Civil Engineering Commons^™

Investigating The Effects Of Various Crowd Characteristics On The Dynamic Properties Of An Occupied Structure, Robert Joseph Firman Iii

Honors Theses

One of the challenges for structural engineers during design is considering how the structure will respond to crowd-induced dynamic loading. It has been shown that human occupants of a structure do not simply add mass to the system when considering the overall dynamic response of the system, but interact with it and may induce changes of the dynamic properties from those of the empty structure. This study presents an investigation into the human-structure interaction based on several crowd characteristics and their effect on the dynamic properties of an empty structure. The dynamic properties including frequency, damping, and mode shapes were …

Route Change Decision Making By Hurricane Evacuees Facing Congestion, R. Michael Robinson, Asad Khattak

VMASC Publications

Successful evacuations of metropolitan areas require overcoming unexpected congestion that reduces traffic flows. Congestion may result from accidents, incidents, or other events that reduce road capacity. Traffic professionals and emergency managers may promote deviations from planned routes to bypass an area of congestion and speed mass exit. However, some route changes may actually reduce traffic flow rates, and in these cases decision makers may want to discourage use of alternate routes. By using results of a behavioral survey of potential hurricane evacuees, this study identifies variables associated with the decision to alter routes and also identifies frequently used information sources. …

Experimental And Modeling Comparison Of Modular Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Panels, Nicole C. Annis

Masters Theses

"Three different prototype photovoltaic-thermal panels using water as the cooling fluid were tested simultaneously. The first two panels (Panel A and B) consisted of a highly conductive thermal sheeting and different sized copper tubing. The third panel (Panel C) consisted of copper tubing with an aluminum fin. Thermal images were used to verify the heat transfer across the panels and compare the amount of heat radiating off the back of the photovoltaic-thermal panels versus the standard photovoltaic paneleaf Three A type panels were thermally connected in series. Three photovoltaic panels were also tested for an electrical comparison. The purpose of …

Fieldmanager® – Construction Management Software, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The FieldManager® software is a construction management system jointly owned by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Info Tech, Inc. Designed for any size organization that manages construction projects, FieldManager software wraps up contract documentation and reporting, contract modifications, and pay estimates into one neat package for use on multiple hardware platforms, increasing productivity and accountability by implementing a standard business practice across the organization.

Appia® – Construction Management Web Application, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The Appia® software is a hosted web application for construction program administration. The Appia system can manage the business processes in the major functional areas of the project life-cycle – estimation, bid management and construction – due to its flexible configuration and customizable business rules, providing organizations the opportunity to simplify and standardize their processes.

Automated Tank Surface Finishing System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The current finishing techniques are costly and laborious, and they expose workers to significant health and safety risks. The automated tank surface finishing system uses a computer-controlled motion module to refinish the vertical exterior walls of a tank. The module is configurable for both blasting and painting and utilizes conventional surface finishing equipment for these processes. An overspray hood is included to reduce contamination of the surrounding environment during painting. The module attaches to a tank’s wind girts with steel cables, and its position and velocity are controlled by servo-driven hoists.

Effects Of The Antimicrobial Tylosin On The Microbial Community Structure Of An Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Reactor, Toshio Shimada, Xu Li, Julie L. Zilles, Eberhard Morgenroth, Lutgarde Raskin

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The effects of the antimicrobial tylosin on a methanogenic microbial community were studied in a glucosefed laboratory-scale anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) exposed to stepwise increases of tylosin (0, 1.67, and 167 mg/L). The microbial community structure was determined using quantitative fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and phylogenetic analyses of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene clone libraries of biomass samples. During the periods without tylosin addition and with an influent tylosin concentration of 1.67 mg/L, 16S rRNA gene sequences related to Syntrophobacter were detected and the relative abundance of Methanosaeta species was high. During the highest tylosin dose of …

Modeling Of Transient Response Of An Elastic Beam With Flexible Supports And Variable-Location Impact, Weiping Xu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research is prerequisite to determining structural health and estimating wear-limited life of contact/impact machinery components. Prevention, or at least early notification, of impact-induced wear is essential for preventing economic loss and enhancing personnel safety. Thus, an efficient model which is discrete in time and continuous in space was undertaken; an euler-bernoulli beam with adjustable boundary conditions and variable impact is numerically studied under a pulse loading. Structural stiffness, material modulus, contact stiffness, contact location, damping ratio, pulse duration, clearance and boundary conditions are investigated. A reference system is used as the basis for parameter studies and solution convergence is …

Automated Pavement Condition Data Collection Quality Control, Quality Assurance, And Reliability, Ghim Ping (Raymond) Ong, Samy Noureldin, Kumares C. Sinha

JTRP Technical Reports

In recent years, state highway agencies have come to understand the need for high quality pavement condition data at both the project and network levels. At the same time, agencies also realize that they have become too dependent on contractors to ensure the quality of the delivered data without any means to independently assure the quality of these delivered data. This research study therefore aims to investigate the inherent variability of the automated data collection processes and proposes guidelines for an automated data collection quality management program in Indiana. In particular, pavement roughness data (in terms of IRI) and pavement …

Performance Of Reinforced Concrete Columns Strengthened With Fiber Reinforced Polymers Under Various Loading Conditions, Mohamed Gamal Mohamed El Sayed

Theses

Strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites has been a popular subject that attracted considerable attention from researchers for the last two decades. The high specific strength, stiffness, environmental resistance, and ease of application make CFRP composites highly desirable for strengthening and rehabilitation of RC structural components.

For concentrically loaded RC members with a circular cross-section, the lateral CFRP-confinement of concrete results in a substantial increase in load capacity and ductility. CFRP-confinement is less effective for RC compression members with square and rectangular cross-sections due to stress concentration at the corners and lack of …

Condition Assessment Of Bill Emerson Memorial Cable-Stayed Bridge Under Postulated Design Earthquake, Dongming Yan, Wenjian Wang, Genda Chen, Bryan A. Hartnagel

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, a three-dimensional finite element model of the Bill Emerson Memorial cable-stayed bridge was developed and validated with the acceleration data recorded during the M4.1 earthquake of May 1, 2005, in Manila, Arkansas. The model took into account the geometric nonlinear properties associated with cable sagging and soil-foundation-structure interaction. The validated model was used to evaluate the performance of a seismic protective system, the behavior of cable-stayed spans, and the accuracy of two simplified bridge models that have been extensively used by the structural control community. The calculated natural frequencies and mode shapes correlated well with the measured …

Crack Detectability And Durability Of Coaxial Cable Sensors In Reinforced Concrete Bridge Applications, Genda Chen, Ryan D. Mcdaniel, Michael A. Brower, David Pommerenke

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The working mechanism and the measurement principle of topology-based crack sensors made of coaxial cables are briefly reviewed. The sensitivity, spatial resolution, and ruggedness of two coaxial cable sensors, respectively made of rubber and Teflon dielectric materials, were compared and validated with laboratory testing of a 4/5-scale, T-shaped, reinforced concrete beam-column specimen. Two Teflon sensors were installed on one of the solid decks of a three-span continuous highway bridge to investigate their durability and measurement repeatability. Laboratory tests indicated that both types of sensors have high sensitivity, but the Teflon sensor has a higher spatial resolution and a negligible spillover …

Visualization And Assessment Of Arterial Progression Quality Using High Resolution Signal Event Data And Measured Travel Time, Christopher M. Day, Ross Haseman, Hiromal Premachandra, Thomas M. Brennan Jr, Jason S. Wasson, James R. Sturdevant, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Decision Support Tools For Bus Rapid Transit Corridor Planning, Luis David Galicia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Systems have been gained popularity in the United States and worldwide as a cost-effective solution of mass transit. There are certain elements and characteristics that such a system should accomplish to be considered a BRT. However, a uniform definition, defined phases to be deployed, and a reliable methodology to estimate ridership are not well structured and clear yet. The purpose of this research was to help BRT stakeholders with an effective method to plan and assess BRT projects. The first goal of this research was to provide a comprehensive description of the essential characteristics of BRT …

Development Of A Land Use Regression Model To Predict Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations, Teresa Sosa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Air pollution is a major environmental concern in the El Paso-Juárez region. According to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, SEMARNAT) the city of Juárez is one of the city's in México with the highest atmospheric levels of pollution because of its accelerated and unplanned urban growth. One air pollutant of concern is nitrogen dioxide (NO2) due to its detrimental health effects that have been associated with airway inflammation in healthy people and increased respiratory symptoms in people with asthma. Land use regression modeling is a GIS based approach that seeks to …

Applicability Of Mepdg For India Based On Texas Pavement And Environmental Conditions, Vamsi Krishna Pinnamaneni

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Indian pavement design guide uses empirical models which were adopted and modified from US design guides. As with any empirical model, the prediction capabilities are limited to the conditions for which it was developed. In USA, Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) has been recently developed to account for increase in truck traffic and minimize premature failure of pavements. Since the new design uses mechanistic approach, it is expected that the design guide can better predict performance of pavements. In addition, mechanistic approach allows use of design guide for different pavement and environmental conditions by calibrating model parameters for …

A Risk Analysis Framework For Toll Road Revenue Forecasts, Gabriel Alejandro Valdez Ceniceros

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the United States, the shortage for traditional public sector funding sources for a safer and more effective highway infrastructure has made it more increasingly difficult for transportation agencies to keep up with the increasing demand. As a consequence, transportation agencies are considering a number of alternatives to raise funds such as charging tolls or cooperating with the private sector. One of the most important steps when analyzing the feasibility of a toll road is the traffic forecast process. However, the uncertainty of the traffic forecast has become apparent across the U.S. as evident in the common overestimation of traffic …

Bridge Lessons Learned From The Wenchuan China, Earthquake, W. Phillip Yen, Genda Chen, Mark Yashinski, Youssef M. A. Hashash, Curtis J. Holub, Kehai Wang, Xiaodong Guo

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A strong earthquake of M7.9 occurred in Wenchuan County in Sichuan Province, China, on May 12, 2008. This paper presents the field observations on various types of bridge damages, including unseating of girders, longitudinal and transverse offset of decks, pounding at expansion joints, shear key failure, bearing displacement, column shear, and flexible cracks. Plausible causes of damages and collapses are discussed and the lessons learned from this event are briefly summarized. Some of the postearthquake temporary constructions are also reported.

Nonlinear Finite Element Formulation Of The Soil Structure Interaction Through Two Parameter Foundation Model, Taraka Ravi Shankar Mullapudi

Masters Theses

"The response of shallow and raft foundations is having a significant importance due to its complex behavior because of the semi-infinite soil media. Winkler's model is the simplest model to deal with the structure and soil. The Winkler model represents the foundation reaction as proportional to the soil displacement at a particular point, which results in the elasticity of the soil being the only parameter in consideration. But in reality the soil cohesiveness is having a significant contribution in soil structure interaction, and therefore the consideration of coupling effects of Winkler springs need to be accounted. Most of the existing …

Integration Of The Regression-Based Land Use Model And The Combined Trip Distribution-Assignment Transportation Model, Meiwu An

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Regional growth caused the emergence of traffic congestion and pollution in the past few decades, which have started to affect small urban areas. These problems are not only related to transportation system design but also to land use planning. There has been growing recognition that the relationship between land use and transportation needs to be understood and analyzed in a consistent and systematic way. Integrated urban models have recently been introduced and implemented in several metropolitan areas to systematically examine the relationship between land use and transportation. The general consensus in the field of integrated urban models is that each …