In this study, the usability of the dark grey colored basalt aggregate of volcanic origin, which is widely used in our country in recent years and has many reserves on earth, has been investigated. Sedimentary limestone sample was also obtained from the same regions to compare with basalt aggregates. Sieve analysis, frost resistance analysis with Sodium Sulfate, disintegration by impact experiment, specific gravity and water absorption value analysis in aggregates, analysis of compact and loose unit weight values, and Micro-Deval experiment were performed on both basalt and limestone aggregates collected from three different regions. In addition, the Proctor experiment was conducted to determine the relationship between the moisture and density of compacted soil in the formed sample mixes. As a result of the study, it is determined that the different aggregates taken from three different provinces possess the physical and mechanical properties to be used in the base and subbase layers of road construction, and they were in line with standards. It has been determined that the basalt aggregate collected from these regions is superior to the limestone aggregate, and when it is examined in terms of its physical and mechanical properties, it will help roads last longer.

Asphalt is considered a valuable construction material because of its strong, adhesive, and durable characteristics. AC binder is a viscoelastic material and has a different behaviors under different climate condition and traffic loadings and speed. Dynamic Modulus of Asphalt Mixtures E* is an important factor in pavement design therefore Highway Authority in Turkey has developed a mathematical model for the determination of E* based on research conducted for this purpose. During this study, it was found that this model is not sufficient for the determination of E* under different climate conditions (temperatures) and traffic loadings speeds. An experimental program has been conducted for testing different typical virgin and modifies asphalt binders in Turkey. The results have been analyzed using Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Method MEPDM as the new model will be part of this new design method as recommended by Highway Authority in Turkey. A new approach for the determination of E* in Turkey has been found and recommended.

Public transport is one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and consequently public transport ridership has decreased in the ratio of 50%-90% during this period. Some of these passengers are expected not to use public transport even if the pandemic is stable. Due to the high risk of infection in public transportation and the fact that the social distance-face mask rule is not obeyed to a certain extent, new regulations in public transport should be made evident. Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a high-quality public transportation system that has been widely preferred in both metropolis and medium-scale cities in recent years because of its low investment cost and short construction period. In this study, the economic effects of BRT system that is planned with the consideration of social distance according to the requirements of the pandemic were examined in terms of the country's economy and investor/operating institutions. Calculations were performed for the metropolis and small & medium-scale cities as two different types of cities. With the aim to find an urgent solution to the damaged image of public transportation due to the pandemic and the increasing traffic density, the effects of 1, 2 and 3 years of the implementation period on feasibility studies were investigated. In order to minimize the effect of the pandemic, occupancy rates during peak hours were assumed as 70%, which is the value specified for social distance in the literature, and the value of 90% used in feasibility studies. Four different scenarios were created by determining the number of passengers per square meter as 4 and 6. It was determined that the implementation period of BRT in one year could give more profitable results in terms of the country's economy and investor/operating institutions for both types of cities. In terms of the country's economy, it was determined that the scenario of 70% occupancy-4 passengers/m2 could be applied for both cities (the metropolis and small & medium-scale cities). In terms of operating institutions, although the scenario of 70% occupancy-4 passenger/m2 did not give profitable results for both cities, the findings have shown that this scenario could be applied by considering profitability in the country's economy. The results of this investigation show that BRT is a system that could be applied both in the metropolis and small & medium-scale cities with could be a positive influence in minimizing the spread of the pandemic.

Site response analysis is based on determining how strong ground motions occurring in bedrock are affected by local soils above the bedrock. Although the local ground response is determined as a result of simplified one-dimensional linear analysis of the system, which is actually three-dimensional, it is insufficient to represent the nonlinear behavior of soil which exhibiting plastic behavior under small deformations. The equivalent linear analysis method is more commonly used among other methods (linear or non-linear) to represent the nonlinear behavior of the soil. However, two or three dimensional analyzes are required in cases where the soil environment varies in all three dimensions or does not consist of horizontal layers, and especially when soil-structure interaction will be applied. In this study, three-dimensional modeling strategies are dwelled on and the effects of non-reflective boundary element lengths, dimensions of the soil (system), finite element size and the frequency range selected for damping on the response of the three-dimensional system are investigated. One-dimensional and three-dimensional soil behavior analysis results are compared with the studies in the literature in terms of the maximum ground acceleration, maximum displacement and response spectrum. As a result of the comparisons, it is revealed that the correctly generated three-dimensional model can be applied in determining the ground behavior in cases where one-dimensional analysis cannot be used.

One of the most important factors that increase the destructive effects of earthquakes and structural damages is the soil deformations during strong ground motion. The liquefaction occurs especially in saturated sandy soils as a result of the sudden increase in pore water pressure during the earthquakes and leads to large deformations in the soil layer and serious damages to engineering structures. In this study, by using three different sand properties with relative densities of 35,55 and 75%, two-dimensional soil profiles were created and dynamic analyzes were carried out using fourteen different acceleration-time histories records. In the numerical analysis was performed with a finite element software and PM4Sand constitutive equations were used to model the liquefaction behavior of sand layers. The numerical analysis results were compared with the well-known semi-empirical methods in the literature. In addition, the relationships between the parameters used to define strong ground motion and the liquefaction-induced settlements obtained from numerical and semi-empirical analyzes were investigated.

In the study, 67 reinforced concrete buildings examined in field studies after the Elazig-Sivrice Earthquake (2020) were examined using rapid assessment methods (RVS method, Canada Seismic Screening method, RBTEIE method and Sucuoglu method). The performance scores of the buildings and the risk of vulnerability have been determined. The results obtained from the methods were compared with each other and with the existing damage situation after the earthquake. With comparisons made, method that best reflect the current damage situation and the consistency of the methods with each other were tried to be determined. In the results of the study, i) Canada Seismic Screening method is the method that best reflects the current damage situation, ii) in terms of staying on the safe side method RVS more appropriate than method Sucuoglu, iii) it was determined that results similar to the method Sucuoglu were encountered in the assessment made with RBTEIE.

In this paper, we study some numerical methods to solve problems arising in applied sciences and engineering, primarily in beam theory. The problems of a beam on elastic foundation are usually describe with ill-posed fourth-order ordinary differential equations (ODEs). We study and formulate algorithms to aid the computation of the Exponentially Fitted Collocation Algorithm (EFCA), Hybrid Block Method (HBM), Homotopy Perturbation Algorithm (HPA), and Differential Transformation Algorithm (DTA) for the numerical solution of the ill-posed fourth-order ODEs. The formulated algorithms are further used for numerical comparison of the results. The results show that the algorithms are efficient, and numerical methods prove to be highly effective for solving beam problems.

As with many industrial designs and engineering applications, optimal designs in reinforced concrete building elements are very important both in terms of performance and economy. The economic design of reinforced concrete building elements has complex design problems due to the conditions and limitations in design codes. In addition, a large number of cross-section options are available at the design stage, so usually initial cross-section preferences are performed empirically and non-economical cross-sections are preferred. The design engineer's design under different bending moments and with optimal reinforcement ratios for different concrete classes will ensure that economical sections are obtained. In this study, optimization analysis was performed to determine optimal cross-section values under the changing design bending moments and concrete classes using TS 500 calculation methods of cross-sections of precast RC roof beams. Optimization was carried out with TS 500 and TBDY-2018 constraints. In optimization, the genetic algorithm technique has been used from widely known meta-Heuristic Algorithmic approaches. For this purpose, precast roof beams with different strength concrete classes and compression reinforcements are taken into account as a model, and the cross-section dimensions and reinforcement cross-sectional areas are optimized under varying design bending moments to give minimum cost. In the results of the analysis, optimal cross-section values and change in ratio of the longitudinal steel reinforcement were determined depending on concrete classes under changing design bending moments.

The objective of this study is to design a sustainable high-rise residential building using Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Building Information Modeling (BIM), and perform comparative analysis for the LEED building and non-LEED building. Within this scope, break-even points of these buildings’ water and energy consumptions as well as additional costs related to sustainability were analyzed. The research methodology relies on the literature review and case study. In the case study, the 3D model of a 15-storey residential building was designed via Autodesk Revit 2019 based on the LEED v4.1 Building Design and Construction (BD+C) rating system. The case study building can achieve 31 credits and 9 prerequisites which allow to obtain 61 points and LEED Gold certificate. By applying LEED v4.1 BD+C procedures, water consumption of the building was reduced by 65.96%, and energy consumption of the building was decreased by 59%. The initial cost of this LEED building is 1.074.833,04 TL which is 852.230.64 TL higher than the initial cost of non-LEED building. According to the break-even point calculations, the initial cost of LEED building can be charged after 13 years 8 months and 12 days. Results make a significant contribution to the literature and industry by showing the requirements and design process of a high-rise residential building using LEED and BIM. This study adds original value to the literature and industry by ensuring practitioners and researchers with constructive information about the energy, water, and cost performance of the LEED buildings. Further, results provide an insight to professionals in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry about the value of green buildings.

Uncontrolled discharged of bilge water from sea vessels is one of the major pollutants for marine ecosystem due to its high amount petroleum and oil content. In this research, organic material removal from bilge water by using coagulation – flocculation and Fenton oxidation was investigated. In coagulation-flocculation experiments, the effects of different coagulants and their dosages on COD removal were examined. Ferrous sulphate presented the best performance to remove organic material. The maximum COD removal efficiency was achieved as 40.7 ± 0.7%, and the optimum coagulant dosage was determined as 250 mg L-1. Regarding Fenton oxidation, different Fe2+ and H2O2 concentrations as well as different Fe2+/H2O2 ratios were tested to identify optimum operational conditions. COD removal efficiency of 59.0 ± 0.2% was achieved at 6 mM Fe2+ ions. The highest COD removal efficiencies were obtained at 30 mM H2O2 and Fe2+/H2O2: 1/5. Despite the fact that Fenton oxidation presented a better performance for organic material removal than coagulation-flocculation, COD concentration in the effluent could not meet the discharge limits. Therefore, Fenton oxidation under optimum operational conditions was considered as an effective pre-treatment method to remove organic materials from bilge water.

Plastics are often used in every industry today due to their light weight, durable and insulating materials. As a result of the widespread use of petroleum-based plastics, there is also an inevitable increase in the amount of waste. Therefore, it is important to determine the effects of plastics on the environment. In this study, the life cycle assessment of couplings, which are commonly used pipe fittings in irrigation and drinking water pipes, was investigated. The environmental effects of the production and disposal stages of the coupling were determined using the Eco-Indicator 99 method of SimaPro 8.0.2 software. At the end of the study, the highest environmental impact occurred during the production of the coupling (79.9%) and it was determined that the most important factor causing this was the use of polypropylene plastics (48.1%).

In this study, the usability of peroxydisulphate (PDS) oxidation for biological sludge obtained in municipal wastewater treatment plant for sludge disintegration prior to stabilization by anaerobic method was investigated. In addition, PDS oxidation has been evaluated as a conditioning process in order to improve the filterability properties of sludges. In this study, PDS oxidation was applied to sludges taken from Denizli Wastewater Treatment Plant where municipal wastewater is treated. Process conditions (concentration and temperature) were optimized using response surface statistical analysis in terms of disintegration and conditioning. Disintegration Degree (DD) for disintegration process and reduction in Capillary Suction Time (CST) are considered as efficiency for conditioning process. After determining the optimum conditions for the disintegration method, biochemical methane potential (BMP) tests were conducted to determine the anaerobic degradability of the sludge. The highest degree of disintegration (DD) was obtained when 900 g/kg DS concentration and 100 ° C temperature was applied and DD value was determined as 51.5%. This application enabled an increase of 42.6% methane gas compared to raw sludge. As a result of the study, It has been determined that oxidation process with PDS causes more methane gas formation in the anerobic digestion process by providing disintegration of sludge.. The lowest KES value was obtained in 1100 g/kg KM and 20 ° C application, and the decrease in KES value was calculated as 89% in this application. This result showed that PDS oxidation improved the dewatering property of the sludges.

Marmara Region is a transition zone broken by the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in the approximately E-W direction. The NAFZ starts from Bingöl-Karlýova and follows the north of Anatolian plate, passes through the Marmara Sea and reaches the Aegean Sea. This zone which limits the Anatolian plate from the North side is Turkey's most important tectonic element. In the Marmara Region, many damaging earthquakes occurred during the historical and instrumental periods on the NAFZ. In the last century, with the seismotectonic structure, which started with 1912 Þarköy-Mürefte and formed after the 1999 Gölcük earthquake, a seismic gap occurred on the NAFZ in the Marmara Sea. In this zone, where the activity continues with the occurrence of large and small earthquakes, an earthquake of 5.7 (Ml) in Silivri offshore on September 26, 2019. This earthquake brought the expected big Istanbul earthquake and the measures to be taken to the agenda of our country again. In this study, silent and active sections and the seismic absorption structure on these sections are presented in three dimensions in order to determine the earthquake behavior in the near future in the NAFZ. The results obtained from the use of earthquake data from 2012-2020 records, it was clearly determined that the attenuation is high on the Tekirdað segment and low in the transition section where Silivri earthquake occurred. It is possible to say that earthquake activity on this segment will be higher than other segments. These changes are important in terms of following the earthquake that will occur in the Marmara Sea and determining the impact area of the earthquake in the region.

This study aims to investigate the tectonic activity of Salanda Fault Zone between Kesikköprü (Kýrþehir) and Yeþilöz (Nevþehir) with geomorphological indices. The Paleozoic and Mesozoic age metamorphic rocks form the base of the study area. They are intruded by the Late Cretaceous magmatic rocks and unconformably overlain by the Late Paleosen-Middle Eocene sedimantary rock units. Oligocene-Middle Miocene units unconformably overlie pre-Oligocene formations. All of the above mentioned geologic units are unconformably covered by the Late Miocene - Quaternary units. Salanda Fault is the main structure of the Salanda Fault Zone which has aproximately 180 km long and 5 - 19 km in width. The dextral oblique-slip Salanda Fault is characterized by the recent travertine formations and earthquake activity along it. In order to determine the tectonic activity of the Salanda Fault Zone, some geomorphological indices as Valley Floor Width-To-Height (Vf), Mountain-Front Sinuosity (Smf), Normalized Stream Length-Gradient (SLK), Asymmetry Factor (AF), Hypsometric integral (Hi), Drainage Basin Shape (Bs), Relative Active Tectonic Index (Iat) were calculated. The calculated values range from 0.33 to 3, 1.57 to 1.87, 0.05 to 16.05, 0.22 to 0.65, 23 to 79, 1.26 to 7.42, 1.3 to 2.33 for Vf, Smf, SLK, Hi, AF, Bs, Iat respectively.Relative Active Tectonic Index (Iat) values, other geomorphic indices and geological findings reveal that the Salanda Fault Zone has a high to moderate level tectonic activity. The obtained results show us that Salanda Fault Zone is seismically active and threatens important settlements such as Nevþehir located nearby.

The groundwater in the Çumra plain, a semi-arid climate region, is intensively exploited for human needs due to especially agricultural and demographic development. In the study area, there are two main aquifers which are the semi-confined Neogene aquifer and the unconfined Quaternary aquifer. This paper presents isotopic characteristics of groundwater of the over-exploited two aquifer systems in the Çumra Plain of Konya. δ18O and δD contents of the Neogene aquifer samples respectively range from -9.89‰ to -6.76‰ and -68.30‰ to -47.50‰ in dry season and range from -10.32‰ to -7.61‰ and -68.63‰ to -53.11‰ in wet season. δ18O and δD contents of the Quaternary aquifer samples respectively range from -8.43‰ to -5.53‰ and -58.67‰ to -45.61‰ in dry season and range from -8.77‰ to -5.89‰ and -60.18‰ to -46.45‰ in wet season. The δ18O and δD contents of groundwater samples in two aquifers indicate a meteoric origin. The average lower Oxygen-18 values of the Neogene aquifer samples indicate recharge from higher elevations while more enriched Oxygen-18 values of the Quaternary aquifer samples show recharged from lower elevation. The groundwater of the Quaternary aquifer was more affected by the evaporation eventuated during or after recharge. Besides, positive correlation of δ18O with both Cl and total dissolved solids (TDS) in the Quaternary aquifer samples reveals that the evaporation caused salinity increases of the Quaternary aquifer samples. Tritium contents of the Neogene aquifer samples vary from 0.22 to 2.15TU in dry season and from 0.85 to 2.64TU in wet season, while tritium contents of the Quaternary aquifer samples vary from 1.18 to 4.37TU and from 1.52 to 5.48TU in dry and wet seasons, respectively. Accordingly, the samples of the Neogene aquifer reflect relatively higher residence time. Besides, the Neogene aquifer is under the influence of relatively recent precipitation, but recent precipitation has contributed more to the Quaternary aquifer.