Digital Commons Network^™

Spatial And Temporal Analysis Of Location And Usage Of Public Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure In The United States, Levente Juhasz, Hartwig H. Hochmair

GIS Center

Switching to electric vehicles (EVs) has increased rapidly over recent years. This paradigm change provides an important pillar in the United States transport sector to reach sustainability goals. EVs rely on a network of charging locations to operate. This study analyses the spatial distribution, accessibility and usage patterns of the public EV infrastructure in the US. First, using a negative binomial regression model, the influence of socio-economic and other factors on the abundance of EV charging locations in a state is investigated. Second, analysis of the network’s use and of service areas generated around charging locations provides insight into the …

Community-Based Behavioral Understanding Of Mobility Trends And Public Attitude Through Transportation User And Agency Interactions On Social Media In The Emergence Of Covid-19, Md Rakibul Alam

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The increased availability of technology-enabled transportation options and modern communication devices (smartphones, in particular) is transforming travel-related decision-making in the population differently at different places, points in time, modes of transportation, and socio-economic groups. The emergence of COVID-19 made the dynamics of passenger travel behavior more complex, forcing a worldwide, unparalleled change in human travel behavior and introducing a new normal into their existence. This dissertation explores the potential of social media platforms (SMPs) as a viable alternative to traditional approaches (e.g., travel surveys) to understand the complex dynamics of people’s mobility patterns in the emergence of COVID-19. In this …

Experimental Analysis And Numerical Investigation Of Aerodynamics Of Elevated Structures, Nourhan Abdelfatah

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The vulnerability of low-rise residential buildings to extreme wind events, such as hurricanes, is an escalating concern due to the frequent failures and losses. Elevated low-rise structures are constructed to reduce the hydrodynamic load from surges and flooding during hurricanes. However, due to the current lack of information, wind loading on elevated coastal structures is not adequately addressed in current international guidelines. To address this knowledge gap, large-scale experimental studies were conducted to precisely determine wind effects on elevated houses with different numbers of stories and varying stilt heights. In this study, comparisons are presented on various tested configurations to …

Development Of The Uhpc Mix For 3d Printing, Buse Ilayda Oz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis utilizes the development of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete mix design for 3-Dimensional (3D) Printing purposes. 3D concrete printing offers many advantages such as the improvements in safety, quality, and productivity. Moreover, it holds a great advantage for the construction of structural elements that are difficult to construct by conventional methods. These advantages carry a huge potential for solving the aforementioned challenges.

Seven UHPC mixes have been designed and analyzed using various test setups for comparison purposes. Extrudability, flowability, buildability, and open time were measured using the fresh properties of the UHPC mixes. Mechanical properties were measured using compression test setups. …

Investigating The Impacts Of Sea Level Rise-Induced High Groundwater Table On Florida Flexible Pavement Structural Performance, Mehmet Goksel Gocmez

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis evaluates the impacts of sea-level rise-induced high groundwater table on the structural performance of typical Florida interstate, arterial, and local flexible pavements. Pavement longevity was determined under rising groundwater table level conditions using two analytical methods; the mechanistic-empirical (ME) analysis software and the current Florida empirical analysis practice. Moreover, ABAQUS and KENLAYER software were utilized to analyze the impacts of stress-dependent material nonlinearity on pavement structural performance.

Analysis results estimated that the pavement service life in Florida was reduced by as much as 77 percent with the effects of rising groundwater levels. The empirical method predicted higher rates …

Full-Scale Experimental Modeling To Study Wind-Induced Vibrations, Wind Driven Rain And Their Effects On Curtainwall Window Systems, Krishna Sai Vutukuru

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Lewis Fry Richardson famously summarized turbulence as big whirls have little whirls, that feed on their velocity and little whirls have lesser whirls, and so on to viscosity. Big whirls/eddies typically affect the whole building structure whereas small eddies cause local area pressures causing damage to building components. Oncoming wind may carry high energy content due to these small eddies in the high-frequency range and sometimes these frequencies fall in the range of natural frequency of building components. These small eddies may cause response amplification due to this resonance, which is currently not considered in design codes such as ASCE …

Enhancing Serviceability And Resiliency Of Transportation Networks Based On Topological Credentials And Systematic Design Interventions, Md Ashraf Ahmed

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent advancements in network science showed that the topological credentials (i.e., rank of relative importance) of network components (such as nodes and links), carry significant implications as it is critical to know which components contribute the most to the overall network performance. For transportation networks, critical components (roads, bridges) may become inaccessible for adjacent traffic due to day-to-day congestion or external disruptions (i.e., man-made or natural hazards) that significantly reduce the level of service. Hence, topological credentials of critical network components based on their connectivity need to be assessed to enhance the serviceability, i.e., improved travel time experience as well …

Integrating Compound Flood Conditions Through 2d Hydraulic Modeling For Simulating Flood Risk Processes In Coastal Cities, Francisco Pena Guerra Mr.

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Low elevation coastal karst environments are highly vulnerable to flooding conditions due to climate change. Trends in rising global temperatures have increased the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation, hydrometeorological phenomena and sea level rise, exacerbating the impact of pluvial, fluvial, coastal and groundwater flood hazards. Compound flooding events amplify flood hazards and pose a higher threat to residents and infrastructure in unison compared to independent phenomena. Recent advancements in coupling hydrologic and hydraulic modeling frameworks have improved our ability to account for the combined effects of extreme pluvial, fluvial, and coastal flood hazards. This innovation in the hydroinformatics field …

Optimization Of Safety Control System For Civil Infrastructure Construction Projects, Sudip Subedi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Labor-intensive repetitive activities are common in civil construction projects. Construction workers are prone to developing musculoskeletal disorders-related injuries while performing such tasks. The government regulatory agency provides minimum safety requirement guidelines to the construction industry that might not be sufficient to prevent accidents and injuries in a construction site. Also, the regulations do not provide insight into what can be done beyond the mandatory requirements to maximize safety and underscore the level of safety that can be attained and sustained on a site. The research addresses the aforestated problem in three stages: (i) identification of theoretical maximum attainable level of …

Dolomite Dissolution And Contaminant Adsorption In The Presence Of Edta In Different Ionic Strength Solutions, Alexis Vento

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The long-term storage and disposal of radioactive waste is considered a challenging and costly endeavor to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) tasked with the safe management of radioactive wastes. The search for effective ways to manage radioactive waste has increasingly grown due to the large inventory of legacy transuranic wastes (TRU) from defense programs in the 1940s and nuclear power plants. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a unique repository for the permanent disposition of Transuranic Waste (TRU). The WIPP, located near Carlsbad in New Mexico, is sited ~655 m below the surface …

Agent-Based Modeling Of Near Miss Incidents By Integrating Construction Site Dynamics With Enriched Worker Behavior, M Ahmed Rusho

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The construction industry workforce weighs a major percentage of the overall business industry manpower. Due to the unknowns and uncertainties associated with construction activities, the construction industry experiences high frequency of accidents every year. Over the years, researchers have made valiant efforts to address this issue. The existing literature comprises thorough analyses of behavioral, organizational, and infrastructural modules that have reinforced the implementation of better construction safety practices. Recent advancements in construction safety literature imply the application of agent-based models to integrate behavioral attributes into simulated construction environments. Nevertheless, such studies adopted schematic approaches to replicate the hazard scenario in …

The Adoption Of Automated Vehicles: Accounting For Attitudes And Heterogeneity, Alireza Rahimi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The interest in Automated Vehicles (AVs) among transportation researchers stems from the potential benefits in improving traffic congestion, reducing roadway accidents, and providing a viable mobility option that lessens transportation barriers. While AVs are anticipated to provide substantial benefits to society and travelers, the actual impacts need to be estimated before the emergence of this technology so policymakers can better plan the transportation system. A major challenge in measuring this impact originates from the lack of a clear understanding about people’s inclination to adopt this mobility option and their perception of this technology.

This dissertation presented a comprehensive analysis of …

An Integrated Software And Hardware Architecture For Gravity-Driven And Remotely-Operated Water Release, Dogukan Ozecik

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study proposes an integrated real-time hardware and software architecture for gravity-driven and remotely-operated water release from storage units such as detention ponds, reservoirs, and wetlands using a siphon and conventional drainage pipe system. The hardware involves a communication component, a control function component, and a hydraulics component. The communication component consists of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) router that collects the Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) data and sends it to the remote center. The hydraulics hardware consists of an actuated butterfly valve, water level sensor, bilge pump, and air vent. Multiple flow release tests were carried out at …

Unit Energy Consumption, Production, And Cost Of Innovative Treatment Systems Of Different Wastewater Streams, Jinze Li

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Innovative technologies such as micro-sieving, Anammox, and up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) hold the key in the sustainable design of Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF). In the past, assessment metrics on the effectiveness and economic feasibility of these technologies have not been systematically investigated. According to the twelve design principles of Sustainable Environmental Engineering, Unit energy and cost metrics could provide universal benchmarks in the design of WRRF. Therefore, the objectives of this study are to design innovative WRRF systems to achieve energy positive. These WRRFs were modeled by developing an Excel model to estimate the unit energy metrics. Database …

Evaluating The Sustainability Of Infrastructure Projects During Front-End Planning Phase, Valentina Ferrer Rivero

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Front-End Planning (FEP) for Sustainable Infrastructure (SI) projects is a promising process that can support addressing multiple challenges in infrastructure projects (i.e. cost overruns, schedule delays, and poor sustainability). This study aims to investigate synergies between sustainability and FEP tools for infrastructures through stakeholders’ surveys, multiple case-study analyses, and a Problem-Based Learning (PBL) activity with students. The PBL activity enhanced students’ knowledge on FEP for SI projects, and, together with other analyses, it helped in defining three different frameworks that correlate sustainability and FEP tools for infrastructure projects. The findings of this thesis contribute to the infrastructure, engineering and construction …

Evaluation Of Parametric And Nonparametric Statistical Models In Wrong-Way Driving Crash Severity Prediction, Sajidur Rahman Nafis

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wrong-way driving (WWD) crashes result in more fatalities per crash, involve more vehicles, and cause extended road closures compared to other types of crashes. Although crashes involving wrong-way drivers are relatively few, they often lead to fatalities and serious injuries. Researchers have been using parametric statistical models to identify factors that affect WWD crash severity. However, these parametric models are generally based on several assumptions, and the results could generate numerous errors and become questionable when these assumptions are violated. On the other hand, nonparametric methods such as data mining or machine learning techniques do not use a predetermined functional …

Understanding Critical Impacting Factors And Trends On The Future Of Bridges, A.M.M. Muhaimin

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Various impacting factors, such as technology advancement, climate change, and economic shifts are occurring and evolving at an ever-increasing pace. There is also a growing realization among bridge engineers and relevant stakeholders that these changes will significantly impact bridge performance and bridge asset management over the next decades. However, there is limited research that offers a holistic understanding on what these factors are and how these factors will potentially affect bridges in the future. To address the gap, this thesis presents a study on the identification of the critical impacting factors and their trends on the future of bridges and …

Experimental Investigations Of The Aerodynamics And Wind Loading Of Buildings With Balconies, Lisette Ludena

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Balconies constitute an important element of the building design, especially in areas with a mild climate where they represent a characteristic component of the local architecture and provide the occupants an easy access to the environment. Nevertheless, in parallel with the aesthetics and functionality, balconies have an effect on the wind loading of buildings and if poorly designed it could bring catastrophic accidents. Failure of balcony glass handrail panels has been a frequent occurrence during past windstorms. Such failure poses safety concerns for the building residents and generates wind-borne debris affecting other structures downwind. The current methodology for establishing the …

Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion Of Submerged Steel Bridge Piles In Natural Waters In Presence Of Marine-Fouling, Samanbar Permeh

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent findings at a Florida bridge showed that submerged steel piles had severe localized corrosion, up to 3" in diameter. Testing indicated strong presence of microbes that can be associated with microbiologically-influenced corrosion (MIC), including sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB). In addition, the site had heavy marine growth. It was thought that the localized crevice environments created by the macrofoulers support MIC. The objective of the research was to identify (1) if marine fouling can enhance proliferation of bacteria that can support MIC, (2) if macrofouling can affect the efficacy of cathodic protection (CP) to mitigate MIC, and (3) if application of …

Unifying Assessments Of Sustainability And Resilience In Civil Infrastructure Systems: The Case Of Masonry Structures, Samir J. Pandey

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Review of existing literature on the unification of sustainability and resilience showed the lack of a single effective framework that can unify the two, especially for building systems. Along this line of research, this study contributes a novel experimental framework to assess masonry structures and support a unified approach. This study performed structural analysis for resilience assessment and energy simulation for sustainability assessment. Based on the openings available in masonry walls, the study observed the changes in sustainability indicators (electricity consumption). Changes in resilience indicators (story drifts) were also observed. Results indicate that overall sustainability is compromised with additional openings …

Aeroelastic Testing To Evaluate Wind Effects On Transmission Systems, Ziad Azzi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The transmission infrastructure in the U.S. faces substantial risk from hurricanes. Wind-induced damage poses an immense threat to the electric power grid; such hazards have significantly impacted the supply, generation, and delivery of power to large portions of the U.S. in the past. When exposed to strong winds, critical demands in several elements in transmission tower-line systems may exceed corresponding capacities and trigger various modes of failure. Enhancing the resilience of the transmission grid against increasing threats from hurricanes and strong winds is therefore of critical importance. The results of 1:50 aeroelastic scaled models of a self-supported steel lattice tower …

Stakeholder Value Dynamics Analysis In Hurricane Michael: Towards Collaborative Decision Making In Building Disaster Resilient Communities, Aishwarya Pathak

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite a growing acknowledgment of shared responsibilities in emergency management, one of the hidden and overlooked issues in the disaster literature is the identification and integration of multi-sector stakeholder values: the things that are of importance, merit, and utilities to the stakeholders. Stakeholders (e.g., public, private and non-profit sectors, and the communities) hold numerous values with varying degrees of importance, forming a system of value priorities. Stakeholder values and value priorities—referred to as value systems—are not static in a disaster context; they are dynamic, time-sensitive and event-driven. A more in-depth understanding of the dynamics of stakeholder value systems is crucial …

Targeted Presentation Skill Trainings To Nurture Construction Management Students At Florida International University, Gabriella D. Santi Kasabdji

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In today’s fast-paced work environment, competent construction managers (CM) are vital for project success. However, to be competent, these professionals require the mastery of not only technical skills but also soft skills that enable them to achieve their full potential. Regardless, many CM prize technical abilities over the day-to-day writing, speaking, and overall soft skills, assuming these are not as important to the knowledge of complex concepts. Industry leaders confirm this, as evidence states graduate construction managers lack the basic communication skills to “hit the ground running”. That said, academic programs should seek to adapt and nurture these vital skill …

Social Network Analysis For Improvement Of Safety In Construction Industry: An Ego-Centric Approach, Shraddha Shrestha

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate how construction workers rely on each other on-site in terms of safety. The research outlines how safety-oriented social networks of construction workers can be modeled to better understand the safety communication practices on site. In this regard, a social network survey is conducted, and the respondents’ social network data are collected using a Personal Network Research Design (PNRD) approach to study the connection between the individuals and their close contacts. A total of 142 participants were included in the study. The gathered network data were used to establish their peer-to-peer relationships and …

A Coupled Numerical Model Of Vadose Zone Hydrology And Subsidence In The Everglades Wetlands, Anupama John

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Peatlands, a type of wetlands, cover less than 3% of the earth’s surface but are responsible for nearly 5% of global carbon emissions when drained. Alterations to the natural hydrology of the Everglades, one of the largest peatlands in the United States, have resulted in the presence of vadose zones and the consequent subsidence of peat. Everglades restoration efforts are guided by hydrological models that neglect unsaturated water flow, which limits their ability to quantify critical wetland processes. Large datasets of the spatially varying soil hydraulic parameters (SHPs) like the soil water retention curves (SWRCs) are necessary to develop distributed, …

Use Of Uhpc Stay-In-Place Shells In Bridge Column Construction For Accelerated Bridge Construction, Nerma Caluk

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research utilizes Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC), durable material that can be used to construct unique structural elements, to construct prefabricated shells that act as stay-in-place forms for circular bridge columns. These innovative structural elements are intended to (1) eliminate conventional formworks, (2) reduce the on-site construction time, (3) reduce life cycle costs by providing maintenance-free columns, and (4) improve the structural performance of bridge columns. The UHPC shell is placed around the column reinforcement that has been assembled using conventional methods, after which a UHPC step portion is cast at the column-to-footing interface to connect the UHPC shell with …

Reduction Of Pertechnetate From Off-Gas Condensate Using Aged Zero-Valent Iron As A Reducing Agent, Abraham T. Gebru

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Hanford site located in Washington State was one of the major nuclear processing facilities in the U.S. where plutonium was produced between the 1940s and the 1980’s. As a result of this forty yearlong production, approximately 53 million gallons of radioactive waste was generated and currently stored in 177 single and double shelled underground tanks. There were around 60 major and minor leaking incidents in the tanks through the years. These leaking incidents were wakeup calls to a search for an effective long term disposal solution. This paper will concentrate on the low activity waste (LAW), specifically the radioactive …

Construction Workers' Health And Safety During Post Disaster Reconstruction Phase: A Case Study In Nepal, S M Jamil Uddin

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The understanding of the concept of construction workers’ health and safety during the post-disaster reconstruction (PDR) phase is still unexplored. The objective of this study is to identify a knowledge gap in the literature through systematic literature review and to find out factors that affect the health and safety of the workers during PDR. To achieve the objectives, in-depth semi-structured interviews are conducted with different stakeholders such as Owners, General Contractors, Government Officials, Safety Supervisors, Engineers and Construction Workers in the context of Nepal Earthquake 2015. Interviews are conducted in a way that the respondents represent a wide range of …

A Spectrum Sharing Based Metering Infrastructure For Smart Grid Utilizing Lte And Wifi, Imtiaz Parvez, Arif I. Sarwat

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

In advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) of smart grid, WiFi is an appropriate choice for its bidirectional communication requirement to transmit data to the billing center. But, WiFi functions in the free spectrum bands and LTE also requires to use the same free bands for its network expansion being licensed spectrum is limited and expansive. LTE and WiFi can operate simultaneously in the 3.5 GHz band (also known as citizen broadband radio service (CBRS)), which has large amount of free and clean spectrum. In this paper, we propose a smart grid metering infrastructure based on fixed duty cycled LTE and WiFi, …

Estimation And Prediction Of Mobility And Reliability Measures Using Different Modeling Techniques, Fatema Hoque Farzana

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this study is to investigate the predictive ability of less data intensive but widely accepted methods to estimate mobility and reliability measures. Mobility is a relatively mature concept in the traffic engineering field. Therefore, many mobility measure estimation methods are already available and widely accepted among practitioners and researchers. However, each method has their inherent weakness, particularly when they are applied and compared with real-world data. For instances, Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) Curves are very popular in static route choice assignment, as part of demand forecasting models, but it is often criticized for underperforming in congested …