Engineering Commons^™

Crystalline Cellulose – Atomistic Modeling Toolkit, Mateo Gomez, Pablo Zavattieri Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Nature has created efficient strategies to make materials with hierarchical internal structure that often exhibit exceptional mechanical properties. One such example is found in cellulose, in fact it is eight times stronger than stainless steel and advantage is that cellulose incredibly cheap, because processing is obtained from purified wood pulp (it is environmental friendly). The most prevalent modeling technique to study the fundamental mechanical behavior of the crystalline cellulose has been Molecular Dynamics (MD). As a predictive tool, MD allows us to study the behavior of crystalline cellulose at the atomic level, and as such, it accurately predicts the crystalline …

Semi-Active Structural Control Of A 2-Story Shear Building, Alana K. Wilbee, Shirley Dyke

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

With continuing urban development across the world, it is becoming ever more important to provide increased structural safety against events such as earthquakes and strong winds. The field of structural control has recently been growing to meet these challenges through the use of semi-active control methods, such as the Magnetorheological (MR) Damper. However, due to the non-linearity of the device, the knowledge base surrounding the MR Damper and its various control algorithms still needs to be strengthened before large-scale implementation of this control method can occur. To address these issues, this study will examine a two story benchmark structure using …

Compression Testing And Failure Modes Of Steel-Concrete Composite (Sc) Structures For Nuclear Containment, Patrick Michael Wanamaker, Amit H. Varma

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Although being able to provide much cleaner power than burning coal and other fossil fuels, nuclear power plants are still a tough sell to the general public due to their history of being spontaneously dangerous. The containment structures surrounding these nuclear plants, however, can play a huge role in reducing the risks associated with them. Relatively new designs for these containment assemblies, known as SC (steel-concrete composite) structures, aim to increase the strength and durability of the containment facilities while keeping costs down. By varying the spacing between shear studs, the ratio of concrete to steel, and the ratio of …

Real-Time-Hybrid-Simulation Of Multi-Degree-Of-Freedom Systems With Multiple Time Steps, Lanxi Liu, Arun Prakash

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Computational simulation and physical experiments are both widely used in testing the response of a structure under earthquake loadings, but physical experiments can be expensive for large problems and numerical may result in the loss of important structural behavior caused by a large amount of assumptions. Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS) is a combination of these two approaches, which uses both a numerical and physical substructures that interact in real time to simulate structural behavior. The numerical and physical substructures are connected using a transfer system that enforces compatibility between them. The physical substructure needs to be run at a very …

Insights Into The Effect Of Geometrical Parameters In The Mechanical Properties Of The Radular Teeth Of The Cryptochiton Stelleri – A 3d Print Approach, Chan Jeong, Enrique Escobar, Pablo Zavattieri Dr.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The Cryptochiton Stelleri is known to have ultra-hard radular teeth that have one of the largest hardness (9-12GPa) and stiffness (90-125GPa) among other biological materials such as Enamel and Abalone shell. The ultrastructure of the teeth is formed by a bundle of highly mineralized rods composed of iron oxides and organic material. The main method to measure the material properties has been through nanoindentation. However there are limitations to nanoindentation of the Chiton’s teeth such as limited equipment, costly and time consuming preparation of the samples, and observation of nanoscale features being difficult. In this work, the rod-like microstructure of …

Environmental Monitoring In Preparation For The Installation Of A Green Roof, Andrew N. Martin, Ming Qu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Green roofs are becoming an increasingly popular way to improve the environmental, economic, and aesthetic performance of both new and existing buildings. Along with the green roofs themselves, it is also common to install sensors to measure various environmental parameters that are affected by or important to the operation of the roof such as precipitation, temperature, and runoff. However, for most of these systems, the sensors are installed at the same time or even after the green roof. Therefore, no before-and-after comparisons can be made for those roofs. To account for this missing data, monitoring equipment was installed on a …

Indot Qc/Qa Earthwork And Intelligent Compaction Us 31/Us 35 At Kokomo, Kurt Sommer

Purdue Road School

This presentation discusses a 2012 case study using QC/QA Earthwork Specifications and Intelligent Compaction Rollers for soils.

INDOT Contract IR-30111 in Greenfield District on US 31/ US 35 at Kokomo used this process in 2012 and continuing into 2013 for the control and acceptance of approximately 1 million cubic yards of earthwork.

Trails As Transportation, Pete Fritz

Purdue Road School

With populations concentrating in urban areas and the push for healthier living, biking and walking to work and other destinations are becoming more acceptable in the United States. With the ever-expanding network of trails in Indiana, the public is realizing the benefit of utilizing trails for daily commuting. This session will show what it takes for a community to embrace non-motorized commuters. We’ll also discuss the health and financial benefits of leaving your vehicle at home. Finally, we’ll get a statewide trails update from the Department of Natural Resources.

Rumble Stripes: Opportunity To Improve Safety And Retroreflectivity, Thomas M. Brennan Jr., Alan Plunkett, William Smith

Purdue Road School

Painted rumble stripes can provide safety benefits as well as improved retroreflectivy and paint durability. This presentation covers specifications and construction techniques. A case study will describe the recent application of rumble stripes on US 231 between Crawfordsville and Lafayette, Indiana.

The Importance Of Performing Route Surveys In The State Of Indiana, Rodney Kelly, Chester Parsons, Grant Niemeyer

Purdue Road School

This presentation provides an overview of Rule 12 and discuss what is involved in a Location Control Route Survey (LCRS). Details such as where they must be performed, why they are important, their benefits and best practices will be discussed.

Design And Construction Process Management, David Brown

Purdue Road School

New approaches for improving design and construction processes have been used recently. Innovative methods for managing the requirements and quality of these processes will be discussed. A systematic data centric approach will be discussed as well as the processes of separating progress from performance. It discusses the integration of these processes in the planning, risk analysis, design, submission, construction, inspection, quality control and documentation phases.

Mutcd Revisions And Sign Upgrades, Jill Palmer, Karen Stippich

Purdue Road School

Jill Palmer, PE has managed over a dozen sign inventories in response to new MUTCD requirements for retroreflectivity. This presentation shares lessons gleaned from that experience and a practical approach to satisfying the MUTCD criteria.

Consultant Prequalification For Roundabout Design, Craig M. Parks, John Wright

Purdue Road School

INDOT plans to implement a prequalification requirement for the design of roundabouts because of the unique characteristics associated with their design. This presentation discusses those characteristics and outline the process being proposed for prequalification of engineers performing design, review, and inspection of roundabout projects.

Probe Vehicle Data To Assess Workzone Safety, Thomas M. Brennan Jr., Jim Poturalski

Purdue Road School

Historically, work zone maintenance of traffic (MOT) plans have been deployed without a scalable and systematic means to assess congestion and make comparisons between modeled and actual queue lengths observed during construction. This session will discuss how commercial probe data can be used to estimate queue lengths and fuse that information with crash data.

Implementation Of Ada Data Collection To An Active Transition Plan, Stephen G. Metzer Aicp, Pws

Purdue Road School

Collection of right-of-way (ROW) data for curb ramps and sidewalks to determine compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can be a time consuming and labor intensive effort. To further complicate this, management and interpretation of the data, once collected, is an effort itself. This presentation will provide an example of how data was collected by DLZ Indiana, LLC for the City of Mishawaka. DLZ surveyed nearly 3,000 curb ramps and 250 miles of sidewalks in 2012 using Apple iPads and various software to manage the data. This presentation will document the parameters measured for curb ramps and sidewalks, …

Concrete Durability And The Value Of Electrical Testing, Robert Spragg, Tommy Nantung, Tony Zander, Jason Weiss

Purdue Road School

The electrical properties of concrete are being used to characterize the durability of concretes. Recently, the development of hand-held testing units has generated interest in taking these tests to the field. The resistivity, or conductivity, testing is rapid and can provide instant information on concrete quality. The concept of the testing will be discussed an d a hand-on demonstration of the equipment will be provided.

Lincoln Highway: Nation's First Transcontinental Highway, Dennis E. Horvath

Purdue Road School

The centennial of the organizing meeting creating the nation’s first transcontinental highway will be celebrated in July 2013. This is generally considered to be the birth of the federal highway system. The Indiana Lincoln Highway Association will discuss the Lincoln Highway and its upcoming celebration.

Best Practices For Bridge Deck Overlays, Tommy E. Nantung, Robert J. Frosch

Purdue Road School

This presentation discusses recent research regarding alternative bridge deck overlay methods and best practices associated with their use.

Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project, Cindy M. Kowalski

Purdue Road School

This session provides an overview of best practices for utility coordination. A case study of the processes used on the Ohio River Bridges will be discussed.

Toward Long Lasting Bridge Decks, Jason Weiss, Ron Walker, Neal Carboneau, Tony Zander, Tommy Nantung

Purdue Road School

No abstract provided.