Engineering Commons^™

Health Monitoring Of Liquid Pipelines, Mohammed Hameed Sabhan Al-Tofan

Theses and Dissertations

The crude and refined oil, water, and other liquids are widely transported through pipelines over long distances within geographical boundaries of countries or beyond. Pipeline accidents, however, are frequent, affecting operation and reducing targeted performance. The frequency of these accidents presents a growing concern and necessitates the need for an effective health monitoring plan. This plan requires monitoring of flow conditions and warning of any changes or abnormal conditions. Abnormalities in the flow conditions include changes in the piping system performance due to defects, such as leaks and blockages. These changes can be located and quantified utilizing different approaches. Two …

Experimental Study On The Effect Of Moisture On Bolt Embedment And Connection Loaded Parallel To Grain For Timber Structures, Henry Meleki Kiwelu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Connections are critical parts of timber structures, transmitting static and dynamic forces between structural elements. The ultimate behaviour of a building depends strongly on the structural configuration and the capacity of its connections. The complete collapse of a building or other less extensive accidents that may occur usually start as a local failure inside or in the vicinity of a joint. The main aim of this study has been to investigate if the short-term capacity of steel-wood dowel joints loaded parallel to the grain is affected by variations in moisture content associated with post fabrication drying or wetting of the …

Assessment Of Surface Water Resources In Great Ruaha River Sub-Basin Tanzania: Application Of Weap Model For Water Allocation And Utilization Impacts Analysis, Deogratias Mulungu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The Great Ruaha River (GRR) sub-basin is one of the most important waterways in Tanzania as it supports important economic activities. The sub-basin is progressively faced with an inevitable situation of increasing water demand among competing users while the quantity and quality of water is diminishing. The focus of this study was to assess allocation of existing (2012) and future (up to 2025) quantities of surface water in the GRR sub-basin with consideration of priorities given in the Tanzania Water Resources Management Act, 2009 in the order: domestic, environment, agriculture, livestock and non-domestic. Simulation of water allocation scenarios of irrigation …

Development Of Improved Characteristic Equations For Lake Rukwa In Tanzania, Patrick Valimba Dr

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Often Lake Rukwa characteristics have been misreported in literature giving different volumes and surface areas at similar water surface elevations. This study aimed at establishing reliable lake characteristics elevation-area-storage equations for Lake Rukwa by utilising all available data and information to define the bathymetry and derive characteristic equations. A procedure was developed that combines historical lake extents, spot heights from topographical maps and surveyed lake bathymetry to define refined bathymetry to levels it has never reached. It combined spot heights around the lake and selected 13,934 surveyed points (from 107,938 available) within the lake confined by the 820 m land …

Potential Use Of High Rate Algae Ponds For Resource Recovery In The Water-Food-Energy Nexus For Tanzania: A Review, Mary Kayombo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The use of High Rate Algal Ponds (HRAPs) for the treatment of wastewater and resource recovery has raised interest in recent years. Treatment of wastewater through this technology has proved to have high efficiency in reducing the level of pollution, nutrients, dissolved solids as well as pathogens. HRAPs are more efficient than conventional Wastewater Stabilization Ponds (WSPs) due to their design approach that provides room for high rate bio-chemical processes, which increase the mechanisms of nutrients and pathogens removal as well as the rate of micro-algae production for purposes of resource recovery. This paper reviews the upgrading potential of existing …

Morphology And Detection Of Corrosion On Stainless Steel Reinforcement In Concrete, Julio J. Saire Yanez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Stainless steel (SS) has emerged as an alternative corrosion-resistant reinforcement in concrete instead of the commonly used carbon steel (CS). The biggest advantage of SS is that it takes more time for corrosion to initiate than for CS. An additional benefit from the use of SS in concrete may be derived from the period after the corrosion started until the concrete structure reaches a limit state. This period is called corrosion propagation stage (CPS) and it has been hardly studied in SS reinforced structures. The duration of this period could be related, among other factors, to the morphology of corrosion …

Experimental Study Of Hybrid Strengthening Technique Using Carbon Fiber Laminates And Steel Plates For Reinforced Concrete Slabs, Xiaohong Zheng, Baolin Wan, Peiyan Huang, Jinlin Huang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

External bonding (EB) technique has been used widely to strengthen reinforced concrete (RC) structures in civil engineering over several decades. Steel and fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) are the two most common materials used for strengthening RC structures. Although each material has its advantages for EB application, they also have their own weaknesses. Steel plates are heavy and poor in corrosion resistance, and the thickness of steel plates is also limited due to lack of shape flexibility for strengthening RC structures. The EB-FRP technique is restricted for broader applications because the bond interface is the weakest link in such retrofitted or …

Prioritizing Rehabilitation Of Sanitary Sewers In Pinellas County, Fl, Jesse T. Hillman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Following large rain events, extraneous freshwater contributions known as inflow and infiltration (I/I) bypass the storm sewer and enter the sanitary sewer system. In areas with a high water table, like Pinellas County and the surrounding Tampa Bay area, a majority of the wastewater infrastructure is submerged year round exacerbating the rate of groundwater infiltration. This excess flow overloads the existing wastewater infrastructure leading to sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs). These SSOs result in serious problems for municipalities and utilities across the country.

This study was performed in order to assist Pinellas County Utilities in rehabilitating their southern sewer system. To …

Development Of A Framework To Support The Effective Adoption Of Bim In The Public Sector: Lessons For Ireland, Shiyao Kuang, Alan Hore, Barry Mcauley, Roger West

Conference papers

Building Information Modelling (BIM) has been formally adopted by many countries with the promise of creating greater economic, social and sustainability benefits. Several authors and institutions have presented alternative BIM policies and tactics which have been adopted by developed countries. However, there is evidence to indicate that BIM adoption theories are not well established and, in particular, the linkage between BIM public sector adoption strategy outcomes and their contribution to achieving Government policy objectives are underdeveloped. This paper will present the outcome of the first phase of a systematic literature review of published studies (including journal papers and noteworthy international …

Field Performance And Cost Effectiveness Of Crack Sealing In Flexible And Composite Pavements, Momen Ragab Mousa

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Surface cracking is one of the major surface distresses in asphalt concrete (AC) pavement, allowing water infiltration through the cracks, causing stripping in asphalt pavement layers, and weakening and deteriorating the base and/or subgrade. Its treatment, therefore, is one of the major activities in pavement preservation for many state DOTs. Among the various treatment methods currently available to preserve AC pavement with existing surface cracking are various forms of crack sealing. Crack sealing is not a common practice to Louisiana highways since the benefit of such treatment appears to be affected by the elevation of the ground water table. Studies …

Steady State Hydroplaning Risk Analysis And Evaluation Of Unsteady State Effects, Menna Yassin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Hydroplaning is a major concern on high speed roadways during heavy rainfall events. Hydroplaning tools are widely used by designers to reduce their roadway’s hydroplaning potential, therefore reducing the possibilities of severe crashes. This dissertation presents two methodologies for improving the prediction of hydroplaning potential.

The first phase focused on improving an existing widely used software called PAVDRN. Using multiple datasets from the Florida Department of Transportation, the author filtered the data using specific criteria to leave only truly dynamic hydroplaning crashes. The author then evaluated PAVDRN’s prediction capabilities and assessed its reliability in predicting a hydroplaning crash. Using past …

Contractual Guidelines For Contractors Working Under Projects Funded By Southeastern Us Dots, Islam H. El-Adaway, Amr Elsayegh, I. S. Abotaleb, C. Smith, M. Bootwala, S. Eteifa

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Transportation projects in the infrastructure sector contribute to approximately 42% of the total expenditures on public construction projects in the US. The main source of funding of these projects is the taxpayer's hard-earned money. The ever-growing problem by transportation projects is that the available funds are less than those required to have a stable and well maintained transportation network. Unnecessary costs in these projects are mainly caused by Conflicts, Claims and Disputes (C2D). According to recent reports, C2D in construction is greatly attributed to poor contract administration. The goal of this paper is to provide better understanding and utilization of …

Characterization Of Geogrid Reinforced Ballast Behavior Through Finite Element Modeling, Bugra Sinmez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recently, the railway pavement structure system, as an integral part of the transport infrastructure, has been under fast development in some countries such as China, Turkey, and some European Union countries, particularly for the use of high-speed trains. In designing and constructing the railway pavement structure, it is necessary to take into account the infrastructure demand of the High-Speed Railway Lines (HSRL). Compared to traditional railway trains, HSRL can cause more significant problems to the ballast or base layer of commonly used ballasted railway pavements. The deteriorated ballast or base layer may further result in substructure degradation that may cause …

Incorporating Antecedent Soil Moisture Into Streamflow Forecasting, Abdoul Oubeidillah, Glenn Tootle, Thomas Piechota

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This study incorporates antecedent (preceding) soil moisture into forecasting streamflow volumes within the North Platte River Basin, Colorado/Wyoming (USA). The incorporation of antecedent soil moisture accounts for infiltration and can improve streamflow predictions. Current Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) forecasting methods are replicated, and a comparison is drawn between current NRCS forecasts and proposed forecasting methods using antecedent soil moisture. Current predictors used by the NRCS in regression-based streamflow forecasting include precipitation, streamflow persistence (previous season streamflow volume) and snow water equivalent (SWE) from SNOTEL (snow telemetry) sites. Proposed methods utilize antecedent soil moisture as a predictor variable in addition …

Wrack Lines Volume 19, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2019, Nancy Balcom, Syma Ebbin, David Gregorio, Richard Telford, Judy Benson

Wrack Lines

Issue theme is: "Making Connections: As the Climate Changes, People and Nature Intertwine in New Ways." Articles include: "As More Roads Become Rivers, Communities Search for Solutions;" "Solving an Engineering Conundrum: As Coastal Homes Get Elevated, New Research Looks at Whether Vulnerability to Wind Damage Is Increasing;" "Along the Coast, Residents Consider How to Heed Sandy's Warning of What's to Come;" "All Rivers, All Lives Run to the Sea," about the intersection of waterways and the world of nature writer Edwin Way Teale; and "Crosscurrents: Connecticut Sea Grant's Retrospective Exhibition Makes Waves," about reaching new audiences and building bridges with …

Qualitative And Quantitative Flow Visualization Studies On A Distorted Hydraulic Physical Model, Patrick Scott

LSU Master's Theses

The submergence of coastal wetlands in south Louisiana leaves communities, commerce, industry, and ecosystems vulnerable to extreme weather events and human and natural disasters. The state of Louisiana has developed a plan to mitigate coastal land loss and with the help of Louisiana State University and the Lower Mississippi River Physical Model, projects like large scale sediment diversions will be extensively tested and researched to ensure proper implementation and operation. Due to scaling and distortion of the physical model, complete similitude with its prototype is not expected and scale effects are anticipated to affect the hydrodynamics and, as a result, …

Living Shorelines As Alternative Methods Of Shoreline Protection, Hunter Shows

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana’s marshes and coastal estuaries are losing habitat at an alarming rate. High rates of sea level rise coupled with coastal subsidence are turning once thriving marsh land into open water. The sediment starved Mississippi River Delta is drowning, making families homes, property, and livelihoods increasingly vulnerable every year. Significant funding is being allocated for projects to offset the increasing erosion including but not limited to diversions, marsh creation, ridge restoration, and shoreline protection projects.

Living shorelines, for the sake of this study, can be defined as a form of shoreline protection which helps shoreline stabilization and erosion reduction while …

Predicting Power-Transformer Bushings’ Seismic Vulnerability: Mounting Stiffness And Coupling, Jon Bender, Arvin Farid

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Large power transformers are both expensive and vulnerable to seismic failure. Excessive amplification of earthquake loading to power transformer bushings beyond the bushings’ rated strength can occur if the system’s structural dynamics produce unpredictable and unfavorable resonance behavior. Determining the degree of vulnerability to large seismic amplifications is not straight-forward, and general design recommendations do not always resolve problems that can potentially arise. This paper considers a number of Case studies in an attempt to postulate a set of critical factors, which might facilitate better prediction of bushing amplification. Further, several additional Case studies are summarized in order to add …

Seismic Performance Of Mid-Rise Code-Conforming X-Braced Steel Frames, Mokhtar Ansari, Hosein Gholi Pour, Amir Safiey

Publications

Prolixity and complexities inherent in the nonlinear dynamic analysis (NDA) impel engineers to lean towards nonlinear static analysis (NSA) in practice. This paper partly explores differences and similarities in responses obtained from these two simulation techniques. The scope of the study is narrowed down to ubiquitous regular code-conforming mid-rise steel X-braced frames. Different common lateral load patterns are coupled with NSA to study their interactive effects on responses. The modal nonlinear static analysis is also carried out, where deemed necessary. NDA using three different earthquake records are conducted as well, to validate NSA results. Results of nonlinear analyses are undertaken …

A Comparison Of Water Main Failure Prediction Models In San Luis Obispo, Ca, Kyle Eric Aube

Master's Theses

This study compared four different water main failure prediction models: a statistically simple model, a statistically complex model, a statistically complex model with modifications termed the 2019 model, and an age-based model. The statistically complex models compute the probability of failure based on age, size, internal pressure, length of pipe in corrosive soil, land use, and material of the. These two values are then used to prioritize a water main rehabilitation program to effectively use the municipality’s funds. The 2019 model calculates the probability of failure and consequence of failure differently than the statistically complex model by considering corrosive soil …

Investigation Of Grout - A Comparison Of Standard Grout Mix To Self-Consolidating Grout Mix, Rachel Garcia Chandler

Architectural Engineering

Masonry is a major structural material for low rise buildings, however the design of masonry buildings is rarely taught as a formal course at most universities. As part of the educational experience and to become familiar with the specifications and testing procedures for grouted masonry, a student run experiment on varying the water to cement ratio of masonry grout was conducted. The purpose is to report on the effects of changing the water-to-cement (W/C) ratios in a standard grout mix. The typical W/C ratio is approximately 0.80:1.00. In order to show the effects of increasing water in a grout mix, …

Pedestrian Bridge In Tanzania, Maja Sagaser, Karina Rosales

Architectural Engineering

This senior project originated to address the need of the community of Same, Tanzania. There is a deep and wide ravine which floods, making the path many adults and children take to the Majevu Primary School increasingly difficult and dangerous. This report encapsulates all of the steps taken to complete an approved final design for a footbridge to be constructed over this ravine. It includes the project overview, the architectural and structural design process, as well as the important considerations. There are also structural drawings that include plans, elevations, and details.

Improved Reliability Of Stormwater Detention Basin Performance Through Water Quality Data-Informed Real-Time Control, Sazzad Sharior, Walter M. Mcdonald, Anthony J. Parolari

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Stormwater detentions basins are designed to capture stormwater to reduce and delay peak flows and to improve water quality. A novel technology proposed to improve basin performance is real-time, active control of the basin outflow, in so-called “smart” stormwater systems. Existing studies demonstrate the performance of active controls that respond in real-time to basin water level, detention time, and rainfall forecast for one or a small number of rainfall events. We hypothesize that the performance of these active controls can be improved by incorporating real-time water quality data into the control algorithm. In addition, we hypothesize that active control performance …

Affordable Learning Solutions And Interactive Content In Engineering Mechanics, Nicolas Ali Libre

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Digital Affordable Learning Solutions (ALS) provides students with quality yet affordable educational content and enables instructors to utilize multimedia and interactive technology as effective ways of delivering course material. The reduced course content expenses not only allow more students to access the educational material, but also permit the instructors to customize and adapt the material to their teaching style. Incorporation of interactive technology through visually appealing media such as animations, graphics, simulations, videos, and three-dimensional models promotes students' interest in learning theoretical and abstract subjects in science and engineering. In this study, the incorporation of an interactive eBook as an …

Case Study: Using Geofoam On A School Project In Encinitas, Ca, Matthew D. Gaebe

Construction Management

This paper is a case study that identifies why Geofoam was used as in-fill material for a construction project located at a high school in Encinitas, CA. The Geofoam was installed under a stairway that connects to a structural retaining wall. The concrete formwork was connected directly to the foam and the stairs were poured in place onsite. The foam acted as the on-grade material, so the concrete stairs did not have to be self-supporting. The purpose of this study is to understand the benefits of using Geofoam, as the in-fill material, as opposed to other traditional materials. An analysis …

Analysis Of The Effects Of Adaptive Ramp Metering On Measures Of Efficiency With A Proposed Framework For Safety Evaluation, Jacky Loh

Master's Theses

Adaptive ramp metering (ARM) is a widely popular intelligent transportation system (ITS) tool that boasts the ability to reduce congestion and streamline traffic flow during peak hour periods while maintaining a lower implementation cost than traditional methods such as freeway widening. This thesis explores the effectiveness of ARM implementation on an 18 mile segment of the Interstate 80 (I-80) corridor in the Bay Area residing in northern California. Smaller segments of this particular segment were analyzed to determine the effective length of ARM on efficiency at various lengths originating from a known bottleneck location. Efficiency values were also compared against …

In-Plane Cyclic Behavior Of A Steel Mesh Reinforced Cob Wall, Julia Fremuth Sargent

Master's Theses

This thesis presents the results from in-plane cyclic testing of a reinforced cob wall. Cob is an earthen building material composed of sand, clay, straw and water. Cob is typically constructed with no steel reinforcement; however, the California Building Code requires reinforcement in all buildings for resisting seismic forces. The purpose of this thesis is to provide additional technical data to integrate cob into the building code.

Test results are reported for a 7’ x 8’ x 14” wall with two layers of welded wire steel reinforcement constructed on a reinforced concrete foundation. In-plane cyclic loading was performed on the …

Fatigue Performance Of Rc Beams Strengthened With Near Surface Mounted Cfrp Composites, Tamer Ghaith Mousa Eljufout

Dissertations

Bridges have a fundamental role in improving the effectiveness of highways and providing an expedient and express traffic system. Over time, Reinforced Concrete (RC) bridges degrade due to gradually increased traffic loads and environmental deteriorations. Subsequently, service loads might cause higher stresses in concrete and steel reinforcement than stresses considered in the design stage. This affects the structural performance of RC beams and leads to sudden fatigue failure. As such, there is an essential need for rehabilitation to avoid hazards and tragedies.

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) composites are becoming widely used to strengthen RC bridges. Near Surface Mounted (NSM) …

Assessing Infrastructure Elements Using Automated Object Detection Technique In Smart City Applications, Majid Mastali

Dissertations

Nowadays, road features are becoming more complex leading to more complicated complaints regarding urban environments. Point Cloud Data (PCD) processing is an essential element for detecting objects and analysing human driving behavior to identify the variables defining challenging objects and maneuvers in smart cities. PCDs include a range of processing, including indirect processing (e.g., data converting, cleaning process) and direct process (e.g., pass through elevation filter, statistical outlier removal, normal estimation as well as classification). Static and dynamic object detection and analysis are typically considered the most sophisticated options subsumed under PCDs. They involve direct evaluation of both static and …

Effect Of Specimen Thicknesses On Water Absorption And Flexural Strength Of Cfrp Laminates Subjected To Water Or Alkaline Solution Immersion, Xue Zhang, Yanlei Wang, Baolin Wan, Gaochuang Cai, Yuan Qu

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

In this paper, an experimental research was undertaken to investigate the effect of specimen thicknesses on water absorptions and flexural strengths of wet lay-up CFRP laminates subjected to distilled water or alkaline solution immersion up to 180 days. Test results showed that the water uptake and flexural strength retention of CFRP laminates were significantly affected by the adopted specimen thickness. For the same aging time, the water uptake of CFRP laminates decreased in the early stage of immersion and increased in the later stage of immersion with the increase of specimen thickness. Meanwhile, the flexural strength retention generally increased as …