Geotechnical Engineering Commons^™

Shear Strength Enhancement Of Soft Clay Using Lime Columns: A Large-Scale Experimental Study, Mostafa Elsawwaf Prof, Waseim Azzam Prof, Ahmed Sami Fouad

Journal of Engineering Research

Soft clay soil is often classified as problematic due to its low shear strength and high compressibility, which can cause significant structural damage. To mitigate these issues, various soil stabilization techniques have been developed, including the use of lime columns, fly ash, and crushed bricks. In this study, a large-scale direct shear device was designed and constructed to evaluate the impact of lime column stabilization on the shear strength of soft clay. The shear box measured 20 cm in height, 30 cm in length, and 30 cm in width. A hydraulic piston applied shear force by moving the lower shear …

Calculating The Radius Of The Earth Using Sunset Method: Comparison With Al-BīRūNi Method, Jana Kamal, Tayeb Brahimi

Effat Undergraduate Research Journal

This paper attempts to compare the earth's radius calculation based on the sunset or sunrise (moonset or moonrise) with the Method developed by the scientist Al-Bīrūni. The sunset sunrise method is used to calculate the earth radius by standing in front of a flat horizontal plane. In addition, the authors have use Al-Bīrūni's rule to calculate the radius. Furthermore, the error percent of both Al-Bīrūni and the sunset sunrise method were calculated as well. The results showed that the earth actual radius is 6371 km. Eratosthenes radius which is 6366 km is the closest to the actual earth radius, then …

Ai-Powered Inspection: A Computer Vision System For Efficient Defects Detection In Underground Infrastructures, Rasha Alshawi

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Undetected defects in culverts and sewer pipes pose significant risks to public safety, leading to infrastructure collapses, flooding, and transportation disruptions. Traditional manual inspections are time-consuming, costly, and prone to human error, while existing automated methods struggle with occlusions, irregular defect shapes, class imbalances, and high computational demands. To address these challenges, this dissertation develops advanced semantic segmentation systems that automate defect detection, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy.

This research introduces a series of innovative models designed to overcome these challenges in underground infrastructure inspection. Using dual-attentive mechanisms, sparsely connected blocks, and depth-separable convolutions, these models improve segmentation performance and …

Finding Groundwater With Electricity: Research And Testing Of An Electro-Resistive Ground-Surveying Device For Use In Well-Drilling Applications, Samuel L. Heath

Senior Honors Theses

A custom-built electro-resistive water detection device is tested under various conditions to evaluate its overall performance and sensitivity to changing variables. The tests, designed to assess accuracy and precision, revealed that the prototype exhibits high reliability (~ 99%) for both Schlumberger and Wenner arrays across different electrode spacings and soil conditions. Moreover, the measured resistivity values from the soil tests aligned with established literature ranges for each soil type. The device also showed the ability to consistently detect changes in soil water content by producing measurable variations in resistivity. At a total cost of $181, this prototype can serve as …

Use Of Pushed-In Pencel Pressuremeter Test For Shallow Foundation Design In Florida Fine Sands, Brhane Weldeanenya Ygzaw

Theses and Dissertations

A comprehensive evaluation was conducted on the performance, consistency, and practical application of various in-situ geotechnical testing methods for predicting the settlement and bearing capacity of shallow foundations in Florida’s fine sands. The methods assessed include the Standard Penetration Test (SPT), Cone Penetration Test (CPT), Dilatometer Test (DMT), pushed-in PENCEL Pressuremeter Test (PPMT), and the pre-bored TEXAM Pressuremeter Test. A dual approach controlled indoor testing at the FDOT State Materials Office (SMO) and field investigations at three representative sites (Kingsley, Trenton, and the UCF research site), formed the experimental foundation.

Over thirty settlement prediction techniques and thirteen bearing capacity estimation …

The Prototype Of A Fully Automated Pressuremeter For Various Geotechnical Applications, Anuar Akchurin

Theses and Dissertations

The geotechnical engineering field requires high-quality in-situ testing equipment that ensures consistency in the test execution. This research focuses on developing and testing a prototype of a fully automated pressuremeter control unit to allow the industry to obtain reliable and controlled stress-strain data, thereby improving efficiency and reducing testing time.

The objectives of this work are to design and develop a system with the necessary components to perform the pressuremeter test, integrate the testing procedure into the state machine design, enable automated testing, and validate the results by comparing the stress-strain data with that obtained from the existing hand-operated pressuremeter …

Development Of Soil Water Characteristic Curves Through Control Of Relative Humidity, Lauren E. Johnson, Julia I. Loshelder, Richard A. Coffman

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The relationship between soil suction and soil water content in unsaturated soil mechanics is important but can be difficult to measure. The objective of the research described herein was to develop soil water characteristic curves (SWCC) from relative humidity values by incorporating the use of glycerin-water mixtures. Glycerin-water mixtures can be used to achieve different relative humidity levels by varying the concentration of glycerin within the mixture. The relative humidity created by each mixture was measured with a relative humidity sensor, and the relative humidity values and Kelvin’s equation were used to compute the total suction.

Soil water characteristic curves …

Hickory Street Square Revitalization, Spencer Knight, Grace Dungan, Tim Kula, Evan Lauritsen, Lindsey Mennenga

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

The Hickory Street Square Revitalization Project seeks to transform a central public space in Sidney, Nebraska into a dynamic, community-oriented area that supports local events, economic activity, and cultural heritage. The project addresses six core objectives: 1) convertible street design, 2) parking lot reconfiguration, 3) public amenities, 4) event flexibility, 5) lighting and signage, and 6) old electric plant renovation. A conceptual design was developed by the design team (S.T.E.E.L. Sentinel Solutions) by synthesizing the most effective features of three preliminary alternatives, shaped further through community feedback and evolving project constraints. The final project design minimizes disruption to existing activity …

Microwave Ore Pre-Treatment Review And Process Flowsheet Conceptualization, Baker F. Giyani

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The global demand for mineral commodities has increased dramatically over the years, and this is largely due to several factors, including technological advancements, industrialization, and a rise in population. Further, the demand keeps increasing because the ore being mined is becoming more complex, and the feed grade is declining over the years, prompting the need for innovative technologies to treat such ores more efficiently. Microwave ore pre-treatment is one of the potential technologies that can be employed to improve process performance. This is possible because ores are composed of both good-microwave heaters and poor microwave heaters, which creates thermal stresses …

Improving Erosion Resistance And Revegetation Of Wildfire-Altered Soils Using Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation, Ahsan Ali

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Climate change is causing wildfires to occur more frequently and with higher intensity. Leading to wide range of impacts on agriculture, infrastructure, and the environment. Wildfires affect soils by burning their organic matter, resulting in an immediate deplete of nutrients and a significant reduction in nitrogen level. Wildfires also alter soils’ physical properties and make them less resistant to erosion which results in debris flows when wildfire are followed by a rainfall event. The reduced activity of microorganisms that aid in nutrient absorption makes the soil less effective in supporting plant life. Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) was found to …

Calibrating Airfield Pavement Asset Management For A Changing Global Climate: A Case Study At Fairchild Air Force Base, Emily L. Worthy

Theses and Dissertations

Military airfields and civilian airports serve as foundational nodes in the global transportation network, enabling travel, economic growth, and the projection of national security. This study investigates the relationship between climate variables projected through climate change and pavement degradation, with a focus on Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB). Using principal component regression (PCR), the research integrates historical pavement condition index (PCI) data with climate variables, including snowfall, precipitation, freeze-thaw cycles, solar irradiance, and wind speed to develop a predictive model of pavement performance under future climate scenarios, Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5. These models, for both Portland …

A Review Of Chemical Stabilisation Used To Enhance The Mechanical Properties Of Rammed Earth, David Thompson, Charles Augarde, Juan Pablo Osorio

Articles

Rammed earth is a sustainable construction method with a lower carbon footprint and embodied energy compared to traditional materials like steel and concrete. However, its lower mechanical properties when compared to these forms of construction make it vulnerable to seismic forces. This paper reviews the published literature on enhancing rammed earth's mechanical properties through both chemical stabilisation and fibre reinforcement, with a focus on reusing waste materials. The effectiveness of these techniques are highlighted by comparing experimental results with minimum specifications taken from relevant guidelines and standards for building rammed earth structures in seismic zones. These findings demonstrate that chemical …

Performance-Based Full Depth Reclamation Design, Moatasem H. Algburi

Civil Engineering ETDs

The Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) technique is a cold-mix asphalt (CMA) technology employed in New Mexico to rehabilitate existing pavements. It results in minor disruption to traffic, environmental advantages, and decreased construction period and costs. However, insufficient data on the material properties of FDR mixtures and their characterization limits the use of the mechanical-empirical (M-E) design method of FDR materials. The MEPDG develops performance models using the structural response of pavement layers to predict pavement structure systems based on material properties, climate models, and loading conditions. This study has developed MEPDG models to predict the long-term performance of FDR materials and …

Brittleness Indices For Chemically Corroded Rocks Under Unloading Confining Pressure, Hao Li, Leo Pel, Zhenjiang You, David Smeulders

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Rock brittleness constitutes a pivotal mechanical property for geotechnical engineering. In this paper, multi-scale investigations, involving Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), ion chromatography, Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), as well as unloading tests, were conducted to examine the brittle behaviors and mechanisms of rocks under chemical-unloading confinement conditions. This paper defines rock brittleness as the capacity to withstand multiscale fracturing based on experimental investigations into multiscale damage mechanisms and macro-mechanical responses. After that, two novel brittleness indices are proposed, utilizing the dissipated energy consumption and energy-drop coefficients proposed in this study. These indices are then validated using experimental data. …

Can Chatgpt Implement Finite Element Models For Geotechnical Engineering Applications?, Hyoung Suk Suh

Faculty Scholarship

This study assesses the capability of ChatGPT to generate finite element code for geotechnical engineering applications from a set of prompts. We tested three different initial boundary value problems using a hydro-mechanically coupled formulation for unsaturated soils, including the dissipation of excess pore water pressure through fluid mass diffusion in one-dimensional space, time-dependent differential settlement of a strip footing, and gravity-driven seepage. For each case, initial prompting involved providing ChatGPT with necessary information for finite element implementation, such as balance and constitutive equations, problem geometry, initial and boundary conditions, material properties, and spatiotemporal discretization and solution strategies. Any errors and …

Application Of Digital Core Analysis To Improve Reservoir Characterisation And Modelling: The Otway Formation As A Case Study, Masoud Aslannezhad, Mohammad Sayyafzadeh, David Tang, Stefan Iglauer, Alireza Keshavarz

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Conventional reservoir models of heterogeneous reservoirs do not include micro-scale heterogeneity due to the resolution limitations of widely used well logs and core plug data. This leads to a lack of precision in the characterization of the reservoir. The reservoir quality of the thin sandstone layers in heterogeneous reservoir are critical factors for CO2 sequestration. The integration of micro-CT images from rock samples and upscaling algorithms, enables a comprehensive understanding of reservoir properties and facilitates accurate reservoir modelling. This research aims to enhance reservoir characterization and modelling by upscaling digital core data from micro scale to field scale. By focusing …

2d Numerical Modeling Of Pavements On Expansive Soil In Extreme Climates, Ekansh Agarwal, Xiong Zhang, Ning Luo

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study focuses on modeling a rigid pavement slab on expansive soil in extreme climates to understand the interaction between weather, pavement, and soil. Lightweight superstructures such as pavements are particularly prone to damage due to the differential settlement of expansive soils. In the context of climate change, the occurrence of severe droughts followed by intense rainfall has risen, causing severe impacts on crack initiation and development, and thus infiltration patterns in the structures built on expansive soils. Pavements are typically designed for a limited lifespan, and early failure may occur if climate change is not considered during design. This …

Challenges In Numerical Simulation Of Frost Heave, Antai Dong, Xiong Zhang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Frost heave of soil extensively exists in northern regions and poses a significant threat to infrastructure in cold regions. Despite over a century of research, challenges persist in numerically simulating frost heave. This study addresses two key issues: (1) What is the primary driving force for liquid water transfer during the freezing process? (2) How can we correctly represent unfrozen water content? Critical insights are derived from the theoretical analysis of coupled hydrothermal migration during soil freezing processes, followed by a case simulation using COMSOL Multiphysics. It concludes that of the water content gradient, suction gradient, and hydraulic gradient, only …

An Improved Table Method For Coded Target Identification With Application To Photogrammetric Analysis Of Soil Specimen During Triaxial Testing, Xiaolong Xia, Xiong Zhang, Sara Fayek, Zhaozheng Yin

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Accurate and efficient recognition and identification of coded targets are of great importance in coded target-based photogrammetry. Recently, a deep learning-based method has been utilized to recognize the coded targets. Then, a table method has been developed to decode the coded targets, identify falsely identified coded targets, and recover missing coded targets. This method takes advantage of the geometric arrangement of the coded targets. In this paper, an improved table method has been developed to improve the coded targets recognition and identification results. Blob analysis, instead of deep learning, is utilized to recognize coded targets. Then, the RANSAC algorithm was …

Evaluate The Feasibility Of Recyclability Of The Plastic Modified Rap In Hot Mix Asphalt, Aashish Acharya

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF THE RECYCLABILITY OF PLASTIC MODIFIED RAP IN HOT MIX ASPHALT

Aashish Acharya

The University of Texas at Arlington, 2025

Supervising Professor: Dr. MD Sahadat Hossain

Recyclability is the primary concern regarding the implementation of plastic-modified asphalt. Conventional Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) is commonly reused; however, there are limited studies on RAP from plastic-modified mixes because field-aged material is not yet available. The use of recycled plastics in asphalt is mainly at the research stage and not widely used in practice. This creates a practical concern: if Plastic-RAP cannot be recycled, or if adding Plastic-RAP lowers the …