Frontiers in Built Environment 

About: Frontiers in Built Environment is an academic journal published by Frontiers Media. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Engineering & Computer science. It has an ISSN identifier of 2297-3362. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 1150 publications have been published receiving 9052 citations.

The 2015 Gorkha Nepal Earthquake: Insights from Earthquake Damage Survey

Abstract: The 2015 Gorkha Nepal earthquake caused tremendous damage and loss. To gain valuable lessons from this tragic event, an earthquake damage investigation team was dispatched to Nepal from 1 May 2015 to 7 May 2015. A unique aspect of the earthquake damage investigation is that first-hand earthquake damage data were obtained 6 to 11 days after the mainshock. To gain deeper understanding of the observed earthquake damage in Nepal, the paper reviews the seismotectonic setting and regional seismicity in Nepal and analyzes available aftershock data and ground motion data. The earthquake damage observations indicate that the majority of the damaged buildings were stone/brick masonry structures with no seismic detailing, whereas the most of RC buildings were undamaged. This indicates that adequate structural design is the key to reduce the earthquake risk in Nepal. To share the gathered damage data widely, the collected damage data (geo-tagged photos and observation comments) are organized using Google Earth and the kmz file is made publicly available.

Grand Challenges in Transportation and Transit Systems

Abstract: Transportation and transit systems draw upon broad spectra of research fields due to the diversity and interconnectivity of transport modes, including road, rail, aviation, pipeline, maritime, or even aerospace. These systems have evolved over centuries to be considerably more efficient and environment-friendly for a wide range of customers. The fundamental principle "safety first" is still the key priority in most research today. However, thanks to extensive interface with various customers; research and innovation in practices have shifted from optimizing functional purposes and targets through each stage of life cycle toward modernization, reliability, resilience, and better quality of life. These initiatives additionally coincide with the grand challenges for engineering proposed by the National Academy of Engineering and the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (National Academy of Engineering, 2015). Language: en

The Concept of Sustainability in Smart City Definitions

Abstract: Smart cities have emerged as a possible solution to sustainability problems deriving from rapid urbanization. They are considered imperative for a sustainable future. Despite their recent popularity, the literature reveals the lack of conceptual clarity around the term of smart city, due to the plethora of existing definitions. This comprehensive literature review has identified 43 smart city definitions assessed according to the dimensions of sustainability that they consider, environmental, economic or social, and the priority in which they accord the concept of sustainability. The study revealed the common and opposite characteristics of the definitions according to the sustainability dimensions they consider and discussed the limitations they present. Such limitations appear to be related to citizen accessibility, misrepresentation and the particularity of existing urban fabrics. Taking into account these issues, as well as the difference between the smart city vision and its actual implementation, a new updated definition is proposed. The findings of the present study contribute to knowledge and practice by aiding conceptual clarity and, in particular, by drawing attention to underlying assumptions about the role of sustainability in smart city development.

A comparative study of differential evolution variants in constrained structural optimization

Abstract: Differential evolution (DE) is a population-based metaheuristic algorithm that optimizes a problem by iteratively trying to improve a candidate solution with regard to a given measure of quality. Such algorithms make few or no assumptions about the problem being optimized and can search very large spaces of candidate solutions. DE is arguably one of the most versatile and stable population-based search algorithms that exhibits robustness to multi-modal problems. In the field of structural engineering, most real-world optimization problems are associated with one or several constraints. Constrained optimization problems are often challenging to solve due to their complexity and high nonlinearity. In this work we examine the performance of several DE variants, namely the traditional DE, the composite DE (CODE), the adaptive DE with optional external archive (JADE) and the self-adaptive DE (JDE and SADE), for handling constrained structural optimization problems associated with truss structures. The performance of each DE variant is evaluated by using five well-known benchmark structures in 2D and 3D. The evaluation is done on the basis of final optimum result and the rate of convergence. Valuable conclusions are obtained from the statistical analysis which can help a structural engineer in practice to choose the suitable algorithm for these kind of problems.

Bridge damage detection based on vibration data: past and new developments

Abstract: Overtime, the structural condition of bridges tends to decline due to a number of degradation processes, such as creep, corrosion and cyclic loading, among others. Considerable research has been conducted over the years to assess and monitor the rate of such degradation with the aim of reducing structural uncertainty. Traditionally, vibration-based damage detection techniques in bridges have focused on monitoring changes to modal parameters and subsequently comparing them to numerical models. These traditional techniques are generally time consuming and can often mistake changing environmental and operational conditions as structural damage. Recent research has seen the emergence of more advanced computational techniques that not only allow the assessment of noisier and more complex data, but also allow research to veer away from monitoring changes in modal parameters alone. This paper presents a review of the current state-of-the-art developments in vibration based damage detection in small to medium span bridges with particular focus on the utilization of advanced computational methods that avoid traditional damage detection pitfalls. A case study of the S101 Bridge is also presented to test the damage sensitivity a chosen methodology.