Refereed Journals

Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) has gained widespread use as the most accessible and sustainable blended cement in the market. However, in many African countries, including Ghana, the use of clay pozzolana in the concrete industry has primarily relied on Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). In this study, PLC Type II/B-L was partially replaced with clay pozzolana at levels ranging from 10% to 50% by weight. The investigation included compressive strength testing, non-destructive evaluations using electrical surface resistivity, pulse velocity, and chloride penetration tests, targeting a characteristic strength of 30 MPa. Additionally, an environmental impact assessment based on the carbon footprint of both control and clay pozzolana concretes was conducted. The mix design followed the EN 206 standard. A total of 72 cubic moulds were produced for the strength test. The results showed that clay pozzolana concretes with between 10 and 20% replacement achieved strength values of 35 and 33 MPa, respectively, higher than the target of 30 MPa (4351.13 psi) strength at 28 days. However, mixtures with 30% to 50% replacement required extended curing periods of 60 to 90 days to reach the desired strength. At extended curing, 10-50% clay pozzolana replacement attained strength between 32 and 41 MPa. Non-destructive test results showed no direct correlation with compressive strength, confirming that different factors govern strength, resistivity, and pulse velocity. The environmental impact assessment revealed a 14 to 51% reduction in CSi and a 19 to 36% increase in CRi with 10 to 50% clay pozzolana (for CSi) and 10 to 40% (for CRi). The thermodynamic modelling also revealed that pozzolana contents below 30% primarily promoted pozzolanic reactions, enhancing performance compared to the control mix. Based on these results, 20–30% clay pozzolana replacement is recommended to ensure reliable performance, while higher levels (>30%) require further durability evaluation for long-term use.

The recurring upsurge of illegal mining activities in the Bole District has led to the rapid disruption of the existing biodiversity stemming from the absence of periodic studies in the area. Also, little attention has been paid to the performance evaluation of modern classification algorithms such as SVM and RF in African tropical regions, of which Ghana is no exception. This paper aims to assess the impact of mining activities in the Bole District (2005–2020) using LULC trend analysis and future impact predictions of 2030. The research further focuses on the performance evaluation of SVM and RF classifiers, showcasing how different machine learning algorithms capture LULC variations and contribute to the advancement of mapping techniques. The results indicate the superiority of the SVM in pixel-based image classification tasks. Notable changes in LULC between 2005 and 2020 include a significant increase in built-ups by 454.77%, attributed to an influx of people due to the growth of small-scale mining activities. Bare lands increased by 88.79% due to land clearance for farming purposes and small-scale illegal mining. This study will thus serve as a guide for individuals, developers, the government, and other stakeholders in biodiversity conservation for further research and decision making.

Objective:Hearing loss is common among construction workers. This study explored the occupational noise exposure levels of selected road construction workers anddetermined the noise-induced hearing loss risk levelsMethodology: It was cross-sectional, exploratory and task-based using dBadge2 PRO noise dosimeter. Convenience sampling was employed in selecting the workers studied. The study population involved carpenters and operators of concrete mixers, bulldozers, excavators, pay-loaders, pneumatic tyre rollers, steel rollers and asphalt-producing plant monitored from seven construction firms actively working in Ashanti and Ahafo Regions, Ghana.Results:This study found that seven out of nine workersgroups (77.8%) recorded average noise levels ≥85dBA (ISO/NIOSH limit). The peak noise from all equipment exceeded the ISO/NIOSH limit by 35.7dBA–57.6 dBA. The highest was recorded from bulldozers, followed by, carpenters, excavators, pneumatic tyre rollers, asphalt-production plant, pay-loaders, concrete mixers, small steel roller and heavy steel rollers. Conclusion:The peak, maximum and impulse noise levels indicate that all the worker-groups (100%) are at increased risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Construction managers should deploy quieter equipment, mufflers and sound-dampening mats inside the engines of heavy-duty equipment to attenuate engine noise and also enforce appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) use.

Existing studies indicate that the construction sector is critical to the integration of sustainable public-works procurement towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals 12.7 (SDGs). However, significant impediments to effective and efficient compliance with sustainable public-works procurement exist. The focus of this study is to identify the specific barriers to compliance with Sustainable Public-works Procurement. Through a scientific literature review and questionnaire survey, seventeen (17) barriers were identified and analyzed using the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) variant of factor analysis to assess the significant barriers to sustainable public-works procurement. Four clusters of factors were concluded as critical barriers to compliance with sustainable publicworks procurement at the tender evaluation stage. (1) sustainable adaptability cluster; (2) managerial challenges cluster; (3) knowledge incapacity cluster; and (4) legal, policy, and evaluation cluster. The study presents a basis for experts along with researchers to appreciate the barriers to compliance and the need to improve compliance with sustainable publicworks procurement in Ghana. The study adds to the pool of knowledge and provides the first survey on the specific barriers that inhibit compliance with sustainable public works procurement at the tender evaluation stage in Ghana.

It is a very common practice in several countries to find service pipes passing through beams
transversely and vertically during construction. This practice has the potential of threatening the fullstrength capacity of the structural element. This paper presents an experimental and numerical
investigation on the flexural, deflection and crack performance of reinforced concrete (RC) beams
with embedded conduit pipes. A total of ten (10) reinforced concrete beams were made and tested.
Two of the RC beams served as control beams while the remaining eight RC beams had
embedded conduit pipes of different sizes (50mm and 100mm) and at different positions (vertical
and transverse). Loads were applied in increments of 2kN to the beams until failure. From the
experimental results, the two control beams had an average failure load of 50kN, while the RC
beams embedded with conduit pipes had an average failure load capacity of 44.75kN, which
represents a 10.5% reduction. Similarly, the control beams had an average experimental first crack
load of 17kN, whereas the conduit pipe embedded beams averaged 16.88kN first crack load. The
RC beams with conduit pipes inserted transversely recorded an average failure load of 43kN, lower
than RC beams with conduit pipes inserted vertically, which had an average failure load of 46.5KN.
Reinforced concrete beams embedded with PVC pipes were observed to produce more cracks than
the control beams, especially at the openings due to stress concentration. The embedment of PVC
pipes in the beams resulted in a significant 20.47% increase in the average mid-span deflection.
The numerical simulation of the beams performed with ABAQUS software demonstrated an
adequate estimate with the experimental results obtained. The percentage variation between the
ultimate load results obtained from the experimental test and finite element analysis ranged from
2% to 9%.