Engineering Commons^™

In-Plane Behavior Of Strengthened Unreinforced Masonry Infill Walls With Alternative Wood-Fiber Fly Ash Material, Yosuke Tanizawa

Masters Theses

"This research investigates the potential for an alternative masonry product to use in masonry infill wall systems. The study also investigates the effects of an external fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) strengthening system on in-plane behavior of the alternative unreinforced masonry (URM) walls. The alternative masonry product is produced in a solid unit configuration and utilizes recycled white oak wood-fibers and an ASTM Class-C fly ash as its raw materials. The external strengthening system investigated consists of an elastomeric polyurea surface coating with and without integrated discrete chopped E-glass fibers which is directly sprayed on the URM wall surfaces. The alternative …

Synthesis Of Best Practices In Transportation Security, Volume I: Vulnerability Assessment, Haritha Reddy Venna, Jon D. Fricker

JTRP Technical Reports

Part I of the research focused on developing a methodology to identify and evaluate the most critical and vulnerable INDOT assets. This method aims at obtaining an index that reflects the vulnerability and criticality of an asset on the basis of multiple performance criteria. This methodology was tested on the seven INDOT districts. Because not all the factors that influence the vulnerability do have same weight, the analytical hierarchical process is used to obtain the weights for the criteria. Countermeasures are suggested as a part of the research to reduce the vulnerability of a given asset based on its relevant …

Mechanistic Evaluation Of Rubblized Pcc Pavements, Yigong Ji

JTRP Technical Reports

This report presents a mechanistic approach and procedures for determining layer coefficients to characterize the in-situ behaviors of rubblized pavements. This procedure was developed based on the 1993 AASHTO Pavement Design Guide utilizing Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing and in-place simulation using back-calculation layer modulus. In order to evaluate the rubblized pavement systematically, twelve constructed pavement sections were extensively tested by FWD annually after construction. The FWD data was processed using the proposed mechanistic procedure. In addition, statistical analysis was conducted to compare the pavement structure parameters each year, including layer coefficient and in-situ resilient modulus using Analysis of Variance …

Verification Of Nyslab A Software For The Analysis Of Jointed Pavements, Maryam Limouee

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A significant amount of research and development has been conducted for decades to provide a tool for the design and analysis of jointed slabs on different types of foundations. ILLI-SLAB, JSLAB, EverFE and ISLAB are the most used finite element modeling (FEM) codes that have gone through several iterations of improvement. JSLAB has been maintained by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and is distributed free of charge and there is significant interest in further improving the capabilities of that software package.

Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso have been charged to implement several modifications in the latest …

Investigation Of Surface Fine Grained Laminae, Streambed, And Streambank Processes Using A Watershed Scale Hydrologic And Sediment Transport Model, Joseph Paul Russo

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Sediment transport at the watershed scale in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky is dominated by surface fine grained laminae, streambed, and streambank erosion; high instream sediment storage; and surface erosion processes. All these processes can be impacted by agricultural, urban, and suburban land-uses as well as hydrologic forcing. Understanding sediment transport processes at the watershed scale is a need for budgeting and controlling sediment pollution, and watershed modeling enables investigation of the cumulative effect of sediment processes and the parameters controlling these processes upon the entire sediment budget for a watershed. Sediment transport is being modeled by coupling the hydrologic …

Estimating Variation In Stiffness And Volume Change Of Clays From Geochemical And Index Properties, Cynthia Roxanna Zuniga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Clayey soils from six different locations in Texas were analyzed and evaluated with respect to their expansion and shrinkage and change in stiffness associated with moisture content variation. These soils consist of five high plasticity-index (PI) clays (PI greater than 25) and one low-PI clay (PI = 17). The behavior of the clays changes dramatically with moisture content fluctuation, thus causing stiffness and volume changes throughout the year. Total or differential volume movements caused by swell or shrinkage strains of expansive soils and reduction in modulus can exert enough pressure to damage the pavements and cause maintenance problems.

The intent …

Filterpave Systems, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The need for hard-surfaced porous pavements has grown over the past few years as the market accepts PPS technology as a viable solution, as regulations leave few other options and as frequency of use increases. The FilterPave system is a unique porous pavement system that uses post-consumer recycled glass as the open-graded aggregate. Approximately 90 glass beverage bottles are used in just one square foot of pavement, making constructive use of abundant recycled materials that are traditionally sent to the landfill and used as daily cover.

Saw-Cutting Guidelines For Concrete Pavements: Examining The Requirements For Time And Depth Of Saw-Cutting, Kambiz Raoufi, Tony Their, W. Jason Weiss, Jan Olek, Tommy E. Nantung

JTRP Technical Reports

Joints are placed in Portland cement concrete pavements (PCCP) to control random cracking. These joints provide a weakened plane that enables a crack to form in a controlled manner, relieving residual stresses that develop when thermal, hygral, or hydration movements are resisted by sub grade and adjoining pavement. While the concept of creating a weakened plane through saw-cutting is straightforward, determining the time and depth of the saw-cut has proven to be complicated. The goal of this project was to reduce the risk for joint raveling and random cracking. Specifically, this project has focused on: developing a procedure for determining …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Effect Of Phase Countdown Timers On Queue Discharge Characteristics Under Heterogeneous Traffic Conditions, Anuj Sharma

Anuj Sharma Publications

Analysis of queue discharge characteristics at signalized intersections is a primary component of traffic signal analysis and design. On the basis of previous studies, mainly conducted in homogeneous traffic conditions, the discharge headway is assumed to be high at the start of green for the first few vehicles, mainly because of start-up lost times, and is also assumed to reach the minimum value by the fourth or fifth vehicle in the queue. The minimum headway is expected to continue until the end of the queue. However, this may not be the case under heterogeneous traffic conditions, such as those in …

Feedback Between Residual Circulations And Sediment Distribution In Highly Turbid Estuaries: An Analytical Model, Stefan A. Talke, Huib E. De Swart, H. M. Schuttelaars

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Motivated by field studies of the Ems estuary which show longitudinal gradients in bottom sediment concentration as high as O(0.01 kg/m⁴), we develop an analytical model for estuarine residual circulation based on currents from salinity gradients, turbidity gradients, and freshwater discharge. Salinity is assumed to be vertically well mixed, while the vertical concentration profile is assumed to result from a balance between a constant settling velocity and turbulent diffusive flux. Width and depth of the model estuary are held constant. Model results show that turbidity gradients enhance tidally averaged circulation upstream of the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM), …

An Idealized Model And Systematic Process Study Of Oxygen Depletion In Highly Turbid Estuaries, Stefan A. Talke, Huib E. De Swart, Victor De Jonge

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The sensitivity of oxygen depletion in turbid estuaries to parameters like freshwater discharge, depth, and sediment availability is investigated using an idealized model. The model describes tidally averaged circulation and suspended sediment concentration (SSC), which are input into an advection–diffusion sink module of dissolved oxygen (DO). Based on the analysis of field data collected in the Ems estuary, the modeled oxygen depletion rates are proportional to SSC. The model is calibrated to the observed variation of DO with SSC and temperature. Modeled DO closely tracks changes to the estuarine turbidity zone (ETZ): increased channel depth, decreased freshwater discharge, and decreased …

A Gasoline Demand Model For The United States Light Vehicle Fleet, Diana Rey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The United States is the world's largest oil consumer demanding about twenty five percent of the total world oil production. Whenever there are difficulties to supply the increasing quantities of oil demanded by the market, the price of oil escalates leading to what is known as oil price spikes or oil price shocks. The last oil price shock which was the longest sustained oil price run up in history, began its course in year 2004, and ended in 2008. This last oil price shock initiated recognizable changes in transportation dynamics: transit operators realized that commuters switched to transit as a …

Performance Related Specifications (Prs) For Concrete Pavements In Indiana, Volume 2: Technical Report, Cole Graveen, Eric Max Falker, Micah Beaver, Narayanan Neithalath, W. Jason Weiss, J. Olek, Tommy Edward Nantung, Victor Lee Gallivan

JTRP Technical Reports

Performance-Related Specifications (PRS) are specifications that base pavement acceptance and pay adjustment on the projected performance and predicted life-cycle cost (LCC) for a specific pavement. PRS relate measurable quality characteristics with pavement performance through computer simulations that incorporate physical distress models. Previously, work at ERES consultants by Darter and co-workers developed prototype PRS for jointed plain portland cement concrete pavements (PCC) through Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) through a series of research projects. However, before this research program began, pavements have not been constructed using these specifications. This report describes the Indiana Department of Transportation’s (INDOT) experience with developing and implementing …

Synthesis Of Best Practices In Transportation Security, Volume Ii: Emergency Response, Rodrigo Vargas, Jon D. Fricker

JTRP Technical Reports

Part I of the research focused on developing a methodology to identify and evaluate the most critical and vulnerable INDOT assets. This method aims at obtaining an index that reflects the vulnerability and criticality of an asset on the basis of multiple performance criteria. This methodology was tested on the seven INDOT districts. Because not all the factors that influence the vulnerability do have same weight, the analytical hierarchical process is used to obtain the weights for the criteria. Countermeasures are suggested as a part of the research to reduce the vulnerability of a given asset based on its relevant …

Asset Management Application Towards An Improved Right Of Way Acquisition, Dora Oralia Francis

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to discover a most suitable approach when the right of way acquisition process begins. As soon as it is known that the right of way acquisitions begin, speculations are made to parcels in order to increase the values of these parcel. Different types of speculations can be made, at a different phase of the right of way (ROW) acquisition process. The parcel cost can vary due to speculations according to the phase of the right of way acquisition process. To help assist the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) on the right of way acquisition …

Assessing Repeatability Of Four-Point Bending Method For Estimating Fatigue Cracking Of Hot Mix Asphalt, Sara -. Montazeri

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The objective of this thesis was to assess the repeatability of four-point bending method for estimating fatigue cracking of hot mix asphalt. This experimental research examined the influence of mix proportions, specifically asphalt and air void contents, on fatigue behavior of asphalt beam specimens in the laboratory tested with four-point bending method of loading. Following the relevant specifications, the strain-controlled mode of loading was selected. Fatigue failure is expected to occur at the cycle which the flexural stiffness of asphalt specimen reduced to 50% of initial amount. Up to a 1,000,000 cycles of loading were applied to each specimen.

Different …

Integrated Finite Element Analysis Program To Evaluate Pavement Performance And Predict Non-Destructive Testing Response, Cesar Tirado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The response of a pavement system under wheel loading has been a subject of research for many decades. Several models have been developed to predict pavement performance based on layer deformation and fatigue cracking. Among them stand out computer programs based on linear elasto-static layered systems and viscoelastic-plastic models; however, newer or more advanced constitutive models cannot be rigorously incorporated into them. In contrast, finite element techniques allow incorporation of nonlinear and viscoelastic-plastic behavior of the pavement materials but licensing of software and the need to train personnel greatly limits its use by highway agencies. A mechanistic-empirical (M-E) approach for …

Methodology To Develop A Minimum Cost Acceptance Sampling Plan For Highway Construction, Gandhar Wazalwar

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Quality Assurance has always been a part of manufacturing processes. Since World War II, Acceptance Sampling has been introduced and implemented for quality control and improvement. Since statistical methods are applied for quality assurance, especially in acceptance sampling, various methods are becoming popular among the highway agencies over the period of time. As a result, several specifications have been designed to date based upon different statistical theories, each with its own advantages and shortcomings. Acceptance is a form of quality assurance which is employed as an audit tool for decision making to accept or reject the product based on its …

Gis-Based Tool For Assessing Hydraulic Performance Of Drainage Infrastructure System In El Paso, Gema L. Camacho

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Maintaining a city's storm-water drainage infrastructure system can be an overwhelming effort, especially when data is inaccurate, incomplete, or located in disparate sources. This was the case for the City of El Paso. This research was part of a project funded by the City of El Paso to enhance their GIS storm drainage infrastructure system. For the first task of the project, the GIS software was used to store stormwater drainage data into one convenient GIS file. A GIS framework was created during the first phase of the project. This GIS database contained drainage data (such as location, material, dimensions, …

Characterization Of A Mems Accelerometer For A Highway Health Monitoring Ultra-Low Power Sensor, Karla Cecilia Enriquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

With the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, government officials recognized the need to implement automated methods that reduce the cost of assessment projects and provide a long-term solution to monitor the structural health of bridges and highways. Although important research exists in the area of non-destructive evaluation, current road health monitoring efforts continue to be costly and time consuming. This Thesis focuses on the characterization of a MEMS accelerometer intended to be the basis of a novel ultra-low power sensing system to remotely asses the condition of highways. The architecture of a sensor prototype built to validate an algorithm …

Improving The Design Of Low Volume Sealed Roads In Tanzania, Mfinanga A

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The main objective of the study was to identify appropriate road designs for Low Volume Sealed Roads (LVSRs) with the aim of improving the design of such roads in Tanzania. The study was conducted in Dar es Salaam and Morogoro regions in Tanzania where data for LVSRs were collected from primary and secondary sources in the two regions. The study found that by using an improved pavement design method specifically meant for LVSRs results in cost savings for LVSRs of up to 51% compared with the conventional method of pavement design in Tanzania. The study recommends that the pavement design …

Integrated Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques For Groundwater Exploration In Semi-Arid Region: A Case Of Karamoja Region – Uganda, Lubang Nobert

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Groundwater is a precious resource that covers wide geographical extent. Proper evaluation is required in order to ensure prudent use of groundwater resources. The current groundwater assessment in Karamoja region, as in many parts of the world, uses Apparent Resistivity and Vertical Electrical Sounding, which has limited coverage to some localized usually predetermined areas. Comprehensive groundwater development program needs a wide area coverage and large volume of multidisciplinary data. In the present study, an integrated remote sensing and GIS based methodology is developed and tested for the evaluation of groundwater resources of Karamoja Sub Region, Northeastern Uganda. The components of …

Potential Use Of Waterguard As A Disinfectant For Domestic Water Use, Yohana L

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

been identified as an alternative method for treatment of domestic drinking water. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Water Guard in disinfecting drinking water from different sources drawn from Kinondoni district, Dar es Salaam as well as to establish appropriate dosage that can be used during the treatment. Results showed that, a dose of 4.0mL per 20 litrer of water guard is sufficient for disinfection of urban water sources. The above prescribed doses provide 100% disinfection efficiency with residue chlorine of less than 0.3mg/l. Water with turbidity values of 30-35 NTU, chlorine dosage of 8mL/20 …

The Multivariate Statistical Analysis Of Abiotic Parameters Of The Lake Tanganyika Sub Catchment, Hudson Nkotagu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Results from multivariate statistical analysis of abiotic parameters conducted during the dry season at 20 accessible sites on 8 rivers, 2 lakes and a dam covering the Lake Tanganyika sub catchment are discussed. Standard methods were used to determine the levels of abiotic parameters from water samples. Physical parameters including DO, EC, Eh, turbidity, temperature, pH and secchi transparency were measured in situ while chlorophyll a was determined in the laboratory. Nutrients such as NO3-, SiO2, PO4 3- and Fe2+ were determined along with HCO3-. Factor analysis resulted in four factors including increased primary productivity, redox conditions, dissolution, and reduction …

An Equation For Estimating The (R) Usle Slope Steepness Factors, Mathew Mulemgera

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Abstract Currently three equations are used for calculating slope steepness factor for the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE); one for slopes less than nine percent, the second for slopes equal or greater than nine percent, and the third equation that has been proposed for use in China for slopes equal or greater than 17 %. The three equations have linear relationships between slope steepness factor, S and the sine of the slope angle, θ. The three equations under predict the factor, S when used on slope steepness beyond the data sets used to develop them. In addressing this problem …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Operations-Oriented Performance Measures For Freeway Management Systems: Final Report, Robert E. Brydia, Stephen P. Mattingly, Melanie L. Sattler, Auttawit Upayokin

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications - Archive

This report describes the second and final year activities of the project titled “Using Operations-Oriented Performance Measures to Support Freeway Management Systems.” Work activities included developing a prototype system architecture for testing the use of performance measures in real-time. Outputs from this effort included operator’s screens, a prototype database, and a concept of operations for using the real-time measures. Additional work showcased the application of a multi-criterion screening approach to the selection of competing performance measures.

Investigation Of The Merging Of Two Axisymmetric Turbulent Jets, Jeffrey Smith

All Theses

A study was done to determine the converging distance of two axisymmetric turbulent jets and to compare the experimental results with the Reichardt hypothesis. This experiment consisted of measuring the velocity profiles of the two jets and manipulating the momentum ratio between the jets. Through testing, it was determined that the Reichardt hypothesis while efficient, over predicts the converging distance of the jets by up to 25% in some cases.
An Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) was used to take measurements across the path of the jets and monitored the velocity and the turbulent kinetic energy. After observing the velocity profiles, …

Optimal Maintenance Crew Composition And Enhancement Of Crew Productivity, Robert Schober

All Theses

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) dedicates a large portion of its budget and other resources to the maintenance of the State's transportation infrastructure. In order to maximize the efficiency and productivity of the State's highway maintenance workforce, the SCDOT partnered with Clemson University to research the performance of these maintenance crews. The goal of this research is to identify optimal crew compositions, if possible, and to suggest potential crew productivity enhancement methods.
Data was collected from the SCDOT Highway Maintenance Management System (HMMS) and crew rankings were developed based on several pre-determined performance criteria. These rankings were then …