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Data Preparation For Validation Study Of Hazus Canada Flood Model, Heather Mcgrath, Emmanual Stefanakis, M Mccarthy, Miroslav Nastev

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

As our climate changes, the occurrence of extreme weather events and heavier rainfall becomes more common. This change in weather patterns and precipitation results in a greater number of recorded flood events and a larger magnitude of flood events. Canadian municipalities are therefore facing a pressing demand to perform hazard assessments to identify communities at risk and measure potential economic and societal losses due to flood events. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) developed a standardized tool, Hazus-MH, for loss estimation from natural disasters for use in the US. Recently, Hazus has been adapted for use in Canada. This paper introduces …

Global Response For Capacity Building Of Disaster Preparedness: A Tiems Initiative, Kåre H. Drager, Thomas V. Robertson

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

At the end of 2013, the devastating consequences of the Typhoon Haiyan that struck the Philippines on November 8, 2013, were exposed worldwide through intensive media coverage. The death toll reached more than 6,000 people, and around one million people were displaced and in desperate need of help and support. The international community queued up to offer support and help and showed that worldwide solidarity works when we know our “brothers and sisters” are in desperate need of help. But how can this international community, eager to respond when disaster strikes, better help before disasters strike? Vulnerable areas in the …

Influence Of Decision Making During Disasters And How It Impacts A Community, Jayanrtha Withanaarachchi, Sujeeva Setunge

International Institute for Infrastructure Resilience and Reconstruction (I3R2) Conference

The frequency of natural disasters occurrences has increased and is becoming noticed by many due to the impact on economy, society, and the environment.

Decision making during disasters contributes towards community safety and resilience. Decisions taken to protect people from disasters have an impact on society, economy, environment, travel patterns, and reliability and performance of transport networks.

Decisions often affect the performance of transport networks and critical infrastructure systems during disasters and during demand times. Decision making and decision styles which were observed during disaster events will show the areas that the decisions have worked well or created more risks …

The Environmental Impact Of Urbanization Within Abu Dhabi On The Microbial Profile Of Man-Made Beaches, Fatima Al Marzooqi, Fatme Al Anouti

All Works

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is witnessing a significant development in several areas. Many new construction projects are currently underway. One of the main project aims at establishing new beaches around the coastal areas of the UAE. Particularly, in Abu Dhabi the capital of UAE, a new man-made beach has been recently developed in the north coast of the city. The urbanization of this newly developed beach might have a significant impact on the environment. This study aims to investigate the effects of urban development of beaches within Abu Dhabi on the microbial profile of the soil. It is hypothesized …

Autonomous Capabilities For Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Conducting Radiological Response: Findings From A High-Fidelity Discovery Experiment, Brittany Duncan, Robin Murphy

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

This article presents a preliminary work domain theory and identifies autonomous vehicle, navigational, and mission capabilities and challenges for small unmanned aerial systems (SUASs) responding to a radiological disaster. Radiological events are representative of applications that involve flying at low altitudes and close proximities to structures. To more formally understand the guidance and control demands, the environment in which the SUAS has to function, and the expected missions, tasks, and strategies to respond to an incident, a discovery experiment was performed in 2013. The experiment placed a radiological source emitting at 10 times background radiation in the simulated collapse of …

Equipment Fragility Due To Shock Response, Christopher Y. Tuan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Because of its simplicity, the shock response spectrum has become widely used as a means of describing the shock responses and fragilities of structures and equipment. This paper focuses on the drawbacks of using the shock response spectrum for defining equipment shock tolerance. A cantilever beam with a tip mass was used to model a hypothetical piece of equipment subjected to strong ground motion such as that caused by an explosion. The exact solution from a detailed modal analysis shows that multiple modes of response were excited. Contributions from higher modes can be more predominant than that from the fundamental …

A State-Of-The-Art Review Of Cloud Forensics, Sameera Almulla, Youssef Iraqi, Andrew Jones

Journal of Digital Forensics, Security and Law

Cloud computing and digital forensics are emerging fields of technology. Unlike traditional digital forensics where the target environment can be almost completely isolated, acquired and can be under the investigators control; in cloud environments, the distribution of computation and storage poses unique and complex challenges to the investigators. Recently, the term “cloud forensics” has an increasing presence in the field of digital forensics. In this state-of-the-art review, we included the most recent research efforts that used “cloud forensics” as a keyword and then classify the literature into three dimensions: (1) survey-based, (2) technology-based and (3) forensics-procedural-based. We discuss widely accepted …

A Unified Bond Theory, Probabilistic Meso-Scale Modeling, And Experimental Validation Of Deformed Steel Rebar In Normal Strength Concrete, Chenglin Wu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Bond between deformed rebar and concrete is affected by rebar deformation pattern, concrete properties, concrete confinement, and rebar-concrete interfacial properties. Two distinct groups of bond models were traditionally developed based on the dominant effects of concrete splitting and near-interface shear-off failures. Their accuracy highly depended upon the test data sets selected in analysis and calibration. In this study, a unified bond model is proposed and developed based on an analogy to the indentation problem around the rib front of deformed rebar. This mechanics-based model can take into account the combined effect of concrete splitting and interface shear-off failures, resulting in …

Evaluation Of Ceramic Coaxial Cable Sensors For Long-Term In-Situ Monitoring Of Geologic Co₂ Injection And Storage, Yurong Li

Masters Theses

"Monitoring is an essential component of CO₂ injection and storage projects in order to manage the injection process, identify leakage risks, provide early failure warnings, determine the movement of CO₂ plume and provide input into reservoir models. In-situ monitoring provides critical and direct data points that can be used to fulfill the above objectives. However, downhole sensors that can withstand the harsh conditions and run over decades of the project life cycle remain unavailable. A new idea of ceramic coaxial cable temperature, pressure and strain sensor has recently been put forward and the sensors are under development.

A high pressure …

Workplace Sleepiness: Causes, Consequences And Countermeasures, Neda Khalafi

Masters Theses

"Sleep deprivation is an epidemic problem in our society that adversely affects the quality and safety of our daily lives. At home and on the job, inadequate sleep is associated with considerable social, financial, and health-related costs, due to instability of waking functions. Research has shown that, sleep deprivation among workers, whether from sleep disorders, lifestyle or shift work, can hinder the proper performance, and in extreme cases may pose hazard to the workers themselves and their environment. Deficits in daytime performance can have profound effects in the processing industry where workers are often required to perform monotonous tasks that …

A Driving Simulator Study To Evaluate The Impact Of Portable Changeable Message Signs (Pcms) On Driver Speed Characteristics, Bharath Kolar Venkat

Masters Theses

"This research project examined the effects of sequential Portable Changeable Message Signs (PCMS) on driver behavior in work zones. PCMS are temporary traffic control (TTC) devices, part of Intelligent Transportation Systems, which supplement static signs to provide advance warning and real-time information to drivers. Text and number based messages are displayed on the PCMS for which detailed evaluation has not been carried out before. This research fills this gap using a driving simulator (DS) supplemented by objective and subjective surveys. A work zone on I-44 in rural Missouri was replicated in the DS using video recordings and GIS (Geographical Information …

Determining The Location Of Congestion Hot Spots In Urban Areas Using Image Analysis, Aditya Mokkapati

LSU Master's Theses

The identification of congestion hot spots plays an important role in congestion monitoring of highway and arterial systems. Traditionally, vehicle detection systems or probe vehicles are used to measure travel time and identify congestion hot spots. This approach is time-consuming and resource intensive. With the advent of new technologies like crowdsourcing, travel time can be collected more cost-effectively using fewer resources. The research presented in this paper develops a new methodology to identify congestion hot spots in an urban area using freely available historical speed data gathered by Google and published as a traffic layer in Google maps. The methodology …

Battery Energy Storage Systems To Mitigate The Variability Of Photovoltaic Power Generation, Heath Alan Gurganus

Dissertations and Theses

Methods of generating renewable energy such as through solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and wind turbines offer great promise in terms of a reduced carbon footprint and overall impact on the environment. However, these methods also share the attribute of being highly stochastic, meaning they are variable in such a way that is difficult to forecast with sufficient accuracy. While solar power currently constitutes a small amount of generating potential in most regions, the cost of photovoltaics continues to decline and a trend has emerged to build larger PV plants than was once feasible. This has brought the matter of increased …

Delamination Detection In Concrete Using Disposable Impactors For Excitation, Anjali Narendra Patil

Theses and Dissertations

Delaminations in concrete bridge decks result primarily from corrosion of the reinforcing bars (or rebar). This corrosion leads to volumetric expansion of the rebar. When the rebar expands, concrete cracks, and there is a localized separation of the concrete cover from the underlying concrete. Impact-echo testing is an effective technique to map delaminations on concrete bridge decks. However, mapping speed is limited by necessary retrieval of the impactor for traditional tests. To achieve higher scanning speeds, it is advantageous to use both a non-contact measurement (air-coupled impact-echo) and disposable-impactor excitation. Disposable impactors have the potential advantage of achieving greater deck …

Fiscal Year 2013 Fhwa-536 Report For The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Steven Douglas Kreis, Candice Y. Wallace, Bryan Gibson, Sarah M. Mccormack

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) requires state transportation agencies to submit a biennial report on local highway finances. The purpose of these reports is to provide FHWA with the data it needs to capture the financing of highway activities at the local level. Based on this information, it can identify trends in revenue, expenditures, investments, and program development, and in turn make decisions about future investments. The report, FHWA-536, asks agencies to report on four areas of local highway finance: 1) disposition of highway-user revenues; 2) revenues used for roads and streets identified by source and funding type; 3) road …

Twelve Mile Creek Channel Morphology, Substrate Composition, And The Macroinvertebrate Community Changes Resulting From Multiple Dam Removals, Patricia Whitener

All Theses

Dam removal is gaining global attention as a potential restoration tool for impacted rivers. As the practice of dam removal increases, physical, chemical and biological monitoring before and after dam removal is essential to our understanding of the ecological consequences of this type of disturbance. Under the Lake Hartwell Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan, two dams (>9 m height) were removed from the Twelve Mile Creek watershed (170 km2) in Pickens county, South Carolina. To assess the short term impacts of dam removal on the Twelve Mile Creek ecosystem we conducted biomonitoring of macroinvertebrate species and surveys of river …

Characteristics And Contributing Factors Of Emergency Vehicle Crashes, Naji Abdelwanis

All Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to determine the contributing factors and characteristics associated with emergency vehicle(EV) crashes in order to generate insights about the emergency crashes. This dissertation consists of three approaches to address the purpose. In the first analysis a binary logistic regression model was used to identify the critical factors associated with EV crashes that resulted in fatality compared to those that did not. In the second analysis, an ordered regression model was used to identify critical factors that contributed to the severity of injuries that EV occupants experience in crashes as well as the effect of …

An Investigation Of The Asit Problem-Solving Method On Middle School Technology Education Student's Ability To Produce Creative Solutions, Jared Aaron Merrill

Theses and Dissertations

This study compared two groups of students being instructed in various methods of problem solving over a two-week period. The control group was instructed using the standard Career and Technology Education (CTE) Introduction curriculum on using brainstorming to solve problems. The treatment group was instructed using a structured problem solving method developed to help focus problem solving on finding a solution that satisfies the conditions. Students were selected from 7th grade students at a suburban middle school in Utah. The independent variable in this study was the type of problem solving instruction received. The dependent variables of interest were the …

An Integrated Multidisciplinary Nanoscience Concentration Certificate Program For Stem Education, Karen S. Martirosyan, Mikhail M. Bouniaev, Malik Rakhmanov, Ahmed Touhami, Nazmul Islam, Davood Askari, Tarek Trad, Dmitri Litvinov, Sergey E. Lyshevski

Physics & Astronomy Faculty Publications

Integration of nanoscience and nanotechnology curricula into the College of Science, Mathematics, and Technology (CSMT) at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) is reported. The rationale for the established multidisciplinary Nanoscience Concentration Certificate Program (NCCP) is to: (i) develop nanotechnology-relevant courses within a comprehensive Science, Engineering and Technology curriculum, and, to offer students an opportunity to graduate with a certificate in nanoscience and nanotechnology; (ii) to contribute to students' success in achieving student outcomes across all college's majors, and, improve the breath, depth and quality of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) graduates' education; (iii) through NCCP, recruit certificate- …

Study Of Seat-Belt Usage In Nevada & Driver's Performance, Atul Sancheti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), motor vehicle incidents has been reported to be the leading cause of the accidental deaths in the United States accounting for more than 42,000 deaths every year. Distracted driving and Driving under influence (DUI) are the major contributors to these roadway crashes. Moreover, drivers fatigue and drowsiness behind the wheel is another important factor contributing to the high fatality rate. These factors results in significant decline in the driver's abilities of perception, recognition and vehicle control.

It has also been reported by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that about 292,471 …

Hot Spot Identification And Analysis Methodology, Jacob S. Farnsworth

Theses and Dissertations

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Traffic and Safety Division continues to advance the safety of roadway sections throughout the state. To aid UDOT in meeting their goal the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Brigham Young University (BYU) has worked with the Statistics Department in developing analysis tools for safety. The most recent of these tools has been the development of a hierarchical Bayesian Poisson Mixture Model (PMM) statistical model of traffic crashes and safety on UDOT roadways statewide and the integration of the results of this model in a Geographic Information System (GIS) framework. This research focuses …

Acuta Enews November 2013 Vol. 42, No. 11

ACUTA Newsletters

In this Issue...

1 The Concept of Context-Aware Computing

2 Nominate Now for Ruth A. Michalecki Leadership Award

3 Collaboration Is Not Automatic

4 Nominations for Board of Directors: Deadline November 18

5 Free Webinar: The Evolution of Control Systems Security Brief

5 What's on Your Desk?

6 Bring 8 Fall Seminar Sessions to Your Desktop or Tablet

6 Thanks to Fall Seminar Exhibitors 6 Sponsors

6 Get Your Logos Here

7 Info Links

8 Add Names from Your Campus to Your ' ACUTA Roster

8 Board Report

9 Welcome New Members

9 Check It Out

Characterization Of The 5 Ghz Elevator Shaft Channel, Ruoyu Sun, David W. Matolak

Faculty Publications

In this paper we provide channel characterization results for the elevator shaft channel in the 5-GHz band, based upon measurements conducted in four buildings. This channel is of interest for several applications, including WiFi and public safety. Although several authors have provided elevator shaft channel characteristics for lower-frequency bands (255-MHz, 900-MHz, 1.9-GHz), to our knowledge this is the first work that addresses the 5-GHz band. Moreover, prior work has not thoroughly addressed channel characteristics when the elevator car is in motion, whereas here we provide measurement and modeling results for this dynamic condition. Our measurements were of power delay profiles, …

Issue Brief: Saving By Mitigating, University Of Louisville, New England Environmental Finance Center

Sustainable Communities Capacity Building

Natural disasters can cause loss of life, inflict damage to buildings and infrastructure, and have devastating consequences for a community’s economic, social, and environmental well-being. Hazard mitigation means reducing damages from disasters.

Local governments have the responsibility to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens. Proactive mitigation policies and actions help reduce risk and create safer, more disaster-resilient communities. Mitigation is an investment in your community’s future safety, equity, and sustainability.

Design, Fabrication And Test Of An Operationally Responsive Aircraft With Niirs Evaluated Imager, Colin Burt

Master's Theses

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are a growing asset. Currently UAS are on the cutting edge with resources being spent developing the capabilities mostly for military use. This project is intended to create a system for non-defense customers. Specifically, the Operationally Responsive Aircraft (ORA) will appeal to academic institutions, individual consumers, future customers new to the UAS industry, as well as anybody trying to get airtime for custom sensors.

The system developed in this project utilizes dual aluminum external payload bays attached to a ParkZone Radian aircraft. Each external payload bay can contain approximately 500 $\text{cm}^3$, with a height and width …

Scitech Book News Reviews, Susan Fingerman

Sci-Tech News

No abstract provided.

Public Perception Of Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas): A Survey Of Public Knowledge Regarding Roles, Capabilities, And Safety While Operating Within The National Airspace System (Nas), Dennis Vincenzi, David Ison, Dahai Liu

Publications

A variety of challenges to the successful assimilation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) into the National Airspace System (NAS) exists. Aside from technical and legislative challenges, another setback has recently surfaced when the FAA suspended its selection process for UAS test sites due to privacy concerns. This new obstacle has the potential to further delay UAS integration. Very little literature or coverage of UAS domestic operations and accidents have been published and made available to the public at large. As a result, the public has very little information upon which to form any realistic or reasonable opinions concerning the integration …

An Analysis Of A Missing Design Concept For Sustainable Buildings: Addressing The Safety And Health Of The Construction Worker, Christopher Almond

All Theses

Construction work is inherently dangerous. The 2010 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show the construction industry had the most fatal injuries of all industry sectors, 17%. U.S. regulations place the responsibility for construction safety on the construction contractor. However, owners and designers have the potential to affect the safety of the construction workforce. Owners have gotten more involved in promoting the safety and health of construction workers in recent years; however, studies show that the safety and health of the construction workforce is not typically considered by designers.
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) - the U.S. Navy's systems command …

Risk Assessment Model For Pipe Rehabilitation And Replacement In A Water Distribution System, Jan C. Devera

Master's Theses

The efficient delivery of potable water for a community through its distribution system has historically been the backbone of nearly all metropolitan developments. Much of these systems are comprised of pipe networks made of various materials including concrete, iron, PVC, and even steel. As these communities expand and urbanize, water demand and population density simultaneously increase. This develops higher strains and stresses in the community‟s water distribution network causing pipes to corrode, crack, or rupture prematurely while in service. As a result, the deterioration of water distribution systems in growing cities is increasingly becoming a major concern for our nation. …

Privacy And Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration In The National Aerospace System: Navigating Fourth Amendment Concerns, Dennis Vincenzi, David Ison, Dahai Liu

Publications

A variety of challenges to the successful assimilation of UASs into the National Airspace System (NAS) currently exist. Technical issues and human factors related hurdles have brought forth a range of research efforts to help to mitigate or resolve these challenges. Regulations and legislation play a significant role in controlling or restricting the use of UASs in the NAS. Currently there appears to be a contraposition of sentiment between the Federal Aviation Administration and Congress on the inclusion of UASs in the NAS. Congress has called for the adoption of UAS operations in the NAS by 2015 yet the FAA …