Architecture Commons^™

Seeing Red: Characterizing Historic Bricks At Sylvester Manor, Long Island, Ny 1652-1735, Martin John Schmidheiny

Graduate Masters Theses

The goal of this project is to develop a basic material characterization of the bricks excavated at the site of Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island, New York. In the early Manor period of 1650-1690, this early Northern provisioning plantation supplied Barbadian sugar operations and pursued mercantile interests independent of state control. Accounting for the range of production defects and material characteristics of the bricks suggests on-site or local manufacture as a regional ceramic industry developed. Qualitative visual analysis and petrographic thin-sections were used to characterize the internal composition, variation and production evidence in the bricks. Interpreting the results of this …

Wind And Thermal Effects On Ground Mounted Photovoltaic (Pv) Panels, Chowdhury Mohammad Jubayer

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

A combination of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations and wind tunnel experiments are carried out to investigate the effects of wind on the aerodynamic loading and heat transfer of a ground mounted stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) panel with tilt angle of 25^o in open country atmospheric boundary layer. Several azimuthal wind directions are considered: Southern 0^o, Southwest 45^o, Northwest 135^o and Northern 180^o. Three dimensional Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approaches with an unsteady solver using Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω turbulence closure are employed for the CFD simulations, whereas Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and …

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

The Relationship Between Bicycles And Traffic Safety For All Road Users, Jasmine A. Martin

Master's Theses

Over the past twenty years bicycle use as a mode of transportation has grown considerably in the United States. Other studies have examined the individual bicyclist’s risk in proportion to the growth in cycling across cities, a phenomenon referred to as ‘safety in numbers.’ This study expands from that research and examines the effect of cyclists on road safety for all road users.

The study examines the roles of bicycle modal split, a city wide analysis, and bicycle infrastructure, a site based analysis, in road safety outcomes. For the city based analysis, twenty years of crash data in 12 California …

Phytoscreening: A Comparison Of In Planta Portable Gc-Ms And In Vitro Analyses, Matt A. Limmer, Gregory D. Martin, Christopher J. Watson, Camilo Martinez, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Phytoscreening Has Been Proven to Rapidly Delineate Subsurface Contaminant Plumes for Semiquantitative Site Assessment, with Minimal Impact to Property or Ecology through the Collection and Analysis of Tree Cores. Here, Three Phytoscreening Methods Were Applied Concurrently to Identify Multiple Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (CVOCs) in a Phytoremediation Treatment System at a Contaminated Industrial Facility. Tree Coring, in Planta Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and in Planta Passive Sampling Showed General Agreement, with the in Planta GC-MS Providing the Quickest But Least Quantitative Results. the Portable GC-MS Sampling and Analysis Method Identified Six CVOCs in the Xylem of Hybrid Poplars (Populus Sp.) …

Understanding Immigrants' Travel Behavior In Florida: Neighborhood Effects And Behavioral Assimilation, Nishat Zaman

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study was to develop Multinomial Logit models for the mode choice behavior of immigrants, with key focuses on neighborhood effects and behavioral assimilation. The first aspect shows the relationship between social network ties and immigrants’ chosen mode of transportation, while the second aspect explores the gradual changes toward alternative mode usage with regard to immigrants’ migrating period in the United States (US). Mode choice models were developed for work, shopping, social, recreational, and other trip purposes to evaluate the impacts of various land use patterns, neighborhood typology, socioeconomic-demographic and immigrant related attributes on individuals’ travel behavior. …

Bs News November/December

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Noise-Induced Annoyance By Tones In Noise From Building Mechanical Systems, Joonhee Lee, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Prominent tones in noise generated by mechanical equipment in buildings can cause complaints from occupants in buildings. The ISO 1996-2 and ANSI S1.13 standards describe methodologies and metrics to quantify tonality perception, but the influence of tones in noise on human annoyance and performance is not fully understood yet. This paper investigates annoyance responses of humans while exposed to background noise with tonal components. Twenty participants completed digit span tasks while exposed to noise signals with differing levels of tones and overall loudness. Subjects were also asked to rate their annoyance after completing tasks under each noise signal. The subjective …

Effects Of Room Acoustics On Comprehension Of Foreign-Accented Speech By Native And Non-Native English-Speaking Listeners, Zhao Peng, Kristin E. Hanna, Brenna N. Boyd, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

In a previous study by the authors, reverberation time (RT) and background noise level (BNL) were both found to have negative effects on native and non-native English-speaking listeners in comprehending English speech produced by native American-English-speaking talkers. Comprehension scores were adjusted for listeners’ baseline English proficiency levels. In the present study, instead of native English-speaking talkers, two native Mandarin Chinese talkers (one male, one female) with similar English spoken proficiency were recruited to produce the same speech materials used in the previous study. A similar methodology was adopted to conduct speech comprehension tests on three groups of listeners: 1) native …

The Impact Of Building Acoustics On Speech Comprehension And Student Achievement, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

The movement for improved classroom acoustics has primarily been grounded on studies that show how building acoustics (i.e. background noise levels and room reverberation) affect speech intelligibility, as determined by speech recognition tests. What about actual student learning, though? If students do not understand each spoken word in the classroom perfectly, can they still manage to achieve high scholastic success? This presentation will review two recent studies conducted at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln, linking classroom acoustic conditions to student learning outcomes and speech comprehension (rather than simply recognition). In the first, acoustic measurements in two public school districts …

Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter (Fall 2014), Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

The Bridge Newsletter Winter 2014, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

The Bridge Newsletter

-Smart living
-Bodapati earns lifetime award
-TMS honors Myers
-Mays receives award for research

Phytomonitoring Of Chlorinated Ethenes In Trees: A Four-Year Study Of Seasonal Chemodynamics In Planta, Matt A. Limmer, Amanda J. Holmes, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) of Groundwater Remedial Projects is Costly and Time-Consuming, Particularly When using Phytoremediation, a Long-Term Remedial Approach. the Use of Trees as Sensors of Groundwater Contamination (I.e., Phytoscreening) Has Been Widely Described, Although the Use of Trees to Provide Long-Term Monitoring of Such Plumes (Phytomonitoring) Has Been More Limited Due to Unexplained Variability of Contaminant Concentrations in Trees. to Assess This Variability, We Developed an in Planta Sampling Method to Obtain High-Frequency Measurements of Chlorinated Ethenes in Oak (Quercus Rubra) and Baldcypress (Taxodium Distichum) Trees Growing above a Contaminated Plume during a 4-Year Trial. the Data Set Revealed …

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

Wind-Induced Pressures In Air Permeable, Double-Layer Roof Systems In Regions Of Separated Flow, Jeong Hee Oh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis is concerned with the wind-induced pressure distribution acting on air permeable, double-layer roof systems placed on low-rise buildings. Because of the pressure transmission into the cavity between layers, the pressure difference in the double-layer systems differs significantly from that in a single layer. The interior pressures (in the cavity between layers) are highly correlated with external pressures at the openings on the external surface of the outer layer and thereby, the net wind load for the design of the outer layer is considerably reduced by the pressure equalization between the external and internal surfaces of the outer layer. …

Coastal Defenses, U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of U.S. military coastal defenses during the period up to and including the War 1812.

No Admixture, Sustainable, Self-Consolidating Grout, Craig V. Baltimore Dr

Craig V. Baltimore

ABSTRACT: The consolidation of grout in concrete masonry unit (CMU) walls is labor-intensive. Also, the grout’s Portland cement content has a high embodied energy demand – a non-sustainable characteristic. For the labor-intensive issue, chemical admixture self-consolidating grouts have been used in walls 12.67 ft. (3.86 m) tall, however the chemical additive can impose new limitations on the grout (non-robust characteristics). No admixture self-consolidating grout with high percentage Portland cement replacement have potential for robust and sustainable application.

This paper reports on the consolidation of no admixture self-consolidating grout made by substituting high percentages of Portland cement with Type-F fly ash …

Bs News July/August

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Determining Annoyance Thresholds Of Tones In Noise, Jennifer M. Francis, Joonhee Lee, Lily M. Wang

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Building services equipment often produces noise signatures with significant tones in them that can lead to complaints in the built environment. Previous studies have investigated prominence levels of assorted tonal frequencies, but it is still unclear what prominence of the tones across varying tonal frequencies can lead to human annoyance. This project seeks to apply two different methods towards defining annoyance thresholds of tones in noise at two tonal frequencies: 125 Hz and 500 Hz. In the first, subjects are asked to perform a task, while exposed to ten minutes of a broadband noise spectrum with a specific level of …

Matching Building Energy Simulation Result Against Measured Data With Weather File Compensation Factors, L Carl Fiocchi Jr, Simi T. Hoque, Benjamin S. Weil

L. Carl Fiocchi

Validation Of A Fault-Modeling Equipped Vapor Compression System Model Using A Fault Detection And Diagnostics Evaluation Tool, David P. Yuill, Howard Cheung, James E. Braun

David Yuill

A methodology for evaluating the performance of fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) tools for unitary air- conditioners has been developed (Yuill and Braun 2013). The methodology uses laboratory measurements of systems with and without faults to test FDD tools’ effectiveness. A gray box modeling method capable of modeling systems with faults was developed by Cheung and Braun (2013a and 2013b) to provide input data, as an alternative to using laboratory data that had been collected. The simulation method was validated by direct comparison with experimental data, but a comparison of FDD evaluation results provides a more direct and useful validation …

Quantifying The Just Noticeable Difference Of Reverberation Time With Band-Limited Noise Centered Around 1000 Hz Using A Transformed Up-Down Adaptive Method, Matthew G. Blevins, Adam T. Buck, Zhao Peng, Lily M. Wang

Lily M Wang

This study seeks to quantify the just noticeable difference (JND) of reverberation time (RT) using band-limited noise. ISO 3382-1 lists the JND of reverberation metrics at 5% based on work by Seraphim (1958). However, others have found the JND of RT to be higher from 6% to 39%. Many of these studies utilized band-limited stimuli, e.g. speech, music motifs and bandlimited noise. A previous study by the authors conducted on 30 subjects using white noise demonstrated a JND of RT at 22%. To further verify these results and investigate potential upward frequency masking, the present study was conducted following the …

Rating Low Levels Of Ambient Noise In Performing Arts Facilities, Lily M. Wang, Brent A. Kraay

Lily M Wang

Previous studies have indicated that common indoor noise rating metrics, such as Noise Criteria NC and Room Criteria RC, do not best correlate to human perceptions of annoyance and distraction in typical office environments. Based on investigations conducted at the University of Nebraska using noise levels between 30 – 60 dBA, the author has proposed that an effective indoor noise rating method should begin with a rating of level (either dBA or sones), then an assessment of spectral quality, tones, and fluctuations. How well would such a system work at very low levels of ambient noise, though, as found in …

Effects Of Reverberation And Noise On Speech Comprehension By Native And Non-Native English-Speaking Listeners, Zhao Peng, Lily M. Wang, Siu Kit Lau, Adam M. Steinbach

Lily M Wang

Previous studies have demonstrated the negative impact of adverse signal-to-noise-ratios on non-native English-speaking listeners' performance on speech recognition using recall tasks, as well as implied that comprehension skills were more impaired than recognition skills under reverberation and noise. The authors have themselves previously conducted a pilot study on three native and three non-native Englishspeaking listeners to examine the effects of reverberation and noise using speech comprehension tasks. Those results suggested that speech comprehension performance is worse under longer reverberation times (RT), and that a longer RT is more detrimental to speech comprehension by non-native listeners than native listeners. This paper …

Comparison Of Radiated Power From Structurally Different Violins, Lily M. Wang, Courtney B. Burroughs

Lily M Wang

The acoustic power has been determined from intensity measurements on three structurally different violins: a Scherl and Roth student violin, Hutchins' SUS29S, and Hutchins' mezzo violin SUS 100. While each violin was bowed with an open-frame mechanical bowing machine, the intensity measurements were made by scanning each side of the bowing machine with an intensity probe. One-third octave band sound power levels of the acoustic radiation from each of the three instruments as each of the four open strings is bowed show that the structurally different mezzo violin produces greater power at low frequencies when the lowest (G) string is …

Effects Of Background Noise Alternating Between Two Levels At Varying Time Intervals On Human Perception And Performance, Andrew Hathaway, Lily M. Wang

Lily M Wang

This research experiment aims to better quantify human perception and performance under increased background noise levels of varying intervals. Twenty-seven participants were tested over five 30 minute sessions where they were subjected to RC-29(H) and RC-47(RV) conditions created by broadband noise fluctuating on different time intervals. These intervals varied from two minutes to ten minutes, simulating the conditions of a noisy HVAC system turning on and off. The performance results of an arithmetic test dealing with short-term memory and a subjective questionnaire will be presented and compared to a similar test using broadband noise bursts and correlated to noise metrics …

Designing Affiliative Objects: Investigating The Affiliations Of Medical Identification Jewellery, Alexandra Haagaard, William Leeming

DRS Biennial Conference Series

affiliation of medical identification jewellery with paramedics as the central user group. In doing so, we use Suchman’s notion of the affiliative object to reframe medical identification jewellery as a compound epistemic object with affiliations to paramedics in the province of Ontario, Canada. The paper begins by providing background including the methods used to assess the use of medical identification jewellery. There follows a section on how the findings from fieldwork were used to develop a first iteration of design recommendations. A compliancy table then appends discussion of key findings and design recommendations. Three design concepts were found to be …

Scattered Responses From Suspended Reflector Panels With Rounded Edges, Jonathan Rathsam, Lily M. Wang

Lily M Wang

Sound reflections from most finite surfaces, such as overhead reflector panels, include a component known as edge diffraction. Edge diffraction is the scattered energy required to maintain a continuous sound field despite the discontinuity in acoustical impedance presented by the scatterer. Edge diffraction can interfere with primary scattered energy to produce comb filtering at receiver locations. Several decades ago, the effect of changing the edge profile of loudspeaker boxes was investigated with the goal of producing a smoother frequency response. By rounding the edges of loudspeaker boxes, the edge diffraction could be decreased noticeably [H. F. Olson, J. Aud. Eng. …

Effects Of Noise On Productivity: Does Performance Decrease Over Time?, Jessica Errett, Erica Eileen Bowden, Marc Choiniere, Lily M. Wang

Lily M Wang

Most people at one time or another have found themselves irritated or distracted by the background noise in a building. The irritation might have resulted in minor aggravation or may have been dramatic enough to hinder their work. This leads us to ask whether occupants are increasingly aggravated by noise the longer they are exposed to it, or if they naturally habituate to their acoustic environment. In an effort to answer this question, a study was completed in the “Indoor Environment Lab” at the University of Nebraska. This lab resembles a typical office and was specially constructed to be acoustically …