Civil Engineering Research Papers/Topics

A measure of sustainability in the context of urban water management in South Africa

Abstract The aim of this research was to develop an understanding of and measure the potential for sustainability in a South African urban water context. This was achieved through the use of a systems approach to develop and evaluate a composite index – the Sustainability Index for Integrated Urban Water Management (SIUWM) – based on a vision of what sustainable urban water management means to decision makers at selected local authorities around the country. The vision was expanded into ...

The evaluation and improvement of a Sustainability Index for Integrated Urban Water Management in South African Cities

Abstract Water is not only essential for maintaining life; it is a key component of sustainable social and economic development having links to, inter alia, health, “sense of place”, food production and industrial growth. Although progress has been made with regard to water supply, it is estimated that there are still 2.4 million people in South Africa without access to adequate water and sanitation services as defined by the United Nations (Statistics South Africa, 2008). It is possible...

Biological Sulphate Reduction Using Primary Sewage Sludge As Energy Source In An Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Bed Reactor

ABSTRACT BIOLOGICAL SULPHATE REDUCTION USING PRIMARY SEWAGE SLUDGE AS ENERGY SOURCE IN AN UPFLOW ANAEROBIC SLUDGE BED REACTOR Since the economics of biological sulphate reduction (BSR) are driven by the economics of the organic carbon source, the BioSURE® process has been developed as a low-cost effective system where primary sewage sludge (PSS) is used as the energy source. This research investigates the use of PSS for BSR in an upflow anaerobic sludge bed (UASB) reactor in detail in ord...

An Investigation Into The Use Of Concrete Block Construction In Low Cost Housing In The Western Cape

ABSTRACT South Africa is possibly facing the biggest housing backlog in its history, and the backlog is growing annually. The ability and means to deliver must be improved, together with a compromise between the construction materials used and the occupants' preferences. This study seeks to examine the use of concrete block construction for the wall superstructure of low cost housing in terms of affordability and acceptability by the end-users. Three objectives of this research study, which ...

An Anisotropic Damage Model For Rock

Abstract An anisotropic damage model is proposed for the constitutive description of microcracking processes in brittle rock under a general loading path. Experimental data and micromechanical models are reviewed to quantify the effect of microcracking on the material stiffness and the mechanisms of microcrack formation in brittle rocks under compression are discussed. The sliding crack concept is adopted as the micromechanical basis of the anisotropic damage model. Undamaged material is rep...

Mathematical Simulation Of Dynamic Behaviour Of Secondary Settling Tanks

ABSTRACT MATHEMATICAL SIMULATION OF DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR OF SECONDARY SETTLING TANKS The main objective of this thesis was to briiig the theoretical and practical aspects of secondary settling tank developments closer together. This was achieved firstly, by evaluating and developing empirical relationships from which the flux theory constants may be derived from simpler sludge settleability measures; and secondly, by developing a computer model for the simulation of dynamic behaviour of full sca...

The Effects Of Rotational Inertia On The Response Of Dynamically Loaded Structures

ABSTRACT Engineering structures subjected to dynamic loading exhibit vibration motions. These vibrations induce accelerations on the structures and their component parts. The accelerations in turn generate inertia forces that propagate the vibrations and significantly affect the response of the structures and their components parts to external loading. This cyclic cause and effect situation result in randomly oriented and time-dependent displacements as the basic response criteria of s...

Effect Of Refuse Dump On Underground Water Quality

ABSTRACT The major source of water in EMENE, the study area is rain, streams and well water. Waste management has been a problem in Nigeria and so many developing nations. Most organic pollutant and pollute our underground waters. In this research, three wells were reported polluted in the compound of Adedoyin school of preliminary studies, this research was carried out to know if pollution was as a result of a dump site found inside the compound. Well B was more closer to the dump site, fol...

Appraisal Of Construction Management Practice In Nigeria

ABSTRACT Construction industry has complexity in it nature because it contains large number of parties such as clients, consultants and contractors. The factors that influence construction management practice differ from country to country, due to prevailing conditions. The objective of this project is to identify factors that influence construction management practice in Nigeria construction industry and elicit perceptions/ranking of the severity using relative importance index of the vario...

Kinetics Of Biosorption Of Three Heavy Metals By Five Selected Microorganisms

ABSTRACT In the recent time, the use of low cost biosorbents like bacteria, fungi, algae and some agricultural by-products have been investigated for their biosorption capacities. In this work, the biosorptions of three heavy metals (zinc, copper and manganese) from aqueous wastewater solution by five micro-organisms (Bacillus circulans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus xylosus, Streptomyces rimosus and Saccharomyces sp.(Yeast) were investigated using a combined flow and batch process...

Analysis Of Orthotropic Plates In Free Vibration Regime Using Rayleigh – Ritz Method

ABSTRACT The assumed deflection shapes used in the approximate methods such asin the Rayleigh–Ritz method were normally formulated by inspection andsometimes by trial and error, until recently, when a systematic method ofconstructing such a function in the form of characteristic orthogonal polynomials(COPs) was developed in 1985. However, vibrational analyses of plates with all edges free or clamped are much more complicated. This project aims at establishing particular expressions for the...

Impact Of Stress On The Performance Of Construction Professionals In Nigeria

Abstract In Nigeria, stress challenges are usually prevalent mostly in construction industry. The construction industry is a competitive and challenging industry. Therefore, most of the construction professionals suffer from stress. This study aims to explore the relationship between stressors, stress levels, performance, and coping behaviors among construction professionals. These professionals include project managers, architects, field and office engineers, designers, and other profe...

Effects Of Particle Sizes On Bioremediation Of Crude Oil Polluted Sandy Soils

Abstract Bioremediation has been proven to be the most effective method of cleaning up oil contaminated soils through the application of nutrients and microorganism to contaminated soils. Hence, this research was aimed at investigating the effects of particle sizes on bioremediation of crude oil polluted sandy soils. Six different soil samples were sieved using the B.S sieve sizes. The sieve sizes were classified into X and Y such that X is fine to coarse sand while Y is very fine to coarse ...

Optimum Utilization of Human Recourses by Construction Companies in Sudan

 In this research was to highlight the most important sources possessed by any organization to achieve its desired image and increase their rate of production and increase their profits and expand their activities, making the construction industry in Sudan industry with many benefits such as opening business opportunities for human cadres in various specializations and take advantage of them and their energy and experience to the labor market in Sudan and work the establishment of proj...

The Effect Of Bioremediation On The Compaction Parameters, Cbr, And Permeability Of Oil Polluted Soil.

ABSTRACT Environmental pollution with petroleum and petrochemical products has been recognized as one of the most important and serious challenges facing environment engineers. Disposal from mechanic sites, accidental leakages from petroleum carrying ships, vandalization of pipelines, have all contributed to the current common oil pollution in Nigeria today. The currently used physical and chemical remediation are effective for the degradation of petroleum products but the affected medium lo...


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