost-benefit methodologies were known. The majority were research studies of multiple buildings, and the studies ranged from research reports, databases, and marketing literature. These studies are summarized in three main aspects: 4. What problems were found, and the solutions, and 5. Non-energy benefits. Collected data was collated in spreadsheets for analysis and generation of charts of the key findings. Literature Review on the Persistence of Commissioning Benefits This review summarized the findings from five studies encompassing 37 commissioning projects from across the USA. Persistence of savings was expressed as a percentage of the original claimed savings, after a specified time has elapsed after the project (e.g., 75 % after five years). In addition to evaluating project savings, the studies covered persistence at the level of specific measures, including the reasons for measures not persisting. This study reviewed two weather normalization methods that are used in calculating energy savings from commissioning, and compared their impact on commissioning persistence claims. The two methods evaluated were: A baseline regression model (or calibrated simulation model) is created based on the precommissioning energy use and recorded temperature/humidity. In the post-commissioning period, weather data is collected, and the regression model is used to predict what the energy use would have been if commissioning hadn't occurred. The actual energy use is subtracted from the modeled prediction, and this constitutes the energy saved. Similar basic principle to the IPMVP; a regression model (or calibrated simulation model) is created using baseline data. This model is applied to a standardized 'average' weather year based on the site location in order to calculate baseline annual energy use. In the postcommissioning period the regression model is recreated using post-energy and post-weather data, and this regression model is applied to the same 'average' weather year. The difference between the two modeled average years constitutes the savings. There are a number of data collection and analysis tools that may be used for monitoring the persistence of commissioning improvements. This study described two such tools: This tool collects and compares whole-building energy use to modeled 'optimal' energy use, and identifies anomalies that point towards operational problems.

It is known that intensity of scattered radiation in X-ray generators based on Compton scattering strongly depends on relative position of electron and laser beams. For this reason it is very important to have effective system of reference orbit correction and beam position control as well along whole ring as at the interaction point. In the paper the results of design and development of reference orbit correction system for compact storage ring NESTOR are presented. Correctors will be disposed at sextopole lenses and will provide reference orbit correction angle up to 0.1 0 . The local correction at the interaction point will be provided with four correctors located at the interaction straight section. In the article results of calculations, layout of whole system, quadrupole lenses and pick-up station parameters and schemes are presented.