Engineering Commons^™

Hydraulic Modeling: Pipe Network Analysis, Trevor T. Datwyler

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Water modeling is becoming an increasingly important part of hydraulic engineering. One application of hydraulic modeling is pipe network analysis. Using programmed algorithms to repeatedly solve continuity and energy equations, computer software can greatly reduce the amount of time required to analyze a closed conduit system. Such hydraulic models can become a valuable tool for cities to maintain their water systems and plan for future growth. The Utah Division of Drinking Water regulations require cities to maintain hydraulic models of their culinary water systems, and before additional connections can be made to the water system, a licensed professional engineer must …

Urban Trail System Planning In The Western United States: An Analysis Of The Trail-Specific Planning Efforts Of Four Cities That Have Implemented Urban Trail Systems, Kenneth C. Richley

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

States in the Western United States are growing at rates outpacing the rest of the nation. This growth is placing pressure on communities to develop their current open space for residential or commercial use. As cities develop a comprehensive open space plans, several elements arise. One critical element is connectivity. This connectivity is most often realized in the form of greenways. In many cities these greenways contain urban trail systems that provide significant recreation and connectivity benefits.

This thesis investigates the current recommended models used to plan for greenway, synthesizes them into a recommended model process, and analyzes case studies …

Transportation Network Resiliency: A Study Of Self-Annealing, Sunil Babu Pant

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Disasters have the potential to hit any geographical location with or without warning. As such, it is desirable that transportation networks are able to withstand the adverse effect of disasters and maintain the normal functioning of all sectors of society. Resilient transportation networks are least affected by disruptions created by natural and manmade disasters and are still able function with an acceptable level of service. Such networks also have ability to return earlier from disrupted state to the normal functioning state. Resilience possessed by a transportation network measures the ability of networks to maintain functionality despite adverse conditions posed by …

Analysis Of Irrigation Decision Behavior And Forecasting Future Irrigation Decisions, Sanyogita Andriyas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Farmers play a pivotal role in food production. To be economically successful, farmers must make many decisions during the course of a growing season about the allocation of inputs to production. For farmers in arid regions, one of these decisions on any given day is whether to irrigate. This research is the first of its kind to investigate the probable reasons that lead a farmer to make irrigation decisions and use those reasons/factors to forecast future irrigation decisions. This study can help water managers and canal operators to estimate short-term irrigation demands, thereby gaining information that might be useful to …

Laboratory Modeling Of Critical Hydraulic Conditions For The Initiation Of Piping, Mandie Swainston Fleshman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this research is to provide fundamental understanding of the piping phenomenon. This will lead to practical solutions to the critical hydraulic conditions for piping that account for soil properties, direction of flow, stress condition and exit face conditions. In current geotechnical engineering practice, these factors are generally not considered. The critical hydraulic gradient is assumed to be only a function of the soil buoyant unit weight. In recent analyses, laboratory experiments, and field observations indicate that piping can be initiated at gradients much lower than the values predicted by the current practice. The current practice may be …

Flow Characteristics Of Arced Labyrinth Weirs, Nathan A. Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The need to accommodate larger reservoir discharge events has prompted the improvement or replacement of existing spillways. One possible spillway modification is the use of an in-reservoir arced labyrinth weir in place of a linear weir. Arced labyrinth weirs can increase crest length (more cycles) and have improved hydraulic efficiency in non-channelized approach flow applications, compared to traditional labyrinth weir applications.

In this study, arced labyrinth weir flow characteristics were observed for eleven different laboratory-scale model geometries at the Utah Water Research Laboratory. Rating (C_d vs. H_T/P) data and observations were recorded for each configuration, and discharge …

Developing A Framework To Analyze The Effect Of Mobile Technology Within A Department Of Transportation, Devin Squire

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Mobile technology has the potential to have a substantial impact on governmental agencies. In order to understand the effects of mobile technology within an agency, an analysis has to be performed. This thesis presents two mobile applications that were developed to address specific areas of concern within the Utah Department of Transportation. It then, using mobile-technology specific surveys, provides a framework for effect analysis following application implementation. This framework employs both user and developer surveys to obtain data necessary to, through statistical methods, determine either a positive or a negative application induced effect. The analysis process and survey development used …

An Analysis Of Traffic Sign Performance For The Establishment Of A Maintenance Plan, Wesley Bill Boggs

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For a variety of reasons both within and outside the control of transportation agencies, there is a higher frequency of fatalities during nighttime hours than during daytime hours. In an effort to enhance visual cues for nighttime motorists, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) established the minimum maintained retroreflectivity levels. This retroreflective mandate required agencies or public officials that have jurisdiction over a traffic sign population to implement maintenance methods that would ensure signs were performing at or above the minimum levels. Retroreflectivity is a unique type of reflection that distinguishes itself by reflecting light back in the direction of the …

Examination Of Nonpoint Source Nutrient Export From A Snowfall-Dominated Watershed, Lindsey Deboer Carrigan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined nonpoint source pollution via tributaries to Pineview Reservoir. Since few literature values of export coefficients are available for snowfall-dominated watersheds such as Pineview, locally scaled rates were quantified using an upstream-downstream bracketing technique. Nitrogen and phosphorus grab samples were manually collected and discharge measurements were conducted during the annual study period. Additionally, high-frequency monitoring sensors that measured EC, temperature, turbidity, and water level were deployed at the up- and downstream sites to represent short-duration transport events and to examine watershed processes on a more representative time scale.

Daily nutrient loads were estimated from grab samples and flow …

New Methods For Engineering Site Characterization Using Reflection And Surface Wave Seismic Surveys, Susit Chaiprakaikeow

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study presents two new seismic testing methods for engineering application, a new shallow seismic reflection method and Time Filtered Analysis of Surface Waves (TFASW). Both methods are described in this dissertation.

The new shallow seismic reflection was developed to measure reflections at a single point using 2-4 receivers, assuming homogeneous, horizontal layering. Two problems commonly encountered in reflection testing are dealt with in this new method. These problems are: phase shifts between the wave source and ground motion; and, loss of high frequency energy. Using approaches to mitigate these problems significantly improved the shape of measured waveforms. However, none …

Root Uptake Of Organic Contaminants Into Plants: Species Differences, Naho Orita

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Xenobiotic organic contaminants are widely found in the environment, including soils, sediments, surface waters, wastewater streams, and even in drinking water. Food chain contamination resulting from the uptake of these contaminants by plants is a concern. Although the uptake of a variety of xenobiotic organic contaminants by plants has been reported but the differences between plant species are not fully understood. The emphasis of this thesis research is to further investigate the unique root to shoot transfer ability of “gold rush” zucchini that has been reported repeatedly in recent years.

A pressure chamber technique was used to measure transpiration stream …

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, …

Improving Complementary Methods To Predict Evapotranspiration For Data Deficit Conditions And Global Applications Under Climate Change, Fathi M. A. Anayah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A reliable estimate of evapotranspiration (ET) in river basins is important for the purpose of water resources planning and management. ET represents a significant portion of rainfall in the water budget; therefore, the uncertainty in estimating ET can lead to the inaccurate prediction of water resources. While remote sensing techniques are available to estimate ET, such methods are expensive and necessary data may not be readily available. Classical methods of estimating ET require detailed land use/cover information that are not readily available in rural river basins. Complementary methods provide simple and reliable approaches to estimate ET using meteorological data only. …

Value Of Information In Design Of Groundwater Quality Monitoring Network Under Uncertainty, Abdelhaleem I. Khader

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Due to variations in rainfall and limited surface water resources, groundwater is considered the main source for freshwater in many places throughout the word. But this precious resource is being jeopardized by pollution from human activities such as: industry, agriculture, and untreated wastewater, which highlight the need for efficient groundwater resources management. To be efficient, groundwater resources management requires efficient access to reliable information that can be acquired through monitoring. On the other hand, the complicated nature of groundwater aquifers and the uncertainties in the data and the models used to understand the aquifer and its behavior require more powerful …

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 …

Evaluation Of Pedestrian Risk On 700 N On Utah State University Campus, Kirk Jackson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

One of the biggest concerns that highway designers face when designing roadways is how to safely design the interface between highway users and pedestrians. This is never truer than on the Utah State University campus where pedestrian use is much higher than on an average road. Utah State University purchased 700 N, the main collector road which runs through the heart of USU’s campus, from the City of Logan in the summer of 2010. Since then, pedestrian safety on 700 N has become the first priority of USU Facilities in regards to their efforts to improve it. It has come …

Finite Element Modeling Of Full Depth Precast Concrete Bridge Deck Connections In Bending And Shear, Patrick H. James

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The need for reduced construction times of highway bridges has become more important recently. Precast concrete panels used for the bridge deck replacements are being used more frequently in order to achieve this reduced construction time and to also reduce the cost of the construction. Bridges can also be repaired quickly and with less cost if individual panels can be replaced when needed instead of replacing the entire bridge deck. The problem at hand is the structural integrity of these individual precast bridge deck panels. The joints in-between these panels often crack due to service stresses. These cracks expose the …

Effect Of Deposition From Static Rocket Test Fires On Corn And Alfalfa, Scout Mendenhall

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of deposition from static rocket test fires on corn and alfalfa. Seeds were germinated in a wide concentration range of depositional material, called test fire soil (TFS). Additionally, the impact of chloride and aluminum, two major components of test fire soil, on germination was also evaluated. Furthermore, plants were grown in packed columns and exposed to test fire soil, either in the root zone or on foliage. Tissue was weighed and analyzed to compare biomass production and plant composition.

Corn and alfalfa exposed to test fire soil in the root zone …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Three Utah Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Removing Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products, Oksana Roth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The occurrence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in surface waters has become a growing concern within the last decade although the first mention of human PPCPs in the environment goes back to late 1970s. Pharmaceuticals include prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and veterinary drugs. Personal care products include products such as lotions, fragrances, and soaps. In addition to traditional personal care products, the term PPCPs has been adopted to represent a wide variety of chemicals used in consumer products including plasticizers and fire retardants. Wastewater effluents are thought to be the main source of PPCPs in surface waters since …

Heterogeneous Water And Energy End-Uses And Implications For Residential Water And Energy Conservation And Management, Adel M. Abdallah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Indoor water-use consumes energy to heat hot water. Indoor water- and energy-use vary significantly among households due to variable household water-use behaviors and varying ages and efficiencies of water appliances. Also, the energy consumed to heat water varies among households and depends on water heater efficiency, heater thermostat setup, percentage of hot water in the final used water, and the cold water intake temperature. This research considers behavioral and technological variability in household water-and-energy-use to better understand water and energy linkages and help utilities target water and energy conservation actions to customer and appliances within their homes that the most …

Concrete Design For Traffic Application, Marc Shields

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Inductive charging of electronic devices is a newer technology that is capable of transferring electrical power without physical contact through wiring. Research is currently being done to find and improve ways to implement this technology on electric cars. If this type of technology pas implemented on a large scale throughout much of the country, electrical or hybrid cars could travel across counties and states without depleting their batteries.

The current problem with electric cars is that they have a limited range of travel. Even with larger batteries with much more capacitance, the range of pure electric cars usually does not …

Multi-National River Basin Cooperation And Management Case Study: Senegal River Basin, Patricia Ayaa

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

With increasing populations, urbanization and thus increasing demand for water, conflict on International River basins has been increasing over the years which has necessitated formation of International River frameworks to devise means of cooperation among the countries sharing the river basins. The main modes of cooperation in international river basins include allocating the waters of the river to the sharing countries such that each country manages its own water resources, or treating the river basin as one system and jointly managing and sharing the costs and benefits from the various services or use-sectors of the river.

This research was aimed …

Procedures For Correcting Digital Camera Imagery Acquired By The Aggieair Remote Sensing Platform, Shannon R. Clemens

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Developments in sensor technologies have made consumer-grade digital cameras one of the more recent tools in remote sensing applications. Consumer-grade digital cameras have been the imaging sensor of choice by researchers due to their small size, light weight, limited power requirements, and their potential to store hundreds of images (Hardin 2011). Several studies have focused on the use of digital cameras and their efficacy in remote sensing applications. For satellite and airborne multispectral imaging systems, there is a well established radiometric processing approach. However, radiometric processing lines for digital cameras are currently being researched.

The goal of this report is …

Duckweed Uptake Of Phosphorus And Five Pharmaceuticals: Microcosm And Wastewater Lagoon Studies, Jonathan Bay Farrell

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah State University students under the direction of Dr. R. Ryan Dupont, Environmental Engineering, have been enthusiastically involved in researching ways to improve wastewater treatment at the nearby Wellsville Municipal Sewage Lagoons. Wellsville City, along with several other Cache Valley communities, has experienced some problems with their current wastewater facility, particularly with phosphorus removal, which will become more difficult to address as the population increases in the future. Excessive phosphorus causes unappealing algae blooms in ponds and reservoirs while also posing a threat to local fish. Brittany Wilkes, Brett Housley, and Naho Orita first looked into reducing phosphorus discharge by …

Temperature Effects On Integral Abutment Bridges For The Long-Term Bridge Performance Program, Leo E. Rodriguez

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) program was started by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in 2009 to gather high-quality data on a collection of typical bridges over a twenty-year period of time. The goal of this program is to create databases of high quality data acquired through long-term instrumentation of the bridges behavior during their service life.

The data gathered will be used to improve design practices and effective management of infrastructures. As part of the LTBP Program two integral abutment bridges, a California Bridge near Sacramento, CA and a Utah Bridge near Perry, UT, were selected to be monitored …

Performance Of Post-Tensioned Curved-Strand Connections In Transverse Joints Of Precast Bridge Decks, Zane B. Wells

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to minimize traffic delays on the nation’s bridges, precast concrete bridge decks have been utilized to quickly and efficiently construct bridges. These precast concrete decks are cast off site and transported to the bridge after they have cured. The decks are then placed onto the bridge and grouted into place. These precast panels have an inherent weakness in that the joints between adjacent panels tend to leak. In order to mitigate leaking of the joints, two adjacent panels are typically post-tensioned together. A variation on the standard post-tensioning in use by some DOT’s was designed and investigated in …

Dynamic Testing And Finite Element Modeling Of A Steel Girder Bridge For The Long-Term Bridge Performance Program, Lourdes Alina Taveras Moronta

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program, under the direction of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA’s) Office of Infrastructure Research and Development, is monitoring nation’s pilot highway bridges to promote the safety, durability, and reliability on the bridges of the nation. Researchers at Utah State University directed dynamic testing on the New Jersey Pilot Bridge, structure number 1618-150 the summer of 2011 to analyze and understand the dynamic behavior of the structure.

In order to perform the monitoring of the bridge, ambient vibration analysis was selected for this structure, which was instrumented with an array of velocity transducers to record the …

Development Of Assessment Strategies For Sign Retroreflectivity, Travis L. Evans

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) now specifies minimum retroreflectivity requirements. These requirements include an obligation for agencies to develop a strategy for maintaining compliance. With budget considerations, it is important that transportation agencies be able to efficiently assess the performance of their assets and adopt management strategies to comply with such requirements. As a foundational work, this research develops specific methodology for assessing the condition and performance of sign assets that are maintained by a large transportation agency. In doing so, this research provides for the determination of key elements that should be considered when developing any …

Finite Element Modeling Of Transverse Post-Tensioned Joints In Accelerated Bridge Construction (Abc) Full-Scale Precast Bridge Deck Panels, Sandeep Reddy Madireddy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques are popular among the department of transportations (DOTs). Innovative design and construction methods and high performance materials are used to reduce the typical bridge construction timeline without sacrificing bridge quality. The goal of accelerated bridge construction is to open a cost-effective, long-lasting bridge to traffic with increased safety and reduced traffic disruption in a shortened construction period. Accelerated bridge construction majorly uses steel-concrete composite bridges with full depth precast decks which has two types of connections, shear connection between steel girder and precast deck and transverse joint between precast panels. Longitudinal prestress is applied to …

Using Relevance Vector Machines Approach For Prediction Of Total Suspended Solids And Turbidity To Sustain Water Quality And Wildlife In Mud Lake, Hussein Aly Batt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main objective of the research is the development of Multivariate Relevant Vector Machine (MVRVM) to predict suspended fine sediment, water quality constituents, and provide an understanding for the practical problem of determining the amount of data required for the MVRVM. MVRVM is a statistical learning algorithm that is based on Bayes theory. It has been widely used to predict patterns in hydrological systems and other fields. This research represents the first known attempt to use a MVRVM approach to predict transport of very fine sediment and water quality constituents in a complex natural system.

The results demonstrate the ability …