Civil Engineering Commons^™

Study Of The Effect Of Wind Speed On Evaporation From Soil Through Integrated Modeling Of The Atmospheric Boundary Layer And Shallow Subsurface, Hossein Davarzani, Kathleen Smits, Ryan M. T Tolene, Tissa Illangasekare

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications - Archive

In an effort to develop methods based on integrating the subsurface to the atmospheric boundary layer to estimate evaporation, we developed a model based on the coupling of Navier-Stokes free flow and Darcy flow in porous medium. The model was tested using experimental data to study the effect of wind speed on evaporation. The model consists of the coupled equations of mass conservation for two-phase flow in porous medium with single-phase flow in the free-flow domain under nonisothermal, nonequilibrium phase change conditions. In this model, the evaporation rate and soil surface temperature and relative humidity at the interface come directly …

Swell And Shrinkage Strain Prediction Models For Expansive Clays, Anand J. Puppala, Thammanoon Manosuthikij, Bhaskar C. S. Chittoori

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A comprehensive laboratory investigation was conducted to study volume change behaviors of five different types of expansive clayey soils sampled from various regions in Texas, USA. The laboratory test results, which were presented in an earlier paper, are analyzed here to evaluate existing correlations that can be used to predict swell and shrink-related displacements in these soils. The test database is also used to develop newer and practical models for predicting volume change-related soil properties. Models developed here used soil plasticity and compaction properties as independent variables. Newer models, that rely on seasonal compaction moisture content variations in the subsoils, …

Development And Calibration Of A Multi-Zone Model To Predict The Distribution Of Contaminant In A Residential Building Using Contam Software, Magda Nohella Hernandez Ramirez

Civil Engineering Theses

The use of computer simulations is a powerful alternative in the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) study due to the efficient performance and the amount of it is able to obtain. Multi-zone modeling is one of the most popular computing methods for IAQ study, thus can provide the knowledge of indoor airflow, temperature and contaminant concentration distributions. The study was conducted in TX Air House 1 using CONTAM software developed by U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which is one of the most widely used airflow and indoor modeling program. The model was developed and calibrated to predict the …

Predicting The Severity Of Highway User Crashes On Public At-Grade Highway-Rail Crossings, Elias Wondwossen Haile

Civil Engineering Theses

Highway user-rail crashes have a significant effect on highway user safety rating. However, very little attention is garnished on the subject. An understanding of the factors contributing to the levels of injury severity is an important step toward making the transportation system safer and more reliable. The main goal of this thesis is to explore the impact of various factors involved in highway user crashes on Highway-Rail at Grade Crossings (HRGCs) and provide appropriate mitigation measures. The logistic regression modeling approach (specifically ordered and unordered logit models) was applied to predict the three levels of highway user crash severity on …

Testing And Analysis Of A Post-Tensioned Coupled Wall System Monitored With Multiple Digital Image Correlation Systems, Michelle Holloman

Civil Engineering Theses

This thesis discusses the design and experimental evaluation of a novel seismic resistant reinforced concrete (RC) coupled shear wall system. In this system, the widely-used unbonded post-tensioned floor slab construction method is adapted to couple (i.e., link) two RC wall piers, providing significant performance and construction benefits over conventional RC coupling beams in high seismic regions. Previous experiments of post-tensioned coupled wall structures are limited to floor-level coupling beam subassemblies. The current study extends the available research to multi-story structures by construction and testing of a 15% scale eight story prototype specimen. This test is monitored by four digital image …

A Study Of A Landslide In Birmingham, Alabama, Caitlin L. Bukovitz

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

In 1988 a landslide occurred at a construction site in Birmingham, Alabama in which a portion of the construction site required excavating a rock slope with a group of apartments that were located at the top of the slope. During construction, two separate landslides occurred causing one and half of the apartment buildings to collapse downslope. The slope failure was investigated by two firms. One firm investigated the site conditions and the second firm investigated the design of the cut slope. The main concerns in the investigation were (1) the lack of consideration for the existing joint system, (2) using …

Soil-Bentonite Slurry Trench Cutoff Wall Proposal, Jeffrey C. Evans, Michael A. Malusis, Robert W. Jacob

NSF Soil-Bentonite Slurry Trench Cutoff Wall Documents

This is the proposal to the National Science Foundation for a soil-bentonite slurry trench cutoff wall. The proposal includes a project summary, description of the project, and the resources implemented on the project.

Enhancing Building Performance And Environmental Learning: A Case Study Of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Shannon Chance, John Timothy Cole

Books/Book Chapters

School buildings directly affect their natural and socio-cultural environments. They do this through their construction, maintenance, operation, and demolition. Most of the school buildings we have in stock today drain natural resources and inadvertently perpetuate a culture of environmental, social, and long-term economic ignorance and misuse. When approached thoughtfully, however, the design of school buildings can help inform and enrich society. Well-designed buildings can impart environmental knowledge and values. They can foster more effective behaviors among the people who learn in and from them. Effectively designed buildings can also conserve natural resources and—at their best—even help replenish the natural environment. …

Active Confinement Of Weakened Concrete Columns, Niall Holmes, Dervilla Niall, C. O’Shea

Articles

This paper investigates the advantages of using of external active confinement to improve the compression load capacity of concrete cylinders using mild steel band clamps. For this, passive and actively pre-stressed steel bands have been attached to concrete cylinders to mimic real structural columns which may otherwise have to be removed and replaced due to poor strength performance. The experimental programme included compression load testing a number of unreinforced concrete cylindrical specimens to establish the effect the confinement had on the compressive load-carrying capacity and the stress-strain behaviour. A number of parameters were investigated in the study including the effect …

Experimental Design Of Photo-Fenton Reactions For The Treatment Of Car Wash Wastewater Effluents By Response Surface Methodological Analysis, Maha Tony, Zeinab Bedri

Articles

Establishing a treatment process for practical and economic disposal of car wash wastewater has become an urgent environmental concern. Photo-Fenton’s process as one of the advanced oxidation processes is a potentially useful oxidation process in treating such wastewater. Lab-scale experiments with UV source, coupled with Fenton’s reagent, showed that hydrocarbon oil is degradable through such a process. The feasibility of photo-Fenton’s process to treat wastewater from a car wash is investigated in the present study. A factorial design based on the response surface methodology was applied to optimize the photo-Fenton oxidation process conditions using chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction as …

Adaptive Traffic Speed Estimation, Brian Portugais, Mandar Khanal

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Active traffic management aims to dynamically manage congestion based on existing and predicted traffic conditions. A challenge in this is that it is not usually possible to process data in real-time and use the output in control algorithms or in traveler information systems. A solution to this is to predict the traffic state based on assessments of current and past measurements. The work described in this paper develops an adaptive forecasting method to predict traffic speeds using dynamic linear models with Bayesian inference from a priori distributions. This study incorporates speeds collected from radar based sensors and validates the results …

Water Resource Systems Analysis And Management - Amirkabir University Of Technology, Jamshid Mousavi

All ECSTATIC Materials

Course taught at Amirkabir University of Technology.

Phase I Assessment Of Guardrail Length-Of-Need, Francisco Daniel B. Albuquerque, Cody S. Stolle, Dean L. Sicking, Ronald K. Faller, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Report No. TRP-03-284-14

Roadside Grading Guidance - Phase Ii, Kevin D. Schrum, Francisco D. B. Albuquerque, Dean L. Sicking, Ronald K. Faller, John D. Reid

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Phase I of this project relied on assumptions surrounding crash data from the state of Ohio in 2000. The number of fatal and severe crashes in that year was significantly lower than average. As a result, the conclusions were indefinite. Phase II was carried out using crash data from the state of Ohio over seven years. The increased pool of data removed the need for many of the underlying assumptions used in Phase I and provided a solid foundation of conclusions and recommendations.

The number of fatal and severe crashes that occurred on each slope and height for each functional …

A Refined Approach To Identifying And Quantifying Clay And Non -Clay Minerals In Expansive Soils, Spoorthi Reballi

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Expansive soils exhibit substantial swelling and shrinkage due to moisture fluctuations. Predicting this volume change behavior of expansive soils has been a major challenge to the engineers in the past few years. One of the factors which play a vital role in understanding the behavior of the expansive soils is mineralogy. Chittoori (2008) had developed three models to quantify the clay minerals using Microsoft Excel Solver, Regression Equations and Artificial Neural networks. The major assumption is that the soil has only three mineral Montmorillonite, Kaolinite and Illite. But the amorphous contents like quartz and feldspar were not taken in to …

Comparison Of Prestressed Concrete Girders With Debonded Strands And Harped Strands, Carmen Diaz-Caneja Nieto

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

TxDOT standards follow a design that uses depressed strands for the prestressed concrete I-Girders. A new design criteria using debonded strands for prestressed concrete girders that is widely used in Europe is being introduced in Texas. This new design has been proven to be effective and faster to construct since the strands don't need to be harped. The Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) Express construction project was located on I-35 and I-635 in North Dallas Texas and required placement of approximately 7,000 girders to complete this extensive project. A typical girder utilized in this project is the Tx54 with a span …

The Impact Of Lime Dosage On Odor Reduction Of Biosolids, Arash Abri

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The amount of boisolids production is increasing due to developing cities and the mitigation of biosolids odorants is a key role to have a successful biosolids land application program. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of lime stabilization on odor reduction of bio-solids and determine the optimum percentage of lime for each major odor compound and the overall target lime dose in terms of priority and importance of odorants. the Village Creek Water Reclamation Facility (VCWRF) was chosen to supply limed dewatered solids because of having complaints about the odor of biosolids in neighborhood. 5%, 10%, …

Group Resistance Of Recycled Plastic Pin In Sustainable Slope Stabilization, Mohammad Rezaul Haque Bhuiyan

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Slope failure is a common phenomenon in areas with slope constructed on high plasticity clay and shallow slope failure is predominant in North Texas. The cumulative maintenance cost of minor slides is equal or greater than major landslides. But, cost associated with post failure maintenance can be reduced significantly if an appropriate stabilization method is adopted. Thus, selection of appropriate and economically viable slope stabilization method has got great importance for the geotechnical engineers. Recently, a new approach of shallow slope stabilization technique is introduced using Recycled Plastic Pin (RPP). RPP used in shallow slope stabilization should pass beyond the …

Role Of Coarse Soil Fraction On Resilient Moduli Properties Of Clayey Soil, Chatuphat Savigamin

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

As one of the major methods of soil stabilization used in the present, mechanical stabilization improves a native soil by admixing a coarse and/or fine material. This method of soil stabilization aims to reach a composition in which coarser particles form the skeleton and the surrounding space is filled with fine grains. As a result, higher soil strength can be achieved. To study the soil strength improvement behavior, resilient modulus and unconfined compressive strength are used as evaluation parameters in this research. Since the present research focuses on subgrade soils, Dallas clay was selected as a reference clayey soil representing …

Comparison Of The Installation Of Strand With Steel Bar Tendons In Anchored Drilled Shaft Wall, Inigo Azofra Arrizabalaga

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Anchored drilled shaft walls are common in construction nowadays in the U.S. The use of either strand tendons or steel bar tendons as anchors in construction is approved. However, there is no information from a construction standpoint, of what type of tendon fits better depending on the field conditions or the project requirements. Nor is there any study reflecting the construction process and sequence of this type of retaining wall depending on the type of tendon. This research will evaluate different consequences of the selection of the type of tendon. It will analyze the design aspects, construction scheduling, construction costs, …