Civil Engineering Commons^™

Reducing Life Cycle Impacts Of The Existing Irish Housing Stock., Albert Famuyibo

Doctoral

Abstract

Despite the importance of addressing the challenges of the 2020 emissions reduction targets of both the European Union (EU) and Ireland, current residential emissions policies have focused mainly on the few existing studies that are primarily used to predict end-use energy and CO₂ emissions savings. To allow all energy and emissions across life cycle phases to be evaluated, a process-based life cycle analysis (LCA) hybrid model was developed with the aim of determining the extent of reductions in resource consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and costs of maintaining the existing Irish housing stock.

Thirteen representative archetypes of the …

Cost-Effective Treatment Of Existing Guardrail Systems, Mitchell J. Wiebelhaus

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A cost-effective means for upgrading existing barrier systems, which have deviations from standard practice (i.e., low-rail heights, antiquated end treatments, and improper installation) does not exist. As a result these systems remain on U.S. highways. Barrier systems with deviations from current practice may not perform as intended, thus resulting in fatalities and serious injuries from impacts with these safety devices. It is not plausible to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries from all guardrail impacts; but these numbers could be significantly reduced with the proper design, testing, installation, and maintenance of guardrail systems.

This report offers recommendations for upgrading W-beam guardrails …

The Characterisation And Numerical Modelling Of Viscoelastic Polyurethane Foams For Use In Custom Wheelchair Seating, Conor Briody

Doctoral

Viscoelastic polyurethane foam is widely used in wheelchair cushions as it offers good pressure relieving capabilities. However, the behaviour of this material is largely un-quantified, by comparison with conventional elastomeric materials.
Consequently, in many cases, inadequate cushioning is provided to wheelchair
users with complex seating requirements. This thesis characterises and
numerically models viscoelastic polyurethane foam.
Temperature-dependent static compression and simple shear test procedures are conducted on a range of viscoelastic polyurethane foams and selected results are utilised to identify Ogden Hyperfoam material model parameters. Time-dependent creep and stress relaxation test procedures are conducted and test results are used in conjunction …

Environmental Systems I - University Of Illinois, Urbana, Ximing Cai

All ECSTATIC Materials

Undergraduate course in environmental systems at University of Illinois, Urbana in Fall 2012.

Heuristic Methods For Optimization - Cornell University, Christine Shoemaker

All ECSTATIC Materials

Heuristic optimization algorithms are artificial intelligence search methods that can be used to find the optimal decisions for designing or managing a wide range of complex systems. This course describes a variety of (meta) heuristic search methods including simulated annealing, tabu search, genetic algorithms, genetic programming, dynamically dimensioned search, and multiobjective methods. Algorithms will be used to find values of discrete and/or continuous variables that optimize system performance or improve system reliability. Students can select application projects from a range of application areas. The advantages and disadvantages of heuristic search methods for both serial and parallel computation are discussed in …

Biaxial Bending And Lateral-Torsional Instability Of Imperfect Frp I-Beams Including Effects Of Retrofitting, Jodi Marie Knorowski

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents the outcome of a theoretical and experimental study of the behavior of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) I-beams susceptible to lateral-torsional instability or when subjected to biaxial bending. Laboratory experiments involved application of vertical and horizontal static loads to a 4 x 4 x ¼ in. I-beam with various lengths, and the resulting displacement, twist, and strain were recorded. In the vertical direction, the beam was loaded from different reference load heights with respect to the shear center of the beam. The governing biaxial flexure and torsion differential equations were modified to account for the presence of initial …

Repair And Strengthening Of Bridge Substructures, Steven W. Ainge

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Deterioration of bridge substructures has been a serious concern throughout Wisconsin. Concrete, steel and timber members all require distinct repair methods which not only address the true causes of deterioration, but protect the member from future damage. Utilizing repair techniques that merely address the effect of the deterioration has proven costly and unreliable. Understanding the relationship between cost and service life of modern repair methods can help maintenance engineers make informed decisions that will maximize efficacy. A survey was sent to 90 maintenance engineers throughout the United States to determine the efficacy and cost of common repair methods. Unique repair …

2011 Summary Of Highway Revenues, Distributions, & Expenses For Indiana Counties, Cities, & Towns, Indiana Ltap

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

This report provides information on revenues, distributions, and expenses of state and local governments for highway, road, and street work. Since the Motor Vehicle Highway (MVH) and Local Road and Street (LRS) Accounts are the principal source of funds for local road or street construction and maintenance operations, this summary may be used to see the trends in income sources and in the expenses charged to the funds prior to their being distributed to the highway, road, and street agencies.

Transferability And Robustness Of Predictive Models To Proactively Assess Real-Time Freeway Crash Risk, Cameron Hunter Shew

Master's Theses

This thesis describes the development and evaluation of real-time crash risk assessment models for four freeway corridors, US-101 NB (northbound) and SB (southbound) as well as I-880 NB and SB. Crash data for these freeway segments for the 16-month period from January 2010 through April 2011 are used to link historical crash occurrences with real-time traffic patterns observed through loop detector data.

The analysis techniques adopted for this study are logistic regression and classification trees, which are one of the most common data mining tools. The crash risk assessment models are developed based on a binary classification approach (crash and …

Characterization Of Runoff In Two Urban Watersheds In Lincoln, Nebraska, Michael J. Florek Iii

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Characterization of runoff water quality and conditions for two urban watersheds in Lincoln, NE, was performed using data collected from 2008-2012. Water quality data from in-stream probes and storm sampling was combined with soil sample data, geographic information system (GIS) modeling, and nutrient isotope composition analysis to provide a more detailed picture of runoff mechanisms in the Taylor Park and Colonial Hills watersheds.

Soil sample data and GIS modeling were used to compare physical characteristics of the urban watersheds. Taylor Park and Colonial Hills are relatively similar, save for Colonial Hills being six times as large. Its time of concentration, …

Engineering Project Appraisal (2nd. Ed), Martin G. Rogers, Aidan Duffy

Books/Book Chapters

In most cases of civil engineering development, a range of alternative schemes meeting project goals are feasible, so some form of evaluation must be carried out to select the most appropriate to take forward. Evaluation criteria usually include the economic, environmental and social contexts of a project as well as the engineering challenges, so engineers must be familiar with the processes and tools used.

The second edition of Engineering Project Appraisal equips students with the understanding and analytical tools to carry out effective appraisals of alternative development schemes, using both economic and non-economic criteria. The building blocks of economic appraisal …

Probabilistic Analysis Of Indeterminate Highway Bridges Considering Material Nonlinearity, Liam Mccarthy

Masters

With ever-reducing maintenance budgets and ever-deteriorating bridge infrastructure, th assessment of existing bridges is vital. Reliability analysis techniques are becomin increasingly popular in the structural safety assessment of existing bridge structures Commonly, a component based approach is used in reliability analysis techniques Traditional reliability procedures often employ a conservative definition of failure, in that th component is deemed to have failed when the strength capacity has been exceeded at a singl cross section. As a result, the component's degree of redundancy and ductility is ignored giving an often conservative estimate of the load carrying capacity of the bridge component Therefore, …

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Structural Performance And Economics Of High-Rise Buildings Under Seismic And Wind Loads, Nadeem Hussain

Theses

High-rise buildings have a priority when considering the potential consequences from natural hazards since they represent concentrated human and monetary assets. The use of high strength materials is promoted in this class of structures to effectively use floor areas, control vibrations and expedite construction. There is a pressing need to investigate the relationship between structural performance and economics of high-rise buildings with different material strengths under lateral loads, particularly seismic loads that control the design of a wide range of buildings.

To realistically represent the modern high-rise construction, five 60-story reinforced concrete (RC) buildings with varying material strengths, ranging from …

Network- Level Pavement Performance And Management Study In Connecticut, Ramandeep S. Josen

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the analysis of asphalt pavement cracking data on the network level in Connecticut. Pavement performance indicators including longitudinal and transverse cracking as well as roughness are investigated with respect to numerous distinct factors that can be grouped into three categories, i.e. climatic-, pavement structure-, and traffic-related. High-quality climatic data was obtained from the national weather stations in Connecticut. Maintenance and construction data was used to determine the pavement age and structure amongst several other factors. Traffic data was acquired from the state records and accumulated traffic loading was estimated for all segments based on their age. High …

The Effects Of Bolt Pretension, In-Plane Eccentricity, And Friction On The Ductility Of Block Shear Connections, Kevin M. Zmetra

Master's Theses

Block shear is a complex failure mechanism in bolted and welded steel components such as gusset plates, webs of coped beams, angles and tees. It presumes a combination of tension rupture and shear yield. Multiple variables affect the block shear capacity and ductility of a connection. This study investigates the effects of bolt pretension, connection eccentricity and friction force transfer through a series of destructive experiments followed by refined finite element simulation. Clamping forces create a complex triaxial stress field compounded by the stress concentration at the bolt holes. In-plane load eccentricity with respect to the centerline of the connection …

Creek And Lake Water Analysis Of The Little Calumet East Branch Watershed, Nicholas H. Feller, Melissa Dorton

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

The overall goal of this project is to collect and analyze baseline water quality data in the Little Calumet East Branch (LCEB) watershed. This watershed spans portions of Porter and LaPorte counties in northwest Indiana and drains into Lake Michigan. The LCEB currently has impaired water quality. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) has awarded Save the Dunes Conservancy Foundation a two year grant to develop and implement a Watershed Management Plan to improve water quality. During the summer of 2012, the following water quality parameters were collected weekly from 15 sites spread throughout the watershed: 1) pH, 2) …

Electric Currents Due To Stress-Activated Positive Hole Charge Carriers In Ice, Cary T. Keller P.E., Friedemann T. Freund, Dale P. Cruikshank

STAR Program Research Presentations

Jupiter’s satellite Europa, whose surface is composed of ice with a possible water ocean beneath, could conceivably serve as an abode for extraterrestrial life. This and other icy celestial bodies may contain organic macromolecular solid material that is produced when surface ices are exposed to ultraviolet radiation and/or electrical energy. Tidal and tectonic stresses or meteorite impacts in icy crusts may produce electrical discharges, which would provide the energy for in-situ synthesis of the organic solids. This electrical energy can be provided by positive hole charge carrier activation. Positive holes exhibit properties such as the ability to flow out of …

A Laboratory Study Of Levee Scour From Overtopping Storm Waves And Protection For Robust Desgins, Earnest Johnson

All Theses

Levee failure due to scouring has been a prominent occurrence among intense storm surges and waves, giving rise to the implementation of various scour protection measures over the years. Several experiments were performed on a model levee on either bare levee soil or with a scour protection measure covering the soil. The purpose of this study is to breakdown the dynamics of levee scour due to overtopping waves and suggest efficient methods in reducing the amount of scour. The levee soil was made up of a sand-clay mixture and placed in a laboratory wave tank that created a constant wave …

Risk Analysis And Reliability Improvement Of Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design, Xingqiang Danny Xiao

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reliability used in the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) is a congregated indicator defined as the probability that each of the key distress types and smoothness will be less than a selected critical level over the design period. For such a complex system as the MEPDG which does not have closed-form design equations, classic reliability methods are not applicable. A robust reliability analysis can rely on Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS). The ultimate goal of this study was to improve the reliability model of the MEPDG using surrogate modeling techniques and Monte Carlo simulation.

To achieve this goal, four tasks …