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Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Natural Disasters: Origins, Impacts, Management
Natural hazards are processes that serve as triggers for natural disasters. Natural hazards can be classified into six categories. Geophysical or geological hazards relate to movement in solid earth. Their examples include earthquakes and volcanic activity. Hydrological hazards relate to the movement of water and include floods, landslides, and wave action. Meteorological hazards are storms, extreme temperatures, and fog. Climatological hazards are increasingly related to climate change and include droughts and wildfires. Biological hazards are caused by exposure to living organisms and/or their toxic substances. The COVID-19 virus is an example of a biological hazard. Extraterrestrial hazards are caused by asteroids, meteoroids, and comets as they pass near earth or strike earth. In addition to local damage, they can change earth inter planetary conditions that can affect the Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere, and thermosphere. This entry presents an overview of origins, impacts, and management of natural disasters. It describes processes that have potential to cause natural disasters. It outlines a brief history of impacts of natural hazards on the human built environment and the common techniques adopted for natural disaster preparedness. It also lays out challenges in dealing with disasters caused by natural hazards and points to new directions in warding off the adverse impact of such disasters. 
  • 5.4K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Natural Hazards in Pakistan
Natural hazards are dynamic and unpredictable events that are a continuous threat to global socio-economic development. Humans’ reactions to these catastrophes are influenced by their proximity to the hazards and their ability to anticipate, resist, cope with, and recover from their consequences. Due to climatic changes, the risk of multiple natural hazards is expected to increase in several regions of Pakistan.
  • 5.3K
  • 08 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Large-Scale Geothermal Collector Systems
A Geothermal collector system is a ground heat exchanger connected to a heat pump which provides heating energy from the ground for buildings. A Large-scale geothermal collector systems differ from small systems, which are usually built for individual buildings, in their size and complexity. Typical large-scale geothermal collector systems supply entire settlements with heating and cooling energy via 5th Generation District Heating and Cooling (5GDHC) by using the very Shallow Geothermal Potential (vSGP). They can also be constructed in multiple horizontal layers.
  • 1.9K
  • 04 Mar 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Numerical Solution of Desiccation Cracks in Clayey Soils
This entry presents the theoretical fundamentals, the mathematical formulation, and the numerical solution for the problem of desiccation cracks in clayey soils. The formulation uses two stress state variables (total stress and suction) and results in a non-symmetric and nonlinear system of transient partial differential equations. A release node algorithm technique is proposed to simulate cracking, and the strategy to implement it in the hydromechanical framework is explained in detail. This general framework was validated with experimental results, and several numerical examples were published at international conferences and in journal papers.
  • 1.7K
  • 25 May 2022
Topic Review
Geothermal Heat Pump
A geothermal heat pump (GHP) or ground source heat pump (GSHP) is a type of heat pump used to heat and/or cool a building by exchanging heat with ground, often through a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. It uses the earth all the time, without any intermittency, as a heat source (in the winter) or a heat sink (in the summer). This design takes advantage of the moderate temperatures in the ground to boost efficiency and reduce the operational costs of heating and cooling systems, and may be combined with solar heating to form a geosolar system with even greater efficiency. They are also known by other names, including geoexchange, earth-coupled, earth energy systems. The engineering and scientific communities prefer the terms "geoexchange" or "ground source heat pumps" to avoid confusion with traditional geothermal power, which uses a high-temperature heat source to generate electricity. Ground source heat pumps harvest heat absorbed at the Earth's surface from solar energy. The temperature in the ground below 6 metres (20 ft) is roughly equal to the local mean annual air temperature (MAAT). Depending on latitude, the temperature beneath the upper 6 metres (20 ft) of Earth's surface maintains a nearly constant temperature reflecting the mean average annual air temperature (in many areas, between 10 and 16 °C/50 and 60 °F), if the temperature is undisturbed by the presence of a heat pump. Like a refrigerator or air conditioner, these systems use a heat pump to force the transfer of heat from the ground. Heat pumps can transfer heat from a cool space to a warm space, against the natural direction of flow, or they can enhance the natural flow of heat from a warm area to a cool one. The core of the heat pump is a loop of refrigerant pumped through a vapor-compression refrigeration cycle that moves heat. Air source heat pumps are typically more efficient at heating than pure electric heaters, even when extracting heat from cold winter air, although efficiencies begin dropping significantly as outside air temperatures drop below 5 °C (41 °F). A ground source heat pump exchanges heat with the ground. This is much more energy-efficient because underground temperatures are more stable than air temperatures throughout the year. Seasonal variations drop off with depth and disappear below 7 metres (23 ft) to 12 metres (39 ft) due to thermal inertia. Like a cave, the shallow ground temperature is warmer than the air above during the winter and cooler than the air in the summer. A ground source heat pump extracts ground heat in the winter (for heating) and transfers heat back into the ground in the summer (for cooling). Some systems are designed to operate in one mode only, heating or cooling, depending on climate. Geothermal pump systems reach fairly high coefficient of performance (CoP), 3 to 6, on the coldest of winter nights, compared to 1.75–2.5 for air-source heat pumps on cool days. Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) are among the most energy-efficient technologies for providing HVAC and water heating. Setup costs are higher than for conventional systems, but the difference is usually returned in energy savings in 3 to 10 years. Geothermal heat pump systems are reasonably warranted by manufacturers, and their working life is estimated at 25 years for inside components and 50+ years for the ground loop. As of 2004, there are over one million units installed worldwide providing 12 GW of thermal capacity, with an annual growth rate of 10%.
  • 1.7K
  • 11 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Slope Stability
The issue of slope stability is one of the most important and yet most difficult geotechnical problems. Assessing slope stability is particularly difficult because of the many uncertainties involved in the process. To take these uncertainties into account, probabilistic methods are used, and the reliability approach is adopted. There are many methods for reliability assessment of earth slope stability. However, there is no system that would organize all of these methods in an unambiguous way. In fact, these methods can be classified in different ways: by assignment to a deterministic classification of methods, by description of uncertainties of soil parameters, by level of reliability according to the theory of reliability, etc. The huge number of articles summarizing the research in this field, but in various “disordered” directions, certainly do not facilitate the understanding or ultimately the practical application of the reliability approach by the engineer. We propose a universal classification system of reliability methods for evaluating the stability of earth slopes. This proposal is preceded by a brief literature review of both historical background and contemporary study on reliability analysis of earth slope stability.
  • 1.5K
  • 17 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Disintegration Characteristics of Red Soil
Red soil, widely distributed in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia (approximately between the 30° S and 30° N latitudes), is formed by the weathering of carbonate or other rocks rich in iron and aluminium oxides in hot and humid climates. The concept of problem soils was first proposed by Wiseman et al. (1988), and it received a rapid response from the international soil community. Problem soils have a wide horizontal distribution range and large longitudinal depth. Such soils represent a relatively difficult research object in the soil mechanics domain, and the related research is thus a key field of geotechnical engineering. At the 2004 International Conference on Progress in Geotechnical Engineering, Evans et al. indicated that red soil, as a type of problem soil, is prone to geological disasters. Red soil is a highly sensitive problem soil in the Earth’s crust, owing to its hydrologic characteristics and chemical behaviour, and is known as problematic red soil. In rain or a full water system, under the influence of physical and chemical solutions, the original water-soil composition and structure and micro-cracks in the problem soil are destroyed, and the variation in the physical and chemical fields changes the mechanical properties of the soil, which may result in critical disintegration and other types of deformation and failure. These geological hazards are closely related to the intergranular suction, which, in turn, is related to the mechanical properties of unsaturated red soil, and may threaten building foundations and project construction.
  • 1.3K
  • 25 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation
 Microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) is a promising technology for solidifying sandy soil, ground improvement, repairing concrete cracks, and remediation of polluted land. By solidifying sand into soil capable of growing shrubs, MICP can facilitate peak and neutralization of CO2 emissions because each square meter of shrub can absorb 253.1 grams of CO2 per year.
  • 985
  • 01 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Drone-Based Package Delivery Logistics Systems
Autonomous Drone Delivery (ADD) modes are expected to become an important pillar of the future logistics industry for small parcel delivery at the last mile, as well as meal delivery service for fast food (e.g., pizza, etc.) and restaurants.
  • 895
  • 19 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Role of Basalt Geochemistry in CO2 Storage
The geochemistry of basalt plays a crucial role in the storage of CO2, as it possesses natural properties that enable the capture and sequestration of CO2. Basalt exhibits a remarkable ability to react with CO2 and form stable carbonate minerals, a process known as mineral carbonation or carbon sequestration.
  • 866
  • 06 Sep 2023
Topic Review
North American Datum
The North American Datum (NAD) is the horizontal datum now used to define the geodetic network in North America. A datum is a formal description of the shape of the Earth along with an "anchor" point for the coordinate system. In surveying, cartography, and land-use planning, two North American Datums are in use for making lateral or "horizontal" measurements: the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27) and the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). Both are geodetic reference systems based on slightly different assumptions and measurements. Vertical measurements, based on distances above or below Mean High Water (MHW), are calculated using the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). NAD 83, along with NAVD 88, is set to be replaced with a new GPS- and gravimetric geoid model-based geometric reference frame and geopotential datum in 2022.
  • 729
  • 20 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Forest Fires on Air Quality in Wolgan Valley
Forests are an important natural resource and are instrumental in sustaining environmental sustainability. Burning biomass in forests results in greenhouse gas emissions, many of which are long-lived. Precise and consistent broad-scale monitoring of fire intensity is a valuable tool for analyzing climate and ecological changes related to fire. Remote sensing and geographic information systems provide an opportunity to improve current practice’s accuracy and performance. 
  • 639
  • 28 Dec 2021
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Geographic Information System and Atomized Transportation Modes
Transportation is a spatial activity. The geographic Information System (GIS) is the process of capturing, managing, analyzing, and presenting spatial data. GIS techniques are essential to the study of various aspects of transportation. In this entry, the state of knowledge regarding atomized transportation modes is presented. Atomized transportation modes are defined as transportation modes which deal with low passenger numbers.
  • 639
  • 27 May 2022
Topic Review
Improvement of Vacuum Preloading System
The vacuum preloading system consists of vertical drains, horizontal vacuum pipes embedded in a layer of the sand blanket, membranes, and vacuum pumps. Studies have confirmed that vacuum preloading can effectively accelerate the consolidation process of soft soil. Further improvement in the efficiency of this method is still the continuing goal of scholars.
  • 626
  • 16 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Ground Movement Due to Swelling/Shrinkage of Nicosia Marl
The social and economic impact of expansive soils has been historically significant and is becoming more important in recent years as urban centers expand into areas covering such soils. The research mentioned here are meant to help in understanding the relationship between the spatial distribution of the causal factors and the magnitude of this phenomenon. Its findings can be of benefit to state authorities and other policy makers, as well as the construction industry, in planning future urban development and the maintenance of existing infrastructure.
  • 601
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Fractals in Engineered Particulate Materials
The fractal framework could help to better understand the inherent variability of granular materials’ behaviour, how these relate to structures at micro-scale, and how understanding, rationalizing, and reducing the randomness at micro-scale can facilitate the design at macro-scale.
  • 500
  • 29 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Applications of Machine Learning in Tunnel Boring Machines
Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) typically consist of a rotating cutter head that breaks up the rock or soil and a conveyor system that removes the excavated material. TBMs are preferred over traditional drill and blast techniques due to their higher efficiency, safer working conditions, minimal environmental disturbance, and reduced project costs. TBMs have become prevalent in tunnel construction due to their high efficiency and reliability. The proliferation of data obtained from site investigations and data acquisition systems provides an opportunity for the application of machine learning (ML) techniques. ML algorithms have been successfully applied in TBM tunneling because they are particularly effective in capturing complex, non-linear relationships.
  • 477
  • 15 Jun 2023
Topic Review
GPS in the Earthmoving Industry
GPS when applied in the earthmoving industry can be a viable asset to contractors and increase the overall efficiency of the job.
  • 370
  • 04 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Circular Business Model in Pulp and Paper Industry
Innovation in the circular economy (CE) and the deployment of effective circular business models (CBM) have attracted significant attention in times of growing natural resource scarcity.
  • 356
  • 04 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Laboratory Testing and Classification of Mudrocks
Mudrocks are fine-grained clay-rich rocks that comprise different lithotypes forming more than 60% of all sedimentary rocks, and thus, they occur frequently in engineering projects either as natural ground or as made ground. These rocks may display a range of engineering behaviours controlled mostly by their composition and structural features. Due to rapid breakdown and susceptibility to volume changes, they may cause problems both during and after construction. Research into the susceptibility of mudrocks to breakdown aims to predict problematic behaviour and provide guidance for avoiding or mitigating these effects. Low-durability materials that disintegrate during sampling and testing can be especially difficult to assess. 
  • 286
  • 19 Oct 2023
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