Engineering Commons^™

Evaluating Future Flood Scenarios Using Cmip5 Climate Projections, Narayan Nyaupane, Balbhadra Thakur, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Frequent flooding events in recent years have been linked with the changing climate. Comprehending flooding events and their risks is the first step in flood defense and can help to mitigate flood risk. Floodplain mapping is the first step towards flood risk analysis and management. Additionally, understanding the changing pattern of flooding events would help us to develop flood mitigation strategies for the future. This study analyzes the change in streamflow under different future carbon emission scenarios and evaluates the spatial extent of floodplain for future streamflow. The study will help facility managers, design engineers, and stakeholders to mitigate future …

Effect Of Curing Conditions On Mechanical Properties And Durability Of Concrete, Edgar Lazaro Salas-Borrero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis presents the results for three different concrete mix designs with compression strengths of 4500 psi. The experiment was conducted in the Las Vegas area during the summer, from August 16th to October 12th, 2018, where temperatures and relative humidity was recorded daily, three times a day. In total, 135 concrete specimens (4” x 8”) were taken on site and were subjected to five different curing conditions.

For each concrete mix design, three concrete samples (4” x 8”) were taken and submitted for each curing condition, resulting in 45 cylinders for each concrete mix design. The same number of …

Performance-Based Economical Seismic Design Of Multistory Reinforced Concrete Frame Buildings And Reliability Assessment, Chunyu Zhang

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As the next generation of seismic design methodology, performance-based seismic design (PBSD) method requires a structure satisfy multiple preselected performance levels under different hazard levels. Optimal PBSD methods provide different strategies to design the numerous variables, including strength, stiffness and ductility of each structural component. The overall goal of this study is to develop a new optimal PBSD method for multi-story RC moment frames. This method is capable of overcoming the deficiencies of existing optimal PBSD methods and can be implemented by the U.S. design practice. The proposed method minimizes construction cost and takes the limit of member plastic rotation …

Surface Resistivity For Concrete Quality Assurance, Stanley Tat

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goal of this study was to determine the effectiveness of SRT for concrete quality assurance and to evaluate the relationship between SRT and the three chloride ion ingress methods currently used by various State DOTs. Additionally, the influence of binder type and content, concrete age, and water-to cementitious materials ratio on the experimental results were also examined.

In this study, Type V Portland and three SCMs; namely fly ash, slag, and silica fume were used. Fine and coarse, aggregates were supplied by a local quarry. To evaluate the transport properties of the studied concretes, RMT, RCPT, and ACT were …

Calculation Of Access Charge For High Speed Rail Xpresswest Of Nevada, Sameeksha Sapkota

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

XpressWest is a High Speed Rail (HSR) system that plans to connect Las Vegas with California at Palmdale. It will utilize the railway network of the California High Speed Rail (CAHSR) to connect Las Vegas with California destinations that include Los Angeles and San Francisco. For sharing the railway network of CAHSR, XpressWest will pay certain charge known as an access charge. The access charge is the fee paid by the train operator to the infrastructure owner for the addition of trains in a track. There are several access charge systems in the world. However, there is no study that …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2018, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Investigation Of Setting Time And Compressive Strength Of Ready-Mixed Concrete Blended With Returned Fresh Concrete, Negasi N. Gebremichael, S. Mahmoud Motahara Karein, Moses Karakouzian, Kazem Jadidi

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Returned fresh mix concrete (RFC) is a problem with both economic and environmental impacts. Therefore, investigators have recommended various ways to decrease the amount of RFC in manufacturing facilities. Among the most common procedures are dumping concrete in landfill, recycling it, using the aggregate, and using it to produce concrete blocks. In this study, the authors investigated the behavior of various proportions of RFC mixed with ready-mix plain and retarded concrete. The authors also studied the influence of aging by producing specimens after one, two, three, and four hours. In addition, the researchers investigated controlled and uncontrolled environments by mixing …

Trend Analysis Of Las Vegas Land Cover And Temperature Using Remote Sensing, Haroon Stephen

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The Las Vegas urban area expanded rapidly during the last two decades. In order to understand the impacts on the environment, it is imperative that the rate and type of urban expansion is determined. Remote sensing is an efficient and effective way to study spatial change in urban areas and Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) is a valuable technique to retrieve subpixel landcover information from remote sensing images. In this research, urban growth trends in Las Vegas are studied over the 1990 to 2010 period using images from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) and National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP). The SMA …

Sensor-Based Safety Performance Assessment Of Individual Construction Workers, Jeewoong Park, Yong K. Cho, Ali Khodabandelu

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Over the last decade, researchers have explored various technologies and methodologies to enhance worker safety at construction sites. The use of advanced sensing technologies mainly has focused on detecting and warning about safety issues by directly relying on the detection capabilities of these technologies. Until now, very little research has explored methods to quantitatively assess individual workers’ safety performance. For this, this study uses a tracking system to collect and use individuals’ location data in the proposed safety framework. A computational and analytical procedure/model was developed to quantify the safety performance of individual workers beyond detection and warning. The framework …

Automated And Optimized Sensor Deployment Using Building Models And Electromagnetic Simulation, Chunhee Cho, Jeewoong Park, Kyungki Kim

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

With the advent of wireless sensing technology and interest in tracking resources, researchers have developed advanced tracking algorithms by using one or more sensor systems for improved accuracy and reliability of tracking. The objective of this research lies in another aspect−deployment−of tracking that has received only little attention until now. The research explores a method for sensor deployment particularly designed for the building in which the sensors are used. To tailor our solution to a specific building, we integrate a building information model with an electromagnetic energy analysis. By using such a model, the system extracts the properties of building …

A Study Of Pipe Co-Flow Into A Channel, Charles Yalung, Moses Karakouzian

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

This poster was presented in the Fall of 2018. It highlighted an ongoing research project into the effects of co-flow from a pipe feeding into an open flow channel. It used both experimental procedures and simulations, but only the experimental procedures were addressed in this poster.

Physical Modeling Of Flow Nets In Groundwater And Determination Of Hydraulic Conductivity, Hannah Nicholas, Moses Karakouzian

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

The goal of this study is to physically model the paths that water particles take through soil, and estimate hydraulic conductivity for several soil configurations. Water paths, or flow lines, are shown by injecting dye into sand contained in a rectangular acrylic glass tank with a vertical barrier in the center; water is poured on one side of the tank and a pump is used to maintain constant head loss. If flow lines are formed, a flow net is to be drawn using photos of the tank and hydraulic conductivity is to be calculated.

This project consists of four phases: …

Coir Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Jose De La Serna, Moses Karakouzian

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

This poster exhibits the testing and research done on general Portland Cement Concrete with the addition of coir (coconut) fibers as reinforcement. Using the fundamental constituents of cement (water, cement, fine and coarse aggregate) and processed coir fiber, concrete specimens were batched to test for compressive and flexural strengths (per appropriate ASTM standards). Cylindrical and rectangular beam specimens were subjected to loadings until failure occurred. The capacity and modes of failures of the specimens were observed. It was determined that:

• The addition of processed coir fibers decreases the overall strength of general Portland Cement Concrete. • The tested concrete’s …

The Impact Of Waters Of Low Quality On Soiling Removal From Photovoltaic Panels, Alisson Luiz Boeing

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Soiling, bird droppings, or the accumulation of dust on the surface of photovoltaic cells, can significantly reduce the solar energy absorption and produce power losses. In solar plants where soiling is a problem, solar facilities use demineralized or distilled water for washing the panels to avoid mineral scale deposits that might interfere with solar irradiance absorption. However, in arid and dusty environments, water is normally scarce. For cleaning solar panels, the use of low quality water in lieu of the industry-standard demineralized water could conserve fresh water. The objectives of this research were as follows: evaluate the impacts of low …

Static And Dynamic Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Of Potable Reuse Paradigms, Erfaneh Amoueyan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In recent years, potable reuse applications have become more common due to population growth and increased water demand, especially in communities with limited or variable water resources. However, there are concerns about potential exposure to pathogens and chemical compounds in treated wastewater. Therefore, advanced wastewater treatment processes are of paramount importance in any potable reuse system. The overall aim of this study was to develop and implement static and dynamic QMRAs to compare public health risk in various potable reuse scenarios. Cryptosporidium, norovirus, adenovirus, and Salmonella were chosen as the target pathogens. The research evaluated the performance of full advanced …

N-Nitrosodimethylamine Formation And Mitigation In Potable Reuse Treatment Trains Employing Ozone Nd Biofiltration, Fernanda Bacaro

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Potable reuse has been growing as a strategy to augment water supplies, especially in highly populated and water-scarce regions. Ozone and chloramines have emerged as important disinfectants and oxidants in potable reuse applications, but reactions with wastewater-derived constituents can lead to the formation of potentially carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). One DBP that has received considerable attention is the nitrogenous DBP N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). NDMA is a potential human carcinogen and mutagen at trace concentrations — even at the sub-ng/L level. Several studies have reported successful attenuation of NDMA in biofiltration systems at wastewater treatment plants, but the associated mechanisms and design …

Water-Energy Nexus Approaches For Solar Development And Water Treatment In The Southwestern United States, Syeda Saria Bukhary

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Water is crucial for energy production and conversion, and energy is crucial for various water related processes including water conveyance, treatment and distribution. Sustainability of water and energy are inextricably linked with each other. Over-utilization/ degradation of these resources may occur due to limited availability of water under the changing climate scenario, growing population, and increasing pollution due to the burning of fossil fuels. The goal of the current research was to study the water-energy nexus of the Southwestern U.S. and develop approaches for solar development and treatment of drinking water. To achieve the overall objective, the work was divided …

Evaluating The Feasibility And Sustainability Of Direct Potable Reuse In Las Vegas, Nv, Cory Dow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Community water sources are becoming more and more strained due to several factors including severe drought, population growth, urbanization, and climate change. This has spurred several water agencies to evaluate alternative water supply options to extend their resources. One potential alternative is potable reuse. Potable reuse comes in two forms: indirect potable reuse (IPR) and direct potable reuse (DPR). IPR is the advanced treatment of wastewater effluent before discharging into an environmental buffer that is a drinking water supply such as a lake, river, or groundwater aquifer before extraction and use. DPR is the advanced treatment of wastewater effluent that …

Preliminary Investigation Of Tensile Strength And Impact Characterization Of Cementitious Composite Incorporating Carbon Nanotubes, Robabeh Jazaei

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cement has been largely used in the construction industry, specifically as a matrix for concrete. Recently, a new generation of cement-based composite that greatly increases mechanical properties is replacing conventional concrete. With periodic advances in the field, researchers considered particles with high-aspect ratios such as Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) to reinforce cement matrices. Although there is not much literature to draw upon in research, some research on improving the tensile strength of cementitious composite incorporating with CNTs does exist. However, there had been no evidence of investigation into impact strength until this study.

Most papers presented examined the effect of multi-walled …

The Future Of Construction As It Applies To The Colonization Of The Moon And Mars, Julian Prestia

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The goals of this research are:

1. To compile a comprehensive list of all the viable known solutions (and early stage potential solutions) to the issues related to constructing permanent, sustainable, and safe structures for human colonies on our moon and Mars,

2. Determine the most effective potential solutions, and

3. Further develop these ideas as to assist in further space endeavors.

This proposed paper will assist space experts in determining the best next steps in the development of deep-space travel and colonization technologies. Preliminary research has identified several key problems associated with establishing space colonies. They are as follows: …

An Embedded Sensory System For Worker Safety: Prototype Development And Evaluation, Chunhee Cho, Jee Woong Park

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

At a construction site, workers mainly rely on two senses, which are sight and sound, in order to perceive their physical surroundings. However, they are often hindered by the nature of most construction sites, which are usually dynamic, loud, and complicated. To overcome these challenges, this research explored a method using an embedded sensory system that might offer construction workers an artificial sensing ability to better perceive their surroundings. This study identified three parameters (i.e., intensity, signal length, and delay between consecutive pulses) needed for tactile-based signals for the construction workers to communicate quickly. We developed a prototype system based …

Management Of An Urban Stormwater System Using Projected Future Scenarios Of Climate Models: A Watershed-Based Modeling Approach, Ranjeet Thakali, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad, Kamal Qaiser

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Anticipating a proper management needs for urban stormwater due to climate change is becoming a critical concern to water resources managers. In an effort to identify best management practices and understand the probable future climate scenarios, this study used high-resolution climate model data in conjunction with advanced statistical methods and computer simulation. Climate model data from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) were used to calculate the design storm depths for the Gowan Watershed of Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM), developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was used for hydrological modeling. …

Instructors Learn From Homework, Too: Streamlining Data Collection To Facilitate Reteaching Before The Test, Erica J. Marti

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Whether it’s for accreditation or simply as a good teaching practice to inform future instruction, gathering and analyzing data can be time consuming. This is especially true for large classes. How can you streamline the process for quick evaluation?

Climate Change And Eutrophication: A Short Review, Mohammad Nazari-Sharabian, Sajjad Ahmad, Moses Karakouzian

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Water resources are vital not only for human beings but essentially all ecosystems. Human health is at risk if clean drinking water becomes contaminated. Water is also essential for agriculture, manufacturing, energy production and other diverse uses. Therefore, a changing climate and its potential effects put more pressure on water resources. Climate change may cause increased water demand as a result of rising temperatures and evaporation while decreasing water availability. On the other hand, extreme events as a result of climate change can increase surface runoff and flooding, deteriorating water quality as well. One effect is water eutrophication, which occurs …