Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of Methods For Estimating Prestress Losses In High-Strength Structural Concrete, Mayren Yelitza Mata Carrillo

Open Access Theses

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of several current approaches used to estimate losses in prestressed concrete members with compressive strengths greater than 15ksi. The scope of the study focused on time-dependent losses for normal weight concrete bonded applications. The approaches evaluated were the PCI Design Handbook (2010) method, the AASHTO Specifications (2012) refined method, the PCI Bridge Design Manual (2003) time-dependent analysis using both the AASHTO (2012) and the PCI-BDM (2003) creep and shrinkage models, and a time-step method developed by Swartz (2010). The methods were compared to existing data on prestress losses from twenty-two …

Effective Cfrp Retrofitting Schemes For Prestressed Concrete Beams, Herish Abdullah Hussein

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This thesis presents a detailed theoretical study of a number of retrofitting schemes for prestressed concrete beams using carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to increase flexural strength and ductility. A simply-supported beam subjected to a gradually increasing uniformly distributed load is adopted for the study with a variety of CFRP retrofiring schemes. Three different types of beam cross sections are included for quantifying the influence of CFRP retrofitting when used in high compression regions in addition to CFRP use in high tension areas. To achieve this goal, nonlinear moment curvature relations are developed and coupled with a finite-difference solution …

Hydro-Climate Temporal Variations And Their Influences On Net Primary Production In A Eurasian Steppe Watershed, Xiaomin Yang

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Climate, which is the most important factor that influences Net Primary Productivity, has been detected changing all over the world. The confounding effects of step change invalidate the stationarity assumption of commonly used trend analysis methods such as the Mann-Kendall test technique, so previous studies have failed to explain inconsistencies between detected trends and observed large anomalies. In this research, by formulating a trend analysis approach that considers nonstationary due to step changes, trends and extreme occurrences of precipitation, temperature, and runoff in annual, seasonal, and monthly scales were analyzed in a mid-latitude Eurasian steppe watershed in northeast China, and …

Practitioner Interview, Kirk Westphal

All ECSTATIC Materials

Phone interview with Kirk Westphal from CDM Smith by Emily Berglund and David Watkins, Jr.. Interview questions asked inquired about (i) practitioner’s professional background, (ii) practitioner’s personal experience with systems analysis techniques and software in their job, (iii) role, benefits, and challenges in using systems analysis concepts in the water resources engineering profession, and (iv) recommendations for improving education of environmental and water resources systems analysis in universities.

2014 Fall Engr333 Project Assignment, Matthew K. Heun

ENGR 333

The Fall 2014 ENGR333 project focused on net zero homes.

I asked the students “What would it take for a home in Grand Rapids to become net-zero?”

Customer

The customers for this project were several homeowners in the Grand Rapids area.

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Impacts Of Climate Change On The Seasonality Of Extremes In The Columbia River Basin, Mehmet Demirel, Hamid Moradkhani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The impacts of climate change on the seasonality of extremes i.e. both high and low flows in the Columbia River basin were analyzed using three seasonality indices, namely the seasonality ratio (SR), weighted mean occurrence day (WMOD) and weighted persistence (WP). These indices reflect the streamflow regime, timing and variability in timing of extreme events respectively. The three indices were estimated from: (1) observed streamflow; (2) simulated streamflow by the VIC model using simulated inputs from ten combinations of bias corrected and downscaled CMIP5 inputs for the current climate (1979–2005); (3) simulated streamflow using simulated inputs from ten combinations of …

The Effect Of Multi-Model Averaging Of Climate Model Outputs On The Seasonality Of Rainfall Over The Columbia River Basin, Mehmet Demirel, Arun Rana, Hamid Moradkhani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The rainfall seasonality index is the measure of precipitation distribution throughout the seasonal cycle. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of different multi-model averaging methods on the rainfall seasonality index at each 1/16 latitude-longitude cells covering the Columbia River Basin. In accordance with the same, ten different climate model outputs are selected from 45 available climate models from CMIP5 dataset. The reanalysis precipitation data is used to estimate the errors in rainfall seasonality for the climate model outputs. The inverse variance method and statistical multi criteria analysis (SMCA) method were used to estimate the weights for …

Development Of Simulation-Based Fragility Relationships For The Seismic Risk Assessment Of Buildings, Anas Salem (Mohammad Ghaleb) Issa

Theses

A number of driving engines are required for earthquake loss estimation and mitigation, including an inventory of exposed systems, seismic hazards of the study area and fragility relationships. The number of existing buildings in the UAE that may be at risk because of insufficient seismic design provisions cannot be underestimated. A crucial role in the recovery period following an earthquake is also played by emergency facilities. Therefore, a systematic seismic vulnerability assessment of a diverse range of reference structures representing pre-seismic code buildings and emergency facilities, in a highly populated and seismically active area in the UAE, has been conducted …

Corrosion Resistance Of A Sand Particle-Modified Enamel Coating Applied To Smooth Steel Bars, Fujian Tang, Genda Chen, Richard K. Brow, Michael L. Koenigstein

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The protective performance of a sand particle-modified enamel coating on reinforcing steel bars was evaluated in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Seven percentages of sand particles by weight were investigated: 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 50% and 70%. The phase composition of the enamel coating and sand particles were determined with the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The surface and cross-sectional morphologies of the sand particle-modified enamel coating were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD tests revealed three phases of sand particles: SiO₂, CaCO₃ and MgCO₃. SEM images demonstrated that the …

Instrumentation To Monitor Bridge Foundation On The Crosstown Project, Brian Welch

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The Crosstown Bridge Monitoring Project is located at the intersection of Highway 62 and Interstate I35W a few miles south and west of downtown Minneapolis. The bridge being evaluated is at a railroad overpass located midway along the Crosstown expansion. This research project involved placing instrumentation on the bridge foundation in order to measure the change in the foundation loading during the course of the construction project. For several years there have been questions pertaining to the forces in the pile foundations that support highway embankments. This project placed strain gages on the pile foundations in order to monitor these …

Turbulent Circular Culvert Flow: Implications To Fish Passage Design, Amin Mohebbi

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

Culverts are popular conveyance structures in America and Canada to be used as a fish passage or in sewage collection and disposal systems. Fish passage design criteria is based on biological capabilities of fish whereas it should satisfy hydraulic and hydrological constraints as well. Failing to provide enough low velocity regions for aquatic organisms may result in their mass extinctions. Currently, proper road crossing design depends on either model studies or numerical simulations via Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) packages, both of which are expensive and time consuming. Further, although the design procedures released by FHWA recently ensures safe fish migration …

Comparison Of The Accuracy Of Traffic Counting Devices, Rodrigo Netto De Souza, Laura Slusher ,P.E.

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Traffic counting devices are commonly used by governmental agencies and private companies in order to assess traffic patterns and the level of occupancy of roadway networks. The data provided by these devices normally encompasses traffic volumes, vehicle classes and vehicle speeds, and are used by traffic engineers in the planning, design and operations of transportation systems. An evaluation of the accuracy of these devices is of great importance because traffic management decisions are compromised without qualified data. This research evaluated the performance of two different models of traffic counters, Jamar Technologies’ Radar Recorder and Vaisala’s Traffic Analyzer NC-200, both commonly …

A Wind-Derived Upwelling Index For Lake Michigan, Stephen B. Davis, Rebecca Essig, Cary Troy

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Coastal upwelling is a phenomenon that occurs along coastlines throughout the world, and has been shown to be strongly correlated with large fish populations in these areas. Coastal upwelling occurs when strong coastal winds drive water transport away from the coast, causing colder, often nutrient-rich water to upwell in its place. While coastal upwellings can be detected with satellite imagery or in situ temperature measurements, these datasets are neither continuous nor long-term. A wind-derived upwelling index was created for Lake Michigan to continuously quantify upwellings over multiple decades, and to allow for further understanding of the impact of upwelling in …

The Influence Of Lightweight Aggregate On Internal Curing And Its Impact On Autogenous Shrinkage Of High-Performance Concrete, Neil J. Hartman, Timothy J. Barrett, Jason Weiss

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In bridge deck construction high performance concrete is often desirable, however in practice it is generally susceptible to early-age shrinkage cracking resulting in an overall reduction in service life. This research seeks to assess the potential for reducing early-age shrinkage in new bridge deck construction through the use of internal curing, a process in which internal reservoirs supply water to the hydrating cement paste during the early stages of cement hydration. In North America, internal curing is typically achieved by replacing a portion of the normal fine aggregate with an expanded fine lightweight aggregate (LWA). For this study, the free …

Roundabout Maintenance Manual, Emily A. Bonini, Pat Conner P.E., John Haddock Phd, P.E., Yu Tian

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

In recent years, roundabouts have been rapidly growing in popularity. As a result, many communities are installing them in their roadways; however, they are encountering difficulties in maintaining them. Uneducated workers can cause damage to roundabouts and to themselves, costing cities time and money. This project aims to create a guide for communities new to roundabouts in order to reduce damages and unnecessary maintenance costs. Data was gathered by determining the most common maintenance questions and problems along with what information was already available on roundabout maintenance. Next, agencies most experienced with roundabouts were surveyed on the best maintenance practices. …

Adjustable Resonance Frequency Of Rf-Mems Capacitor By Using Comb- Drive Actuators: A Design Approaches, Agus Santoso Tamsir, Sandy Tannu Wijaya, Dato’ Burhanuddin Yeop Majlis

Makara Journal of Technology

The needs of smaller size RF varactor is a must today, and MEMS comes to be the potential one. In this paper we proposed an adjustable resonance RF-MEMS varactor by using comb-drive actuators placing in each side of the square movable plate. In our preliminary simulation, we found that the device can work properly but some constraints comes such as the dominancies of harmonic resonance frequencies that influences into the nominal capacitances. Therefore for the next step of development we have to find out the window of the structural dimension for a certain spans and a certain operating frequencies.

Make Or Buy Analysis Model Based On Tolerance Design To Minimize Manufacturing Cost And Quality Loss, Cucuk Nur Rosyidi, Reza Rizkichani Akbar, Wakhid Ahmad Jauhari

Makara Journal of Technology

In a manufacturing company, manufacturing costs, or component prices, and tolerance will affect the price and the quality of a product. Companies must produce high-quality products with low manufacturing costs in order to keep their products competitive in the market; however, it is difficult to produce a high-quality product with a low manufacturing cost. Companies have difficulties in determining the components to be produced using their own manufacturing facilities (make) or outsourced to their suppliers (buy). Hence, a make or buy analysis is needed to minimize the manufacturing costs and quality loss and to determine the optimum alternative regarding make …

Observation Of Tunneling Effects In Lateral Nanowire Pn Junctions, Sri Purwiyanti, Arief Udhiarto, Daniel Moraru, Takeshi Mizuno, Djoko Hartanto, Michiharu Tabe

Makara Journal of Technology

As electronic device dimensions are continuously reduced, applied bias conditions significantly change and the transport mechanisms must be reconsidered. Tunneling devices are promising for scaled-down electronics because of expected high-speed operation and relatively low bias. In this work, we investigated the tunneling features in silicon-oninsulator lateral nanowire pn junction and pin junction devices. By controlling the substrate voltage, tunneling features can be observed in the electrical characteristics. We found that the minimum substrate voltage required for tunneling to occur in pn junctions is higher as compared with pin junctions. The main cause of these effects relies in the difference between …

Argon Ion Irradiation Effect On The Magnetic Properties Of Fe-Al2o3 Nano Granular Film, Setyo Purwanto, Isao Sakamoto

Makara Journal of Technology

We studied the effect of Argon (Ar) ion irradiation on Fe-Al2O3 nanogranular thin film. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show that the ion dose might promote the growth of the Fe2O3 phase from an amorphous phase to a crystalline phase. The magnetic and magnetoresistance properties were investigated using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and a four point probe (FPP). The results suggest that percolation concentration occurred at the 0.55 Fe volume fraction and with a maximum magnetoresistance (MR) ratio of 3%. The present MR ratio was lower than that of previous results, which might be related to the existence of the …

Digestibility Of Betung Bamboo Fiber Following Fungal Pretreatment, Widya Fatriasari, Wasrin Syafii, Nyoman J. Wistara, Khaswar Syamsu, Bambang Prasetya

Makara Journal of Technology

This research evaluated the effect of fungal pretreatment of betung bamboo fibers and enzymatic- and microwaveassisted hydrolysis on the reducing sugar yield. The enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated biomass was carried out with cellulase and 10 and 20 FPU/g of substrate in a shaking incubator at 50 °C and 150 rpm for 48 h. The sulfuric acid concentration used in the microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis was 1.0, 2.5, and 5%, either with or without the addition of activated carbon. Microwave irradiation (330 Watt) was applied for 5–12.5 min. The yield of reducing sugar was better with the microwave-assisted acid hydrolysis, and …

Electron Emission Characteristics Of Multi-Gated Field Emitters, Hidenori Mimura, Yoichiro Neo, Toru Aoki, Tomoya Yoshida, Masayoshi Nagao

Makara Journal of Technology

We have developed a multi-gated field emitter (FE) such as a quadruple-gated FE with a three-stacked electrode lens and a quintuple-gated FE with a four-stacked electrode lens. Both the FEs can focus the electron beam. However, the quintuple-gated FE has a stronger electron convergence than the quadruple-gated FE, and a beam crossover is clearly observed for the quintuple-gated FE.

Properties Of Lignin From Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch And Its Application For Plywood Adhesive, Lucky Risanto, Euis Hermiati, Yanni Sudiyani

Makara Journal of Technology

Lignin from lignocellulosic biomass is a potential biopolymer for wood adhesive. The aims of this study were to characterize lignin isolated from the black liquor of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber pretreated with steam explosion in alkaline conditions and to examine the bond quality of aqueous polymer isocyanate (API) adhesive prepared from lignin, natural rubber latex (NRL), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as base polymers with isocyanate crosslinkers. Lignin was precipitated from the black liquor by adding hydrochloric acid; then the precipitate was separated by filtration, thoroughly washed with water up to pH 2 and pH 5, and dried. The …

The Gaussian Orthogonal Laplacianfaces Modelling In Feature Space For Facial Image Recognition, Arif Muntasa

Makara Journal of Technology

Dimensionality reduction based on appearance has been interesting issue on the face image research fields. Eigenface and Fisherface are linear techniques based on full spectral features, for both Eigenface and Fisherface produce global manifold structure. Inability of them in yielding local manifold structure have been solved by Laplacianfaces and further improved by Orthogonal Laplacianfaces, so it can yield orthogonal feature vectors. However, they have also a weakness, when training set samples have non-linear distribution. To overcome this weakness, feature extraction through data mapping from input to feature space using Gaussian kernel function is proposed. To avoid singularity, the Eigenface decomposition …

Series-Interconnected Plastic Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Prepared By Low- Temperature Binder-Free Titania Paste, Erlyta Septa Rosa, Lia Muliani, Shobih Shobih, Jojo Hidayat, Brian Yuliarto

Makara Journal of Technology

The aim of this research is to study dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC). This was implemented on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate using a mixture of transparent and scattered mesoporous anatase-titania as the electron transport layer for the photoelectrode. This mixture of anatase titania performed a dual function of light scattering and efficient dye absorption. In this study, a porous nano-TiO2 film was prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by using a binder-free titania paste; on it, a DSSC was fabricated. The paste which contained a mixture of TiO2 nanoparticles, acid chloride, and ethanol was printed …

Dynamic Testing Of An Elevated Water Tank, Alexander Michael Font

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this thesis was to identify the modal properties of a pedesphere type, elevated water tank under different operating conditions relating to the water level in the tank. The research that was conducted included both numerical and experimental components. The numerical components consisted of a simple hand calculation to identify the fundamental frequency as well as numerical computer models to identify the natural frequencies and mode shapes for the first three bending modes. The experimental components consisted of characterizing the vibration of the elevated water tank in its current environment through ambient vibration testing.

Multiple Reference Impact Testing Of Bridges Using A Network Of Low-Cost Dynamic Exciters, James David Lindsey

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multiple Reference Impact Testing (MRIT) is a form of Experimental Modal Analysis (EMA) that can be used to identify the dynamic properties of full-scale bridges. These dynamic properties include natural frequencies, mode shapes, damping ratios, modal scaling and modal flexibility. Since these system properties that are directly related to the mass and stiffness characteristics of a structure, impact test measurements can be used to quantitatively characterize condition of a structure. Over time, changes in the properties can be monitored and evaluated as indicators of damage or deterioration. Instrumented hammers and drop masses are typically used to perform MRIT by providing …

Field-Obtained Soil Water Characteristic Curves And Hydraulic Conductivity Functions, Elvis Ishimwe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A compacted clay liner (test pad) was constructed and instrumented with volumetric water content and soil matric potential sensors to determine soil water characteristic curves (SWCC) and hydraulic conductivity (k) functions. Specifically, the compacted clay liner was subjected to an infiltration cycle during a sealed double ring infiltrometer (SDRI) test followed by a drying cycle. After the drying cycle, Shelby tube samples were collected from the compacted clay liner and flexible wall permeability (FWP) tests were conducted on sub-samples to determine the saturated hydraulic conductivity. Moreover, two computer programs (RETC and UNSAT-H) were utilized to model the SWCCs and k-functions …

Optimal Design Of Validation Experiments For Calibration And Validation Of Complex Numerical Models, Matthew Egeberg

All Theses

As prediction of the performance and behavior of complex engineering systems shifts from a primarily empirical-based approach to the use of complex physics-based numerical models, the role of experimentation is evolving to calibrate, validate, and quantify uncertainty of the numerical models. Oftentimes, these experiments are expensive, placing importance on selecting experimental settings to efficiently calibrate the numerical model with a limited number of experiments. The aim of this thesis is to reduce the experimental resources required to reach predictive maturity in complex numerical models by (i) aiding experimenters in determining the optimal settings for experiments, and (ii) aiding the model …

Decentralized Water Systems For Sustainable And Reliable Supply, Suraj Goverdhanam

All Theses

The water industry is under enormous pressure to provide potable water in circumstances of increasing demands due to population growth, lifestyle change of people and depleting freshwater resources. Deteriorating infrastructure makes the task of meeting the human water consumption needs even more challenging. Distributed water supply systems are currently pursued as a sustainable alternative in arid regions of US to exploit the potential of water reclamation at community or district level to reduce the dependence on freshwater resources. An extension of such a distributed water supply alternative is a complete decentralized supply, which requires on-site water reclamation. The intention of …