Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Applications Of Geosynthetics In Tunnels Construction: A Sustainable Approach To Carbon Footprint Reduction, Ibraheem Rais, Abdullah H. Alsabhan, Md. Rehan Sadique, Shamshad Alam

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

The use of geosynthetics has transformed tunnelling practices by enhancing structural integrity, durability, and environmental sustainability. This review adopts a systematic literature review design, covering publications from 2000 to 2025 sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. The selected studies were screened based on relevance, quality, and focus on tunnelling applications, then thematically analyzed into four domains: geosynthetic types, applications, sustainability, and performance evaluation. This review focuses on the applications of various geosynthetics, including geotextiles, geogrids, geocomposites, geocells, and geomembranes, in tunnelling projects. These materials play crucial roles in reinforcing tunnel walls and slopes, improving load distribution, …

Sustainable Waste Valorization: Chitosan From Shrimp Shells For Eco-Friendly Cement Mortars And Global Nexus, Dalia A. Ali Associate Prof., Rahma H. Thabet Dr., Norah Alwadai Associate Prof., Fekri Abdulraqeb Ahmed Ali Prof., Ahmed S. Al-Fatesh Prof., Zeinab A. Etman Prof.

Chemical Engineering

This study addresses environmental and economic challenges by investigating the valorization of green shrimp shell biowaste into chitosan for application as an eco-friendly, sustainable, and multifunctional cement mortar additive. Chitosan synthesized from shrimp shells was systematically incorporated into high early-strength hydraulic cement mortar specimens ranging from 0 wt% to 1.5 wt% in the presence of silica sand. The influence of chitosan incorporation on the properties of cement mortars was systematically investigated, including mechanical performance (compressive strength and setting time), the underlying mechanism of chemical interactions, and microstructural development. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was performed on the extracted chitosan to confirm …

Investigation Of Portland Limestone Cement Blended With Biochar From Downdraft Gasification: Hydration Kinetics, Microstructure, Rheology, And Performance Mechanisms, Ugochukwu Ewuzie, Paul C. Ani, Abdulkareem O. Yusuf, Joseph D. Smith, Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The widespread adoption of Portland Limestone Cement (PLC) in U.S. concrete production has necessitated research into commercially available supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) for formulating high-performance, low-carbon blended binders with PLC. This study investigated the influence of biochar (BC) in biochar-PLC composites (CBCs), focusing on hydration kinetics, microstructure, rheology, pore-solution chemistry, compressive strength, and the underlying mechanisms. Biochar was produced via downdraft gasification at 850 °C and incorporated into PLC at 5, 7, and 10% substitution by mass. Isothermal calorimetry and hydration data modeled using the Knudsen equation revealed that BC retarded early hydration but improved hydration degree and later-age heat …

A Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (Fsqca) Of Dynamic Capabilities And Microfoundations For Hyperscale Data Center Project Delivery, Arezou Shafaghat, Da Hu, Ali Keyvanfar

Faculty Articles

Hyperscale data center construction has become one of the largest concentrated capital flows in the global built-environment sector, with global hyperscale capital expenditure exceeding USD 230 billion in 2024 and the leading hyperscalers committing more than USD 325 billion for 2025. Generative artificial intelligence workloads have driven a structural shift in mechanical and electrical design, increased delivery-pace demands, and concentrated supply-chain pressure on a small number of specialist general contractors. This paper develops and tests a microfoundational model of dynamic capabilities for hyperscale data center project delivery using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) on a sample of N = 18 …

The Shrinking Caspian Sea: Eco‐Hydrological Responses To Human And Climate Pressures, Jesse Duku, Mohammad J. Tourian, Marzi Azarderakhsh, Rovshan Abbasov, Ali Mehran, Ali Torabi Haghighi, Stefanos Xenarios, Azara Boschee, Salih Babagiray, Mojtaba Sadegh, Nima Shokri, Ali Nazemi, Alireza Farahmand, Samaneh Ashraf, Temur Khujanazarov, Elmira Hassanzadeh, Dalal Najib, Daniel Placht, Shamshagul Mashtayeva, Ekaterina Rets, Hamid Norouzi, Kaveh Madani, Manoochehr Shirzaei, Hossein Shafizadeh-Moghadam, Chiyuan Miao, Ali Mirchi, Shuo Wang, Amir Aghakouchak

Publications and Research

The Caspian Sea, the Earth's largest inland water body, faces water level decline, drawing comparisons to the collapse of the Aral Sea. Unlike the Aral Sea, the relative roles of climatic variability, hydrological changes, and anthropogenic pressures on the Caspian Sea remain poorly understood. Here, we integrate satellite observations, in situ hydrological records and reanalysis data to examine recent drivers of the Caspian water loss. We show that total river inflow to the Caspian Sea has declined significantly, primarily due to reduced discharge from the Volga River. At the same time, precipitation over the basin has remained broadly stable, while …

Numerical Assessment On The Use Of Structured Coral Reefs To Mitigate Tsunamis, Rim Ahmed Alsheikh Ali

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

This thesis investigates the role of coral reefs as nature-based tsunami protection systems for coastlines in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study is significant because the UAE is located near the seismically active Makran Subduction Zone in the Arabian Sea, which may generate tsunami hazards. The research provides a quantitative assessment of how coral reef morphology, particularly reef width and depth, influences tsunami wave attenuation, flow velocity, flow depth, roughness, and bed shear stress.

The study used a multi-phase methodology combining literature review, laboratory experiments, and numerical modelling. Flume experiments were conducted at UAEU using high-fidelity 3D-printed Acropora coral …

Strategies For Extending The Service Life Of Prestressed Concrete I-Shaped Beams, Sanjoy Kumar Bhowmik

Dissertations

Prestressed concrete (PSC) I-shaped beams are widely used in bridge construction because of their structural efficiency and durability. The service life of these beams is reduced and the maintenance frequency is increased due to the distress during fabrication and subsequent deterioration. Although several mitigation strategies have been proposed and implemented, beam end cracking during fabrication remains a major concern. The causes and mitigation strategies for beam end cracking have been studied for decades, but there have been no comprehensive studies utilizing beam end strains during fabrication and lifting at prefabrication plants under normal operational conditions. Moreover, existing maintenance and repair …

Design Of Advanced Water Purification System For The City Of Palo Alto, Kailee Oyama, Alex Marquez

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

The Advanced Water Purification System (AWPS) is designed with multiple treatment units to facilitate potable water reuse of the effluent from the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in Palo Alto. The membrane filtration process as well as post treatment conditioning results in a high quality recycled water that has a lower salinity concentration. The membrane filtration process separates the suspended particles such as bacteria, protozoa, and viruses from the WWTP effluent as well as reducing the dissolved solids, salts, smaller organic molecules, and trace contaminants by 90-99%. Then, the air stripping tower removes the excess carbon dioxide increasing the pH from …

Nanosilica-Enhanced Concrete For Commercial Construction, Pavlik Gribanovsky, Angel Lozano, Sebastian Rico

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. In consequence, the production of Portland cement contributes significantly to global carbon dioxide emissions. As the construction industry seeks more sustainable materials, nanosilica emerges as a promising material capable of enhancing the performance of concrete which would in turn reduce the demand of cement. This project investigated the feasibility of using laboratory-synthesized nanosilica as a concrete admixture to improve the mechanical performance of self-consolidating concrete. Concrete specimens were prepared in accordance with applicable ACI and ASTM procedures, cast into cylindrical molds, cured, and tested for compressive strength at seven …

A Workflow For Automating Geospatial And Data Visualizations For Post-Earthquake Building Damage Data, Alejandra Bravo

Architectural Engineering: Graduate Reports

After major seismic events, reconnaissance efforts of various types are made to gather data. Coarse data can be collected with satellite imagery, mid-scale data can be recorded by capturing thousands of images, and granular data is typically documented manually by humans. Post-earthquake reconnaissance teams can be deployed by universities, research organizations, professional associations, and private firms. Academics, engineers, and students with varying degrees of expertise are tasked with collecting building metadata and damage data, typically in a short period of time. This data can be of various types including numerical (i.e. number of stories, height, etc.), categorical (i.e. damage level, …

Integrating Sustainability Into Engineering Education, Riley R. Moller

Master's Theses

Engineering decisions shape lasting technology that affects environmental integrity, public safety, economic stability, and social equity. As global challenges such as climate change, infrastructure vulnerability, and rapid technological advancement intensify, the responsibilities placed on engineers continue to expand. Sustainability provides a framework for addressing these interconnected pressures through systems-based design and long-term thinking. Yet, sustainability education within engineering programs remains unevenly integrated, often positioned as elective or peripheral rather than as a foundational component of professional preparation.

Prior research shows that sustainability is most frequently addressed through stand-alone courses rather than embedded across required curricula, reflecting disciplinary structures that prioritize …

Research And Assessment Of Needs For Sign And Signal Maintenance, Megan White, Eric Green

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) sign and signal crews have expressed multiple concerns related to compensation, expertise, and having the financial and personnel resources needed to help the agency comply with Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) guidelines while continuing to perform routine job duties. Internal reorganizations and personnel changes have reduced staffing and budgets available to underwrite the activities of sign and signal crews even as workloads have remained steady or increased. To document the challenges facing sign and signal crews and associated engineering staff, Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers administered a statewide survey. Respondents gave their perspectives on …

Building And Facility Asset Inventory Assessment And Maintenance, Catherine Keathley, Bethany Paris, Jon Wilcoxson

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) manages approximately 1,500 buildings statewide, including facilities such as office buildings, maintenance and equipment garages, and storage sheds. Because managing buildings and properties requires considerable effort, agency decision makers need reliable monitoring and management tools that generate and organize data which can be used to determine the best course of action for facility maintenance and replacement. In addition to assessing the Cabinet’s building inventory, this report advances recommendations to improve the collection, management, and reporting of facility-related data. Assessment of the inventory managed by KYTC included geolocation of all properties and the buildings therein. Once …

Kytc Crash Modification Factor Recommendation List Online Tool, William Staats, Reginald Souleyrette, Teng Alex Wang, Mohammad Zana Majidi

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Transportation practitioners use crash modification factors/functions (CMFs) to calculate the number of crashes expected once a countermeasure has been implemented. When evaluating design alternatives, CMFs can be used in conjunction with safety performance functions (SPFs) to derive crash predictions. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) maintains the CMF Clearinghouse as a repository for CMFs. Contributions are submitted by researchers across the U.S., Canada, and throughout the world. Typically, individual countermeasures are associated with multiple CMFs. Some CMFs only apply to a specific facility or crash types. CMF quality varies, and some only apply to a specific facility and/or crash types, regions, …

Matlab Shake Table Control And Data Acquisition System, Abigail Austin

Architectural Engineering

The College of Architecture and Environmental Design’s (CAED) seismic laboratory shake table is used for earthquake engineering education and experimental testing. However, the existing control system is outdated and difficult for students unfamiliar with the system to operate. The objective of this project was to develop a MATLAB-based control and data acquisition application to simplify shake table operation and improve accessibility, of both operation and output, for student users.

The developed application imports earthquake acceleration records, scales the input motions to the operational limits of the shake table, and executes the desires motion through the existing hardware system. Experimental data …

Development Of Kytc’S Context Classification Network, Jill Asher, Megan White, Eric Green, Christopher Van Dyke

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Transportation agencies have adopted context-based classification systems that classify roadways based on the surrounding environment and user types. This offers a more comprehensive and multimodal perspective than traditional functional classification. While the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) has begun using project-level context classification, the agency will benefit from introducing network-level context classification. This will improve guidance, enhance project prioritization, and support the development of projects that better address the needs of all users. Responding to this need, Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers, in conjunction with KYTC staff, created a GIS-based model to build a context classification network that covers all state-maintained …

Boundary Influence In Truncated Groundwater Models: Reconstructing A Local-Scale Modflow Model From A Consultant-Developed Regional Model In The Monterey Subbasin, Bruce K. Liscomb

Master's Theses

Regional groundwater models built by consultants contain valuable calibrated frameworks but are often too large and complex for repeated local-scale analysis. Rather than rebuilding an entirely new smaller model, this study truncates the existing consultant-built regional model of the Monterey Subbasin, preserving the original grid structure and parameter framework while reducing the active domain to a manageable size for planning-level use. A key finding is that boundary-condition representation exerted a dominant influence on simulated groundwater behavior within the truncated domain, highlighting that truncation is a structural decision that meaningfully affects how the model responds. Model performance was evaluated two ways. …

A Performance-Weighted Environmental Assessment Of Ultra-High-Volume Fly Ash Substitution In Portland Cement Concrete, Youngguk Seo, M.A. Karim, Teddy Tzvetkov, Joshua Hardy

Faculty Articles

Fly ash substitution for cement in Portland cement concrete (PCC) has been regarded as a sustainable solution, but its widespread application remains constrained by concerns over mechanical performance and durability of PCC, especially at higher replacement rates. This study evaluates PCC mixes incorporating fly ash Type C (FA-C) or Type F (FA-F) across cement replacement rates from 10% to 90%, tracking fresh-state workability, compressive strength, and surface electrical resistivity at 7, 14, and 28 curing days. A process-based life cycle assessment (LCA) with the TRACI 2.1 method quantified global warming potential (GWP, kg CO₂/m³) under a …

From Ports To Projects: Estimating The Impact Of Supply Chain Volatility And Trade Policy Changes On Construction Material Prices, Ahmed Shiha, Islam H. El-Adaway

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Construction material markets are often reliant on imported commodities. Import tariffs and temporary trade barriers disrupt supply chains, presenting stakeholders with uncertainties regarding how such disruption impacts construction material prices. Despite the plethora of research efforts that examine the effects of economic conditions on construction material prices, the impacts of the import quantities remain understudied. This paper fills this knowledge gap using a multistep methodology. First, the prices of major construction materials and the quantities of the relevant imported commodities are retrieved. Second, the stability of their historical trends was assessed using econometrics-based tests. Third, a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag …

Reinforced Concrete Design Fundamentals, Belen Stephanie Martinez Espinoza, Estevan Jacob Perez

Architectural Engineering

Hispanic workers make up a large and growing portion of the construction workforce in the United States; particularly in California, the percentage of construction workers who are Hispanic is estimated to be about 55% as of 2021 (Elkins). Many of these workers are Spanish-speaking, yet there is still a gap between technical engineering design and what is understood and applied in the field. One major reason for this gap is the lack of clear bilingual resources. To bridge the gap, a 48-page bilingual booklet titled Reinforced Concrete Design Fundamentals (Fundamentos del Diseño de Concreto Reforzado in Spanish) was created. This …