Engineering Commons^™

Proposed Charlotte To Atlanta High-Speed Passenger Rail Line: An Economic, Infrastructural, And Developmental Analysis In The Upstate Of South Carolina, Ian C. Macurda, Kimberly Whitehead

SC Upstate Research Symposium

This research paper is an in-depth analysis of the high-speed passenger rail line proposed between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA and its impact on the economy, infrastructure, and future development of the Upstate of South Carolina. Currently, passenger rail service between Charlotte and Atlanta is offered on Amtrak at late hours throughout the night on its long-distance passenger rail line The Crescent from New York City, NY to New Orleans, LA. The train is often delayed and is operating at a deficit for Amtrak, like most of their long-distance routes. Traffic on Interstate 85 through the Upstate is another issue …

Measuring Accessibility For Pedestrians, Bicyclists, And Transit Riders To Grocery Stores In The Excelsior/Outer Mission Neighborhoods Of San Francisco, Alexandra Lee-Gardner

Master's Theses

Grocery stores are an important amenity in neighborhoods and access to grocery stores is important for health and well-being. While grocery store accessibility is a popular topic of research, studies measuring access for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders are extremely rare. When a new store opened in the Excelsior/Outer Mission districts of San Francisco on a street lacking basic infrastructure for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders, the importance of this study became apparent. The Excelsior/Outer Mission neighborhood has a shocking number of collisions (over 1,100 between 2015 and 2019), elevated levels of walking, biking, and transit ridership, and minimal safe …

Cognizant Composites: Seamless Integration Of Circuitry And Sensors Into Structural Composites, Reuben Fresquez

Computer Science ETDs

This thesis describes a set of novel techniques for embedding sensors, circuitry, and electronics into structural composites. I leverage recent developments in human computer interaction to create sensors and circuitry that are seamlessly incorporated into structural composites. I fabricate bend and compression sensors, along with circuitry, from textiles, which enables me to add electronic capabilities without impacting the composite’s structural integrity. I describe the construction of these “cognizant composites” and demonstrate their functionality. I also explore techniques for embedding standard electronic components, including microcontrollers, into structural composites. Potential applications of this technology include buildings that can warn occupants if load-bearing …

Corrosion Propagation Of Stainless Steel Reinforced Concrete, Nelly Sofía Orozco Martínez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Structural durability is a growing concern in global infrastructure. The infrastructure report card released by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) indicates that approximately 9.1% of the total bridges in the United States were structurally deficient in 2016. In addition, it suggests that about 40% of the total bridges in the country are now 50 years or older. This issue becomes even more critical in structures exposed to aggressive environments such as marine structures. Thus, federal and regional efforts are now being directed towards infrastructural durability improvement to improve the long-term cost-efficiency of civil infrastructure.

Corrosion prevention strategies may …

Digital Twin Technology Applications For Transportation Infrastructure - A Survey-Based Study, Hector Cruz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the past couple of decades, various industries have taken advantage of emerging advanced technologies, such as digital twin (DT), to find more effective solutions in their respective areas. In the transportation infrastructure sector, the concept and implementation of DT technologies are slowly gaining traction but lagging behind other major industries. To better understand the limitations, opportunities and challenges for the adoption of DT in this sector, a survey questionnaire was distributed to collect information from industry professionals involved in transportation infrastructure projects. The purpose of this study is to understand how DT technology is being perceived by the industry. …

Investigating Manufacturer Selection Decisions For Built Infrastructure Assets Using A Technical Performance Metric, Sarah L. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Facility and built infrastructure asset management are necessary functions of any organization that utilizes buildings to operate their businesses. However, most organizations require facility managers to ensure the successful operation of their assets without providing sufficient resources to accomplish this task. Therefore, in resource-scarce environments, facility managers require data-driven solutions to manage their assets and make the best decisions. Facility managers need novel solutions to help make asset life-cycle decisions. This research provides such a solution. Capitalizing on available data, a technical performance metric is created, allowing facility managers to calculate their assets' operational performance. This performance metric provides a …

Workshop Outcomes Report: 1st International Workshop On Seismic Resilience Of Arctic Infrastructure And Social Systems, Majid Ghayoomi, Katharine Duderstadt, Alexander Kholodov, Alexander Shiklomanov, Matthew Turner, Elham Ajorlou

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Building Materials And Environmental Indicators For Urban Planning-Exposure, Afrim Syla

UBT International Conference

Sustainable development is a key component in urban studies. The sustainability of buildings has become a headline topic in recent years. Buildings do not exist in isolation from their environment, however, but are integrated with infrastructure. In defining sustainable buildings, the issue arises how to incorporate the influences of not only user behavior, building design and technologies, but the associated infrastructure that comprises the entire built environment. The built environment considered here includes all buildings and infrastructure, and in this context, comprises approximately 10% of global GDP. The building and construction sector alone is not only the largest consumer of …

Strategies For Managing The Colorado River In An Uncertain Future, Jian Wang

All ECSTATIC Materials

Colorado River managers face a deeply uncertain future. Projections of declining watershed runoff are likely to necessitate restructuring of the present interpretation of the Law of the River that allocates water supply among Mexico and the seven states of the Basin. Additionally, the magnitude and distribution of consumptive uses of water will change. Outcomes for river and reservoir ecosystems are poorly predicted. How should we make better decisions given these uncertain factors? To help answer this question and expand conversation about the Colorado River management issues, we (1) classify different levels of uncertainty to guide decisions about which modeling tools …

A System-Of-Systems Model To Simulate The Complex Emergent Behavior Of Vehicle Traffic On An Urban Transportation Infrastructure Network, Rayan Assaad, Cihan H. Dagli, Islam H. El-Adaway

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Transportation agencies face escalating challenges in forecasting the traffic demand. Traditional prediction methods focused on individual transportation sectors and failed to study the inter-dependencies between the different transportation systems. Hence, there is a need for more advanced and holistic modeling techniques. To this end, this paper models and analyses an urban transportation system-of-systems incorporating seven various systems: population and GDP, CO₂ emission, gasoline price and total vehicle trips, traffic demand, public and private transportation, transportation investment, and traffic congestion. Accordingly, this research simulates transportation networks as a collection of task-oriented systems that combine their resources to form a complex …

Faith Promise Lane: From Cherahala Boulevard To Tn-162 Mp 1.9, Zachary W. Jerome

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Development Of Geopolymer-Based Cement And Soil Stabilizers For Transportation Infrastructure, Miladin Radovic, Anand Puppala

Publications

Geopolymer Cement (GPC) has drawn much attention in the recent years as an alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) for soil stabilization, pavements, bridges and other transportation structures due to their good mechanical properties in comparison to OPC. In addition, GPC can be processed at room temperatures from aqueous solutions of waste materials (e.g. fly ash) or abundant natural sources (e.g. clay), thereby significantly reducing CO2 production associated with processing of OPC. As such, GPC proves to be a more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative than OPC. This research explores methods to develop GPC with desired properties and evaluate their …

Bamboo As A Sustainable Engineering Material: Mechanical Properties, Safety Factors, And Experimental Testing, Lorena Sánchez Vivas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With exponential global population growth occurring and associated environmentally destructive consumption of natural resources, alternative materials that are fast growing and sustainable are being sought out to satisfy human needs. One material that is fast growing and sustainable that can be used to meet most basic needs of humans (i.e. shelter, food, tools) is the plant bamboo, of the grass family Poaceae. Bamboo was used in the past by native peoples who lived in the environment where bamboo natively grows (all continents except Europe and Antarctica) with proven success for uses such as shelter, piping, tools, wells, food, fencing, baskets …

The Effect Of Particles Pm10 And Pm2.5 In Dust Emission Of Urban Infrastructure From Thermal Power Plant Technology Kosovo, Afrim Syla

International Journal of Business and Technology

Airborne particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 microns (referred to as PM10) is one of the six criteria pollutants used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as indicator of air quality. During the last decade, the health effects of urban aerosols have become a major concern for the society.

The main environmental problems in Kosovo include all issues related to water supply and sanitation system, air quality, solid waste management and urban infrastructure. The major problem remains high pollutions, energy losses and low collection efficiency. The awareness of environmental issues among the general public is poor. Air quality …

Stormwater Infrastructure And The Threat Of Climate Change, Eric Mccaslin

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this report is to analyze the modernization of stormwater infrastructure systems and the growing impact of climate change on said systems. Growing population rates and increasing urban settlement are leading to the water demand approaching the water supply capacity. Climate change is the root of several potentially severe issues affecting water resources as well as the rapidly increasing coastal and urban populations including but not limited to rising sea levels and the increasing severity and frequency of storms. Many cities, especially older or low income ones, also may not have adequate systems in place to handle the …

Artificial Intelligence In Wet Weather Infrastructure, Matt Hammerstein

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Effective management of runoff from rain and snowmelt is critical as increased water flows can negatively affect efficiency and reliability at treatment facilities, as well as potentially damage property or the natural environment. Implementation of artificial intelligence for real-time decision making and support in wet weather infrastructure is a recent technological development; as such, a problem has emerged: experience and knowledge of best practices for successful implementation is limited. Artificial intelligence is being employed to inform operational decisions that are intended to improve the efficiency and reliability of physical wet weather infrastructure. The goal of municipalities and utilities in utilizing …

Introduction To Infrastructure - The Influence Of Natural Disasters On Infrastructure, Tri Tam Nguyen, Sean M. Raday, Daniel Leverick

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

In this paper, three major hurricanes in 2017 were examined to determine the damage these hurricanes have done to the infrastructure. Infrastructure has an important role in the nation’s sustained economic development. Infrastructure consists of two main types which are “hard” infrastructure and “soft” infrastructure. Hard infrastructure is the physical networks which include transportation, power, etc. while soft infrastructure is institutions and human capital. Inadequate and inefficient performance of “hard” or “soft” infrastructure would prevent economy from achieving full growth. In the past decades, a significant increase in the number of natural disasters has had great impact on infrastructure systems. …

The Need For Enhanced Physical Infrastructure In The United States, Tanvi Gandham

CMC Senior Theses

An examination of necessary infrastructure improvements in the United States.

The Effect Of Particles Pm10 And Pm2.5 In Dust Emission Of Urban Infrastructure From Thermal Power Plant Technology Kosovo, Afrim Syla

UBT International Conference

Airborne particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 microns (referred to as PM10) is one of the six criteria pollutants used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as indicator of air quality. During the last decade, the health effects of urban aerosols have become a major concern for the society.

The main environmental problems in Kosovo include all issues related to water supply and sanitation system, air quality, solid waste management and urban infrastructure. The major problem remains high pollutions, energy losses and low collection efficiency. The awareness of environmental issues among the general public is poor. Air quality …

High Early-Age Strength Concrete For Rapid Repair, Matthew O. Maler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The aim of this research was to identify High Early-Age Strength (HES) concrete batch designs, and evaluate their suitability for use in the rapid repair of highways and bridge decks. To this end, two criteria needed to be met; a minimum compressive strength of 20.68 MPa (3000 psi) in no later than 12 hours, and a drying shrinkage of less than 0.06 % at 28 days after curing. The evaluations included both air-entrained, and non-air-entrained concretes.

The cement types chosen for this study included Type III and Type V Portland cement and “Rapid Set” − a Calcium Sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement. …

Sidewalk Infrastructure Improvements Design For Calhoun, Tn, Liam Marten Weaver, Bailee Young, Brian Walker, Mark Nichols, Marquise Webb, Trenton Smith

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Integrated Solar Technologies With Outdoor Pedestrian Bridge Superstructure Decking, Richard K. Racz

Masters Theses

Solar technology has been a major topic in sustainable design for many years. In the last five years, however, the solar technology industry has seen a rapid growth in installations and technological advances in cell design. Combined with a rapidly declining overall system cost, the idea of introducing solar technology into a wider range of applications is becoming a focus for engineers and scientists around the world. So many variables which alter solar energy production, such as the sun and surrounding environment, determine whether a solar design is beneficial. This thesis presents a bridge deck surface integrated with solar cells …

The Effect Of Community Connectivity On Water And Sanitation Systems In Rural Panama, M.C. Moritz

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The world has yet to realize universal access to water and sanitation. Various academic and professional fields provide frameworks for understanding water and sanitation access, but none directly consider the impact of community connectivity. Community connectivity refers to the infrastructures linking rural communities with urban centers. These infrastructures fall under the broad categories of transportation, energy, and telecommunication. This paper examines 23 rural Panamanian communities and compares connectivity measures with the functionality of the communities’ rural water and sanitation systems (RWSS). Community connectivity was evaluated with the Community Connectivity Analysis Tool (CCAT), while the water and sanitation systems were evaluated …

Underwater Explosion Energy Dissipation Near Waterborne Infrastructure, Paul R. Smith

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Underwater explosions pose a significant threat to waterborne infrastructure though destructive pressure waves that can travel significant distances through the water. However, the use of bubble screens can attenuate the peak pressure and energy flux created by explosions to safe levels. This study investigates the prediction of pressure wave characteristics based on accumulated data, the damage potential of underwater explosions based on applied loads and effective material strength, and the bubble screen parameters required to prevent damage. The results were compiled to form a procedure for the design and implementation of a bubble screen the protection of waterborne infrastructure.

A Multi-~Procedural Approach To Evaluating Walkability And Pedestrian Safety, Peris Nyagah

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Walking has sound health benefits and tends to be a pleasurable experience requiring no fuel, fare, license, nor registration. Whilst walking is recommended as part of physical activity, it is necessary to provide a conducive and safe walking environment. In an effort to determine an optimum combination of infrastructure that would create walkable, transit-oriented neighborhoods eliminating unnecessary motorized trips; various approaches evaluating an assortment of features in the walking environment have been implemented. However, some factors such as crash risk which have an essential contribution to the suitability of the walking environment have yet to be considered. Therefore the objective …

The Effects Of Recycling Asphalt Use In Terms Of Economic Growth And Environmental Improvement In Kosova, Muhamet Ahmeti, Binak Beqaj

UBT International Conference

Through this paper is analysed the possibility of recycling asphalt and reusing this in receipts of new asphalt to build road infrastructure inside urban areas and inter-urban areas, because analysing the investments that are being realized in the road infrastructure in Kosova last years, and investments that are going on, there are indicators showing economical, environmental and ….benefits of the society .

According to database of the Kosova Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication until the year 2014, the territory of Kosova has 2005.5 km of the road, 4% are highways, magisterial roads 32% and 64% regional roads, most of them …

Decision Environments To Encourage More Sustainable Infrastructure Outcomes, Earl Shealy

All Dissertations

Physical infrastructure (i.e. roads, pipelines, airports, dams, landfills, and water treatment systems) contributes directly to sustainability outcomes such as energy and water use and climate changing emissions. The infrastructure built today will likely impact future generations for many years. Planning, design and development decisions about infrastructure are critical to the future performance of these systems. Such decisions about infrastructure are complex with multiple variables, alternative options, and design stages. To manage decisions that exceed cognitive capacity to consider all options, decision makers often create mental shortcuts (heuristics), and accompanied errors (biases). The potential cognitive biases when dealing with complex decisions …

Advanced Sustainable Concrete Materials For Infrastructure Applications, Kaylea Ann Smith

Masters Theses

"This study was performed to examine the effects of cement replaced by high volumes of Class C fly-ash on durability characteristics of concrete up to 120 days. Specifically, this study investigates possibility of amending American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) to allow High Volume Fly-ash (HVFA) concrete to cure until later ages prior to testing instead of 28 days. Five mix designs were compared with varying fly-ash percentages from 0 to 70% (by total cementitious mass). No other additives were present in any of the five mix designs. Water-to-cementitious ratio (w/cm) and total cementitious material remained constant as 0.40 …

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 …

Assessment Of Policies For Innovative Financing In Infrastructure Systems, Ali Mostafavi, Dulcy Abraham, Charlene Sullivan

Infrastructure System-of-Systems (I-SoS ) Research Group

Infrastructure systems are drivers of the economy in the nation. A dollar spent on infrastructure development yields roughly double the initial spending in ultimate economic output in the short term; and over a twenty-year period, and generalized ‘public investment’ produces an aggregated $3.21 of economic activity per $1.00 spent [1]. Thus, formulation of policies pertaining to infrastructure investment and development is of significance affecting the social and economic wellbeing of the nation. The aim of this policy brief is to evaluate innovative financing in infrastructure systems from two different perspectives: (1) through consideration of the current condition of infrastructure in …