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Civil engineers' lack of humanities values might result in mismatches between the former and latter. One major hiccup and potential remedy to this situation lie in the civil engineering curriculum. This study aims to explore liberal arts in the civil engineering curriculum through a systematic literature review. This study is among the few recent undertakings that have relived the importance of liberal arts in the civil engineering curriculum to produce well-rounded civil engineers. Both technical and human skills are required to confront the dynamic and ever-changing society inherent in the growth of civil engineering students as future engineers. Keywords: civil engineering; curriculum; liberal arts; systematic literature review eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v7i19.3261

The objective of this paper is to evaluate differences and similarities of construction programs across various countries in order to encourage international cooperation of construction training and study abroad programs. The information illustrated in this paper was collected through a survey that was administered to construction programs from 11 different countries. The survey was divided into the following four categories: Program Structure, Curriculum, Industry Involvement and General Program. The study identified challenges and opportunities for students in construction programs to study abroad, with specific reference to financial funding at institutions, funding support from industry, lack of understanding around international articulation platforms, wide variation across internship requirements, and the importance of industry recognized certifications. The study demonstrated that 64% of the surveyed programs receive industry support and that all the surveyed programs are engaged and familiar with articulation agreements. In addition, besides programs in Australia and Portugal, internships are a requirement in all other countries surveyed. Also, among all surveyed countries, only Malaysia and South Africa require students to obtain industry certificates during the course of the program.

Based on the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, businesses throughout the US were affected by closures, by status as essential or nonessential businesses, and by other new and unforeseen regulations which were implemented with little notice. In order to understand how these changes affected construction contractors, a short survey was created. The survey was initially distributed in May 2020, so responses are based on initial reactions to the pandemic. The survey questions included both yes/no and long-answer response types. Additionally, virtual focus group discussions occurred through a university industry advisory board and the local AGC chapter. The multiple data sources provided an opportunity of the triangulation of the data to produce a more robust view of the issue. From the survey long-answer questions and the focus group discussions, a thematic analysis was performed. Many themes were found in all three sources demonstrating the most common responses in regards to safety and operations.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the perception of sustainability-related issues among construction students. The perceived importance of sustainable construction is analyzed based on students’ source of knowledge, university education, and future aspirations toward sustainability goals. This study involved conducting surveys from construction management students to determine their perception of the following eight options: environmental sustainability, societal sustainability, economic sustainability, energy sustainability, water sustainability, material choice sustainability, zero-emission sustainability, and lean zero-waste sustainability. The survey aimed to explore construction students’ perception of sustainable design and construction, and what role education plays in this perception. To support these aims, survey evaluation includes both quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Students are best equipped to explain their understanding of the listed options, based on their individual experiences. The results show that most students think water sustainability, environmental sustainability, and energy sustainability are “extremely important”. In addition to providing insight into students’ perception of the relative importance of these sustainability approaches, analysis of the survey responses offers key findings on the source of students’ sustainability knowledge, the degree to which students have made decisions about their career paths, and the potential relationship between knowledge gained and students’ perception of the impact of sustainable design and construction options. Analysis of these perceptions is a crucial tool for educators in improving students’ understanding of sustainability goals.

Online education has seen rapid growth through teaching and learning in university degrees. Higher education faculty have identified challenges while transitioning from face-to-face to online because of time management issues and the different instruction modalities. This study analyzes how construction faculty feel about the delivery of online instruction. A survey was developed to determine construction faculty expertise in delivering online content and their level of expertise after the changes due to the pandemic. The survey was conducted during the pandemic (May/August 2020). We asked faculty to reflect on the pre-pandemic vs pandemic perception course delivery method. The relevant survey questions focused on teaching experience, different delivery types, online teaching experience, course management resources, and proficiency of online teaching. While most responding faculty indicated traditional lecture was typically used for content delivery, the remaining faculty indicated “project-based learning, experimental laboratory course, or computer lab studio," as the content delivery method. From the faculty responses, there are challenges in delivering online construction courses having components of project-based learning, experimental laboratory course, and computer lab studio. The survey responses identified specific concerns about online courses from construction faculty members. Online delivery is difficult for teaching hands-on or experimental lab types of construction courses. Some construction faculty also identified concerns about academic integrity in the online delivery of construction courses.

The swelling behavior of clay minerals is widely known for its importance in soil and environmental sciences and its detrimental effects in engineering fields. Although more than 70 percent of all clays are of mixed-layer types, the vast majority of the previous experiments and simulations are focused on pure clays, which cause the swelling mechanism of the widespread mixed-layer clay (MLC) and its role in soils are little understood, especially the most common illite-montmorillonite (I-M) mixed-layer clay (MLC). This paper reports on a molecular dynamics (MD) study of the differences in swelling behavior between I-M MLCs containing K+ and Na+ and Na-montmorillonite (MMT). It captures the evolution of quantitative properties such as basal spacing d, interaction energy, and many hydrogen bonds in the clay interlayer, increasing hydration for the first time through the scripts. It is found that MLCs have smaller swellings than Na-MMT due to the asymmetric interlayer charges and mixed counterions in the I-M interlayer. However, in terms of the interaction energy for the in-depth reason of swelling, it is found that the clay-clay interaction energy and the clay-ion interaction energy drop, while the clay-water interaction energy increases with increasing hydration. In addition, the attractive interaction of clay-bound water seriously promotes swelling, and it is mainly composed of Coulomb interaction and Van der Waals interaction. The higher the K+ concentration, the more noticeable these phenomena are. Besides, it is also reported that the number and distribution mechanism of hydrogen bonds in MLCs are very different from that of pure clay. This work provides insight into the molecular mechanism for initial swelling and clay-bound water interaction in widespread MLCs. This will help to decipher its specific role in soils and minimize clay swelling.

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the coefficient of permeability, porosity, and voids in total mixture (VTM) of fine-graded hot-mix asphalt (HMA). Two fin...

Although often overlooked, infrastructure has a significant role in modern society. It is necessary means of transportation for goods and services needed to support commerce. It is this need and the need for continued economic development that causes the continuous infrastructure construction and its’ associated greenhouse gas emissions. Infrastructure construction requires energy to process raw materials, transport, mix and final construction. Greenhouse gas emissions from pavement sections have previously been identified for pavement preservation techniques. This research further evaluates greenhouse gas emissions for typical pavement sections from Indiana and Oklahoma to determine the carbon footprint based on linear foot of pavement. The comparison of CO2e of two typical roadway sections finds the difference in carbon footprint since variation in their minimum roadway. The carbon footprint of typical utility pipe with HDPE produces minimum CO2e and steel produces maximum CO2e. Soil base remediation options produce minimum CO2e and stabilized aggregate base produces maximum CO2e. Carbon offsets are determined by choosing vegetative options, soil remediation methods and appropriate pavement. This study is limited to a few pavement sections with a small variety of typical anticipated carbon offsets that would be seen in roadway construction. The index presented allows users to simply quantify benefits of the carbon offsets.

Bio-asphalt replaced petroleum-asphalt for paving asphalt pavements, which is a technology with a wide range of application prospect. This work is aimed at improving the performance of aged bio-oil modified asphalt (bio-asphalt) for use in road pavement construction. Biochar and bio-oil are renewable resources and use in this research that are pyrolyzed from waste wood. The effects of different aging conditions on biochar-modified bio-asphalt and ordinary bio-asphalt were investigated in terms of their chemical functional groups, molecular formulas, radius distribution functions, rheological parameters, and phase separation. The aging conditions considered in this research are short-term aging, ultraviolet (UV) aging, pressure aging vessel (PAV), and low-temperature hardening. Biochar plays a significant role in the UV aging process. This study found that, with an increase in biochar modification, the alkyl group numbers increased and the sulfoxide and carbonyl numbers decreased during the aging process of bio-asphalt. It also shows that the inclusion of biochar improved the aging resistance of the bio-asphalt, but that biochar modification did not affect the bio-asphalt’s low-temperature hardening performance. Four asphalt components were studied: saturates, asphaltenes, resins, and aromatics (SARA). The effects of biochar on saturates and aromatics were significant, and the biochar was able to adsorb these components. This study also found that, with an increase in UV aging and PAV, the phase separation grows.

The incomplete mixing of fuel and the drag induced in the engine are the main problems encountered in scramjets. Proper mixing of fuel can be achieved if the fuel is injected from the inlet of the engine. The fluid domain of Busemann Inlet at Mach 7 with boundary layer fuel injection using slot injectors along the wall was simulated with hydrogen fuel. Static pressure ratio at throat and inlet, along with Mach number at the throat were the design parameters of the Busemann inlet. Hydrogen fuel injection at two different equivalence ratios (0.3 and 0.7) was simulated successively at a temperature of 100 K and Mach 2.5. The state of mixing was studied for three different injection angles (30°, 45°, and 60°) for different equivalence ratios. The injection angles do not have a substantial effect on the hydrogen fuel mixing with the mainstream flow for equivalence ratio 0.3 Whereas, the dispersion of fuel increases as the increase in injection angles for equivalence ratio 0.7. But the total pressure recovery is maintained to the design value for equivalence ratio 0.3 rather than 0.7. Similarly, 45° fuel injection maintains a higher total pressure recovery than in other injection angles of 30° and 60°. Injection technique other than slot injection can be used to study further the effect of fuel mixing in Busemann Inlet.

Background: The ocular surface is separated by a thin layer of tear film from outdoor air pollutants making individuals exposed to outdoor air pollution prone to various ocular surface disorders. The aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of ocular surface disorders symptoms among traffic police officers of Kathmandu, Nepal. Methods: Two hundred traffic police officers working at different traffic police office branches of Kathmandu, Nepal were invited to the police headquarters for eye and vision examination. Among them, 91 individuals (95% males) completed the ocular surface disease index (OSDI) questionnaire and underwent Schirmer’s I tear test. Results: Symptoms of ocular surface disorders were reported by over 80% of the individuals. Approximately two-fifths of the individuals (38%) reported severe symptoms. Only 17% of the individuals’ tear secretion was found to be below normal using the Schirmer’s tear test. No significant association was observed between the OSDI score and Schirmer’s tear test scores (r = 0.008, p = 0.94). A weak but significant relationship was observed between the OSDI score and job duration (r=0.21,p = 0.04). Individual exposed to outdoor air pollution for more than 10 years had higher odds of reporting ocular surface complaints as compared to those who were exposed for less than 10 years (OR = 3.94, p = 0.02). Conclusion: Ocular surface disorder symptoms are common among traffic police officers of Kathmandu, Nepal. The duration of exposure appears to significantly contribute to the increased symptoms in this exposed population.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the cost effectiveness of building new-construction single-family homes through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program in six counties of Kentucky. The estimated added LEED construction cost was calculated as well as its respective payback period based on the expected utility savings of LEED certification. A mortgage cost comparison was also performed comparing traditional code built to non-LEED single-family homes. Using descriptive statistical analysis on the simple payback period, mortgage costs were compared internally and by county. This study found that The LEED Certified and Silver level had payback periods less than 30 years, and the total 30 year net difference between non-LEED and LEED certified ranged from $-1,193.20 to $1,667.64.

A three-dimensional finite element model (3D FEM) is built using ABAQUS to analyze the dynamic response of a concrete pavement structure with an asphalt isolating layer under moving loads. The 3D model is prepared and validated in the state of no asphalt isolating layer. Stress and deflection at the critical load position are calculated by changing thickness, modulus of isolating layer and the combination between the isolating layer and concrete slab. Analysis result shows that the stress and deflection of the concrete slab increase with the increase of thickness. The stress and deflection of the concrete slab decrease with the increase of combination between the isolating layer and concrete slab. The influence of changing the isolating layer modulus to the stress and deflection of the concrete slab is not significant. From the results, asphalt isolating layer design is suggested in concrete pavement.

Engineering and technological applications of renewable energy installations, such as photovoltaic (solar) energy, are making important contributions toward the development of environmentally friendly products and processes for a more sustainable future. This article presents the design, assembly, and operation of a solar powered floating fountain system for analysis of aeration in stagnant water. The goal was to increase the level of dissolved oxygen in a body of water by harnessing solar energy for submerged aeration. The system is composed of six solar panels, a kit of batteries, a linear current booster, pressurized water tank, two pumps, an air compressor, and a float. The design factors for dissolved oxygen (DO) measurements were determined from depth of water, time of the day, location of fountain, and status of fountain (on or off). A Split Plot design was used to investigate the performance of the fountain, based on the changes in levels of DO in the pond. Statistical analysis showed a 120% gain in DO concentration during a 20-day period with significant destratification of the pond. This applied research will be of interest to engineers and technologists in various areas, including environmental development, green construction, and aquatic and energy conservation.

The objective of this study is to investigate the sensitivity of aggregate size within sand mastic by modeling the microstructure of an asphalt mixture. The sensitivity of the maximum aggregate size on the sand mastic phase is investigated through discrete-element simulations. A three-dimensional (3D) discrete-element model of asphalt mixture was prepared from X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) images. In the discrete-element model, an asphalt mixture is divided into aggregate, sand mastic, and air void phases. In this study, the sand mastic is defined as fines and fine aggregates mixed with asphalt binder. Three different nominal maximum aggregate sizes (NMASs) of sand mastic, namely, 1.18 mm, 0.6 mm, and 0.3 mm, were used in the 3D model to investigate the best gradation of sand mastic. The dynamic moduli of three different NMASs of sand mastic were measured for use in the 3D discrete-element modeling simulation. Laboratory-measured dynamic moduli of asphalt mixtures were compared with prediction results. The sand mastics with NMASs of 1.18 mm and 0.6 mm could be used to predict the asphalt mixture modulus across a range of temperatures and loading frequencies with good accuracy. The sand mastic with a NMAS of 0.3 mm overpredicted at high and low temperatures. The overprediction resulted from the difficulty of proper visualization of the smaller aggregate size in the model.

The main aim of this paper is to develop three-dimensional (3-D) microstructure-based discrete element models of asphalt mixtures to study the dynamic modulus from the stress-strain response under compressive loads. The 3-D microstructure of the asphalt mixture was obtained from a number of two-dimensional (2-D) images. In the 2-D discrete element model, the aggregate and mastic were simulated with the captured aggregate and mastic images. The 3-D models were reconstructed with a number of 2-D models. This stress-strain response of the 3-D model was computed under the loading cycles. The stress-strain response was used to predict the asphalt mixture's stiffness (modulus) by using the aggregate and mastic stiffness. The moduli of the 3-D models were compared with the experimental measurements. It was found that the 3-D discrete element models were able to predict the mixture moduli across a range of temperatures and loading frequencies. The 3-D model prediction was found to be better than that of the 2-D model. In addition, the effects of different air void percentages and aggregate moduli to the mixture moduli were investigated and discussed.