Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Tunnel Detection Using Cross Borehole Radar, Clay Kurison, Arvin M. Farid, Akram N. Alshawabkeh, Carey M. Rappaport

Carey Rappaport

Shallow tunnels present both military and homeland security threats. Smugglers with intentions of avoiding border security have turned tunnels into transit routes for trafficking weapons, people, drugs and other illegal materials. Shallow tunnels are also used by prisoners to escape prisons. While drug and human trafficking have long been border concerns, the threat of international terrorism has transformed the effort to detect tunnels into a national security priority. Imminent threats include assailants entering military fortifications by burrowing under buildings, detonation of high grade explosives from foundations of high security facilities, and high level prisoners escaping detention centers through tunnels. Real-time …

Validation Of Noaa-Interactive Multisensor Snow And Ice Mapping System (Ims) By Comparison With Ground-Based Measurements Over Continental United States, Christine Chen, Tarendra Lakhankar, Peter Romanov, Sean Helfrich, Al Powell, Reza Khanbilvardi

Publications and Research

In this study, daily maps of snow cover distribution and sea ice extent produced by NOAA’s interactive multisensor snow and ice mapping system (IMS) were validated using in situ snow depth data from observing stations obtained from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) for calendar years 2006 to 2010. IMS provides daily maps of snow and sea ice extent within the Northern Hemisphere using data from combination of geostationary and polar orbiting satellites in visible, infrared and microwave spectrums. Statistical correspondence between the IMS and in situ point measurements has been evaluated assuming that ground measurements are discrete and continuously …

Investigation Of Human-Structure Interaction Through Experimental And Analytical Studies, Nicholas Noss

Master’s Theses

Vibration serviceability is a widely recognized design criterion for assembly-type structures, such as stadiums, that are likely subjected to rhythmic human-induced excitation. Human-induced excitation of a structure occurs from the movement of the occupants such as walking, running, jumping, or dancing. Vibration serviceability is based on the level of comfort that people have with the vibrations of a structure. Current design guidance uses the natural frequency of the structure to assess vibration serviceability. However, a phenomenon known as human-structure interaction suggests that there is a dynamic interaction between the structure and passive occupants, altering the natural frequency of the system. …

Characterization Of Viscoelastic And Fracture Properties Of Asphaltic Materials In Multiple Length Scales, Soohyok Im

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

Asphaltic materials are classical examples of multi-phase composites in different length scales. The understanding of the mechanical behavior of asphaltic materials has been a challenge to the pavement mechanics community due to multiple complexities involved: heterogeneity, anisotropy, nonlinear inelasticity, and damage in multiple forms. The micromechanics-based models based on numerical methods have been receiving attention from the pavement mechanics community because the modeling method can account for those complexities of asphaltic materials by considering the effects of material properties and geometric characteristics of individual components on overall performance behavior of mixture or structure. As a step-wise effort, this study intends …

Reducing Residual Drift In Buckling-Restrained Braced Frames By Using Gravity Columns As Part Of A Dual System, Megan Boston

Theses and Dissertations

Severe earthquakes cause damage to buildings. One measure of damage is the residual drift. Large residual drifts suggest expensive repairs and could lead to complete loss of the building. As such, research has been conducted on how to reduce the residual drift. Recent research has focused on self-centering frames and dual systems, both of which increase the post-yield stiffness of the building during and after an earthquake. Self-centering systems have yet to be adopted into standard practice but dual systems are used regularly. Dual systems in steel buildings typically combine two types of traditional lateral force resisting systems such as …

Network Resilience In Disasters: An Interdisciplinary, International Perspective, Satish Ukkusuri

Changing World Conference

No abstract provided.

Sensitivity Of Resistivity Measurements On Concrete Bridge Decks To Operator-Controlled And Concrete Material Variables, Natasha Christine Barrus

Theses and Dissertations

The objectives of this research were to investigate the sensitivity of two-prong and fourprong resistivity measurements to certain operator-controlled variables and to conduct a direct comparison of the sensitivity of two-prong and four-prong resistivity measurements to certain concrete material variables. Four full-factorial experiments were designed for this research. In the experimentation on operator-controlled variables with two-prong resistivity testing, main effects that are both statistically significant and practically important include hole depth and surface water. In the experimentation on operator-controlled variables with four-prong resistivity testing, probe position, surface water, and prong spacing are all neither statistically significant nor practically important. This …

Skew Effects On Passive Earth Pressures Based On Large-Scale Tests, Shon Joseph Jessee

Theses and Dissertations

The passive force-deflection relationship for abutment walls is important for bridges subjected to thermal expansion and seismic forces, but no test results have been available for skewed abutments. To determine the influence of skew angle on the development of passive force, lab tests were performed on a wall with skew angles of 0º, 15º, 30º, and 45º. The wall was 1.26 m wide and 0.61 m high and the backfill consisted of dense compacted sand. As the skew angle increased, the passive force decreased substantially with a reduction of 50% at a skew of 30º. An adjustment factor was developed …

Passive Resistance Of Abutments With Mse Wingwalls, Nathanael G. Bingham

Theses and Dissertations

Large scale static lateral load tests were performed on a pile cap under varying sand backfill configurations: no backfill, full-width dense sand backfill, dense sand slip plane confined backfill, and two configurations of dense sand MSE wall confined backfills. Efforts were made to maintain the relative compaction of the backfills for each of the tests near the same value. The MSE wall panel arrangement was varied to determine the effect of different reinforcement configurations on the passive resistance and wall panel displacement. Passive force-displacement curves were generated from each test. It was found that the MSE design manual provided reasonable …

Investigation And Mitigation Of Differential Movement At Railway Transitions For Us High Speed Passenger Rail And Joint Passenger/Freight Corridors, Erol Tutumluer, Timothy D. Stark, Debakanta Mishra, James P. Hyslip

Debakanta Mishra

As with most highway bridges, railway transitions experience differential movements due to differences in track system stiffness, track damping characteristics, foundation type, ballast settlement from fouling and/or degradation, as well as fill and subgrade settlement. This differential movement is especially problematic for high speed rail infrastructure as the “bump” at the transition is accentuated at high speeds. Identification of different factors contributing towards this differential movement, as well as development of design and maintenance strategies to mitigate the problem is imperative for the safe and economical operation of both freight and passenger rail networks. This paper presents the research framework …

Reconstruction /Redesign Of The I-69/I-94 Highway Interchange, Manuel A. Torreira

Honors Theses

The focus of this senior design project was to reconstruct the interchange consisting in I­94 and 1-69, which were not up to Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT) standards. Many problems exist throughout this interchange, including flooding issues, current ramp configurations, low design speeds, and safety considerations. As a result, three alternatives were made and a unanimous decision from the client, faculty advisor, and our group was made in order to further analyze one of those alternatives. Once a certain alternative was selected, then the geometric designs were further analyzed.

The many factors that had to be taken into account were …

Reconstruction Of I-94 And I-69 Interchange, Andrew Dobbs

Honors Theses

On April 17^th, 2012, my team of Civil and Construction Engineers gave a presentation on our recommendation for the reconstruction of I-94 I-69 interchange. Our recommendation consisted of many aspects that were taken into consideration. Our analysis and recommendation is fully portrayed in our thesis.

In order to make a good design, we first had to understand the problems with the current design. All of the problems were located in one area of the interchange; this led us to define our design recommendation to only that area. Once the constraints and problems were identified, the preliminary horizontal design …

Camp Rainbow Gold: New Design, Andrew Campbell, Marcus Rasulo, Alex Nelson, Jill Pruett, Jarom Gray

College of Engineering Poster Presentations

Camp Rainbow Gold is a summer camp for children diagnosed with cancer. The camp has experienced substantial growth since its inception, reaching the capacity of its current site, and is exploring alternative sites. Awesome Engineering was tasked to design a new resident camp facility to meet the needs of a growing Camp Rainbow Gold as a Civil Engineering Design project. We were given a 77-acre site located two miles south of Bellevue, Idaho, and a list of facility requirements for the camp. Our job is to design the facilities as well as investigate the required permits and codes. We will …

Ten Mile Road Interchange And Bridge Design, Brian Portugais, Joshua Lee, Darryl Joinol, Shelby Bittner, Alex Dow, Nicolette Villagomez, Jonathan Solano

College of Engineering Poster Presentations

The Ten Mile Road Bridge crossing I-84 in Meridian, Idaho was determined to be inadequate. A new interchange capable of accommodating traffic volumes through 2030 has been proposed. We will demonstrate through computer modeling that a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) configuration is a safe and effective interchange option for managing the Ten Mile Road configuration. Design of the Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI) will include a new six lane, composite, simple span bridge with four ramps converging on a single traffic control point. The bridge design is composed of two simple spans supported by piers and abutments. Reinforced concrete …

Estimating And Verifying Household Potential To Conserve Water, Francisco J. Suero, Peter W. Mayer, David E. Rosenberg

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Behavior and technological impacts on residential indoor water use and conservation efforts in the United States are identified. Preexisting detailed end-use data was collected before and after toilets, faucets, showerheads, and clothes washers were retrofitted in 96 owner-occupied, single-family households in Oakland, California; Seattle, Washington; and Tampa, Florida, between 2000 and 2003. Water volume, duration of use, and time of use were recorded and disaggregated by appliance for two weeks before and four weeks after appliances were retrofitted. For each appliance, observed differences in water use before and after retrofits are compared to water savings predicted by simple analytical, regression, …

Corrosion Related Property Improvement For Cement Mortar Applied To Marine Environment, Pei-Ying Chung, Hsien Hua Lee, Meng-Syun Yu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

It is a well known fact that infrastructures in marine environments are subjected to corrosion attacks all the time. The most severe corrosion happens to the steel materials that are directly exposed in the marine environment, particularly for the portion exposed in the splash zone, where the air (oxygen) is embroiled with water causing a wet and dry alternately exerting environment. The most widely used material of marine infrastructure, such as reinforced concrete, is also subjected to deterioration damage from the marine environment. In this way, it weakens the impermeability of the material so that the sea water is allowed …

Numerical Study Of Thermophoresis On Aerosol Particle Deposition From Hiemenz Flow Through Porous Medium Onto A Stretching Surface, Jian-Sheng Huang, Ruey-Yih Tsai, Kuei-Hsun Huang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

A theoretical study of aerosol particles responding to thermophoresis, involving the particle deposition rate onto a stretching permeable surface with internal heat source is proposed. The effects on particle transport mechanisms include Brownian diffusion, thermophoresis, porosity, stretching surface, heat source, and suction/injection velocity. The governing equations of continuity, momentum, energy, and particle concentration are transformed using similarity analysis, and the solutions are obtained through appropriate numerical schemes. The predicted results show that if the thermophoretic and stretching parameters increase, the deposition velocity increases for a cold surface. However, the deposition velocity decreases rapidly for a hot surface as the thermophoretic …

Effects Of Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion Fly Ash On The Properties Of Alkali-Activated Slag Cement Mortars, Hui-Mi Hsu

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

This paper illustrates the result of a study on the influence of circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) fly ash, sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium silicate (Na2SiO3), sodium phosphate (Na3PO4), and sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) as activators on the workability, bleeding, setting time, compressive strength, shrinking, and absorption of the alkali-activated slag (AAS) cement mortars. The addition of CFBC fly ash, Na3PO4, and Na2CO3 shows decrease of workability. But with Na2SiO3, the workability increase was observed. The setting time of Na3PO4, NaOH, Na2SiO3, and Na2CO3 activated slag cement mortars was found to be much faster than the setting time of slag cement mortars. …

Evaluating And Modeling Traveler Response To Real-Time Information In The Pioneer Valley, Tyler De Ruiter

Tyler A. de Ruiter, EIT

This study used focus groups and surveys to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the Regional Traveler Information Center (RTIC) at UMass Amherst. The evaluation was completed by obtaining the awareness, usage, and perceived effectiveness of RTIC’s information by residents in the Pioneer Valley. It was found that awareness of RTIC is limited due to its lack of advertisement. Usage is focused primarily on its webcams and advisory information. Surveys showed that participants perceive RTIC to be useful, even though they may never have seen the information before (the survey provided a chance for them to become familiar with the service). …

Effects Of Manure Handling And Application Method On Odor And Gas Emission Potential Of Swine Manure, Rick R. Stowell

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Manure composition and emissions potential of swine manure were investigated in opposing contexts of desired and undesired methane generation. In the main study, the full-scale treatment effects of anaerobic digestion on the air emissions potential of swine manure were investigated. Manure slurry and digester effluent samples were collected from a pork production facility in eastern Nebraska that utilizes a complete-mix anaerobic digester to treat the manure and produce biogas for use in generating electricity. Samples were collected from three sites in the manure stream (below-barn pit, digester outlet, and holding pond) from 9/22/08 through 12/2/09 in order to observe changes …