The article presents research results of the strength parameters of HPC achieved in various research conditions. The research was carried out on substantially different samples, both as to the size as the slenderness ratio. Moreover, the assessment of the effect of speed of a load on strength parameters as well as other factors which in a significant way show the difference in the strength values was made. For comparison, the results were also applied to the relations known in ordinary concrete.

Due to different reasons a significant modal shift from railway to road transport took place over last decades. The basic reasons are pointed in the paper introduction together with contradicting transport policy taking into account environmental and economical challenges. Political vision to stimulate modal shift from road and air to railway cannot become true without achieving railway technical and operational interoperability. Paper describes wide range of technical barriers between individual intraoperable railway systems in civil engineering structures, traction power supply, control command and signalling and the ways, which are being applied to ensure stepwise converging of the technical solutions taking into account safety and technical compatibility, as well as other essential requirements, namely: reliability, accessibility, health and environment.

The article presents subject matter related to the assessment of the suitability of the built-up area, including the occurrence of sinkholes on the surface. The investment plot, which is the subject of the analysis, is located in the central part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, where shallow exploitation of coal seams was conducted in the past. At present it is a post-mining area, located at a large distance from active mines. It has an attractive administrative location and good transport connection with the main road connecting the cities of the Silesian agglomeration. These advantages make it particularly attractive in terms of use for various types of investments. The geological and mining factors are not favorable in the area in question, mainly due to the shallow mining exploitation conducted in the past and the access excavations on small depth and an unknown method of liquidation. These reasons are the cause of some restrictions in the use of construction, for which taking the appropriate solutions is recommended. According to the study of (Rules... 2009), the category of mining land should be defined for the areas of liquidated mining plants due to the limitation in construction use. The authors of the article made an attempt to determine it, and they analyzed the geological and mining conditions for this purpose, mainly including mining exploitation conducted in the past. On the basis of the obtained results and own experience, the type of expected hazards and its assessment were determined The probability of the occurrence of the inclusions according to the Chudek-Olaszowski method (Chudek et al. 1988) was assumed as a measure of the hazard.

This paper aims to evaluate the effects of blended binders on the development of strength in moraine soils by optimising the proportion of several binders. We tested three types of soil as a mixture of moraine soils: A (sandy clay), B (clayey silt) and C (silty clay), collected in southern Sweden. The soil was compacted using a modified Proctor test using the standard SS-EN 13286-2:2010 to determine optimum moisture content. The particle size distribution was analysed to determine suitable binders. The specimens of types A, B and C, were treated by six different binders: ordinary Portland cement (OPC); hydrated lime (Ca(OH)2); ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS) and their blends in various proportions. The strength gain in soil treated by binders was evaluated by the test for Unconfined Compressive Strength (UCS) against curing time. For soil type A, the strength increase is comparable for most of the binders, with the difference in behaviour in the UCS gain. The OPC/lime, GGBFS and hydrated lime showed a direct correlation, while OPC, OPC/GGBFS and GGBFS/hydrated lime – a quick gain in the UCS by day 28th. After that, the rate of growth decreased. Compared to soil type A, Ca(OH)2 performs better on the stabilisation of soil type B. Besides, the hydrated lime works better on the gain of the UCS compared to other binders. The GGBFS/Ca(OH)2 blend shows a notable effect on soil type A: the UCS of soil treated by Ca(OH)2 performs similarly to those treated by OPC with visible effects on day 90th. Cement and a blend of slag/hydrated lime demonstrated the best results for soil type B. An effective interaction was noted for the blends GGBFS and hydrated lime, which is reflected in the UCS development in soils type A and B. Blended binder GGBFS/hydrated lime performs better compared to single binders.

This paper presents an experimental study on the leaching of heavy metals, toxic chemicals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) – PAH, PCB and HCB – from soil dredged from the coastal area of Västernorrland in northern Sweden. The soil was stabilized with cement/slag. Samples were subjected to modified surface leaching and shake tests using technical standards of the Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI). The experiments were performed using different blends of binding agents (30/70, 50/50, 70/30) and binder quantities (120 and 150 kg/m3) to analyze their effects on leaching. Soil properties, tools, and workflow are described. Binders included Portland cement and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS). Samples were tested to evaluate the min/max contents of pollutants (μg/l) for heavy metals (As, Ba, Pb, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Hg, Mn, Mo, Ni, S, V, Zn) and the hydrocarbon fraction index in the excess water. The leaching of heavy metals and POPs was assessed in sediments after the addition of the binder. The comparison was made against the two mixes (cement/slag in 30/70% and high/low binder with low/high water ratio). The results showed that 70% slag decreases the leaching of heavy metals and POPs. The equilibrium concentrations of DOC and heavy metals at L/S 10 (μg/l) were measured during the shake experiments to compare their levels in the groundwater that was used as a leachate. The leached content was assessed at L/S 10 in the upscaling experiments using four samples for PAH, PCB and various fractions of hydrocarbons: C10–C40, C10–C12, C12–C16 and C35–C40. The shake test showed a decrease in the leaching of heavy metals and POP substances from the soil subjected to stabilization by a higher amount of slag added as a binder. A binder blend with 30% cement and 70% of GGBFS showed the best performance.

In this research project, the measurements of the ultrasonic P- and S-waves and seismic cone penetration testing (CPT) were applied to identify subsurface conditions and properties of clayey soil stabilized with lime/cement columns in the Stockholm Norvik Port, Sweden. Applied geophysical methods enabled to identify a connection between the resistance of soil and strength in the stabilized columns. The records of the seismic tests were obtained in the laboratory of Swedish Geotechnical Institute (SGI) through estimated P- and S-wave velocities using techniques of resonance frequency measurement of the stabilized specimens. The CPT profiles were used to evaluate the quality of the lime/cement columns of the reinforced soil by the interpretation of signals. The relationship between the P- and S-waves demonstrated a gain in strength during soil hardening. The quality of soil was evaluated by seismic measurements with aim to achieve sufficient strength of foundations prior to the construction of the infrastructure objects and industrial works. Seismic CPT is an effective method essential to evaluate the correct placement of the CPT inside the column. This work demonstrated the alternative seismic methods supporting the up-hole technology of drilling techniques for practical purpose in civil engineering and geotechnical works.

This paper deals with an issue of a rotational motion impact on a construction and presents civil engineering applications of a fiber optic rotational seismograph named Fiber-Optic System for Rotational Events & Phenomena Monitoring. It has been designed for a long- term building monitoring and structural rotations’ recording. It is based on the Sagnac effect which enables to detect one-axis rotational motion in a direct way and without any reference system. It enables to detect a rotation component in the wide range of a signal amplitude from 10-8 rad/s to 10 rad/s, as well as a frequency from DC to 1000 Hz. Data presented in this paper show the behavior of a reinforced concrete frame construction on different floors. Several measurements were carried out by placing the applied sensor on different floor levels of a building. The laboratory and in-situ measurements confirmed that Fiber-Optic System for Rotational Events & Phenomena Monitoring is an accurate and suitable device for applications in civil engineering.

In recent years, we have been able to observe a dynamic development of MCDA (multi-criteria decision analysis) methods, which have become widely used in various sectors, including construction. These methods are characterised by simplicity and one of their key advantages is their simple modelling of non-linear dependencies within decision problems and their analysis under the conditions of incomplete, uncertain and hard-to-measure information. The universality and simple use of these methods does not, however, free the decision-maker from the necessity to adopt the proper approach to modelling and analysing specific decision problems. To highlight the fact that it is the character of the problem that should determine the selection of the method of analysing it and not the other way around, the authors assessed the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and the ANP (Analytic Network Process) method in terms of verifying the impact of the different decision model structures on analysis outcomes and analysed their sensitivity to input data changes. This analysis was based on the example of selecting a telecommunications tower footing reinforcement alternative. The findings confirmed the significant impact of decision model structure on the ranking of the analysed alternatives.