Other Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Sensitivity Analysis On Mapping Evapotranspiration At High Resolution Using Internal Calibration (Metric), Venkata Naga Ravi Kumar Choragudi

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Mapping EvapoTranspiration at high Resolution using Internal Calibration (METRIC) is most widely used to quantify evapotranspiration (ET) spatially and temporally. It is essential to inspect the model’s response to errors in various parameters used in the model. Landsat 5 images from May 30 2009, July 1 2009 and a Landsat 7 image from September 27 2009 are used in this study. Fourteen different fields composed of Corn, Soybeans, Alfalfa are randomly chosen for each crop type.

Two kinds of errors are addressed in this study. One, with the errors that are transferred and potentially compensated by calibration (Global error) and …

A Framework For Developing And Integrating Effective Routing Strategies Within The Emergency Decision Support System, Joseph W. Yu

Master's Theses

In recent years transportation professionals have shown increasing interest in evacuation planning. With the advances in computing technologies it is possible to simulate urban transportation networks with great detail. These details from the traffic simulation model can be used for devising strategies for evacuation and emergency response in case of a disaster.

This thesis describes the modeling, calibration, and validation of the VISSIM traffic simulation model coded for downtown San Jose. The network is then used to test various evacuation scenarios to assess evacuation strategies that would be effective in case of a human-caused disaster.

The network modeled in the …

Dimensional Stability Of Geosynthetic Clay Liners In Landfill Applications, Gregory R. Olsen

Master's Theses

An investigation was conducted related to the dimensional stability of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) in landfill applications. Multiple occurrences of panel separation of overlap seams in GCLs have been documented; however, explanation for the relative contribution of various mechanisms causing shrinkage has been limited. A systematic test program was conducted to determine the effects of a variety of conditions on GCL dimensional stability.

Effects of initial moisture content, permeant type, and overburden pressure were tested by subjecting various GCL products to wet-dry cycles and measuring the dimensional change with each cycle. Different GCL types were each tested under various combinations …

Application Of Gis In Seismic Risk Assessment For The City Of Kelowna, Md. Nurul Alam

Md. Nurul Alam

No abstract provided.

Engaging New Partners In Transportation Research: Integrating Publishing, Archiving, And Indexing Of Technical Literature Into The Research Process, Mark P. Newton, Darcy M. Bullock, Charles Watkinson, Paul J. Bracke, Deborah K. Horton

Libraries Research Publications

transportation research. The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) annually invests approximately $180 million in State Planning and Research (SPR) and University Transportation Centers (UTC). This investment generates an extensive portfolio of “grey literature” that is not yet uniformly cataloged or accessible, despite the best efforts of the National Technical Information Service, the Transportation Research Board, and the National Transportation Library. This paper reports on a review of publishing and archiving practices for transportation research technical reports, summarizes best practices, and recommends that UTC and SPR research programs seek and strengthen partnerships with libraries to facilitate improved production, stewardship and …

Wind Charged Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle, John Patten, Nathan Christensen, Steven Srivastava, Gary Nola

john a patten

With the emergence of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid vehicles HVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) from a variety of automotive manufacturers, the electrical grid will need to meet new challenges in supplying the electricity required to charge these vehicles. To help supply the electricity needed by these vehicles, we compared the electricity consumption of a modified Toyota Prius (PHEV) and the output of a small residential wind turbine over the course of one year. Our research seeks to determine whether a small residential wind turbine can supply the necessary electricity demanded by the PHEV annually.

Seamless Bridge And Roadway System For The U.S. Practice, Nima Ala

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Expansion joints are one of the main causes for high maintenance costs in bridges. The search for ideal expansion joints has proven fruitless. That is why it has been said that “the best joint is no joint”. A seamless bridge system is envisioned that results in bridges with long service lives by eliminating the joints over the entire length of the bridge, approach slab and a segment of the roadway called transition. All bridge thermal movements are dissipated to zero in the transition. The system is similar to a system developed in Australia but modifications had to be made to …

Analysis Of Maglev Launch Assist Vs. Conventional Rocket Design, Cristina Poleacovschi, Michael Anderson

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Stage-Dependent Transient Storage Of Phosphorus In Alluvial Floodplains, Derek M. Heeren, Garey A. Fox, Ronald B. Miller, Daniel E. Storm, Amanda K. Fox, Chad J. Penn, Todd Halihan, Aaron R. Mittelstet

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Models for contaminant transport in streams commonly idealize transient storage as a well-mixed but immobile system. These transient storage models capture rapid (near-stream) hyporheic storage and transport, but do not account for large-scale, stage-dependent interaction with the alluvial aquifer. The objective of this research was to document transient storage of phosphorus (P) in coarse gravel alluvium potentially influenced by large-scale, stage-dependent preferential flow pathways (PFPs). Long-term monitoring was performed at floodplain sites adjacent to the Barren Fork Creek and Honey Creek in northeastern Oklahoma. Based on results from subsurface electrical resistivity mapping which was correlated to hydraulic conductivity data, observation …

Performance Rating Of De-Icing Chemicals For Winter Operations, Barbara M. Gerbino-Bevins

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The cost of deicing chemicals is a significant part of the Nebraska Department of Road's winter maintenance budget. Many products are available for use in highway and bridge deicing and new products are introduced each year. The objectives of this research are to develop a laboratory test to evaluate the performance of chemical deicers, to investigate national, state, and local standards, and to develop best maintenance practices to optimize the use of chemical deicers.

This research project consists of two phases:

Phase 1: conduct a literature survey to find data from existing laboratory tests used to evaluate deicer performance.

Phase …

Efficient Application Programming Interface For Multi-Dimensional Modeling Data, Norman L. Jones, Robert M. Wallace, Russell Jones, Cary Butler, Alan Zundel

Faculty Publications

This paper describes an Application Programming Interface (API) for managing multi-dimensional data produced for water resource computational modeling that is being developed by the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), in conjunction with Brigham Young University. This API, along with a corresponding data standard, is being implemented within ERDC computational models to facilitate rapid data access, enhanced data compression and data sharing, and cross-platform independence. The API and data standard are known as the eXtensible Model Data Format (XMDF), and version 1.3 is available for free download. This API is designed to manage geometric data associated with grids, …

Groundwater Research In Middle Earth, Thomas Lapoint

Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies

My senior project focused on studying saltwater intrusion in a coastal town of New Zealand. I feel lucky that I was able to travel to such a distant place, conduct research that was insightful and interesting, and immerse myself in an international culture all in the name of my education. As a Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies student, I aim to analyze not only the cultural differences and similarities that the foreign environment offers to me but also the detailed, technical, engineering aspect of my research. I believe that my education should be approached with a well rounded perspective that …

The Effect Of Transit-Oriented Development On Vehicle Miles Traveled: A Comparison Of A Tod Versus A Non-Tod Neighborhood In Carlsbad, Ca, Natalie Louise Stiffler

Master's Theses

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a strategy being used to reduce congestion, provide mode choice, and improve quality of life. A large amount of research has been done on individual aspects of TOD, but research specific to transportation-related benefits of TOD is limited. There is a need for traffic and transit data that is supported by comprehensive resident, employee, and user surveys to demonstrate the interrelationship between land uses, transportation, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Moreover, VMT data at the household level is essential to analyze household travel behavior and the potential for VMT related emissions reduction.

The purpose of this …

Hospital Vozandes Del Oriente Wastewater Treatment System Design, James Dykstra, Rachel Koopman, Ben Vander Plas, Sungmin Youn

All Engineering Faculty Research

Shell is a town located in the Eastern foothills of the Ecuadorian Andes approximately 94 miles Southeast of Quito. Hospital Vozandes del Oriente (HVO) is a hospital located in Shell owned and operated by Hoy Cristo Jesús Bendice (HCJB) Global. HCJB is a non-profit mission organization committed to Biblical values and community development principles.

Pure Pastaza, a senior design team from Calvin College, in conjunction with HCJB, has designed a wastewater treatment system for HVO. The design promotes the protection of human and environmental health by providing a sustainable solution to wastewater treatment and sets an example of stewardship to …

Uncertainty Estimation Of Extreme Precipitations Under Climate Change: A Non-Parametric Approach, Tarana A. Solaiman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Assessment of climate change impacts on hydrology at watershed scale incorporates (a) downscaling of global scale climatic variables into local scale hydrologic variables and (b) assessment of future hydrologic extremes. Atmosphere-Ocean Global Climate Models (AOGCM) are designed to simulate time series of future climate responses accounting for human induced green house gas emissions. The present study addresses the following limitations of climate change impact research: (i) limited availability of observed historical information; (ii) limited research on the detection of changes in hydrologic extremes; and (iii) coarse spatio-temporal resolution of AOGCMs for use at regional or local scale. Downscaled output from …

Enhancement Of Pavement Maintenance Decision Making By Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Pavement Maintenance Treatments, Qiao Dong

Doctoral Dissertations

The performance of different pavement maintenance treatments were evaluated by investigating practical projects collected from Tennessee Pavement Management System (PMS) and Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database. The influence of factors on the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and cracking initiation of different treatment were evaluated by “Optime”, multiple linear regression and parametric survival analysis. Pavement roughness, pavement serviceability index (PSI) and the initiation time of cracking were used as pavement performance indicators.

Investigation on the pavement maintenance projects in Tennessee by Optime and multiple linear regression analysis indicated that HMA overlay had the highest effectiveness, followed by mill & fill and micro …

Early-Age Shrinkage Of Ultra High-Performance Concrete: Mitigation And Compensating Mechanisms, Ahmed Mohammed Soliman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The very high mechanical strength and enhanced durability of ultra high-performance concrete (UHPC) make it a strong contender for several concrete applications. However, UHPC has a very low water-to-cement ratio, which increases its tendency to undergo early-age shrinkage cracking with a risk of decreasing its long-term durability. To reduce the magnitude of early-age shrinkage and cracking potential, several mitigation strategies have been proposed including the use of shrinkage reducing admixtures, internal curing methods (e.g. superabsorbent polymers), expansive cements and extended moist curing durations. To appropriately utilize these strategies, it is important to have a complete understanding of the driving forces …

Investigation On Rheology Of Oil Well Cement Slurries, Anjuman Shahriar

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The rheology of OWC slurries is generally more complicated than that of conventional cement paste. In order to contend with bottom hole conditions (wide range of pressure and temperature), a number of additives are usually used in the OWC slurries and the slurry shows different characteristics depending on the combination of admixture used. The objective of this research is to develop a fundamental understanding on the important mechanisms that affects the rheology of cement slurry incorporating various chemical and mineral admixtures. The thesis aimed at developing cement slurries by partial replacement of oil well cement using different mineral admixtures, offering …

Gis Based Pavement Maintenance: A Systematic Approach, Robert J. Kmetz

Purdue Polytechnic Directed Projects

Abstract

According to 2008 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) statistics, there are 2,734,102 miles of paved public roads in the United Sates, with an additional 1,324,245 miles of unpaved public roads. Road conditions deteriorate with time as the result of weather effects, deicing salts, and vehicle loads. The most common pavement distress includes cracking, rutting, and potholes. These pavement defects must be repaired to restore the pavement to a satisfactory service level for road users. According to the FHWA, in 2006 approximately $54.2 billion dollars was spent on maintenance and expansion, just on U.S. highways alone.

Routine maintenance is a cost …

Application Of Event Tree Analysis In Wildfire Risk Assessment For The City Of Kelowna, Md. Nurul Alam

Md. Nurul Alam

The devastating inferno of the Okanagan Mountain Park Fire of 2003, which caused significant damage to infrastructure, home, private properties and caused evacuation of affected people from the City of Kelowna. Consequently, it raised the importance of conducting a risk assessment for the City. This study focused on analyzing the existing risks from wild fire, and the estimation of loss and damage with the help of proposed event tree method for the City of Kelowna. Finally, the risky areas have been represented spatially with the help of geographic information system (GIS) to provide a basis for an effective decision making …