Civil Engineering Commons^™

Toward Sustainability: A New Construction Method For Electrically Heated Rigid Pavement Systems, Mohamed Abdel-Raheem, Mohammad Anis

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Damage caused by snow and ice to airport pavements in colder regions of the United States presents a persistent and economically significant challenge. This research explores an innovative construction method using an electrically conductive composite (ECC) composed of waterborne polyurethane and graphite powder (Gp). The ECC is applied to a Portland cement concrete substrate through a parallel stripe technique, using two types of “exposed” specimen. The study thoroughly examines the resistive heating performance of these specimens under various conditions, focusing on critical factors such as Gp concentrations in ECC, stripe thickness, spacing, and applied voltages. ECC was prepared with varying …

Advancing Sustainable Road Construction With Cold Mix Rap And Rejuvenator, Abeeb G. Oyelere

Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum Presentations

Presentation slides for a presentation given at the 1st annual Shelby Hall Graduate Research Forum at the University of South Alabama.

Smart Highway Construction Site Monitoring Using Artificial Intelligence, Mehran Mazari, Yahaira Nava-Gonzalez, Ly Jacky N. Nhiayi, Mohamad H. Saleh

Mineta Transportation Institute

Construction is a large sector of the economy and plays a significant role in creating economic growth and national development,and construction of transportation infrastructure is critical. This project developed a method to detect, classify, monitor, and track objects during the construction, maintenance, and rehabilitation of transportation infrastructure by using artificial intelligence and a deep learning approach. This study evaluated the performance of AI and deep learning algorithms to compare their performance in detecting and classifying the equipment in various construction scenes. Our goal was to find the optimized balance between the model capabilities in object detection and memory processing requirements. …

Evaluating Educational Benefits Of A Custom Cyber Game: ‘Hvac Attack!’, Jillian S. Valente

Theses and Dissertations

Cyber competition and conflict remain an enduring concern for the Department of Defense (DoD). Positive control of cyberspace is crucial across the vast diversity of military operations and supporting activities. Military members play an important role in cyber prevention, detection, and remediation, but most receive relatively little training outside of the annual Cyber Awareness Challenge. Particular career fields within the DoD may benefit from specialized training in cybersecurity, in particular the civil engineering (CE) community supporting critical infrastructure protection. Prior research has suggested that game-based learning (GBL) can be beneficial for teaching cyber concepts.

Numerical Analyses Of Construction Materials At Different Scales For Improved Resilience And Sustainability Of Civil Infrastructures, Chenchen Huang

Theses and Dissertations

The resilience and sustainability of civil infrastructure are fundamental to supporting modern society in the face of growing environmental challenges and resource limitations. This study aims to use multi-scale numerical tools to evaluate mechanical performance of different construction materials under various environmental and loading conditions. Firstly, we adopt the discrete element method (DEM) to evaluate the influence of freeze-thaw cycles (FTCs) action on the mechanical properties of rock from the micro perspective. A simplified plastic model is proposed to capture the residual deformation produced during FTCs. To further explore the deterioration of FTCs on rock, the water-contained grain-based model (GBM) …

A Review Of Chemical Stabilisation Used To Enhance The Mechanical Properties Of Rammed Earth, David Thompson, Charles Augarde, Juan Pablo Osorio

Articles

Rammed earth is a sustainable construction method with a lower carbon footprint and embodied energy compared to traditional materials like steel and concrete. However, its lower mechanical properties when compared to these forms of construction make it vulnerable to seismic forces. This paper reviews the published literature on enhancing rammed earth's mechanical properties through both chemical stabilisation and fibre reinforcement, with a focus on reusing waste materials. The effectiveness of these techniques are highlighted by comparing experimental results with minimum specifications taken from relevant guidelines and standards for building rammed earth structures in seismic zones. These findings demonstrate that chemical …

Performance Assessment Of Fiber-Reinforced Asphalt Mixtures: A Comprehensive Laboratory And Full-Scale Investigation, Ali Raza Raza Khan

Theses and Dissertations

Asphalt concrete is a composite material widely used in the construction of roads; however, fatigue cracking (load associated), thermal cracking (non-load associated), and permanent deformation (or rutting) are the most challenging issues in flexible (or asphalt) pavement structures. These distresses affect ride quality and are considered the most well-known pavement deterioration types. Several modifiers have been used as potential solutions to cracking and rutting of asphalt mixtures (i.e., polymers, geogrids etc.). Among these modifiers, fibers were introduced to improve the resistance of asphalt mixtures to rutting and cracking. Addition of fibers into the asphalt mixture is always challenging because of …

Building Services Engineering January/February 2025

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Impact Of A Kinesthetic Learning Model On Architecture, Engineering, And Construction (Aec) Knowledge In African American Middle School Girls, Mercy F. Fash, Andrea A.N Ofori-Boadu

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study examines the impact of a femalized Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Kinesthetic Learning Model (fAEC-KLM) intervention on the AEC knowledge of African American middle school girls. Fourteen (14) middle school girls completed both pre- and post-surveys and tests that assessed their knowledge of AEC concepts, including roles and responsibilities, gender and racial diversity, and salary benefits. Paired-sample t-tests were utilized to evaluate statistically significant differences in knowledge before and after fAEC-KLM intervention. Results showed notable improvements in students' knowledge of AEC salary and benefits, as well as the underrepresentation of females, particularly African American females, and AEC roles and …

Multi-Scale Modeling Of Transport Properties In Cementitious Materials With Go Admixture, Bing Liu, Weichen Kang, Weixing Lian, Feng Xing, Hongfang Sun, Hongyan Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In coastal areas, the presence of concrete cracks provides pathways for hazardous ions to ingress from the exterior into the interior of concrete, while the migration of the ions further accelerates concrete deterioration and causes durability problems. The incorporation of graphene oxide (GO) into concrete can inhibit crack initiation and development starting at the nanoscale, improving the concrete microstructure, thereby affecting concrete's resistance to hazardous ion transport and the resulting deterioration. In this study, a multi-scale transport model for cementitious materials with a GO admixture was established to predict the resistance to hazardous ions. Based on the determination of hydration …

Phosphorus Recovery From Synthetic Stormwater Using Iron- And Slag-Amended Green Infrastructure Soils, Colin B. Wilson, Anthony J. Parolari, Brooke Mayer, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The demand for phosphorus (P), fueled by the need for fertilizers to increase food production due to the ever-increasing population, is increasing P in the environment and diminishing global reserves of this nonrenewable resource. Stormwater runoff transports land-applied P into surrounding waterbodies. Green infrastructure (GI) soils are being engineered to target P removal from stormwater runoff. This research investigates the potential to recover P from engineered GI soils traditionally developed to remove P, contributing to the circular P economy by considering GI as a source of recoverable P. Batch experiments were conducted to determine the P removal performance of iron- …

Effect Of Shrinkage-Mitigating Materials, Fiber Type, And Repair Thickness On Flexural Behavior Of Beams Repaired With Fiber-Reinforced Self-Consolidating Concrete, Jingjie Wei, Kamal H. Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

While self-consolidating concrete (SCC) has emerged as a highly effective approach for the repair of concrete structures, there have been few investigations regarding the effect of the combination of different fiber and shrinkage-mitigating material types (shrinkage-reducing admixture, SRA; superabsorbent polymer, SAP; and expansive agent, EA) on the flexural behavior of repaired structures. This study aims to explore the influence of three different shrinkage-mitigating materials (1.25%–2.5 % SRA, 4%–8% EA, and 0.2%–0.4 % SAP), four fiber types (two macro synthetic fibers, MSFA and MSFB; 5D hooked steel fibers, 5D; a combination of 80 % 3D hooked steel +20 % short steel …

Characterizing Phosphorus Removal And Recovery Performance Of A 3d Printed Iron-Embedded Polylactic Acid Composite, Colin B. Wilson, Anthony J. Parolari, Andrew Hiestand, Brooke K. Mayer, Allison Murray

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Green infrastructure (GI) has been heralded as a solution for reducing phosphorus (P) pollution through increasing stormwater runoff infiltration and improving water quality. Despite its global implementation, GI struggles to improve the effluent water quality discharged from these systems consistently. This research evaluates the P removal performance and recovery potential of iron-embedded polylactic acid (PLA) composites through a novel application of three-dimensional (3D) printed representative unit cells (RUC) that could be used to improve effluent quality in GI. The RUC required chemical oxidation to convert the embedded iron to hematite (Fe₂⁢O₃) to facilitate P adsorption. Batch …

Construction Of Electrically Heated Pavement Using Recycled Waste Rubber Tires, Islam M. Radwan, Mohamed Abdel-Raheem

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Accumulated snow on roads presents a dual risk of accidents and financial losses. Conventional de-icing methods, which rely on chemicals, salt, and heavy machinery, are unsustainable and detrimental to both the environment and infrastructure. Furthermore, they demand significant labor and pose hazards in densely populated areas. In response, heated pavement systems such as hydronic and electrically conductive concrete (ECON) have gained traction for mitigating snow accumulation on roads. However, the use of carbon fiber and carbon black in ECON raises costs and depletes valuable resources. This research introduces an inventive and sustainable approach to address snow accumulation on rigid pavements …

Condition Assessment Of Bolted Connections In Steel Structures Using Deep Learning, Faezeh Jafari, Sattar Dorafshan

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Steel structure connections are prone to bolt loosening and subsequent loss of strength or stability if not inspected periodically. Use of noncontact sensing and artificial intelligence can substantially increase the safety and efficiency of these inspections; however, the existing defect detection models do not account for variability of defects in both missing and loosened bolt connections. Furthermore, the performance of available deep learning models can be substantially diminished due to the presence of background noise in images of real structures. Finding these defects could be even more difficult in highway steel structures due to the complex and continuously changing nature …

Structural Earthquake Resiliency Of Rocking Core Systems With Floor Enabled Recentering, S. Taban Hajimirza

Dissertations and Theses

The growing need for structural earthquake resiliency, coupled with increasing demands for environmentally sustainable construction, has driven architects and engineers to emphasize the importance of earthquake-resistant mass timber multistory construction in regions prone to high seismic activity. With advancements in building technologies, cross-laminated timber (CLT) has emerged at the forefront of this movement by unlocking new potentials for urban development.

Motivated by the aforementioned demands, this PhD dissertation investigated lateral behavior and earthquake response of a novel lateral force-resisting structural system, known as Floor Recentering Rocking Core (FLR-ROCR). FLR-ROCR is a low-damage recentering mass-timber system that leverages restoring interactions between …

Spatiotemporal Impact Analysis Of Land Surface Temperature Variations: A Case Study Of The Northeastern Part Of Baghdad Province, Iraq (2000-2024), Basheer S. Jasim

Al-Bahir

Land Surface Temperature maps are handy tools in a wide variety of scientific and practical fields. Monitoring climate change, researching the consequences of global warming, and evaluating the health of ecosystems are some of the applications that are used extensively. In addition, they have uses in agriculture, such as determining the amount of water that vegetation needs and monitoring agricultural regions that are experiencing drought. This study utilized a remote sensing approach to estimate land surface temperature with Landsat imagery from two periods, respectively, 2000 and 2024. The Landsat user's guide provided the algorithm to convert the images from DN …

Modeling, Design, And Laboratory Testing Of A Passive Friction Seismic Metamaterial Base Isolator (Pfsmbi), Shayan Khosravi, Mohsen Amjadian

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper focuses on the theoretical and analytical modeling of a novel seismic isolator termed the Passive Friction Mechanical Metamaterial Seismic Isolator (PFSMBI) system, which is designed for seismic hazard mitigation in multi-story buildings. The PFSMBI system consists of a lattice structure composed of a series of identical small cells interconnected by layers made of viscoelastic materials. The main function of the lattice is to shift the fundamental natural frequency of the building away from the dominant frequency of earthquake excitations by creating low-frequency bandgaps (FBGs) below 20 Hz. In this configuration, each unit cell contains an inner resonator that …

Preliminary Spectral Matching Analysis Of The Rod El-Farag Region In Cairo, Egypt, Ahmed F. Youssef, Amr Z. Elkady, Ayman A. Seleemah

Journal of Engineering Research

Abstract: Earthquake engineering assessments are essential for evaluating the seismic response of structures. Nonlinear dynamic analysis is a highly effective method for evaluating seismic re-sponse, considering the complex, three-dimensional, and dynamic behaviour of structures during earthquakes. The complexity of seismic damage assessment arises from ground motion and struc-tural modelling parameters. Spectral matching is a key method in seismic codes and aids in selecting earthquake accelerograms for performance- and force-based designs. Spectrum-matched data is increasingly used to estimate nonlinear structural responses. Spec-tral matching utilizes the wavelet adjustments introduced by Abra-hamson (1992) and refined by Hancock et al. (2006) to adjust earth-quake …

Challenges Of Sustainable Infrastructure In Egypt For Contractors, Consultants, And Owners, Abdelrahman Ali Gaber Eng., Mohammed Elsayed Elsharkawy Assis. Prof., Adel Ibrahim Eldosouky Prof.

Journal of Engineering Research

This research investigates the multifaceted challenges and opportunities for implementing sustainable infrastructure in Egypt from the perspectives of key stakeholders—contractors, consultants, and owners. It uses structured questionnaires to draw on a comprehensive literature review and a field study. These questionnaires were distributed to experts across three vital sectors: roads and bridges, water and sewage networks, and ports and shore protection. A total of 95 participants completed the survey, surpassing the statistically required sample size of 61, calculated using Kish's 1965 formula, thereby enhancing the robustness of the findings. Key barriers identified include high initial costs, insufficient operational funding, lack of …