Information systems in geotechnics

The article considers the information modeling of buildings together with the foundation within the information system and the stages of its implementation. The workflow for building a 3D geotechnical model includes surface relief data, field and laboratory test data, soil lithology, geometric characteristics of the foundation structure and load. Automated systems with processing and interpretation of test data are used to determine the characteristics of soils. Mathematical modeling of the behavior of the foundations of the foundations with various input data is performed using analytical solutions and numerical methods. The natural heterogeneity of soil properties and its impact on the behavior of buildings is estimated by the sensitivity indicator of the foundation-foundation system by introducing virtual workings between the existing normative ones and the subsequent calculation of the precipitation and roll of the foundation.

Investigating the Effect of Metal Nanomaterials on the Moisture Sensitivity Process of Asphalt Mixes

One of the most common damages in asphalt mixes is the destructive effect of moisture on the binder cohesion and binder–aggregate adhesion which is called moisture damage. There are various methods to improve adhesion and reduce moisture damage in asphalt mixes. The most common of them is using an appropriate additive for binder modification. Accordingly, the current research was conducted to investigate the effect of two nanomaterials (Nano CuO, and Nano SnO2) in 2 different percentages on 2 types of aggregates (granite and limestone) and a type of base binder. In order to investigate the effect of nanomaterials, indirect tensile cyclic loading (the same as resilient modulus test) in dry and wet conditions and surface free energy (SFE) method were used. The moisture sensitivity indicator which shows stripping percentage of aggregate surface in loading cycles using SFE results and indirect tensile cyclic loading, has been considered as the moisture sensitivity indicator in this research. Results of mechanical tests used in this research show that nanomaterials have significantly increased asphalt mixes strength in comparison to control specimens. Results obtained from SFE method show that nanomaterials increase the cohesion free energy; this change causes a reduction in the possibility of failure in binder membrane. Additionally, nanoparticles have increased and reduced basic component and acidic component of SFE, respectively. This leads to improvement of their adhesion with acidic aggregates, which is sensitive to moisture damage.

Economic-Mathematical Model for Assessing the Sensitivity of International Innovation and Investment Projects

International innovation and investment activity occupy a special place in the system of modern international business. The authors propose an economic and mathematical model for assessing the sensitivity of international innovation and investment projects by the criterion of net present value. It is advised to use the obtained sensitivity indicator as an additional one in assessing the economic efficiency of international innovation and investment projects of an enterprise. The proposed model makes it possible to determine the effect of several internal parameters simultaneously on the net present value of the project.

Airflow sensitivity assessment based on the underground mine ventilation systems modeling

This paper presents a methodology for determining the sensitivity of the main air flow directions in ventilation subnetworks to changes of aerodynamic resistance and of air density in mine workings. Formulae for determination of the sensitivity of the main subnetwork air flows by establishing the degree of dependency of the air volume stream in a given working on the variations in resistance or air density of other workings of the network have been developed. They have been implemented in the VentGraph mine ventilation network simulator. This software, widely used in Polish collieries provides an extended possibility to predict the process of ventilation, air distribution and, in the case of underground fire, also the spread of combustion gasses. The new method facilitates assessment by mine ventilation services of the stability of ventilation systems in exploitation areas and determine of the sensitivity of the main subnetwork air flow directions to changes of aerodynamic resistance and air density. Recently in some Polish collieries new longwalls are developed in seams located deeper then the bottom of the intake shaft. Such solution is called “exploitation below the level of access” or “sublevel”. The new approach may be applied to such developments to assess the potential of changes of direction and air flow rates. In addition, interpretation of the developed sensitivity indicator is presented. While analyzing air distributions for sublevel exploitation, application of current numerical models for calculations of the distribution results in tangible benefits, such as the evaluation of the safety or risk levels for such exploitation. Application of the VentGraph computer program, and particularly the module POŻAR (fire) with the newly developed options, enables an additional approach to the sensitivity indicator in evaluating air flow safety levels for the risks present during exploitation below the level of the intake shaft. The analyses performed and examples presented enabled useful conclusions in mining practice to be drawn.

Parametric Sensitivity Analysis for Importance Measure on Failure Probability and Its Efficient Kriging Solution

The moment-independent importance measure (IM) on the failure probability is important in system reliability engineering, and it is always influenced by the distribution parameters of inputs. For the purpose of identifying the influential distribution parameters, the parametric sensitivity of IM on the failure probability based on local and global sensitivity analysis technology is proposed. Then the definitions of the parametric sensitivities of IM on the failure probability are given, and their computational formulae are derived. The parametric sensitivity finds out how the IM can be changed by varying the distribution parameters, which provides an important reference to improve or modify the reliability properties. When the sensitivity indicator is larger, the basic distribution parameter becomes more important to the IM. Meanwhile, for the issue that the computational effort of the IM and its parametric sensitivity is usually too expensive, an active learning Kriging (ALK) solution is established in this study. Two numerical examples and two engineering examples are examined to demonstrate the significance of the proposed parametric sensitivity index, as well as the efficiency and precision of the calculation method.