Civil Engineering Commons^™

Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment Framework For The U.S. Built Environment, Murat Kucukvar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The overall goals of this dissertation are to investigate the sustainability of the built environment, holistically, by assessing its Triple Bottom Line (TBL): environmental, economic, and social impacts, as well as propose cost-effective, socially acceptable, and environmentally benign policies using several decision support models. This research is anticipated to transform life cycle assessment (LCA) of the built environment by using a TBL framework, integrated with economic input-output analysis, simulation, and multicriteria optimization tools. The major objectives of the outlined research are to (1) build a system-based TBL sustainability assessment framework for the sustainable built environment, by (a) advancing a national …

Sustainability Assessment Of Wind Energy For Buildings, Mehdi Noori

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to increasing concerns for global climate change, onshore and offshore wind energy technologies have stimulated a tremendous interest worldwide, and are considered as a viable solution to mitigate the environmental impacts related to electricity generation. Although wind energy technologies have been considered as one of the cleanest energy sources, they have a wide range of direct and indirect environmental impacts when the whole supply chain is considered. This study aims to quantify the direct and indirect environmental impacts of onshore and offshore wind power technologies by tracing all of the economy-wide supply chain requirements. To accomplish this goal, we …

Using Weigh-In-Motion Data To Determine Aggressiveness Of Traffic For Bridge Loading, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright

Articles

This paper presents results based on the analysis of an extensive database of weigh-in-motion (WIM) data collected at five European highway sites in recent years. The data are used as the basis for a Monte Carlo simulation of bridge loading by two lane traffic, both bidirectional and same-direction. Long runs of the simulation model are used to calculate characteristic bridge load effects (bending moments and shear forces), and these characteristic values are compared with design values for bridges of different length as specified by the Eurocode for bridge traffic loading. Various indicators are tested as possible bases for a “Bridge …

Finding The Area Of A Major League Baseball Field, Jacob Courchaine

Undergraduate Journal of Mathematical Modeling: One + Two

Using a Major League Baseball (MLB) baseball field template for guidelines, we estimate the cost of building the largest possible field accepted under MLB standards. This includes finding the areas of both the clay and grassy regions and determining how many bags of clay and fertilizer are required to cover the field.

Investigation Of Usage Of Velocity And Pressure Data Within A Water Distribution Lab Model For Calibrating Hydraulic Models, Robert Craig Ashby

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Water distribution modeling for hydraulics and water quality is an important tool for managing system performance of water utilities. An important component of a water distribution model is the calibration of a network model with field data in the real world system. The calibration effort requires a protocol or selection criteria for the location of field measurements that best support the calibration effort. A water distribution model was constructed at the University of Kentucky hydraulics lab for the purpose of investigating the performance of water distribution models. The lab model contains numerous hydraulic (pressure, flows) and water quality (concentrations) sensors …

Predicting The Dynamic Behavior Of Coal Mine Tailings Using State-Of-Practice Geotechnical Field Methods, Ali Salehian

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

This study is focused on developing a method to predict the dynamic behavior of mine tailings dams under earthquake loading. Tailings dams are a by-product of coal mining and processing activities. Mine tailings impoundments are prone to instability and failure under seismic loading as a result of the mechanical behavior of the tailings. Due to the existence of potential seismic sources in close proximity to the coal mining regions in the United States, it is necessary to assess the post-earthquake stability of these tailings dams.

To develop the aforementioned methodology, 34 cyclic triaxial tests along with vane shear tests were …

Rheological Study Of Asphalt Binders With A Wax-Based Warm Mix Additive And Its Relationships To Mix Compaction And Rutting, Rajan Saha

Doctoral Dissertations

Although the energy saving Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) technology that produces asphalt mixes at lower temperatures are around for about a decade, there still exist some concerns that are hindering its wide spread implementation. The overall objective of this study is to investigate if the viscosity reductions at higher temperatures have any impacts on asphalt mix compaction and rutting performances. This study reveals that there exists a critical temperature for each asphalt binder below which viscosity will increase with addition of Sasobit®. Therefore, compaction below the critical temperature can negatively impact density.

For PG 64-22, the critical temperature is 104 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Secondary Collisions Revisited: Real-World Crash Data And Relationship To Crash Test Criteria, Randall C. Gowat, Douglas J. Gabauer

Faculty Journal Articles

Objectives: Previous research conducted in the late 1980s suggested that vehicle impacts following an initial barrier collision increase severe occupant injury risk. Now over 25years old, the data are no longer representative of the currently installed barriers or the present US vehicle fleet. The purpose of this study is to provide a present-day assessment of secondary collisions and to determine if current full-scale barrier crash testing criteria provide an indication of secondary collision risk for real-world barrier crashes. Methods: To characterize secondary collisions, 1,363 (596,331 weighted) real-world barrier midsection impacts selected from 13years (1997-2009) of in-depth crash data available through …

Shear And Fracture Behavior Of High Performance Concretes, Mahdi Arezoumandi

Doctoral Dissertations

"Concrete is the most widely used man-made material in the world. Like other materials, it has been improved over time. Nowadays, with continued development of science and technology, a new generation of concretes is produced and is termed high performance concretes. A review of previously published work indicates that very few studies (in some cases none) have addressed the structural behavior of full-scale, high performance concrete elements. This study investigated the shear and fracture behavior of two types of high performance concrete - high-volume fly ash concrete (HVFAC) and self-consolidating concrete (SCC). The HVFAC incorporates up to 70% cement replacement …

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 …

Estimation Of Performance Indices For The Planning Of Sustainable Transportation Systems, Alexander Paz, Pankaj Maheshwari, Pushkin Kachroo, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

In the context of sustainable transportation systems, previous studies have either focused only on the transportation system or have not used a methodology that enables the treatment of incomplete, vague, and qualitative information associated with the available data. This study proposes a system of systems (SOS) and a fuzzy logic modeling approach. The SOS includes the Transportation, Activity, and Environment systems. The fuzzy logic modeling approach enables the treatment of the vagueness associated with some of the relevant data. Performance Indices (PIs) are computed for each system using a number of performance measures. The PIs illustrate the aggregated performance of …

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 …

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 …