Other Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Exploration Of The Sludge Biodiesel Pathway, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wastewater sludge is an overlooked source of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) that could be converted into biodiesel. The United States produces about 8 million tons of sludge per year. The disposal cost for this amount of sludge is about 2 billion dollars. The widespread availability and low cost of sludge compared to other biodiesel raw materials make it an economical choice for a renewable fuel. Using sludge as a raw material can produce 25 to 30 mg per gram of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME); the main component of biodiesel. Sludge biodiesel has the potential of transforming a portion …

Viscoelastic Analysis And Fatigue Characterization Of Bituminous Materials In Two Length Scales Under The Influence Of Aging, Santosh Reddy Kommidi

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

Fatigue cracking in asphalt concrete (AC) is of immense importance to pavement design and analysis because it is one of the most important forms of distress that can lead to structural failure in pavement. Once started, these types of cracks can be combined with other environmental factors leading to detrimental effects such as faster rates of pavement deterioration and shortened pavement life and functionality.

Currently AASHTO TP101, also known as linear amplitude sweep (LAS) specification, is being widely used to evaluate the ability of an asphalt binder to resist fatigue. The LAS method, although mechanistic in its approach, has certain …

Computational Microstructure Modeling Of Asphalt Mixtures Subjected To Rate-Dependent Fracture, Francisco Aragao

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

Computational microstructure models have been actively pursued by the pavement mechanics community as a promising and advantageous alternative to limited analytical and semi-empirical modeling approaches. The primary goal of this research is to develop a computational microstructure modeling framework that will eventually allow researchers and practitioners of the pavement mechanics community to evaluate the effects of constituents and mix design characteristics (some of the key factors directly affecting the quality of the pavement structures) on the mechanical responses of asphalt mixtures. To that end, the mixtures are modeled as heterogeneous materials with inelastic mechanical behavior. To account for the complex …