Engineering Commons^™

Simulation Of Wave Propagation In Granular Particles Using A Discrete Element Model, Syed Tahmid Hussan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The understanding of Bender Element mechanism and utilization of Particle Flow Code (PFC) to simulate the seismic wave behavior is important to test the dynamic behavior of soil particles. Both discrete and finite element methods can be used to simulate wave behavior. However, Discrete Element Method (DEM) is mostly suitable, as the micro scaled soil particle cannot be fully considered as continuous specimen like a piece of rod or aluminum. Recently DEM has been widely used to study mechanical properties of soils at particle level considering the particles as balls. This study represents a comparative analysis of Voigt and Best …

Using An Inventory Of Unstable Slopes To Prioritize Probabilistic Rockfall Modeling And Acid Base Accounting In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Thomas A. O'Shea

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An inventory of unstable slopes along transportation corridors and performance modeling are important components of geotechnical asset management in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GRSM). Hazards and risk were assessed for 285 unstable slopes along 151 miles of roadway. A multi-criteria model was created to select fourteen sites for two-dimensional probabilistic rockfall simulations and Acid Base Accounting (ABA) tests. Simulations indicate that rock material would likely enter the roadway at all fourteen sites. ABA test results indicate that influence of significant acid-producing potential is generally confined to slaty rocks of the Anakeesta Formation and graphitic schist of the Wehutty Formation. …

Inter-Annual To Inter-Decadal Spatiotemporal Effects Of Storm And Nourishment Events In North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Christina Mary Boyce

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Evaluating The Use Of Suas-Derived Imagery For Monitoring Flood Protection Infrastructure, Eleanor Mei Dietz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the US there are approximately 33,000 miles of levees. This includes 14,500 miles of levee systems associated with US Army Corps of Engineers programs and approximately 15,000 miles from other state and federal agencies. More than 14 million people live behind levees and associated flood prevention infrastructure. Monitoring and risk assessment are an on-going process, especially during times of flood conditions. The city of New Orleans was heavily impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 by storm surges and intense rainfall. The impact of the hurricane was substantial enough to cause levee failure and I-wall toppling where many of the …

Use Of Seismic Refraction In Determining Rock Mass Anisotropy, Mohammad Najmush Sakib Oyan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Seismic refraction is a popular method used by geological/geotechnical engineers to understand subsurface conditions. This method along with information collected from borings produce a realistic image of the ground beneath us. The goal of this study is to define and test a set of procedures to use seismic refraction alone to create high quality images of subsurface conditions. The focus is on areas with several meters of soil overlain by bedrock. The application of these procedures will minimize construction costs by eliminating the need for multiple boreholes. The results show that two important criteria must be met for successful application …

Historical Groundwater Data Analysis Of The Wilcox Aquifers In Lafayette County, Mississippi, Adam Schildhammer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lafayette County, Mississippi, is located in the northern central part of the state and relies on groundwater resources for all of the municipal water needs in the county. The population is increasing in the county; therefore, groundwater withdrawals are as well. With such a high demand on groundwater, it is important to have an understanding of the historical trends of the groundwater levels to determine is the population is over pumping the available supply. The Meridian-upper Wilcox aquifer and the lower Wilcox aquifer are the two groundwater sources for the county. In order to fully understand the behaviors of these …

Developing A Calibrated Seepage Meter To Measure Stream-Aquifer Interaction In The Mississippi Delta, Wesley J. Bolton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) is a premier region for irrigated agriculture in the United States producing approximately 9 billion dollars in annual revenues. The region receives around 138 cm of precipitation annually; however irrigation is necessary to maximize crop yields as most of the precipitation does not occur during the growing season. There are 8 million irrigated acres within the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. The source of most of the irrigated water is the surficial aquifer in the Mississippi Embayment the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) and due to the reliance on irrigation for maximum crop yields recent potentiometric …

Groundwater Transfer And Injection Pilot Project: Construction Of A Three Dimensional Groundwater Flow Model, Wesley Bluvstein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer has experienced substantial groundwater declines in eastern Arkansas and northwest Mississippi due largely to irrigation for rice corn soybeans and other water intensive crops. To alleviate groundwater decline and ensure future sustainability of water resources the U.S. Department of Agriculture has in conjunction with the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Mississippi initiated studies to determine potential avenues of remediation. Options include improved irrigation efficiency installation of surface weirs inter-basin transfers and groundwater transfer and injection. This study develops a three-dimensional groundwater flow model of a withdrawal well adjacent to a river for …

Field Implementation Of Tire Derived Aggregate As Lightweight Backfill For Retaining Walls, Jeremy Labbe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Tire Derived Aggregate (TDA) as embankment and retaining wall backfill material using data from two field projects supplemented by data from previously published studies. Data collected from the two projects included horizontal earth pressure, resultant forces and moments acting in the wall stem, tensile and compressive forces within the wall, moments at the base of the wall, settlement of the TDA, time dependent temperature fluctuations within TDA, pore pressure changes in underlying foundation soil, movement of the wall face, and movement of the embankment. Data Collection was completed by …

A Comparative Case Study Of Reflection Seismic Imaging Method, Moones Alamooti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Reflection seismology is the most comand effective method to gather information on the earth interior. The quality of seismic images is highly variable depending on the complexity of the underground and on how seismic data are acquired and processed. One of the crucial steps in this process, especially in layered sequences with complicated structure, is the time and/or depth migration of seismic data. The primary purpose of the migration is to increase the spatial resolution of seismic images by repositioning the recorded seismic signal back to its original point of reflection in time/space, which enhances information about the complex structure. …

Comparing The Depositional Environment Of The Upper Smackover Formation In Southwestern Clarke County, Mississippi And Brooklyn/ Little Cedar Creek Field, Alabama, Elsie Ekene Okoye

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluated the depositional settings of the upper Smackover formation in southwestern Clarke County (scc), Mississippi and compared its facies to those of the Brooklyn and little cedar creek fields (bf/lcc) in Conecuh and Escambia Counties, Alabama. The Smackover formation has been a prolific oil producing formation in the Gulf of Mexico since its discovery in Union County, Arkansas in 1937. The discovery of the lcc in 1994 and the bf in 2007 has generated additional interest in the Smackover. The bf/ lcc occur near the updip limit of the upper Jurassic (Oxfordian) Smackover formation. These fields produce from …

Reconstructing Lithofacies Of The Norphlet Formation (Jurassic) As Potential Exploration Targets: Little Cedar Creek And Brooklyn Fields, Southwest Alabama, Catherine E. Henry

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Norphlet Formation is a Jurassic-aged siliciclastic unit located across the southeastern United States and offshore Gulf of Mexico. The eolian dune sands present in the Norphlet Formation serve as oil and gas reservoirs, making the formation of particular interest to oil and gas companies. Stable Appalachian ridges are the source of the Norphlet Formation, however deposition is related to complex faults and structures resulting from movement of the Louann Salt. Erosion of the ancestral Appalachian Mountains resulted in the deposition of four main lithofacies: basal shales, conglomerates and conglomeratic sandstones, the Denkman Sandstone member, and a redbed succession. Additionally, …

Acoustic Behavior Of Soil Reinforced With Grass Roots, Blake Armstrong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Civil engineering practice has shown that vegetative roots on slopes and streambanks can substantially increase shear strength of soil and reduce erosion. Research has been done to understand and quantify the effect. Most studies have been conducted on slopes and streambanks with woody vegetation. Past research has used a perpendicular root model to predict increase in cohesion, or shear strength, due to the mobilization of roots' tensile strength. Acoustics can be used to monitor internal changes of soil by interacting with soil particles and interstitial fluids. Compressional wave, or p-wave, velocity can be used to predict changes in effective stress …

Empirical Modeling Of Piping Along Mississippi River Levees In Southwestern Illinois, Rebecca F. Shields

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Modeling Roughness Of Rock Discontinuity Surfaces, Christopher Pickering

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this thesis is to propose a new methodology of quantifying the rock discontinuity condition of roughness through the physically based modeling approach of signal analysis. The development of this method came about after investigation into the use of qualitative categorizations of roughness from the RMR rating system within rock engineering system matrices. In an attempt to assign significant values to these generalized qualitative descriptions, the standard joint roughness coefficient (JRC) profiles were initially examined through basic measurements, such as aperture and ramp angle. Following these initial measurements and identification of inconsistencies in the wave parameters of the …

Subsurface Discontinuity Analysis & Modeling For The Federal Waste Disposal Facility And Compact Waste Disposal Facility Landfills, Shuang Cao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research considers discontinuities mapped by Waste Control Specialists LLC to support the site conditions and performance analysis of the Compact Waste Disposal Facility and the Federal Waste Disposal Facility excavations constructed near Andrews, Texas. Discontinuities observed in excavation walls contain a limited number of discontinuities shoevidence of previous fluid movement. While no networks of such discontinuities were observed in the field, the potential for such networks may exist. This research is significant in understanding the performance of these waste facilities by modeling multiple realizations of possible fracture configurations in three-dimensional spatial models of the type of discontinuities observed in …

Influence Of Capillary Heterogeneity On Leakage Of Co2 From A Borehole, Frank Roecker

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

We used a modified invasion percolation (MIP) model to examine the effect of capillary heterogeneity, buoyancy forces, and viscous forces on the surface area and saturation of a CO2 plume leaking into a shallow aquifer. The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of how CO 2 migrates from a borehole, which is essential in implementing effective simulation and monitoring regimes to accurately detect CO2 leakage from sequestration sites. The MIP model approach will simulate invasion of a light non-wetting fluid (e.g., CO2) into a medium initially saturated with a dense wetting fluid (water). The style of …

A Field Validation Of Dam Indexing Methods In Mississippi, Steven Thomas Fox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Indexing methods are applied to dam inventories throughout the United States to assist in prioritizing resources to maintain aging dam structures. Three published indexing methods and one proposed method were applied to 24 dams through Mississippi. The majority of dams in Mississippi have little to no information concerning the performance records or design specifics of a given dam. Field assessments were conducted to determine the physical condition of each dam, identify potentially deficiencies at dams, and calculate a consequence in the event of a dam failure. The results of the four indexing methods will be compared and advantages and disadvantages …

Characterization Of The Engineering Properties And Economic Potential Of The Transitional Clay Unit Of The Ripley Formation, Northeast Mississippi, Richard Christopher Wheeler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Expansive soils, throughout Mississippi and the U.S., have long been a source of problems within the engineering and construction industries, leading to billions of dollars in damage annually. Along with being a source of problems, the clays throughout Mississippi are also of economic importance, being mined for a variety of uses. In this study, the engineering properties of the transitional clay facies of the Ripley Formation are studied, to characterize the swell potential of the transitional clay, and to assist with the evaluation of the possible commercial uses of the soil. The transitional clay is an Upper Cretaceous unit characterized …

Petrology Of North Mississippi Bauxite : A Case For Depositional Bauxite And Kaolin, Charles Nelson Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the past 55 years, there has been considerable debate over the stratigraphic position, genesis, and economic value of North Mississippi bauxite. The aluminum rich deposits are unlike most deposits found around the world. The deposits are associated with 200-300 foot thick marine to nonmarine clays overlain by feldspar poor, fluvial-deltaic sediments. The possible source areas are composed of limestone, marls, sand, and muds ranging in age from Late Cretaceous to Late Paleocene. These factors prohibit the direct application of previous theories derived from studies outside Mississippi. The deposits, therefore, cannot be considered a textbook example of bauxite formation.

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