Civil Engineering Commons^™

Behavior Of Staged Externally Bonded Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Sheets For Improved Ductility, Laura Marie Rathe

Masters Theses

"Fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) has become increasingly used for the retrofit of aging structures for increased lifespans and for the rapid repair of damaged structures. It has many advantageous such as ease in rapid installation, high strength-to-weight ratio, and corrosion resistance. The main disadvantage of the material is brittle behavior with little warning of impending failures. The main objective of this study is to develop a new system of FRP that exhibits a more ductile behavior. To achieve this objective, separate sheets of FRP were applied at various staged levels and thus engaged at different loads. Ductile behavior was evaluated …

Effect Of Side Edge Distance And Concrete Materials On Corrosion In Precast Prestressed Concrete Panels, Dayi Zhang

Masters Theses

"This study involved the spalling problem found in some partial-depth precast prestressed bridge decks in the state of Missouri. Recently, panels of several bridges have exhibited corrosion of the prestressing steel tendons causing concrete spalling at the edges of panels. Some of the exposed tendons are corroded to the point of rupture. The effect of factors, namely concrete side edge distance and concrete material type, on steel corrosion in chloride-contaminated reinforced concrete was investigated in this study. Wet-dry cycle tests and accelerated corrosion tests were carried out on sixty-three specimens designed with three different side edge distances and three different …

Effects Of High Volumes Of Fly Ash On Cement Paste, Karl Wehking Beckemeier

Masters Theses

"The study of high-volume fly ash (HVFA) concrete mixtures has become popular due to the significant environmental and economic benefits which the material may provide. By including fly ash at 50 percent or greater replacement levels, substantial benefits could be obtained. However, the inclusion of fly ash can have negative effects, including incompatibilities between constituents of a mixture. As the fly ash replacement level increases, the degree and likelihood of these problems increases.

In this study, paste mixtures were made, as part of a larger HVFA concrete study, in order to determine the degree to which varying levels of fly …

Analysis Of Passive Louver Shading Systems And Impact On Interior Environment, Cory Joseph Brennan

Masters Theses

An installed passive louver shading systems can affect the heating, cooling, and lighting loads of any building, by altering the amount of solar energy, in the form of light and heat, from entering. The benefits of a louver system are derived from the application of solar geometry incident on the site and the climate within the area. By optimizing a passive louver system's design parameters, a building can reduce the total annual energy consumption due to artificial heating, cooling loads and artificial lighting. This research has implemented simulation modeling software, Energy Plus, to predict the effect of passive louver shades …

Self-Consolidating Concrete For Infrastructure Elements Shear Characteristics, Eric B. Sells

Masters Theses

"Because of its unique ability to maintain high flow-ability and remain homogeneous, self-consolidating concrete (SCC) has the potential to significantly reduce the costs associated with civil infrastructure; however, the use of higher paste and lower coarse aggregate volumes than non-SCC concretes raises concerns about shear strength of SCC mixes. This research focused on the components that contribute to the concrete's ability to provide shear by aggregate interlock. Variables investigated by push-off tests included concrete compressive strength, coarse aggregate type , and volumetric content level of the coarse aggregate portion . Post-failure digital imaging software was used to confirm fresh concrete …

Driver Mandatory Lane Change Behavior: Use Of Governing Gap In Critical Gap Estimation, Srinadh Kandada

Masters Theses

"This study analyzed the driver gap acceptance and rejection behavior during mandatory lane changes on a multilane freeway in congested and uncongested traffic conditions. During a lane change, drivers were more receptive to either the leading or the trailing gaps with vehicles in the target lane which governed the drivers' lane change and is termed as the governing gap. Drivers maneuvered till the governing gap was greater than the critical gap, accepted the gap and made a lane change. In this process, drivers reduced the non-governing gap to increase the length of the governing gap. The drivers as a result …

Use Of High Volume Fly Ash-Wood Fiber And Polyurea Layers For Blast Mitigation, Anthony Francis Wulfers

Masters Theses

"This project is a continuation of research done by Natalia Carey and John Myers. The first part of Natalia's research was to develop and characterize an e-glass discrete fiber-reinforced polyurea (DFRP) system for infrastructure applications. She then recommended two polyurea systems (A and B) be further examined. These polyurea systems were then applied to plain reinforced concrete and steel fiber reinforced concrete panels (SFRC). Carey found that the SFRC panels sustained less overall damage. For this project SFRC was used as the base layer in combination with the DFRP systems. In addition to the DFRP and SFRC a high-volume fly …

A Progressive Collapse Evaluation Of Steel Structures In High Temperature Environment With Optical Fiber Sensors, Ying Huang

Doctoral Dissertations

"In the process of a progressive failure of steel structures in a post-earthquake fire, real-time assessment and prediction of structural behaviors are of paramount significance to an emergency evacuation and rescue effort. However, existing measurement technologies cannot provide the needed critical data such as large strains at high temperature. To bridge this gap, a novel optical fiber sensor network and an adaptive multi-scale finite element model (FEM) are proposed and developed in this study. The sensor network consists of long period fiber gratings (LPFG) sensors and extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI) sensors or their integration. Each sensor is designed with a …

Settlement Of Municipal Solid Waste, Emmet Burke

Theses

The mechanical properties of waste (compression index, elastic modulus, stresses) are an important aspect for the design, operation and post-closure uses of landfills. In recent years the requirement to utilise the acreage that the landfill occupies to its maximum potential has necessitated the landfill structure to accommodate a greater volume of waste over a smaller plan area. This pushes the boundaries of design relating to side-slope and infrastructural elements of landfill structures.

The objectives of this research were identified from significant gaps in the knowledge relating to the settlement and mechanical properties of municipal solid waste. The main objectives are …

Structural Identification Through Monitoring, Modeling And Predictive Analysis Under Uncertainty, Hasan Burak Gökçe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bridges are critical components of highway networks, which provide mobility and economical vitality to a nation. Ensuring the safety and regular operation as well as accurate structural assessment of bridges is essential. Structural Identification (St-Id) can be utilized for better assessment of structures by integrating experimental and analytical technologies in support of decision-making. St-Id is defined as creating parametric or nonparametric models to characterize structural behavior based on structural health monitoring (SHM) data. In a recent study by the ASCE St-Id Committee, St-Id framework is given in six steps, including modeling, experimentation and ultimately decision making for estimating the performance …

Engineering Characteristics Of Recyled Plastic Pin, Lumber And Bamboo For Soil Slope Stabilization, Faisal Shakib Ahmed

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Shallow slope failures are predominant in North Texas and pose a significant maintenance problem. The traditional slope repair and stabilization techniques become expensive in some instances with direct costs associated in maintenance and repair of landslides. A new approach for slope stabilization has been developed using Recycled Plastic Pins ( RPP) to reinforce slope movements. The engineering properties of RPP in compression and bending strength along with environmental considerations dictate the design and repair of slopes using RPP. Two other materials have also been considered as an alternative: (1) Wood lumber and (2) Bamboo. Wood has many advantages as an …

Development Of A Flexible Pavement Design Procedure Based On The Mechanistic - Empirical Pavement Design Guide: A Case Study, Ali Qays Abdullah

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

This research developed design tables of new flexible pavement structures for New York State Department of Transportation based on the Mechanistic Empirical Design Guide (MEPDG). The design tables were developed using the MEPDG software for Regions 1, 3, and 7 for Upstate part of New York State and for Regions 8, 10, and 11 for the Downstate part of New York State. The MEPDG software was used to run design cases for combinations of: climate conditions, traffic volume, subgrade soil stiffness (Mr) and pavement structures. The conditions that the MEPDG was used to run were: the road structures classified as …

Shear Strength Of Web-Tapered I-Shaped Members, Ryan Paul Studer

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Plate girders are fabricated in situations where standard structural shapes do not possess the required strength necessary to carry applied loads. In many instances, plate girders are tapered so that the resistance to bending is proportional to the bending moment, creating cost effective, aesthetically pleasing structures. The AISC 2010 Specifications accurately predict the flexural capacity of tapered plate girders but recent research has suggested that the required shear strength is overly conservative. The researchers postulate that the required shear strength is overly conservative due to an effect known as modified shear that has been neglected from the AISC 2010 Specifications …

An Innovative Approach To Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design, Ronnie Clark Graves Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) developed by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) project 1-37A, is a very powerful tool for the design and analysis of pavements. The designer utilizes an iterative process to select design parameters and predict performance, if the performance is not acceptable they must change design parameters until an acceptable design is achieved.

The design process has more than 100 input parameters across many areas, including, climatic conditions, material properties for each layer of the pavement, and information about the truck traffic anticipated. Many of these parameters are known to have insignificant influence …

Risk Management In Reservoir Operations In The Context Of Undefined Competitive Consumption, Yunus Salami

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dams and reservoirs with multiple purposes require effective management to fully realize their purposes and maximize efficiency. For instance, a reservoir intended mainly for the purposes of flood control and hydropower generation may result in a system with primary objectives that conflict with each other. This is because higher hydraulic heads are required to achieve the hydropower generation objective while relatively lower reservoir levels are required to fulfill flood control objectives. Protracted imbalances between these two could increase the susceptibility of the system to risks of water shortage or flood, depending on inflow volumes and operational policy effectiveness. The magnitudes …

Biogeochemical Cycling And Nutrient Control Strategies For Groundwater At Stormwater Infiltration Basins, Andrew M. O'Reilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Elevated concentrations of nutrients, particularly nitrate, in groundwater and springs in Florida are a growing resource management concern. Stormwater infiltration basins, which are a common stormwater management practice in the well-drained karst terrain areas of Florida, are a potentially important source of nutrients to the groundwater system because stormwater exits the basin by only evaporation or infiltration. To better understand the biogeochemical processes integrating stormwater infiltration impacts on groundwater resources in a field-scale setting, a combination of hydrologic, soil chemistry, water chemistry, dissolved and soil gas, isotope, and microbiological data was collected from 2007 through 2010 at two stormwater infiltration …

Microscopic Assessment Of Transportation Emissions On Limited Access Highways, Hatem Abou-Senna

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

On-road vehicles are a major source of transportation carbon dioxide (CO2) greenhouse gas emissions in all the developed countries, and in many of the developing countries in the world. Similarly, several criteria air pollutants are associated with transportation, e.g., carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and particulate matter (PM). The need to accurately quantify transportation-related emissions from vehicles is essential. Transportation agencies and researchers in the past have estimated emissions using one average speed and volume on a long stretch of roadway. With MOVES, there is an opportunity for higher precision and accuracy. Integrating a microscopic traffic simulation model (such …

Effluent Water Quality Improvement Using Silt Fences And Stormwater Harvesting, Ikiensinma Gogo-Abite

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Construction sites are among the most common areas to experience soil erosion and sediment transport due to the mandatory foundation tasks such as excavation and land grubbing. Thus, temporary sediment barriers are installed along the perimeter to prevent sediment transport from the site. Erosion and sediment transport control measures may include, but not limited to, physical and chemical processes such as the use of a silt fence and polyacrylamide product. Runoff from construction sites and other impervious surfaces are routinely discharged into ponds for treatment before being released into a receiving water body. Stormwater harvesting from a pond for irrigation …

Incorporating Remotely Sensed Data Into Coastal Hydrodynamic Models: Parameterization Of Surface Roughness And Spatio-Temporal Validation Of Inundation Area, Stephen Conroy Medeiros

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the use of remotely sensed data in coastal tide and inundation models, specifically how these data could be more effectively integrated into model construction and performance assessment techniques. It includes a review of numerical wetting and drying algorithms, a method for constructing a seamless digital terrain model including the handling of tidal datums, an investigation into the accuracy of land use / land cover (LULC) based surface roughness parameterization schemes, an application of a cutting edge remotely sensed inundation detection method to assess the performance of a tidal model, and a preliminary investigation into using 3-dimensional airborne …

A Framework For Process Data Collection, Analysis, And Visualization In Construction Projects, Reza Akhavian

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Automated data collection, simulation and visualization can substantially enhance the process of designing, analysis, planning, and control of many engineering processes. In particular, managing processes that are dynamic in nature can significantly benefit from such techniques. Construction projects are good examples of such processes where a variety of equipment and resources constantly interact inside an evolving environment. Management of such settings requires a platform capable of providing decision-makers with updated information about the status of project entities and assisting site personnel making critical decisions under uncertainty. To this end, the current practice of using historical data or expert judgments as …