Civil Engineering Commons^™

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds As Precursors To Disinfection Byproducts, Padmanabhan Krishnaswamy

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Disinfection of drinking water is crucial for providing a safe potable water supply. Some of the most common disinfectants employed are chlorine, chloramines and ozone. While these disinfectants successfully inactivate pathogenic microorganisms, they simultaneously react with inorganic or organic precursors to form toxic byproducts, most commonly referred to as disinfection byproducts (DBPs). While there is a wide variety of organic matter and disinfection byproducts known, in this study we have looked into the potential of certain quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) to act as precursors to form DBPs, namely trihalomethanes (THMs), haloacetonitriles (HANs) and nitrosamines.

The ubiquitous nature of QACs in …

Modeling Watershed Sensitivity To Climate Change In Systems Affected By Discharge Of Mine Tailings, Johnette C. Shockley

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

For more than a century, a large volume of gold-mining tailings was deposited in Whitewood Creek and the Belle Fourche River, tributaries to the Cheyenne River in western South Dakota. Much of it still remains, and field and historical evidence indicates continued remobilization of tailings-containing alluvium in these bedrock-dominated channels. Both long-term, natural fluctuations in climate and anthropogenically driven changes can impact regional precipitation, temperature, hydrologic patterns, and ecosystem functions. Such changes have the potential to affect both the transport and distribution of arsenic-laden sediments and mechanical erosion that can undermine the stability of channel-bed and overbank material.

This study …

Hybrid Structural Health Monitoring Using Data-Driven Modal Analysis And Model-Based Bayesian Inference., Jice Zeng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Civil infrastructures that are valuable assets for the public and owners must be adequately and periodically maintained to guarantee safety, continuous service, and avoid economic losses. Vibration-based structural health monitoring (VBSHM) has been a significant tool to assess the structural performance of civil infrastructures over the last decades. Challenges in VBSHM exist in two aspects: operational modal analysis (OMA) and Finite element model updating (FEMU). The former aims to extract natural frequency, damping ratio, and mode shapes using vibrational data under normal operation; the latter focuses on minimizing the discrepancies between measurements and model prediction. The main impediments to real-world …

Development And Promotion Of Mass Timber Noise Barrier For Highways, Harsh Bothra

All Theses

Highways are some of the biggest causes of noise pollution in the United States of America. To deal with the traffic noise coming from these highways, noise barriers have been erected across major highways. The goal is to reduce as much noise as possible through a sustainable solution. Unfortunately, the use of steel and concrete, commonly used materials, have undesired environmental impacts. A suggested sustainable alternative material would be mass timber. Mass timber products such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) and mass plywood panels (MPP) has attracted the attention of the construction industry in the U.S, as they are sustainable, light, …

The Impact Of Increasing Flood Frequency On Flood Inundation: A Case Study Of The Little River In Florida, Maj Amanda Catharina Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Floods are considered one of the most devastating natural hazards and are projected to increase in frequency and magnitude in many places around the world, one of them being Florida. Understanding the potential changes of flood hazards due to climate change is of paramount importance for developing effective flood mitigation procedures and resilient infrastructures. In this work, changes in flood inundation characteristics (flood depth and extent) in response to changes in future flood magnitudes are estimated and analyzed for the Little River basin in northwest Florida. HEC-RAS hydraulic model is set up and validated against observations for the flood event …

Drying Of Digested Biosolids For Weight Reduction Prior To Disposal, Juan Manuel Canales

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Disposal of belt filter pressed digested sludge (known as biosolids) to landfills cost El Paso Water about $1.1 million in the past year. With an increasing population, the amount of influent wastewater to El Paso treatment plants will also increase, resulting in increased biosolids generation and biosolids disposal costs. A method for reducing biosolids transportation cost is biosolids drying.The cost that El Paso Water pays for transporting biosolids to a dedicated landfill facility is based on the weight of the biosolids that are carried. Biosolids collected from the belt filter presses is about fifteen percent solids by weight, with water …

Building Energy Model Simulation Of A Single Building In Comparison To A Broader Building Stock, Paola Michelle Santillano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Residential facilities and buildings are the largest consumers of energy in the United States. More than 76% of electricity and more than 40% of all energy consumption comes from providing a comfortable and healthy environment in buildings. Prioritizing building energy technology goals for performance and cost can significantly reduce energy use within the next ten years despite a substantial forecasted population increase. Retrofitting existing buildings and improving future construction has the potential to realize cost savings and environmental benefits over time. A key component to realizing these benefits is regional building energy modeling. One of the challenges to widespread building …

Investigation Of Control Parameters, Strategies, And Transport Modeling For Effective Electrokinetic Nanoparticle Treatment Of Cementitious Materials, Huayuan Zhong

Doctoral Dissertations

Various deleterious chemical species (including sulfates, chlorides, and others) contaminate concrete structures which are inherently porous and thus suffer from compromised durability. Several technologies have been developed for repairing concrete or enhancing the service life. Nevertheless, their efficiency, practicability, and cost can vary widely. Compared with chemical grout, fiber wrap, and traditional repair technology, electrokinetic nanoparticle treatment (EN) has been found to provide remarkable benefits for strength restoration and mitigation of durability problems via porosity reduction. Nanoparticle instability and over dosage issues can arise and lead to problems during treatments. In many cases, these treatment processes have been accompanied by …

Cognizant Composites: Seamless Integration Of Circuitry And Sensors Into Structural Composites, Reuben Fresquez

Computer Science ETDs

This thesis describes a set of novel techniques for embedding sensors, circuitry, and electronics into structural composites. I leverage recent developments in human computer interaction to create sensors and circuitry that are seamlessly incorporated into structural composites. I fabricate bend and compression sensors, along with circuitry, from textiles, which enables me to add electronic capabilities without impacting the composite’s structural integrity. I describe the construction of these “cognizant composites” and demonstrate their functionality. I also explore techniques for embedding standard electronic components, including microcontrollers, into structural composites. Potential applications of this technology include buildings that can warn occupants if load-bearing …

Cyber Physical Systems For Non-Contact Infrastructure Monitoring, Roya Nasimi

Civil Engineering ETDs

In recent decades, the decay of infrastructure has become a relevant challenge of both developed and under developing countries. Prioritization of maintenance and repairs of transportation infrastructure is a new worldwide priority since it is important to quantify the rate of decay of assets to increase both safety and cost-efficient operations. Infrastructure owners need frequent inspections on their assets to predict and to avoid unsafe conditions prone to cause disasters. Frequent infrastructure inspections call for cost-effective methods. Traditional measurement methods require human access to the infrastructure, are subjective, expensive, and unsafe. Therefore, infrastructure managers are interested in exploring new non-contact …

Measurement Of Resilience Performance For Infrastructure Construction Project Delivery, Fei Han

Civil Engineering ETDs

In the past decade, infrastructure resilience in the U.S. has become critical due to increasing disruptions to the built environment and the resultant consequences on economic, social, and environmental goals. This attention to resilience research is drawn to investigating the ability of existing structures and facilities to resist and recover from natural and human-caused hazards. From a broader view, resilience also applies to processes, such as infrastructure project delivery processes. During these processes, a project often suffers inevitable threats and disruptions, which can significantly delay or derail the project if the process is not resilient.

This research aimed to conceptualize …

Determinant Factors Of Bicyclist Injury Severity At Signalized And Unsignalized Intersections, Apy Das

Dissertations and Theses

Bicycling is becoming increasingly popular in Oregon and the US in general due to its environment friendliness as well as health benefits. With Oregon's population projected to increase by more than 30% over the next 30 years, improving the safety of the transportation network for persons on bicycles is important. In Oregon, majority of the bicyclist crashes occur at intersections. This thesis seeks to identify the determinant factors that significantly impact bicyclist crash injury severity at intersections. A mixed logit framework that accounts for any unobserved heterogeneity in the data and allows the estimated parameters to randomly vary across observations …

A System Architecture For Water Distribution Networks, Noha Abdel-Mottaleb

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines structure-function relationships of water distribution networks (WDNs), with focus on improving the decision-making process for water utilities. WDNs are lifeline infrastructure systems, necessary for the functioning of cities. Yet water utilities around the world struggle with emerging challenges that include but are not limited to aging infrastructure components, limited budgets, increased interdependencies between infrastructure systems, increased rates of urbanization, and increasing extreme weather conditions. This is why enhancing the performance of WDNs is a priority for water utilities around the world. This research begins to delineate a system architecture for WDNs and evaluates the use of various …

An Assessment And Exploration Of Recent Methodological Advances In Safety Data Analysis, Suryaprasanna Kumar Balusu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The injury severity and frequency of traffic crashes can be further reduced by implementing appropriate traffic safety measures. Several advanced methodologies have been developed in the recent decades to more accurately identify the factors affecting road safety. Such methodologies have helped policy makers formulate appropriate safety measures directed toward increasing seatbelt and helmet use, reducing speed limits in school zones, implementing adolescent driver programs, and so on. However, each methodological approach has its own strengths and weakness and could lead to different inferences. This dissertation assesses and explores a number of recently developed methodologies and their application to traffic safety …

Investigation Of Sand-Biochar Mixtures As A Potential Roadway Fill Material, Katia J. Lele Lagmago

LSU Master's Theses

Biochar is a sustainable and lightweight carbon-rich material with a high surface area and porosity. Previous studies reported that biochar can reduce soil erosion and cracking, retain contaminants, and enhance soil aggregation. Given these favorable properties, soil-biochar mixtures have the possibility to serve as a multifunctional lightweight fill material for roadway embankment applications. The purpose of this research is to develop sand-biochar mixtures as a sustainable and multifunctional lightweight fill material for roadway embankment applications.

This research investigated the consolidation and hydraulic properties of sand-biochar mixtures by (1) performing 1D consolidation tests, (2) performing permeability tests, and (3) assessing the …

Double Averaging Analysis Applied To A Large Eddy Simulation Of Coupled Turbulent Overlying And Porewater Flow, Yan Ping Lian, Jonathan Dallman, Benjamin Sonin, Kevin R. Roche, Aaron I. Packman, Wing Kam Liu, Gregory J. Wagner

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Freestream turbulence in rivers is a key contributor to the flux of dissolved nutrients, carbon, and other ecologically important solutes into porewater. To advance understanding of turbulent hyporheic exchange and porewater transport, we investigate flow over and through a rough bed of spheres using large eddy simulation (LES). We apply double averaging (combined space and time averaging) to the LES results to determine the mean velocity distribution, momentum balance, and drag forces. Our simulations show large-scale freestream structures interacting strongly with vortices generated at the surfaces of individual spheres to control turbulent momentum fluxes into the bed. The transition between …

Ultra Low-Cycle Fatigue Behavior Comparison Between Additively Manufactured And Rolled 17-4 Ph (Aisi 630) Stainless Steels, David Gonzalez-Nino, Timothy Strasser, Gary S. Prinz

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates the mechanical behavior of additively manufactured (AM) 17-4 PH (AISI 630) stainless steels and compares their behavior to traditionally produced wrought counterparts. The goal of this study is to understand the key parameters influencing AM 17-4 PH steel fatigue life under ULCF conditions and to develop simple predictive models for fatigue-life estimation in AM 17-4 steel components. In this study, both AM and traditionally produced (wrought) material samples are fatigue tested under fully reversed (R = −1) strain controlled (2–4% strain) loading and characterized using micro-hardness, x-ray diffraction, and fractography methods. Results indicate decreased fatigue life for …

Polar Ice As An Unconventional Water Resource: Opportunities And Challenges, Zahra Karimidastenaei, Björn Klöve, Mojtaba Sadegh, Ali Torabi Haghighi

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Global water resources are under pressure due to increasing population and diminishing conventional water resources caused by global warming. Water scarcity is a daunting global problem which has prompted efforts to find unconventional resources as an appealing substitute for conventional water, particularly in arid and semiarid regions. Ice is one such unconventional water resource, which is available mainly in the Arctic and Antarctic. In this study, opportunities and challenges in iceberg utilization as a source of freshwater were investigated on the basis of a systematic literature review (SLR). A search in three databases (Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest) yielded …

Collaborative Multi-Resource Allocation In Terrestrial-Satellite Network Towards 6g, Shu Fu, Jie Gao, Lian Zhao

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Terrestrial-satellite networks (TSNs) are envisioned to play a significant role in the sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks. In such networks, hot air balloons are useful as they can relay the signals between satellites and ground stations. Most existing works assume that the hot air balloons are deployed at the same height with the same minimum elevation angle to the satellites, which may not be practical due to possible route conflict with airplanes and other flight equipment. In this paper, we consider a TSN containing hot air balloons at different heights and with different minimum elevation angles, which creates the challenge of …

Enhanced Energy And Resource Recovery Via Synergistic Catalytic Pyrolysis Of Byproducts From Thermal Processing Of Wastewater Solids, Zhongzhe Liu, Matthew Hughes, Yiran Tong, Jizhi Zhoud, William Kreutter, Danny Valtierra, Simcha L. Singer, Daniel Zitomer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Wastewater sludge drying and incineration are conventional solids handling processes that are sometimes employed in water resource reclamation facilities. However, these two processes generate byproducts, sludge drying chaff and sludge incinerator ash, which are landfilled without taking advantage of their value. To gain value from these byproducts, a new synergistic catalytic pyrolysis process using chaff and ash was investigated in this study to improve energy production (i.e. generating a high yield pyrolysis gas) and generate useful products. Ash was used as a catalyst to decrease bio-oil that is corrosive and challenging for combustion in standard equipment, while increasing pyrolysis gas …