Ehsan Harirchian - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ehsan Harirchian

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Insufficient Cover Thickness on Structural Performance of Reinforced Concrete Buildings

30th International Conference on Organization and Technology of Maintenance (OTO 2021)

Research paper thumbnail of The study of relationship between cognitive styles and Human Resource Competencies in Iranian Construction Industries

Today, one of the most important factors influencing construction industries is Human Resource (H... more Today, one of the most important factors influencing construction industries is Human Resource (HR) management. However, the construction industry is one of the most labor-intensive industries, and there has not been adequate consideration of Human Resource Management (HRM) issues. The qualitative and quantitative issues of a construction firm’s products could be improved and increased by utilizing fruitful and talented HR managers. Furthermore, they are able to promote the possibility to become successful by setting goals and strategies. The first objective of this research was to examine the relationship between Jung’s cognitive style and HR competency level In Iranian construction companies. The second objective was to compare the level of HR competency based on cognitive style in order to predict the level of competencies among those who are applying for positions and those who seeking promotion in the construction industries. The results of this study can be applied in construc...

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of material strength and discontinuity in RC structures according to different site-specific design spectra

Research on Engineering Structures and Materials

Research paper thumbnail of Seismic and Structural Analyses of the Eastern Anatolian Region (Turkey) Using Different Probabilities of Exceedance

Applied System Innovation

Seismic hazard analysis of the earthquake-prone Eastern Anatolian Region (Turkey) has become more... more Seismic hazard analysis of the earthquake-prone Eastern Anatolian Region (Turkey) has become more important due to its growing strategic importance as a global energy corridor. Most of the cities in that region have experienced the loss of life and property due to significant earthquakes. Thus, in this study, we attempted to estimate the seismic hazard in that region. Seismic moment variations were obtained using different types of earthquake magnitudes such as Mw, Ms, and Mb. The earthquake parameters were also determined for all provincial centers using the earthquake ground motion levels with some probabilities of exceedance. The spectral acceleration coefficients were compared based on the current and previous seismic design codes of the country. Additionally, structural analyses were performed using different earthquake ground motion levels for the Bingöl province, which has the highest peak ground acceleration values for a sample reinforced concrete building. The highest seism...

Research paper thumbnail of A Machine Learning Framework for Assessing Seismic Hazard Safety of Reinforced Concrete Buildings

Applied Sciences

Although averting a seismic disturbance and its physical, social, and economic disruption is prac... more Although averting a seismic disturbance and its physical, social, and economic disruption is practically impossible, using the advancements in computational science and numerical modeling shall equip humanity to predict its severity, understand the outcomes, and equip for post-disaster management. Many buildings exist amidst the developed metropolitan areas, which are senile and still in service. These buildings were also designed before establishing national seismic codes or without the introduction of construction regulations. In that case, risk reduction is significant for developing alternatives and designing suitable models to enhance the existing structure’s performance. Such models will be able to classify risks and casualties related to possible earthquakes through emergency preparation. Thus, it is crucial to recognize structures that are susceptible to earthquake vibrations and need to be prioritized for retrofitting. However, each building’s behavior under seismic actions...

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the Effect of Screw Size on the Stress Level in MERO Joint for Space Frame Structures

Applied System Innovation

Space frame structures satisfy the ever-increasing requirements of societies for providing a vari... more Space frame structures satisfy the ever-increasing requirements of societies for providing a variety of structural forms and architectural spaces with special characteristics, such as aesthetic and free-form features, population-wise capacities, and structural performance, among others. Structural behavior of these systems largely depend on the type of joints and their components which are to be considered appropriately in design and analysis. Screws comprise one of the key components of joints in these structures and play a pivotal role in the total cost of the structure, as well as the maximum stress level created in joints. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of screw size on the maximum stress generated in three MERO double-layer ball joints with diameters of 98, 110, and 132 mm as a sample numerical analysis case to pinpoint this fact. Numerical simulations were conducted using ANSYS workbench software. Based on the results, in order to achieve the maximum factor of s...

Research paper thumbnail of Damage and performance evaluation of masonry buildings constructed in 1970s during the 2019 Albania earthquakes

Engineering Failure Analysis

Research paper thumbnail of A Synthesized Study Based on Machine Learning Approaches for Rapid Classifying Earthquake Damage Grades to RC Buildings

Applied Sciences

A vast number of existing buildings were constructed before the development and enforcement of se... more A vast number of existing buildings were constructed before the development and enforcement of seismic design codes, which run into the risk of being severely damaged under the action of seismic excitations. This poses not only a threat to the life of people but also affects the socio-economic stability in the affected area. Therefore, it is necessary to assess such buildings’ present vulnerability to make an educated decision regarding risk mitigation by seismic strengthening techniques such as retrofitting. However, it is economically and timely manner not feasible to inspect, repair, and augment every old building on an urban scale. As a result, a reliable rapid screening methods, namely Rapid Visual Screening (RVS), have garnered increasing interest among researchers and decision-makers alike. In this study, the effectiveness of five different Machine Learning (ML) techniques in vulnerability prediction applications have been investigated. The damage data of four different earth...

Research paper thumbnail of A review on application of soft computing techniques for the rapid visual safety evaluation and damage classification of existing buildings

Journal of Building Engineering

Research paper thumbnail of ML-EHSAPP: a prototype for machine learning-based earthquake hazard safety assessment of structures by using a smartphone app

European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering

The recent devastating earthquakes have caused severe physical, social, and financial damage worl... more The recent devastating earthquakes have caused severe physical, social, and financial damage worldwide and indicate that many existing buildings, especially in developing countries, are not designe...

Research paper thumbnail of Developing a hierarchical type-2 fuzzy logic model to improve rapid evaluation of earthquake hazard safety of existing buildings

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparative Study of MCDM Methods Integrated with Rapid Visual Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Existing RC Structures

MDPI, Applied Sciences, Special Issue Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening, 2020

Recently, the demand for residence and usage of urban infrastructure has been increased, thereby ... more Recently, the demand for residence and usage of urban infrastructure has been increased, thereby resulting in the elevation of risk levels of human lives over natural calamities. The occupancy demand has rapidly increased the construction rate, whereas the inadequate design of structures prone to more vulnerability. Buildings constructed before the development of seismic codes have an additional susceptibility to earthquake vibrations. The structural collapse causes an economic loss as well as setbacks for human lives. An application of different theoretical methods to analyze the structural behavior is expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, introducing a rapid vulnerability assessment method to check structural performances is necessary for future developments. The process, as mentioned earlier, is known as Rapid Visual Screening (RVS). This technique has been generated to identify, inventory, and screen structures that are potentially hazardous. Sometimes, poor construction quality does not provide some of the required parameters; in this case, the RVS process turns into a tedious scenario. Hence, to tackle such a situation, multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods for the seismic vulnerability assessment opens a new gateway. The different parameters required by RVS can be taken in MCDM. MCDM evaluates multiple conflicting criteria in decision making in several fields. This paper has aimed to bridge the gap between RVS and MCDM. Furthermore, to define the correlation between these techniques, implementation of the methodologies from Indian, Turkish, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) codes has been done. The effects of seismic vulnerability of structures have been observed and compared.

Research paper thumbnail of Application of Support Vector Machine Modeling for the Rapid Seismic Hazard Safety Evaluation of Existing Buildings

Energies

The economic losses from earthquakes tend to hit the national economy considerably; therefore, mo... more The economic losses from earthquakes tend to hit the national economy considerably; therefore, models that are capable of estimating the vulnerability and losses of future earthquakes are highly consequential for emergency planners with the purpose of risk mitigation. This demands a mass prioritization filtering of structures to identify vulnerable buildings for retrofitting purposes. The application of advanced structural analysis on each building to study the earthquake response is impractical due to complex calculations, long computational time, and exorbitant cost. This exhibits the need for a fast, reliable, and rapid method, commonly known as Rapid Visual Screening (RVS). The method serves as a preliminary screening platform, using an optimum number of seismic parameters of the structure and predefined output damage states. In this study, the efficacy of the Machine Learning (ML) application in damage prediction through a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model as the damage classi...

Research paper thumbnail of Improved Rapid Assessment of Earthquake Hazard Safety of Structures via Artificial Neural Networks

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

The vulnerability of structures mainly depends on the structural resistance system of buildings t... more The vulnerability of structures mainly depends on the structural resistance system of buildings to earthquake. It is unlikely that all existing buildings can be inspected in detail. Therefore, rapid methods for evaluating buildings have been developed over the last decades. This paper investigates the earthquake susceptibility through the combination of buildings’ geometrical attributes that affect the vulnerability of building and can be used to obtain an optimal prediction of the damage state of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings using artificial neural networks (ANNs). In this regard, a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network has been trained and optimized using a database of 145 damaged buildings from the Haiti earthquake. The results demonstrate the practicability and effectiveness of the selected ANNs approach to classify actual structural damage that can be used as a preliminary assessment procedure to recognize vulnerable buildings.

Research paper thumbnail of Earthquake Hazard Safety Assessment of Existing Buildings Using Optimized Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network

Energies

The latest earthquakes have proven that several existing buildings, particularly in developing co... more The latest earthquakes have proven that several existing buildings, particularly in developing countries, are not secured from damages of earthquake. A variety of statistical and machine-learning approaches have been proposed to identify vulnerable buildings for the prioritization of retrofitting. The present work aims to investigate earthquake susceptibility through the combination of six building performance variables that can be used to obtain an optimal prediction of the damage state of reinforced concrete buildings using artificial neural network (ANN). In this regard, a multi-layer perceptron network is trained and optimized using a database of 484 damaged buildings from the Düzce earthquake in Turkey. The results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the selected ANN approach to classify concrete structural damage that can be used as a preliminary assessment technique to identify vulnerable buildings in disaster risk-management programs.

Research paper thumbnail of Improved Rapid Visual Earthquake Hazard Safety Evaluation of Existing Buildings Using Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Model

Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) is a procedure that estimates structural scores for buildings and pr... more Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) is a procedure that estimates structural scores for buildings and prioritize their retrofit and upgrade requirements. Despite the speed and simplicity of RVS, many of the collected parameters are non-commensurable and include subjectivity due to visual observations. It might cause uncertainties in the evaluation, which emphasizes the use of a fuzzy-based method. This study aims to propose a novel RVS methodology based on the interval type-2 fuzzy logic system (IT2FLS) to set the priority of vulnerable building to undergo detailed assessment while covering uncertainties and minimizing their effects during evaluation. The proposed method estimates the vulnerability of a building, in terms of Visual Damage Index, considering the number of stories, age of building, plan irregularity, vertical irregularity, building quality, and peak ground velocity, as inputs with a single output variable. Applicability of the proposed method has been investigated using a po...

Research paper thumbnail of Earthquake Safety Assessment of Buildings Through Rapid Visual Screening

Earthquake is among the most devastating natural disasters causing severe economic, environmental... more Earthquake is among the most devastating natural disasters causing severe economic, environmental, and social destruction. Earthquake safety assessment and building hazard monitoring can highly contribute to urban sustainable development through identification and insight into optimum materials and structures. While the vulnerability of structures mainly depends on the structural resistance, the safety assessment of buildings can be highly challenging. In this paper, we consider Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) method which is a qualitative procedure for estimating structural scores for buildings suitable for medium- to high-seismic cases. This paper presents an overview of the common RVS methods, i.e., FEMA P-154, IITK-GGSDMA, and EMPI. To examine the accuracy and validation, a practical comparison is performed between their assessment and observed damage of reinforced concrete buildings from a street survey in the Bingöl region, Turkey, after the 11 May 2003 earthquake. The results de...

Research paper thumbnail of Earthquake Hazard Safety Assessment of Buildings via Smartphone App: A Comparative Study

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

The failure of man-made structures is the main cause of more injuries during an earthquake and mo... more The failure of man-made structures is the main cause of more injuries during an earthquake and more economic losses. In addition, as urban areas continue to develop, the need for an effective disaster management system to develop resilient communities increased. To estimate the severity of a building’s damage, several seismic assessment methods have been introduced. Rapid visual screening methods (RVS) are the fastest and simplest methods developed to evaluate the initial vulnerability profile of the existing building stock, constructed before or after the adoption and enforcement of seismic codes. In this study, FEMA P-154, Indian RVS (IITK-GSDMA), Turkish RVS (EMPI), and EHSAPP method have been utilized on some buildings and their results compared to each other with regard to the real occurring damage after an earthquake on the same buildings. It was observed that the EHSAPP method has a better and more realistic seismic risk assessment than others.

Research paper thumbnail of A Study of the Relationship between Cognitive Styles and Learning Strategies

Higher Education Studies, 2011

Today, one of the most important factors influencing construction industries is Human Resource (H... more Today, one of the most important factors influencing construction industries is Human Resource (HR) management. However, the construction industry is one of the most labor-intensive industries, and there has not been adequate consideration of Human Resource Management (HRM) issues. The qualitative and quantitative issues of a construction firm's products could be improved and increased by utilizing fruitful and talented HR managers. Furthermore, they are able to promote the possibility to become successful by setting goals and strategies. The first objective of this research was to examine the relationship between Jung's cognitive style and HR competency level In Iranian construction companies. The second objective was to compare the level of HR competency based on cognitive style in order to predict the level of competencies among those who are applying for positions and those who seeking promotion in the construction industries. The results of this study can be applied in construction companies to assist in employing applicants with the best qualifications-especially those who have no, or not enough, job experience. The participants in this research included 150 HR managers from 32 different industrial companies in Iran. The results demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between Jung's cognitive style and HR competency level, also the results of this research confirm that there are consequential differences in HR competency level based on Jung's cognitive style.

Research paper thumbnail of Cognitive Styles and HR competencies in Iranian universities

Nowadays, the role of Human Resource (HR) managers in Construction industries is very vital. Alth... more Nowadays, the role of Human Resource (HR) managers in Construction industries is very vital. Although construction is one of the most labourintensive industries, Human Resource Management (HRM) issues are given inadequate attention in this industry. Hiring effective and competent HR managers in construction firms can promote the quantity and quality of products, as well as they increase the possibility of successful achievement in strategic goals. The following article, trays to compare the level of HR competencies based on personality types in order to predict the level of competencies among those who are going to apply for a position and those who are seeking promotion in construction industries. This study. This article can be applicable as a hint in the Construction firms for employing applicants with the best qualifications specially those who have no or not enough job experience, this study is expected to facilitate and accelerate to developing HR management quality at Construction companies.

Research paper thumbnail of The Effect of Insufficient Cover Thickness on Structural Performance of Reinforced Concrete Buildings

30th International Conference on Organization and Technology of Maintenance (OTO 2021)

Research paper thumbnail of The study of relationship between cognitive styles and Human Resource Competencies in Iranian Construction Industries

Today, one of the most important factors influencing construction industries is Human Resource (H... more Today, one of the most important factors influencing construction industries is Human Resource (HR) management. However, the construction industry is one of the most labor-intensive industries, and there has not been adequate consideration of Human Resource Management (HRM) issues. The qualitative and quantitative issues of a construction firm’s products could be improved and increased by utilizing fruitful and talented HR managers. Furthermore, they are able to promote the possibility to become successful by setting goals and strategies. The first objective of this research was to examine the relationship between Jung’s cognitive style and HR competency level In Iranian construction companies. The second objective was to compare the level of HR competency based on cognitive style in order to predict the level of competencies among those who are applying for positions and those who seeking promotion in the construction industries. The results of this study can be applied in construc...

Research paper thumbnail of The effect of material strength and discontinuity in RC structures according to different site-specific design spectra

Research on Engineering Structures and Materials

Research paper thumbnail of Seismic and Structural Analyses of the Eastern Anatolian Region (Turkey) Using Different Probabilities of Exceedance

Applied System Innovation

Seismic hazard analysis of the earthquake-prone Eastern Anatolian Region (Turkey) has become more... more Seismic hazard analysis of the earthquake-prone Eastern Anatolian Region (Turkey) has become more important due to its growing strategic importance as a global energy corridor. Most of the cities in that region have experienced the loss of life and property due to significant earthquakes. Thus, in this study, we attempted to estimate the seismic hazard in that region. Seismic moment variations were obtained using different types of earthquake magnitudes such as Mw, Ms, and Mb. The earthquake parameters were also determined for all provincial centers using the earthquake ground motion levels with some probabilities of exceedance. The spectral acceleration coefficients were compared based on the current and previous seismic design codes of the country. Additionally, structural analyses were performed using different earthquake ground motion levels for the Bingöl province, which has the highest peak ground acceleration values for a sample reinforced concrete building. The highest seism...

Research paper thumbnail of A Machine Learning Framework for Assessing Seismic Hazard Safety of Reinforced Concrete Buildings

Applied Sciences

Although averting a seismic disturbance and its physical, social, and economic disruption is prac... more Although averting a seismic disturbance and its physical, social, and economic disruption is practically impossible, using the advancements in computational science and numerical modeling shall equip humanity to predict its severity, understand the outcomes, and equip for post-disaster management. Many buildings exist amidst the developed metropolitan areas, which are senile and still in service. These buildings were also designed before establishing national seismic codes or without the introduction of construction regulations. In that case, risk reduction is significant for developing alternatives and designing suitable models to enhance the existing structure’s performance. Such models will be able to classify risks and casualties related to possible earthquakes through emergency preparation. Thus, it is crucial to recognize structures that are susceptible to earthquake vibrations and need to be prioritized for retrofitting. However, each building’s behavior under seismic actions...

Research paper thumbnail of Investigating the Effect of Screw Size on the Stress Level in MERO Joint for Space Frame Structures

Applied System Innovation

Space frame structures satisfy the ever-increasing requirements of societies for providing a vari... more Space frame structures satisfy the ever-increasing requirements of societies for providing a variety of structural forms and architectural spaces with special characteristics, such as aesthetic and free-form features, population-wise capacities, and structural performance, among others. Structural behavior of these systems largely depend on the type of joints and their components which are to be considered appropriately in design and analysis. Screws comprise one of the key components of joints in these structures and play a pivotal role in the total cost of the structure, as well as the maximum stress level created in joints. The present study aims to evaluate the effect of screw size on the maximum stress generated in three MERO double-layer ball joints with diameters of 98, 110, and 132 mm as a sample numerical analysis case to pinpoint this fact. Numerical simulations were conducted using ANSYS workbench software. Based on the results, in order to achieve the maximum factor of s...

Research paper thumbnail of Damage and performance evaluation of masonry buildings constructed in 1970s during the 2019 Albania earthquakes

Engineering Failure Analysis

Research paper thumbnail of A Synthesized Study Based on Machine Learning Approaches for Rapid Classifying Earthquake Damage Grades to RC Buildings

Applied Sciences

A vast number of existing buildings were constructed before the development and enforcement of se... more A vast number of existing buildings were constructed before the development and enforcement of seismic design codes, which run into the risk of being severely damaged under the action of seismic excitations. This poses not only a threat to the life of people but also affects the socio-economic stability in the affected area. Therefore, it is necessary to assess such buildings’ present vulnerability to make an educated decision regarding risk mitigation by seismic strengthening techniques such as retrofitting. However, it is economically and timely manner not feasible to inspect, repair, and augment every old building on an urban scale. As a result, a reliable rapid screening methods, namely Rapid Visual Screening (RVS), have garnered increasing interest among researchers and decision-makers alike. In this study, the effectiveness of five different Machine Learning (ML) techniques in vulnerability prediction applications have been investigated. The damage data of four different earth...

Research paper thumbnail of A review on application of soft computing techniques for the rapid visual safety evaluation and damage classification of existing buildings

Journal of Building Engineering

Research paper thumbnail of ML-EHSAPP: a prototype for machine learning-based earthquake hazard safety assessment of structures by using a smartphone app

European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering

The recent devastating earthquakes have caused severe physical, social, and financial damage worl... more The recent devastating earthquakes have caused severe physical, social, and financial damage worldwide and indicate that many existing buildings, especially in developing countries, are not designe...

Research paper thumbnail of Developing a hierarchical type-2 fuzzy logic model to improve rapid evaluation of earthquake hazard safety of existing buildings

Research paper thumbnail of A Comparative Study of MCDM Methods Integrated with Rapid Visual Seismic Vulnerability Assessment of Existing RC Structures

MDPI, Applied Sciences, Special Issue Experimental and Numerical Analysis in Building Rehabilitation and Strengthening, 2020

Recently, the demand for residence and usage of urban infrastructure has been increased, thereby ... more Recently, the demand for residence and usage of urban infrastructure has been increased, thereby resulting in the elevation of risk levels of human lives over natural calamities. The occupancy demand has rapidly increased the construction rate, whereas the inadequate design of structures prone to more vulnerability. Buildings constructed before the development of seismic codes have an additional susceptibility to earthquake vibrations. The structural collapse causes an economic loss as well as setbacks for human lives. An application of different theoretical methods to analyze the structural behavior is expensive and time-consuming. Therefore, introducing a rapid vulnerability assessment method to check structural performances is necessary for future developments. The process, as mentioned earlier, is known as Rapid Visual Screening (RVS). This technique has been generated to identify, inventory, and screen structures that are potentially hazardous. Sometimes, poor construction quality does not provide some of the required parameters; in this case, the RVS process turns into a tedious scenario. Hence, to tackle such a situation, multiple-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods for the seismic vulnerability assessment opens a new gateway. The different parameters required by RVS can be taken in MCDM. MCDM evaluates multiple conflicting criteria in decision making in several fields. This paper has aimed to bridge the gap between RVS and MCDM. Furthermore, to define the correlation between these techniques, implementation of the methodologies from Indian, Turkish, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) codes has been done. The effects of seismic vulnerability of structures have been observed and compared.

Research paper thumbnail of Application of Support Vector Machine Modeling for the Rapid Seismic Hazard Safety Evaluation of Existing Buildings

Energies

The economic losses from earthquakes tend to hit the national economy considerably; therefore, mo... more The economic losses from earthquakes tend to hit the national economy considerably; therefore, models that are capable of estimating the vulnerability and losses of future earthquakes are highly consequential for emergency planners with the purpose of risk mitigation. This demands a mass prioritization filtering of structures to identify vulnerable buildings for retrofitting purposes. The application of advanced structural analysis on each building to study the earthquake response is impractical due to complex calculations, long computational time, and exorbitant cost. This exhibits the need for a fast, reliable, and rapid method, commonly known as Rapid Visual Screening (RVS). The method serves as a preliminary screening platform, using an optimum number of seismic parameters of the structure and predefined output damage states. In this study, the efficacy of the Machine Learning (ML) application in damage prediction through a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model as the damage classi...

Research paper thumbnail of Improved Rapid Assessment of Earthquake Hazard Safety of Structures via Artificial Neural Networks

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

The vulnerability of structures mainly depends on the structural resistance system of buildings t... more The vulnerability of structures mainly depends on the structural resistance system of buildings to earthquake. It is unlikely that all existing buildings can be inspected in detail. Therefore, rapid methods for evaluating buildings have been developed over the last decades. This paper investigates the earthquake susceptibility through the combination of buildings’ geometrical attributes that affect the vulnerability of building and can be used to obtain an optimal prediction of the damage state of reinforced concrete (RC) buildings using artificial neural networks (ANNs). In this regard, a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network has been trained and optimized using a database of 145 damaged buildings from the Haiti earthquake. The results demonstrate the practicability and effectiveness of the selected ANNs approach to classify actual structural damage that can be used as a preliminary assessment procedure to recognize vulnerable buildings.

Research paper thumbnail of Earthquake Hazard Safety Assessment of Existing Buildings Using Optimized Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Network

Energies

The latest earthquakes have proven that several existing buildings, particularly in developing co... more The latest earthquakes have proven that several existing buildings, particularly in developing countries, are not secured from damages of earthquake. A variety of statistical and machine-learning approaches have been proposed to identify vulnerable buildings for the prioritization of retrofitting. The present work aims to investigate earthquake susceptibility through the combination of six building performance variables that can be used to obtain an optimal prediction of the damage state of reinforced concrete buildings using artificial neural network (ANN). In this regard, a multi-layer perceptron network is trained and optimized using a database of 484 damaged buildings from the Düzce earthquake in Turkey. The results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the selected ANN approach to classify concrete structural damage that can be used as a preliminary assessment technique to identify vulnerable buildings in disaster risk-management programs.

Research paper thumbnail of Improved Rapid Visual Earthquake Hazard Safety Evaluation of Existing Buildings Using Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Model

Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) is a procedure that estimates structural scores for buildings and pr... more Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) is a procedure that estimates structural scores for buildings and prioritize their retrofit and upgrade requirements. Despite the speed and simplicity of RVS, many of the collected parameters are non-commensurable and include subjectivity due to visual observations. It might cause uncertainties in the evaluation, which emphasizes the use of a fuzzy-based method. This study aims to propose a novel RVS methodology based on the interval type-2 fuzzy logic system (IT2FLS) to set the priority of vulnerable building to undergo detailed assessment while covering uncertainties and minimizing their effects during evaluation. The proposed method estimates the vulnerability of a building, in terms of Visual Damage Index, considering the number of stories, age of building, plan irregularity, vertical irregularity, building quality, and peak ground velocity, as inputs with a single output variable. Applicability of the proposed method has been investigated using a po...

Research paper thumbnail of Earthquake Safety Assessment of Buildings Through Rapid Visual Screening

Earthquake is among the most devastating natural disasters causing severe economic, environmental... more Earthquake is among the most devastating natural disasters causing severe economic, environmental, and social destruction. Earthquake safety assessment and building hazard monitoring can highly contribute to urban sustainable development through identification and insight into optimum materials and structures. While the vulnerability of structures mainly depends on the structural resistance, the safety assessment of buildings can be highly challenging. In this paper, we consider Rapid Visual Screening (RVS) method which is a qualitative procedure for estimating structural scores for buildings suitable for medium- to high-seismic cases. This paper presents an overview of the common RVS methods, i.e., FEMA P-154, IITK-GGSDMA, and EMPI. To examine the accuracy and validation, a practical comparison is performed between their assessment and observed damage of reinforced concrete buildings from a street survey in the Bingöl region, Turkey, after the 11 May 2003 earthquake. The results de...

Research paper thumbnail of Earthquake Hazard Safety Assessment of Buildings via Smartphone App: A Comparative Study

IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering

The failure of man-made structures is the main cause of more injuries during an earthquake and mo... more The failure of man-made structures is the main cause of more injuries during an earthquake and more economic losses. In addition, as urban areas continue to develop, the need for an effective disaster management system to develop resilient communities increased. To estimate the severity of a building’s damage, several seismic assessment methods have been introduced. Rapid visual screening methods (RVS) are the fastest and simplest methods developed to evaluate the initial vulnerability profile of the existing building stock, constructed before or after the adoption and enforcement of seismic codes. In this study, FEMA P-154, Indian RVS (IITK-GSDMA), Turkish RVS (EMPI), and EHSAPP method have been utilized on some buildings and their results compared to each other with regard to the real occurring damage after an earthquake on the same buildings. It was observed that the EHSAPP method has a better and more realistic seismic risk assessment than others.

Research paper thumbnail of A Study of the Relationship between Cognitive Styles and Learning Strategies

Higher Education Studies, 2011

Today, one of the most important factors influencing construction industries is Human Resource (H... more Today, one of the most important factors influencing construction industries is Human Resource (HR) management. However, the construction industry is one of the most labor-intensive industries, and there has not been adequate consideration of Human Resource Management (HRM) issues. The qualitative and quantitative issues of a construction firm's products could be improved and increased by utilizing fruitful and talented HR managers. Furthermore, they are able to promote the possibility to become successful by setting goals and strategies. The first objective of this research was to examine the relationship between Jung's cognitive style and HR competency level In Iranian construction companies. The second objective was to compare the level of HR competency based on cognitive style in order to predict the level of competencies among those who are applying for positions and those who seeking promotion in the construction industries. The results of this study can be applied in construction companies to assist in employing applicants with the best qualifications-especially those who have no, or not enough, job experience. The participants in this research included 150 HR managers from 32 different industrial companies in Iran. The results demonstrate that there is a significant relationship between Jung's cognitive style and HR competency level, also the results of this research confirm that there are consequential differences in HR competency level based on Jung's cognitive style.

Research paper thumbnail of Cognitive Styles and HR competencies in Iranian universities

Nowadays, the role of Human Resource (HR) managers in Construction industries is very vital. Alth... more Nowadays, the role of Human Resource (HR) managers in Construction industries is very vital. Although construction is one of the most labourintensive industries, Human Resource Management (HRM) issues are given inadequate attention in this industry. Hiring effective and competent HR managers in construction firms can promote the quantity and quality of products, as well as they increase the possibility of successful achievement in strategic goals. The following article, trays to compare the level of HR competencies based on personality types in order to predict the level of competencies among those who are going to apply for a position and those who are seeking promotion in construction industries. This study. This article can be applicable as a hint in the Construction firms for employing applicants with the best qualifications specially those who have no or not enough job experience, this study is expected to facilitate and accelerate to developing HR management quality at Construction companies.