Papers by Pramen Shrestha
Construction Research Congress 2018
Heterogeneous self-sensing materials that respond electrically to mechanical strains enable real ... more Heterogeneous self-sensing materials that respond electrically to mechanical strains enable real time health monitoring of structures. To facilitate design and applicability of such smart materials with piezo-resistivity, a finite element-based numerical framework is being proposed in this paper for evaluation of electro-mechanical response and strain-sensing ability. Intrinsic heterogeneous nature of such composites warrants the need for microstructure-based study to have an insight into the effect of microstructural configuration on the macro-scale response. The microstructure-guided simulation framework, presented in this paper, implements interfacial debonding at the matrix-inclusion interface using a coupled interface damage-cohesive zone model and incorporates an isotropic damage model in the matrix under applied strain in the post-peak regime to obtain the deformed/damaged microstructure which is subjected to an electrical potential to simulate change in resistance due to applied strain. The applicability of the simulation framework is confirmed through its successful implementation on a smart structural material containing nano-engineered conductive coating at the inclusion-matrix interfaces. The predicted electro-mechanical responses correspond very well with the experimental observations and thus, the model has the potential to help develop design strategies to tailor the microstructure in these self-sensing materials for efficient performance.
Public Works Management & Policy, 2016
Since the 1990s, the use of design-build (DB) and construction manager at-risk (CMAR) as alternat... more Since the 1990s, the use of design-build (DB) and construction manager at-risk (CMAR) as alternative project delivery (APD) methods for water and wastewater projects has significantly increased, fast outpacing the growth of traditional project delivery methods. Currently, U.S. municipalities face challenges of an aging infrastructure, which requires replacing and expanding water and wastewater facilities at more than 7,000 utilities nationwide. This study compared and analyzed the differences between utility managers (UMs) and project managers (PMs) regarding their satisfaction levels of the various benefits when using APD methods. Respondents included UMs and PMs having experience in DB and CMAR water and wastewater projects. In this study, PMs were significantly more satisfied with the quality of project, change orders, and lower rate of disputes than UMs. In addition, PMs experienced a significantly higher schedule advantage than UMs. Most respondents were satisfied with the vari...
In 2013, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card for America's Infrastructure ... more In 2013, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card for America's Infrastructure stated that the US needs up to $1.3 trillion in capital investments to replace the aging water pipes and repair the wastewater infrastructures. It is further believed by the industry that the streamlined approach of alternative project delivery methods, such as Design-Build (DB), and Construction Manager At-Risk (CMAR) helps ensure the economical and timely design and construction of the water and wastewater infrastructures.
Throughout the history of the construction industry, many fatalities and injuries have occurred i... more Throughout the history of the construction industry, many fatalities and injuries have occurred in construction sites. One of the major causes of accidents is unsafe site conditions; basically, this is due to inadequate supervision. To improve upon the traditional supervision approach, this study proposes a `Framework Development for Construction Safety Visualization' approach. In addition to this, a computer vision Edge Detection Algorithm was developed and tested to convert construction site still images into edges of the objects in the images. The framework development of this study uses computer vision, robot vision, image compression, pattern recognition, internet transmission, network communication, and image processing.
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the barriers and constraints executive decision-... more PurposeThe purpose of this study is to determine the barriers and constraints executive decision-makers have to face during the delivery method selection stage of water and wastewater projects using alternative project delivery (APD) methods, e.g. design-build (DB), design-build-operate (DBO) and construction management-at-risk (CMAR).Design/methodology/approachStructured interviews were conducted with 18 executive decision-makers from public agencies to identify the reasons for transitioning to APD from the design-bid-build (DBB) method. Respondents were also asked about the major obstacles they faced during the decision-making process, as well as key positive and negative factors in using APD methods. The executive decision-makers were also asked about their lessons learned during this process. In addition, this study collected key steps in making APD water and wastewater projects successful. All of the findings from the interview phase were validated by seven public agency execut...
International Conference on Sustainable Infrastructure 2017
Journal of Legal Affairs and Dispute Resolution in Engineering and Construction
Work (Reading, Mass.), 2018
In the United States, about 38,000 cases of nonfatal workplace injuries were reported in 2015, in... more In the United States, about 38,000 cases of nonfatal workplace injuries were reported in 2015, in the category of 'mechanical work' (plumbing, heating, and air conditioning); this is nearly identical to the number of cases reported under 'building construction'. This paper analyzes the types and rates of injuries and illnesses of mechanical contractors of southern Nevada, including the nature of the injuries and illnesses, body parts affected by injuries, causes of injuries, and factors affecting the injury rates. To obtain data, a survey consisting of questions regarding the number of injuries and types of injuries was conducted with 31 mechanical contractors of southern Nevada involved in plumbing, piping, heating, refrigeration, and air conditioning. The injury rate for larger mechanical contractors (n = 16), in terms of number of employees and annual revenue, was significantly lower than for smaller mechanical contractors (n = 15). Mechanical contractors who work...
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 2017
In an economy with an unsure market and scarce work for construction projects, public owners acro... more In an economy with an unsure market and scarce work for construction projects, public owners across the United States, especially universities, are using alternative project delivery methods to complete their projects within cost and schedule. As an alternate delivery method to design-bid-build (DBB), public universities across the United States are beginning to use design-build (DB) to construct their facilities. In order to analyze and compare DB and DBB projects, this study used 77 building projects built by planning and construction divisions of United States public universities. Statistical tests were conducted to determine if metrics related to cost, schedule, and change orders were significantly different from each other in these two types of projects. Results showed that DB projects significantly outperformed DBB projects in terms of schedule saving. The study also found that the number of construction change orders was significantly lower in DB projects than in DBB projects. The primary contribution of this paper is to provide information to the public that the DB method has potential to reduce schedule and construction change orders when constructing public university buildings.
The Scientific World Journal, 2016
This study provides an economic evaluation for a Land Ferry, which is a rail system capable of ca... more This study provides an economic evaluation for a Land Ferry, which is a rail system capable of carrying trucks and all other types of vehicles, passengers, and cargo. The Land Ferry system involves a sliding loading system to roll heavy loads onto a flatbed; as a result, loading and unloading of all vehicles and cargo could be accomplished simultaneously. The evaluation for this system included (1) the design of a new track alignment over which the Land Ferry system would run, (2) evaluation of various sources of power, (3) estimation of how many local jobs the Land Ferry would generate, and (4) a benefit-cost analysis. It was estimated that the Land Ferry would create over 45,788 temporary jobs in Nevada during the three-year construction period and 318 permanent jobs during operation. The majority of the benefits were attributed to savings in travel time ($356.4 M), vehicle operating costs ($1000.4 M), reduction of accidents ($544.6 M), and pavement maintenance ($503.2 M). These b...
Analysis of Design‐Build Procurement Activities Durations for Highway Projects. [ASCE Conference ... more Analysis of Design‐Build Procurement Activities Durations for Highway Projects. [ASCE Conference Proceedings 339, 24 (2009)]. Giovanni C. Migliaccio, Ph.D., M. ASCE, Pramen P. Shrestha, Ph.D., PE, M. ASCE. Abstract. The ...
Construction Research Congress 2016, 2016
... 5. Report Date October 2008 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) Megan Stringer, Tayl... more ... 5. Report Date October 2008 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) Megan Stringer, Taylor Crawford, David Fowler, James Jirsa, Moon Won and David Whitney ... Megan Stringer Taylor Crawford David Fowler James Jirsa Moon Won David Whitney ...
... ON THE SH 130 PROJECT Authors: James T. O'Connor G. Edward Gibson Jr. Giovan... more ... ON THE SH 130 PROJECT Authors: James T. O'Connor G. Edward Gibson Jr. Giovanni C. Migliaccio Pramen P. Shrestha Project 0-4661: Monitoring and Evaluation of SH 130 Project Construction OCTOBER 2005 REV. MARCH 2006 ...
Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture, 2017
Air pollution is one of the leading cause of death for underdeveloped as well as developed countr... more Air pollution is one of the leading cause of death for underdeveloped as well as developed countries. In 2011, the air pollution was the second leading cause of death in one of the main hospitals of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, and it was the third leading cause in the United States. Burning fossil fuels for transportation was one of the major causes. Among various impacts of the air pollution, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) was one of the main consequences. In the 570 km 2 Kathmandu Valley, vehicle registration was increased from 45,871 in 1990/1991 to 570,145 in 2010/2011, an increase of over 12-fold over 20 years. The vehicle registration and number of COPD patients' data were collected from various government divisions. In addition, the average daily travel distance and fuel mileage data were collected with a survey with residents of the Kathmandu Valley. This paper calculates the amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions by transportation sector and determines correlation between CO 2 emissions and COPD patients. Results show that there was a very high level of CO 2 emissions, and it was positively correlated with the number of COPD patients in the valley.
Journal of Public Works Management and Policy, 2016
Since the 1990s, the use of design-build (DB) and construction manager at-risk (CMAR) as alternat... more Since the 1990s, the use of design-build (DB) and construction manager at-risk (CMAR) as alternative project delivery (APD) methods for water and wastewater projects has significantly increased, fast outpacing the growth of traditional project delivery methods. Currently, U.S. municipalities face challenges of an aging infrastructure, which requires replacing and expanding water and wastewater facilities at more than 7,000 utilities nationwide. This study compared and analyzed the differences between utility managers (UMs) and project managers (PMs) regarding their satisfaction levels of the various benefits when using APD methods. Respondents included UMs and PMs having experience in DB and CMAR water and wastewater projects. In this study, PMs were significantly more satisfied with the quality of project, change orders, and lower rate of disputes than UMs. In addition, PMs experienced a significantly higher schedule advantage than UMs. Most respondents were satisfied with the various advantages provided by APD methods.
Journal of Infrastructure Systems, 2017
In the United States, for road maintenance activities, state departments of transportation (DOT) ... more In the United States, for road maintenance activities, state departments of transportation (DOT) use either in-house resources or outsource to private contractors under various methods, such as method-based contracting (MBC), performance-based contracting (PBC), the hybrid method, lane rental, cost plus time, or incentives/disincentives, etc. In a literature review, factors were identified that affect the selection of the maintenance methods as well as their benefits. This study conducted a survey with state DOT maintenance engineers, and asked them to rate the factors and benefits. This study identified which factors were more important to state DOTs when assigning maintenance work to in-house staff or to private contractors. Statistical test results showed that the top two ranked factors influencing the selection of in-house (MBC and PBC) were availability of DOT staff and DOT staff have specific skills for jobs. Regarding the levels of satisfaction with benefits, on average, the respondents were significantly more satisfied with using in-house resources than with MBC or PBC methods. The study also determined the levels of satisfaction with quality of work that state DOTs and private contractors had with these methods.
Journal of Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction, ASCE, , 2017
In the United States, state departments of transportation (DOTs) use primarily state force (SF) o... more In the United States, state departments of transportation (DOTs) use primarily state force (SF) or private contractors to maintain road systems. Private contractors are contracted under method-based contracting (MBC) or performance-based contracting (PBC). Limited research has been conducted to assess the quality of road-maintenance work performed by private contractors. In this study, with the help of a national survey of state DOTs, questionnaire responses from road users, and on-site visits, the quality of three road-maintenance activities—chip seal, striping, and street sweeping—was assessed. The results show that the quality of chip seal performed by the SF was significantly better than that performed by private contractors. On the basis of the survey of road users, for the activity of striping, the work performed by private contractors was significantly higher in quality than work done by the SF. For the activity of street sweeping, the road user and the nationwide DOT surveys showed that SFs significantly outperformed private contractors. The results of this study will help state DOTs identify the respective maintenance activities that should be performed using SFs and private contractors.
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, ASCE, 2017
In an economy with an unsure market and scarce work for construction projects, public owners acro... more In an economy with an unsure market and scarce work for construction projects, public owners across the United States, especially universities, are using alternative project delivery methods to complete their projects within cost and schedule. As an alternate delivery method to design-bid-build (DBB), public universities across the United States are beginning to use design-build (DB) to construct their facilities. In order to analyze and compare DB and DBB projects, this study used 77 building projects built by planning and construction divisions of United States public universities. Statistical tests were conducted to determine if metrics related to cost, schedule, and change orders were significantly different from each other in these two types of projects. Results showed that DB projects significantly outperformed DBB projects in terms of schedule saving. The study also found that the number of construction change orders was significantly lower in DB projects than in DBB projects. The primary contribution of this paper is to provide information to the public that the DB method has potential to reduce schedule and construction change orders when constructing public university buildings.
Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture , 2017
Air pollution is one of the leading cause of death for underdeveloped as well as developed countr... more Air pollution is one of the leading cause of death for underdeveloped as well as developed countries. In 2011, the air pollution was the second leading cause of death in one of the main hospitals of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, and it was the third leading cause in the United States. Burning fossil fuels for transportation was one of the major causes. Among various impacts of the air pollution, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) was one of the main consequences. In the 570 km 2 Kathmandu Valley, vehicle registration was increased from 45,871 in 1990/1991 to 570,145 in 2010/2011, an increase of over 12-fold over 20 years. The vehicle registration and number of COPD patients' data were collected from various government divisions. In addition, the average daily travel distance and fuel mileage data were collected with a survey with residents of the Kathmandu Valley. This paper calculates the amount of carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions by transportation sector and determines correlation between CO 2 emissions and COPD patients. Results show that there was a very high level of CO 2 emissions, and it was positively correlated with the number of COPD patients in the valley.
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Papers by Pramen Shrestha