Digital Commons Network^™

Production Of Iron Using Environmentally-Benign Renewable Or Recycled Reducing Agents, Timothy C. Eisele, Surendra Komar Kawatra

Michigan Tech Patents

To produce metallic iron from iron ore, a composition comprising a mass of material formed from a mixture of iron ore particles and particles of a reductant that is either a biomass material in particulate form or a plastic resinous material in particulate form is used. The reductant can also be a mixture of biomass material and resin in any proportions. The mass of material comprises at least one body having a shape adapted for smelting such as pellets, briquettes, pieces or lumps. The pellets have sufficient cohesion to maintain the shape into which they have been formed. The invention …

Applied Climate-Change Analysis: The Climate Wizard Tool, Evan H. Girvetz, Chris Zganjar, George T. Raber, Edwin P. Maurer, Peter Kareiva, Joshua J. Lawler

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

Background: Although the message of ‘‘global climate change’’ is catalyzing international action, it is local and regional changes that directly affect people and ecosystems and are of immediate concern to scientists, managers, and policy makers. A major barrier preventing informed climate-change adaptation planning is the difficulty accessing, analyzing, and interpreting climate-change information. To address this problem, we developed a powerful, yet easy to use, web-based tool called Climate Wizard (http://ClimateWizard.org) that provides non-climate specialists with simple analyses and innovative graphical depictions for conveying how climate has and is projected to change within specific geographic areas throughout the world. Methodology/Principal Findings: …

The Construction Common Product Coding System And Auto Id Technology In Construction, Nai-Hsin Pan

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

Automatic data identification (Auto ID) technology such as bar code has grown rapidly in various industries. During the last couple of years, a small number of construction companies have also started to implement Auto ID technologies for a limited number of applications. The focus of these applications has primarily been limited to the internal operations of a few larger companies. One of the major barriers to adopt modern Auto ID technologies in the construction industry is the lack of Construction Common Product Code System (CCPCS). The main objective of this research is to investigate the problems created by inadequate CCPCS …

A Novel Stability Condition And Its Application To Ga-Based Fuzzy Control For Nonlinear Systems With Uncertainty, Po-Chen Chen, Cheng-Wu Chen, Wei-Ling Chiang, Ken Yeh

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

In this study, we strive to combine the advantages of fuzzy logic control (FLC), genetic algorithms (GA), H∞ tracking control schemes, smooth control and adaptive laws to design an adaptive fuzzy sliding model controller for the rapid and efficient stabilization of complex and nonlinear systems. First, we utilize a reference model and a fuzzy model (both involving FLC rules) to describe and well-approximate an uncertain, nonlinear plant. The FLC rules and the consequent parameter are decided on via GA. A boundary-layer function is introduced into these updated laws to cover modeling errors and to guarantee that the state errors converge …

Service Life Prediction Of Pier For The Existing Reinforced Concete Bridges In Chloride-Laden Environment, Ming-Te Liang, Ran Huang, Shen-An Feng, Chi-Jang Yeh

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

The prediction method of service life for bridge structures is played an important role of bridge management system. In this paper, the mathematical modeling was to study the servise life prediction of pier for existing reinforced concrete (RC) bridge exposed to chloride environment. The corrosion process has three stages, the initiation time (tc), the depassivation time (tp), and the corrosion (propagation) time (tcorr). The total service life of pier for the existing RC bridge can be expressed as t = tc + tp + tcorr. Many mathematical models were applied to predicting each value of the tc, tp, and tcorr. …

Cpt-Based Simplified Liquefaction Assessment By Using Fuzzy-Neural Network, Shuh-Gi Chern, Ching-Yinn Lee

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

Due to the difficulty and the cost of obtaining high quality undisturbed samples, simplified methods based on in-situ tests such as the standard penetration test (SPT) and the cone penetration test (CPT) are preferred by geotechnical engineers for evaluation of earthquake induced liquefaction potential of soils. Because of the increasing popularity worldwide of the CPT for site characterization, significant progress on the CPTbased methods has been made. In most existing CPT-based methods, empirically determined curves are used to predict liquefaction and non-liquefaction. These empirical curves are generally relied on engineering judgment and are essentially performance functions that were established based …

Degradation Of The Bond Strength Between Rebar And Concrete Due To The Impressed Cathodic Current, Jiang-Jhy Chang, Weichung Yeih, Ran Huang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

In this study, the degradation of the bond strength between the steel rebar and concrete by the impressed cathodic current was investigated. Experimental results showed that the bond strength degraded as the charging current density and the polarization time increased basically. A new parameter representing the total transferred electrons per unit protected area was proposed, and the bond strength was found to decrease as the parameter increased after some value.

Passive Earth Pressures On A Pile Cap With A Dense Sand Backfill, Robert Ashall Marsh

Theses and Dissertations

Pile groups are often used to provide support for structures. Capping a pile group further adds to the system's resistance due to the passive earth pressure from surrounding backfill. While ultimate passive earth pressure under static loading conditions can be readily calculated using several different theories, the effects of cyclic and dynamic loading on the passive earth pressure response are less understood. Data derived from the full-scale testing of a pile cap system with a densely compacted sand backfill under static, cyclic, and dynamic loadings was analyzed with particular focus on soil pressures measured directly using pressure plates. Based on …

Development Of The Mask Scentometer, A Comparison Of Ambient Odor Assessment Methods, And Their Application In Ground Truthing Atmospheric Dispersion Models, Christopher G. Henry

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation is organized as four stand-alone papers. Paper No. 1 describes the development of the Mask Scentometer and reports dilution ratios measured during use by twelve different people. Dilution ratios at the Mask Scentometer’s five dilution-to-threshold (D/T) settings were found to be 0.35, 1, 2, 4.5 and 18. In Paper No.’s 2 and 4, ambient odor assessment methods were compared in both controlled laboratory conditions and in the field. Laboratory analysis of ambient air samples using dynamic triangular forced-choice olfactometry (DTFCO) did not correlate well with any of the ambient odor assessment methods. Average intensity-predicted D/T was roughly five …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2009, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Each student in his or her senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. The senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real-world solution to an engineering challenge.

A highlight of the year-long senior design project is the senior design competition. This competition, which usually takes place the week before finals each semester, helps focus the senior students on increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects.

Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on innovation, commercial …

The Effect Of Flowable Fill On The Lateral Resistance Of Driven-Pile Foundations, Dustin David Miner

Theses and Dissertations

Flowable fill was used to strengthen the soft soil surrounding piles and behind the pile cap. The flowable fill placed beneath the pile cap surrounding the piles showed no appreciable increase in lateral resistance, this was partially due to the fact that the flowable fill placed had an unconfined compressive strength of 30 psi. Flowable fill was also used to replace a 12 ft wide, 6 ft thick, and 6 ft deep zone consisting of an average 475 psf clay that was adjacent to a 9-pile group in 3x3 pile configuration capped with a 9 ft x 9 ft x …

Screw Connections Subject To Tension Pull-Out And Shear Forces, American Iron And Steel Institute

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

No abstract provided.

Development Of Dbt Bridge System With Continuous Joints For Accelerated Construction, Lungui Li

Doctoral Dissertations

Speed of construction has become a critical issue to minimize disruption of traffic and commerce. One of the promising systems for accelerated bridge construction is the use of the decked bulb-tee (DBT) girders for the bridge superstructure. An integral deck that is precast and prestressed with the girder provides benefits of rapid construction along with improved structural performance. However, the limited research and concerns about the use of longitudinal joints as well as intermediate diaphragms limit widespread of the DBT bridge system.

This dissertation presents a study of the continuous for both moment and shear transfer longitudinal joint detail and …

Cost Of Quality In The Construction Industry, Philip L. Barlow

Construction Management

The construction industry needs to decrease its costs due to nonconformance by implementing an objective model for analyzing the excessive cost of poor quality and the overall savings realized from good quality. Direct cost estimates from rework in commercial building construction average about 5%. A simple calculation based on U.S. construction industry expenditures of $1.246 trillion in 2007 reveals that $62 billion is wasted just on the direct cost construction rework alone! The term quality can be applied in many different ways to various aspects of the construction process. This paper proposes a model which helps illustrate how the various …

Live-Load Test And Computer Modeling Of A Pre-Cast Concrete Deck, Steel Girder Bridge, And A Cast-In-Place Concrete Box Girder Bridge, Leonardo A. Pockels

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The scheduled replacement of the 8^th North Bridge, in Salt Lake City, UT, presented a unique opportunity to test a pre-cast concrete deck, steel girder bridge. A live-load test was performed under the directions of Bridge Diagnostic Inc (BDI) and Utah State University. Six different load paths were chosen to be tested. The recorded data was used to calibrate a finite-element model of this superstructure, which was created using solid, shell, and frame elements. A comparison between the measured and finite-element response was performed and it was determined that the finite-element model replicated the measured results within 3.5% of …

Climate Change Impacts On Water Resources Of The Upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia, U. Kim, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi, V. U. Smakhtin

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Climate change affects water resources availability of international river basins that are vulnerable to runoff variability of upstream countries especially with increasing water demands. The upper Blue Nile River Basin is a good example because its downstream countries, Sudan and Egypt, depend solely on Nile waters for their economic development. In this study, the impacts of climate change on both hydrology and water resources operations were analyzed using the outcomes of six different general circulation models (GCMs) for the 2050s. The outcomes of these six GCMs were weighted to provide average future changes. Hydrologic sensitivity, flow statistics, a drought index, …

Export Of Carbon, Nutrients And Microbiological Indicators In Beaver Creek Watershed, Tennessee, Si Chen

Masters Theses

Storms are the most important events impacting stream water quality at the watershed-scale. With the goal to develop effective water resource management strategies for the impaired Beaver Creek Watershed in East Tennessee, the impacts of storm events on water quality were assessed by monitoring the intra-storm dynamics of the export of carbon, nutrients, and microbiological indicators (E. coli), which are parameters critical to water quality and ecological functions of the target watershed. The dynamics of carbon export from the Beaver Creek Watershed as represented by dissolved organic carbon revealed distinct carbon transport mechanisms as a function of storm …

Characterizing Episodic Stream Acidification Using A Concentration-Duration-Frequency Methodology In Watersheds Of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, John Leland Mauney Iii

Masters Theses

Episodic stream acidification occurs as storm events temporarily reduce acid neutralizing capacity and pH. Stream acidification is suspected to have damaging effects on the health of aquatic ecosystems and biota and is dependent on various watershed characteristics such as drainage area, elevation, slope, and surficial geology. Here, a stochastic modeling approach is applied to continuous pH data for multiple stream monitoring sites within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in order to characterize episodic acidification responses during stormflows for different streams. The approach summarizes voluminous pH data recorded by water quality sondes at 15-minute intervals into concentration-duration-frequency relationships. Unique to …

Impact Of Larger Diameter Strands On Aashto/Pci Bulb-Tees, Jayaprakash Vadivelu

Masters Theses

This thesis consists of the analytical study and the experimental investigation of larger diameter strands in AASHTO Type I girders. The main purpose of this study was to verify that the 2 inch minimum spacing recommended by ACI 318-08 and AASHTO (2008) can be used for 0.7 inch diameter strands by comparing various effects in girders using 0.7 and 0.6 inch diameter strands. Based on the parametric analysis it was concluded that by using 0.7 inch strands there was a considerable saving in the material. For example, an AASHTO BT-72 with 0.6 inch strand could be replaced with AASHTO BT-54 …

Stream Channel Stability And Channel Evolution In A Rapidly Urbanizing, Ridge-And-Valley Watershed, Beaver Creek, Knox County, Tennessee, Francis Bartholomew Keaney

Masters Theses

In Tennessee, sedimentation is among the leading causes of stream impairment. Excessive loads of alluvium are detrimental to the ecological health and human use of these resources. Sediments in streams have many sources, but there is evidence that stream bank erosion is a major contributing factor. Development and urbanization in a stream’s watershed will have impacts on the concentration of stream sediment because the increase in the area covered by impervious surfaces, which reduces initial abstraction and retention times. This, in turn will increase the peak storm water discharge and sediment carrying capacity. If the stream channel cannot accommodate these …

Geotechnical Site Characterization Using Multi-Channel Analysis Of Rayleigh And Love Waves, James David Lane, Jr.

Masters Theses

The Multi-Channel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) is a technique in which surface waves can be analyzed to determine soil shear wave velocity profiles with depth. The shear wave velocity of soil can be used to calculate the shear modulus, which is an important geotechnical engineering parameter. Site surveys were conducted and analyzed located at a location on the flood plain of the Tennessee River. The flood plain consists of a thin layer of soil above rigid (Knox Dolomite) bedrock and exhibited strong stratification. Three different aspects of MASW data acquisition and analysis are presented in the study. The first …

The Formation And Control Of Iodinated Trihalomethanes In Drinking Water Treatment, Darryl Jones

All Theses

Ever since toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs) were discovered in the 1970s drinking water utilities have had to continue to develop treatment strategies to reduce the acute health risk from infectious pathogens in water, and at the same time limit the formation of disinfection by-products. The recent two stage (1998, 2006) D/DBP rule enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which sets limits of 80 µg/L for trihalomethanes (THMs) and 60 µg/L for haloacetic acids (HAAs) will likely put more pressure on utilities in the future to decrease their chorine contact time and follow that with ammonia addition to form monochloramine …

Identifying And Comparing Key Process Attributes For Sustainable Building Delivery In India And The U.S., Prashanth Palanisamy

All Theses

India is a rapidly developing nation with the associated brisk pace of construction. More sustainable building practices for construction in India would have social, environmental, and economic benefits. However, the key process attributes for successfully planning, designing, and constructing sustainable buildings in India are largely undefined. Other projects in India would benefit from a rigorous identification of these key process attributes which could help leapfrogging the sustainable building delivery in India to the best available practices.
Sustainable buildings require different delivery processes than traditional buildings; this can lead to process wastes due to unfamiliarity or incompatibility of the processes. These …

Comparing Problem-Based Learning And Lecture As Methods To Teach Whole-Systems Design To Engineering Students, Michael Dukes

All Theses

The objective of this research is to compare problem-based learning and lecture as methods to teach whole-systems design to engineering students. A case study, Appendix A, exemplifying successful whole-systems design was developed and written by the author in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Institute. Concepts to be tested were then determined, and a questionnaire was developed to test students' preconceptions. A control group of students was taught using traditional lecture methods, and a sample group of students was taught using problem-based learning methods. After several weeks, the students were given the same questionnaire as prior to the instruction, and the …

Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration (Vii) Enabled Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (Phevs) For Traffic And Energy Management, Xueying Kang

All Theses

Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) program (also known as IntelliDrive) has proven the potential to improve transportation conditions by enabling the communication between vehicles and infrastructure, which provides a wide range of applications in transportation safety and mobility. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) that utilize both electrical and gasoline energy are a commercially viable technology with potential to contribute to both sustainable development and environmental conservation through increased fuel economy and reduced emissions. Considering positive potentials of PHEVs and VII in ITS, a framework that integrates PHEVs with VII technology was created in this research utilizing vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications for …

Evaluation Of An Online Intelligent Transportation System (Its) Asset Management System, Tahera Anjuman

All Theses

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) enhances the performance of modern transportation systems by improving the reliability of travel times and reducing the risk of collisions and injuries. Recently, many public agencies have expressed a need for an ITS asset management system that will effectively and efficiently meet their requirements of managing associated resources, which often includes technologically sophisticated devices, computer hardware and software, and communications infrastructure. To address this need, the author evaluated different asset management systems for their potential efficacy to support public agencies requirements for an ITS asset management system. These requirements were identified through a nationwide survey of …

Biological Treatment To Remove Color And Toxicity Of Effluent From The Manufacturing Of Navipol Yellow Gr, Larry French

All Theses

Navipol Yellow GR is an organic solvent azo dye manufactured by Sunbelt Corp. in Rock Hill, SC. The effluent generated from the manufacturing of this dye is highly colored, toxic, and contains trace solvents consisting of mixed xylene isomers and ethyl benzene. Traditional wastewater treatment systems are unable to remove the color and toxicity from the effluent. This study investigated using a sequential anaerobic / aerobic treatment system to decrease color and toxicity of the dye effluent. The anaerobic phase used bacteria cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, or Enterobacter aerogenes to decrease the color of the dye. …

Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Tests On Compacted Soil, David M. Weidinger, Louis Ge, Richard Wesley Stephenson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In This Paper, Results of a Series of Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Tests on Compacted Soil Were Presented and Discussed. Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Tests Provide Compression and Shear Wave Velocity Information that Can Be Used in Calculating Dynamic Elastic Moduli Such as Young's Modulus and Shear Modulus. from the Test Results, Calculated Poisson's Ratio Shows a Linear Relation with the Water Content in Compacted Soil, Which Leads to a Linear Trend in Both P and S Wave Velocity Against Water Content. Furthermore, Presenting Plots in Bulk Density Versus Wave Velocity Gives a Clearer Trend Than Dry Density Versus Wave Velocity. © …

An Integrated Database Management System And Building Information Modeling For Sustainable Design, Sultan Althobaiti

Masters Theses

The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) with sustainable design is getting widespread since it helped architects, engineers, and contractors in achieving the sustainability goal. The present work is using green and certified products and materials to be integrated with Building Information Model (BIM) to simulate and generate a conceptual design for green and sustainable design. The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) would help achieving sustainability, which would be predictable and possible. Revit Architecture is a tool of BIM technology that can be used for building designing and modeling.

The research represents a database system for green building products …

Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Mix Design Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Leonardo T. Souza, Yong-Rak Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.