Engineering Commons^™

Simulating Truck Lane Management Approaches To Improve Efficiency And Safety Of Highways In Knoxville, Tennessee, Adebola Adebisi Adelakum

Masters Theses

Increased globalization has caused large increases in truck traffic on the nation’s interstate system, with much additional growth expected in the coming years. This growth has elevated interest in developing new strategies to address rising levels of truck traffic, especially in dense and congested urban areas. This thesis focuses on the evaluation of several alternative lane management configurations as they compare to the current lane configuration in search of the best fit for operational improvement. This task was performed in two ways – survey and simulation. A survey of 500 long-haul truck drivers was administered in Knoxville, Tennessee, at the …

Effect Of Combined Loading And Low-Temperature On The Stiffness Of Gfrp Laminates, Curtis Patrick Nordin

Masters Theses

At the present time a large portion of America’s bridge infrastructure is aging, and in many cases approaching its design live. Therefore, there is a need for structurally sound, low-maintenance, and rapidly constructible alternatives for conventional materials. Due to this need there has been a renewed interest in structural glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) products. A large portion of the US is regularly subjected to freezing temperatures and therefore the numerous gaps in our knowledge and understanding of the low-temperature response of GFRP materials need to be addressed. Although strides have been made in researching the cold climate responses of …

Numerical Analysis Of Piling Framed Tie-Down Concrete Retaining Wall, Eli L. Branch Iv

Masters Theses

The behavior of a novel pile framed retaining wall developed by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is investigated using a 2D non-linear finite element (FE) analysis for. The wall design eliminates the need for a construction right of way behind the wall; thus it is ideal for urban areas. The design concept consists of vertical and battered H pile sections as the structural frame, and a concrete facing that is installed as the soil is excavated during top-down construction. Vertical tie-down anchors and a concrete cap and facing are used to counteract overturning moments. A 2-D FE analysis of …

Laboratory Analysis Of Small Strain Moduli In Compacted Silts, David M. Weidinger

Masters Theses

"Soil compaction quality control accounts for a significant portion of geotechnical practice. Often the performance of a roadway can be directly linked to the quality of the compacted subgrade. A poor subgrade can result in weak areas in the road causing excessive deflections at the surface, ultimately leading to a pot hole or uneven surface and an unpleasant ride for the travelers. Vehicles passing over a section of highway causes small strains in the founding soil. These strains accumulate over time. A better understanding of how the compacted soil responds at small strains could shed light on improving the quality …

Development Of A Gis-Based Seismic Hazard Screening Tool, Andrew J. Wilding

Masters Theses

"Geotechnical earthquake engineering hazards have consequences that are difficult to mitigate, especially for infrastructure systems with multiple and distributed components. In the last few decades significant progress has been made to provide more accurate and useful methods to evaluate hazards for complex systems. One of these advances involves the application of spatial analysis and geographic information systems (GIS), for not only presenting data as maps, but also providing more practical and usable solutions, such as calculating the hazard potential with spatial distribution. This thesis studies the evaluation of geotechnical earthquake engineering hazards within a GIS environment, using borehole-specific data and …

Behavior Of Full-Scale Rc T-Beams Strengthened In Shear With Externally Bonded Frp Sheets, Antonio Brancaccio

Masters Theses

"Shear deficiencies in many bridges may be considered even more critical than flexural deficiencies since shear failures occur without advance warning and are more catastrophic. Deficiencies in shear can be due to insufficient shear reinforcement, use of outdated design codes, a reduction in the steel area due to corrosion, or an increase in the service load due to change of occupancy for the structure.

In recent years, many research studies have investigated the shear behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites, however, most of them were conducted on small-scale specimens. Thus, analytical models and design …

A Laboratory Study Of Struvite Precipitation For Phosphorus Removal From Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation Wastewater, Sushmita Dhakal

Masters Theses

"Struvite precipitation occurs spontaneously in many wastewater treatment facilities as a nuisance. However, struvite precipitation is now being studied as a method to concurrently treat high phosphorus wastewaters and generate a valuable product. Many factors influence the precipitation of struvite such as component -ion molar ratios, pH, aeration, solubility, solids and mixing energy. In the present work, struvite precipitation in the actual swine wastewater was studied by strategically controlling aeration, pH, and mixing"--Abstract, page iv.

Hazards Assessment Of St. Charles County - Earthquakes And Floods, Amy Lynn Krauch

Masters Theses

"Located on the northernmost limits of the St. Louis metropolitan area, St. Charles County has been, and continues to be, one of the fastest-growing counties in the country. The county consists of several major cities featuring extensive industry, retail, and agriculture. Bounded by the Missouri River on the south and the Mississippi River on the north and east, St. Charles County is predominantly flat, low-lying terrain at great risk to periodic flooding. The county is also well within the area of influence for several local seismic zones, increasing the susceptibility to earthquake damage. Given the apparent risk to both flood …

Performance Of Fire-Damaged Prestressed Concrete Bridges, Wendy Leann Moore

Masters Theses

"The purpose of this experimental program was to develop and analyze the effects of fire damage on prestressed concrete bridges. Flexural strength and serviceability of the bridge were measured by inputting fire damaged data into a parametric study spreadsheet consisting of a typical 3-span continuous prestressed concrete bridge. Data was obtained by exposing two types of specimens to different levels of elevated temperatures and then cooling them at room temperature to simulate fire damage. The two specimen types were prestressing strands which were tested in tension and concrete blocks with a single prestressing strand embedded in the center, which were …

Experimental Validation Of An Integrated Frp And Visco-Elastic Hardening, Damping, And Wave-Modulating System For Blast Resistance Enhancement Of Rc Columns, Brian Henry Wood

Masters Theses

"In today's society, terrorist attacks and accidental explosions pose a major threat to critical infrastructure. Vulnerable to blast loading, structures must be rehabilitated to ensure structural stability and protect human life. The goal of this study is to develop and validate a sandwich composite technology for column retrofitting. The new technology consists of an inner fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) sheet, an outer FRP sheet, and a visco-elastic (VE) layer sandwiched between the two FRP sheets. The inner FRP sheet is wrapped around an existing column for confinement, while the outer FRP sheet is for anchoring of the VE layer into …

Electromagnetic Modeling Of Distributed Coaxial Cable Crack Sensors In Reinforced Concrete Members, Mei Wang

Masters Theses

"Distributed crack sensors were recently developed with coaxial cables that are composed of inner and outer conductors as well as dielectric layer in between. These sensors were designed based on the change in topology of the cable outer conductor structure under strain effects. Various tests of reinforced concrete (RC) beams and columns indicated that the newly designed sensors are 10~50 times more sensitive than commercial cables to the longitudinal elongation applied on their cable structures. The spatial resolution of the sensors is approximately 50 mm. Limited numerical simulations with the transmission line theory and the finite difference time domain model …