Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Combined Behavioral And Engineering Approach To Preventing Highway Fatalities, Benjamin Blandford, Reginald Souleyrette, Caitlin N. Pope, Tony Fields, Erin Lammers-Staats

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Traditional, single-discipline highway safety approaches can be augmented through multidisciplinary approaches that consider both engineering and behavioral interventions (e.g., education, enforcement, public outreach campaigns). Leveraging a systems-based conceptual framework of roadway safety, multiple forms of statistical and geospatial analysis, and SPF modeling and network screening, this report proposes and demonstrates methods for unpacking the influence of behavioral-related factors on crash occurrences and outcomes. The primary focus is on behaviors targeted in the Strategic Highway Safety Plan — aggressive driving, distracted driving, impaired driving, and driving without proper restraint (i.e., seatbelts). Based on application of these methods, the report highlights areas …

A Case Study Of The Comparison Between Rubberized And Polymer Modified Asphalt On Heavy Traffic Pavement In Wet And Freeze Environment, Dongzhao Jin, Kwadwo Ampadu Boateng, Dongdong Ge, Tiankai Che, Lei Yin, Wayne Harrall, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications

Ground tire rubber (GTR) usage in asphalt pavement with the dry process has gained more prominence in recent times. The objective of this work is to investigate the pavement performance of GTR-modified asphalt pavement and polymer-modified asphalt pavement on heavy volume of traffic conditions in Michigan's wet and freeze environment. A suite of laboratory tests was done to evaluate the pavement performance of GTR-modified and polymer-modified asphalt mixtures. To reveal the strain and stress relationship under different frequencies and temperatures, the dynamic modulus test was applied. The Hamburg wheel tracking device (HWTD) was used to assess the high-temperature deformation resistance. …

Automated Detection And Characterization Of Cracks On Concrete Using Laser Scanning, Yunfeng Ge, Jenny Liu, Xiong Zhang, Huiming Tang, Xiaolong Xia

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Accurate crack detection and characterization on concrete are essential for the maintenance, safety, and serviceability of various infrastructures. In this paper, an innovative approach was developed to automatically measure the cracks from 3D point clouds collected by a phase-shift terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) (FARO Focus3D S120). The approach integrates several techniques to characterize the cracks, which include the deviation on point normal determined using k-nearest neighbor (kNN) and principal components analysis (PCA) algorithms to identify the cracks, and principal axes and curve skeletons of cracks to determine the projected and real dimensions of cracks, respectively. The coordinate transformation was then …

Development Of A Unified Personal And Commercial Residential Hurricane Vulnerability Model Including Sensitivity And Uncertainty Studies, Roberto Vicente Silva De Abreu

Theses and Dissertations

As the population and properties in the state of Florida increase, there is an increase in hurricane losses. Hurricane winds and debris can impact the exterior components of a building envelope. The envelope breaches and defects of these components provide a pathway to hurricane wind-driven rain into the building, which causes interior and contents damage. Loss models, such as the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model (FPHLM), estimate hurricane insured losses for portfolios of buildings. The vulnerability component of the FPHLM has a personal residential module (PR), for single family homes, and a commercial residential module (CR-LR), for apartment buildings. They …

Reducing The Vulnerability Of Electric Power Infrastructure Against Natural Disasters By Promoting Distributed Generation, Gasser G. Ali, Islam H. El-Adaway, Charles Sims, J. Scott Holladay, Chien Fei Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Natural disasters cause significant damage to the electrical power infrastructure every year. Therefore, there is a crucial need to reduce the vulnerability of the electric power grid against natural disasters. Distributed generation (DG) represents small-scale decentralized power generation that can help reduce the vulnerability of the grid, among many other benefits. Examples of DG include small-scale photo-voltaic (PV) systems. Accordingly, the goal of this paper is to investigate the benefits of DG in reducing the vulnerability of the electric power infrastructure by mitigating against the impact of natural disasters on transmission lines. This was achieved by developing a complex system-of-systems …

Improved Sustainability And Efficiency Of Partial Depth Concrete Bridge Deck Repair, Israi I. H. Abu Shanab

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, significant advances have been made in the development of rapid setting cementitious materials for partial depth bridge deck repair. The rapid set times of these materials allow for traffic to be re-opened onto the bridge deck in several hours versus days once the material has been placed. While this is a substantial improvement in reducing the traffic closure time, a large amount of time is still spent on the removal of damaged and deteriorated bridge deck and in preparing the concrete cutouts for placement of the rapid set material. Partial deck removal is a much more delicate process than …

Preferences Toward Augmented Reality Technologies For Pedestrian Navigation, Victoria Alejandra Diaz Mejia

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the demand for pedestrian navigation supported by augmented reality (AR) via headset and mobile technologies by evaluating factors specific to each technology and the decision makers. Recent advances in digital engineering systems, e.g., digital twins and smart cities, are enabling new services like AR-supported wayfinding for pedestrians. Still, it is unknown whether American pedestrians would use AR, the type devices and feature that add value to their navigation, the demographic profiles more inclined to AR wayfinding, and the sensitivity of such demand to software and hardware cost. As the first investigation addressing the demand for AR pedestrian …

Comparing 1d, 2d, And 3d Hydraulic Models In Urban Flooding Applications, Taylor Kesler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Floods have been a hazard to people since people first started building near rivers. Predicting floods can be very beneficial to save lives and property. Computers have made it possible to solve fluid dynamics equations in a fast and efficient manner. Computer programs have been designed to solve these equations and create digital models of floods.

This study compares three different methods of computer modeling and explores their advantages and disadvantages. One-dimensional models solve fluid equations by setting up a series of cross sections. Two-dimensional models use a grid-like mesh to solve fluid equations from one cell to the next. …

Estimating Seasonal Crop Water Consumption In Irrigated Lands Using Soil Moisture And Reference Evapotranspiration, Oliver Henry Hargreaves

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The increase in population and the megadrought that the American west has been experiencing for the past two decades and for the foreseeable future are the cause of great stress on the region’s water resources. In an effort to mitigate the worst effects of water shortages many public and private agencies have been pursuing ways to reduce water use while maintaining the current status quo of living standards, industrial productivity, and agricultural yield. This project aims to study water use in irrigated lands dedicated to agriculture with the objective of quantifying crop water use, often referred to as evapotranspiration (ET), …

Performance Assessment Of Bioasphalt Mixtures Containing Guayule Resin As An Innovative Biobased Asphalt Alternative, Ahmed Hemida, Magdy Abdelrahman

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Guayule resin was investigated through mixture to assess its role in the field performance. For performance comparisons, conventional asphalt, neat guayule, asphalt-rubber-guayule, and guayule-rubber binders were implied. Field-simulated lab mixtures were made to investigate the major distresses. Modified Lottman, rut, semicircular bending, and disk-shaped compact tension tests were used to assess stripping, rutting, fatigue, and thermal cracking resistances. Stripping and rutting susceptibilities were also assessed by Hamburg wheel-tracking test. The outcomes disclosed that when the modified Lottman test was used, guayule containing a 7% air content was more susceptible to stripping than that containing a 3.5% air content, resulting in …

Efficient Recycling Of Waste Rubber In A Sustainable Fiber-Reinforced Mortar And Its Damping And Energy Dissipation Capacity, Haodao Li, Wu Jian Long, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A Great Number of Waste Tires Are Discarded in Landfills, Occupying Land Resources, and Severely Endangering the Ecosystem. Upcycling These Wastes as Aggregates to Partially Substitute Natural Sand and Develop Structure-Function Integration in Concrete Structures is a Desirable Solution. in This Study, a Sustainable Fiber-Reinforced Rubberized Mortar with Superior Material Damping and Moderate Strength is Developed by Combined Use of Waste Crumb Rubber (WCR) Incorporated at 0, 30%, and 60%, by Volume of Sand, and Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Fiber Added at 0, 0.5%, and 1%, by Volume, in a High-Volume Fly Ash Binder System. Low-Temperature Plasma (LTP) Pre-Treatment of the …

Analysis Of Eccentrically Loaded Frp Partially Wrapped Reinforced Concrete Columns Subjected To Combined Environmental Erosion, Zhiqiang Gu, Congjie Wei, Chenglin Wu, Danying Gao, Peibo You, Dong Wei

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Behavior of Eccentrically Loaded Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) Partially Wrapped Reinforced Concrete (RC) Columns under Combined Environmental Erosion Was Investigated in This Paper. Circular RC Columns Were Firstly Subjected to Chloride Erosion Where the Target Corrosion Degree (0, 10 %, and 20 %) is Obtained with Externally Applied Current. This Was Then Followed by Partially Strengthening with 2-Ply of Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Strips as Well as 50 Freeze–thaw Cycles. Series of Eccentric Compression Tests Were Conducted with Ranging Eccentricities of 0, 5 Mm, 10 Mm, and 15 Mm. for Comparison, the Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) Partially …

Discrete-Element Modeling Of Shear-Induced Particle Migration During Concrete Pipe Flow: Effect Of Size Distribution And Concentration Of Aggregate On Formation Of Lubrication Layer, Tooran Tavangar, Masoud Hosseinpoor, Jeffrey S. Marshall, Ammar Yahia, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Paper Seeks to Better Understand the Particulate Mechanics Giving Rise to the Lubrication Layer (LL) in Flows with Wide Particle-Size Distributions (PSD) Typical of Concrete Pumping Applications. the Study Uses a Soft-Sphere Discrete Element Method (DEM) to Simulate the Shear-Induced Particle Migration (SIPM) Mechanism of Formation of the LL. to Provide Realistic Understanding of SIPM and Rheological Heterogeneity of Concrete, Three Wide PSDs (Fine, Medium, and Coarse) and Three Different Concentrations (10 %–40 %) of Five Spherical-Particle Subclasses (1–17 Mm Diameter) Were Investigated. the Radial Evolution of Concentration and Particle Distribution Was Simulated over Time and the LL Formation …

Investigation Of Corrosion Mechanism Of Ribbed Mild Steel Bars Coated With Magnesium Potassium Phosphate Cement Paste, Fan Zhang, John J. Myers, Wenyu Liao, Cun Hui, Hongyan Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Study Investigated the Anti-Corrosion Performance of Magnesium Potassium Phosphate Cement (MKPC) Paste Applied to the Surface of Ribbed Mild Steel Bars – Which Was Exposed to Simulated Accelerated Corrosive Environment. Four Electrochemical Approaches Were Used Including Open-Circuit Potential (OCP), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscope (EIS), Polarization Resistance (PR) and Potentiodynamic Polarization (PDP) over a Period of 5376 H (224 Days). Moreover, Visual Inspection, Optical Microscope, and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) Were Used to Assess the Extent of Corrosion on the Samples. to Understand the Mechanism of Corrosion Protection of the Coating System, X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) …

Raveling Performance Of Conventional And Rubberized Chip Seal Under Field And Laboratory Traffic Loading, Alireza Pourhassan, Ahmed A. Gheni, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Raveling, or the Loss of Surface Aggregate, is a Major Concern in Chip Seal Pavement. Previous Studies Have Used the Standard Sweep, Vialit, and Pennsylvania Tests to Evaluate Raveling, But These Tests Do Not Replicate the Stresses of Rolling Vehicle Tires on Chip Seal and Have Produced Inconsistent Results. Additionally, These Tests Mainly Evaluate Early-Stage Raveling Due to their Short Curing Time. in This Study, a Small-Wheel Traffic Simulation Device (SWTS) Was Used to Apply Similar Stresses as Rolling Vehicle Tires and Produce Comparable Raveling Results. This Was Confirmed through a 13-Month Field Observation of Chip Seal, Where the Laboratory …

Optimizing Locations And Sizes Of Asphalt Concrete Plants In Karbala, Iraq, Ghayath Ali, Sawsan R Mohammad, Alaa M. Abdulhussein

Al-Bahir Journal for Engineering and Pure Sciences

This study develops and presents a methodology for determining the optimal geographic distribution and size of asphalt concrete plants in Karbala, Iraq, in order to minimize the cost of asphalt concrete produced. The purpose of this study is to discuss these points. The methodology can identify potential locations for asphalt concrete plants within a study area, considering the plants' operation and capital costs and the costs of transporting raw materials to the plants and asphalt concrete to demand centers. Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) software have been used to program the methodology. This methodology has been applied to Karbala using actual data. …

Hyperspectral Reflectance For Determination Of Steel Rebar Corrosion And Cl− Concentration, Pengfei Ma, Liang Fan, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Study, a New Method is Proposed to Determine Chloride Ion (Cl−) Concentration and Steel Rebar Corrosion from Hyperspectral Spectroscopy. Three Groups of Mortar Cubes with Water-To-Cement (W/c) Ratios of 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7 Were Subjected to Rapid Corrosion Testing in 3.5 Wt% NaCl Solution to Accelerate the Transport of Chloride Ions. Embedded Along the Centerline of Each Mortar Cube Was a Steel Rebar that Corroded When the Cl− Accumulation Around It Exceeded a Critical/threshold Concentration. Open Circuit Potential Was Measured to Characterize the Corrosion Possibility of Steel Rebar. Mortar Surfaces Were Scanned with a Hyperspectral Camera in the …

Comprehensive Microenvironment Monitoring For The Productivity And Welfare Of Sows And Piglets, Jun Ho Kim

Graduate Industrial Research Symposium

The world is facing increasing food demand and climate change. To improve piglet survivability and sow welfare through microenvironment management using precision technology, a USDA sponsored research project started in 2021 and is ongoing. A comprehensive yet low-cost system was designed and developed for continuous and real-time microenvironment monitoring in three rooms of Farrowing Building #1 at the Animal Sciences Research and Education Center, Purdue University. The system consists of two gas analyzers and 103 different sensors, including sensors in a weather station. The first trial of the project was conducted from Jan. 13 to Feb. 8, 2023, when the …

Evaluating The Environmental Impacts Of U.S. Historical Oil Spill Incidents, Yiming Liu, Hua Cai

Graduate Industrial Research Symposium

The adverse impacts of extremely large oil spill incidents such as Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill have been widely studied in recent years. Catastrophic oil spill disasters such as Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill have been widely studied. While vast smaller oil spills, which also could result in significant amount of oil release, still lack attention.

This research assessed distributions and environmental impacts caused by historical oil spill incidents in U.S. We first analyzed the spatial and temporal characteristics of oil spills. Then the relationship between spillage amount and spill frequency is evaluated via statistical approaches. Last, based on a thorough literature …

Integrating Quality Assurance In Balance Mix Designs For Durable Asphalt Mixtures: State-Of-The-Art Literature Review, Yizhuang David Wang, Jun Liu, Jenny Liu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Delivering durable asphalt concrete within a reasonable cost is one of the great ambitions of pavement material engineers. This state-of-the-art review article documents the efforts spent in the past two decades to ensure the durability and performance of asphalt mixtures in mix design and production. A perspective with the attempt to integrate laboratory mix design, plant production quality assurance, and field place acceptance is applied in the review. The development of the performance specification and performance mix design is summarized. The paper categorizes performance specification into index-based performance specification and predictive performance specification that include performance-related specification and performance-based specification. …

The Effect Of Relative Humidity On Eddy Covariance Latent Heat Flux Measurements And Its Implication For Partitioning Into Transpiration And Evaporation, Weijie Zhang, Martin Jung, Mirco Migliavacca, Rafael Poyatos, Diego G. Miralles, Tarek S. El-Madany, Marta Galvagno, Arnaud Carrara, Nicola Arriga, Andreas Ibrom, Ivan Mammarella, Dario Papale, Jamie R. Cleverly, Michael Liddell, Georg Wohlfahrt, Christian Markwitz, Matthias Mauder, Eugenie Paul-Limoges, Marius Schmidt, Sebastian Wolf, Christian Brümmer, M. Altaf Arain, Silvano Fares, Tomomichi Kato, Jonas Ardö, Walter Oechel, Chad Hanson, Mika Korkiakoski, Sébastien Biraud, Rainer Steinbrecher, Dave Billesbach, Leonardo Montagnani, William Woodgate, Changliang Shao, Nuno Carvalhais, Markus Reichstein, Jacob A. Nelson

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

While the eddy covariance (EC) technique is a well-established method for measuring water fluxes (i.e., evaporation or 'evapotranspiration’, ET), the measurement is susceptible to many uncertainties. One such issue is the potential underestimation of ET when relative humidity (RH) is high (>70%), due to low-pass filtering with some EC systems. Yet, this underestimation for different types of EC systems (e.g. open-path or closed-path sensors) has not been characterized for synthesis datasets such as the widely used FLUXNET2015 dataset. Here, we assess the RH-associated underestimation of latent heat fluxes (LE, or ET) from different EC systems for 163 sites in …

Compaction Quality Assurance Specifications Of Unbound Materials, Beshoy Riad, Xiong Zhang, Jenny Liu, Yizhuang David Wang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Compaction quality control/assurance of unbound geomaterials is one of the crucial components in pavement and embankment construction to ensure their performance, stability, and sustainability. Conventional density-based methods such as nuclear density gauge to determine the compaction quality have been widely used due to the straightforward relationship between the readings and targeted material property. Recent modifications in construction standards and the introduction of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide have inspired a growing interest in developing and implementing strength/stiffness-based compaction control quality assurance (QA) specifications. Numerous studies have been dedicated to investigating the efficiency and effectiveness of the stiffness-based compaction QA tools. …

Deep Learning To Predict The Hydration And Performance Of Fly Ash-Containing Cementitious Binders, Taihao Han, Rohan Bhat, Sai Akshay Ponduru, Amit Sarkar, Jie Huang, Gaurav Sant, Hongyan Ma, Narayanan Neithalath, Aditya Kumar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fly ash (FA) – an industrial byproduct – is used to partially substitute Portland cement (PC) in concrete to mitigate concrete's environmental impact. Chemical composition and structure of FAs significantly impact hydration kinetics and compressive strength of concrete. Due to the substantial diversity in these physicochemical attributes of FAs, it has been challenging to develop a generic theoretical framework – and, therefore, theory-based analytical models – that could produce reliable, a priori predictions of properties of [PC + FA] binders. In recent years, machine learning (ML) – which is purely data-driven, as opposed to being derived from theorical underpinnings – …

Deep Learning To Predict The Hydration And Performance Of Fly Ash-Containing Cementitious Binders, Taihao Han, Rohan Bhat, Sai Akshay Ponduru, Amit Sarkar, Jie Huang, Gaurav Sant, Hongyan Ma, Narayanan Neithalath, Aditya Kumar

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fly ash (FA) – an industrial byproduct – is used to partially substitute Portland cement (PC) in concrete to mitigate concrete's environmental impact. Chemical composition and structure of FAs significantly impact hydration kinetics and compressive strength of concrete. Due to the substantial diversity in these physicochemical attributes of FAs, it has been challenging to develop a generic theoretical framework – and, therefore, theory-based analytical models – that could produce reliable, a priori predictions of properties of [PC + FA] binders. In recent years, machine learning (ML) – which is purely data-driven, as opposed to being derived from theorical underpinnings – …

Garden Improvements For "The Ranch", Ayden J. Cole

Construction Management

The Ranch spans over ten-and-a-half acres and provides employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The core focus of The Ranch is cultivating small crops and raising livestock, which are tended to and harvested by individuals with disabilities. The ultimate aim is to provide them with hands-on experience of working on a farm and how to take care of livestock and grow food. However, the existing property of The Ranch was not exactly what they wanted for their students' learning environment. The existing area where the crops were being grown was not fenced in so critters were getting into the garden …

Collaboration Between Science And Art Through A Special International Symposium For Ecosystem Health And Sustainability, Changwoo Ahn Dr.

The STEAM Journal

The collaborations between ecosystem restoration and art practices was epitomized by the eco-artist Jackie Brookner who said: “it is not a matter of the scientists providing the hard-core research and artists the soft outreach; rather, the dynamics engendered in the space between disciplines is full of information necessary to solve complex problems at the systemic level”. This paper reviews and summaries the goals, activities, and lessons learned from a special symposium, which was held at the 12^th INTECOL (International Congress of Ecology) conference in Beijing, China, August 21 through 25, 2017, where about 3000 people attended from 70 countries. …

Steam And Environmental Justice In An Interdisciplinary Context, Paula Farca, Alina Handorean, Jürgen Brune

The STEAM Journal

This course proposes an interdisciplinary perspective, envisions unique synergies between environmental justice concepts and STEAM projects on mining, and aims to solidify a foundation based on justice, equity, equality, and empathy for STEM students and faculty. Our (S)TEAM made of professors in three academic departments underscores interdisciplinary and diversity connections through an interdisciplinary team-taught course, units on environmental justice related to mining, teaching of literary texts, and STEAM projects. We also involved faculty, alumni, and our campus and city community through STEAM exhibits.

Gömböc The Great, Indigo M. Strickert, Lori E. Bradford

The STEAM Journal

A sonnet written about the mathematics behind the self-righting shape of some tortoise shells.

Enhancing Performance Of Gravity Driven Membranes For Water Purification In Small Rural Communities, Amr Ezzat Melligy Mr.

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the rapid population growth in Egypt, providing safe drinking water is becoming an ongoing challenge especially in rural scattered communities. It became more crucial than ever to find innovative and affordable solutions to purify water and reduce water-borne diseases. Ultrafiltration and micro-filtration membranes has been successful in large, centralized plants and is currently one of the popular solutions to provide high quality product water. However, using those membrane systems in rural areas is challenged by several parameters; among which are; the absence of skilled workers, stable energy sources and availability of chemicals. The goal of this thesis is …

Implications Of Good Faith In Construction Contracts, Nadine Rashed

Theses and Dissertations

The principle of good faith is making inroads and continues to significantly impact various contractual arrangements. In most civil legal systems, good faith is present as a core principle. Nevertheless, its definition is beyond doubt scarce in the construction industry. However, the common law lacks the good faith obligations. Good faith is one of the fundamental principles that impact the contractual obligations between the contracting parties. This paper creates an urge to address the implications of good faith on construction contracts in the pre-contract and post-contract award stages. Therefore, the paper’s objective is to propose a legal/contractual clause that meets …