Architectural Engineering Commons^™

Compressibility Characteristics Of Low-Plasticity Silt Before And After Liquefaction, Shuying Wang, Ronaldo Luna

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Low-plasticity silt is known to have a potential to liquefy during earthquakes. The compressibility characteristics could change before and after a dynamic event that produces liquefaction. This research investigates the liquefaction resistance and post liquefaction reconsolidation characteristics of Mississippi River Valley (MRV) silt using laboratory cyclic triaxial compression testing. The MRV silt experienced initial liquefaction under cyclic loading, and the results are presented as cyclic stress ratio versus loading cycle curve. After cyclic loading, the liquefied specimens were reconsolidated. Permeability did not change significantly as a result of liquefaction. The reconsolidation curves are more parallel to the compression line than …

Choice Of Thixotropic Index To Evaluate Formwork Pressure Characteristics Of Self-Consolidating Concrete, Ahmed F. Omran, Kamal H. Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Formwork lateral pressure exerted by concrete is affected by mixture composition, placement conditions, and formwork characteristics. The mixture composition includes binder type and content, supplementary cementitious materials, fillers, water-to-cementitious ratio, content and characteristics of coarse aggregate, paste volume, chemical admixtures, concrete unit weight, concrete consistency, and temperature. Thixotropy of concrete expressed here in terms of structural build-up at rest is employed to collectively reflect the effect of combined mix design factors on formwork pressure. This research demonstrates relationships between 12 indices that can be used to evaluate the structural build-up at rest of concrete, determined using portable vane, inclined plane, …

Linking Solid Particle Packing Of Eco-Scc To Material Performance, Florian V. Mueller, Olafur H. Wallevik, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The concept of Eco-SCC aims to achieve self-compacting concrete (SCC) design for intermediate compressive strength mixtures that are commonly used in the ready-mix concrete industry. Contrary to many other approaches, in which the reactive cement clinker is replaced by a less reactive component, Eco-SCC involves the reduction of the total powder content. In the approach presented in this paper, the lubricant volume is increased by using a non-reactive filler. An improved particle packing with an enhanced lattice effect can minimize the lubricant demand and enhance the stability of the concrete. The effect of particle-size distribution on stability and performance of …

Characterization Of Shear Wave Velocity And Its Anisotropy In Uniform Granular Materials, Xin Kang, Bate Bate, Louis Ge

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Small strain stiffness of granular materials is important to many engineering applications, such as earthquake engineering, pavement, machine foundation, embankment subjected to tidal impacts, and foundations for structures under wind loads. Shear wave velocity, which is an indicator of stiffness, was measured with a newly developed bender element testing system. Test data supported that this testing system is effective in evaluating the shear wave velocity and its anisotropy of uniform spherical granular materials, including glass beads, uniform medium, and fine sands. Influencing factors on the Vs such as grain size and applied stress were studied. Two components of the soil …

Impact Of Organic Coatings On Frictional Strength Of Organically Modified Clay, B. Bate, Q. Zhao, S. E. Burns

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Organic matter is frequently encountered in both naturally occurring and engineered particulate media. Charged functional groups in the organic matter can lead to cation exchange within the clay interlayer, which results in the formation of an organic coating on the clay surfaces and alters the interfacial frictional regime in the soil mass. This study investigated the triaxial shear frictional behavior of montmorillonite particles coated with a controlled organic phase composed of quaternary ammonium cations. Through cation exchange, organic cations were loaded onto the clay's interlayer exchange sites, with control on the density of organic coverage and structure of the organic …

Safety Effect Of Missouri's Strategic Highway Safety Plan: Missouri's Blueprint For Safer Roadways, Mojtaba A. Mohammadi, V. A. Samaranayake, Ghulam H. Bham

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study systematically evaluated the changes in motor vehicle crashes that occurred on the Missouri Interstate highway system following the implementation of the Missouri Strategic Highway Safety Plan (MSHSP) between 2004 and 2007. The MSHSP implemented crash injury reduction strategies in enforcement, education, engineering, and public policy. Empirical Bayesian methods were commonly used to evaluate the effects of any change in safety as a result of countermeasures. This paper presents a simple new approach to evaluating the effects of Missouri's safety plans on roadway crashes. For crash data associated with traffic and roadway characteristics, negative binomial regression models were developed …

Factors Related To Women's Undergraduate Success, Tanya Michelle Baker

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

To Lift The Leaden-Eyed: Ernest Boyer’S Career In Higher Education, Drew Moser

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Cost Analyses And Benefit Studies For Earthquake-Resistant Construction In Memphis, Tennessee, John W. Lawson, John R. Hayes, Jr., Steven L. Mccabe, Matthew Speicher, James R. Harris

Architectural Engineering

The cost premium for earthquake-resistant construction is of great interest in regions that have significant seismic hazard, but have not suffered serious damage from earthquakes in the memories of people now living. The middle Mississippi River Valley was struck by very large earthquakes in 1811 and 1812, and scientific study has found evidence of multiple large earthquakes prior to that. This history indicates that the risk for loss of human life due to earthquake hazard in the region is high.

Brocade & Cal Poly Project Challenge, Andy Vallejo

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Fly Ash Replacement Level On The Fracture Behavior Of Concrete, Mahdi Arezoumandi, Jeffery S. Volz

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The production of portland cement-the key ingredient in concrete-generates a significant amount of carbon dioxide. However, due to its incredible versatility, availability, and relatively low cost, concrete is the most consumed manmade material on the planet. One method of reducing concrete's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is the use of fly ash to replace a significant amount of the cement. This study presents the results of an experimental investigation that evaluates effect of fly ash replacement level on the fracture energy of concrete. This study includes four mixes with 0%, 30%, 50%, and 70%fly ash as a cement replacement. This …

Synergy Of The Developed 6d Bim Framework And Conception Of The Nd Bim Framework And Nd Bim Process Ontology, Shawn Edward O'Keeffe

Dissertations

The author developed a unified nD framework and process ontology for Building Information Modeling (BIM). The research includes a framework developed for 6D BIM, nD BIM, and nD ontology that defines the domain and sub-domain constructs for future nD BIM dimensions. The nD ontology defines the relationships of kinds within any new proposed dimensional domain for BIM. The developed nD BIM framework and ontology takes into account the current 2D-5D BIM dimensions. There is a synergy between the 6D and nD framework that allows the nD framework and ontology to be utilized as a unified template for future dimensional development. …

A Case Study Of Zero Energy Home Built For Solar Decathlon Competition 2013, Sanjib Mulepati

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Energy consumption in residential homes has been a subject of research related to sustainability. Reduction in the consumption of energy is a goal of sustainable construction. The Department of Energy (DOE) started a Solar Decathlon competition in 2002 in which the students from different universities around the globe build an energy efficient and affordable home suitable for their climate and location. The main goal of this competition is to select the best home that is designed and built in a sustainable way. In this study, the home designed and constructed for participation in the competition by the students at University …

The Water Wall: A Passive Solar Collection And Thermal Storage Device For Supplementary Radiant Heating, Rhett Roman Noseck

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Through the implementation of passive solar building systems, suburbia could take a fresh new step forward toward a progressively more sustainable direction. Making passive solar strategies a priority, master planned community developments would see opportunity to change the style and design of future suburban residences.

The focus and intention of this body of work is to research, design, fabricate, and test a prototype of a passive solar heating device using water as the medium for thermal storage. The size and shape of the design for the water wall device will be determined by the currently built suburban environment; however, for …

Effect Of Fly Ash Replacement Level On The Shear Strength Of High-Volume Fly Ash Concrete Beams, Mahdi Arezoumandi, Jeffery S. Volz

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The production of Portland cement - the key ingredient in concrete - generates a significant amount of carbon dioxide. However, due to its incredible versatility, availability, and relatively low cost, concrete is the most consumed manmade material on the planet. One method of reducing concrete's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions is the use of fly ash to replace a significant amount of the cement. An experimental investigation was conducted to study the shear strength of full-scale beams constructed with high-volume fly ash concrete (HVFAC) - concrete with at least 50% of the cement replaced with fly ash - and conventional …

Approximating The Seismic Amplification Effects Experienced By Solar Towers Mounted On The Rooftops Of Low-Rise Industrial Buildings, Peter Luiz Balla

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the acceleration amplification experienced by solar towers mounted on the rooftops of low-rise industrial buildings during a seismic event. Specifically, this thesis looks to assess the validity of using amplification factors adopted by the ASCE 7-05Minimum Design Loads for Buildings and Other Structures to approximate seismic acceleration amplification for roof-mounted solar towers. To investigate the validity of the ASCE 7-05 amplification factors, this thesis conducts timehistory analyses of three theoretical solar towers mounted on the roof of a case study building. The time history analyses are conducted in the finite element computer modeling program SAP 2000 using …

Postcyclic Behavior Of Low-Plasticity Silt With Limited Excess Pore Pressures, Shuying Wang, Ronaldo Luna, Junsheng Yang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates the post cyclic behavior of low-plasticity silt with excess pore pressure ratio (Ru) less than 1. The testing specimens were prepared from Mississippi River Valley (MRV) silt. Full and no reconsolidation were allowed after specimens were subjected to various excess pore pressure ratios due to cyclic loading in a cyclic triaxial cell, and then monotonic shear tests were conducted. The effect of the Ru on shear strength and stiffness at small and large deformation was investigated. It was found that a Ru greater than 0.70 is a prerequisite of large increase in volumetric strain and undrained shear …

2013 Scholarly Productivity Report, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Scholarly Productivity Reports

No abstract provided.

Absorption Simulation ( Absim ) Software Development, Vipul Vishnu Bhat, Ming Qu

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Researchers working on air conditioning systems currently use a software called ABSIM ( Absorption Simulation ) to evaluate current absorption systems or simulate new system designs. ABSIM was developed at Oak Ridge National Labs in the 1980s and the latest platform it is compatible with is Windows XP. ABSIM is not compatible on newer platforms and is not very user friendly. A lot of the actions involved in using ABSIM aren’t very intuitive. The goal is to develop a more user friendly simulation program that is based off of ABSIM and see to it that the program can be deployed …

Compression Testing And Failure Modes Of Steel-Concrete Composite (Sc) Structures For Nuclear Containment, Patrick Michael Wanamaker, Amit H. Varma

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Although being able to provide much cleaner power than burning coal and other fossil fuels, nuclear power plants are still a tough sell to the general public due to their history of being spontaneously dangerous. The containment structures surrounding these nuclear plants, however, can play a huge role in reducing the risks associated with them. Relatively new designs for these containment assemblies, known as SC (steel-concrete composite) structures, aim to increase the strength and durability of the containment facilities while keeping costs down. By varying the spacing between shear studs, the ratio of concrete to steel, and the ratio of …