Engineering Commons^™

Assessing The Performance Of High-Rap Mixtures Incorporating Crude Vegetable Oils And An Antioxidant From Mechanical, Environmental, And Economic Perspectives, Nitish R. Bastola

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Utilization of mixtures with high amounts of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in the pavement industry is limited because of the adverse effects of aged materials in recycled asphalt materials. To date, numerous approaches have been used to reduce the adversity of RAP in mixtures. One such approach is the use of recycling agents (RAs) from various sources, such as petroleum and bio-oil. However, the current need is to maximize the use of RAP by adopting a sustainable source of RAs. Therefore, this study uses two RAs based on vegetable oils (crude soybean oil and crude corn oil) with high-RAP mixtures …

Development Of A Mix Design Adjustment Method For Fiber Reinforced Concrete And Super High Performance Concrete Based On Excess Paste, Joe Malloy

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The main objective of this study was to develop a mix design adjustment method for Fiber Reinforced Concrete (FRC) that would maintain appropriate workability while improving hardened concrete performance. A literature review was conducted to examine existing methods for adjusting mix designs to account for fiber introduction. It was found that while increasing fine aggregate and cement paste content can make up for lost workability with the addition of fibers, no rational mix design adjustment method is available. Reference mix designs from the Nevada Department of Transportation and the Nebraska Department of Transportation were used, and this study focused on …

Flow Analysis Through Collector Well Laterals: A Case Study From Sonoma County Water Agency, California, Matteo D'Alessio, John Lucio, Ernest Williams, James Warner, Donald Seymour, Jay Jasperse, Chittaranjan Ray

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

The Sonoma County Water Agency (SWCA) uses six radial collector wells along the Russian River west of Santa Rosa, to provide water for several municipalities and water districts in north-western California. Three collector wells (1, 2, and 6) are located in the Wohler area, and three collector wells (3, 4, and 5) are located in the Mirabel area. The objective of this paper is to highlight the performance of the three collector wells located in the Mirabel area since their construction. The 2015 investigation showed a lower performance of Collectors 3 and 4 compared to their original performances after construction …

In-Field Fuel Use And Load States Of Agricultural Field Machinery, Santosh Pitla, Joe D. Luck, Jared Werner, Nannan Lin, Scott A. Shearer

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

The ability to define in-field tractor load states offers the potential to better specify and characterize fuel consumption rate for various field operations. For the same field operation, the tractor experiences diverse load demands and corresponding fuel use rates as it maneuvers through straight passes, turns, suspended operation for adjustments, repair and maintenance, and biomass or other material transfer operations. It is challenging to determine the actual fuel rate and load states of agricultural machinery using force prediction models, and hence, some form of in-field data acquisition capability is required. Controller Area Networks (CAN) available on the current model tractors …

Nebraska Data Collection, Keyvan Zare Rami, Yong-Rak Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Automated pavement performance data collection is a method that uses advanced technology to collect detailed road surface distress information at traffic speed. Agencies are driven to use automated survey techniques to enhance or replace their current manual distress survey because of the advantages of objective measurements, safety benefits, and reduced measurement time. As agencies move toward the transition to fully automated data collection methods, there are common concerns regarding how the output of the new method will match the current manual survey ratings and how they will be adopted into the existing Pavement Management System (PMS). This study evaluates the …

Design Of Experimental Methods To Test The Performance Of Pads And Helmets Under Blast Loading Conditions, Kurtis Palu

Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have become a primary weapon in conflicts against US and allied forces. Improvements in body armor and medicine have increased the survivability of such events. These factors have caused an increase in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) induced by primary blast waves. Injury mechanisms caused from primary blast waves are not clearly understood or defined. How primary blast waves interact with materials or between narrow gaps found between helmet pads is not known. Two novel test fixtures were developed to provide a basic understanding of these two issues.

The first fixture …

Safety Performance Evaluation Of The Non-Blocked Midwest Guardrail System, Kevin D Schrum, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Experimental Testing And Finite-Element Modeling To Evaluate The Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Bituminous Mixture Performance, Leonardo T. Souza, Yong-Rak Kim, Flavio V. Souza, Leandro S. Castro

Department of Engineering Mechanics: Faculty Publications

This study evaluates the effects of aggregate angularity in bituminous mixtures. Previous studies have predominantly focused on the effects of aggregate angularity on the resistance to permanent deformation, while little work has investigated the role of aggregate angularity related to mixture volumetrics and fatigue fracture performance. To investigate the effect of aggregate angularity on mixture performance and characteristics, five mixes with different combinations of coarse and fine aggregate angularity are evaluated by performing the uniaxial static creep test and the indirect tensile fracture energy test. The asphalt pavement analyzer test is also performed with five-year field project mixtures. Fracture energy …

Implementation Of Warm-Mix Asphalt Mixtures In Nebraska Pavements, Yong-Rak Kim, Jun Zhang, Hoki Ban

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the feasibility of several WMA mixtures as potential asphalt paving mixtures for Nebraska pavements. To that end, three well-known WMA additives (i.e., Sasobit, Evotherm, and Advera synthetic zeolite) were evaluated. For a more realistic evaluation of the WMA approaches, trial pavement sections of the WMA mixtures and their HMA counterparts were implemented in Antelope County, Nebraska. More than one ton of field-mixed loose mixtures was collected at the time of paving and was transported to the NDOR and UNL laboratories to conduct comprehensive laboratory evaluations and pavement performance predictions of the …

Quantifying Performance In Fading Channels Using The Sampling Property Of A Delta Function, Won Mee Jang

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Faculty Publications (to 2015)

We apply the sampling property of a delta function to obtain the probability of error in fading channels. Our approach reduces the integration to a sampling. The sampling point is obtained in terms of fading parameters and the average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to provide the closed form solution of the performance.

Effects Of Warm-Mix Asphalt Additives On Asphalt Mixture Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Jun Zhang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the feasibility of several WMA mixtures as potential asphalt paving mixtures for Nebraska pavements. To that end, three well-known WMA additives (i.e., Sasobit, Evotherm, and Advera synthetic zeolite) were evaluated. For a more realistic evaluation of the WMA approaches, trial pavement sections of the WMA mixtures and their HMA counterparts were implemented in Antelope County, Nebraska. More than one ton of field-mixed loose mixtures were collected at the time of paving and were transported to the NDOR and UNL laboratories to conduct comprehensive laboratory evaluations and pavement performance predictions of the …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Lte Physical Layer, Fahimeh Rezaei

Computer and Electronics Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) introduced Long Term Evolution (LTE) as the 3rd generation of mobile communication standards. LTE Release 8 describes a mobile communication standard which supports up to 300 Mbps of data transmission in downlink using the OFDM scheme as well as up to 75 Mbps throughput for uplink using the SC-FDMA modulation. In this thesis, an in-depth study of LTE performance based on Release 8 is conducted for uplink and downlink under different scenarios. The main objective of this study is to investigate a comprehensive analysis of physical layer throughput of LTE Release8 based on standard …

Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Mix Design Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Leonardo T. Souza, Yong-Rak Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Mix Design Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Yong-Rak Kim, Leonardo T. Souza

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This research targeted two primary purposes: to estimate current aggregate angularity test methods and to evaluate current aggregate angularity requirements in the Nebraska asphalt mixture/pavement specification. To meet the first research objective, various aggregate angularity tests were estimated with the same sets of aggregates and were compared by investigating their characteristics on testing repeatability, cost, testing time, workability, and sensitivity of test results. For the second objective, the effect of aggregate angularity on mixture performance was investigated by conducting laboratory performance tests (the uniaxial static creep test and the indirect tensile fracture energy test) of five mixes designed with different …

Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Mix Design Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Yong-Rak Kim, Leonardo T. Souza

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This research targeted two primary purposes: to estimate current aggregate angularity test methods and to evaluate current aggregate angularity requirements in the Nebraska asphalt mixture/pavement specification. To meet the first research objective, various aggregate angularity tests were estimated with the same sets of aggregates and were compared by investigating their characteristics on testing repeatability, cost, testing time, workability, and sensitivity of test results. For the second objective, the effect of aggregate angularity on mixture performance was investigated by conducting laboratory performance tests (the uniaxial static creep test and the indirect tensile fracture energy test) of five mixes designed with different …

Safety Performance Evaluation Of The Nebraska Open Bridge Rail On An Inverted Tee Bridge Deck, Karla A. Polivka, John R. Rohde, Dean L. Sicking, Ronald K. Faller, James C. Holloway M.S.C.E., E.I.T.

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Performance Tests Of Three-Point Mounted Implement Guidance Systems: Ii. Results, Michael F. Kocher, Michael B. Smith, Robert D. Grisso, Linda J. Young

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

Side-shift and disk-steer implement guidance systems were tested for differences in performance during cultivation on fields with 0 and 5% side slope. Test speeds were slow (4.8 km/h, 3 mph) and medium (8.0 km/h, 5 mph). Test path shapes included a tractor ramp, implement ramp, sine and curve. Performance measures included tractor positional error, implement positional error, torque from side forces on the cultivator non-swiveling coulters, and travel speed. Relatively few significant differences between guidance systems were detected, and most of those involved interaction with path shape. Therefore, no clear conclusion could be reached indicating one guidance system was better …

An Analysis Of Pressure Gasoline And Pressure Kerosene Stoves, Arnold E. Baragar

Historical Research Bulletins of the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station

During the past few years inquiries have been received regarding the cost of operation, efficiency, and performance of pressure gasoline and pressure kerosene stoves. Because of the method of operation and the use of gasoline as fuel, safety from fire and carbon monoxide has been frequently questioned. Not only is it necessary to have technical information about this type of appliance in order to compare it with other types but it is further important to know whether one type of burner is superior to another; whether one type of oven construction will give better results than another and in general …