Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed February 12, 2009). Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the [Dept. of Civil Engineering], Graduate School of Engineering. Degree awarded 2005; thesis submitted 2004. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print form.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2007. / Typescript (photocopy). "December 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-159). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S. in civil engineering)--Washington State University, August 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 11, 2009). "Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering." Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-70).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The growing trend towards multi-family dwelling units combined with the predominant use of light construction materials, has brought about an increasing awareness of the need for greater acoustic privacy. Although the total evaluation of acoustic privacy is dependent on many factors, the party wall is generally the most important element in achieving that goal. The concept of 'masking', with regard to airborne sound transmission, was applied to a privacy model derived from other studies. This model was used to evaluate different plasterboard wall constructions in a series of computer-simulated tests. The method compares the anticipated 'masking' calculated from the single-figure STC rating and from actual Transmission Loss values. Further tests were carried out to evaluate a simplified acoustic measurement using the A-weighted sound level differences of various noise spectra. The validity of this simplified measurement enables its use in the application of a building standardise results of the different wall data were then evaluated to determine a level of user satisfaction based on predicted subjective response. Comparison of this level with CHHC and other standards, shows the latter to be very marginal values. Some walls were also analysed as to the effect of design and different components on their acoustic performance. Lastly, the results of the simplified measurement technique indicates the applicability of a general household noise spectrum in evaluating the acoustic privacy between dwelling units. The implementation of this method in conjunction with a Privacy Index is an effective way of specifying a minimum level cf acoustic privacy. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate

My thesis; "City Museum for Istanbul" tells the story of Istanbul . The project; from its plans to its elevations and sections is designed by a clear understanding and classification of the city and its long history. Every detail that has been inserted in the building has been used in Istanbul, is a proof of something that belongs to the city and the taste of its people. The most striking characteristic of the museum is; its giant and powerful walls. The idea of using walls came from the fact that Istanbul was founded as a walled city. Following the history of Istanbul, I picked up the most important aspects of the city and with respect to their original functions, I used them in my design. The city walls were just the beginning; they helped me to divide my site into different parts, defining spaces and handling every function in the museum. From exhibition areas to courtyards, offices to the cafeterias everything happens between the narrow, high and massive walls. Their appearances and the materials change depending on their responsibilities; that is how they start to talk and where the journey of Istanbul begins... / Master of Architecture

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2003. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 272-282). Also available in electronic version.

Geosynthetic reinforced soil (GRS) walls involve the use of geosynthetic reinforcement (polymer material) within the retained backfill, forming a reinforced soil block where transmission of overturning and sliding forces on the wall to the backfill occurs. Key advantages of GRS systems include the reduced need for large foundations, cost reduction (up to 50%), lower environmental costs, faster construction and significantly improved seismic performance as observed in previous earthquakes. Design methods in New Zealand have not been well established and as a result, GRS structures do not have a uniform level of seismic and static resistance; hence involve different risks of failure. Further research is required to better understand the seismic behaviour of GRS structures to advance design practices. The experimental study of this research involved a series of twelve 1-g shake table tests on reduced-scale (1:5) GRS wall models using the University of Canterbury shake-table. The seismic excitation of the models was unidirectional sinusoidal input motion with a predominant frequency of 5Hz and 10s duration. Seismic excitation of the model commenced at an acceleration amplitude level of 0.1g and was incrementally increased by 0.1g in subsequent excitation levels up to failure (excessive displacement of the wall panel). The wall models were 900mm high with a full-height rigid facing panel and five layers of Microgird reinforcement (reinforcement spacing of 150mm). The wall panel toe was founded on a rigid foundation and was free to slide. The backfill deposit was constructed from dry Albany sand to a backfill relative density, Dr = 85% or 50% through model vibration. The influence of GRS wall parameters such as reinforcement length and layout, backfill density and application of a 3kPa surcharge on the backfill surface was investigated in the testing sequence. Through extensive instrumentation of the wall models, the wall facing displacements, backfill accelerations, earth pressures and reinforcement loads were recorded at the varying levels of model excitation. Additionally, backfill deformation was also measured through high-speed imaging and Geotechnical Particle Image Velocimetry (GeoPIV) analysis. The GeoPIV analysis enabled the identification of the evolution of shear strains and volumetric strains within the backfill at low strain levels before failure of the wall thus allowing interpretations to be made regarding the strain development and shear band progression within the retained backfill. Rotation about the wall toe was the predominant failure mechanism in all excitation level with sliding only significant in the last two excitation levels, resulting in a bi-linear displacement acceleration curve. An increase in acceleration amplification with increasing excitation was observed with amplification factors of up to 1.5 recorded. Maximum seismic and static horizontal earth pressures were recorded at failure and were recorded at the wall toe. The highest reinforcement load was recorded at the lowest (deepest in the backfill) reinforcement layer with a decrease in peak load observed at failure, possibly due to pullout failure of the reinforcement layer. Conversely, peak reinforcement load was recorded at failure for the top reinforcement layer. The staggered reinforcement models exhibited greater wall stability than the uniform reinforcement models of L/H=0.75. However, similar critical accelerations were determined for the two wall models due to the coarseness of excitation level increments of 0.1g. The extended top reinforcements were found to restrict the rotational component of displacement and prevented the development of a preliminary shear band at the middle reinforcement layer, contributing positively to wall stability. Lower acceleration amplification factors were determined for the longer uniform reinforcement length models due to reduced model deformation. A greater distribution of reinforcement load towards the top two extended reinforcement layers was also observed in the staggered wall models. An increase in model backfill density was observed to result in greater wall stability than an increase in uniform reinforcement length. Greater acceleration amplification was observed in looser backfill models due to their lower model stiffness. Due to greater confinement of the reinforcement layers, greater reinforcement loads were developed in higher density wall models with less wall movement required to engage the reinforcement layers and mobilise their resistance. The application of surcharge on the backfill was observed to initially increase the wall stability due to greater normal stresses within the backfill but at greater excitation levels, the surcharge contribution to wall destabilising inertial forces outweighs its contribution to wall stability. As a result, no clear influence of surcharge on the critical acceleration of the wall models was observed. Lower acceleration amplification factors were observed for the surcharged models as the surcharge acts as a damper during excitation. The application of the surcharge also increases the magnitude of reinforcement load developed due to greater confinement and increased wall destabilising forces. The rotation of the wall panel resulted in the progressive development of shears surface with depth that extended from the backfill surface to the ends of the reinforcement (edge of the reinforced soil block). The resultant failure plane would have extended from the backfill surface to the lowest reinforcement layer before developing at the toe of the wall, forming a two-wedge failure mechanism. This is confirmed by development of failure planes at the lowest reinforcement layer (deepest with the backfill) and at the wall toe observed at the critical acceleration level. Key observations of the effect of different wall parameters from the GeoPIV results are found to be in good agreement with conclusions developed from the other forms of instrumentation. Further research is required to achieve the goal of developing seismic guidelines for GRS walls in geotechnical structures in New Zealand. This includes developing and testing wall models with a different facing type (segmental or wrap-around facing), load cell instrumentation of all reinforcement layers, dynamic loading on the wall panel and the use of local soils as the backfill material. Lastly, the limitations of the experimental procedure and wall models should be understood.