Engineering Commons^™

Development And Testing Of Braking And Acceleration Features For Vehicle Advanced Driver Assistance System, Johann Carlo Marasigan, Gian Paolo Mayuga, Elmer R. Magsino

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

Traffic congestion is a constant problem for cities worldwide. The human driving inefficiency and poor urban planning and development contribute to traffic buildup and travel discomfort. An example of human inefficiency is the phantom traffic jam, which is caused by unnecessary braking, causing traffic to slow down, and eventually coming to a stop. In this study, a brake and acceleration feature (BAF) for the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) is proposed to mitigate the effects of the phantom traffic phenomenon. In its initial stage, the BAF provides a heads-up display that gives information on how much braking and acceleration input …

Network Modeling Of Hurricane Evacuation Using Data-Driven Demand And Incident-Induced Capacity Loss Models, Yuan Zhu, Kaan Ozbay, Kun Xie, Hong Yang, Ender Foruk Morgul

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The development of a hurricane evacuation simulation model is a crucial task in emergency management and planning. Two major issues affect the reliability of an evacuation model: one is estimations of evacuation traffic based on socioeconomic characteristics, and the other is capacity change and its influence on evacuation outcome due to traffic incidents in the context of hurricanes. Both issues can impact the effectiveness of emergency planning in terms of evacuation order issuance, and evacuation route planning. The proposed research aims to investigate the demand and supply modeling in the context of hurricane evacuations. This methodology created three scenarios for …

Seismic Response Mitigation Of Base-Isolated Buildings, Mohammad Hamayoun Stanikzai, Said Elias, Rajesh Rupakhety

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Earthquake response mitigation of a base-isolated (BI) building equipped with (i) a single tuned mass damper at the top of the building, (ii) multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMDs) at the top of the building, and (iii) MTMDs distributed on different floors of the building (d-MTMDs) is studied. The shear-type buildings are modeled by considering only one lateral degree of freedom (DOF) at the floor level. Numerical approach of Newmark's integration is adopted for solving the coupled, governing differential equations of motion of 5- and 10-story BI buildings with and without TMD schemes. A set of 40 earthquake ground motions, scaled …

Wetland Arid Vegetation – Studies Of Vegetated Stormwater Management System Performance In Northern Utah – Field & Lab Experiences, Ryan Dupont, Margie Rycewicz-Borecki, Trixie Rife

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Motivation for the Work We’ve Done – The Why

Summary of the Work We’ve Done - The What & The How

Findings - The How Well

Conclusions & Recommendations – The So What

Phase Ii Evaluation Of Floor Pan Tearing For Cable Barrier Systems, Dylan T. Meyer, Mojdeh Asadollahi Pajouh, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, James C. Holloway

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The objective of this research effort was to mitigate the potential for floor pan tearing and penetration into the occupant compartment by modifying the posts utilized in a prototype cable barrier system. A series of dynamic component tests were conducted on the modified Midwest Weak Post (MWP). A bogie vehicle was equipped with a simulated floor pan designed to replicate the height, thickness, and strength of the floor pan of a Kia Rio. Two methods of post modification were investigated, including edge protection on the top of the MWP as well as weakening of the MWP at the ground line. …

An Overview Of U.S. Commuter Rail, Timothy J. Brock, Reginald R. Souleyrette

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Planners view commuter rail as a means of managing urban sprawl, stimulating economic development and reducing the environmental impacts of transportation. Commuter rail systems, which use shared rights-of-way to connect suburban hubs with downtown urban centers, are beginning to have a large impact on the way people and freight move through US cities. Currently, there are 26 commuter rail systems operating in 29 major U.S. metropolitan areas. However, there is confusion among the general public and disagreement among transportation organizations as to what constitutes a commuter rail system and how to classify some rail systems. This research establishes a complete …

Cost Effectiveness Of Recycling: A Systems Model, David J. Tonjes, Sreekanth Mallikarjun

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

Financial analytical models of waste management systems have often found that recycling costs exceed direct benefits, and in order to economically justify recycling activities, externalities such as household expenses or environmental impacts must be invoked. Certain more empirically based studies have also found that recycling is more expensive than disposal. Other work, both through models and surveys, have found differently. Here we present an empirical systems model, largely drawn from a suburban Long Island municipality. The model accounts for changes in distribution of effort as recycling tonnages displace disposal tonnages, and the seven different cases examined all show that curbside …

On Critical Infrastructure Interdependency, Polinpapilinho F. Katina, C. Ariel Pinto

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Developing effective protection, mitigation, and recovery measures for critical infrastructure (CI) systems is paramount in the wake of increasing natural and manmade hazards, risks, and threats. Influencing protection, rescue, and recovery measures are interplays (i.e., interdependencies) among infrastructure systems. Understanding interdependencies plays an essential role in minimizing and reducing cascading failures among complex interdependent infrastructure systems. This paper asserts that deployment of protection, mitigation, and recovery solutions can have little effect on infrastructure management if infrastructure operators and policymakers have partial understanding of infrastructure interdependencies. Using narrative research, authors illustrate that effective coordination and response for protection, mitigation, and recovery …

Funnel & Gate System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets

The limited success and high cost of traditional 'active' ground-water-contaminant plume management efforts (i.e., pump-and-treat systems) has stimulated a search for less expensive 'passive' plume interception and in-situ treatment technologies. The 'funnel and gate system,' which uses heterogeneous (surface-mediated) reactions on porous media to degrade dissolved contaminants, is one passive technology under consideration.

Somos Simulation/Optimization Modeling System, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

SOMOS (Simulation / Optimization Modeling System) is a family of simulation / optimization (S/O) modules to aid in optimally managing water resources. SOMOS results from twenty years experience developing optimization models and applying them to real-world problems, including 11 pump-and-treat (PAT) systems and numerous water supply problems. SOMOS significantly improves water management or designs and saves money. Its user’s manual provides excellent training in principles of applying optimization to managing aquifer and stream-aquifer systems. It is being incorporated with powerful groundwater modeling and visualization packages.

Comparison Of A Genetic Algorithm And Mathematical Programming To The Design Of Groundwater Cleanup Systems, Alaa H. Aly, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

We present and apply a new simulation/optimization approach for single- and multiple-planning period problems in groundwater remediation. Instead of the traditional control locations for contaminant concentrations, we use an L_QC norm as a global measure of aquifer contamination (CMAX). We use response-surface constraints to represent CMAX within the optimization model. We compare the performance of formal mixed integer nonlinear programming and a genetic algorithm for several optimization scenarios.

Optimizing Conjunctive Water Use In A Dynamic Stream Aquifer System, Getachew Belaineh, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Long-term water management planning models frequently use large time steps and must employ fairly crude assumptions (such as average climatic conditions, etc.). Managing stream aquifer systems during a dry season requires using finer discretization in time and space. Presented is a computer model, US/REMAX, developed by Utah State University personnel for aiding best management of stream-aquifer systems for both long and short eras. The model computes strategies for optimally allocating surface and ground water resources in time and space. For a water supply problem the model can maximize the sum of delivered surface and ground water. For an environmental protection …

Hydropower Turbine System, David T. Kao

Civil Engineering Faculty Patents

There is disclosed a new cavitation free hydraulic turbine system which fully utilizes well-established hydrodynamic theories useful for low-head hydroelectric applications. The hydropower turbine system of the present invention makes use of a fixed blade propeller turbine with reverse blade angle and an upward flow passage. To eliminate the complex flow control adjustable vane system and elaborate tube design and construction of the prior art, the new turbine system is provided with a vertical needle valve and a near zero absolute velocity free exit flow design.