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Civil Engineering

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Theses/Dissertations

2015

Articles 1 - 6 of 6

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

An Analysis Of Partial-Depth, Floating, Impermeable Guidance Structures For Downstream Fish Passage At Hydroelectric Facilities, Kevin Mulligan Nov 2015

An Analysis Of Partial-Depth, Floating, Impermeable Guidance Structures For Downstream Fish Passage At Hydroelectric Facilities, Kevin Mulligan

Doctoral Dissertations

Partial-depth, impermeable guidance structures (or guide walls) are used to enhance downstream passage effectiveness at a hydroelectric facility by actively guiding fish to a safe passage route (i.e. the bypass). Guide walls have been installed in a variety of ways and, like many fish passage devices, have resulted in variable efficiency rates. Currently, the most common type of installment is a steel panel guide wall attached to a floating boom. While less utilized than other guidance structure options (e.g. louvers and bar racks), guide walls have been gaining popularity, particularly within the Northwest United States. The aim of this dissertation …

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Resilience Of Transportation Infrastructure Systems To Climatic Extreme Events, Alexandra C. Testa Mar 2015

Resilience Of Transportation Infrastructure Systems To Climatic Extreme Events, Alexandra C. Testa

Masters Theses

A topology-based approach has been used to measure the resilience of a highway network to climatic events. Civil infrastructure systems are inarguably critical to the everyday functions of society. Because such systems are regionally distributed, their components undergo a wide range of hazard intensities, often dependent on their relative locations. The ability of an infrastructure system to withstand, adapt to, and rapidly recover from extreme events is paramount to its ability to continuously serve users. The topological properties of a network can provide a good means to assess the resilience of the system which is adequate to comprehend the preparedness …

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Driver Behavior Evaluation Of Variable Speed Limits And A Conceptual Framework For Optimal Vsl Location Identification, Curt P. Harrington Mar 2015

Driver Behavior Evaluation Of Variable Speed Limits And A Conceptual Framework For Optimal Vsl Location Identification, Curt P. Harrington

Masters Theses

Static speed limits are the norm across the world’s roadway networks. However, advances in technology and increased applications in intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provide a mechanism for upgrading traditional speed limits into an active traffic management system. More specifically, variable speed limits (VSLs) can be used in high crash severity locations and in real-time congestion and weather events to increase traffic safety and operations. Much of the available literature on VSLs focuses upon crash prediction algorithms for VSLs, simulations, and effectiveness of real-world VSL implementations. One noticeable gap in the existing literature is related to driver compliance under varied configurations …

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Measuring The Resilience Of Transportation Networks Subject To Seismic Risk, Mark N. Furtado Mar 2015

Measuring The Resilience Of Transportation Networks Subject To Seismic Risk, Mark N. Furtado

Masters Theses

Transportation networks are critical to the function of modern society but they are vulnerable to extreme events such as earthquakes. Damaged bridges can cost millions of dollars to repair and congestion and detours due to bridge closures leads to indirect costs that are even greater than the cost of repair of damaged bridges. A resilient network however should be able to limit the damage caused by earthquakes and recover in a timely fashion. Resilience of networks has been studying in length from a conceptual standpoint but as quantitative measure, the field has been lacking. This study sets forth to quantify …

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An Observational Evaluation Of Safety Resulting From Driver Distraction, Christina M. Dube Mar 2015

An Observational Evaluation Of Safety Resulting From Driver Distraction, Christina M. Dube

Masters Theses

Distracted driving is a dangerous activity that continues to claim lives on roadways throughout the United States. A goal of this research was to collect distracted driving behavior data through observation in the field. A methodological approach was devised to keep data collection consistent across the observation periods. Analysis of the data provided information regarding trends in distraction type or driving behavior while engaging in a secondary activity. In combination with the observational portion of this research, another key component to understanding distracted driving was the crash report narrative key word search. By searching through the crash reports, it was …

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Microscopic Modeling Of Driver Behavior Based On Modifying Field Theory For Work Zone Application, Andrew L. Berthaume Mar 2015

Microscopic Modeling Of Driver Behavior Based On Modifying Field Theory For Work Zone Application, Andrew L. Berthaume

Doctoral Dissertations

Because many freeways in the U.S. and abroad are being reconstructed or rehabilitated, it becomes increasingly important to plan and design freeway work zones with the utmost in safety and efficiency. Central to the effective design of work zones is being able to understand how drivers behave as they approach and enter a work zone area. While simple and complex microscopic models have been used over the years to analyze driver behavior, most models were not designed for application in work zones and thus do not capture the interdependencies between lane-changing and car-following vehicle movements along with the drivers’ cognitive …

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