In recent years, dam construction has become more complex, requiring an effective project management method. Building Information Modeling (BIM) affects how construction projects are planned, designed, executed, and operated. Therefore, reducing execution time, cost, and risk and increasing quality are the primary goals of organizations. In this paper, first, the time and cost of the project were obtained via the BIM process. Subsequently, optimization between the components of the survival pyramid (time, cost, quality, and risk) in construction projects was completed in a case study of the Ghocham storage dam in five different modes, including contractor’s offers, BIM, actual, and two other modes based on the expert’s opinions. For this aim, five different meta-heuristic optimization algorithms were utilized, including two classical algorithms (Genetic and Simulated Annealing) and three novel algorithms (Black Widow Optimization, Battle Royale Optimization, and Black Hole Mechanics Optimization). In four cases, once each element of the survival pyramid was optimized separately, all four cases were traded off simultaneously. Moreover, the results were obtained from all the mentioned algorithms in five scenarios based on the number of function evaluation (Nfe), Standard Deviation (SD), Computation Time (CT), and Best Cost (BC). MATLAB software completed the coding related to the objective functions and optimization algorithms. The results indicated the appropriate performance of GA and BHMO algorithms in some scenarios. However, only the GAs should be considered effective algorithms in a dam construction projects’ time–cost–quality–risk (TCQR) tradeoff.

In recent years, applications of Blockchain technology (BCT) have been progressing at a galloping rate in miscellaneous fields, such as finance, education, travel, healthcare, and insurance. However, BCT has gained much popularity in the construction industry, especially in developed nations worldwide, as it can solve real-world problems, including poor payments, inadequate cooperation and collaboration, inappropriate data sharing among stakeholders, and poor efficiency. The current research employs a bibliometric and systematic literature review (SLR) on utilizing BCT in the construction industry. Using co-occurrence and co-citation studies, network visualization and other methodologies concerning the Web of Science (WOS) database and the research contacts’ patterns were investigated in 482 academic papers. Notable publications, conferences, significant writers, nations, organizations, and funding organizations have been acknowledged. Our research reveals that the primary study topics are BCT in the construction industry, supply chain management, smart contracts, sustainability, building information modeling (BIM), the Internet of Things (IoT) and energy efficiency. Several possible fields for further research are mentioned, including the use of BCT in: (i) circular economy, (ii) risk management, (iii) smart villages, and (iv) infrastructure construction projects.

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The access tunnel of the Urmia Lake for water transfer and restoration project (Kani Sib) is located in the south of West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. Part of this tunnel is located on weak and very loose soil, which in some areas, cannot be stabilized, despite the use of step drilling, and may lead to ceiling collapse, face collapse and even deformation in support system. In these cases, it is necessary to adopt the pre-support method of the umbrella arch. Tunnel stability analysis is one of the important factors in tunnel design and support system. Indeed, the type of support system is chosen according to the required stability and permitted displacement for the tunnel. In the present article, first the permitted displacement for the tunnel is calculated by Sakurai correlation. Then, the ground reaction curve is plotted using the numerical method of finite difference, namely, FLAC3D software, and the convergenceconfinement method (CCM) is used to determine the acting instant for the support system. Finally, the safety level of the proposed support system is investigated considering different safety factors. The results of this study indicate that the Sakurai displacement correlation is more reliable than the other graphs presented. The results derived from numerical modeling are verified accurately against visual observation and instrumentation results. A suitable umbrella arch pre-support system with Lattice and Shotcrete support system is recommended. The umbrella arch pre-support system encompasses forepoling pipes of 90 mm diameter with 9 m in length and 2.5 m in overlap length.