The case studied in the paper proves that thickening the pile cap is an effective seismic retrofit alternative to strengthen a pile group foundation. Unlike the typical seismic retrofitting of foundation, the proposed method eliminates the need to drive long piles into existing bridge substructures, substantially reducing cost, construction time and traffic interruption. The method thickens the pile cap of the bridge foundation to engage with a larger quantity of soil when under the influence of seismic excitations. The additional friction provided by the surface of the concrete encasement helps to resist the overturning moment of the earthquake forces, while the passive pressure provided by the soil helps to resist lateral forces during earthquakes. The method is recommended for implementation in the freeway bridge retrofit project in Taiwan due to construction constraints. A successful retrofit requires existing piles in at least moderate condition, detailed construction sequences and installation of the encasement.

After a careful examination and an extensive investigation of the Geopark development, all data of geological heritage, relevant research, tourism information and science education are integrated by the technologies of ArcGIS, MapServer and database software, based on the detailed analysis and design of system architecture, database design, map file handling, user interface design and system design features, so that a WebGIS-based management platform of Geopark can be created and all related information can be locally managed but remotely accessed. The platform has good usability, platform independence and scalability, can help administrators manage geological park easier.

To study the stability of waste body failure in landfill, the landfill was divided into two parts: an active wedge and a passive wedge. A limit equilibrium analysis was used to calculate the safety factor of stability in landfill. The parameters which affected the stability of the landfill were discussed. Sensitivity curves of each parameter were proposed and effect trends of various parameters on safety factor were analyzed. Cohesion c and internal friction angle фs increases linearly with the safety factor. The safety factor decreases with increasing slope angle β and filled height H. The safety factor of after landfill settlement was higher than the safety factor of settlement which did not occur. It increases the overall stability about 16%.

There are a large number of high liquid limit soil distributed in southern China. As one of the special soils commonly seen in highway construction, high liquid limit soil cannot be used in subgrade filling directly due to its special engineering properties. With the idea of saving engineering investment and protecting environment, high liquid limit soil must be improved to be qualified subgrade filling material. First, detailed laboratory tests are carried out to reveal the special properties of high liquid limit soil. Then, based on the characters of high liquid limit soil, the improving tests of liquid plastic limit, unconfined compressive strength, CBR and compaction are completed by adding different percentages of quicklime and white lime to the high liquid limit soil to study the change in the physical and mechanical properties and strength. The results show that, after being improved by lime, the high liquid limit soil can be used as subgrade filling of expressway as its liquid limit, plastic index being reduced, the strength increased and the value of CBR increased remarkably, and modified effectiveness of quicklime is better than that of white lime. Through comparison and analysis of the test results, it is found that high liquid limit soil with 5% quicklime can be used as subgrade filling material for highway since it is not only economical but also qualified to meet the requirement of improvement and strength.

Paste filling is an important research direction of coalmine “green mining” which can dispose coalmines solid waste and achieve environmental protection. The mechanical properties such as compressive strength, workability, ultimate tension value, shear strength and splitting strength of paste, in which the fly ash was partially replaced by limestone powder, was studied. Adiabatic temperature rise, setting time, shear strength, permeability, frost resistance and dry shrinkage of different substitution rate were investigated and the results were compared with traditional paste. The test results showed that the influence of limestone powder on workability, permeability and frost resistance performance of paste was slight, the setting time of paste were shortened, adiabatic temperature rise and mechanics performance of paste were decreased, dry shrinkage value was increased with limestone powder content increasing.

Architectural generative design has gained an overwhelming contemporary popularity when it comes to the digital architecture research. This paper proposes a model which mimics the growth of plants. Take the growth of a plant for example, branches grow before leaves. Similarly, the inward streamlines initiated from various entrances and exits within the boundaries of individual building are like branches, so are the functional areas to leaves. With the help of this idea, a growth model framework based on flat column grid cellular automata has been established which develops organic integration between CA model, site column grid and spatial database model. This model not only simulates the expansion of architectural space, but also reflects the building spatial variation of internal structure. It is a space-time dynamic model with basic features of complex systems and has great practical reference value for architects to understand the evolution process of architectural space. To help designers improve the efficiency of project decision, this paper uses genetic algorithm to obtain the positioning of function area, so as to effectively simulate the thought process of a successful architect.

According to modern seismic codes, in concentrically braced frames the seismic input energy should be dissipated by means of the hysteretic behaviour of braces while all the other members (i.e. beams and columns) have to remain elastic. Accordingly, the design internal forces of braces are determined in these codes by elastic analysis of the structure subjected to seismic forces obtained by the design spectrum. The internal forces of the non-dissipative members, instead, are calculated by means of specified rules for the application of capacity design principles. According to some recent numerical analyses, the yielding or buckling of columns may take place before braces achieve their axial deformation capacity. This paper investigates the reasons of this unsatisfactory behaviour and proposes technological suggestions and a design procedure to improve the seismic performance of columns of building structures with diagonal braces.

Shaft lining concrete itself has a certain degree of initial damage before being corroded by sulfate. In order to study the resistance of the concrete of the initial damage in different corrosion solution concentration of sulfate, samples of concrete without initial damage, loaded 50% ultimate load and loaded 70% ultimate load with initial damage concrete were selected and studied their corrosion resistance in 9%, 12% and 15% concentrations of sulfate solution. The results show that compared with concrete with no initial damage, the concrete with initial damage resistance to sulfate corrosion is varied. With the increased concentration of the corrosion solution, the concrete with worse initial damage exhibited much lower resistance to sulfate corrosion.

This paper analyzes the slope stress analysis of seepage-stress field under the condition of water lifting of reservoir slope, taking a practical reservoir slope project for example, on the basis of investigation and study of the geological environment, the soil geology model of the reservoir slope is established. On the basis of interaction calculation module of the fluid structure in the software Geo-Studio and Biot theory, finite element method of seepage-stress field coupling is applied to study the variation of stress field of the reservoir slope mainly with strong weathering argillaceous sandstone and marl, on the condition that reservoir water level rise and fall. The maximum principal stress is mainly compressive stress, the tensile stress just distributes near the top of the slope; the minimum principal stress is mainly compressive stress.

Building maintenance is the responsibility of its owner which must use, whenever appropriate, a technician to perform the inspection. A good maintenance depends on the analysis of the anomalies detected during the inspection of the site. Building Information Models (BIM) have revealed themselves as a good tool when it comes to supporting maintenance actions, due to their ability to store enough information in one digital model. The aim of the proposed work was to implement the benefits provided by BIM on a software tool used as support to maintenance of buildings. During an inspection activity for maintenance purposes, the implemented application, containing a rigorous database, allows the user to identify each anomaly present in building components, directly onto the BIM model, automatically associating them with probable causes, repair methods and a photograph of the anomaly uploaded at the site. Therefore, gains in productivity and a decrease in the error probability can be achieved. The inspection data is stored in the BIM model, making it suitable for consultation when planning maintenance. Additionally, it was case study the interoperability between BIM modeling and visualizing software, regarding the preservation of information, especially in the standard format Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). This work contributed to demonstrate, not only that there are still problems concerning the interoperability between BIM software, but also the advantages of employing BIM for building maintenance purposes.