Computational Engineering Commons^™

Quantifying Hurricane Effects On Housing: Evaluating Damage, Loss, And Shelter Demands Using Historical And Simulated Storm Tracks, Adish Deep Shakya

All Theses

This research introduces an advanced framework which employs parametric wind field models for peak wind speeds, and building fragility curves, loss functions, and demographic data to estimate for estimating housing damage and loss. The uninhabitable units immediate displaced households, short-term and long-term shelter need households are determined. with a particular focus on those eligible for FEMA assistance. The framework's validity is reinforced by a high correlation in the analysis of recent hurricane events between estimated numbers of displaced households and actual FEMA aid recipients, where FEMA aids about 20-60% of the predicted long-term displaced households. A novel application of the …

Resources Based Planning Framework For Infrastructure Maintenance And Rehabilitation Projects, Heba Gad

Theses and Dissertations

Infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation projects involve activities scattered over a large geographical area (e.g., scattered road segments maintenance, telecom towers maintenance program, etc.). Planning such projects require a resource-based approach that accounts for the implications of resource mobility between activities’ locations in terms of time & cost. Existing scheduling techniques fall short of addressing the unique challenges of the scattered nature of these projects in combination with organization's limited resources availability. To address this need, this research presents a resources-based planning framework for infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation scattered projects with the objective of enhancing resources utilization achieving time and cost …

An Artificial Intelligence Tool For The Selection Of Delay Analysis Technique In Construction, Mostafa Farouk

Theses and Dissertations

The increasing complexity and magnitude of projects impose greater impact of delays on stakeholders. Construction delays are a major source of disputes in construction projects. Since a construction project depends on interactions and shared responsibilities among parties, research works were directed toward identifying delay causes, quantifying their impacts, and proposing ways to deal with them. Several delay analysis techniques (DATs) are available, but when applied to the same project’s delays provide different results. Thus, the selection of the DAT to use in evaluating delays becomes vital. Reviewing the literature, it has been realized that often there are disagreements, which lead …

Development And Prediction Of A Construction Price Index In Egypt, Mohamed Ramadan

Theses and Dissertations

Cost overrun is one of the most recurring issues in the Egyptian construction industry. The effect is not only on the construction industry ,but also influences the overall economy of a country like Egypt. Therefore, a construction performance index and a construction price index could be an integral indicator of the performance of the industry. These indices can reduce construction companies’ losses and decrease the effect of any sudden economic depression on the construction industry. Several research were conducted to predict construction indices. However, many uncertainties disturb the prediction of these indices. The trend in the prediction models for construction …

Assessment Of Contract Terms And Conditions For Lump-Sum Contracts, Omar Othman

Theses and Dissertations

A Contract is a tool that defines the obligations of the contracting parties and assigns the risk between them. Contracts are usually drafted to meet the interests of the owner by addressing the legal issues and liabilities. Meanwhile, less emphasis is placed on clearly communicating the contract terms and ensuring that all contracting parties comprehend their risks and obligations. In a country like Egypt, which has faced drastic economic and political changes in the past few years, and yet is experiencing a boom in the construction sector, many developers tend to draft contracts that might be legally complicated or lacks …

Context-Aware Sensing And Fusion For Structural Health Monitoring And Night Time Traffic Surveillance, Xinxiang Zhang

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Rapid developments in computer vision technologies have been transforming many traditional fields in engineering and science in the last few decades, especially in terms of diagnosing problems from visual images. Leveraging computer vision technologies to inspect, monitor, assess infrastructure conditions, and analyze traffic dynamics, has gained significant increase in both effectiveness and efficiency, compared to the cost of traditional instrumentation arrays to monitor, and manually inspect civil infrastructures and traffic conditions. Therefore, to construct the next-generation intelligent civil and transportation infrastructures, this dissertation develops a comprehensive computer-vision based sensing and fusion framework for structural health monitoring and intelligent transportation systems. …

Evaluación Analítica De Parámetros No Considerados En La Formulación De Resistencia Nominal De Conectores Tipo Espigo, José David Ovalle Fernández, William Oswaldo Ramírez Patiño

Ingeniería Civil

Existe una gran variedad de sistemas estructurales, cada uno con características específicas para el soporte de cargas verticales y horizontales. Uno de ellos, el sistema compuesto, el cual es desarrollado buscando ventajas como: la optimización del uso de los materiales combinando ambos en una unidad estructural, el uso de mayores luces entre columnas; la posibilidad de reutilización de la estructura; reducción de los costos de construcción debido a la disminución de tiempos en obra; de tamaño de columnas y cimentación; además, del aumento de protección contra el fuego y corrosión.

Con la aplicación de tecnologías como la soldadura, fue posible …

Laboratory Testing And Mechanistic Analysis Of Treated Subgrade Soils, Hari Kumar Reddy Yarrapureddi

Civil Engineering Theses

Calcium-based stabilizing agents such as cement and lime have been extensively used to improve the engineering properties of base and subgrade layers of pavement systems. Recently, polymers and chemical stabilizers have become popular due to cost efficiency, ease of application, and fast curing times. In this study, California Bearing Ratio (CBR) values of polymer and chemical treated soils were compared with the CBR values of soils treated with conventional stabilizers. Parametric sensitivity analyses was carried out on key parameters including the type of subgrade soil, stabilizing agent, stabilizing agent treatment levels, and moisture conditioning. Additionally, numerical analyses was performed to …

Expanding The Concept Of Comprehensive Area Ratio Parameter To The South-Central States Towards Simplifying The Structural Evaluation Of Flexible Pavements At The Network Level, Nitish R. Bastola

Civil Engineering Theses

The surface deflection bowl data collected through Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) has been widely utilized by various Department of Transportation (DOTs) in the South-Central States and other places. The primary purpose of using deflection-based NDTs in network-level assessment is to identify a weak pavement section that requires further analysis at the project level. The falling weight deflectometer (FWD) test is one of the common NDT based tests utilized by highway agencies in assessing the performance of the flexible pavement. However, a robust method to evaluate pavement sections utilizing FWD data from all the sensors are seldom developed. There is always a …

Classification, Localization, And Quantification Of Structural Damage In Concrete Structures Using Convolutional Neural Networks, Majdi Flah

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Applications of Machine Learning (ML) algorithms in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) have recently become of great interest owing to their superior ability to detect damage in engineering structures. ML algorithms used in this domain are classified into two major subfields: vibration-based and image-based SHM. Traditional condition survey techniques based on visual inspection have been the most widely used for monitoring concrete structures in service. Inspectors visually evaluate defects based on experience and engineering judgment. However, this process is subjective, time-consuming, and hampered by difficult access to numerous parts of complex structures. Accordingly, the present study proposes a nearly automated inspection …

Life Cycle Information Models With Parameter Uncertainty Analysis To Facilitate The Use Of Life-Cycle Assessment Outcomes In Pavement Design Decision-Making, Chaitanya Ganesh Bhat

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The objective of this dissertation is to develop Life Cycle Information Models (LCIMs) to promote consistent and credible communication of potential environmental impacts quantified through Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The introduction of Life Cycle Information Models (LCIMs) will shift the focus of pavement LCA stakeholders to collect reliable foreground data and adapt to consistent background data present within LCIMs. LCA methodology requires significant Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) data to model real world systems and quantify potential environmental impacts. The lack of guidance in ISO standards on consistently compiling LCI data and defining protocols for modeling lowers the reliability of LCA …

On The Ramberg-Osgood Stress-Strain Model And Large Deformations Of Cantilever Beams, Ronald J. Giardina Jr

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis the Ramberg-Osgood nonlinear model for describing the behavior of many different materials is investigated. A brief overview of the model as it is currently used in the literature is undertaken and several misunderstandings and possible pitfalls in its application is pointed out, especially as it pertains to more recent approaches to finding solutions involving the model. There is an investigation of the displacement of a cantilever beam under a combined loading consisting of a distributed load across the entire length of the beam and a point load at its end and new solutions to this problem are …

Slope Stability Enhancement Of An Upstream Tailings Dam: Laboratory Testing And Numerical Modelling, Yazeed A. Alsharedah

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Mine tailings are the byproduct of mining activities, which need to be disposed of once the ore is extracted. They can be disposed of in either dry or wet forms. The latter is most common with the tailings being disposed of in the form of slurry inside retention structures. The retention structure may be a natural, manmade, or built dam, which is the case in most of nowadays mining locations. In this thesis, improving the stability of an upstream tailings dam using soil additives is investigated. The experimental phase of this study involved laboratory tests conducted to characterize mine tailings …

Real-Time Hybrid Simulation With Online Model Updating, Adam Mueller

Masters Theses

Hybrid simulations have shown great potential for economic and reliable assessment of structural seismic performance through a combination of physically tested components, called the experimental substructure, and numerically simulated components, called the numerical substructure. Current hybrid simulation practices often use a fixed numerical model without considering the possible availability of a more accurate model obtained during hybrid simulation through an online model updating technique. To address this limitation and improve the reliability of numerical models in hybrid simulations, this study describes the implementation of an online model updating method in real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS). The Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) was …

Monotonic And Cyclic Behaviour Of Steel Fibre-Reinforced And Frp-Steel Fibre-Reinforced Helical Pulldown Micropiles, Mahmoud Meckkey M. El Sharnouby

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Helical piles are a deep foundation system that can be used to support pipelines, telecommunication and transmission towers, and low- and medium-rise buildings. Advantages of helical piles include: short installation time with minimal noise and vibration levels; can be installed with ease in limited accessibility site; and onsite quality control by measurement of installation torque.

The main objective of the current research is to assess the performance of steel fibre-reinforced helical pulldown micropiles (RHPM), and fibre-reinforced polymer-steel fibre- reinforced pulldown micropiles (FRP-RHPM) under axial and lateral monotonic and cyclic loading conditions.

The research methodology involved conducting full scale field testing …

Using Neural Networks For The Diagnosis And Repair Of Corroded Steel In Reinforced Concrete Structures, Youssef Ibrahim Fayez

Archived Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

User Friendly Computer Software For Construction Projects Delay Analysis, Kamel Ahmed Salem El Sayed

Archived Theses and Dissertations

Construction industry around the world is facing a huge revolution in terms of number of executed projects. Projects are no longer simple ones managed by few persons. Commercial buildings, high rise towers and bridges are being built everywhere. The majority of these projects are complex ones that face a lot of obstacles. Delays are one of the major obstacles that construction projects face and are very likely to occur. Generally, claims are the result of any delay in the construction progress. To be able to analyze the claim and assign the responsibility, the analyst has to perform a delay analysis. …