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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Material Length Scales In Gradient-Dependent Plasticity/Damage And Size Effects: Theory And Computation, Rashid Kamel Abu Al-Rub Jan 2004

Material Length Scales In Gradient-Dependent Plasticity/Damage And Size Effects: Theory And Computation, Rashid Kamel Abu Al-Rub

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Structural materials display a strong size-dependence when deformed non-uniformly into the inelastic range: smaller is stronger. This effect has important implications for an increasing number of applications in structural failure, electronics, functional coatings, composites, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), nanostructured materials, micro/nanometer fabrication technologies, etc. The mechanical behavior of these applications cannot be characterized by classical (local) continuum theories because they incorporate no ‘material length scales’ and consequently predict no size effects. On the other hand, it is still not possible to perform quantum and atomistic simulations on realistic time and structures. It is therefore necessary to develop a scale-dependent continuum theory …


Development Of Dynamic Travel Demand Models For Hurricane Evacuation, Haoqiang Fu Jan 2004

Development Of Dynamic Travel Demand Models For Hurricane Evacuation, Haoqiang Fu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Little attention has been given to estimating dynamic travel demand in transportation planning in the past. However, when factors influencing travel are changing significantly over time – such as with an approaching hurricane - dynamic demand and the resulting variation in traffic flow on the network become important. In this study, dynamic travel demand models for hurricane evacuation were developed with two methodologies: survival analysis and sequential choice model. Using survival analysis, the time before evacuation from a pending hurricane is modeled with those that do not evacuate considered as censored observations. A Cox proportional hazards regression model with time-dependent …


Modeling The Hydrologic And Particulate Loadings From Paved Urban Surfaces, Chad Michael Cristina Jan 2004

Modeling The Hydrologic And Particulate Loadings From Paved Urban Surfaces, Chad Michael Cristina

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation details the results of recent investigations concerning non-colloidal particulate matter found in urban rainfall-runoff and urban snowmelt. Three forms of the power law model (PLM) were used to model particle number density. It was found that significant model error could be introduced into PLMs when the median diameter particle was used to estimate the number of particles per interval, but the SSE of continuous PLMs could be significantly reduced through the use of correction factors when the sieve interval was large (P<0.05). Additionally, a multiple PLM analysis may be more appropriate than a single PLM analysis when changes in particle population occur within a single gradation. PLMs were also used to model the relationship between cumulative granulometric mass and cumulative particulate-bound metal mass. The use of such calibrated PLMs provided considerable cost reduction when compared to conventional direct measurements of particulate-bound metal mass. A first flush analysis indicated that only events with average volumetric flow rates approaching 1 L/min/m of drainage width exhibit a rapid depletion of particulate matter consistent with the concentration-based definition of the first flush. An analysis of particle separation mechanisms indicated that 90% of these particles, by mass, could be removed from the discharge with detention times of 30 min and 120 min for snowmelt and rainfall-runoff, respectively, in a typical roadside drainage system. It was also found that the kinematic wave model could accurately model significant aspects of rainfall-runoff events in traffic-impacted watersheds provided that abstractions were incorporated into the modeling process. For this watershed the source of abstraction was attributable to vehicular traffic. For high-intensity events with more than 10 vehicles per runoff volume (VPV) the runoff coefficient varied between 0.6 and 0.9 while for low-intensity events with fewer than 10 VPV the coefficient ranged between 0.2 and 0.4.


Numerical Simulation And Field Verification Of Inclined Piezocone Penetration Test In Cohesive Soils, Lei Wei Jan 2004

Numerical Simulation And Field Verification Of Inclined Piezocone Penetration Test In Cohesive Soils, Lei Wei

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A large strain finite element analysis is performed to analyze the effect of soil anisotropy on the inclined piezocone penetration test in normally consolidated cohesive soils. The piezocone penetration is numerically simulated using the commercial finite element code ABAQUS. The saturated clay is modeled as a two-phase material and the effective stress principle is used to describe its behavior. A frictional contact interface utilizing Mohr-Coulomb's theory was chosen to represent interactions between the surface of the cone and the soil. The Anisotropic Modified Cam Clay Model (AMCCM) by Dafalias (1987) was chosen and implemented into ABAQUS through user subroutine UMAT. …


Numerical Modeling Of Strain Localization In Granular Materials Using Cosserat Theory Enhanced With Microfabric Properties, Mustafa Alsaleh Jan 2004

Numerical Modeling Of Strain Localization In Granular Materials Using Cosserat Theory Enhanced With Microfabric Properties, Mustafa Alsaleh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Finite element solution in the updated Lagrangian frame is used to investigate the strain localization phenomenon "shear bands" in granular materials. The micro-polar theory was used as the mathematical foundation for the continuum formulations. A laboratory testing results are used for verification and comparison with the numerical simulation. Silica sand and glass beads with different shape indices, size and surface roughness were tested under biaxial and triaxial loading conditions to investigate the physics of the problem. The shape non-uniformity and the irregular surface roughness of the grains were studied carefully to evaluate their effect on shear band characteristics. To this …


Modeling Event-Based Coupled Hydrologic And Mass Transport In Small Urban Watersheds, Yuhong Sheng Jan 2004

Modeling Event-Based Coupled Hydrologic And Mass Transport In Small Urban Watersheds, Yuhong Sheng

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

To investigate the event-based coupled hydrologic and mass transport processes of particulate matter and their eventual fate in unit operations/processes, several methodologies were developed. Discrete rainfall-runoff events data were collected at two similar urban watersheds for model calibration and verification. A mathematically and physically-based criterion was proposed to differentiate rainfall-runoff events between either mass-limited or flow-limited. Statistical techniques of Logistic Regression and Discriminant Analysis were utilized to derive classification rules for event categories based on hydrologic data only. With watersheds assumed as either lumped systems or distributed systems, physically-based semi-empirical models were developed to simulate particulate mass delivery process during …


Design And Operating Strategies For Bioreactors Treating Dynamically Varying Concentrations Of Gas-Phase Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs), Congna Li Jan 2004

Design And Operating Strategies For Bioreactors Treating Dynamically Varying Concentrations Of Gas-Phase Volatile Organic Compounds (Vocs), Congna Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The dynamically varying concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in most waste gas streams present a challenge in design and operation of biofilters treating such off-gases. Studies described in this dissertation were directed toward development and experimental testing of two design modifications/operating strategies that have the potential to improve biofilter performance during unsteady-state loadings. In the first design modification studied, activated carbon was incorporated into biofilter packing media and a novel periodic operating strategy, Sequencing Batch Biofilter (SBB) operation, was tested under “normal” and various “shock” loading conditions treating methyl ethyl ketone contaminated air. Results demonstrate how the operational flexibility …


Dynamic Performance Of Bridges And Vehicles Under Strong Wind, Suren Chen Jan 2004

Dynamic Performance Of Bridges And Vehicles Under Strong Wind, Suren Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The record of span length for flexible bridges has been broken with the development of modern materials and construction techniques. With the increase of bridge span, the dynamic response of the bridge becomes more significant under external wind action and traffic loads. The present research targets specifically on dynamic performance of bridges as well as the transportation under strong wind. The dissertation studied the coupled vibration features of bridges under strong wind. The current research proposed the modal coupling assessment technique for bridges. A closed-form spectral solution and a practical methodology are provided to predict coupled multimode vibration without actually …


Small And Large Strain Monitoring Of Unsaturated Soil Behavior By Means Of Multiaxial Testing And Shear Wave Propagation, Oscar F. Porras Ortiz Jan 2004

Small And Large Strain Monitoring Of Unsaturated Soil Behavior By Means Of Multiaxial Testing And Shear Wave Propagation, Oscar F. Porras Ortiz

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The deformation and strength behavior of dry and saturated soils is controlled by the effective stresses as defined by Terzaghi. However, Terzaghi’s definition of the effective stresses fails for unsaturated soils, as capillarity force influence is also important. The effects of capillarity forces in soil are evaluated by the concept of matrix suction. Several techniques are used to evaluate soil suction however their applications involve difficult calibrations and tedious methodology. Furthermore, suction is a microscopic property and it is influenced by interparticle soil attraction, which can change by sampling disturbance. This research program evaluates the effect of suction on stiffness …