Engineering Commons^™

Manifold Learning Based Spectral Unmixing Of Hyperspectral Remote Sensing Data, Jun-Hwa Chi

Open Access Dissertations

Nonlinear mixing effects inherent in hyperspectral data are not properly represented in linear spectral unmixing models. Although direct nonlinear unmixing models provide capability to capture nonlinear phenomena, they are difficult to formulate and the results are not always generalizable. Manifold learning based spectral unmixing accommodates nonlinearity in the data in the feature extraction stage followed by linear mixing, thereby incorporating some characteristics of nonlinearity while retaining advantages of linear unmixing approaches. Since endmember selection is critical to successful spectral unmixing, it is important to select proper endmembers from the manifold space. However, excessive computational burden hinders development of manifolds for …

Effect Of Lightweight Aggregate Moisture Content On Internally Cured Concrete, Casey Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Putting an end to the rapid deterioration of concrete structures in the United States will only occur through the introduction of better materials and construction methods. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) reports the overall condition of concrete bridges in the United States to be a "C+". Though better than other areas of the infrastructure, there is still room for improvement in concrete bridges. One major area that may be improved is that of the concrete bridge deck. The bridge deck is comprised of the actual driving surface. It is subject to many deterioration mechanisms including freeze/thaw cycles, de-icing …

Return To Traffic Of Full Depth Reclamation Pavements, Robert Benjamin Hill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) is a cost-effective rehabilitation treatment for deteriorated pavements. However, when using asphalt emulsion based rehabilitation techniques one of the most challenging aspects of FDR is determining when traffic can be returned to the rehabilitated pavement surface. Since asphalt emulsion mixtures need ample time for curing, they cannot be sealed with a surface layer until the water has evaporated from the rehabilitated layer. It is often not possible to keep the road closed until all of the water has evaporated and the surface layer is placed, therefore, at some point the traffic needs to be returned to the …

Simulating Land Use Land Cover Change Using Data Mining And Machine Learning Algorithms, Amin Tayyebi

Open Access Dissertations

The objectives of this dissertation are to: (1) review the breadth and depth of land use land cover (LUCC) issues that are being addressed by the land change science community by discussing how an existing model, Purdue's Land Transformation Model (LTM), has been used to better understand these very important issues; (2) summarize the current state-of-the-art in LUCC modeling in an attempt to provide a context for the advances in LUCC modeling presented here; (3) use a variety of statistical, data mining and machine learning algorithms to model single LUCC transitions in diverse regions of the world (e.g. United States …

Product Characterization And Headspace Analysis Of Solar Irradiated Aqueous C60 Clusters, Dan Su

Open Access Theses

Buckminsterfullerene (C60) is an important fullerene material that has drawn much attention and is currently being applied in many different fields. It was discovered in 1985. As its production has largely increased to meet these industrial needs, it is obvious that its environmental occurrence, especially in aqueous systems, will occur. To further provide information for environmental toxicity studies and for its risk assessment, this thesis focuses on the photo transformation processes of aqueous C60 clusters (Aqu/nC60), with a particular interest in measuring any mineralization that occurs under different irradiation conditions. Two sets of experiments were conducted to test for CO2 …

Interactional Analysis Of Emergent Risks In Institutionally Diverse Construction Projects, Nader Naderpajouh

Open Access Dissertations

Naderpajouh, Nader Ph.D., Purdue University, December 2013. Interactional Analysis of Emergent Risks in Institutionally Diverse Construction Projects. Major Professor: Makarand Hastak.

Construction projects, as complex systems of systems (SOS), increasingly involve institutionally diverse actors that escalate complexity of the projects. Examples of these actors include the export credit agencies, international organizations such as the World Bank, non-governmental organizations (NGO), regulatory actors, transnational organizations, as well as public and community groups. The observed surge in complexity of the projects aim to enhance their robustness in: i) sustaining the increasing demand for service of these projects, and ii) sustaining the contextual fluctuation …