Engineering Commons^™

Costs And Benefits Of Flood Mitigation In Louisiana, Arash Taghi Nezhad Bilandi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Assessing the costs and benefits of hazard mitigation efforts is an essential component of disaster management, planning, and resilience assessment. These calculations are particularly important in locations vulnerable to multiple hazards with high frequencies, such as coastal Louisiana. This study aims to provide an improved understanding of the costs and benefits of flood mitigation efforts in Louisiana funded by federal government grants between 2005 and 2015. Project data provided by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) were summarized and missing values were imputed using robust statistical approaches. Elevation project cost was investigated for prediction by statistical …

Temperature Transient Analysis For Reservoir Characterization, Yilin Mao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent developments in downhole temperature measurements open new alternatives contributing to reservoir characterization. In this dissertation, novel forward and inverse models to analyze production- and injection-induced temperature signals are developed for conventional and unconventional reservoir applications. Important limitations of the proposed models are addressed by accounting for fluid property variations and complex production strategies.

Forward modeling approaches involve making relevant assumptions that allow rigorous analytical solutions to be constructed using Laplace transform, Method of Characteristics, and control volume analysis. Our results of the analytical models are benchmarked with those from commercial numerical simulation software. Multiple possible scenarios of conventional reservoirs …

Preparation Of Cellulose Nanofibers From Bamboo Using Microwave Liquefaction, Jiulong Xie

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Cellulose nanofibers isolated from renewable lignocellulosic biomass are considered highly promising fillers in preparing sustainable composite materials. Although previous technologies on the production of cellulose nanofibers were encouraging, drawbacks such as chemical reagent, high energy consumption, time-consumption, and equipment degradation have limited these techniques for practical applications. In this work, bamboo particles were subjected to microwave liquefaction process and the liquefied bamboo residues were characterized to have a better understanding of the liquefaction behaviors of bamboo. Then, the microwave liquefaction process was optimized for the production of cellulose raw materials and the isolation of cellulose nanofibers. The lignin fraction fractionated …

An Improved Method To Calculate Gas-Lift Valve Set Pressure And Valve Performance Curves, Khadhr A Kh Altarabulsi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The main objective of this work is toimprove the accuracy on calculations of design set pressure and performance curves (sizing equations) for Gas-Lift Valves (GLVs) at high pressure (real conditions). This improved calculation method is demonstrated to have an important effect on well unloading and production operations.

The analysis of the valve design set pressure includes an experimental evaluation of the effect of internal dome volume changes on the design set pressure due to the presence of silicone and thermal effects. The evaluationis carried out for different levels of GLV silicone fill, pressures and temperatures. Silicone fills covered 7.5, 10, …

Relationship Between Road Network Characteristics And Traffic Safety, Hatim Sharif, Samer Dessouky

Publications

The Transportation and Capital Improvement of the City of San Antonio, Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and other related agencies often make several efforts based on traffic data to improve safety at intersections, but the number of intersection crashes is still on the high side. There is no one size fits all solution for intersections and the City is often usually confronted with doing best value option analysis on different solutions to choose the least expensive yet more advancements. The goal of this project was to obtain the relationship between road network characteristics and public safety with a focus on …

Simplified Approach For Structural Evaluation Of Flexible Pavements At The Network Level, Mena Souliman, Stefan Romanoschi, Samer Dessouky

Publications

Currently, there are few available simple procedures to identify structurally weak pavement sections utilizing Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) data at the network level (e.g., city, state or province). A simple method is required to determine the structural condition of pavement sections that can be directly implemented and automated in current pavement databases. The objective of this research study is to develop a simple analysis method to determine the structural condition of pavement sections utilizing the currently available non-destructive testing (NDT) deflection measurement devices at the network level that can be directly implemented and automated in the database of a typical …

Research Incentive Programs For Closures Of Public And Private Grade Crossings, Julius Codjoe

Publications

Vehicle-train crashes that occur at highway-rail crossings result in injuries, fatalities, and damage to equipment. In order to reduce the number of vehicle-train crashes, Federal Railroad Administration requires states which have challenges with crossing safety, including Louisiana, to develop a State Action Plan to improve grade crossing safety. Consequently, identification of specific solutions for improving safety at crossings was included in the 2015 Louisiana Transportation Plan as one of its objectives. This study seeks to identify and evaluate current and new incentive programs that encourage closure of at-grade railroad crossings to reduce the number of potential vehicle-train collision points, and …

Development Of A Self-Powered Structural Health Monitoring System For Transportation Infrastructure, Aydin Karsilaya, Samer Dessouky, Athanassios Papagiannakis

Publications

Roadways and bridges play an important role in the economic and social health of society by connecting commerce and people. Economic growth and population expansion pose considerable burden on the aging infrastructure (i.e., pavements and bridges). There is a pressing need to develop structural health monitoring (SHM) technologies capable of collecting infrastructure utilization data. Doing so inexpensively with self-powered systems will revolutionize infrastructure monitoring technology, and will improve decision making enabling roadway and bridge preservation. In this study, a self-powered battery-less structural health monitoring (SHM) system was developed. It is powered by a thermal energy harvester equipped with thermoelectric generators …

Use Of Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (Uhp-Frc) For Fast And Sustainable Repair Of Pavements, Shih-Ho Chao

Publications

This research presents a new methodology, which enables streets, roads, highways, bridges, and airfields to use an advanced fiber-reinforced concrete material, which can delay or prevent the deterioration of these transportation infrastructure when subjected to traffic and environmental loadings. The major problem of concrete is its considerable deterioration and limited service life due to its brittleness and limited durability. As a result, it requires frequent repair and eventual replacement, which consumes more natural resources. Ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete (UHP-FRC) introduces significant enhancement in the sustainability of concrete structures due to its dense microstructure and damage-tolerance characteristics. These characteristics can significantly reduce …

Mitigating Traffic Congestion On I-10 In Baton Rouge, La: Supply- And Demand-Oriented Strategies & Treatments, Samir Ahmed, Osama Osman, Julius Codjoe

Publications

The aim of this study is to develop a better understanding of the causes of traffic congestion on I-10 in the Baton Rouge, LA area, particularly at the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge, and to identify treatments and strategies to mitigate congestion at the bridge site. This study developed and calibrated a microsimulation model of I-10 (from Lobdell Highway in Port Allen to Highland Road, I-110 to Florida Street, and I-12 to Walker Road) and investigated several supply- and demand-oriented strategies. This includes: rehabilitation and utilization of the old Mississippi River Bridge on US-190 and the existing US-190/US-61 corridor, overall demand …

Coastal Bridges Under Hurricane Stresses Along The Texas And Louisiana Coast, Adolfo Matamoros, Firat Testik

Publications

The main objective of this study is to develop a high-resolution model capable of simulating the response of bridge structures to hydrodynamic loads for hurricane design conditions (i.e., surge height, wave height, and frequency) expected in the Texas-Louisiana coast. The model relied on Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian (CEL) techniques where solids are simulated with Lagrangian meshes, while fluids are simulated using Eulerian meshes, and was calibrated using historical data from wave impact laboratory tests. Two high resolution models were created, the first of a tsunami wave impact test conducted at Oregon State University and the second of a bridge located in the …

A Comprehensive Reliability-Based Framework For Corrosion Damage Monitoring And Repair Design Of Reinforced Concrete Structures, Homero Castaneda, Aydin Karsilaya, Ayman Okeil, Mahmoud Reda Taha

Publications

In this work, we developed a comprehensive framework for corrosion management of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. This framework includes critical steps of an effective approach to quantify the damage evolution as well as providing the timeframe for effective maintenance/repair strategies for corrosion assessment in RC structures. The framework included several activities including the use of indirect and direct inspection tools, theoretical development for damage prediction, experimental measurements and theoretical development of repair time based on reliability. The uniqueness of the framework is the integration of deterministic modeling of corrosion damage evolution by using mechanistic analysis with statistical modeling on corrosion …

Evaluation Of Comparative Damaging Effects Of Multiple Truck Axles For Flexible Pavements, Stefan Romanoschi, Athanassios Papagiannakis

Publications

This study aims at evaluating the effect of overlapping flexible pavement strain responses from truck axles that are not part of multiple axle configurations (i.e., tandem, triple and quad). For this purpose, a newly constructed pavement was instrumented with strain gauges installed at the bottom of the asphalt concrete base layer on US-287 south of Mansfield, TX. This pavement structure is typically used for medium- to high-volume roads in the South-Central region of the United States. The strain gauges were used to measure longitudinal and transverse strains under several passes of a test vehicle. This was a class 6 truck …

Integrated Health Monitoring And Reinforcement Of Transportation Structures With Optimized Low-Cost Multifunctional Braided Cables, Ibrahim Karaman, Darren Hartl

Publications

The objective of this research study is to design, fabricate, and characterize multifunctional high strength and self-sensing braided cables and structures using novel Fe-based shape memory alloys (SMAs). The system exploits unique properties of recently developed low-cost super-elastic FeMnAlNi SMAs, which enables excellent super-elastic properties, high strength, and self-sensing in structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. This novel material technology can be coupled with modeling efforts that allow for accurate prediction of both the materials and structural response during sensing. At the conclusion of the project, we have demonstrated that with careful design of processing parameters, it is possible to control …

Investigating Problem Of Distracted Drivers On Louisiana Roadways, Xiaoduan Sun

Publications

Due to the escalating usage of cellphone and social networking, distracted driving is and will remain as one of the most serious problems faced by Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and law enforcement agencies. Under the aim of in-depth investigation of distracted driving crashes in Louisiana, the specific objectives of this study are: (1) reviewing the crash reports for the quality of distracted driving crash reporting, (2) analyzing distracted driving-related crashes through regression model and data mining algorithm to link the severity of distracted driving crashes with the contributing factors collected in crash data, (3) investigating the observable characteristics of distracted …

Recruiting, Retaining, And Promoting For Careers At Transportation Agencies, Christofer Harper, Susan Bogus, Raghava Kommalapati, Doeun Choe

Publications

State transportation agencies currently face complex challenges in recruiting and retaining the workforce necessary to function effectively. The situation exacerbates due to the number of employees from different generations that have to coexist with varying values, expectations, and principles. These agencies are primarily comprised of two generational groups: the baby-boomers, who are approaching retirement and occupy many managerial positions; and the millennials, who are demonstrating their interest in technology and demanding dynamism in their careers. This multiplicity of interest represents a challenge for human resources (HR) in addressing workforce issues and providing the necessary means to recruit and retain qualified …

Design And Characterization Of A Triple-Input Microfluidic Droplet Trapping Array Towards Multiplexed And Dynamic Single Cell Analysis, Riad Elkhanoufi

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

High-Throughput Assessment Of A Novel, Thiol-Acrylate Hydrogel For Tumor Spheroid Synthesis In A Microfluidic Device, Nathan Daniel Kersker

LSU Master's Theses

The extracellular environment plays an important role in regulating cell behavior. The mechanical, structural, and compositional properties of the extracellular matrix can determine the fate of the growing cells. Standard two-dimensional culturing in a flask fails to represent a native cellular environment. To create the native environment suitable for cells, hydrogels were previously studied. One of the most extensively studied synthetic hydrogels was a poly(ethylene glycol diacrylate) (PEGDA) hydrogel. However, the need for UV polymerization may introduce unwanted changes in cell morphology and viability. The hydrogel being proposed was a form of a thiol-acrylate hydrogel that can eliminate this problem …

Toward Building Resilient, Sustainable, And Smart Infrastructure In The 21st Century, Aly Mousaad Aly

Faculty Publications

In recent years, as a result of significant climate change, stringent windstorms are becoming more frequent than before. Given the threat that windstorms bring to people and property, wind/structural engineering research is imperative to improve the resilience of existing and new infrastructure, for community safety and assets protection. The Windstorm Impact, Science and Engineering (WISE) research program at Louisiana State University (LSU) focuses on creating new knowledge applicable to the mitigation of existing and new infrastructure, to survive and perform optimally under natural hazards. To achieve our research goals, we address two imperious challenges: (i) characterization of realistic wind forces …

A Systematic Investigation Of Condensation Heat Transfer Using Asymmetric Micro-Scale Surfaces, Emily Brown

LSU Master's Theses

Asymmetric surfaces been shown to inducing unidirectional motion in the Leidenfrost regime; however, very minimal research has been conducted to investigate whether these surface can enhance condensation through the same means. The investigation of heat transfer of ratchets in condensation is a relatively untapped area of study, specifically ratchets with superhydrophobic properties. Anticipated difficulty lies in creating surfaces features or coatings that retain the ratchets and can adequately sustain optimal wetting state of Cassie-Baxter required to improve heat transfer performance during condensation. This study serves to investigate whether ratchets are a feasible surface feature to enhance condensation heat transfer. First, …

Performance And Cost-Effectiveness Of Chip Seal And Microsurfacing In Flexible Pavements, Mohammad Zobair Ibne Bashar

LSU Master's Theses

Chip seal and microsurfacing are pavement maintenance activities typically used in relatively low traffic roads with the aim to reduce the rate of deterioration and to defer the need for costly rehabilitation activities. Chip seal is widely used in Louisiana, and Louisiana’s $6.3 million microsurfacing program is amongst the largest microsurfacing programs in the United States. As these surface treatments seal the road surface, the effectiveness of this treatment in such a setting has been a concern in recent years by linking it to moisture damage caused by the trapped moisture underneath the pavement. Furthermore, the cost-effectiveness and optimal timing …

Novel Design And Synthesis Of Composite Nanomaterials For Lithium And Multivalent Ion Batteries, Wangwang Xu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Nowadays, the fast-increasing energy demand for efficient, sustainable and environmentally-friendly energy storage devices remains a significant and challenging issue. Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have been widely used as commercial energy devices in portable electronics and also shown great promise in upcoming large-scale applications due to their advantages of environmental safety, efficiency in energy delivering and light weight. However, due to their limited capacity, energy densities and cycle ability, LIBs still need further improvement to expand their applications to a larger field, especially electric vehicle (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), in which energy storage devices with large capacity and high …

Sustainability-Based Long-Term Management Of Bridges Under Multi-Hazard Exposure, Mohamed Soliman

Publications

Bridges are under deterioration due to various mechanical and environmental stressors. Hydraulic-related hazards (e.g., flood and scour), aggressive environmental conditions, and seismic events (e.g., earthquake) are recognized as the most significant threats to the safety of bridges. In traditional risk assessment methods for structures susceptible to damage due to floods and other natural hazards (e.g., corrosion and seismic events), future hazard predictions are conducted using historic return periods and climate records. However, recent increase in flood intensity in central-southern states indicate that future hazard occurrence rate may not necessarily follow past trends. Accordingly, current design, assessment, and management methodologies should …

Self-Healing Microcapsules As Concrete Aggregates For Corrosion Inhibition In Reinforced Concrete, Homero Castaneda, Marwa Hassan, Miladin Radovic, Jose Milla

Publications

Reinforced Concrete (RC) structures are vital to the US’s civil infrastructure for their strength and versatility. Unfortunately, RC elements deteriorate rapidly when exposed to corrosive environments. One possible solution is to extend the life of RC elements and systems using microencapsulated corrosion inhibitors to reduce the rebar corrosion rate. The capsules house an anodic corrosion inhibitor agent including calcium nitrate (CN) and triethanolamine (TEA). The integration of such microencapsulated materials will enhance the durability and extend the useful life by controlling the corrosion precursors and the corrosion process during damage evolution. Therefore, this work aims to develop and characterize the …

Development, Training, Education, And Implementation Of Low-Cost Sensing Technologies For Bridge Structural Health Monitoring (Shm), Fernando Moreu, Chris Lippitt, Dilendra Maharjan, Marlon Aguero, Roya Nasimi

Publications

Transportation infrastructure needs continuous monitoring. However, traditional inspections cost money and are conducted visually. New technologies for bridge monitoring are expensive and complex. This project involved developing cost-effective sensor technologies that can be applied towards the maintenance of railroad bridges by recording reference-free transverse displacement. More specifically, this project developed new applications of new technologies (Arduino, wireless smart sensors, drones, Hololens) and promoted workforce development with an emphasis on outreach of high-school students. This project was carried out in three main phases: (1) development and validation of technologies, (2) education and outreach to students, and (3) outreach to industry consisting …

A Discrete Element Method Study Of Granular Self-Organization In An Orbital-Driven Sphere And Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations Of Slurry Flow In A Single-Loop Loop Reactor, Spencer Blum

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Single Cell Analysis Of Fluid Shear Stress Induced Breast Cancer Cell Phenotypic Changes In A Microfluidic Device, Grant Landwehr

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Groundwater Modeling For Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer Of Northeastern Louisiana, Ramazan Karakullukcu

LSU Master's Theses

The Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer (MRAA) locates in northeastern Louisiana, extending from the north border of Louisiana and Arkansas to south central Louisiana and underlies the Mississippi River Valley. The MRAA is the second most used groundwater source with about 390 million gallons per day in 2010, which accounts for 25% of all groundwater withdrawals in Louisiana. The groundwater uses are mainly for irrigation, public supply and industries. The excessive groundwater pumping and the economic importance of the MRAA have drawn attention to build a groundwater model to study future water resources management and sustainability plans. The model is the …

Hyperspectral Imaging For Characterizing Single Plasmonic Nanostructure And Single-Cell Analysis, Nishir Sanatkumar Mehta

LSU Master's Theses

Orientation of plasmonic nanostructures is an important feature in many nanoscale applications such as photovoltaics, catalyst, biosensors DNA interactions, protein detections, hotspot of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), and fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET) experiments. Silver nanocubes with significant spectral signatures between 400-700 nm are observed in this experimental research. Whereas study of single cells will enable the analysis of cell-to-cell variations within a heterogeneous population. These variations are important for further analysis and understanding of disease propagation, drug development, stem cell differentiation, embryos development, and how cells respond to each other and their environment. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells possess the …

Study Of Rheology And Flow Behavior Of Magneto-Rheological Fluids Under The Influence Of A Magnetic Field And Its Potential Applications For Drilling And Completion Operations, John Edwin Estrada Giraldo

LSU Master's Theses

The use of magnetorheological fluids (MRF) is presented as an alternative to overcome some of the problems encountered in the drilling and completion of a well. The magnetorheological fluids can modify their rheological properties instantaneously under the influence of a magnetic field. In this thesis, MRF consist of a base fluid, magnetizable particles and a polymer that supports the particles. The magnetizable particles align in the direction of the magnetic field, thus modifying the rheology of the mixture. Because of this characteristic, the use of this fluid can have advantages in controlling fluid losses while drilling in narrow operating windows, …