Engineering Commons^™

Wrong-Way Driving: A Regional Approach To A Regional Problem, Md. Omar Faruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Wrong-way driving (WWD) has been problematic on United States highways for decades despite its rare occurrence. Since WWD crashes are rare, recent researchers have studied WWD non-crash events such as WWD 911 calls and WWD citations to understand the overall nature and trend of WWD. This paper demonstrates the regional nature of the WWD problem and proposes regional transportation systems management and operations (Regional TSM&O) solutions to combat this problem. Specifically, it was found that 11% of all WWD multi-data events (e.g., multiple 911 calls for the same WWD event) traveled from one county to another. Additionally, 30% of all …

Analysis Of Pedestrian Crash Characteristics And Contributing Causes In Central Florida, Zainb Bianco

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the main reasons leading the State of Florida to be ranked among the worst states in terms of pedestrian safety with four metro areas considered the most dangerous for pedestrians among all the United States as reported in the Dangerous by Design report. The study analyzes the characteristics and contributing causes of pedestrian crashes that occurred in Central Florida over a 5 year-period (2011-2015) at intersections and along roadway segments at mid-block locations using the data obtained from the Signal 4 Analytics database. All pedestrian related crashes were compiled and all the 6,789 crash reports were studied …

Field Evaluation Of Insync Adaptive Traffic Signal Control System In Multiple Environments Using Multiple Approaches, Md Shafikul Islam Shafik

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since the beginning of signalization of intersections, the management of traffic congestion is one of most critical challenges specifically for the city and urbanized area. Almost all the municipal agencies struggle to manage the perplexities associated with traffic congestion or signal control. The Adaptive Traffic Control System (ATCS), an advanced and major technological component of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) is considered the most dynamic and real-time traffic management technology and has potential to effectively manage rapidly varying traffic flow relative to the current state-of-the-art traffic management practices. InSync ATCS is deployed in multiple states throughout the US and expanding …

Effect Of Load Path And Failure Modes On Seismic Response Of Regular Bridges., Haider Darwash

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bridges are essential infrastructure constituents that have been studied for centuries. Typically, seismic bridge design and assessment utilize simplified modeling and analysis techniques based on one-dimensional spine elements and zero-length springs/hinges. The geometry of the elements and calibration of parameters are based on assumptions for the lateral load path and failure modes, e.g., sacrificial backwall and shear keys, neglecting wing walls, and strength based on backfill alone. These assumptions have led to observations of underestimated resistance, overestimated displacement demands, and unpredicted damage and failure mode. The focus of the study is on ordinary standard bridges with continuous reinforced concrete box …

An Analytical Investigation Of Prestressed Beam Bridge Performance Before And After Widening, Chris Oriordan Adjah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As traffic and congestion increase, so does the likelihood of collisions. The solution to this problem is usually through a rehabilitation process with two primary options: (1) widening/expansion of existing roadway and bridges and (2) complete replacement (new construction) of roadway and bridges. The first option is the most feasible and cost-effective. While roadway widening/expansion pose minimal issues, the same cannot be said of bridge widening. An existing bridge presents a multitude of challenges during the planning and design phases, during construction, and throughout the structure's service life. Special attention is required in both the design and detailing of the …

Evaluation Of Milwaukee B And Synchronized As New Service Interchange Designs, Amirarsalan Mehrara Molan

Wayne State University Dissertations

These days, alternative interchanges are attracting the attention of transportation

agencies and designers more than ever. Most of the existing interchanges in the U.S

were built in the 1950s and 1960s when traffic volume was much lower, and the type of

vehicles and driving habits were completely different. Moreover, the knowledge of

highway design and safety is more developed now, and this provides an appropriate

situation to increase the efficiency of interchanges regarding traffic operation and safety

using alternative interchanges.

This research evaluated the performance of two proposed service interchange

designs—the synchronized design which is related to a superstreet intersection …

Sediment Transport Modelling Using Dynamic (Dis)Connectivity Prediction For A Bedrock Controlled Catchment, David Tyler Mahoney

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The (dis)connectivity of sediment, defined as the detachment and transport of sediment from source to sink between geomorphic zones, is a major control on sediment transport rates but has seldom taken precedence in sediment transport models that focus on assessment of sediment impacts on water supply. A watershed-scale sediment transport model was formulated that incorporates sediment (dis)connectivity knowledge and subroutines and predicts sediment flux through coupling with an excessive shear stress erosion equation. The intersecting probabilities of sediment supply, detachment, transport, and (dis)connectivity produce the probability of sediment connectivity for a watershed or region of a watershed. The integration of …

Transportation Network Companies: Influencers Of Transit Ridership Trends, Richard A. Mucci

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The major transit systems operating in San Francisco are San Francisco Municipal (MUNI), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), and Caltrain. The system of interest for this paper is MUNI, in particular the bus and light rail systems. During the past decade transit ridership in the area has experienced diverging growth, with bus ridership declining while rail ridership is growing significantly (Erhardt et al. 2017). Our data show that between 2009 and 2016, MUNI rail ridership increases from 146,000 to 171,400, while MUNI bus ridership decreases from 520,000 to 450,000. Direct ridership models (DRMs) are used to determine what factors are …

Self-Sensing Cementitious Materials, Alexander Nicholas Houk

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The study of self-sensing cementitious materials is a constantly expanding topic of study in the materials and civil engineering fields and refers to the creation and utilization of cement-based materials (including cement paste, cement mortar, and concrete) that are capable of sensing (i.e. measuring) stress and strain states without the use of embedded or attached sensors. With the inclusion of electrically conductive fillers, cementitious materials can become truly self-sensing. Previous researchers have provided only qualitative studies of self-sensing material stress-electrical response. The overall goal of this research was to modify and apply previously developed predictive models on cylinder compression test …

Evaluating The Ability Of Swell Prediction Models To Predict The Swell Behavior Of Excessively High Plastic Soils, Bhaskar Chittoori, Mir Md. Tamim, Amit Gajurel, Deb Mishra

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lightly loaded structures underneath expansive soils encounter severe damage due to the swell/shrink nature of expansive soils resulting from moisture variations. Billions of dollars are spent every year to repair the damages caused by these soils in the U.S. and worldwide. Designing structures to accommodate the swelling strains is a major challenge as predicting the swelling potential of these soils accurately is not easy. A wide variety of swell prediction models have been introduced by various researchers to predict the behavior of these often-problematic expansive soils. These models include various properties of soils such as, plasticity characteristics, compaction conditions, consolidation …

Geotechnical Evaluations Of A Tailings Dam For Use By A Molybdenum And Copper Mine Project In Southern Idaho, Thomas Robbins, Bhaskar C.S. Chittoori

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A proposed mining project in Boise County, Idaho for the extraction of copper, molybdenum, and silver deposits, required investigations into a possible tailings dam construction that will be built using the processed material from the mine. The mine is located southwest of Lowman Idaho, northeast of Pioneerville Idaho, and directly north of Jackson Peak Mountain. The total area for the proposed project is approximately 12 square kilometers and the estimated material to be excavated is about 1.99 billion cubic meters (BCM) (USDA 2013). Typical investigations into the construction of a tailings dam consist of identifying the types of ore contained …

Restrained Shrinkage Of Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Concrete And Analysis Of Long Term Shrinkage Prediction Models, Md R. Islam, Mahbub K. Ahmed, Hosney Ara Begum, Erez N. Allouche

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The research presented in this manuscript describes the procedure to quantify the restrained shrinkage of geopolymer concrete (GPC) using ring specimen. Massive concrete structures are susceptible to shrinkage and thermal cracking. This cracking can increase the concrete permeability and decrease the strength and design life. This test is comprised of evaluating geopolymer concrete of six different mix designs including different activator solution to fly ash ratio and subjected to both restrained and free shrinkage. Test results obtained from this experimental setup was plotted along with the available empirical equation to observe the shrinkage strain of GPC and a model was …

An Investigation Of The Hydraulics In A Prototype Pool-And-Chute, Vortex Weir Fishway For Anadromous Fish Passage., Brendan Foster

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis presents the hydraulic characteristics and simulated passage efficiency of a hybrid pool-and-chute, vortex weir fishway designed by Michael Love & Associates. A physical 1:15 scale model was constructed and evaluated at an 8% slope over three prototype flow rates representing high and medium fish passage flows. The highest velocities and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) values were concentrated along the fishway centerline at the high and medium flow rate and the pool sides showed lower velocities and TKE. Large eddies spin laterally and longitudinally throughout each pool. The velocity vector directions at the lowest flow rate measured differed from …

Final Group Project - Optimal Route Finding, Jason Biesinger, Levi Burr, Tyson Terry

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Emergency response teams are always preparing rescue plans and protocols so they may respond quickly to various incidents. Fire trucks and ambulances need to arrive at the scene of the incident rapidly to mitigate injury, and avoid more damage to property in the case of a fire (Kolesar et al. 1973). Holidays are times of high incidence, and officials always plan for potential risks that surround large events. The network analysis toolbox can be used to find and map out the quickest route from a variety of locations. The network analysis toolset in ArcMap makes it possible for us to …

Laboratory Exercise - Ideal Stargazing Locations Background, Michael Adamson, Brandon Walker, Nicholas Smith

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Astrophotography is a specialized type of photography for recording photos of astronomical objects, celestial events, and large areas of the night sky. Astronomical photography employs long exposures so film or digital imaging devices can accumulate light photons over long periods of time. Urban areas produce light pollution so equipment and observatories doing astronomical imaging are often located in remote areas to allow long exposures without the film or detectors being swamped with stray light. Astrophotography is a popular hobby among photographers and amateur astronomers. Images of the night sky can be obtained with some of the most basic film and …

Laboratory Exercise: Calculating Hobble Creek 100 Year Flow Using Arcmap, Micklane Farmer, Saul Ramirez, Riley Vane

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is used extensively in watershed analysis. In previous labs, students have determined a watershed from DEM data. Calculating flow can be very useful in many engineering aspects. With the correct data, GIS can be used to develop a hydrologic model to calculate the flow from a watershed. The purpose of this lab is to develop a model to calculate the flow for the Hobble Creek 100 year event.

Final Laboratory Exercise - Amazon Hq2 Site Selection, Jared Lillywhite, Travis Mcstraw, Marco Rosas Rodriguez

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is often used by major corporations around the world to help manage processes such as shipping, inventory, sales, and expansion. GIS is specifically used in expansion to help determine suitable site locations for new stores, Headquarters, warehouses and other assets to a given corporation. This exercise is based on a real case study. On September 12th, 2017 Amazon announced that it would be opening up a second headquarters that would be equal in operation and size to its Seattle Headquarters. The company is currently taking proposals from different cities, however they are trying to determine which U.S. cities would …

Laboratory Exercise - Nfl Team Placement, Alex Barrow, Tavin Griffeth, Isaac Gomez

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is used by corporations and groups internationally to manage aspects of their business such as shipping, inventory, sales, marketing, facilities, and expansion plans. When dealing with expansion in particular, GIS is used to determine the most appropriate placement of a new store or location.

This laboratory exercise assumes that the National Football League is interested in creating a new team. This new team will be placed in the continental US. For the analysis that you will do, a number of data layers will be required, weather found at the references online sources or created manually. Once the data layers …

Laboratory Exercise - Calculating The Volume Of Material Displaced By Mount St. Helens Eruption Of 1980, Donald Anderson, Alex Fisher, Ken Lippold

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

There are several active volcanoes in the state of Washington. On May 18, 1980, one of these volcanoes, Mount St. Helens, erupted. On March 1, 1980, the University of Washington set up a seismograph in the area to monitor the volcano’s activity. On March 20, a minor earthquake was recorded under Mount St. Helens and the entire area was put on alert. Thanks to this warning, the locals were able to evacuate before the mountain erupted. Before fully erupting, some steam and ash was seen billowing out of the top, and on May 18, the volcano was ready to blow. …

Laboratory Exercise - Temple-View Least- Cost Mountain Bike Trail, Brad Wells, Jacob Wilcock

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) has created several guidelines that are used when locating and building new mountain bike trails. A GIS is can be used to generate possible locations for mountain bike trails while following guidelines given by the IMBA. These guidelines include maximum allowable slopes, avoiding fall lines, avoiding flat areas, and seeking areas that include control points such as viewpoints, water, or other attractions. One way to determine the most appropriate placement of a mountain bike trail is to create and run a model in ArcMap that has the necessary input parameters defined within the model. …

Laboratory Exercise – Possible Zara Locations In Utah, Garlick Alyssa, Whitney Robison, Olivia Sorenson

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS ModelBuilder can be used well for site selection. For this exercise, we will build a model that will automate the process of creating a map for the best locations in Utah to open a new Zara store. The principles presented here can easily be extrapolated to another state, country, or dataset to automate the process of site selection for retail stores.

Laboratory Exercise – Saratoga Springs Temple Site Locator, Jordi Berrett, Josh Gibbons, Tyler Mickelson

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

On April 2, 2017, President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) announced that the LDS Church would build a temple in Saratoga Springs, Utah. The temple will be the eighteenth LDS temple built in Utah and the fifth in Utah County. It is anticipated that the temple will serve church members in Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Lehi, and other surrounding areas. The LDS Church carefully chooses optimal sites for their temples. LDS temples tend to be view-able from the surrounding area, usual. Temples are also usually near major highways and in areas that …

Zombie Shelter Location, Shanna Carroll, Tyler Lindsay, Hannah Rasmussen

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

One common use of GIS is determining ideal locations for projects. This is because GIS makes it very easy to combine and analyze spatial data in a customized way. In this exercise, assume that there has been a recent zombie outbreak in Utah, USA. To determine the ideal hideout location, data that indicates a safe location must be acquired and combined with geography that is conducive to wilderness survival. Once the data is gathered, spatial analysis using GIS overlay tools must be conducted to determine the ideal location for an anti-zombie hideaway hut. In this exercise, multiple tools will be …

Evaluation Of Woodchip Bioreactor Denitrification Kinetics, Abdoul Aziz Kouanda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Agricultural subsurface drainage is a water management practice used to remove excess water in poorly drained soil. The use of fertilizers combined with subsurface drainage practice affects negatively surface water quality due to nutrient loss. Woodchip bioreactors have previously been used as a technology for removing nitrate from agricultural subsurface drainage. Understanding the mechanism that governs nitrate removal in woodchip bioreactors is crucial for field bioreactor design and application. The objective of this project is to determine woodchip bioreactor denitrification kinetics parameters under different operating conditions including hydraulic retention time, temperature and influent nitrate concentrations. Laboratory column experiments were conducted …

Compact Facility For Testing Steady And Transient Thermal Performance Of Building Walls, Aimee Byrne, Gerard Byrne, Anthony Robinson

Articles

Energy efficiency retrofit of buildings represents a key effort in reducing EU energy demand by 20% by 2020. However, predictions tend to overestimate savings by large percentages. The shortfall in savings can be attributed to incorrect predictive techniques, comfort takeback along with other behavioural and workmanship variables. Common predictive techniques related to heat loss tend to be based on the U-value of the building envelope. This paper presents the design of a more straightforward and compact version of the traditional Hot-Box apparatus (measures U-value) which instead determines the thermal resistance of samples of building envelope. U-value includes the need to …

Optimising The Performance Of Cement-Based Batteries, Aimee Byrne, Shane Barry, Niall Holmes Dr., Brian Norton

Articles

The development of a battery using different cement-based electrolytes to provide a low but potentially sustainable source of electricity is described. The current, voltage, and lifespan of batteries produced using different electrolyte additives, copper plate cathodes, and (usually) aluminium plate anodes were compared to identify the optimum design, components, and proportions to increase power output and longevity. Parameters examined include water/cement ratio, anode to cathode surface area ratio, electrode material, electrode spacing, and the effect of sand, aggregate, salts, carbon black, silica fume, and sodium silicate on the electrolyte. The results indicate that the greatest and longest lasting power can …

Low-Cost Fishing Net-Reinforced Cement Matrix Overlay For Substandard Concrete Masonry In Coastal Areas, Mohammed A. Mousa

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this project is to investigate a novel and affordable option to externally strengthen substandard concrete masonry (CM) walls for out-of-plane loads (e.g., high winds and flying debris). Two types of strengthening materials for fiber-reinforced cement mortar (FRCM) overlays are investigated; namely, fishing net (FN) and welded wire steel mesh (WWSM) reinforcements.

Salient mechanical properties of representative materials including substandard concrete masonry unit (CMU) blocks, mortar, nylon FN and WWSM reinforcements, and FRCM composite, were experimentally characterized. A simple bilinear model is proposed to describe the tensile behavior of the FRCM composite. An analytical model was then used …

The Effects Of Thermal Improvements For Concrete On Resulting Mechanical Properties, Elijah Jaime

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Statistical Study For Bridge Deterioration Across Alabama, Cameron Mcwilliams

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Novel Applications Of Pulse Pre-Pump Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis For Behavior Evaluation Of Structures Under Thermal And Mechanical Loading, Yi Bao

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study aims to: (1) develop an analytical model for the strain transfer effect of distributed fiber optic sensors in a uniform or non-uniform stress field; (2) develop a measurement approach to monitor strains in concrete and detect damage (e.g. crack and delamination) in bonded and unbonded concrete overlays; (3) characterize the strain and temperature sensitivities of distributed fiber optic sensors at elevated temperatures; (4) develop a thermal annealing approach to enhance the thermal stability and temperature sensitivity of the distributed sensors; and (5) apply the distributed sensors to assess structural behaviors of concrete and steel structures exposed to fire. …