Engineering Commons^™

Issues Of Seismic Response And Retrofit For Critical Substation Equipment, Seyed Ali Hashemi Nezhad Ashrafi

Theses

This study focuses on means to reduce the seismic hazard for transformer-bushing systems and different issues of the response and rehabilitation of transformers. The primary means of seismic mitigation investigated is the use of the Friction Pendulum System (FPS) bearings to seismically isolate transformers. This is done by developing a finite element model representing the behavior of FPS bearings and implementing this model on to ADINA finite element package for further use in analytical studies. This model is used to study the behavior of isolated primary-secondary systems and the effects of parameters like different FPS radii or vertical excitations. Also …

Investigation Of An Integrated Regional Environmental Watershed Methodology, Marshall R. Boggio

Dissertations

Recent public awareness of the environment has placed increased emphasis on the health and current state of the regional watershed. The watershed has been defined as that area in which water flowing across and beneath a given land surface drains into a specific stream or river, ultimately flowing through a single point or outlet on that stream or river. Since the processes involved are many and are analyzed in the literature on an individual basis, the current investigation attempts a more holistic approach by suggesting a methodology that integrates all elements of the hydrologic cycle. The investigation utilizes the area …

The Consolidation Analysis Of A Clay Layer In The City Of Belem Do Para, Brazil, John Bezerra Jr.

Theses

In this study, an analysis was done on a particular clay layer found in the city of Belem do Para, Brazil. Various soil tests were conducted including a consolidation analysis. Data were gathered and analyzed in order to obtain a better understanding of how the soil responds under certain loading conditions. There have been no previous studies done on this material and so when it has been encountered in the field geotechnical engineers provide the safest, but not necessarily best design method possible. In the case of large buildings, piles are driven past this material to competent sand. There have …

Optimization Of Very Early Strength Concrete Mixes Using Maturity Method, Sun Punurai

Theses

Fast track concrete technology has been used over the past two decades for overnight highway repairs. Originally, fast track was concerned only with rapid strength gain and workability but little concern was paid to cost and durability of the concrete.

The purpose of this research study is to develop a current improved very early strength (VES) concrete mix, which was accepted by NJDOT in 1996. More than 50 concrete mixes were evaluated for strength, shrinkage, and curing rate (maturity), eventually leading to the development of an optimized VES concrete mix with improved performance characteristics.

The study has developed the new …

Shape Finding Of Fabric Structures Using Grid Method, Armin Bischof

Theses

Fabric structures can span large distances with a very low self-weight, which makes them very efficient for covering huge areas. They have attractive shapes and an appealing architecture. These properties make them very popular and they are used in many different kinds of buildings. Airports, stadiums and halls are typical examples where the use fabric structures is often recommendable.

Fabric structures are built mainly out of fabric and cables; two structural members that can only take tension stresses. Therefore these structural members must be prestressed in such a way that their shape can carry all loads that might affect the …

Use Of Eps-Filled Tires As Lightweight Construction Material, Sethapong Sethabouppha

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to study the possibility of recycling discarded automobile tires as a lightweight construction material by injecting expanded polystyrene (EPS) into the hollow space of the tires. The observation from compression tests on used tires revealed that the tread wall of these tires bent toward their own center. This inward deformation should provide confining stress to the contained EPS, and thus the compressive strength of EPS-tire composite was expected to be higher than that of EPS.

To produce EPS-filled tire prototypes for this study, EPS type II, with density of 24 kg/m3, was injected into …

Analysis Of Air Force Civil Engineering Strategic Planning, Francis J. Mondo Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Several organizations within the Department of Defense, including the Air Force Civil Engineer, are actively engaged in strategic planning in an effort to create a roadmap for future capabilities and performance. The objective of this research was to analyze the strategic planning process of the Air Force Civil Engineer (CE) as well as the effectiveness of the Civil Engineer Strategic Plan (CESP). The methodology used to complete this analysis was conducted in two distinct phases: 1) process modeling and evaluation, and 2) performance measure evaluation. The first phase compared the CE strategic planning process to a theoretical planning model developed …

Shear Strengthening Of Rc Beams Using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Laminates, Zhichao Zhang

Dissertations

Shear failure is catastrophic and occurs usually without advanced warning, thus it is desirable that the beam fails in flexure rather than in shear. Many existing reinforced concrete (RC) members are found to be deficient in shear strength and need to be repaired. Deficiencies occur due to several reasons such as insufficient shear reinforcement or reduction in steel area due to corrosion, increased service load, and construction defects. Externally bonded reinforcement such as Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) provides an excellent solution in these situations.

In order to investigate the shear behavior of RC beams with externally bonded CFRP shear …

Hydrological And Geotechnical Investigation Of A Sparta, New Jersey Landslide, James Talerico

Theses

On August 13, 2000, a massive landslide occurred in Northern New Jersey following an extreme rainfall event during which 14.1 inches of precipitation fell locally during a 24-hour period. The slide, with an estimated volume of 22,000ft³, traveled up to 1,500ft in a short period. While landslides do occasionally occur along the coastal bluffs of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, slides of this magnitude are uncommon in the glacial soils of the New Jersey Highland section.

The investigation of this landslide was compiled through rainfall data and geotechnical data, which was used to determine the triggering mechanism of the …

Selected Chemoautotrophic Processes In Wastewater Treatment: Low Temperature Nitrification Inhibition By An Azo Dye And Biofiltration For Odor Control Of Hydrogen Sulfide, Ronald W. Martin Jr.

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Biochemical processes by chemoautotrophs such as nitrifiers and sulfide and iron oxidizers are used extensively in wastewater treatment. The research described in this dissertation involved the study of two selected biological processes utilized in wastewater treatment mediated by chemoautotrophic bacteria: nitrification (biological removal of ammonia and nitrogen) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) removal from odorous air using biofiltration.

A municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) receiving industrial dyeing discharge containing the azo dye, acid black 1 (AB1) failed to meet discharge limits, especially during the winter. Dyeing discharge mixed with domestic sewage was fed to sequencing batch reactors at 22oC and 7oC. …

Laboratory Oxide Coatings: Physical Form And Surface Chemistry, Kea U. Duckenfield

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The impact of dissolved trace metals on aquatic ecosystems and human health is controlled by sorption, i.e., binding to the surfaces of environmental particles. Since many environmental particles are coated with highly reactive substances, and since discrepancies in trace metal sorption behavior persist between oxides developed in the laboratory and environmental oxide phases, it was hypothesized that the physical form of oxide coatings may influence the chemical properties of the coated particle. Therefore, relationships between the physical forms of several different Fe(III) oxide coatings and the Cu(II) sorption behavior of the coated solids were investigated in comparison with the component …

Boussinesq Model And The Relative Trough Froude Number (Rtfn) For Wave Breaking, Takashi Okamoto

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The relative trough Froude number (RTFN) theory is a new phase-resolving type, wave breaking trigger model introduced by Utku (1999) and Utku and Basco (2002). Based on the moving hydraulic jump concept, this model provides a better implementation of wave breaking in terms of hydrodynamics. Development of computer resources permits the use of the phase-resolving type, Boussinesq wave models in nearshore areas. The Boussinesq equation, however, does not include the physics of wave breaking, so that an additional mechanism is required to initiate wave breaking in the model. The main objective of this study is to develop a new wave …