Subjects = Urban civil engineering and related management issues
Urban civil engineering and related management issues

Forecasting and assessing project costs, considering internal and external risks based on the design of the integrated model

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 19 July 2026

A. A. Kamalizadeh, M. Ravanshadnia, M. Khanzadi

Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In massive construction and civil engineering projects, project financing is of particular importance. This is because the majority of problems arising in construction projects, which lead to prolonged durations and even the loss of the project's economic justification, stem from disruptions in financing. One of the most significant causes of this is the failure to identify and forecast risks properly and to prioritize them based on their individual impact on project costs. METHODS: In this research, after reviewing methods and studying the internal and external risks of projects, as well as examining cost estimation methods and selecting the most appropriate one, the influencing factors were first gathered using a questionnaire. The consistency of this data was then measured using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Subsequently, the risks were prioritized using the DEMATEL method, and their impact and probability of occurrence were surveyed. Finally, the probability of occurrence and the impact of each risk were estimated as a probability density function, and the problem was simulated using the Monte Carlo method. FINDINGS: In a Monte Carlo simulation, risk analysis is performed by constructing models of potential outcomes, substituting a range of values from probability distributions for every factor that has inherent uncertainty. It then recalculates the results repeatedly, each time using a different set of random values from the probability distributions. Depending on the number of uncertainties and their specified ranges, it can perform thousands or tens of thousands of recalculations before completing, thereby producing distributions of possible outcome values. CONCLUSION: For this purpose, MATLAB software was used to simulate the Monte Carlo method for analyzing this research problem, to obtain the mean impact of the 7 prioritized risks. The impact of these 7 risks on the objective function was assessed based on the frequency of risk occurrence, the probability of occurrence during construction, and the range of their impact on the project cost. The probability density functions for each risk and the distribution functions for the impact ranges of each risk were derived based on the sample data collected via the questionnaire.

Urban civil engineering and related management issues

Urban planning in light of sustainable development: A case study of Nasiriyah city, Iraq

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 06 August 2026

Gh. Naji, H. H. Joni, M. A. Aljumaili

Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Rapid and disorganized urban expansion in developing countries often leads to severe imbalances in land-use distribution, undermining the core principles of sustainable development. The critical problem lies in the disconnect between strategic master planning and field enforcement, where market-driven growth frequently cannibalizes ecological resources. Focusing on Nasiriyah City, Iraq—a historic urban center facing intense demographic pressures and unregulated commercial growth—this research holds significant importance as it diagnoses institutional zoning deviations using spatial tools, thereby offering a replicable, science-based model for secondary cities facing sustainability deficits. To address these challenges, the primary objective of this study is to evaluate spatial land-use changes from 1990 to 2020. The methodology employs a multi-stage spatial and analytical framework, in which a comparative historical analysis of urban growth phases is conducted using Geographic Information System tools, and the official 2011 international master plan for Modern Nasiriyah is cross-examined against contemporary aerial and field data to detect deviations in zoning compliance. FINDINGS: The spatial analysis revealed structural shifts in Nasiriyah's urban fabric over the past 30 years. Industrial land use increased from 533.5 hectares (44.2%) to 1081.8 hectares (37.4%), shifting primarily to northern zones aligned with dominant wind vectors to protect residential quarters. Conversely, commercial zones experienced massive expansion, growing from 481.3 hectares (39.8%) to 1606.5 hectares (55.6%). This commercial sprawl directly compromised public infrastructure, resulting in a critical deficit of recreational green space, which dropped from 16.0% to a mere 7.0% of the active urban footprint. CONCLUSION: Unregulated commercial growth has severely cannibalized municipal green reserves, highlighting a significant disconnect between master-planning designs and on-the-ground development. To secure a sustainable urban future for Nasiriyah, municipal authorities must urgently implement rigid land-use enforcement, revitalize the Euphrates waterfront corridors, and structurally integrate the surrounding historic tourist clusters—such as the ancient City of Ur and the Mesopotamian Marshes—into the city's primary economic and spatial frameworks.

Urban civil engineering and related management issues

Hydrogen wear of metal friction elements of vehicle brakes for urban infrastructure facilities

Volume 9, Issue 4, Autumn 2024, Pages 553-564

https://doi.org/10.22034/IJHCUM.2024.04.01

N. Fidrovska, S. Dotsenko, S. Nikipchuk, M. Ostashuk, V. Nesterenko, P. Yefimenko

Abstract BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In urban conditions, traffic flows are equipped with various types of braking devices operating in an aperiodic cyclic braking mode with a high surface-volume temperature of their friction pairs. Theoretical and experimental studies of hydrogen wear of movable and stationary joints at variable electrical surface-volume temperatures and equivalent stresses caused by pulsed specific loads, contributing to the emergence of gradients, made it possible to establish the following: positive and negative values of the heat of transfer correspond to forces directed, towards more cold or warmer parts of the product. Hydrogen moves in the metal friction element to its more heated section. Due to the mutual mass transfer of materials of friction pairs, the sign of their polarity changes, and negatively charged external hydrogen enhances the negative electronic field of the metal friction element, and as a result, leads to intensive wear of pairs of friction elements of the brakes. The purpose of the article is to assess the electron-ion interaction during hydrogen wear on the working surfaces of metal friction elements of friction pairs of brake devices.
Methods: The data was obtained on a model disc, drum, and band-shoe brake and processed using a computer program package. As a result, graphical dependences of the main parameters of the brakes on the duration of hydrogenation were obtained.
FINDINGS: The research results have shown that the described main stages of hydrogen wear and destruction of a metal friction element during electrothermal-mechanical friction, as well as the influence of dislocation and double electrical layers in brake friction pairs, will be able to justify the choice of ways and methods to suppress hydrogenation and prevent the destruction of surfaces and, as a result, reduce hydrogen wear by 15% and improve the performance parameters of brake pairs by 10%.
CONCLUSION: This study examined the factors affecting the wear of metal brake friction elements of urban infrastructure vehicles. Empirical results have shown that positive and negative heat transfer values correspond to forces directed, towards colder or warmer parts of the product. These results can provide important information to factory designers for more efficient development of friction pairs of friction units and researchers for further research and improvement of brake performance.

Urban civil engineering and related management issues

The essence of knowledge management in the air transportation sector

Volume 5, Issue 2, Spring 2020, Pages 175-186

https://doi.org/10.22034/IJHCUM.2020.02.08

A.O. Adeniran, S.O. Olorunfemi

Abstract With the modern development and increasing competitiveness of air transport business processes, the management of knowledge is essential most especially for air transport managers. This controls compounded phases of the organization which begins with the fabrication of organisational strategy towards value creation and improving customers` experience. This study was to explore the review on the impact of knowledge management in the Nigerian air transport sector. Knowledge management is the extent to which improved business performance is realizable. The empirical reveals that the importance of knowledge management in the air transport sector is driven by the increasing level of technological change; the changing dynamics of market forces; complex nature, and expansion of air transport sector; information technology which enhances the collection, analysing, recording and transfer or sharing of information, data or facts within the organisation; and the achievement of competitive advantage through cost and schedule leadership. In the situation whereby an organization does not embark on knowledge management practice, and they planned to expand the scope or dimension of the organization, the expansion will be the sinking sand and the hole where the organization will bury all the knowledge resources and organization will be rendered bankrupt.

Urban civil engineering and related management issues

Status and challenges of waste segregation in residential communities

Volume 4, Issue 4, Autumn 2019, Pages 303-310

https://doi.org/10.22034/IJHCUM.2019.04.06

P. Anshuman, R. Pankaj Kumar

Abstract Degradation of urban environment and health hazard is directly associated with the unscientific handling of Municipal solid waste of India. Urbanization also contribute intensify Municipal solid waste generation. Source segregation of solid waste not only the fact to converge but also possible in maximum resource recovery from the waste. Waste management is a problem due to the ineffective management of waste and lack of knowledge of waste management. The main aim of the evaluation is to understand why and how communities can be approached survey and communicated and convicted towards a more suitable more sustainable and inclusive waste management system in Gurugram of India. All the Housing society of the Gurugram do not sort at all. The government agency responsible for the final management of solid waste does not have any practice to segregation the waste to achieving material recovery. The total waste generation in Gurugram area is 7418 kg per day from 5752 number of house hold. The waste segregation is the main challenges for the Municipal waste management system. The results revealed that average 81 percent of solid waste is just dumping in the land filled site without material recovery.

Urban civil engineering and related management issues

Performance evaluation of green roofs in urban runoff reduction

Volume 3, Issue 1, Winter 2018, Pages 61-68

https://doi.org/10.22034/ijhcum.2018.03.01.007

Z. Khorsandi Kouhanestani, S. Dehdari, M. Jafarizadeh

Abstract Urbanism directly affects the hydrological cycle. One of the ways to manage runoffs in urban areas that is considered nowadays is green roof creation. Green roof is mainly created in humid and semi-humid areas, and efficiency of green roofs in arid and semi-arid areas has attracted less attention. In the current study, to evaluate the effect of green roof in arid and semi-arid to reduce runoff, an experimental green roof without vegetation was designed in Behbahan city of Khuzestan province in Iran. The city has an arid and semi-arid climate. Experimental Green roof was studied during 7 months. During the study, the data regarding the height of rainfall, soil moisture in different soil layers of the experimental green roof as well as the amount of output runoff were measured. The results showed that the amount of moisture in the surface layer of soil is severely affected by rainfall. The average surface soil moisture has been about 20.5 % and in the deep and middle layers has been 24.8 and 24.1, respectively. In addition, regarding runoff reduction and delays in creating runoff, the results showed that in the observed rain events, in average, 92.2 percent of volume of rainfall has been kept in soil, and has not been converted into runoff. Due to arid and semi-arid climate of the target area and high-intensity of rainfall, green roof can reduce a considerable percentage of runoff.

Urban civil engineering and related management issues

Trip pattern of low-density residential area in semi urban industrial cluster: predictive modeling

Volume 2, Issue 3, Summer 2017, Pages 211-218

https://doi.org/10.22034/ijhcum.2017.02.03.005

A. Busari, J. Oyedepo, A. Modupe, G. Bamigboye, L. Olowu, J. Adediran, F. Ibikunle

Abstract This research elucidates the trip pattern of the low-density residential zone in a semi-urban industrial cluster of southwestern Nigeria. These sets of dwellers are often times neglected in the transportation planning process with the view that it is not a residential zone. Domiciliary information gathering procedure was employed in the analysis with 0.82 return rates. It was backed up with the focus group discussion method. Data on Frequency of trips, per capita trip, modal choice, and socio-economic and demographic data were collected, collated, and analysed using statistical software. Accordingly, a predictive model was formulated for the trip pattern for the low-density area. This was achieved with the aid of statistical software SPSS version 21.Consequently, the results of the multiple regression models showed that both monthly income and car ownership had a significant positive influence on the work trip while only car ownership positively influences non-work trip.  R2 values of 0.729 and 0.739 were obtained for the descriptive model at 95% confidence level. This established the robustness of the model, the analysis showed that monthly income and car ownership had a significant positive influence on the work trip with an R-square value of 0.729 and 0.739 for work and non-work trip respectively. This indicated that household will embark on more trips with an increase in car ownership and monthly income. However, effective transportation planning and traffic infrastructural development are recommended to meet the demands of the increased number of trips daily.

Urban civil engineering and related management issues

Comparative analysis of automation of production process with industrial robots in Asia/Australia and Europe

Volume 2, Issue 1, Winter 2017, Pages 29-38

https://doi.org/10.22034/ijhcum.2017.02.01.003

I. Karabegović

Abstract The term "INDUSTRY 4.0" or "fourth industrial revolution" was first introduced at the fair in 2011 in Hannover. It comes from the high-tech strategy of the German Federal Government that promotes automation-computerization to complete smart automation, meaning the introduction of a method of self-automation, self-configuration, self-diagnosing and fixing the problem, knowledge and intelligent decision-making. Any automation, including smart, cannot be imagined without industrial robots. Along with the fourth industrial revolution, ‘’robotic revolution’’ is taking place in Japan. Robotic revolution refers to the development and research of robotic technology with the aim of using robots in all production processes, and the use of robots in real life, to be of service to a man in daily life. Knowing these facts, an analysis was conducted of the representation of industrial robots in the production processes on the two continents of Europe and Asia /Australia, as well as research that industry is ready for the introduction of intelligent automation with the goal of establishing future smart factories. The paper gives a representation of the automation of production processes in Europe and Asia/Australia, with predictions for the future.