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Full-Text Articles in Engineering
Analysis And Redesign Of I-680 And Mission Boulevard Interchange, Melissa Elian-Carrillo
Analysis And Redesign Of I-680 And Mission Boulevard Interchange, Melissa Elian-Carrillo
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
The existing four cloverleaf design of the I-680 Mission Boulevard Interchange in Fremont, California, was analyzed at merge, diverge, basic, and weaving freeway segments. After the traffic analysis of all the segments, the critical segment for redesign was the merge segment of I-680 South to Mission Boulevard westbound, due to a failing Level of Service. Over a span of 17 years (2018-2035) a comparison of the current condition and the redesign was executed for crashes, congestion, air pollution, noise, greenhouse gases, and required road facilities and traffic services. The construction costs of the redesign as well as aesthetic, health, disaster …
Analysis Of Structural Components During Cyclical Loading Of Steel Reinforced Earthbag Construction, Noah Strong, Emil Huebner, Ethan Jensen
Analysis Of Structural Components During Cyclical Loading Of Steel Reinforced Earthbag Construction, Noah Strong, Emil Huebner, Ethan Jensen
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
Testing for structural properties of earthbag construction was completed using a pilot method for coupling reinforcing steel in mid-height concrete boxes in earthbag walls. Benefits of earthbag wall construction include use of alternative building materials, frugal cost, and ease of construction. The goal of the project was to establish predictable structural standards for eventual inclusion in residential building code(s). Earthbag walls were designed for a 1.5:1 aspect ratio standing at four feet (4’) wide and six feet (6’) tall. Two walls with an innovative concrete coupler connection were constructed over the course of five days and left to dry for …
Rainwater Capture And Purification System For Rural Tanzania, Audrey Gozali, Nathan Miyashiro, Matthew Sasaki
Rainwater Capture And Purification System For Rural Tanzania, Audrey Gozali, Nathan Miyashiro, Matthew Sasaki
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
The project was a rainwater capture and purification system for the Buturi community in rural northwestern Tanzania. Recent research indicates the northwestern communities in Tanzania will suffer greatly under the effects of climate change. Using this demonstrated need as impetus, the project created a long-term solution for water accessibility in a community of 57,000 villagers who currently live in extreme poverty. The team visited the Buturi community from March 24 to April 7, 2018 to install the project in the main village, the Makongoro village. The project installation took place at the Buturi Primary School and Community Center. Workshops with …
Cob Property Analysis, Gabi Brunello, Jose Espinoza, Alex Golitz
Cob Property Analysis, Gabi Brunello, Jose Espinoza, Alex Golitz
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
The goal of this project was to research the material properties of the green building material COB in order to better understand how to apply COB in real world applications. The research portion included soil analysis, compression, modulus of rupture and elasticity tests, hydrometer analysis, and atterberg limits tests. Additionally, through a partnership with the professionals of the COB Research Institute team and another COB-centric senior design group, this team was able to produce the first full-scale wall tests for COB. Four 7-foot walls were constructed and in-plane lateral cyclic loading was applied to create the effects of a COB …
Climate Smart Farming For Women In East Africa, Lauren Oliver, Cristina Whitworth
Climate Smart Farming For Women In East Africa, Lauren Oliver, Cristina Whitworth
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 60% of East Africans live as subsistence farmers. This population is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change which has increased the duration and intensity of droughts and floods. Droughts and floods can destroy an entire season’s harvest, causing sustenance farmers and their families to struggle for food until the next season. In an attempt to mitigate the severe effects of climate change on these farmers and reduce food insecurity in East Africa, the team has designed a small-scale aquaponic farming system that simultaneously grows fish and vegetables. This system …
Cob: A Sustainable Building Material, Daniel Eberhard, Joseph Novara, Brandon Popovec
Cob: A Sustainable Building Material, Daniel Eberhard, Joseph Novara, Brandon Popovec
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
Cob is a sustainable building material used in residential applications as a replacement for typical one-story timber or concrete structures. Cob heavily lacks the testing and modern research required for permissible construction under current residential building codes. Further tests involving earthquake and lateral loading are required to implement cob into the California Residential Building Code. In this report, four cob walls, each with different reinforcement mechanisms, were tested to observe their failure modes and find the maximum deflection and load of each wall. Through this testing, it was determined that steel reinforcement within cob walls can provide more ductile behavior …
Charney Hall Redesign Using Cross-Laminated Timber, Andrew Callens, Lauren Tetrev, Joy Yusufzai
Charney Hall Redesign Using Cross-Laminated Timber, Andrew Callens, Lauren Tetrev, Joy Yusufzai
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
Santa Clara University’s new law building, Charney Hall, was constructed in 2018 using steel and concrete, but was redesigned by this team using Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glue- Laminated Timber (glulams). Charney Hall is a non-symmetric, incongruent structure with large open rooms up to 6,000 square feet. Glulams are made of several parallel planks of wood glued together with structural epoxy to obtain higher strength in the longitudinal direction. CLT panels are similar to glulams, but the longitudinal grains of wood planks are oriented in perpendicular layers in order to increase strength along the weak and strong axes of the …
Cyclic Testing Of Reinforced Earthbag Walls, David Aguilar Rodriguez, Jeff Stein, Taylor Darby
Cyclic Testing Of Reinforced Earthbag Walls, David Aguilar Rodriguez, Jeff Stein, Taylor Darby
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
Earthen construction is the most popular building method around the world. One particular building method, using earthbags, has shown promise in performing well against seismic activity. This project undertook the goal of developing a preliminary seismic response modification factor, R, to be used in the design of homes in seismically active areas. Two 4’ wide x 6’ tall x 1’ deep walls were cyclically loaded using a Three-Degree-of-Freedom (TDOF) Test Frame provided by Santa Clara University to determine the in-plane shear capacity of each wall. Testing revealed an average yield force of 419 lbs, an average ultimate force 1058 lbs, …
Design Of A Green Community Located At West Santa Clara Street And Delmas Avenue In San Jose, Steven Ashe, Emelia Hamilton
Design Of A Green Community Located At West Santa Clara Street And Delmas Avenue In San Jose, Steven Ashe, Emelia Hamilton
Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses
A mixed-use land development and transportation system was designed for a nine (9) acre plot of land near downtown San Jose. The goal of this project was to design a safe, green, and attractive community for residents to live, interact with their neighbors, and enjoy the amenities within the community. The community includes an apartment complex, park, playground, picnic area, retail stores, and offices. The scope of work and analysis for this project included drainage design, earthwork calculations, street design, and traffic analysis. Low impact designs were used to reduce the amount of waste, pollution, and runoff for the project. …