Digital Commons Network^™

A Robust Data Exchange Framework For Connected Vehicle Technology Supported Dynamic Transit Operations, Yucheng An

All Theses

Transit systems are an integral part of surface transportation systems. A connected vehicle technology (CVT) supported transit system will assist the users to manage trips both dynamically and efficiently. The primary focus of this research is to develop and evaluate the performance of a secure, scalable, and resilient data exchange framework. In the developed data exchange framework, a new data analytics layer, named Transit Cloud, is used to receive data from different sources, and send it to different users for a Dynamic Transit Operations (DTO) application. The DTO application allows the transit users to request trip information and obtain itineraries, …

Water Resources Systems Analysis - University Of Texas San Antonio, Marcio Giacomoni

All ECSTATIC Materials

Systems Analysis methods use algorithmic and mathematical approaches for problem-solving. These are powerful methods that can be applied to solve complex design and management problems for water resources systems and other engineering areas. This class will focus on optimization methods, such as linear programming, integer programming, nonlinear programming, genetic algorithms, and dynamic programming, and their application to water resources systems. Advanced Systems Analysis methods, including sensitivity analysis, alternatives generation, and multi-objective optimization will be introduced to address the complexities associated with public sector decision-making. Course taught at University of Texas San Antonio.

Techno-Economic Analysis Of Protein Concentrate Produced By Flash Hydrolysis Of Microalgae, Alexander Nana Yaw Asiedu

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Process simulation and techno-economic analysis of 95wt.% protein concentrate from microalgae has been performed using SuperPro Designer v. 9.0. This work, first of its kind, is focused on the economic analysis of protein concentrate that includes processes such as microalgae cultivation, harvesting, protein extraction and drying steps. A baseline capacity of 160 MT/day protein concentrate production on commercial basis has been analyzed. This throughput requires 336 MT/day dry algae (54 wt.% protein). The amount of carbon dioxide required to grow this quantum of algae is estimated to be 648 MT/day, which is produced from an in situ 21 MW power …

Geometric And Operational Improvements At Continuous Flow Intersections To Enhance Pedestrian Safety, Angela Coates, Ping Yi, Peng Liu, Xinlu Ma

Ping Yi

Traditional four-phase, four-legged intersections may operate inefficiently under high traffic demand. Innovative geometric design configurations for intersections allow more efficient traffic operations and can significantly increase vehicle throughput. Continuous flow intersections (CFIs), also referred to as displaced left-turn intersections, use an unconventional lane arrangement to maximize the vehicular throughput. This arrangement involves displacing left-turn lanes across opposing through traffic before reaching the main intersection. Such an alteration allows left-turning and through vehicles to proceed simultaneously, and both intersection capacity and delay are improved as a result. Numerous studies have validated these operational improvements, but pedestrian accommodation often is low because …

Tropical Cyclone Wind Hazard Assessment For Southeast Part Of Coastal Region Of China, Sihan Li

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Tropical cyclone (TC) or typhoon wind hazard and risk are significant for China. The return period value of the maximum typhoon wind speed is used to characterize the typhoon wind hazard and assign wind load in building design code. Since the historical surface observations of typhoon wind speed are often scarce and of short period, the typhoon wind hazard assessment is often carried out using the wind field model and TC track model. For a few major cities in the coastal region of mainland China, simple or approximated wind field models and a circular subregion method (CSM) have been used …

Multi-Barge Flotilla Impact Forces On Bridges, Peng Yuan, Issam Harik, Michael Davidson

Issam E. Harik

The current AASHTO equations for barge impact loads are based on scale models of barges, and may not accurately predict impact loads on bridge piers. The results of this study produce more realistic flotilla impact design loads, potentially leading to a reduction in construction costs of bridges over navigable waterways. The objectives of this study are: (1) To conduct theoretical finite element analysis on various types of flotillas impacting bridge piers. The flotillas and the respective barges will be of the type commonly traversing Kentucky’s waterways; and (2) To generate design equations for barge/flotilla impact loads. The study concludes the …

Equivalent Barge And Flotilla Impact Forces On Bridge Piers, Peng Yuan, Issam Harik

Issam E. Harik

Bridge piers located in navigable inland waterways are designed to resist impact forces from barges and flotillas in addition to other design considerations (e.g., scour, dead and live loads, etc.). The primary design tool for estimating these forces is the AASHTO Guide Specification which provides a simple hand calculation method for determining an “equivalent impact force”. The simplicity comes at a cost of excluding the effect of the pier shape, impact duration, and interaction between barges in a flotilla. The objective of this report is to present a hand calculation method for determining barge or flotilla equivalent static impact forces …

Estimation Of Optimal Productivity In Labor-Intensive Construction Operations, Krishna Prasad Kisi

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In an attempt to evaluate the efficiency of labor-intensive construction operations, project managers typically compare actual with historical productivity for equivalent operations. However, this approach toward examining productivity only provides a relative benchmark for efficiency and may lead to the characterization of operations as objectively efficient when in reality such operations might simply be comparably efficient.

Optimal productivity is the highest sustainable productivity achievable under good management and typical field conditions. Optimal productivity is useful in the determination of the absolute efficiency of construction operations because an accurate estimate of optimal labor productivity allows for the comparison of actual vs. …

Water Resources Systems Analysis - Colorado State University, Darrell Fontane

All ECSTATIC Materials

Applications of systems analysis, simulation and optimization techniques in water resources planning and management. Course taught at Colorado State University.

Modeling And Simulation Of Evacuation Plan For Hancock Stadium, Nirmal Neranjan Weerasekara

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to use Modeling and Simulation of Evacuation Plan (MSEP) to support management to execute proper evacuation plan in case of emergency at Hancock Stadium in Illinois State University. Analyses of the research literature and evacuation scenarios are used to build a simulation system that will connect a description of emergency and evacuation situation with its context. It shows how an evacuation plan actually functions. The results of the study will help safety managers to understand the current situations of evacuation according to the specific simulation scenarios. The evacuation simulation is categorized according to the …

Railroad Capacity Tools And Methodologies In The U.S. And Europe, Hamed Pouryousef, Pasi Lautala, Thomas White

Michigan Tech Publications

A growing demand for passenger and freight transportation, combined with limited capital to expand the United States (U.S.) rail infrastructure, is creating pressure for a more efficient use of the current line capacity. This is further exacerbated by the fact that most passenger rail services operate on corridors that are shared with freight traffic. A capacity analysis is one alternative to address the situation and there are various approaches, tools, and methodologies available for application. As the U.S. continues to develop higher speed passenger services with similar characteristics to those in European shared-use lines, understanding the common methods and tools …

Using Simulated Virtual Interactivity In Construction Education, Saeed Rokooei, James Goedert

Saeed Rokooei

A New Methodology For Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Bus Rapid Transit Strategies, Ahmad Alomari

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Over the last few years, public transportation has become more desirable as capacity of existing roadways failed to keep up with rapidly increasing traffic demand. Buses are one of the most common modes of public transportation with low impact on network capacity, especially in small and congested urban areas. However, the use of regularly scheduled buses as the main public transport mode can become useless with the presence of traffic congestion and dense construction areas. In cases like these, innovative solutions, such as bus rapid transit (BRT), can provide an increased level of service without having to resort to other, …

Data-Driven Simulation Modeling Of Construction And Infrastructure Operations Using Process Knowledge Discovery, Reza Akhavian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) domain, simulation modeling is mainly used to facilitate decision-making by enabling the assessment of different operational plans and resource arrangements, that are otherwise difficult (if not impossible), expensive, or time consuming to be evaluated in real world settings. The accuracy of such models directly affects their reliability to serve as a basis for important decisions such as project completion time estimation and resource allocation. Compared to other industries, this is particularly important in construction and infrastructure projects due to the high resource costs and the societal impacts of these projects. Discrete event simulation …