In the field of construction project management, time and cost are the most important factors to be considered in planning every project, and their relationship is complex. The total cost for each project is the sum of the direct and indirect cost. Direct cost commonly represents labor, materials, equipment, etc.
Indirect cost generally represents overhead cost such as supervision, administration, consultants, and interests. Direct cost grows at an increasing rate as the project time is reduced from its original planned time. However, indirect cost continues for the life of the project and any reduction in project time means a reduction in indirect cost. Therefore, there is a trade-off between the time and cost for completing construction activities.
In this research, modeling of time-cost optimization, generating global optimum solution for time and cost problem, and lowering construction time and cost using ant colony optimization algorithm
Biodiesel is an environmentally friendly fuel and a good substitution for the fossil fuel. However, the purity of this fuel is a major concern that challenges researchers. In this study, a calcium oxide based catalyst has been prepared from local waste eggshells by the calcination method and tested in production biodiesel. The eggshells were powdered and calcined at different temperatures (700, 750, 800, 850 and 900 °C) and periods of time (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 hr.). The effect of calcination temperature and calcination time on the structure and activity of the solid catalyst were examined by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Brunaure-Emmett-Teller (BET). The optimum catalyst performance was obtained at 900 °C
... Show MoreAbstract
In this manuscript, a simple new method for the green synthesis of platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) utilizing F. carica Fig extract as reducing agent for antimicrobial activities was reported. Simultaneously, the microstructural and morphological features of the synthesized Pt NPs were thoroughly investigated. In particular, the attained Pt NPs exhibited spherical shape with diameter range of 5-30 nm and root mean square of 9.48 nm using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), respectively. Additionally, the final product (Pt NPs) was screened as antifungal and antibacterial agent against Candida and Aspergillus species as well as Gram-positive Staphyllococcus aureus and G
... Show MoreIn this work we used the environmentally friendly method to prepared ZrO2 nanoparticles utilizing the extract of Thyms plant In basic medium and at pH 12, the ZrO2 NPs was characterized by different techniques such as FTIR, ultraviolet visible, Atomic force microscope, Scanning Electron Microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Energy dispersive X-ray. The average crystalline size was calculated using the Debye Scherres equation in value 7.65 nm. Atomic force microscope results showed the size values for ZrO2 NPs were 45.11nm, and there are several distortions due to the presence of some large sizes. Atomic force microscope results showed the typical size values for ZrO2 NPs were 45.11 nm, and there are several distortions due to the presence of so
... Show MoreSeveral million tons of solid waste are produced each year as a result of construction and demolition activities around the world, and brick waste is one of the most widely wastes. Recently, there has been growing number in studies that conducted on using of recycling brick waste (RBW) to produce environmentally friendly concrete. The use of brick waste (BW) as potential partial cement or aggregate replacement materials is summarized in this review where the performance is discussed in the form of the mechanical strength and properties that related to durability of concrete. It was found that, because the pozzolanic activity of clay brick powder, it can be utilized as substitute for cement in replacement level up to 10%. Whereas,
... Show MoreSeveral million tons of solid waste are produced each year as a result of construction and demolition activities around the world, and brick waste is one of the most widely wastes. Recently, there has been growing number in studies that conducted on using of recycling brick waste (RBW) to produce environmentally friendly concrete. The use of brick waste (BW) as potential partial cement or aggregate replacement materials is summarized in this review where the performance is discussed in the form of the mechanical strength and properties that related to durability of concrete. It was found that, because the pozzolanic activity of clay brick powder, it can be utilized as substitute for cement in replacement level up t
... Show MoreAccurate prediction of river water quality parameters is essential for environmental protection and sustainable agricultural resource management. This study presents a novel framework for estimating potential salinity in river water in arid and semi‐arid regions by integrating a kernel extreme learning machine (KELM) with a boosted salp swarm algorithm based on differential evolution (KELM‐BSSADE). A dataset of 336 samples, including bicarbonate, calcium, pH, total dissolved solids and sodium adsorption ratio, was collected from the Idenak station in Iran and was used for the modelling. Results demonstrated that KELM‐BSSADE outperformed models such as deep random vector funct