Although many researches have been conducted to investigate the behavior of concrete PRECAST structures against seismic loadings, behavior factor of such structures, which is of significant importance in seismic design of structures, have received less attention so far. In this study, three typical concrete PRECAST frames with PRECAST shear WALLs, consist of 4, 8 and 12 stories with 3 and 5 bays have been investigated numerically to determine the behavior factors. Effects of two types of uniform and triangular loadings, vertical and horizontal connections between panels as well as pinned and fixed connections between beam and column have been investigated in this paper. To determine the behavior factor, nonlinear static (pushover) analysis approach has been used and Perform 3D software has been applied.Results showed that parameters such as uniform and triangular lateral loadings, pinned and fixed connections of beam-column as well as horizontal and vertical connections between panels have minor effects on the behavior factor. Moreover, increasing the number of spans with shear WALL decreases the behavior factor. Increasing the number of stories, increases the behavior factor. The results obtained in the present work for 4 and 8 story frames compare well with those proposed in the seismic code 2800 and NEHRP 2003.

It is both impractical and uneconomic to design a structure that remains elastic throughout severe ground motions. The main seismic design philosophy of a fixed-base structure is that minor structural damages are acceptable as long as the structure does not collapse. Hence, seismic base isolation provides a better alternative in earthquake structural design. This paper presents finite element analysis carried out to investigate the feasibility of applying locally produced elastomeric rubber bearing base isolators in seismically isolating non-ductile PRECAST concrete WALL structures from earthquake excitations. The PRECAST WALL structures were analyzed in terms of in-plane and out-of-plane isolation effects due to dynamic lateral loads. Ground excitations from three classifications of acceleration history based on different a/v ratios were used in dynamic analyses of the structures. The results showed that although the base isolator had successfully reduced most of the critical structural responses such as floor acceleration and base shear demand, relative inter-story drift reduction as compared to fixed-base structure was not significant. Current design philosophy for seismic base isolation should be urgently revisited. Imperative discussion and review of the feasibility in utilizing base isolators as seismic mitigation plan for seismic prone areas are presented.

One of the most important determinants of securing the structures in seismic zone is reinforcement of the structures for resisting against the lateral loads. In the recent years, for reinforcing lateral load-resisting systems, implementing applicable elements such as PRECAST concrete and steel plate shear WALLs as a new approach has attracted many scholars in the area of construction industry. This scholarly attraction refers to the potential benefits of using these advanced operational techniques from the perspective of being affordable, expediting operations and flexibility. Reviewing the research background in the areas of PRECAST concrete frame and steel shear WALLs reveals that in the past studies, the aforementioned elements have been studied separately and despite the attention of the researchers in the field of civil engineering, none of them have concentrated simultaneously on the systems of PRECAST concrete frame and the steel shear WALL together in their studies. Another aspect to consider is the fact that new and modern cities are in the dire need of industrialized construction. This is an important issue since need for quality habitat grows more and more because of high rate of population in the expanding cities. Use of PRECAST segments is a solution in response to this significant demand. Therefore, the present research focuses on the system of PRECAST concrete structures with steel shear WALLs. In particular, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of steel shear WALL as a lateral load-resisting element on PRECAST concrete frames using cyclic analysis. In order to achieve the research objectives and performing cyclic analysis, the OpenSEES software was utilized. There are several options in OpenSEES for nonlinear modeling of structural members. They include distributed and concentrated plasticity options. The distributed nonlinearity is closer to reality as experience shows that nonlinear action is actually distributed along a certain portion of members before total failure. On the other hand, use of distributed plasticity option encounters certain difficulties when calculating with reverse loading conditions. The concentrated plasticity option is preferred for the same reason as it has proved to yield results that are close enough to representative response values determined using the other option. That is why the concentrated plasticity computation framework was selected in this research. Moreover, and to the same extent of discussion, different nonlinear stress-strain models can be picked up in OpenSEES. The Steel02 and Concrete02 material constitutive relations benefit from both simplicity and accuracy. The same relations were chosen to cope with the needs of the current research work. For this purpose, the relative behavior of PRECAST concrete frames with a steel shear WALL in buildings with different numbers of floors (3, 5 and 10 floors) and different beam-column connections categorized based on their stiffness, strength and construction details as rigid and semi-rigid, were analyzed. Additionally, the behavior of PRECAST concrete frames with steel shear WALLs (with semi-rigid connections) and concrete frames without steel shear WALLs (with rigid connection) in buildings having the stated number of floors were examined on the basis of the aforementioned parameters. In general, the results generated by the analysis confirmed the positive and appropriate effect of steel shear WALLs on the lateral behavior of the PRECAST concrete frame. The results of the research clearly showed that the use of steel shear WALLs in PRECAST concrete buildings could reinforce lateral load-resisting system and could increase the safety of the structure in the seismic zones. Therefore, this research contributes to the literature by recommending the use of steel shear WALLs in PRECAST concrete buildings and suggests further studies on this system, including use of a wider range of buildings and earthquake ground motions on various soil types.

With increasing population and necessity of building construction in the least time, we need to use the PRECAST structures. However, due to some problems, the PRECAST industry has not reached to its whole potential yet. The main problem is due to their PRECAST concrete connections. The reduction factor is an important factor in linear analysis that indicates inelastic behaviors of structure such as resistance and ductility in nonlinear stage. In spite of many studies to obtain reduction factor of monolithic structures, we have a little information about this factor in PRECAST ones. Hence, determining this factor is necessary for this type of structures. In this research, moment resistant PRECAST systems in 4, 6 and 8 stories with 3 and 5 bays were investigated. The effects of two types of typical beam to column connections were evaluated. Nonlinear static pushover in three forms of triangular, uniform and modal was applied. The results indicate that PRECAST concrete moment frames have reduction factor less than equivalent in site moment frames.

An important benefit in terms of improving efficient use of resources such as electricity and combustibles, is harnessing renewable resources of energy, mainly solar energy. Solar energy can effectively be used in regions where solar radiation is very important either in intensity or over a long period yearly. Among these uses, thermal treatment of products like prefabricated concrete elements. Algeria is one place among those rich regions in solar radiation thanks to the beight of sun and the number of days per year of sun shining. The use of heating by evaporation in climatic container having a polyethylene or metal covers permits to improve production capacity. It has been established that during ambient temperature of 25°C and more, the inner temperature of this climatic container can reach 50 to 70°C and the strength of concrete after 8 hours of storage reaches 70 to 75% of the nominal strength. These conditions can tremendously improve the rate of production of prefabricated concrete elements.

PRECAST construction projects are associated with many activities, numerous parties, enormous effort and different processes. For effective communication, this requires delivering appropriate and up-to-date information to enhance collaboration and improve integration. The purpose of this paper is to develop the system architecture and prototype of Context-Aware Cloud Computing Building Information Modeling (CACCBIM) for PRECAST supply chain management. The findings of this research are grounded through the literature of cloud computing, context-awareness, building information modeling and, ultimately, the analysis of interviews with stakeholders in PRECAST construction. Findings determine that lack of integration, improper planning and scheduling, poor production timing, poor coordination, lack of good communication among parties, wrong deliveries, poor control and supervision are the major issues within the PRECAST supply chain. These issues could result in adverse consequences for the objectives and success of the PRECAST project. Eventually, to reduce and eliminate these issues, the proposed prototype will support appropriate deliveries, efficient monitoring, the facilitation of coordination and collaboration with improved communication. It is anticipated that this research will establish a unique perception of the PRECAST construction industry which will finally enhance its productivity, improve its efficiency and maximise its effectiveness.