Architectural Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of An Improved Technique For Geosynthetic-Reinforced And Pile-Supported Embankment, Jun Zhang, Shao Wen Liu, He Fu Pu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

With a large number of applications of conventional technique for geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported (GRPS) embankment (called CT embankment), many deficiencies have been exposed. In view of the deficiencies, an improved technique, fixed-geosynthetic-reinforced and pile-supported embankment (called FGT embankment), is developed. To investigate the performance of the FGT embankment, the comparison analyses and parametric studies are conducted by Finite Element Method (FEM). The influencing factors investigated include elastic modulus of soil, tensile stiffness of geosynthetics, pile length, pile spacing, and pile elastic modulus. In addition, the cost evaluation for the FGT embankment and CT embankment is also made. The results show …

Flexural Behavior Of High-Volume Fly Ash Concrete Beams: Experimental Study, Mahdi Arezoumandi, Carlos A. Ortega, Jeffery S. Volz

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An experimental investigation was conducted to study both mechanical properties and the flexural strength of full-scale reinforced concrete beams constructed with both high-volume fly ash concrete-concrete with 70% of the cement replaced with fly ash-and conventional concrete (CC). The beams were tested under a simply supported four-point loading condition. The experimental cracking, yielding, and ultimate moments as well as deflection on ultimate load of the beams were compared with both the ACI 318-11 and Eurocode 2-05 provisions. Furthermore, the experimental flexural strengths of the beams were compared with both the modified compression field theory method and a flexural test database …

Ua66 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter, Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Ua3/1/5/3 President's Office-Cherry Campus Building Campaign, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Records created by the President's Office during the Henry Cherry administration regarding the construction of WKU. This series is not completely processed.

Architectural Acoustical Oddities, Zev C. Woodstock, Caroline P. Lubert

Department of Mathematics and Statistics - Faculty Scholarship

This paper offers a review of two types of acoustic oddity caused by periodic architecture. These periodic structures of interest are brick plazas and staircases with special dimensions. When an observer stands by one of these periodic structures and produces a percussive white noise, a high-pitched sound can be heard. The frequency of the returned sound is unrelated to the initial sound, and completely determined by the architecture of the structures themselves. This phenomenon is called repetition pitch. Comparative work done at James Madison University is offered to show the relationship between brick plazas at JMU and the repetition pitch …

Air Change Rate Vs Airflow Pathway: Bioaerosol Containment And Removal In Patient Rooms, Kevin R. Grosskopf

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Recent studies have shown that higher air change rates may have the unintended consequence of creating turbulent airflows that entrain high concentrations of infectious particles within the breathing zone, and possibly, breakdown pressure relationships necessary to contain the spread of infectious particles to other clinical spaces.

Biases In Thorpe-Scale Estimates Of Turbulence Dissipation. Part I: Assessments From Large-Scale Overturns In Oceanographic Data, Benjamin D. Mater, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy, Louis St Laurent, James N. Moum

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Oceanic density overturns are commonly used to parameterize the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy. This method assumes a linear scaling between the Thorpe length scale LT and the Ozmidov length scale LO. Historic evidence supporting LTLO has been shown for relatively weak shear-driven turbulence of the thermocline; however, little support for the method exists in regions of turbulence driven by the convective collapse of topographically influenced overturns that are large by open-ocean standards. This study presents a direct comparison of LT and LO, using vertical profiles of temperature and microstructure shear collected in the Luzon Strait-a site characterized by …

Comparisons Of Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbine Wake Interaction Models, Jordan M. Wilson, Cole J. Davis, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy, Paul R. Heyliger

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) simulations are performed using the k-ϵ and k-ω shear stress transport (SST) turbulence closure schemes to investigate the interactions of horizontal-axis wind turbine (HAWT) models in the neutrally stratified atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). A comparative study of actuator disk, actuator line, and full rotor models of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5 MW reference turbine is presented. The open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code open foam 2.1.0 and the commercial software ANSYS fluent 13.0 are used for simulations. Single turbine models are analyzed for turbulent structures and wake resolution in the downstream region. …

The Formation And Fate Of Internal Waves In The South China Sea, Matthew H. Alford, Thomas Peacock, Jennifer A. Mackinnon, Jonathan D. Nash, Maarten C. Buijsman, Luca A. Centurioni, Shenn-Yu Chao, Ming-Huei Chang, David M. Farmer, Oliver B. Fringer, Ke-Hsien Fu, Patrick C. Gallacher, Hans C. Graber, Karl R. Helfrich, Steven M. Jachec, Christopher R. Jackson, Jody M. Klymak, Dong S. Ko, Sen Jan, T. M. Shaun Johnson, Sonya Legg, I-Huan Lee, Ren-Chih Lien, Matthew J. Mercier, James N. Mourn, Ruth Musgrave, Jae-Hun Park, Andrew I. Pickering, Robert Pinkel, Luc Rainville, Steven R. Ramp, Daniel L. Rudnick, Sutanu Sarkar, Alberto Scotti, Harper L. Simmons, Louis C. St. Laurent, Subhas Karan Venayagamoorthy, Yu-Huai Wang, Joe Wang, Ying J. Yang, Theresa Paluszkiewicz, Tswen-Yung David Tang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Internal gravity waves, the subsurface analogue of the familiar surface gravity waves that break on beaches, are ubiquitous in the ocean. Because of their strong vertical and horizontal currents, and the turbulent mixing caused by their breaking, they affect a panoply of ocean processes, such as the supply of nutrients for photosynthesis¹, sediment and pollutant transport² and acoustic transmission³; they also pose hazards for man-made structures in the ocean⁴. Generated primarily by the wind and the tides, internal waves can travel thousands of kilometers from their sources before breaking⁵, making it …

Vibration Of Steel-Framed Floors Supporting Sensitive Equipment In Hospitals, Research Facilities, And Manufacturing Facilities, Di Liu

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Floors have traditionally been designed only for strength and deflection serviceability. As technological advances have been made in medical, scientific and micro-electronics manufacturing, many types of equipment have become sensitive to vibration of the supporting floor. Thus, vibration serviceability has become a routinely evaluated limit state for floors supporting sensitive equipment. Equipment vibration tolerance limits are sometimes expressed as waveform peak acceleration, and are more often expressed as narrowband spectral acceleration, or one-third octave spectral velocity.

Current floor vibration prediction methods, such as those found in the American Institute of Steel Construction Design Guide 11, Floor Vibrations Due to Human …

Effect Of Fly Ash Replacement Level On The Bond Strength Of Reinforcing Steel In Concrete Beams, Mahdi Arezoumandi, Trevor J. Looney, Jeffery S. Volz

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study compares the bond strength of reinforcing steel in high-volume fly ash concrete (HVFAC) mixes. Three mixes with 0% (conventional concrete), 50%, and 70% replacement of Portland cement with a Class C fly ash investigated in this study. Three beams (simply supported four-point loading condition) as well as three pull-out specimens (based on RILEM recommendations) were tested for each mix. Test results evaluated based on different codes as well as a bond database of conventional concrete specimens. These comparisons indicate that with increasing replacement level of fly ash in concrete the bond strength of reinforcing steel in concrete increases. …

Development Of Composite Pcms By Incorporation Of Paraffin Into Various Building Materials, Shazim Ali Memon, Wenyu Liao, Shuqing Yang, Hongzhi Cui, Syed Farasat Ali Shah

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this research, we focused on the development of composite phase-change materials (CPCMs) by incorporation of a paraffin through vacuum impregnation in widely used building materials (Kaolin and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS)). The composite PCMs were characterized using environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. Moreover, thermal performance of cement paste composite PCM panels was evaluated using a self-designed heating system. Test results showed that the maximum percentage of paraffin retained by Kaolin and GGBS was found to be 18% and 9%, respectively. FT-IR results show that …

Ventilation Rates And Airflow Pathways In Patient Rooms: A Case Study Of Bioaerosol Containment And Removal, Ehsan S. Mousavi, Kevin R. Grosskopf

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Most studies on the transmission of infectious airborne disease have focused on patient room air changes per hour (ACH) and how ACH provides pathogen dilution and removal. The logical but mostly unproven premise is that greater air change rates reduce the concentration of infectious particles and thus, the probability of airborne disease transmission. Recently, a growing body of research suggests pathways between pathogenic source (patient) and control (exhaust) may be the dominant environmental factor. While increases in airborne disease transmission have been associated with ventilation rates below 2 ACH, comparatively less data are available to quantify the benefits of higher …

Adaptive Predictive Functional Controller, Fadi Alsaleem, Arvind Rao

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A controller device and a method for controlling a system that utilizes an adaptive mechanism to self-learn the system char acteristics and incorporates this adaptive self-learning ability to predict a control parameter correctly to provide precise control of a system component.

An Adaptive Photovoltaic Topology To Overcome Shading Effect In Pv Systems, Mohamed Amer Chaaban, Lana El Chaar, Mahmoud Alahmad

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Shading in photovoltaic systems can cause many undesired effects.When shading occurs, the power generated from the PV system is much less than nominal power, increasing the electrical mismatching losses between PV system components. Active research to address this power loss focuses on static and adaptive systems.This paper addresses an adaptive system solution and proposes a new method to adaptively overcome losses due to shading during low radiation conditions. In addition, a statistical analysis for choosing the most feasible and efficient configuration for the system size is presented. The proposed system has been validated under shade conditions in a simulation and …

Building Envelope And Interior Grading Systems And Methods, Fadi Mohammad Alsaleem

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

A difference module determines differences between an out door ambient temperature and an indoor temperature, deter mines a first average of the differences, and determines a second average of the differences. A storing module stores a first data point, the first data point including the first average and a first total run time of a heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system, and stores a second data point, the second data point including the second average and a second total run time of the HVAC system. A fitting module fits a line to the first and second data points. An …

A Shear-Based Parameterization Of Turbulent Mixing In The Stable Atmospheric Boundary Layer, Jordan M. Wilson, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, shear-based parameterizations of turbulent mixing in the stable atmospheric boundary layer (SABL) are proposed. A relevant length-scale estimate for the mixing length LM of the turbulent momentum field is constructed from the turbulent kinetic energy Ek and the mean shear rate S as. Using observational data from two field campaigns-the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) experiment and the 1999 Cooperative Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Study (CASES-99)- is shown to have a strong correlation with LM. The relationship between LM and corresponds to the ratio of the magnitude of the tangential components of the turbulent momentum flux …

Hydraulic Design Of Baffles In Disinfection Contact Tanks, Zachary H. Taylor, Jeremy S. Carlston, Subhas Karan Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study focuses on understanding the hydraulic design of baffled contact tanks using computational fluid dynamics simulations. In particular, we address the key question: for a given footprint of a rectangular tank with a specified inlet width (Winlet), how does the hydraulic efficiency of a baffled tank depend on the configuration of internal baffles? In an effort to address this question, a carefully conceived parametric study consisting of 30 high-resolution two-dimensional (planar) simulations was conducted to quantify the hydraulic efficiency of a laboratory scale tank as a function of dimensional relationships between key baffle design dimensions (baffle opening length Lbo, …

Model For Consolidation Analysis Of Layered Soils Under Depth-Dependent Loading, Hefu Pu, Patrick J. Fox

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A numerical model is presented for one-dimensional large strain consolidation of a layered soil stratum. The algorithm accounts for vertical strain, soil self-weight, conventional constitutive relationships, changing material properties during consolidation, unload/reload, time-dependent loading and boundary conditions, an externally applied hydraulic gradient, and multiple soil layers with different material properties. The model can also accommodate depth-dependent loading and variable preconsolidation stress profiles. Verification checks of the model show excellent agreement with available analytical and numerical solutions for consolidation of soils with multiple layers and depth-dependent loading. An overview of this model is presented, and a parametric study is performed to …

Crack Control Measures For Tilt-Up Concrete Panels, John Lawson

Architectural Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Review Of Approaches For Sensing, Understanding, And Improving Occupancy-Related Energy-Use Behaviors In Commercial Buildings, Hamed Nabizadeh Rafsanjani, Changbum R. Ahn, Mahmoud Alahmad

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

Buildings currently account for 30–40 percent of total global energy consumption. In particular, commercial buildings are responsible for about 12 percent of global energy use and 21 percent of the United States’ energy use, and the energy demand of this sector continues to grow faster than other sectors. This increasing rate therefore raises a critical concern about improving the energy performance of commercial buildings. Recently, researchers have investigated ways in which understanding and improving occupants’ energy-consuming behaviors could function as a cost-effective approach to decreasing commercial buildings’ energy demands. The objective of this paper is to present a detailed, up-to-date …

Use Of Fiber-Reinforced Cements In Masonry Construction And Structural Rehabilitation, Ece Erdogmus

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Faculty Publications

The use of fiber reinforcement in traditional concrete mixes has been extensively studied and has been slowly finding its regular use in practice. In contrast, opportunities for the use of fibers in masonry applications and structural rehabilitation projects (masonry and concrete structures) have not been as deeply investigated, where the base matrix may be a weaker cementitious mixture. This paper will summarize the findings of the author’s research over the past 10 years in these particular applications of fiber reinforced cements (FRC). For masonry, considering both mortar and mortar-unit bond characteristics, a 0.5% volume fraction of micro fibers in type …

Performance Analysis And Modelling Of Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Panels, Nicole C. Annis

Doctoral Dissertations

A photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panel was constructed, tested, and modelled using both MATLAB and TRNSYS. During the experimental testing, which took place on the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus in Rolla, Missouri; two identical PVT panels were tested alongside two PV panels to gather an electrical baseline for comparison. Approximately 69 days’ worth of data were of data were collected during the summer of 2014. The PV electrical, PVT electrical, PVT thermal and PVT combined (electrical and thermal) efficiencies were 3.5-5.6%, 3.4-5.4%, 20.9-11.6%, and 24.3-17.0%, respectively.

A MATLAB program was developed using existing equations for one-dimensional, quasi-steady model of …

A Revisit Of The Equilibrium Assumption For Predicting Near-Wall Turbulence, Farid Karimpour, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, we revisit the consequence of assuming equilibrium between the rates of production (P) and dissipation (∈) of the turbulent kinetic energy (k) in the highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous near-wall region. Analytical and dimensional arguments are made to determine the relevant scales inherent in the turbulent viscosity (νt) formulation of the standard k-∈ model, which is one of the most widely used turbulence closure schemes. This turbulent viscosity formulation is developed by assuming equilibrium and use of the turbulent kinetic energy (k) to infer the relevant velocity scale. We show that such turbulent viscosity formulations are not suitable …

Thickening: A 21st Century Approach For Resilience In Infrastructure, Marco Antonio Ravini

Architecture Thesis Prep

Infrastructure should be designed for higher RESILIENCE, not permanence. Rather than over-engineer to resist the inevitable failure of individual components, the next generation of public infrastructure needs to exceed its technical specifications and seek opportunistic hybridity between systems. In doing so, new possibilities for multi-layered use/outputs emerge which contribute to a more productive and resilient infrastructural lifespan.

Phytoscreening: A Comparison Of In Planta Portable Gc-Ms And In Vitro Analyses, Matt A. Limmer, Gregory D. Martin, Christopher J. Watson, Camilo Martinez, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Phytoscreening Has Been Proven to Rapidly Delineate Subsurface Contaminant Plumes for Semiquantitative Site Assessment, with Minimal Impact to Property or Ecology through the Collection and Analysis of Tree Cores. Here, Three Phytoscreening Methods Were Applied Concurrently to Identify Multiple Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (CVOCs) in a Phytoremediation Treatment System at a Contaminated Industrial Facility. Tree Coring, in Planta Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and in Planta Passive Sampling Showed General Agreement, with the in Planta GC-MS Providing the Quickest But Least Quantitative Results. the Portable GC-MS Sampling and Analysis Method Identified Six CVOCs in the Xylem of Hybrid Poplars (Populus Sp.) …

Laminar And Turbulent Regime Changes In Drinking Water Contact Tanks, Taylor C. Barnett, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Transitions in flow regimes that can occur in drinking water contact tanks may significantly affect the disinfection efficiency of the system. To demonstrate these effects, the authors investigated the internal velocity fields and flow regime of a drinking water contact tank located in Jamestown, Colo. The baffling factor (BF) of the system fluctuated annually between 0.5 and 0.6 because of a shift in flow regime caused by changes in the flow rate of the system. The authors studied the effects of the regime change from laminar to turbulent flow (or vice versa) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models and physical …

Factors Affecting The Seismic Behavior Of Segmental Precast Bridge Columns, Haitham Dawood, Mohamed Elgawady, Joshua Hewes

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This manuscript discusses the design parameters that potentially affect the lateral seismic response of segmental precast post-tensioned bridge piers. The piers consist of precast circular cross section segments stacked one on top of the other with concentric tendons passing through ducts made in the segments during casting. The bottommost segments of the piers were encased in steel tubes to enhance ductility and minimize damage. An FE model was used to investigate different design parameters and how they influence the lateral force — displacement response of the piers. Design parameters investigated included the initial post-tensioning stress as a percentage of the …

Designing Acoustics For Linguistically Diverse Classrooms: Effects Of Background Noise, Reverberation And Talker Foreign Accent On Speech Comprehension By Native And Non-Native English-Speaking Listeners, Z. Ellen Peng

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current classroom acoustics standard (ANSI S12.60-2010) recommends core learning spaces not to exceed background noise level (BNL) of 35 dBA and reverberation time (RT) of 0.6 second, based on speech intelligibility performance mainly by the native English-speaking population. Existing literature has not correlated these recommended values well with student learning outcomes. With a growing population of non-native English speakers in American classrooms, the special needs for perceiving degraded speech among non-native listeners, either due to realistic room acoustics or talker foreign accent, have not been addressed in the current standard. This research seeks to investigate the effects of BNL …

Determining Thresholds Of Annoyance To Tones In Noise, Jennifer Marie Francis

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Building services equipment often produce noise with prominent tones that can lead to complaints from occupants in the built environment. Previous studies have investigated human perception to tones in noise but it is still unclear at what threshold of prominence these tones lead to human annoyance. The goal of this research is to apply two different methods towards defining thresholds of annoyance to two tonal frequencies: 125 Hz and 500 Hz. In Method I – Direct Assessment with Task, subjects are exposed to 10 minutes of broadband noise with a tonal frequency set at a certain level of prominence while …