Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Quantifying Lock Criticality For Inland Waterway Navigation Using An Agent-Based Simulation, Ashwin Narayan

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Inland waterway travel has tremendous potential to improve multimodal transportation in the United States due to its environment-friendly and safe nature. Waterway travel has proven to be much cheaper per ton-mile and more fuel efficient than trucks. Millions of dollars have recently been invested in inland waterway networks to facilitate travel. The waterway infrastructure must be resilient to enable efficient waterway travel and prevent unnecessary delays. Locks, an important component of waterway infrastructure, enable vessels to travel between waterways of varying depths and must be maintained consistently to avoid unexpected failures. However, with limited resources, it is difficult to preserve …

Laboratory Evaluation And Field Demonstration Of Cold In-Place Recycling Asphalt Mixture In Michigan Low-Volume Road, Dongzhao Jin, Lei Yin, Lance Malburg, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 2

Cold-in place recycling (CIR) is a promising technology for the rehabilitation of asphalt pavements. However, the CIR asphalt pavement constructed in the field often has high air voids due to the presence of moisture during construction, and the moisture susceptibility of the pavement is crucial in determining its service life. Therefore, the objective of this research was to assess the laboratory performance of CIR asphalt mixes under freeze-thaw conditions (The mix prior to being subjected to freezing and thawing is labeled as "dry condition", while the mix that was placed in a refrigerator at –18 °C for 16 h and …

Rock Structural Changes Monitored By Fibre Bragg Grating Sensors And Nuclear Magnetic Resonance During Static And Dynamic Carbonated Brine Core Flooding Experiments, Bruno Da Silva Falcão, Lionel Esteban, Ausama Giwelli, Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Alireza Keshavarz, Jeremie Dautriat, Stephanie Vialle, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

One proposed solution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is the capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CCS) in geological formations such as depleted oil and gas reservoirs. Injected carbon dioxide (CO2) forms carbonic acid once dissolved in the formation water, which can lead to dissolution of certain types of rock minerals. This may weaken rock geomechanical properties that can jeopardize the safety of long-term storage. In this work, the use of Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors associated with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) was investigated to measure the change in rock strain during core flooding experiments. Optical fibres were glued onto …

Synergetic Effect Of Viscosity Modifying Admixtures And Polycarboxylate Ether Superplasticizer On Key Characteristics Of Thixotropic Uhpc For Bonded Bridge Deck Overlay Rehabilitation, Le Teng, Ming Jin, Jiadi Du, Kamal H. Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Thin bonded ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) overlay is an advanced technology for bridge deck rehabilitation. UHPC should be tailored to secure adequate flowability and high thixotropy to facilitate mixing and placement with a low risk of sagging of the material on sloped bridge deck surfaces. The synergetic effect between nano clay (NC) and polycarboxylate ether (PCE) superplasticizer or cellulose-based viscosity modifying admixture (VMA) and PCE on the rheological properties (yield stress, plastic viscosity, and thixotropy), cement hydration, autogenous shrinkage, compressive strength, and porosity was systematically investigated. The bond strength between conventional concrete (CC) representing existing bridge deck concrete and thixotropic UHPC …

Hydrogen From Food Waste: Energy Potential, Economic Feasibility, And Environmental Impact For Sustainable Valorization, Md Sanowar Hossain, Fairuz Wasima, Md Sharul I. K. Shawon, Barun K. Das, Pronob Das, Sanjay Paul

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Globally, inefficient management of municipal solid waste, composed primarily of food waste poses concern for human and environmental well-being. Food waste can be converted into hydrogen gas, which can be utilized to generate power without emitting any harmful pollutants. This solution would also help with the issue of disposing of food waste. The conversion of food waste into hydrogen is a practical energy source with potential financial benefits. This study explores the transformative potential of converting food waste into renewable energy through hydrogen production, focusing on Bangladesh from 2023 to 2042. Notably, the study forecasts a surge in food waste …

Understanding The Impact Of Microplastic Contamination On Soil Quality And Eco-Toxicological Risks In Horticulture: A Comprehensive Review, N. P. Gayathri, Geena Prasad, Vaishna Prabhakaran, Vishnu Priya

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The horticulture sector, essential for global food production, confronts significant challenges with prevalent pollutants, mainly microplastics. The presence of microplastics in the food chain has induced physiological stress and a multifactorial food safety concern. The complexity of the problem, arising from intricate interactions among microplastics, organisms, and ecosystems, poses a substantial challenge to food safety, necessitating an immediate strategic perspective due to the associated risks to human health and eco-toxicology. Significant knowledge gaps persist regarding their impact on terrestrial ecosystems, especially in horticulture. This study addresses the urgent need to comprehend the implications of microplastics on soil health, eco-toxicological risks, …

Application Of Multidisciplinary Community Resilience Modeling To Reduce Disaster Risk: Building Back Better, Wanting "Lisa" Wang, John W. Van De Lindt, Blythe Johnston, P. Shane Crawford, Guirong Grace Yan, Thang Dao, Trung Do, Katie Skakel, Mojtaba Harati, Tu Nguyen, Robinson Umeike, Silvana Croope, Andre R. Barbosa

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

From december 10 to december 11, 2021, a deadly tornado outbreak struck across several states in the us, including arkansas, illinois, kentucky, and tennessee. This tornado outbreak resulted in at least $3.9 Billion in damage, more than 90 fatalities, and hundreds of injuries. Mayfield, kentucky, a small city in the eastern united states, was hit by a long-track tornado rated as an enhanced fujita 4 (ef4) scale and was one of the communities most heavily damaged during the tornado outbreak. Following the 2021 tornado event, an analysis was performed in the interdependent networked community resilience modeling environment (in-core) for the …

Advective And Diffusive Gas Phase Transport In Vadose Zones: Importance For Defining Vapour Risks And Natural Source Zone Depletion Of Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Kaveh Sookhak Lari, Greg B. Davis, John L. Rayner, Trevor P. Bastow

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Quantifying the interlinked behaviour of the soil microbiome, fluid flow, multi-component transport and partitioning, and biodegradation is key to characterising vapour risks and natural source zone depletion (NSZD) of light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) petroleum hydrocarbons. Critical to vapour transport and NSZD is transport of gases through the vadose zone (oxygen from the atmosphere, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), methane and carbon dioxide from the zone of LNAPL biodegradation). Volatilisation of VOCs from LNAPL, aerobic biodegradation, methanogenesis and heat production all generate gas pressure changes that may lead to enhanced gas fluxes apart from diffusion. Despite the importance of the gaseous …

Chloride Binding Mechanism In Seawater-Mixed Uhpc, Wei Zhang, Dawei Ding, Mengmeng Li, Tiao Wang, Hongyan Ma, Binmeng Chen, Hongxing Hu, Jizhou Chen, Xiaomin Liu, Dongshuai Hou

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The rapid development of marine concrete structures and the sharp shortage of freshwater resources contribute to the wide investigation of seawater-mixed ultra-high-performance concrete (swuhpc). However, few studies have investigated the chloride ions (cl-) binding mechanism of swuhpc. Herein, the chloride binding experiments and molecular dynamics (md) simulation were carried out to reveal the physically and chemically bound cl- mechanisms of swuhpc. The results of the experiments clearly demonstrate that the addition of silica fume (sf) led to a significant decrease in the capacity of cl- binding. Conversely, the incorporation of metakaolin (mk) resulted in a marked increase in the content …

Effect Of Waste Covid-19 Masks On Compaction Characteristics Of Silty-Clay Soil, Sydney K. Lawson

Honors College Theses

The present study aims to explore the effect of adding shredded waste Covid-19 masks to silty-clay soil on the soil’s compaction characteristics for beneficial use in embankment, the subgrade of roadways, or backfill. This was accomplished by using two different types of masks: blue surgical masks and KN95 masks. Both mask types were hand shredded into half-inch sections using safety-scissors. The maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) are the two most important compaction characteristics, and they were determined by the Standard Proctor Compaction Test (ASTM D698 / AASHTO T99). The change of both the MDD and OMC …

Navigating The Relationships Among Food Waste Practices, Environmental Intentions, And Sustainability Knowledge Of Students, Merri Claire Minshew

Honors College Theses

Colleges and university campuses are among the greatest food wasters in the US due to combined over production and plate waste from consumers. While some schools have developed programs aimed at reducing and sustainably managing food waste, much of it ends up in landfills and produces greenhouse gas emissions. The overall goal of the research was to collect a comprehensive data set on university students’ food waste practices and behavior, environmental and sustainability knowledge, and environmental intentions. For probing relationships among these drivers, a structural equation model and student survey was developed. The survey of 37 questions was collected on …

Performance-Based Risk Assessment For Large-Scale Transportation Networks, Anteneh Deriba, David Y. Yang

Student Research Symposium

Efficiently assessing the risk of asset failure due to deterioration or extreme events is crucial for transportation asset management. Traditional methods often lack effectiveness in directly evaluating system performance-based risks, facing challenges like the exponential increase in system states and the emergence of low-probability high-consequence events ("grey swan" events). To address these, this paper introduces a novel performance-based risk assessment approach for large-scale transportation networks, inspired by the Transitional Markov Chain Monte Carlo (TMCMC) method. This method transforms the risk assessment problem into a high-dimensional posterior distribution, with system risk acting as the normalization factor (evidence). It also provides risk-based …

Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Hydrogen Production Via Various Pv-Assisted Electrochemical Water Splitting Techniques, Achyuth Ravilla

Student Research Symposium

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) and photovoltaic-electrochemical (PV-EC) water-splitting technologies have emerged as cost-effective options for large-scale green hydrogen production in industrial applications. Solar to hydrogen (STH) efficiencies of these technologies have reached up to 20% and several pathways have been explored to drive down the cost of hydrogen using these technologies to less than $2/kg. However, the environmental impact assessment of these technologies for industry-scale deployment has not been explored in previous studies. This study assesses the environmental impacts of PEC and PV-EC technologies by conducting a cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment. The functional unit considered for this assessment is 1 kg of …

Revitalizing Turtle Creek Park, Michael Hardyway, Ethan Harm, Abbey Jacoby, Casey Stephenson

Final Reports in ENST 411: Environmental Community Projects

We current ENST 411 students, Abbey Jacoby, Michael Hardyway, Ethan Harm, and Casey Stephenson have chosen to work with Jim Knight, East Buffalo Township, the Merrill Linn Land and Waterways Conservancy, and many others in an attempt to revitalize Turtle Creek Park for a plethora of reasons. Three of us are majoring in biology, and two are majoring in environmental science, which makes much of the information and techniques relevant in Turtle Creek applicable to our courses of study. This project included heavy hands on work which allowed us students to leave a memorable and impactful influence on the Lewisburg …

To What Extent Do Water Reuse Treatments Reduce Antibiotic Resistance Indicators? A Comparison Of Two Full-Scale Systems, Ishi Keenum, Jeanette Calarco, Haniyyah Majeed, E. Eldridge Hager-Soto, Charles Bott, Emily Garner, Valerie J. Harwood, Amy Pruden

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 2

Water reuse is an essential strategy for reducing water demand from conventional sources, alleviating water stress, and promoting sustainability, but understanding the effectiveness of associated treatment processes as barriers to the spread of antibiotic resistance is an important consideration to protecting human health. We comprehensively evaluated the reduction of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in two field-operational water reuse systems with distinct treatment trains, one producing water for indirect potable reuse (ozone/biologically-active carbon/granular activated carbon) and the other for non-potable reuse (denitrification-filtration/chlorination) using metagenomic sequencing and culture. Relative abundances of total ARGs/clinically-relevant ARGs and cultured ARB were …

Water Data Science: Data Driven Techniques, Training, And Tools For Improved Management Of High Frequency Water Resources Data, Amber Spackman Jones

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Electronic sensors can measure water and climate conditions at high frequency and generate large quantities of observed data. This work addresses data management challenges associated with the volume and complexity of high frequency water data. We developed techniques for automatically reviewing data, created materials for training water data managers, and explored existing and emerging technologies for sensor data management.

Data collected by sensors often include errors due to sensor failure or environmental conditions that need to be removed, labeled, or corrected before the data can be used for analysis. Manual review and correction of these data can be tedious and …

Evaluating 1d And 2d Small-Strain Ground Response Analyses At The I-15 Downhole Array Using Recorded Aftershocks From The M5.7 2020 Magna, Utah Earthquake, Tyler S. Jackson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

As earthquake waves exit rock and travel up through softer subsurface strata on their way to the surface, the intensity of ground shaking is significantly influenced by the subsurface soil layering and often increases in areas with deeper, softer soil deposits. The soft soils present in Utah’s valleys, deposited during the era of Lake Bonneville, tend to amplify the energy and intensity of ground motion felt by people and structures alike. Thus, the first step to designing earthquake resilient infrastructure in Utah is understanding how the subsurface soil layers amplify and/or attenuate ground motions induced by an earthquake. Methods used …

Enhanced Phosphogypsum Thermal Reduction By Carbon In Presence Of Sodium Chloride At High Temperature, Li Chao, An Xuebin, Jing Hu, Yixiao Wang, Shizhao Wang, Yunshan Wang, Gang Yang, Yong Sun

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This paper reports an enhanced approach of thermal reduction of phosphogypsum (PG) in the presence of sodium chloride (NaCl) in its molten phase. The thermodynamic together with in-situ thermogravimetric-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (TG-FTIR) result indicates the yield of CaS (solid) at the investigated temperature range (800–850 °C). Addition of NaCl not only appreciably reduces the activation energy of this reaction (800–850 °C) on average from 315 to 175 (kJ·mol−1) materially, but also significantly improve the conversion from CaSO4 to CaS. Additionally, the NaCl based waste salt (NaCl-WS) containing organic compounds (0.21 wt%) was found to produce similar results when compared …

Amazon Fba Vs Fbm; A Strategic Approach To Determine Which Method Can Effectively Utilize Project Management Principles To Enhance Your Success As A New Amazon Seller., Tiffany Renee White

Theses and Dissertations

Navigating the complexities of a platform such as Amazon demands a strategic approach guided by project management principles. A comparative analysis of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) methods were completed by focusing on how project management principles optimize product acquisition, supply chain management, and shipping methods for Amazon sellers. The objectives of this study included the identification of top product acquisition tools, the evaluation of inventory management software, assessing shipping methods, and determining the most effective fulfillment process for Amazon seller success. A mixed-methods approach was applied, involving an Amazon seller survey, literature review, data analysis, …

Physical And Stochiometric Controls On Nutrient Uptake And Ecosystem Respiration In Contrasting Sites, Jancoba K. Dorley

Civil Engineering ETDs

Meteorological, hydrological, and biogeochemical processes naturally control stream ecosystems. These processes define the frequency and distribution of precipitation and the supply and demand of solutes and particles to support aquatic food chains through space and time. Studies have also found that stream ecosystems are also controlled by anthropogenic activities, which occur on a much shorter timescale. These anthropogenic activities affect stream ecosystems' structure and function from local to planetary changes to the environment. It is essential for scientists and engineers to understand the relationships between naturally occurring processes and those created by human activities for a better interpretation of stream …