Probabilistic prediction of expected ground condition and construction time and costs in road tunnels

Ground condition and construction （excavation and support） time and costs are the key factors in decision-making during planning and design phases of a tunnel project. An innovative methodology for probabilistic estimation of ground condition and construction time and costs is proposed, which is an integration of the ground prediction approach based on Markov process, and the time and cost variance analysis based on Monte-Carlo （MC） simulation. The former provides the probabilistic description of ground classification along tunnel alignment according to the geological information revealed from geological profile and boreholes. The latter provides the probabilistic description of the expected construction time and costs for each operation according to the survey feedbacks from experts. Then an engineering application to Hamro tunnel is presented to demonstrate how the ground condition and the construction time and costs are estimated in a probabilistic way. In most items, in order to estimate the data needed for this methodology, a number of questionnaires are distributed among the tunneling experts and finally the mean values of the respondents are applied. These facilitate both the owners and the contractors to be aware of the risk that they should carry before construction, and are useful for both tendering and bidding.

Leaf Construction Cost and Related Ecophysiological Parameters of Rice Crop and Its Important Weeds

To understand the reason for the success of weeds,we investigated the energetic cost of leaf construction,and certain ecophysiological traits of rice and its dominant weeds.On physiological basis among all weeds,Caesulia axillaris Roxburgh was found to be the most serious,followed by Echinochloa cruss-galli L.Beauv and Echinochloa colonum L.Link,while Fimbristylis miliaceae L.Vahl and Cyperus iria L.were moderate weeds of the rice fields.C.axillaris had the lowest leaf construction cost （LCC） both on a mass basis （1.15 g/g） and on a unit area basis （22.93 g/m2）.Comparatively higher specific leaf area,photosynthetic rate,photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency,leaf area ratio and leaf area index provided C.axillaris with further competitive advantage.Low LCC suggests that weeds utilize carbon resource more efficiently than the crop and potentially spend the saved energy on other competitive strategies viz.seed production,biomass production and high relative growth rate,which results in low crop yield and increase in weed seed bank.

A Review of Deepwater Pipeline Construction in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico-Contracts, Cost, and Installation Methods

The offshore pipeline network in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is the largest and most transparent system in the world. A review of deepwater projects in the region provides insight into construction cost and installation methods and the evolution of contract strategies. Pipeline projects are identified as export systems, infield flowline systems, and combined export and infield systems, and three dozen deepwater pipeline installations from 1980–2014 are described based on Offshore Technology Conference(OTC) and Society of Petroleum Engineers(SPE) industry publications and press release data. Export lines and infield flowlines are equally represented and many projects used a combination of J-lay, S-lay and reel methods with rigid steel, flexible line, and pipe-in-pipe systems. The average 2014 inflation-adjusted cost for pipeline projects based on OTC/SPE publications was $2.76 million/mi and ranged from $520 000/mi to $12.94 million/mi. High cost pipelines tend to be short segments or specialized pipeline. Excluding the two cost endpoints, the majority of projects ranged from $1 to $6 million/mi. The average inflation-adjusted cost to install deepwater pipelines in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico based on available public data is estimated at $3.1 million/mi.

A MODEL OF FUZZY CALCULATION OF THE CONSTUCTION COST

An overview of the delelopment of approaches to construction cost and price forcasting since the 1950’s is given. First, second and third generation models can be identified, but they all have shortcomings. This paper puts forward a new model, fuzzy calculation model, based on lots of data of the finished proiects. Through actual application, it is proved that the model is accurate and quick in calcalation of construction.

Long Run Relationships, Vertical Integration and International Competition： Can They Contribute to Explaining Regional Construction Cost Differences？

The existence of opportunistic behavior by contractors or sub-contractors in the bidding process encouraged by the governance structure of construction companies as well as the kind of relationship that exist between contractors and clients is thought to have some bearing on the rising construction cost observed in some regions of Sweden. Three hypotheses that are intended to test the impact that long run relationship between contractors and developers, vertically integrated firms, and the increase of international competition could have on the construction cost increase levels were tested on a predetermined number of projects from six cities in different regions. The semi-structured survey produces inconclusive results. Long run and collaborative relationship was prevalent in small region though respondents in this region did not draw strong connection between construction cost increase levels and the kind of observed relationship. In Stockholm region, short-term relationship was mostly prevalent. Vertical integration and foreign competition impacts on construction costs were not significant in either region.

Research on Computer Technology in Construction Cost Management

Computer technology has been comprehensively popularized in all walks of life with its continuous development. The construction cost management industry is surely no exception. To improve the application of computer technology in construction cost management industry, this thesis would respectively discuss and analyze the importance of computer technology application in construction cost management, status quo of computer technology application in construction cost management, measures of improving computer technology application in construction cost management as well as the development prospect of computer technology application in construction cost management. The author is striving to arouse the attention and exploration of relevant departments as well as practitioners in the same industry.

Comments on the development trend of the construction cost management in the new period

Building construction projects generally needs a long period, and there are many fixed factors in the process of building, therefore, the management of the project cost is a little difficult. On the basis that the quality of construction is not affected, the effective management of the project cost can effectively control the costs so that the economic and social benefits of the construction unit will be raised, and then continue to promote the development of construction industry in China.

Method for Estimating of Construction Cost of a Building Based on Previous Experiences

In a real estate project, the estimated cost of construction and the revenues generally represent together the most important values of its feasibility study. When a decision of undertaking a project is made, often there are few definitions of what is about to be constructed, and frequently not enough to ensure the accuracy of the estimated costs. Considering a global tendency on reducing margins of return over the real estate markets, slight variations of the construction cost can jeopardize the success of the whole real estate enterprise and even the financial stability of the builder or of the developer. This article aims at presenting a method of estimating the building construction costs applicable at the stage of feasibility studies, being able to provide acceptable errors.

Research on a Distribution Center Location Model Based on a Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm

Logistics is supposed to be the important source of profits for the enterprises besides reducing material consumption and improving labor productivity. Transportation costs, distribution center construction costs, ordering costs, safe inventory costs and inventory holding costs are the important parts of the total logistics costs. In this paper, based on the research results of LMRP（ location model of risk pooling） location with fixed construction cost, the LMRPVCC （ location model of risk pooling based on variable construction cost） will be introduced. Applying particle swarm optimization to several computational instances, the authors find the suboptimum solution of the model.

Photosynthetic Carbon Gain, Allocation and Resources-Use Efficiency in Invasive Eupatorium Adenophorum and Its Native Congener E. Japonicum under Different Light and Nutrient Conditions

Invasion is often facilitated by high resources availabilities and suppressed under low resources habitats. However, a number of invasive plants can successfully establish and dominate in resource-poor and （or） the understory of closed forests, indicating the plant＇s performances are habitats-dependent and species-specific. It is therefore necessary to explore the ecophysiological characteristics associated invasiveness for one invasive species across multiple resources availabilities whilst taking the relatedness into these comparative studies. In this study, invasive Eupitorium adenophorum and its native congener E. japonicum grew under different resource gradients in terms of light levels and soil nitrogen additions to identify the functional significance morphological and physiological traits associated closely with invasion and to examine their comparative responses. Photosynthetic carbon gain, biomass allocation and resource-use efficiency are evaluated in this pot experiment. Across treatments, E. adenophorum exhibited consistently higher values for most of the morphological variables including plant stature, relative growth rate （RGR）, leaf root ratio （LRR）, leaf area ratio （LAR）, total leaf area, and lower root： shoot ratio （RSR）. Significantly higher Pmax corresponded with higher photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency （PNUE） and photosynthetic energy use efficiency （PEUE） especially in low light and （or） unfertile condition. Higher Gs and Pmax but lower photosynthetic water use efficiency （WUE） indicated the trade-off relationship between WUE and PNUE for E. adenophorum. Final biomasses were higher for E. adenophorum in nutrient and（or） light limited conditions, in which higher leaf construction cost（CC） compared with E. japonicum could be over-compensated by its significantly higher assimilation rates. The effects of light levels on these plant attributes were stronger than soil nutrient contents. The responses of these two congeneric species to light and nitrogen availabilities were similar, but the differences were magnified in resources limited conditions, indicating the better performancer at acquiring and at using limited resources of E. adenophorum over its co-occurring native flora. Our study presented the distinctive advantages of E. adenophorum in resources-poor environments, indicating conventional strategy of managing resources levels to control the invasion and expending of exotic species may not be as effective as expected.

Source of inorganic N affects the cost of growth in a legume tree species(Virgilia divaricata)from the Mediterrean-type Fynbos ecosystem

Aims In Mediterranean-type ecosystem,the Cape Fynbos,legumes may be able to switch between soil N and atmospheric N_(2) sources during growth to adjust the carbon costs of N acquisition.This study investigated the utilization of different inorganic N sources by Virgilia divaricata,a native legume from the Mediterranean-type ecosystem of the Cape Floristic Region.Methods Plants were cultivated in sterile quartz sand,supplied with 25%strength Long Ashton nutrient solution,modified to contain 500μM Phosphate.At the phosphate level(500μM),plants were treated with 500μM NH_(4)NO_(3)(treatment named N),or grown in N-free nutrient solution and inoculated with effective Burkholderia sp.(Bact.)or treated with combined N sources(500μM NH_(4)NO_(3))and inoculated with effective Burkholderia sp.(N+Bact.).Important Findings The application of NH_(4)NO_(3) to the legumes resulted in a greater increase in plant dry matter.Carbon construction costs were higher in plants that were supplied with mineral and symbiotic N sources.Maximum photosynthetic rates per leaf area was maintained,irrespective of the N sources.Although the plant roots were nodulated,the plant dependence on N_(2) fixation decreased with addition of N.Roots and nodules of the plants solely reliant on N_(2) fixation showed an increase in glutamine content.These results show that V.divaricata is highly adapted for growth at the forest margin.Fynbos and possibly anthropic soils by utilizing both atmospheric and soil N sources.

THE PASSIVHAUS STANDARD IN THE MEDITERRANEAN CLIMATE:EVALUATION,COMPARISON AND PROFITABILITY

INTRODUCTION One of the main environmental problems faced by the global community in the twenty-first century is unquestionably the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions(Fuller and Crawford 2011).To face this challenge,the European Union(EU)has set the so-called 2020 Horizon as one of its main objectives:limiting the emission of greenhouse gas emissions by 20%,satisfying 20%of all energy needs through renewable sources,and improving energy efficiency by 20%(The Euro-pean Union 2012).The last projection forecast in 2012 by the European Envi-ronmental Agency(EEA)established that Spain was one of the countries in the EU furthest from reaching these objectives(The European Union 2013).As a result,implementing measures devised to meet the 2020 objectives is currently a priority for the Spanish government.In recent decades,the housing sector has played a decisive role in increas-ing global energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions(Nejat et al.2015).In 2014 Spain’s housing sector’s energy consumption needs represented 19%of total national consumption and 31%of the electricity demand(IDAE 2013).Starting from the design phase,reduction in energy consumption per square meter has become a prerequisite for the majority of buildings(Parameshwaran et al.2012;Koo et al.2014).The importance and urgency exhibited by the EU housing sector in achiev-ing the government objectives outlined in the 2020 Horizon have led the energy market to show a clear trend towards buildings with higher energy performance in the future(Shimschar et al.2011).Similarly,the success factor of energy efficiency initiatives will depend to a large degree on the method or the indica-tors used when measuring energy performance in each building(Abu Bakar et al.2015;Day and Gunderson 2015).As a result,selecting one energy evaluation methodology over another can be decisive in the path taken by Spain,change the current perception of the country,and increase Spain’s standing within the EU.Several studies(Feist et al.2005;Schnieders and Hermelink 2006;Mahdavi and Doppelbauer 2010;Mlakar and Strancar 2011;Hatt et al.2012;Dahlstrøm et al.2012;Dequaire 2012;Proietti et al.2013;Ridley et al.2013;Stoian et al.2013;Moran et al.2014;O’Kelly et al.2014)indicate that the Passivhaus standard(PS)can be used as a highly effective tool in both limiting greenhouse gas emissions and increasing building energy efficiency.Other studies(Audenaert et al.2008;Moeseke 2011;Allacker and De Troyer 2013;McLeod et al.2013;Mlecnik 2013;Stephan et al.2013)challenge the adoption of the PS because they consider other options within the energy market to be better from both environmental and financial perspectives.Nonetheless,the precursors to the PS claim that the benefits of the standard can be replicated in any part of the world through its use during the design phase(Feist 2014;Passive House Institute 2010,2015;Passipedia 2015).The main objective of this study was to analyze the viability of using PS through the Passive House Planning Package(PHPP)tool in the Spanish housing sector,focusing on its use in the Mediterranean climate in the Province of Barcelona.To that end,we selected an isolated semidetached home,that exhibits the typical characteristics of current Spanish housing so that any possible deficiencies or virtues of adopting the PS are easily observable.The study was conducted using 3 construction proposals(PC,P1,and P2);the initial proposal(PC)is defined by conventional construction technology,while the remaining 2 proposals(P1 and P2)offer different construction alternatives focused on optimization(window glass,the building envelope,and improved installations),enabling evaluation of the PS criteria compliance.To test the ease of obtaining PS compliance without the need for changing the architectural design of the project,the design and space distribution of the PC alternative remained the same for the P1 and P2 options.

The Input-Output Model and the Analysis of Profit and Tax of Product

With the combination of modern quantitative analysis method and enterprise inputoutput model,in this paper we make a scientific analysis on the effect to product profit tax from the change of internal and external important factors of enterprise,and some important results hare been given.