Engineering Commons^™

Decontamination Of The Passaic River Sediments Using Ultrasound With Ozone Nano-Bubbles, Janitha Hewa Batagoda

Dissertations

The Passaic River is 129km long and flows through the northern New Jersey. During the mid-twentieth century, the U.S. census indicated that there were approximately 2,900 industries along the river bank. The amount of industries established next to the river indicated the inevitable river pollution, which was compounded by lenient environmental protection laws. One of the major contributors of the river pollution was Diamond Alkali Co., which started production of chemicals around 1951 at the 4km marker in the Passaic River.

In 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) identified the Passaic River as the second most polluted …

Intense Ultrasonic Waves In Fluids: Nonlinear Behaviour, Jitendra Kewalramani

Theses

High-intensity ultrasonic wave has several engineering, biological, medical and chemical applications. High intensity acoustic waves can lead to a desired change in a medium by initiating one or more diverse mechanisms such as acoustic cavitation, heating, radiation pressure, or chemical reactions. Nonlinear nature of intense acoustic waves opens an entire new spectrum of applications. Hence there is need to understand and model the mechanism of nonlinear wave motion for practical applications of intense acoustic waves.

In this research, one-dimensional motion of shock waves in an ideal fluid is studied to include nonlinearity. In nonlinear acoustics, the propagation velocity of different …

Ltpp Data Analysis: Factors Affecting Pavement Roughness For The State Of California, Pedro Zavanga, Alisha Khanal, Mena I. Souliman

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The contributions of pavement structure and features, rehabilitation techniques, climatic conditions, traffic levels, layer materials and properties, pavement distress, and other factors causing changes in pavement smoothness are not well documented. As a result, it becomes difficult to select the appropriate pavement structure, design features and rehabilitation strategies to ensure pavement smoothness. This study focuses on analysing the available LTPP data for asphalt pavements in California by investigating the correlation between the pavement roughness and the effect of pavement temperature, precipitation, fatigue, age of pavement, rutting, and the average annual daily truck traffic. IRI has been identified as the factor …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Water-Energy Nexus Approaches For Solar Development And Water Treatment In The Southwestern United States, Syeda Saria Bukhary

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Water is crucial for energy production and conversion, and energy is crucial for various water related processes including water conveyance, treatment and distribution. Sustainability of water and energy are inextricably linked with each other. Over-utilization/ degradation of these resources may occur due to limited availability of water under the changing climate scenario, growing population, and increasing pollution due to the burning of fossil fuels. The goal of the current research was to study the water-energy nexus of the Southwestern U.S. and develop approaches for solar development and treatment of drinking water. To achieve the overall objective, the work was divided …

Preliminary Investigation Of Tensile Strength And Impact Characterization Of Cementitious Composite Incorporating Carbon Nanotubes, Robabeh Jazaei

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cement has been largely used in the construction industry, specifically as a matrix for concrete. Recently, a new generation of cement-based composite that greatly increases mechanical properties is replacing conventional concrete. With periodic advances in the field, researchers considered particles with high-aspect ratios such as Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) to reinforce cement matrices. Although there is not much literature to draw upon in research, some research on improving the tensile strength of cementitious composite incorporating with CNTs does exist. However, there had been no evidence of investigation into impact strength until this study.

Most papers presented examined the effect of multi-walled …

Driver Responses To Graphic-Aided Portable Changeable Message Signs In Highway Work Zones, Yilei Huang, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Portable changeable message signs (PCMSs) have been employed in highway work zones as temporary traffic control devices. Various studies showed that adding graphics to PCMS messages can provide advantages to traditional text messages, such as increasing legibility and improving the understanding of elderly drivers. This article synthesizes the findings of a two-phase research project aimed to investigate driver responses to graphic-aided PCMSs. Different text and graphic-aided PCMSs representing roadwork and flagger were set up in the upstream of highway work zones, and speed data of more than 2,700 vehicles were collected with a series of five speed sensors to determine …

City Of Tyler Hub-And-Spoke Bicycle Lane Network, Pedro A. Zavagna

Civil Engineering Theses

The purpose of this study is to showcase the up-to-date development of a Bicycle Lane Engineered Scoring System (BLESS) that will be utilized to map and identify the optimum feasible locations for bicycle lanes. The project was initiated for the City of Tyler, Texas where a Hub-and-Spoke bicycle lane will be designed around the city utilizing the BLESS. The design process is comprised of attentive planning, progressive development and a collective effort by the transportation engineering research team at the University of Texas at Tyler to design an exceptional bicycle lane network. The BLESS consisted of traffic analysis, lane configuration, …

Utah Salt Storage Facilities Guidelines And Best Management Practices, Weston Bellon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

An environmental analysis was conducted at the Utah Water Research Laboratory of samples gathered from Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) salt storage facilities retention ponds across the state. The analysis indicated high levels of TSS largely made up of minerals directly associated with the deicing solution currently used by UDOT in roadway applications. As a companion to that analysis, best management practices have been identified and compiled to provide a resource for the proper management of salt storage facilities in the state of Utah. Topics included as best management practices include locating new storage facilities, proper salt storage, proper salt …

Solar And Rain Catching Canopy. Urban Oasis, Afolabi Ibitoye, Langston Clark, Elena Zimareva, Evan Banks, Alexander Aptekar

Publications and Research

The Urban Oasis is designed to work within existing “pocket parks” in New York City as a combined rainwater collector, personal electronics charging station and resting designation for New Yorkers. Intended to not only lessen the demand on the city power grid by using renewable energy to charge devices, the urban oasis is also intended to mitigate grey water overfill in New York’s combined sewer system and, in general, serve as a model for responsible environmental stewardship in urban areas.

The important technical aspects of the canopy specifically analyzed were:

a) how much rainwater could the canopy be expected to …

Liquefaction-Induced Dragload And/Or Downdrag On Deep Foundations Within The New Madrid Seismic Zone, Ishimwe Elvis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deep foundation elements are typically used to transfer structural loads for multi-story buildings and large-span bridges to a competent soil layer when 1) the soil close to the ground surface has no sufficient bearing capacity, and when 2) liquefiable soils are encountered. The majority of the bridges constructed within seismic zones rely upon the stability of earthen embankments and deep foundation that are installed above or within liquefiable soil deposits. Despite large factor of safety values or different load and resistance factors being used to adequately design deep foundations within seismic areas, soil liquefaction may cause extensive damage to the …

An Investigation Of Water Pipeline Renewal Practices, Abbas Abed Salman

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Globally, the use of trenchless technologies is gradually increasing due to the growing need to replace and renew aging utility infrastructure and the need for more flexible solutions for the installation of new pipes. In the United States of America, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2017 assessed that America’s infrastructure is close to failing. It faces an annual shortfall of at least $11 billion to replace the aging facilities that are near the end of their useful lives. In this research, surveys and interviews of professionals working in trenchless technologies for the North American Society for Trenchless …

Determination Of Root Length Of Evapotranspiration Cover Using Electrical Resistivity Imaging Technique, Fouzia Hossain Oyshi

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Evapotranspiration (ET) covers are receiving an increasing amount of attention for use at waste disposal sites. Instead of using barrier layers like conventional covers, percolation in ET cover system is minimized by water balance components which store the water prior to its transpiration through vegetation or evaporation from the soil surface. Vegetation for an ET cover must be suitable for its particular locality and have well-developed root systems, since they promote transpiration and contribute to the long-term performance of the cover. They pull water out of the cover soil and release it into the environment, thereby decreasing the percolation of …

Concrete Breakout Strength Of Post-Installed Anchors Within Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Travis Michael Pechacek

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

This study investigates the effects of Polypropylene fibers on the concrete breakout of post-installed screw anchor bolts. Concrete anchors were installed within concrete specimens of differing amounts of Polypropylene fibers. Four differing mixtures were produced using, 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5% fibers by volume of the mixture. Their physical properties were calculated through testing at the Civil Engineering Laboratory Building (CELB). In total, 16 cylindrical specimens, 4” in diameter and 8” in height, and 6 beam specimens, 6”x6”x20” were produced and tested. After 28 days of curing, the specimens were tested for their compressive and tensile strengths, as well as …

Evaluation Of The Seasonal Variation In Hydraulic Conductivity For An Evapotranspiration Cover System, Lucas Hoyos Cadavid

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The purpose of landfill cover systems is to minimize, and if possible prevent the interaction of the environment with the buried waste mass. In this effort, one of the most prevalent parameters to control is the percolation of rainfall through the cover system into the waste mass. In addition to this, if the cover system utilizes an evapotranspiration or water balance cover, understanding this parameter becomes especially important. This type of system relies on the ability of the soil to retain moisture and the natural process through which vegetation transports water from its roots to the atmosphere. Consequently, the percolation …

Impacts Of Geotechnical Aspects In Tunneling Design And Construction, Mohammad Haadi Sadaghiani

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

In tunneling project, different type of methods is conducted to do the project. Knowing geotechnical aspects of tunnel project is unavoidable and crucial in early stage of project especially before contract to have efficient and more accurate design and prevent cost overruns, reduce bid price and reduce project risks. However, all that geotechnical information should be based on standard guidelines such as Geotechnical Baseline Report (GBR) to help owner how to provide those geotechnical data in bid contract and use it as a guideline in contract to prevent future claim or disputes. The main objective of this thesis is about …

Effect Of Fine Grained Soil In The Strength Of Cement Treated Flex-Base Materials, Sita Timsina

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The recycled materials such as, Recycled Crushed Concrete Aggregates (RCCA) and Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) treated with cement has been widely used as the alternative granular base in pavement construction in different states in USA due to the depletion of natural resources of virgin aggregates. While a number of factors drive the use of these recycled materials, the two primary factors are economic savings and environmental benefits. In the flexible pavement systems, the base layer contributes to the structural capacity of the pavement systems, so, the quality performance of this layer is essential. However, presence of fine particles in the …

Diagnosis And Quantification Of Post-Disaster Construction Material Cost Fluctuations, Niloufar Khodahemmati

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The post-disaster survival of cities and communities depend on their capabilities to rapidly reconstruct damages. Temporary increase in construction costs following natural disasters, also known as “demand surge,” impedes the rapid post-disaster reconstruction process. The existing methods for quantifying the post-disaster construction cost escalations do not consider seasonal patterns and inflation of costs under normal condition. Therefore, it is not clear whether the quantified construction cost increases are due to a disaster or merely associated with seasonal patterns and inflation. The objective of this study is to (1) create an approach to statistically quantify the post-disaster construction material cost fluctuations …

Evaluation Of Beams And Columns Strengthening With Pre-Saturated And Regular Cfrp, Preeti Pandey

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Structural members such as columns and beams are often subjected to reduced capacity due to errors in design or construction or often due to deterioration with time. The effect of reduction in capacity due to environmental and loading conditions are often the causes for deterioration or complete failure of structures. The main objective of this study is to deliver the effect of using Pre-Saturated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) over regular CFRP Laminates, as an external strengthening material for strength and confinement of these deteriorated structures. The hypothesis was the use of Pre-Saturated CFRP over conventional regular CFRP Wet layup …

Qualitative Evaluation Of Cfrp-Concrete Bond Using Non-Destructive And Destructive Testing Methods, Ankita Anil Lad

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) laminates have been used as externally bonded reinforcements for retrofitting and structural strengthening of concrete structures. The adequacy of the CFRP bonding highly depends on the bond integrity between the concrete and CFRP laminates. Considering the reliability of this bonding technique, premature debonding of laminates from the concrete substrate is a major concern. The bond performance may be influenced directly by various parameters; some of the parameters like surface wetness, surface preparation, presence of voids in concrete substrate and overhead versus on the top installation of CFRP laminate have been discussed in this study. During …

Sustainable Waste Management Through Operating Landfill As Biocell, Naima Rahman

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Solid waste is being generated at a record pace, and disposal of it requires advanced waste management services at a reasonable cost. Landfilling is the most suitable waste disposal and management technique currently available, and it is being used throughout the world. It is, however, the largest anthropogenic source of atmospheric methane, and it requires a lot of space. The primary objective of this study was to investigate an alternative sustainable solution to waste management by operating landfills as biocells. Biocells are cost effective, produce methane more rapidly, and accelerate space recovery. A laboratory scale study was conducted to investigate …

Identification Of Phase-Based Key Performance Factors And Their Best Practices In Construction Projects, Mohammadreza Habibi

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Delay and cost overrun in construction projects are two widespread problems arousing practitioners’ and scholars’ concerns as poor time and cost performance lead construction projects to failure. It is estimated that more than half of the construction industry’s projects encounter significant cost overruns and major delays, resulting in the industry having a tarnished reputation. Despite the attempts of numerous researchers to identify key performance factors, their results have been inconsistent. Most of the literature has focused solely on the construction phase budget and time overruns; the engineering/design and procurement phase costs and schedule performances have been rarely studied. Therefore, the …

Remaining Useful Life Prediction Of Water Pipes Using Artificial Neural Network And Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System Models, Razieh Tavakoli

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The U.S. water distribution system contains thousands of miles of pipes with differing materials, sizes, and ages. These pipes experience physical, environmental, structural and operational parameters that cause corrosion and eventually lead to their failures. The Remaining Useful Life (RUL) is the estimated time before a pipe will experience a failure mode specifically a pipe break. Pipe failure means collapse and deterioration of water pipes overtime. Pipe deterioration results in increased break rates, reduced hydraulic capacity, and detrimental impacts on water quality. Therefore, it is crucial to perform accurate models that can forecast deterioration rates along with estimates of remaining …

Comparison Of Ground Movements During Trenchless Technology Operations For Pipe And Box Installations By Numerical Analysis, Taha Ashoori

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Trenchless Technologies (TTs) are alternatives or methods of choice for the construction and renewal of buried pipe or box with little or no surface disruption. Specifically, TTs are used when other traditional methods, such as cut-and-cover methods are not physically possible. Other reasons for TT methods to be increasingly adopted by owners, engineers, and contractors are their low environmental impacts and, based on the project and the site conditions, lower costs per foot of installed pipe, making these technologies much more efficient and versatile with final results within a shorter time span. Trenchless technology methods are divided into two main …

Environmental Life Cycle Assessment Of Commercial Space Transportation Activities In The United States, Shelia Scott Neumann

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The Commercial Space Transportation (CST) activities in the United States are increasing and have increased over 50% in the last year. The launches in the United States for commercial purposes are expected to increase another 50% in the next 3-5 years. National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) environmental assessments do provide the regulatory environmental analysis for launching space vehicles within the United States. However, the environmental impacts from these launches have not been fully characterized. One method to characterize environmental impacts from a system is through conducting a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) based on an international standard, ISO14040. The results from …

Assessment Of Sustainability And Resilience In Transportation Infrastructure Geotechnics, Jasaswee T. Das

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Transportation infrastructure, such as roads, embankments, bridges, railroads, airports, docks, and canals, serve as pathways for the mobility of people, goods, and services, and form the backbone of cities and communities. The construction, operation, and rehabilitation of these facilities put significant strain on the local, state, and federal agencies, including depletion of natural resources, and contributing to the global carbon footprint and greenhouse gas emissions. Further, these features stimulate anthropocentric development in a region which affects the land-use patterns and influences the demography of communities. In recent years, most transportation infrastructure are typically designed to withstand external and internal disturbances …

Comparing Sandwich Wall Panel Shear Connector Testing Methodologies, Parker S. Syndergaard

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Precast concrete sandwich wall panels (PCSWPs) have been used in the precast industry for decades due to their durability, rapid construction, and thermal efficiency. Shear connectors are used to connect the two wythes of concrete to allow composite action of the system. In order to design concrete sandwich panel systems to act compositely, the engineer must obtain design values from a connector manufacturer, often times making engineers uncomfortable. Shear connectors are typically proprietary, and are required to first have design values validated through destructive testing. The method in which connectors are validated often times varies by each company. This project …

Finite Element Modeling And Updating Of A Five-Tiered Pagoda Style Temple, Linh Maytham Abdulrahman

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Historical pagoda style temples demonstrate different dynamic behavior than traditional unreinforced masonry (URM) structures due to the unique construction practices and ornate architectural detailing. Recently, the 2015 Gorkha M_w 7.8 earthquake resulted in widespread structural damage and collapse of similar historic temples in Nepal. However, one temple did not collapse. This is the five-tiered pagoda style Nyatapola temple built in 1702 and located in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Understanding the seismic vulnerability and structural behavior of these pagoda-style temples can lead to more efficient retrofit solutions and conservation practices for similar heritage structures.

This study developed and calibrated the pre- and …

Assessment And Optimization Of Environmental Systems Using Data Analysis And Simulation., Milad Ebrahimi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For most environmental systems, specifically wastewater treatment plants and aquifers, a significant number of performance data variables are attained on a time series basis. Due to the interconnectedness of the variables, it is often difficult to assess over-arching trends and quantify temporal operational performance. The objective of this research study was to provide an effective means for comprehensive temporal evaluation of environmental systems. The proposed methodology used several multivariate data analyses and statistical techniques to present an assessment framework for the water quality monitoring programs as well as optimization of treatment plants and aquifer systems. The developed procedure considered the …

Road Weather Impact Based Decision Support Applications: Developing A Department Of Transportation Winter Severity Index, Curtis Louis Walker

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adverse weather conditions are responsible for millions of vehicular crashes, thousands of vehicular deaths and billions of dollars in economic and congestion costs. Many transportation agencies utilize a performance or mobility metric to assess how well they are maintaining road access. This research focuses on the development of a winter severity index for the State of Nebraska (NEWINS). NEWINS is an event-driven index that was derived for the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) and its districts across the state. The NEWINS framework includes a categorical storm classification framework and climatological aspect to capture atmospheric conditions more accurately across diverse spatial …