Civil Engineering Commons^™

Reliability-Based Fatigue Assessment Of Mast-Arm Sign Support Structures, Joseph A. Diekfuss

Dissertations (1934 -)

Over the past few decades, there have been issues of poor fatigue performance (the main failure mechanism) of the welded, tube-to-transverse plate connections within sign support structures. Review of the literature has indicated that a considerable amount of research has been devoted to identifying the structural response characteristics of these signs. Others have tried to identify how these connections may be repaired, retrofitted or simply better designed to sustain longer fatigue lives. However, little attention has been given to using a systematic reliability-based approach to assess the risk of fatigue-induced fracture in these structures.

Using a reliability-based approach to solve …

A Comparative Evaluation Of Fdsa,Ga, And Sa Non-Linear Programming Algorithms And Development Of System-Optimal Methodology For Dynamic Pricing On I-95 Express, Don Graham

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As urban population across the globe increases, the demand for adequate transportation grows. Several strategies have been suggested as a solution to the congestion which results from this high demand outpacing the existing supply of transportation facilities. High –Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes have become increasingly more popular as a feature on today’s highway system. The I-95 Express HOT lane in Miami Florida, which is currently being expanded from a single Phase (Phase I) into two Phases, is one such HOT facility. With the growing abundance of such facilities comes the need for indepth study of demand patterns and development of …

Swcc And Clay Mineralogy Based Models For Realistic Simulation Of Swell Behavior Of Expansive Soils, Aravind Pedarla

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Predicting the volume change behavior of expansive soils has been a major challenge to the engineers in the past few years, due to the intricate couple effects caused by different soil composition parameters toward swelling. Hence, the behavior of an expansive soil is better understood with its inherent composition parameters. For this research, eight natural expansive clays have been sampled from different active swell zones across The United States. Basic soil classification was performed on these soil to identify the high plasticity and low plasticity clays. The swell behavior of these clays are studied using different testing methods and initial …

Non-Linear Finite Element-Based Material Constitutive Law For Zero Slump Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Pipe Structures, Alena Mikhaylova

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

This study presents a comprehensive investigation of performance and behavior of steel-fiber reinforced concrete pipes (SFRCP). The main goal of this study is to develop the material constitutive model for steel fiber reinforced concrete used in dry-cast application. To accomplish this goal a range of pipe sizes varying from 15 in. (400 mm) to 48 in. (1200 mm) in diameter and fiber content of 0.17%, 0.25%, 0.33%, 0.5%, 0.67% and 83% by volume were produced. The pipes were tested in three-edge bearing condition to obtain the load-deformation response and overall performance of the pipe. The pipes were also subjected to …

The Behaviour Of Connections In Segmental Precast Concrete Pile Systems, Evan Causer

Theses

Driven precast concrete segmental piles are a popular foundation solution. Segmental pile systems incorporate connections into the pile, therefore it is important to be confident that the strength of the pile joints is comparable to that of the pile cross-section.

The primary objective of the research was to examine the behaviour of connections in segmental precast concrete pile systems. This was achieved by undertaking a literature review, laboratory testing and Finite Element Analysis (FEA).

The uses of segmental concrete pile systems are described and a review of the available pile joints is given. A review of the relevant design codes …

An Investigation Of Transverse Load Distribution In Masonry Arch Bridges, Helen Dunne

Theses

Masonry arch bridges comprise a significant proportion of the bridge stock both nationally and internationally. They have proven to be enduring structures, far surpassing their design lives and with relatively low life-cycle costs, are environmentally friendly (Sustainable Bridges, 2007).

New masonry arch bridges are not generally constructed. However, their ageing materials paired with ever increasing traffic loads have led to the necessity for their periodic re-assessment. Masonry arch bridge design was predominantly by rule of thumb and their re-assessment has been subject to a number of simplified assumptions. One such simplification, the bridge “effective width” is studied in this thesis. …

An Investigation Into The Potential Of Increasing The Span Of Solid Slab Deck Bridges, Eamonn Kiernan

Theses

Solid slab deck bridges are a common type of structure employed for short to medium span bridges. They may be of rapid build nature if they are made up of prestressed precast sections with concrete infill deck.

The aim of this research was to investigate the potential to increase the span of solid slab deck bridges by the employment of high strength concrete (HSC), lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC) and the use of a voided deck.

The analysis undertaken in the research was based on a bridge, which was recently constructed in Cork; the bridge was constructed using MY beam sections, …

Structural Behaviour Of Semi-Continuous Steel End Plate Connections, Niall Scollard

Theses

This report focuses on determining the joint stiffness and moment capacity values for semi-continuous (semi-rigid) connections in steel framed structures. When designing a beam to column connection, the assumption that the Joint is either fully continuous or fully pinned may not be entirely valid; it may be more realistic to classify the connection as intermediate between fully pinned and fully continuous.

The development of “the component method”, which is utilised in IS EN 1993-1-8 (EC3) to determine design values of the joint properties is described. A software solution was created using Microsoft Excel to carry out calculations in accordance with …

Investigation Into The Measure, Correlate And Predict Methodologies Used In Wind Farm Design Software, Brendan O'Sullivan

Theses

This paper is focused on the Measure Correlate and Predict (MCP) methodologies used to estimate long term wind resource at a prospective site. The first common step in all MCP methodologies is a successful wind measurement campaign at the prospective site. This campaign involves the erection of a wind measurement mast (ideally to the hub height of the proposed turbine) and careful selection of booms, mountings and anemometers. The wind measurement campaign is a vital part of the process as the correlation and prediction analysis is only as accurate as the measured wind data. Correlation is a measure of the …

Performance Enhancement Of Crumb Rubber-Modified Asphalts Through Control Of The Developed Internal Network Structure, Mohyeldin Ragab, Magdy Abdelrahman, Amir Ghavibzaoo

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Control of the internal network structure of crumb rubber-modified asphalt (CRMA) was investigated for its effect on property development in the study presented in this paper. The investigation included evaluation by rheological and interrupted shear tests. Rheological testing involved the monitoring of the changes of the produced complex modulus (G*) and phase angle (δ) for CRMA. In the interrupted shear tests, the shear stress profile for the produced CRMA was investigated. It was found that triggering the critical conditions of the combined interaction of speed, temperature, and time was essential to inducing the formation of the three-dimensional network …

Product Characterization And Headspace Analysis Of Solar Irradiated Aqueous C60 Clusters, Dan Su

Open Access Theses

Buckminsterfullerene (C60) is an important fullerene material that has drawn much attention and is currently being applied in many different fields. It was discovered in 1985. As its production has largely increased to meet these industrial needs, it is obvious that its environmental occurrence, especially in aqueous systems, will occur. To further provide information for environmental toxicity studies and for its risk assessment, this thesis focuses on the photo transformation processes of aqueous C60 clusters (Aqu/nC60), with a particular interest in measuring any mineralization that occurs under different irradiation conditions. Two sets of experiments were conducted to test for CO2 …

Pencel Pressuremeter Testing To Determining P-Y Curves For Laterally Loaded Deep Foundations, Messaoud Farid, Nouaouria Md Salah, Paul J. Cosentino

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The pressuremeter used was essentially the PENCEL pressuremeter (PPMT), manufactured by ROCTEST, Inc. This paper offers a description of the equipment, testing procedure, theory to obtain parameters of the ground and to develop the p-y curves for laterally loaded piles. From PPMT data reduced to graphs of pressure versus volume, soil parameters including the lift-off pressure, the initial elastic and reload moduli, and the limit pressure were determined. Methods developed to determine p-y curves from pressuremeter and dilatometer (DMT) test. P-y curves are used in the analysis to represent lateral soil-pile interaction. The pressuremeter offers an almost ideal in-situ modelling …

The Guayule Plant: A Renewable, Domestic Source Of Binder Materials For Flexible Pavement Mixtures, David Newton Richardson, Steven Michael Lusher

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Due to the rising price of crude oil, flexible pavement costs have increased significantly. This price pressure has resulted in the increased use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) and/or reclaimed asphalt roofing shingles (RAS) because of the binder (asphalt cement) they contain. This has increased demand for recycling (rejuvenating) agents which return the RAP/RAS binders to their original state by 1) restoring maltenes (petroleum oils and resins) that have been depleted due to age-hardening/oxidation, and 2) reducing their viscosity. The project concept was to design a flexible pavement mixture (FPM) produced with little-to-no virgin petroleumbased binder which implied the use …

Quality Modeling And Improvement Of University Facilities Services Using Six-Sigma - A Case Study On Wayne State University Fpm Services, Mohsen F. Mohamed Isa

Wayne State University Dissertations

Literature survey shows that there is no published information concerning the investigation and/or evaluation (by the customer) of the services provided by universities facilities management units, and no previous research was done to measure and evaluate such services to address, identify, and model the critical factors affecting quality.

This research work proposed a service quality model relating factors affecting quality of services provided by facility management units at higher educational institutions to the customer perception of service quality. It also examined the use of the Six-Sigma DMAIC methodology as an improvement strategy for services provided by facility management units at …

Microsimulation Evaluation Of Eurocode Load Model For American Long-Span Bridges, Bernard Enright, Colm Carey, Colin Caprani

Articles

The ability to accurately predict traffic loading is essential for cost-effective bridge maintenance and repair programs. The traffic load model currently used in the United States for the design of long-span bridges was developed over three decades ago. In the meantime vehicle characteristics and traffic patterns have changed. The Eurocode for traffic loading is more recent, but was calibrated only for bridges up to 200 m long. In this work, Weigh-In-Motion traffic records from 11 different sites across Alabama are used to establish congested traffic loading. Traffic microsimulation is used to generate the congestion, based on the real traffic data. …

Library Holdings (2013) Ce Report, Georgia Southern University, Zach S. Henderson

Program Accreditation Reports (2013-2023)

This document is a part of the 2013 Library Holdings Report for the Zach S. Henderson Library at Georgia Southern University. The report includes data for the library resources and services supporting the research of the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Computing, Department of Civil Engineering and Construction.

Experimental Comparison Study Of The Response Of Polycarbonate And Laminated Glass Blast Resistant Glazing Systems To Blast Loading, Joshua Calnan

Theses and Dissertations--Mining Engineering

This thesis recounts the experimental study of the dynamic response of polycarbonate blast resistant glazing systems to explosive loading through the use of triaxial load cells, pressure sensors, and a laser displacement gauge. This instrumentation captured the response of the glazing systems to blast loading over three phases of testing. The first phase of testing characterizes the load distribution around the perimeter and the second phase examines the repeatability of the results. The final phase of testing pushes the samples to failure. The results are then compared to HazL, a commonly used blast resistant glazing system analysis software tool. The …

Review Of Load Rating And Posting Procedures And Requirements, Raymond Neal Chou

Open Access Theses

All states are required to load rate and post bridges in order to comply with federal standards. Load ratings are performed in order to determine the safe live load capacity of a bridge, considering the existing conditions of the bridge. Based on the load ratings, the bridge is evaluated for load posting or strengthening. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) was notified that their practice for load rating and posting did not satisfy 23 CFR 650.313, which states that bridges shall be load rated and posted according to an American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) manual. The …

A Framework For Coordinating Water Distribution System And Pavement Infrastructure M&R Based On Lcca, Majed Fedhi Alinizzi

Open Access Theses

The disruptions the public faces daily around the world due to urban infrastructure Maintenance and Rehabilitation (M&R) activities are having significant social, economic, and environment impacts on communities. With respect to water distribution systems, there have been millions of water main breaks in the U.S. since January 2000, with an average of nearly 700 water main breaks every day. The majority of these water utilities lie under paved roads, and the Open Cut method is the most widely used technology for repairing water main breakages. Subsequently, this continually increasing pipe breakage requires the destruction of pavements that may be in …

Size And Rate Effects On Mechanical Behavior Of Ultra High Performance Concrete, Boon Him Lim

Open Access Theses

Cor-Tuf, broadly characterize as a reactive powder concrete is a type of cementitious material. Cementitious materials have been observed to exhibit a strain-rate dependent mechanical behavior. The mechanical behavior of cementitious materials can also depend significantly on specimen sizes. Therefore it is crucial to determine the behavior of Cor-Tuf with different specimen sizes for high-rate applications. For this purpose, split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB), also known as Kolsky bar was utilized to determine the dynamic behavior of Cor-Tuf for different specimen sizes under uniaxial dynamic compression loading at different strain rates. It was observed that as strain rate increases the …