Engineering Commons^™

Comparing Sandwich Wall Panel Shear Connector Testing Methodologies, Parker S. Syndergaard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Precast concrete sandwich wall panels (PCSWPs) have been used in the precast industry for decades due to their durability, rapid construction, and thermal efficiency. Shear connectors are used to connect the two wythes of concrete to allow composite action of the system. In order to design concrete sandwich panel systems to act compositely, the engineer must obtain design values from a connector manufacturer, often times making engineers uncomfortable. Shear connectors are typically proprietary, and are required to first have design values validated through destructive testing. The method in which connectors are validated often times varies by each company. This project …

Statistical Models Of I-15 Bridge C-846: Changes In Natural Frequencies Due To Temperature, Gilbert Nichols

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Structural Health monitoring is to determine the condition of a bridge based on instrument measurements. The C-846 Bridge in Salt Lake City has such instrumentation. The bridge is located in Salt Lake City at about 2100 South and Interstate 15. This bridge has two kinds of instruments on it: accelerometers and thermocouples. The accelerometers measure the vibrations of the bridge. The accelerometers have been recording data on the bridge since 2001. The thermocouples, which measure temperature, were added as part of this thesis in April 2016.

In light of recent research, damage may be detected from measuring the change in …

Developing A General Methodology For Evaluating Composite Action In Insulated Wall Panels, Jaiden Thomas Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Precast Concrete Sandwich Panel Walls (PCSPW’s) have been in use for over 60 years. They provide a very efficient building envelope for many buildings. Characteristic PCSPW’s comprise an outer and inner layer (or wythe) of concrete separated by an insulating material. To use all of the material as efficiently as possible, the layers are attached by connectors which penetrate through the insulating layer and are embedded in either concrete wythe. These connectors make it possible for both layers of the wall to work together when resisting loads. The connectors are made out of plastic, or FRP, to prevent heat transfer …

Traffic Sign Management: Data Integration And Analysis Methods For Mobile Lidar And Digital Photolog Big Data, Majid Khalilikhah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Traffic signs often convey critical information to drivers. However, traffic signs are only effective when clearly visible and legible. This study aims to determine the effects of various damage and deterioration forms on sign retroreflectivity, identify the most important factors affecting traffic sign visual condition, predict traffic sign vandalism that obstructs critical messages to drivers, and identify important environmental factors contributing to the temporary obstruction of the sign messages. To do so, two data sets are used. A sample data of over 1,700 signs was manually collected in the field, and the background retroreflectivity of each sign was measured using …

A Comprehensive Safety Analysis Of Diverging Diamond Interchanges, Holly Lloyd

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With the implementation of new roadway configurations, there is a great need to study the influence of the roadway design on the crash rate. Utah is one of the leading states in the implementation of the Diverging Diamond Interchange.

In order to determine the effects of the new roadway configuration on the safety of the intersection, this study employs an Empirical Bayes before-after study of the crash rates at selected Diverging Diamond Interchanges in Utah. The results of the Empirical Bayes method were also used to calculate crash modification factors. The total number of crashes at each site were analyzed. …

Evapotranspiration Estimation: A Study Of Methods In The Western United States, Clayton S. Lewis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Theoretical water use of well-watered vegetation in the western United States was investigated by comparing a gridded dataset developed from satellite and ground instruments to weather stations representative of irrigated agricultural conditions. Since wetter environments are cooler and therefore subject to lower levels of evaporation than the same scenario with warmer temperatures, models derived from dryland and often populated areas overestimate potential plant needs in semi-arid or arid conditions. Evaluation of the model revealed an acceptable fit for air temperatures and solar radiation but with less confidence in humidity and wind speeds. Ultimately, the last two parameters were minor components …

Considerations For Hood Placement And Design Downstream From A Fixed-Cone Valve, Barry Jacob Prettyman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In many hydroelectric projects there is a need to safely dissipate the energy associated with the elevation of the water surface. When the flow is not passing through the turbines, bypass valves are often used. A valve that is commonly used is the fixed-cone valve. Fixed-cone valves, also known as Howell-Bunger valves, are devices often used to safely reduce flow energy at dams with medium to high heads. The valve directs the outflow into a conical hollow jet, which requires a large area for energy dissipation. The flow is controlled by an adjustable sleeve, also known as the gate which …

Causes And Countermeasures For Nappe Oscillation: An Experimental Approach, Aaron Allan Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Weirs are commonly used as spillways to release flows from a reservoir. The freefalling jet on the downstream side of the weir is called the nappe. Under certain hydraulic conditions, determined mainly by the size, design, and construction of the weir, nappe oscillation, otherwise known as nappe vibration, can occur. Characteristics of this dynamic behavior include excessive acoustic energy manifested as sound pressure waves and lowfrequency noise accompanied by horizontal waves or banding on the nappe. Mitigation of this process may be required, especially if the weir operates in close proximity to occupied structures. Instability of water jets moving through …

Applications Of Bayesian Statistics In Fluvial Bed Load Transport, Mark L. Schmelter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The science of fluvial sediment transport studies the processes involved in the movement of river sediments. It is commonly understood that when rivers flood they have a great capacity to move sand, gravel, and even larger cobbles and boulders. This process is not only limited to the big floods that usually attract so much attention, but also the more common river flows play a very important role in forming a river. As engineers and scientists, we like to be able to develop equations and relationships that describe some natural phenomenon—in this case, fluvial sediment transport. While we are able to …

Platooning Safety And Capacity In Automated Electric Transportation, James Fishelson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Automated Electric Transportation (AET) proposes a system of automated platooning vehicles electrically powered by the roadway via wireless inductive power transfer. This has the potential to provide roadway transportation that is less congested, more flexible, cleaner, safer, and faster than the current system. The focus of this research is to show how platooning can be accomplished in a safe manner and what capacities such an automated platooning system can achieve. To accomplish this, first two collision models are developed to show the performance of automated platoons during an emergency braking scenario: a stochastic model coded in Matlab/Simulink and a deterministic …

Modeling Overlapping And Heterogeneous Perception Variance In Stochastic User Equilibrium Problem With Weibit Route Choice Model, Songyot Kitthamkesorn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Traffic assignment problem is an important component of the transportation planning model. State-of-the-practice traffic assignment models adopt the equilibrium principle to equilibrate the travel demand with the travel supply (e.g., highway and transit networks) under congestion. These models give the transportation network performance measures to compare among transportation alternatives for supporting the decision-making processes. The deterministic user equilibrium (DUE) principle is perhaps the most widely used in the traffic assignment problem. In this principle, all travelers are assumed to minimize their individual travel cost, such that only the lowest-cost route is used at equilibrium. However, this perfect knowledge assumption is …

Air Vent Sizing In Low-Level Outlet Works For Small- To Medium-Sized Dams, Nathan W. Wright

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The majority of dams contain low-level outlet works, which typically consist of closed conduits that run through the dam, and are used to release water from the reservoir when the water level is below the level of the surface spillways. It is also used to flush the reservoir of sediments and to control the elevation of the reservoir. Low-level outlet works typically consist of a gate that controls the flow within a closed conduit that runs through the dam and an air vent that supplies air behind the gate. In the absence of properly designed air vents, negative pressures may …

Hazard Classification And Hydraulic Remediation Options For Flat-Topped And Ogee-Crested Low-Head Dams, Riley J. Olsen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The dangerous hydraulic conditions that can form downstream of a low-head dam were investigated. These dangerous hydraulic conditions have been the cause of hundreds of drowning incidents since the construction of the first low-head dams. Two primary objectives were identified for this study, each of which were primarily performed using the Computational Fluid Dynamics software, Flow-3D^®, with physical models used to verify the numerical results. The first objective was the identification of a risk factor made up of easily measured parameters that could accurately predict when the dangerous hydraulic conditions are present at a low-head dam. The risk …

Effects Of Single Panel Replacement Of A Full-Scale, Full-Depth, Precast Concrete Bridge Deck System, Jason Robert Perry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The use of precast concrete deck panels is becoming increasingly popular for bridge construction and rehabilitation in the state of Utah and across the country. It allows for the use of full depth concrete deck panels but removes the long construction times of traditional cast-in-place methods. One of the challenges to the use of precast deck panels is the transverse deck panel joints that exist between the panels. These joints are unreinforced using traditional methods and therefore are the weakest section of the bridge. In many situations the joint will fail and water seeps through and can damage the bridge …

Unified Rating Equations For Cutthroat Flumes Derived From A Three-Dimensional Hydraulic Model, Sathaporn Temeepattanapongsa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A sophisticated mathematical model of three-dimensional hydraulics was used to develop complete calibrations for Cutthroat flumes, which are structures used in canals (or “open channels”) to measure flow rates. Although Cutthroat flumes have been used for many years, and much research has been done on their calibrations and application in the field, never before was there a complete set of calibration parameters for all 24 standard flume sizes. This research was validated by previously published laboratory results on prototype flumes at Utah State University and elsewhere, and it was successful in generating accurate calibration parameters for all 24 flume sizes, …

Traffic Operations Analysis Of Merging Strategies For Vehicles In An Automated Electric Transportation System, Derek Rulon Freckleton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Automated electric transportation has the potential to revolutionize the way people move by providing unparalleled benefits to human health and safety, economic independence, and quality of life. It is a system where vehicles with no emissions control themselves as they cooperatively move people from point “A” to point “B.” Vehicle automation aims to eliminate human error from the task of driving, making the roads safer and leaving drivers able to perform other tasks as they desire while they travel. Also, through wireless in-motion electric power transfer, the gas tank may finally be completely excluded from vehicles without sacrificing freedoms in …

Live Load Test And Finite Element Model Analysis Of A Box Girder Bridge For The Long Term Bridge Performance Program, Dereck J. Hodson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Long Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program is a 20-year program initiated by the Federal Highway Administration to better understand the behavior of highway bridges as they deteriorate due to environmental variables and vehicle loads. Part of this program includes the periodic testing of selected bridges.

The Lambert Road Bridge was subjected to nondestructive testing in the fall of 2009. Part of this testing included a live load test. This test involved driving two heavy trucks across the instrumented bridge on selected load paths. The bridge was instrumented with strain, displacement, and tilt sensors. This collected data was used to …

Evaluation And Improvements On Row-Column Order Bias And Grid Orientation Bias Of The Progressive Morphological Filter Of Lidar Data, Kody Potter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis reviews algorithms that have been developed for classifying lidar data and identifies a progressive morphological filter for evaluation and improvement. Two potential weaknesses evaluated include the row-column order bias and grid orientation bias.

Four different row-column orderings were developed to test for bias associated with the order choice. Moreover, a method rotating the filter grid to a series of angles was developed for testing bias associated with grid orientation. Measures of success of the improvements include Type I and II errors, where results are compared with a hand-produced "truth" dataset. Two datasets, one urban, the other rural, were …

Estimation Of Field Alfalfa Evapotranspiration In A Windy, Arid Environment, J. Burdette Barker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Evapotranspiration (ET) of center pivot irrigated alfalfa was studied in the windy, arid, Curlew Valley, Northern Box Elder County, Utah, during the summers of 2009 and 2010. ET was estimated using eddy covariance (EC) and surface renewal (SR) techniques. ET estimates from the EC and SR analyses were compared with estimates using ASCE Standardized Reference ET Equation, with both dual and mean crop coefficients.

EC energy balance closure was 0.80, on average, in 2009 and 0.76 in 2010. The SR weighting parameter (α) was calculated through linear regression of EC and SR sensible heat flux estimates. Alpha was found to …

Discharge Coefficient Performance Of Venturi, Standard Concentric Orifice Plate, V-Cone, And Wedge Flow Meters At Small Reynolds Numbers, Colter L. Hollingshead

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The relationship between the Reynolds number (Re) and discharge coefficients (C) was investigated through differential pressure flow meters. The focus of the study was directed toward very small Reynolds numbers commonly associated with pipeline transportation of viscous fluids. There is currently a relatively small amount of research that has been performed in this area for the Venturi, standard orifice plate, V-cone, and wedge flow meters. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) program FLUENT^© was used to perform the research, while GAMBIT^© was used as the preprocessing tool for the flow meter models created. Heavy oil and water were used …

Assessing The Potential For Seepage Barrier Defects To Propagate Into Seepage Erosion Mechanisms, Ryan G. Van Leuven

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Seepage barriers have been used extensively to mitigate seepage problems in dams and levees. Although the design of many of these dams and levees has been based on intact barriers, seepage barriers have been shown to be susceptible to deformation and cracking when high differential hydraulic pressures act across the barrier. Under certain conditions, these cracks can lead to serious seepage problems, which could potentially lead to the development of a low-resistance seepage pathway. Three scenarios have been identified where there is the potential for erosion to occur adjacent to a crack in a barrier: 1) erosion at the interface …

Piano Key Weir Head Discharge Relationships, Ricky M. Anderson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A piano key (PK) weir is a type of nonlinear (labyrinth-type) weir developed specifically for free-surface flow control structures with relatively small spillway footprints. Currently, no generally accepted standard PK weir design procedure is available. This is due, in part, to the large number of geometric parameters and a limited understanding of their effects on discharge efficiency (discharge efficiency is quantified by the discharge coefficient of the standard weir equation). However, Hydrocoop, a non-profit French dam spillways association, has recommended a PK weir design and a head-discharge relationship specific to that geometry.

To develop a better understanding of the effects …

Dynamic Testing For A Steel Truss Bridge For The Long Term Bridge Performance Program, Cody Joshua Santos

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Under the direction of the Federal Highway Administration the Long Term Bridge Performance Program (LTBP) selected Minnesota Bridge number 5718 as a pilot bridge for evaluation. This program focuses on the monitoring of bridges for a 20-year period to understand the structural behavior over time due to the various loads and weathering. In monitoring this bridge a better understanding can be acquired for the maintenance issues related to the nation's deteriorating bridge infrastructure.

Bridge Number 5718, which is located just outside of Sandstone Minnesota, is a steel truss bridge that spans the Kettle River. Constant monitoring of the bridge along …

Live-Load Testing And Finite-Element Analysis Of A Steel Cantilevered Deck Arched Pratt Truss Bridge For The Long-Term Bridge Performance Program, Matthew P. Laurendeau

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Long Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) program is an organization within the Federal Highway Administration that inspects, tests, analyzes, and observes, for an extended period of time, a variety of bridge types throughout the United States. Part of the program includes periodic testing of select bridges of a span of 20 years. The Kettle River Bridge located outside of Sandstone, Minnesota was selected for study due to its unique design.

The Kettle River Bridge is a historical steel cantilevered deck arched Pratt truss bridge. The bridge was instrumented with 151 strain gauges on various floor and truss members along with …

Performance Of Transverse Post-Tensioned Joints Subjected To Negative Bending And Shear Stresses On Full Scale, Full Depth, Precast Concrete Bridge Deck System, Kayde Steven Roberts

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Accelerated bridge construction has quickly become the preferred method for the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) as well as many other DOT’s across the United States. This type of construction requires the use of full depth precast panels for the construction of the bridge deck. The segmented deck panels produce transverse joints between panels and have come to be known as the weakest portion of the deck. Cracking often occurs at these joints and is reflected through the deck overlay where water accesses and begins corrosion of the reinforcement and superstructure below. For this reason post-tensioning of the deck panels …

Estimating And Verifying Household Potential To Conserve Water, Francisco J. Suero

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This thesis identifies impacts of behaviors and technology on residential indoor water use and conservation efforts. We use pre-existing detailed end-use data collected before and after toilets, faucets, showerheads, and clothes washers were retrofitted in 96 owner-occupied, single-family households in Oakland, California; Seattle, Washington; and Tampa, Florida between 2000 and 2003.

Water volume, duration of use, and time of use were recorded and disaggregated by appliance for two weeks before and four weeks after appliances were retrofitted. For each appliance, we compare observed differences in water use before and after retrofits to water savings predicted by analytical engineering, semi-analytical engineering, …

Transportation Network Resiliency: A Fuzzy Systems Approach, Nayel Urena Serulle

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Every day the dependence on transportation grows as local, regional, national, and international independence increases. Resilient transportation systems are needed to secure the highest possible level of service during disruptive events, including natural and man-made disasters. Because of limited resources, decision makers need guidance on how, when, and where to invest to improve resiliency of their networks. The research objective is to develop a method to assess and quantify resiliency, at pre-event conditions, using a fuzzy inference approach. This research expands previous work, refining key variable definitions, adjusting model interactions, and increasing transparency between metrics. This thesis presents the method …

Safety Evaluation Of Work Zone Practices In Utah, Tomás Ernesto Lindheimer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Work zones present a risk to drivers and to personnel constructing the roadway. In 2005 work zones accounted for 2.5% of fatalities nationwide, 3.5% for the state of Utah. The goal of this research is to make work zones safer by quantifying the risk that they present to drivers. The approach of this research has been to review part 6 of the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and compare the differences from the 2003 and 2009 editions, conduct field studies of Utah work zones, and develop a tool for measuring risk in work zones. In the 2009 MUTCD …

Full-Scale Testing Of 40 Year Old Prestressed Aashto Girders That Have Been Retrofitted In Shear By Externally Applied Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Wraps, David A. Petty

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is interested in the application of rehabilitation techniques to strengthen their AASTHO prestressed bridge girders for shear. Utah's bridges are exposed to deterioration from rain, snow, and the introduction of salt for ice removable. This requires innovative rehabilitation techniques to address the deteriorations of their highway bridges, especially the ends of bridge girders where water and salt are more common due to construction joints. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) are becoming more prevalent as a tool in highway bridge rehabilitation.

This research investigates the application of various CFRP systems that can be used as …

Effects Of Submergence In Montana Flumes, Ryan P. Willeitner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As part of a continued research project for the Utah Water Research Laboratory and the State of Utah, a study of flow measurement devices is being conducted throughout the state. Initially the project included only measurement devices associated with high-risk dams, but has since been broadened to any measurement structure of interest for water users in the state. The physical dimensions, relative elevations, and flow accuracy were documented for each included device.

After visiting sixteen sites, it was found that fourteen of the measuring devices had incorrect geometries. Of these fourteen, thirteen of them were originally Parshall flumes. A large …