Civil Engineering Commons^™

Energy Harvesting For Self-Powered Sensors For Smart Transportation Infrastructures, Anil K. Agrawal, Mohsen Amjadian, Hani Nassif

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

In this research project, an Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting System (EMEHS) is developed for harvesting the kinetic energy of ambient and traffic-induced vibrations and carry out a detailed feasibility study and impacts of such system for application on transportation infrastructures. The proposed EMEHS utilizes the innovative concept of creating array of large number of small permanent magnets through certain optimization criteria to achieve strong and focused magnetic field in a particular orientation. When these magnets are attached to a flexible sub-system and placed close to the copper coil, ambient and traffic-induced vibration of the sub-system induces eddy current in copper the …

Building Services Engineering November/December 2021

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Strengthening Of Concrete Deep Beams Using Carbon Fabric Reinforced Cementitious/Geopolymeric Matrix, Nour Mohamed Muhsen Khir Allah

Theses

This research aimed to examine the effectiveness of using carbon fabric-reinforced matrix (C-FRM) composites to improve the shear response of reinforced concrete (RC) deep beams. Ten RC deep beams with a/h of 1.6 were tested, where a is the shear span and his is the beam depth. Test parameters included the presence of internal shear reinforcement (no shear reinforcement and minimum shear reinforcement), number of C-FRM composite layers (one and two layers), angle of inclination of the second layer of CFRM (90o and 0o with respect to the longitudinal direction of the beam), and type of matrix (cementitious and geopolymer). …

Minimum Cut-Sets For The Identification Of Critical Water Distribution Network Segments, Xiliang Mao

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

To ensure adequate performance of water distribution networks, utilities must identify critical segments within the network that will adversely affect users when failures occur. Currently, time consuming hydraulic simulations are used for such criticality analyses. A method can be of great benefit for utilities if it can easily evaluate the criticality of water distribution network segments. This research applies topology-based methods for the preliminary screening of critical segments. This study evaluated the connectivity between sources and each demand segment in water distribution networks using minimum cut-sets. Through topological analysis, the minimum cut -set between the source node and each demand …

Epics Lakota: Promoting Food Sovereignty On Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Samantha Bijonowski, Kathleen Johnson, Jonathan Damon

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

EPICS Team Lakota was started as a way for students to help promote food sovereignty and combat loss of cultural knowledge as felt by the residents of Pine Ridge Reservation, which is located in one of the poorest counties in the United States and is a food desert. In partnership with EPICS students at Oglala Lakota College (OLC) and South Dakota School of Mines (SDSM), students at Purdue came up with the idea of putting up a greenhouse on the Rapid City Campus of OLC. This greenhouse was meant not as a direct solution to food scarcity, but as a …

Adapting Global Service-Learning Project And Community Partnership Outcomes Using A “Tele-Engineering” Approach In Response To The Covid-19 Pandemic, Christiane Ley, Danielle Angert, Tessa Hudelson, Jordan Harris

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

The Water Supply in Developing Countries (WSDC) service-learning course at Purdue University has fostered a strong partnership with the La Vega region in the Dominican Republic since 2012. During this time, an interdisciplinary group of engineering and science students has helped design drinking water treatment systems and the group has developed water, sanitation, and health (WASH) education materials. These WASH education and water safety approaches often have been conducted in person in the past. However, with the state of the COVID-19 pandemic and the inability to travel in the fall and spring semesters of the 2020–2021 academic year, the students …

Cluster Forecasting Of Corruption Using Nonlinear Autoregressive Models With Exogenous Variables (Narx)—An Artificial Neural Network Analysis, Seyedali Ghahari, Cesar Queiroz, Samuel Labi, Sue Mcneil

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Any effort to combat corruption can benefit from an examination of past and projected worldwide trends. In this paper, we forecast the level of corruption in countries by integrating artificial neural network modeling and time series analysis. The data were obtained from 113 countries from 2007 to 2017. The study is carried out at two levels: (a) the global level, where all countries are considered as a monolithic group; and (b) the cluster level, where countries are placed into groups based on their development-related attributes. For each cluster, we use the findings from our previous study on the cluster analysis …

Development Of A Cyberinfrastructure For Assessment Of The Lower Rio Grande Valley North And Central Watersheds Characteristics, Linda Navarro, Ahmed Mahmoud, Andrew Ernest, Abdoul Oubeidillah, Jessica Johnstone, Ivan Rene Santos Chavez, Christopher Fuller

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Lower Laguna Madre (LLM) is designated as an impaired waterway for high concentrations of bacteria and low dissolved oxygen. The main freshwater sources to the LLM flow from the North and Central waterways which are composed of three main waterways: Hidalgo/Willacy Main Drain (HWMD), Raymondville Drain (RVD), and International Boundary & Water Commission North Floodway (IBWCNF) that are not fully characterized. The objective of this study is to perform a watershed characterization to determine the potential pollution sources of each watershed. The watershed characterization was achieved by developing a cyberinfrastructure, and it collects a wide inventory of data to identify …

Effects Of Air-Injection Pressure On Airflow Pattern Of Air Sparging, Arvin Farid, Atena Najafi, Jim Browning, Elisa Barney Smith

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Air sparging is a remediation technology for treating soil/groundwater contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOC removal during air sparging is rendered less effective because of the random formation of air channels, creating preferential paths for airflow, thus limiting remediation to these channels, referred to as a zone of influence (ZOI). Pulsation is a popular method used to improve the effectiveness of air sparging through cyclic operation, with the hope that air channels would form elsewhere. Pulsation makes air sparging more time-consuming. This paper studies the effects of one cycle of pulsation and air pressure on the airflow pattern and …

Development-Induced Displacement In Kiryandongo District: A Case Study Of The Karuma Hydroelectric Power Plant, Remington Fritz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper assesses the effects of the development induced displacement due to the Karuma Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Awoo village and surrounding areas in Karuma Town. Recently, Uganda has pursued several large-scale development projects that have repeatedly displaced people. Despite having strong displacement and resettlement framework, there is a continued pattern of failing to implement such framework, threatening the livelihood and well-being of those displaced.

Interview with key informants from several government agencies, such as the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development the National Environmental Management Authority and Ugandan Generation Electricity Company Ltd have illustrated the political framework and …

Impact Of Graphene On Microstructure And Compressive Strength Of Cement Mortars Utilizing Two Different Dispersion Methods, Elhussien Khaled Elbatanouny

Theses and Dissertations

Carbon-based nanomaterials are currently used to reinforce cement-based composite materials based on their superior properties. This study investigates the mechanical property (compressive strength) of cement mortars incorporated with pristine graphene. The dosages of graphene materials used were 0.01%, 0.02%, 0.03%, and 0.04% by weight of cement. Moreover, this study compares two dispersion techniques: ultrasonication with surfactant coating and mechanical blending with surfactant coating to promote the use of graphene in cement mortars. A commonly used polycarboxylate superplasticizer Sika-Viscocrete Ultra 2100, was used as a dispersant agent (surfactant) of graphene with a surfactant to graphene weight ratio of 9 to 1. …

Predicting Pavement Structural Condition Using Machine Learning Methods, Nazmus Sakib Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

State departments of transportation recognize the need to incorporate pavement structural condition in their pavement performance models and/or decision processes used to select candidate projects for preservation, rehabilitation, or reconstruction at the network level. However, pavement structural condition data are costly to obtain. To this end, this paper develops and evaluates the effectiveness of two machine learning methods, Random Forest (RF) and eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), for predicting a flexible pavement’s structural condition. The aim is to be able to predict whether a pavement section’s structural condition is poor or not based on Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT), truck percentage, …

Identification Of Structural Signature Responses From Response Time Histories Using B-Spline Impulse Response Techniques, Shadhan Ahmed Al Kharusi

Theses and Dissertations

Structure Health Monitoring (SHM) is an essential practice for ensuring the safety of people and the structures itself. For this purpose, variety of global and local damage detection methods have been used to investigate damages. Global damage detection focus on identifying damage in early stages while local damage detection related to damage location, severity, and prediction of the remaining of the structure. Any damage in structure leads to a change to the properties and characteristics of the dynamic response.

Existing methods uses modal-based and response-based for damage detection. Both have several shortcoming associate with sensitivity of the damage and measurement …

Development Of A First-Generation Prototype Laboratory System For Rail Neutral Temperature Measurements, Ellie Yi-Hsien Chao

Theses and Dissertations

Modern railway tracks worldwide standardize the use of Continuous Welded Rail (CWR) due to its ability to prevent disadvantages associated with rail joints in a track. CWR is laid when the rail is free of thermal stresses, also known as Rail Neutral Temperature (RNT). RNT is controlled in the CWR installation procedure; however, over time, the temperatures deviate from the RNT. The deviation causes significant thermal stresses introduced in the longitudinal direction of the rail, leading to potential failures such as pull-apart and buckling, causing track integrity and safety of train operation. The most significant potential failure is track buckling …

Combined Effects Of Welding Residual Stress And Thermal Expansion In Cwr, Brennan Gedney

Theses and Dissertations

Continuously welded rail with flash-butt welded joints has become standard practice for railway construction around the world. Through the process of welding, a residual stress field develops in the joint which typically remains in the rail through its service life. Consequently, the total stress is altered locally in the presence of operation induced stresses. One such stress develops due to thermal expansion of the rail during the daily and seasonal solar radiation heating cycle. This paper seeks to ascertain the combined effects of welding residual stress with thermal expansion through computer simulations. This is aimed at two objectives: determining whether …

Computer Vision-Based Automatic Railroad Crossing Monitoring And Track Inspection, Feng Guo

Theses and Dissertations

Currently, there are many imminent challenges in the railroad infrastructure system of the United States, impacting the operation, safety, and management of railroad transportation. In this work, three major challenges which are overcrowded traffic congestion at the grade crossing, low-efficiency and accuracy on inspection of missing or broken rail track components, and dense rail surface defects without quantification, respectively are studied. The congested railroad grade crossing not only introduces significant traffic delays to travelers but also brings potential safety concerns to the first responders. However, limited studies have been devoted on developing an intelligent traffic monitoring system which is significant …

Cyclic Triaxial Testing To Evaluate Factors Affecting The Unsaturated Cyclic Behavior Of A Silty Sand, Zachary R. Howard

Theses and Dissertations

This study assesses the cyclic resistance of a non-plastic silty sand, representative of a common mine tailings material. Two series of unsaturated cyclic triaxial tests were conducted, which varied wetting and drying path specimen preparation techniques, initial matric suction, initial net normal stress, and cyclic stress ratio. Specimens prepared using the wetting path experienced significantly higher cyclic resistance than those prepared using the drying path. Specimens that were exposed to higher initial matric suction values experienced higher cyclic resistance than those consolidated with lower initial matric suction values. Initial net normal stress was found to contribute more to specimen cyclic …

Evaluation Of A Trigonometric Grey Model For Estimating And Predicting Pavement Condition, Amara Kouyate

Theses and Dissertations

States, counties, and municipalities rely on pavement performance curves to forecast future pavement conditions in their jurisdictions. Accurate prediction is essential for budget planning and the identification of candidates for rehabilitation. This study investigates the use of a grey model (GM) to estimate and predict pavement conditions. An advantage of the GMs is that they do not require a large sample size for model estimation. This aspect is important since smaller towns and municipalities often cannot afford to collect pavement condition data frequently due to cost. There are other situations where sample size may be limited, such as using project-level …

Avoiding Water Bankruptcy In The Drought-Troubled Southwest: What The Us And Iran Can Learn From Each Other, Mojtaba Sadegh, Ali Mirchi, Amir Aghakouchak, Kaveh Madani

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The 2021 water year ends on Sept. 30, and it was another hot, dry year in the western U.S., with almost the entire region in drought. Reservoirs vital for farms, communities and hydropower have fallen to dangerous lows.

The biggest blow came in August, when the U.S. government issued its first ever water shortage declaration for the Colorado River, triggering water use restrictions.

In response, farmers and cities across the Southwest are now finding new, often unsustainable ways to meet their future water needs. Las Vegas opened a lower-elevation tunnel to Lake Mead, a Colorado River reservoir where water levels …

Investigation Of Distracted Driving Events In New Jersey, Ahmed Sajid Hasan

Theses and Dissertations

Every year, thousands of people die in the United States due to crashes involving distracted driving, with this cause contributing to 25% of all fatal traffic crashes in New Jersey in particular. Over the past several years, various techniques (e.g., surveys, crash reports, videos, and simulations) were developed and implemented by the transportation safety community to identify and evaluate distracted driving events. However, these methods collect cross-sectional data on individual subjects and do not provide the actual number of distractions on the road. To fill this gap, this study collected longitudinal data on distracted driving events in the state of …