Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Engineering And Computer Science, Spring 2018, Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

No abstract provided.

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Engineering And Computer Science, Fall 2017, Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

No abstract provided.

Soft Elastomeric Capacitor Network For Strain Sensing Over Large Surfaces, Simon Laflamme, Husaam S. Saleem, Bharath K. Vasan, Randall L. Geiger, Degang J. Chen, Michael R. Kessler, Krishna Rajan

Randall Geiger

Field applications of existing sensing solutions to structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil structures are limited. This is due to economical and/or technical challenges in deploying existing sensing solutions to monitor geometrically large systems. To realize the full potential of SHM solutions, it is imperative to develop scalable cost-effective sensing strategies. We present a novel sensor network specifically designed for strain sensing over large surfaces. The network consists of soft elastomeric capacitors (SECs) deployed in an array form. Each SEC acts as a surface strain gage transducing local strain into changes in capacitance. Results show that the sensor network can …

Natural Selection Of Asphalt Mix Stiffness Predictive Models With Genetic Programming, Kasthurirangan Gopalakrishnan, Sunghwan Kim, Halil Ceylan, Siddhartha K. Khaitan

Siddhartha Khaitan

Genetic Programming (GP) is a systematic, domain-independent evolutionary computation technique that stochastically evolves populations of computer programs to perform a user-defined task. Similar to Genetic Algorithms (GA) which evolves a population of individuals to better ones, GP iteratively transforms a population of computer programs into a new generation of programs by applying biologically inspired operations such as crossover, mutation, etc. In this paper, a population of Hot-Mix Asphalt (HMA) dynamic modulus stiffness prediction models is genetically evolved to better ones by applying the principles of genetic programming. The HMA dynamic modulus (|E*|), one of the stiffness measures, is the primary …

Smart Sensing Skin For Detection And Localization Of Fatigue Cracks, Sari Kharroub, Simon Laflamme, Chunhui Song, Daji Qiao, Brent M. Phares, Jian Li

Daji Qiao

Fatigue cracks on steel components may have strong consequences on the structure's serviceability and strength. Their detection and localization is a difficult task. Existing technologies enabling structural health monitoring have a complex link signal-to-damage or have economic barriers impeding large-scale deployment. A solution is to develop sensing methods that are inexpensive, scalable, with signals that can directly relate to damage. The authors have recently proposed a smart sensing skin for structural health monitoring applications to mesosystems. The sensor is a thin film soft elastomeric capacitor (SEC) that transduces strain into a measurable change in capacitance. Arranged in a network configuration, …

Scene Projection By Non-Linear Transforms To A Geo-Referenced Map For Situational Awareness, Kevin C. Krucki, Vijayan K. Asari

Vijayan K. Asari

There are many transportation and surveillance cameras currently in use in major cities that are close to the ground and show scenes from a perspective point of view. It can be difficult to follow an object of interest across multiple cameras if many of these cameras are in the same area due to the different orientations of these cameras. This is especially true when compared to wide area aerial surveillance (WAAS). To correct this problem, this research provides a method to non-linearly transform current camera perspective views into real world coordinates that can be placed on a map. Using a …

Recent Progress In Wide-Area Surveillance: Protecting Our Pipeline Infrastructure, Vijayan K. Asari, Paheding Sidike, Chen Cui, Varun Santhaseelan

Vijayan K. Asari

The pipeline industry has millions of miles of pipes buried along the length and breadth of the country. Since none of the areas through which pipelines run are to be used for other activities, it needs to be monitored so as to know whether the right-of-way (RoW) of the pipeline is encroached upon at any point in time. Rapid advances made in the area of sensor technology have enabled the use of high end video acquisition systems to monitor the RoW of pipelines. The images captured by aerial data acquisition systems are affected by a host of factors that include …

How To Establish Successful Cooperative Student Learning Centers For Stem Courses, Ronald James Bieniek, Douglas R. Carroll, Cesar Mendoza, Oran Allan Pringle, Ekkehard Sinn, Kai-Tak Wan, Donald C. Wunsch

Oran Pringle

Students learn more if they are actively involved in the learning process, particularly in a cooperative manner. Several UMR faculty have operated course-based learning centers (LCs) as part of the campus-wide Learning Enhancement Across Disciplines (LEAD) Program of student learning assistance and enhancement. LCs are designed to assist large numbers of students in a cost- and time-efficient manner that promotes student engagement without requiring undue amounts of faculty time. Course instructors spend time in the open learning environment of the LC, in lieu of office hours, guiding students to master course material and skills in their evolution from novice to …

Umass Amherst Green Building Guidelines 2013, Ludmilla Pavlova-Gillham, Ted Mendoza, Ezra Small, Patricia O'Flaherty, Nariman Mostafavi, Mohamed Farzinmoghadam, Somayeh Tabatabaee Pozveh

Ludmilla D Pavlova

Facilities & Campus Services, Sustainable UMass and Campus Planning support sustainability and energy conservation initiatives by providing in-house resources to campus staff as well as designers and contractors working with the University. The UMass Amherst Green Building Guidelines provide a framework for approaching new construction and major renovation projects at UMass Amherst that are undergoing LEED certification by focusing the conversation on green building aspects that are most important to the campus. They are intended to be the beginning of a dynamic conversation between designers, environmental consultants and constructors, university stakeholders, and users of new high performance buildings.

Finding An Optimal Path: Highways Versus Local Roads, Gabriel Leiner

Gabriel Leiner

Commuters across the United States are often presented with the dilemma of whether to wait at an onramp to get on a highway or look for short-cuts on local roads. An answer to this question may lie in the use of Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) wireless technology. With the touch of a button, connected vehicle technology could allow drivers to access real time information about the sizes and speeds of queues at highway onramps, as well as the signal phases of traffic lights on local roads. In the future, drivers could rely on this information to make valid judgments …

The Development Of Humans – A Study Including Languages, Cultures, Religions And Genetics, Dr. Erik Dahlquist, Dr. Allan Dahlquist

Dr. Erik Dahlquist

The book covers the development of culture, religion, language and genetics of the human population since prehistory. Four main cultures have spread around the globe: 1) Monosyllabic language people with ancestor cult 2) Austroasiatic people with sun worshipping and megalit graves. Counting with 20 as the base 3) Uralic speaking people with kings from the sky, and strong city states. Moon and mother godess. Don´t differentiate between male and female, he and she. 4) Inflectual language speaking people with sky gods and cattles. Indoeuropeans. Often endings differentiating he and she. Shows how original cultures are refelected in todays society.

Homeland Security: Engaging The Frontlines - Symposium Proceedings, George H. Baker, Cheryl J. Elliott

George H Baker

The rise of the American homeland security endeavor under the leadership of the new Department of Homeland Security has been heralded by several major national strategy documents. These documents have served to organize efforts at top levels within the government and industry. However, the national strategy guidance is not getting to many organizations and people at the grass-roots level who can make the most difference in preventing attacks, protecting systems, and recovering from catastrophic events, viz. the general citizenry, private infrastructure owners, and local governments. To better understand grass-roots issues and solutions, James Madison University, in cooperation with the Federal …

Network Security Risk Assessment Modeling Tools For Critical Infrastructure Assessment, George H. Baker, Samuel Redwine, Joseph Blandino

George H Baker

The James Madison University (JMU) CIPP research team is developing Network Security Risk Assessment Modeling (NSRAM) tools that will enable the assessment of both cyber and physical infrastructure security risks. The effort is driven by the need to predict and compute the probability of adverse effects stemming from system attacks and malfunctions, to understand their consequences, and to improve existing systems to minimize these consequences.

The tools are targeted at systems supporting critical infrastructures varying from individual systems to organization-wide systems, to systems covering entire geographical regions. Early work emphasizes computing systems, but systems sharing the network nature of computing …

Progress In The Development Of Hemp Protection Standards For C3i Facilities, George H. Baker, Clinton R. Gordon

George H Baker

DoD is involved in EMP standards development efforts which culminate 25 years of research. This paper previews an EMP protection standard for fixed, ground-based communication facilities. The standard uses a low-risk hardening approach which depends on an electromagnetic barrier comprised of a conducting shield to prevent harmful transients from reaching communication electronics. The standard is the first of its kind and is being instituted as MIL-STD-188-125.