Engineering Commons^™

On The Use Of Polyurethane Matrix Carbon Fiber Composites For Strengthening Concrete Structures, Zachary Haber

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite materials have effectively been used in numerous reinforced concrete civil infrastructure strengthening projects. Although a significant body of knowledge has been established for epoxy matrix carbon FRPs and epoxy adhesives, there is still a need to investigate other matrices and adhesive types. One such matrix/adhesive type yet to be heavily researched for infrastructure application is polyurethane. This thesis investigates use of polyurethane matrix carbon fiber composites for strengthening reinforced concrete civil infrastructure. Investigations on mirco- and macro-mechanical composite performance, strengthened member flexural performance, and bond durability under environmental conditioning will be presented. Results indicate that polyurethane …

Condition Assessment Of Bill Emerson Memorial Cable-Stayed Bridge Under Postulated Design Earthquake, Dongming Yan, Wenjian Wang, Genda Chen, Bryan A. Hartnagel

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, a three-dimensional finite element model of the Bill Emerson Memorial cable-stayed bridge was developed and validated with the acceleration data recorded during the M4.1 earthquake of May 1, 2005, in Manila, Arkansas. The model took into account the geometric nonlinear properties associated with cable sagging and soil-foundation-structure interaction. The validated model was used to evaluate the performance of a seismic protective system, the behavior of cable-stayed spans, and the accuracy of two simplified bridge models that have been extensively used by the structural control community. The calculated natural frequencies and mode shapes correlated well with the measured …

Characteristic Dynamic Increment For Extreme Traffic Loading Events On Short And Medium Span Highway Bridges, Eugene J. Obrien, Daniel Cantero, Bernard Enright, Arturo González

Articles

More accurate assessment of safety can prevent unnecessary repair or replacement of existing bridges which in turn can result in great cost savings at network level. The allowance for dynamics is a significant component of traffic loading in many bridges and is often unnecessarily conservative. Critical traffic loading scenarios are considered in this paper with a model that allows for vehicle-bridge interaction and takes into account the road surface condition. Characteristic dynamic allowance values are presented for the assessment of mid-span bending moment in a wide range of short to medium span bridges for bi-directional traffic.

Theory Of Breakup Of Core Fluids Surrounded By A Wetting Annulus In Sinusoidally Constricted Capillary Channels, Igor A. Beresnev, Wen Deng

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Analysis of core-annular dynamics in the presence of base flow for arbitrary fluid viscosities leads to an equation describing the temporal evolution of the fluid/fluid interface. The equation follows from the conservation of mass in the "small-slope" approximation. Its useful applications occur, for example, in chemical engineering and petroleum recovery. The nonlinear equation allows inexpensive numerical analysis. For sinusoidally constricted pores, a purely geometric criterion exists that enables or prohibits the core-fluid breakup in the necks of the constrictions. The geometrically favoring condition sets up capillary-pressure gradients that ensure a continuous outflow of the core fluid from the necks into …

Integration Of Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide Distresses With Local Performance Indices, Scott Schram, Magdy Abdelrahman

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The pavement management system (PMS) is the organizational entity within a state highway agency responsible for the condition of the pavement network. Visual distress surveys are typically combined into an index to provide an overall measure of performance. Decision makers use these familiar indices in a number of facets. A recent survey suggests every state highway agency has implemented or plans to implement the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG). As they do so, maintaining the role these local indices play is critical for upholding the system's continuity. However, using the MEPDG output directly in calculating performance indices becomes problematic because …

Integrated, Multi-Attribute Decision Support System For The Evaluation Of Underground Utility Construction Methods, John C. Matthews

Doctoral Dissertations

The dissertation research work described herein is comprised of three primary objectives: (1) the development of a rehabilitation method selection software (TAG-R) for the National Association of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) and its subsequent validation and combination with TAG (a sister decision support system (DSS) software developed by the author in an earlier work); (2) the development of a social cost calculator (SCC) and its validation; and (3) the development of a proposed framework for multi-segment optimization for construction methods selection using the tools developed in the first two objectives as well as additional project related data.

The selection of …

Pseudo-Probabilistic User Equilibrium Assignment In Travel Corridor Networks Containing Managed Facilities, Alireza Khaleghi-Soroush

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Throughout the years, transportation organizations and agencies have been unable to keep up with increasing demand for roadway facilities. Similarly, traditional public-sector funding such as motor fuel taxes is falling short in meeting the growing demand for new transportation infrastructure. With deficit financing and congestion problems common to many highways throughout the United States, DOTs are turning to tolling the roadway facilities as a means of financing transportation improvements for inter-urban and urban facilities.In turn, in order for managed facilities such as toll roads or managed lanes to be attractive and viable for the potential investors, the facilities must be …

Tapping Environmental History To Recreate America’S Colonial Hydrology, Christopher L. Pastore, Mark B. Green, Daniel J. Bain, Andrea Muñoz-Hernandez, Charles J. Vörösmarty, Jennifer Arrigo, Sara Brandt, Jonathan M. Duncan, Francesca Greco, Hyojin Kim, Sanjiv Kumar, Michael Lally, Anthony J. Parolari, Brian Pellerin, Nira Salant, Adam Schlosser, Kate Zalzal

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

To properly remediate, improve, or predict how hydrological systems behave, it is vital to establish their histories. However, modern-style records, assembled from instrumental data and remote sensing platforms, hardly exist back more than a few decades. As centuries of data is preferable given multidecadal fluxes of both meteorology/climatology and demographics, building such a history requires resources traditionally considered only useful in the social sciences and humanities. In this Feature, Pastore et al. discuss how they have undertaken the synthesis of historical records and modern techniques to understand the hydrology of the Northeastern U.S. from Colonial times to modern day. Such …

Variability In Resilient Modulus Of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement As Base Layer And Its Impact On Flexible Pavement Performance, Mohamed Attia, Magdy Abdelrahman

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) as a base layer is gaining popularity, but there are gaps in the literature about its material performance. One problem not well investigated is the variability in the resilient modulus (M_R) of RAP as a base layer, as compared with typical granular material, and the impact of this variability on pavement performance. Selection of one M_R value has its own variability, beyond the expected variability in the base layer _R that results from the use of aggregates with different qualities. This paper investigates the effect of three sources of variability …

Bridge Lessons Learned From The Wenchuan China, Earthquake, W. Phillip Yen, Genda Chen, Mark Yashinski, Youssef M. A. Hashash, Curtis J. Holub, Kehai Wang, Xiaodong Guo

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A strong earthquake of M7.9 occurred in Wenchuan County in Sichuan Province, China, on May 12, 2008. This paper presents the field observations on various types of bridge damages, including unseating of girders, longitudinal and transverse offset of decks, pounding at expansion joints, shear key failure, bearing displacement, column shear, and flexible cracks. Plausible causes of damages and collapses are discussed and the lessons learned from this event are briefly summarized. Some of the postearthquake temporary constructions are also reported.

Importance Of The Tail In Truck Weight Modeling For Bridge Assessment, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, Abraham Getachew

Articles

To predict characteristic extreme traffic load effects, simulations are sometimes performed of bridge loading events. To generalize the truck weight data, statistical distributions are fitted to histograms of weight measurements. This paper is based on extensive WIM measurements from two European sites and shows the sensitivity of the characteristic traffic load effects to the fitting process. A semi-parametric fitting procedure is proposed: direct use of the measured histogram where there are sufficient data for this to be reliable and parametric fitting to a statistical distribution in the tail region where there are less data. Calculated characteristic load effects are shown …

A New Congested Traffic Load Model For Highway Bridges, Colin C. Caprani, Colm Carey, Bernard Enright

Conference papers

Long span highway bridges are critical components of any nation’s infrastructure. Therefore accurate assessment of highway bridge loading is essential, and it is well known that congested traffic governs load effect for such bridges. Current congestion models use conservative assumptions about traffic and inter-vehicle gaps. This research investigates congested traffic flow through the use of traffic microsimulation which has the ability to reproduce complex traffic phenomena based on driver interactions. A time series model has been developed to produce a speed time-series similar to the results of the microsimulation. The speed time-series from the new model, combined with the established …

The Influence Of Correlation On The Extreme Traffic Loading Of Bridges, Eugene J. Obrien, Bernard Enright, A. T. Dempsey

Conference papers

Accurate traffic loading models based on measured data are essential for the accurate assessment of existing bridges. There are well-established methods for the Monte Carlo simulation of single lanes of traffic, and this can easily be extended to model the loading on bridges with two independent streams of traffic in opposing directions. However, a typical highway bridge will have multiple lanes in the same direction, and various types of correlation are evident in measured traffic. This paper analyses traffic patterns using multi-lane WIM data collected at two European sites. It describes an approach to the Monte Carlo simulation of this …

Management Strategies For Special Permit Vehicles For Bridge Loading, Bernard Enright, Eugene J. Obrien

Conference papers

An examination of weigh-in-motion data collected recently at sites in five European countries has shown that vehicles with weights well in excess of the normal legal limits are found on a daily basis. These vehicles would be expected to have permits issued by the responsible authorities. It can be seen from the measurements that most of them are travelling at normal speeds. Photographic evidence indicates that, while many are accompanied by an escort vehicle, normal traffic is flowing alongside in other lanes. As European freight volume grows, the frequency of these special vehicles can be expected to increase. Hence, the …

Optimal Design Of Trusses With Geometric Imperfections, Mehdi Jalalpour, Takeru Igusa, James K. Guest

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The present paper focuses on optimization of trusses that have randomness in geometry that may arise from fabrication errors. The analysis herein is a generalization of a perturbation approach to topology optimization under geometric uncertainties. The main novelty in the present paper is in the consideration of potential buckling due to misaligned structural members. The paper begins with a brief review of the aforementioned perturbation approach, then proceeds with the analysis of the nonlinear effects of geometric imperfection. The paper concludes with some numerical examples.

Infrared Thermography-Driven Flaw Detection And Evaluation Of Hot Mix Asphalt Pavements, Yong K. Cho, Yong-Rak Kim Ph.D., Thaddaeus Bode

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This research was conducted to study more realistic explanations of how variables are created and dealt with during hot mix asphalt (HMA) paving construction. Several paving projects across the state of Nebraska have been visited where sensory devices were used to test how the selected variables contribute to temperature differentials including density, moisture content within the asphalt, material surface temperature, internal temperature, wind speed, haul time, and equipment type. Areas of high temperature differentials are identified using an infrared camera whose usefulness was initially confirmed with a penetrating thermometer. A non-nuclear density device was also used to record how the …

Investigating Rfid For Roadside Identification Involving Freight Commercial Vehicle Operators (Cvo), Erick C. Jones Ph.D., Judy Perkins Ph.D.

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is an emerging technology to track commercial vehicles. This transcript describes research that investigates the ability for RFID technologies to work in license plates. Mile markers are common fixtures on the roadside and may provide infrastructure to support identifying RFID to enabled Commercial Vehicle Operators (CVO). This research considers variables that affect the performance of a RFID License Plate System that uses a scanner located at the mile marker. Mile marker characteristics, such as horizontal distance and vertical height, were evaluated along with RFID tag characteristics, such tag type and license plate location.

Safety Investigation And Guidance For Work-Zone Devices In Freight Transportation Systems Subjected To Passenger Car And Truck Impacts With New Crash Standards, Ronald K. Faller Ph.D., P.E., Dean L. Sicking Ph.D., P.E., Karla A. Lechtenberg M.S.C.E., E.I.T., James C. Holloway M.S.C.E., E.I.T., Jennifer D. Schmidt

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Crashworthy, work-zone, portable sign support systems accepted under NCHRP Report No. 350 were analyzed to predict their safety peformance according to the TL-3 MASH evaluation criteria. An analysis was conducted to determine which hardware parameters of sign support systems would likely contribute to the safety performance with MASH. The acuracy of the method was evaluated through full-scale crash testing. Four full-scale crash tests were conducted with a pickup truck. Two tall-mounted, sign support systems with aluminum sign panels failed the MASH criteria due to windshield penetration. One low-mounted system with a vinyl, roll-up sign panel failed the MASH criteria due …

Impact Of Truck Loading On Design And Analysis Of Asphaltic Pavement Structures, Yong-Rak Kim, Hokie Ban, Soohyok Im

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) is an improved methodology for pavement design and the evaluation of paving materials. However, in spite of significant advancements to pre-existing traditional design methods, the MEPDG is known to be limited in its accurate prediction of mechanical responses and damage in asphaltic pavements. This restriction is both due to the use of simplified structural analysis methods, and a general lack of understanding of the fundamental constitutive behavior and damage mechanisms in paving materials. This is additionally affected by the use of circular tire loading configurations. Performance prediction and pavement life are determined based on the …

Layer Moduli Of Nebraska Pavements For The New Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (Mepdg), Yong-Rak Kim, Soohyok Im, Hoki Ban

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

As a step-wise implementation effort of the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) for the design and analysis of Nebraska flexible pavement systems, this research developed a database of layer moduli — dynamic modulus, creep compliance, and resilient modulus — of various pavement materials used in Nebraska. The database includes all three design input levels. Direct laboratory tests of the representative Nebraska pavement materials were conducted for Level 1 design inputs, and surrogate methods, such as the use of Witczak’s predictive equations and the use of default resilient moduli based on soil classification data, were evaluated to include Level 2 and/or …

Foundation Design For High Tension Cable Guardrails, John R. Rohde Ph.D., P.E., Ling Zhu Ph.D., Ryan J. Terpsma B.S.M.E

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

High tension cable guardrail is becoming increasing popular in median and roadside applications due to the promise of reduced deflections upon impact and reduced maintenance. As the performance of these systems is observed in service, there is a growing concern over the end anchorage foundation performance of current systems. Foundations for high tension systems must not only be capable of restraining the impact load of a vehicle but must also restrain the initial pretension on the cable system as well as temperature induced loads. While it may be acceptable for many roadside safety devices to require foundation repair after impact, …

Estimating Highway Pavement Damage Costs Attributed To Truck Traffic, Yong Bai, Steven D. Schrock, Thomas E. Mulinazzi, Wenhua Hou, Chunxiao Liu, Umar Firman

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Kansas is one of the leaders in meat production in the United States. In the southwest Kansas region, there are more than three hundred feed yards and several of the biggest meat processing plants in the nation. Heavy trucks (e.g., tractor-trailers) have been used primarily for transporting processed meat, meat byproducts, grain, and other related products. With the continuous growth of these industries, there will be more trucks on highways transporting meat and meat-related products in southwest Kansas. These trucks cause noteworthy damage to Kansas highway pavements, which in turn leads to more frequent maintenance actions and ultimately more traffic …

Extending Pavement Life Using Thin Surfacing To Counter The Effect Of Increased Truck Traffic Due To Freight Movements On Highways, Mustaque Hossain Ph.D., P.E., Vikranth S. Manepalli, Shaidur Rahman, Haritha Y. Musty

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The highways in the Midwest are experiencing a considerable amount of truck traffic due to increased freight transportation. There is clearly a risk to the highway infrastructure caused by this additional truck traffic that will also have an increasingly detrimental effect on the safety of the citizens, the traveling public in terms of congestion, and the economy of the entire region. Traditionally the life of the pavements has been extended by a variety of rehabilitation techniques. For example, techniques used by the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) include route and crack seal, chip seal, 1- to 4-inch overlay, 1- to …

Automated Erosion System To Protect Highway Bridge Crossings At Abutments, Thanos Papanicolaou Ph.D., Christopher Wilson Ph.D., Mohamed Elkakeem Ph.D.

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

A new instrument (Photo-Electronic Erosion Pin, or PEEP) was examined in collecting field data and remotely monitoring bank erosion near bridge abutments during floods. The performance of PEEPs was evaluated through a detailed field study to determine factors affecting their records. Proper calibration of the instrument was important in obtaining accurate erosion lengths. Calibration of the PEEPs within the banks nearby the study reach provided the most accurate erosion lengths. In addition, comparison with traditional, manual methods was recommended. Bank erosion was monitored at two study sites at the Clear Creek Watershed (CCW), IA between May 2009 and December 2009 …

Closed Course Testing Of Portable Rumble Strips To Improve Truck Safety At Work Zones, Steven D. Schrock, Yong Bai

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The purpose of this research was to compare the attention-getting characteristics, movements and vertical displacements of several portable, reusable rumble strips. The attention-getting characteristics and displacement were measured after passes of a fully loaded heavy truck and a passenger vehicle. Sound and vibration tests revealed that the portable plastic rumble strips were more effective on cars than trucks for generating in-vehicle vibration and increasing in-vehicle sound levels. Further, they were generally better able to match the characteristics of the tested permanent rumble strip compared to the adhesive rumble strips, and that this was also true for the configurations that contained …

Glass Fiber-Reinforced Polyurea Strengthening Of Reinforced Concrete, Courtney Elizabeth Greene

Masters Theses

"Wide varieties of concrete repair-retrofit and strengthening methods have been developed and are being widely implemented. In recent years, the need for such strengthening systems has become apparent with increasing demands on aging infrastructure. These strengthening systems need to be increasingly more adaptable, providing ease of construction as well as withstanding a variety of loading conditions and hazards. Exterior-applied fiber-reinforced polymer systems are increasingly being used to meet these demands. The research contained herein investigates the strengthening benefits and characteristics from a specific glass fiber-reinforced polyurea coating system applied externally to structures by means of spraying. This coating would allow …

Bayesian Approaches On Observational Before-After Highway Safety Analysis, Daxiao Liu

Masters Theses

"Observational before-after evaluation of roadway safety treatments effect is a necessary and challenging study area for traffic safety engineers. In decades, empirical Bayesian approach has been widely adopted among researchers in this area. In this approach, the researcher combined before period observation data with a safety performance function estimated from similar groups to estimate the expected number of crashes that would have occurred in the after period without the treatment. Comparing this estimate with the number of crashes observed in the after period, the researcher evaluated the effectiveness of the treatment. This approach accounts for well-known regression-to-the-mean effects. However, as …

Field Investigation Of Spalling In Bridge Decks With Partial-Depth Precast Concrete Panel Systems Using Non-Destructive Testing, Kandi Rebecca Wieberg

Masters Theses

"This study involved the investigation of the causes of spalling observed in several partial-depth precast prestressed bridge decks in the state of Missouri. Recently it has been observed that several bridges in Missouri with this type of construction have experienced spalling of concrete at the edges of the panels revealing an extreme condition of corrosion in the prestressing tendons, some to the point of rupture. Ground penetrating radar (GPR), which has been shown to be successful in bridge deck evaluation, was used to determine the relative condition of the prestressing tendons as well as the relative condition of the concrete …

Stability Of Streambanks Subjected To Highly Variable Streamflows: The Osage River Downstream Of Bagnell Dam, Kathryn Nicole Heinley

Masters Theses

"Streambank erosion of the Osage River downstream of Bagnell Dam is naturally-occurring; however, it may be significantly worsened due to releases made from the dam to generate hydropower. In this study, six typical outflow release patterns from Bagnell Dam were evaluated to determine their effects, if any, on the stability and the rate and amount of erosion of the banks of the Osage River.

The Bank Stability and Toe Erosion Model (BSTEM), version 5.2, was used to carry out the erosion and stability calculations. The model was validated by using data from another study and comparing the results from BSTEM …

Evaluation Of Liquefaction-Induced Lateral Spreading In The Midwest, Kermit Nathanial Applegate

Masters Theses

"The Central United States is home to several seismically active regions: the Wabash Valley Seismic Zone, the South Central Illinois Seismic Zone, and the New Madrid Seismic Zone. All three of these regions are capable of inducing large ground motion throughout the Mississippi Valley and along the eastern border of Missouri. This has been supported by many paleoseismic studies conducted throughout the region, which have identified numerous instances of liquefaction phenomena. The fluvial deposition process associated with the Mississippi river valley makes it a prime location for possible liquefaction and lateral spreading effects. However, there are few studies pertaining to …