Engineering Commons^™

Evaluations Of Frp Composite Coupons Under Impact And Puncture, Lekhnath Bhandari

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Evaluations of FRP Composite Coupons Under Impact and Puncture

Lekhnath Bhandari

Railroad tank cars are the main mode of transportation for carrying flammable liquids and other hazardous materials, in any mode of ground transportation system. These tank cars, if punctured during derailments may explode releasing large amounts of hazardous materials and posing serious threats to human life and leading to economic losses. To minimize such catastrophes, in 2015, United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) proposed to improve the thermal and puncture performances of these tank cars and introduced two new design specifications: DOT-117 and DOT-117R. Tank cars with 9/16 inches …

Weigh-In-Motion Data-Driven Pavement Performance Prediction Models, Mohhammad Afsar Sujon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The effective functioning of pavements as a critical component of the transportation system necessitates the implementation of ongoing maintenance programs to safeguard this significant and valuable infrastructure and guarantee its optimal performance. The maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction (MRR) program of the pavement structure is dependent on a multidimensional decision-making process, which considers the existing pavement structural condition and the anticipated future performance. Pavement Performance Prediction Models (PPPMs) have become indispensable tools for the efficient implementation of the MRR program and the minimization of associated costs by providing precise predictions of distress and roughness based on inventory and monitoring data concerning …

A Computer Vision-Based Method For Tack Coat Coverage Inspection Using Drone-Collected Images, Aida Da Silva

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Tack coat is a thin asphalt applied between the existing surface and asphalt overlay during road rehabilitation. The uniformity of tack coat coverage plays a vital role in providing adhesive bonding between the two layers in the pavement structures. To ensure tack coat uniformity, the current practice primarily relies on manual inspection during construction by field experts. This process is time-consuming and tedious, and the results can be subjective and error-prone. Drones have emerged as a non-destructive sensing technology in the construction industry for many inspection practices. Unlike other non-destructive inspection technologies, drones offer benefits ranging from accelerating data collection …

Investigating The Change In Pavement Cracking Data Due To Automated Data Collection Methods, Faisal Quibria Chowdhury

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Data collection on pavement surface cracks is crucial for the state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to make informed decisions on maintenance, repair, and rehabilitation (MR&R) activities. The collected cracking data is translated into a pavement performance indicator to assess the condition of pavement sections and identify MR&R needs based on predetermined threshold values set by the state DOTs. State DOTs have transitioned from manual to automated data collection as automation offers many advantages over manual data collection, such as improved data collection rates, efficiency, cost reduction, and safety. As the state DOTs have integrated automated data into the pavement performance …

Frp Pedestrian Bridges, Joseph Ryan Virga

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Advanced fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are being used as mainstream structural materials to build complex infrastructure systems. Such application of FRP composites can be attributed to their high strength-to-weight and stiffness-to-weight ratios, corrosion resistance, higher energy absorption, durability, and competitive life-cycle costs. FRP composites are increasingly being considered as suitable alternative structural materials to traditional construction materials such as timber, concrete, and steel.

In this work, detailed experimental investigation has been carried out on different types of glass FRP composite pedestrian bridges with FRP and/or timber deck. Four full-scale FRP pedestrian bridges, including 70`×8.5’ and 70’×10’ single-span bridges, a 16’×8’ …

Concentrated Wastewater Treatment Using A Ferric Iron-Dosed Anaerobic Upflow Sludge Blanket Reactor For Recovery Of Phosphorus And Ammonium, Carley E. Shingleton

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

This study evaluated the performance of a novel, ferric iron-dosed anaerobic bioreactor to recover two separate nutrient products from concentrated wastewaters -- phosphorus as vivianite (Fe₃(PO₄)₂×8H₂O) and an ammonium-containing effluent with low organics. A bench-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor fed with a synthetic wastewater (458.0 mg/L total organic carbon, 282.7 mg/L ammonium, and 84.4 mg/L phosphate) was dosed with a ferric chloride solution at an org. C/Fe³⁺ molar ratio ~17.5 to facilitate organic carbon oxidation coupled to iron reduction. The reactor design allowed natural settling of vivianite to its …

Strengthening Of Damaged Structural Members With External Frp, Krishna Tulasi Gadde

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites are excellent alternatives to traditional materials for civil infrastructure. Several researchers have worked on the application of FRP composites for construction, repair, and rehabilitation of structures. This research aims at evaluating the use of carbon, glass, basalt, and hybrid FRPs with epoxy and polyurethane resin systems for rehabilitation of damaged structural components. Following evaluations were carried out in this research: (i) tension testing of FRP coupons, (ii) compression testing of concrete cylinders with and without damaged sections/FRP reinforcements, (iii) flexural testing of external-FRP reinforced RC beams with and without damages, (iv) pull-off tests on FRP …

Exploring The Usage Of Acid Mine Drainage Sludge As A Soil Amendment For Reclaimed Mine Lands, Brady Watters

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a form of water pollution generated when water and oxygen come into contact with sulfide minerals, forming metal ions, sulfuric acid, and sulphates in solution. AMD is characterized by its toxic metals content and low pH, both of which are an environmental concern. The treatment of AMD separates the contaminants into a high-water content sludge. This sludge is a pure waste product under current evaluation for alternative uses as well as improvements to storage and treatment processes. This thesis focused on analyzing the potential for AMD sludge to be used in recently reclaimed lands as …

Visual Sensing For Comprehensive Granular Traffic Data Collection In Support Of Intelligent Transportation Applications, Linjun Lu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Comprehensive granular traffic data collection has been identified as one of the most essential tasks in the development of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). With the recent advances in electro-optical sensors and computational capacities, machine vision is regarded as cost-efficient for traffic data collection. However, the existing vision-based methods are only applicable for collecting limited types of traffic data, and a unified method allowing for comprehensive traffic data collection is still missing in the existing literature. Moreover, there are still challenges that exist for the use of the existing vision-based methods in real settings, including low accuracy and compromised applicability due …

Feasibility Of Applying Motion Magnification In Subsurface Defect Detection For Concrete And Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Specimens, Nagavardhani Malineni

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Irrespective of size and complexity, every civil infrastructure needs certain scrutiny regarding its structural health to ensure its serviceability during its lifetime. In olden times such scrutiny was done with the aid of destructive testing methods using sensors that required cumbersome and expensive installations and led to the destruction of at least part of the tested specimen. However, in recent times, many non-destructive methods, such as acoustic emission testing, electromagnetic testing, and laser testing methods have emerged, leaving the specified tested specimen undisturbed. With the advancement in sensor technology like motion magnification and with the help of access to high-speed …

Exploring Opportunities And Challenges Of Adopting Exoskeletons And Exosuits In Construction: Identifying Facilitators, Barriers, And Potential Solutions To Those Barriers, Dilruba Mahmud

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Exoskeletons and exosuits (collectively termed as EXOs) have the potential to reduce the risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) by protecting workers from exertion and muscle fatigue due to physically demanding, repetitive, and prolonged work in construction workplaces. However, the use of EXOs in construction is in its infancy, and much knowledge for driving acceptance, adoption, and application of this technology is still lacking. This paper aims to identify the potential facilitators and barriers to adopting EXOs in the construction industry, along with potential solutions to those identified barriers to fostering the adoption of EXOs in construction workplaces through a …