Engineering Commons^™

Seismic Response Of Driven And Helical Piles In Non-Liquefiable And Liquefiable Soils, Ahmed Fouad Hussein

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The thesis investigates the nonlinear soil-pile-structure interaction through three-dimensional nonlinear finite element models (FEM) employing the OpenSees platform. The FEMs were validated with the results of large-scale shaking table tests of model pile groups-superstructure systems in dry and saturated sand and large-scale field tests on single piles installed in cohesive soil. The numerical models correctly predicted the different pile deformation modes that were exhibited in the experiments. The results illustrated that the inertial interaction contributed to the bending moments at the pile top, while the kinematic interaction contributed to the bending moment at the layers interface. In addition, the excess …

Experimental And Numerical Study On Three-Edge Bearing Test For Reinforced Concrete Pipe, Abdul-Aziz Younis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Reinforced Concrete Pipe (RCP) is widely used in storm and wastewater management owing to its resiliency and reliability. The century old Three-Edge Bearing Test (TEBT) is currently used to classify RCP strength. The test relies on the skill and experience of the operator for capturing the occurrence of a 0.3-mm-wide crack using a leaf-gauge, which induces subjectivity and error. Studies have also indicated the TEBT crack bears little structural significance.

This thesis aims at improving the TEBT by replacing the arbitrary crack-width with rational capacity-driven criteria. A wide range of full-scale RCP were instrumented and subjected to the modified TEBT …

Wind Loading On Full-Scale Solar Panels, Zeinab Samani

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Wind load governs the design of supporting structures of solar panels and constitutes approximately fifty percent of the total cost. There are various test scale related issues while testing solar panels (small structures) in boundary layer wind tunnel laboratories meant for tall buildings (large structures). Emergence of large testing facilities, however, is enabling testing full-scale solar panels. In this thesis an extensive experimental program is conducted at WindEEE Dome using full-scale solar panels and finite element modeling. The experimental program includes: (i) high resolution pressure tests to understand the sensitivity of pressure taps density and distribution; (ii) force balance test …

Shear And Peel Stresses At The Interface Between Hollowcore Slabs And The Topping Concrete, Aiham Adawi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Hollowcore slabs are used in floors and roofs of residential, commercial, industrial and institutional buildings. They are precast/prestressed concrete elements produced using the extrusion process. Their surface finish can be “machine-cast” or “intentionally roughened”. A typical floor consists of a number of hollowcore slabs that are connected together. Prestressing causes hollowcore slabs to camber, which results in an uneven floor surface. A 50 mm topping concrete is commonly cast to level the floor surface. To avoid delamination, engineers require bonding agents to be applied on the hollowcore slab surface before pouring the topping concrete. The concrete topping can be used …

Behaviour Of Reinforced Concrete Conical Tanks Under Hydrostatic Loading, Tareq M. Azabi

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Reinforced concrete conical tanks are used in municipalities and industrial applications as liquid containing vessels. Such tanks can be ground supported tanks or elevated on a supporting shaft. Although most design codes provide guidelines for rectangular and cylindrical tanks, no guidance is provided in such codes for conical tanks. Therefore, this thesis is motivated to study the behaviour and design of this type of tanks. In the current study, the accuracy of a design approach based on the provisions of Portland Cement Association (PCA-CCTWP) code for cylindrical tanks combined with an equivalent cylindrical approach provided by the American Water Works …