Samad M.E. Sepasgozar

By Faham Tahmasebinia, Samad Mohammad Ebrahimzadeh Sepasgozar, Hannah Blum, Kakarla Raghava Reddy, Fernando Alonso-Marroquin, Qile Gao, Yang Hu, Xu Wang and Zhongzheng Wang

This chapter explores the possibility of designing and constructing a super-long-span bridge with new materials in 2050. The proposed bridge design has a total span of 4440 m with two 330-m end spans and a central span of 3780 m. The height of the two pylons is 702 m, and the deck width is 40 m. The features of this structure include the combination of a suspension bridge and cable-stayed bridge, application of carbon fibre materials, extension of deck width and pretension techniques. Linear static analysis, dynamic analysis and theoretical analysis are conducted under different loading cases. In linear static analysis, the stresses under critical load combinations are smaller than the ultimate strength of the materials. However, the maximum deflection under the dead and wind load combination exceeds the specified serviceability limit.

Part of the book: Bridge Engineering

By Faham Tahmasebinia, Chengguo Zhang, Ismet Canbulat, Samad M.E. Sepasgozar, Onur Vardar, Serkan Saydam and Chen Chen

The dynamic capacity of a support system is dependent on the connectivity and compatibility of its reinforcement and surface support elements. Connectivity refers to the capacity of a system to transfer the dynamic load from an element to another, for example, from the reinforcement to the surface support through plates and terminating arrangements (split set rings, nuts, etc.), or from a reinforcement/holding element to others via the surface support. Compatibility is related to the difference in stiffness amongst support elements. Load transfer may not take place appropriately when there are strong stiffness contrasts within a ground support system. Case studies revealed premature failures of stiffer elements prior to utilising the full capacity of more deformable elements within the same system. From a design perspective, it is important to understand that the dynamic-load capacity of a ground support system depends not only on the capacity of its reinforcement elements but also, and perhaps most importantly, on their compatibility with other elements of the system and on the strength of the connections. The failure of one component of the support system usually leads to the failure of the system.

Part of the book: Computational Models in Engineering

By Samad M.E. Sepasgozar, Sara Shirowzhan and Faham Tahmasebinia

Part of the book: Infrastructure Management and Construction

By Reyhaneh Karimi, Behnaz Avazpour and Samad M.E. Sepasgozar

The gradual transformation of courtyard houses to apartments has contributed to the omission of certain spaces. The ill-matching of modern housing, with people’s lifestyles, has caused undesirable changes to their quality of life, health and well-being. Providing houses that suit individuals’ lifestyles plays an important role in the building social sustainability as well as economic and environmental aspects; this article will investigate, alongside, ways to improve private open areas in apartments. Two- to six-floor residential buildings in Kuye Nasr neighborhood were chosen to find factors that can improve the desirability of private open areas. First, a number of factors were collected by taking photos and conducting field studies. Next, several residents were randomly asked to share their opinions about such areas. Finally, a questionnaire examined the reliability of factors, which was then distributed to 100 residents. The final data was analyzed utilizing SPSS23. This study reveals that the functional aspect of a balcony is the most important item among semantic, perceptual, functional, physical, environmental, and beauty aspects. The following factors can contribute to residents’ satisfaction with balconies: dimensions; use of plants; connection with sky; peace and comfort; safety; function; and beauty. Findings additionally suggests the connection of balcony with kitchen.

Part of the book: Smart Cities and Construction Technologies

By Sara Shirowzhan, Laurence Kimmel, Mohammad Mojtahedi, Samad Sepasgozar and Jack Peacock

The architecture of educational buildings is required to meet the contemporary needs and follow regulations concerning safety issues in an intelligent, resilient, and systematic manner. However, the current literature generally neglects to identify geo-referenced risks within GIS environment based on the users’ perceptions of educational environments. This research aims to present a newly formulated risk evaluation criteria for assessing the spaces within and outside educational buildings. This chapter investigates students’ experience of using different micro-spaces, architects’ predesign assumptions and expectations of the spaces, and post-design assessment of the spaces. Two case studies of educational spaces within University of New South Wales campus in Kensington, Sydney was selected, and the questionnaire method was employed to collect data from students, who routinely use the selected areas. By comparing the results of the two buildings and mapping them in GIS, it is suggested that feelings of safety and security can be increased via improving the building features and enhancing the building control and security control, for example, installing CCTV and other security infrastructure. Data-driven findings mapped into GIS create a prototype for the identification of problematic areas on a map. The results help decision-makers to understand risks and strengthen risk reduction strategies. This work is also a step towards smarter buildings and enhanced preparedness for an effective response to a security threat, both minimal and extreme.

Part of the book: Smart Cities and Construction Technologies

By Farhad Soheili, Reyhaneh Karimi, Behnaz Avazpour and Samad M.E. Sepasgozar

Close attention to education and its effects on the identities of societies has been ingrained in the history of studies. Nowadays, a considerable amount of criticism in the field of education is related to inefficient and obsolete educational scheduling, with a large number of researchers exploring new learning methods. Logically, these new methods require new architectural environments, which can meet the needs of a new generation with the approach of positively affecting students’ learning efficiency. The main purpose of this research is to identify effective factors in students’ sense of attachment to school. First, this research finds factors on the sense of attachment by studying past literature. Second, a number of questions and hypothesis are developed. Third, in order to validate the effective factors and answer the developed questions, a questionnaire is devised and distributed among 278 students of 10 state primary schools of Shahriyar, Iran. The collected data are then analyzed using SPSS software. The findings indicate that there is a meaningful relation between students’ educational efficiency and their sense of attachment to school. It also shows that important factors, such as social activities and connection with natural elements in design, can have a noticeable impact on the students’ sense of attachment to school and consequently their educational efficiency.

Part of the book: Smart Cities and Construction Technologies

By Anqi Shi, Sara Shirowzhan, Samad M.E. Sepasgozar and Alireza Kaboli

Digital construction is increasingly introduced to the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. The fifth dimension of Building Information Modeling (5D BIM) has a significant contribution to the AEC industry, such as managing time and costs and resources management. However, 5D BIM has not fulfilled its promise completely. The major challenge of implementing the 5D BIM technology and applications is the interoperability between technologies and the low accuracy of measurement estimations. Dynamo is adopted in this chapter for detailed quantity measurement. Three-dimensional printing (3DP) is one of the additive manufacturing technologies which is recommended to be used in construction. 3DP is aiming to create complex and customized geometries. This chapter demonstrates how to apply the Dynamo scripts of detailed quantity take-off for estimating the volume of elements created by 3DP. Dynamo as a quantity take-off Add-in in Revit is always used for detailed quantity take-off or precise model created. After the detailed quantity take-off from Revit, the data can be exported into Excel extension, which allows the quantity surveyors to insert the price per unit to the file and to generate a Bill of Quantity (BOQ). This chapter will offer a procedure for applying Dynamo through two selected case studies.

Part of the book: Smart Cities and Construction Technologies

By Mohsen Ghobadi and Samad M.E. Sepasgozar

While Virtual Reality (VR) technology has experienced a recent growth in interest and offers immense potential in a number of domains, there is still insufficient information on the acceptance and adoption of this technology among individual users. The purpose of this chapter is to examine the acceptance and adaptation of people using VR technology in the construction industry and to identify factors that prevent VR technology from being adopted more widely in the construction industry. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to approach this research problem among 15 students and academic staff members at two universities. The results of this research indicate that VR technology is acceptable to people who work in the construction industry. However, there are barriers to further adoption of VR technology, namely high VR hardware and software requirements, low affordability, and low accessibility. This research also proposes several resolutions to these barriers, including preparing facilities by construction industries and universities, providing software and hardware requirements for VR technologies, and decreasing the price of VR devices. The results of this research are of immense value to suppliers and companies affiliated with this technology. Further research is required to demonstrate the functionality of VR technology in the construction industry.

Part of the book: Smart Cities and Construction Technologies

By Reyhaneh Karimi, Leila Farahzadi, Samad M.E. Sepasgozar, Sharifeh Sargolzaei, Sanee M. Ebrahimzadeh Sepasgozar, Mohsen Zareian and Akram Nasrolahi

Technology, particularly over the past decades, has affected the cities and their components, such as building sectors. Consequently, smart building that has currently utilized various technologies which is incorporated into buildings is the core of the present chapter. It provides a comprehensive overview on smart cities, smart buildings and smart home to address what systems and technologies have been incorporated so far. The aim is to review the smart concepts in built environment with the main focus on smart cities, smart buildings, and smart homes. State-of-the-art and current practices in smart buildings were also reviewed to enlighten a set of directions for future studies. The Chapter is primarily focuses on 51 articles in smart buildings/homes, as per collected from various datasets. It represents a summary of systems utilized and incorporared into smart buildings and homes over the past decade (2010–2020). Additional to different features of smart buildings and homes, is the discussion around various fields and system performances currently utilized in smart buildings/homes. Limitations and future trends and directions is also discussed. In total, such building/home systems were categorized into 6 groups, including: security systems, healthcare systems, energy management systems, building/home management systems, automation systems, and activity/movement recognition systems. Furthermore, there are a number of surveys which investigated the user’s acceptance and adoption of the new smart systems in homes and buildings, as presented and summarized thereafter in Tables. The present Chapter is a contribution to a better understanding of the functions and performances of such buildings/homes for further implementation and enhancement so that varying demands of smart citizens are fulfilled and eventually contribute to the development of smart cities.

Part of the book: Advances and Technologies in Building Construction and Structural Analysis

By Samad Sepasgozar, José David Bienvenido-Huertas, Sara Shirowzhan and Sharifeh Sargolzae

Part of the book: Design of Cities and Buildings