Construction & Building Technology

Article Construction & Building Technology

Token incentive framework for virtual-reality-based construction safety training

Quy Lan Bao, Si Van-Tien Tran, Jaehun Yang, Akeem Pedro, Hai Chien Pham, Chansik Park

Summary: This paper proposes a token incentive mechanism based on blockchain technology for VR-based safety training, aiming to motivate employees to participate in safety training and improve their safety awareness. Interactive system trials show that the proposed framework can effectively motivate employees to engage in safety training and enhance their safety awareness and knowledge before performing tasks in construction sites.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

A transformer and self-cascade operation-based architecture for segmenting high-resolution bridge cracks

Honghu Chu, Lu Deng, Huaqing Yuan, Lizhi Long, Jingjing Guo

Summary: The study proposes a method called Cascade CATransUNet for high-resolution crack image segmentation. This method combines the coordinate attention mechanism and self-cascaded design to accurately segment cracks. Through a customized feature extraction architecture and an optimized boundary loss function, the proposed method achieves impressive segmentation performance on HR images and demonstrates its practicality in UAV crack detection tasks.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Experimental and theoretical study on longitudinal deformation and internal force of shield tunnel under surcharge

Zhi Ding, Xiao Zhang, Shao-Heng He, Yong-Jie Qi, Cun-Gang Lin

Summary: This study investigates the longitudinal behavior of a shield tunnel by designing and constructing a reduced-size indoor model. The results show that the longitudinal settlement of the tunnel follows a normal distribution, with the maximum settlement occurring at the central ring and increasing linearly with the applied load. Stress concentration typically occurs on the side of the tunnel waist under surcharge, resulting in transverse elliptical deformation of the entire structure.

TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Pollutant concentration prediction from traffic data analysis for concrete durability studies in Madrid Calle 30 urban tunnels

Lucia Lopez-de-Abajo, Marcos G. Alberti, Jaime C. Galvez

Summary: Assessing and predicting concrete damage is crucial for infrastructure management. This study quantifies gas concentrations in urban tunnels to achieve this goal.

TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Deformation analysis and protection measures of existing metro tunnels effected by river channel excavation in soft soils

Chao He, Yinghao Cai, Chenqiang Pu, Shunhua Zhou, Honggui Di, Xiaohui Zhang

Summary: This paper investigates the impact of river channel excavation on adjacent metro tunnels and proposes protective measures based on an engineering project in Fuzhou, China. A three-dimensional finite element model is developed to calculate the displacements and distortion of tunnels under different excavation sequences and soil reinforcement measures. Real-time monitoring confirms that the vertical displacements and diametrical distortion of tunnels are primarily caused by the excavation of the river above the tunnels, while horizontal displacements are induced by the excavation next to the tunnels. The study recommends a combination of cement slurry with a portal form and concrete with a plate form for soil reinforcement and tunnel protection.

TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Achieving fine-grained urban flood perception and spatio-temporal evolution analysis based on social media

Zhiyu Yan, Xiaogang Guo, Zilong Zhao, Luliang Tang

Summary: This study proposes a novel framework for fine-grained information extraction and dynamic spatial-temporal awareness in disaster-stricken areas based on social media data. The framework utilizes deep learning modules to extract location and water depth information from text and images, and analyzes the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics. The results show that the fusion of text and image-based information can enhance the perception of flood processes.

SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Powering up urban mobility: A comparative study of energy efficiency in electric and diesel buses across various lane configurations

Sijia Sun, S. F. A. Batista, Monica Menendez, Yuanqing Wang, Shuang Zhang

Summary: This paper comprehensively analyzes the energy consumption characteristics of electric buses (EBs) and diesel buses (DBs) on different bus lane configurations and operational conditions. The study shows that EBs consume less energy in suburban areas when using regular lanes, while both EBs and DBs save substantial energy when operating on dedicated bus lanes in downtown areas. Notably, shared-use bus lanes have the highest energy consumption.

SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Atomic-scale identification of defects in alite

Qi Zheng, Chengyao Liang, Jinyang Jiang, Haiyan Mao, Karen C. Bustillo, Chengyu Song, Jeffrey A. Reimer, Paulo J. M. Monteiro, Haimei Zheng, Shaofan Li

Summary: This study used scanning transmission electron microscopy to examine defects in cement particles at the single-atom level. The researchers identified different types of defects and found that they play a crucial role in cement hydration, facilitating dissolution and providing nucleation sites for hydration products.

CEMENT AND CONCRETE RESEARCH (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Mapping urban green equity and analysing its impacted mechanisms: A novel approach

Yuchi Cao, Yan Li, Shouyun Shen, Weiwei Wang, Xiao Peng, Jiaao Chen, Jingpeng Liao, Xinyi Lv, Yifan Liu, Lehan Ma, Guodian Hu, Jinghuan Jiang, Dan Sun, Qingchu Jiang, Qiulin Liao

Summary: The study reveals significant disparities in urban green equity, with high property price areas having better access to green spaces than low property price areas. Landscape and greening have the most significant impact on urban green space differentiation.

SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Contextual multimodal approach for recognizing concurrent activities of equipment in tunnel construction projects

Gilsu Jeong, Minhyuk Jung, Seongeun Park, Moonseo Park, Changbum Ryan Ahn

Summary: This study introduces a contextual audio-visual approach to recognize multi-equipment activities in tunnel construction sites, improving monitoring effectiveness. Tested against real-world operation data, the model achieved remarkable results, emphasizing the potential of contextual multimodal models in enhancing operational efficiency in complex construction sites.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Efficient semi-supervised surface crack segmentation with small datasets based on consistency regularisation and pseudo-labelling

Elyas Asadi Shamsabadi, Seyed Mohammad Hassan Erfani, Chang Xu, Daniel Dias-da-Costa

Summary: Authors acknowledge the support from the University of Sydney.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Cooperative scheduling and trading in sustainable water-integrated and networked energy systems incorporating power-to-gas

Hamid Karimi, Saeed Hasanzadeh, Hedayat Saboori

Summary: This paper presents a stochastic and cooperative approach for the operation of a cluster of interconnected multi-energy systems. The proposed model investigates the interaction among energy systems and integrates hydrogen and water systems into the overall energy structure. The model studies the performance of energy system agents in decentralized and cooperative scheduling.

SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND SOCIETY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

An AI-powered approach to improving tunnel blast performance considering geological conditions

Yaosheng Liu, Ang Li, Feng Dai, Ruochen Jiang, Yi Liu, Rui Chen

Summary: In this study, a hybrid model based on a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and meta-heuristic algorithms was developed to improve blast performance during tunnel excavation. Precise prediction of post-blasting indicators was important for optimization, and a comparison of meta-heuristic algorithms was conducted to find the most suitable model. The results showed that the developed model effectively reduces overbreak areas and quantitatively analyzes the influence of geological conditions.

TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Improved coverage path planning for indoor robots based on BIM and robotic configurations

Zhengyi Chen, Hao Wang, Keyu Chen, Changhao Song, Xiao Zhang, Boyu Wang, Jack C. P. Cheng

Summary: This study proposes an improved coverage path planning system that leverages building information modeling and robotic configurations to optimize coverage performance in indoor environments. Experimental validation shows the effectiveness and applicability of the system. Future research will focus on further enhancing coverage ratio and optimizing computation time.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Review Construction & Building Technology

Human-robot collaboration for modular construction manufacturing: Review of academic research

Yonglin Fu, Junjie Chen, Weisheng Lu

Summary: This study presents a review of human-robot collaboration (HRC) in modular construction manufacturing (MCM), focusing on tasks, human roles, and interaction levels. The review found that HRC solutions are applicable to various MCM tasks, with a primary focus on timber component production. It also revealed the diverse collaborative roles humans can play and the varying levels of interaction with robots.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Review Construction & Building Technology

Breaking new ground: Opportunities and challenges in tunnel boring machine operations with integrated management systems and artificial intelligence

Jorge Loy-Benitez, Myung Kyu Song, Yo-Hyun Choi, Je-Kyum Lee, Sean Seungwon Lee

Summary: This paper discusses the advancement of tunnel boring machines (TBM) through the application of artificial intelligence. It highlights the significance of AI-based management subsystems for automatic TBM operations and presents recent contributions in this field. The paper evaluates modeling, monitoring, and control subsystems and suggests research paths for integrating existing management subsystems into TBM automation.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Lightweight convolutional neural network driven by small data for asphalt pavement crack segmentation

Jia Liang, Qipeng Zhang, Xingyu Gu

Summary: A lightweight PCSNet-based segmentation model is developed to address the issues of insufficient performance in feature extraction and boundary loss information. The introduction of generalized Dice loss improves prediction performance, and the visualization of class activation mapping enhances model interpretability.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Prediction of the slurry pressure and inversion of formation characteristics based on a machine learning algorithm during tunnelling in a fault fracture zone

Xiang Shen, Yifan Chen, Liqiang Cao, Xiangsheng Chen, Yanbin Fu, Chengyu Hong

Summary: In this paper, a machine learning-based method for predicting the slurry pressure in shield tunnel construction is proposed. By considering the influence of fault fracture zones and setting the formation influence coefficient, the accuracy of the prediction is significantly improved.

TUNNELLING AND UNDERGROUND SPACE TECHNOLOGY (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Robust optimization for geometrical design of 2D sequential interlocking assemblies

Pierre Gilibert, Romain Mesnil, Olivier Baverel

Summary: This paper introduces a flexible method for crafting 2D assemblies adaptable to various geometric assumptions in the realm of sustainable construction. By utilizing digital fabrication technologies and optimization approaches, precise control over demountable buildings can be achieved, improving mechanical performance and sustainability.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)

Article Construction & Building Technology

Automated detection of through-cracks in pavement using three-instantaneous attributes fusion and Swin Transformer network

Hao Huang, Xueli Hao, Lili Pei, Jiangang Ding, Yujiao Hu, Wei Li

Summary: This study proposes an automated detection method based on the fusion of three instantaneous attributes and the Swin Transformer network to improve the performance of existing through-crack detection networks. The results show that the dataset constructed using instantaneous amplitude and instantaneous frequency exhibited the best performance, with an improvement of 5.4% in mean average precision compared to the initial network.

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION (2024)