Engineering Commons^™

Co-Occurrence Of The Cyanotoxins Bmaa, Daba And Anatoxin-A In Nebraska Reservoirs, Fish, And Aquatic Plants, Maitham Ahmed Al-Sammak, Kyle D. Hoagland, David A. Cassada, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Several groups of microorganisms are capable of producing toxins in aquatic environments. Cyanobacteria are prevalent blue green algae in freshwater systems, and many species produce cyanotoxins which include a variety of chemical irritants, hepatotoxins and neurotoxins. Production and occurrence of potent neurotoxic cyanotoxins β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), 2,4-diaminobutyric acid dihydrochloride (DABA), and anatoxin-a are especially critical with environmental implications to public and animal health. Biomagnification, though not well understood in aquatic systems, is potentially relevant to both human and animal health effects. Because little is known regarding their presence in fresh water, we investigated the occurrence and potential for bioaccumulation of cyanotoxins …

Seed Tape Effects On Corn Emergence Under Greenhouse Conditions, Ramarao Venkatesh, Peter R. Thomison, Colette K. Gabriel, Mark A. Bennett, Elaine M. Grassbaugh, Matthew D. Kleinhenz, Scott A. Shearer, Santosh Pitla

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Seed tape has recently received attention as an alternative planting system for smallholder farmers in underdeveloped regions of South America, Africa, China, and India (Mateus, 2014). Seed companies are also developing seed-tape planting systems for germplasm evaluations (Deppermann et al., 2013). Although seed tape has been promoted as a method for ensuring uniform seed spacing and plant density of small-seeded flowers, herbs, and vegetables (Chancellor, 1969), little or no information is available on the use of seed tape for larger-seeded row crops and its effect on crop emergence. The objective of this study was to compare the emergence of corn …

Fly Ash As A Potential Scrubber Of Acidic Wastes From The Phosphate Industries In Israel, Roy Nir Lieberman, Eli Lederman, Ithamar Pelly, Haim Cohen

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Fly ash (FA) is produced in Israeli utilities via bituminous coal combustion. It is used as a cement additive or in concrete production, and its economic value is low. The FA produced in Israel is very basic (defined as class F) owing to ambient air quality standards that impose low sulfur content in the imported coals. Because the lime content is high (in the South African coal, ,10 wt%), it is a good potential chemical scrubber to acidic wastes. The phosphate industry in Israel produces mainly phosphate fertilizers and water-treatment products as well as phosphoric acid. The production methods rely …

Transferability And Calibration Of The Highway Safety Manual Performance Functions And Development Of New Models For Urban Four-Lane Divided Roads, Kaaf, Khalid Al

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many developing countries have witnessed fast and rapid growth in the last two decades due to the high development rate of economic activity in these countries. Many transportation projects have been constructed. In the same time both population growth and vehicle ownership rate increased; resulting in increasing levels of road crashes. Road traffic crashes in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considered a serious problem that has deep effects on GCC's population as well as on the national productivity through the loss of lives, injuries, property damage and the loss of valuable resources. From a recent statistical study of traffic crashes …

Analysis Of Taxi Drivers' Driving Behavior Based On A Driving Simulator Experiment, Jiawei Wu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Due to comfort, convenience, and flexibility, taxis become more and more prevalent in China, especially in large cities. According to a survey reported by Beijing Traffic Development Research Center, there were 696 million taxi person-rides in Beijing in 2011. However, many violations and road crashes that were related to taxi drivers occurred more frequently. The survey showed that there were a total of 17,242 taxi violations happened in Beijing in only one month in 2003, which accounted for 56% of all drivers' violations. Besides, taxi drivers also had a larger accident rate than other drivers, which showed that nearly 20% …

State-And-Transition Modeling And Adaptive Management: Tools For Future Co-Development Of Madagascar’S Natural Resources And People, Patrick Thomas Spencer

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Madagascar’s terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems have long supported a unique set of ecological communities, many of whom are endemic to the tropical island. Those same ecosystems have been a source of valuable natural resources to some of the poorest people in the world. Nevertheless, with pride, ingenuity and resourcefulness, the Malagasy people of the southwest coast, being of Vezo identity, subsist with low development fishing techniques aimed at an increasingly threatened host of aquatic seascapes. Mangroves, sea grass bed, and coral reefs of the region are under increased pressure from the general populace for both food provisions and support of …

Beneficial Reuse Of Locally-Available Waste Materials As Lightweight Aggregate In Lightweight Concrete, Brienna E. Rust

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This study investigated the physical characteristics of lightweight concrete produced using waste materials as coarse aggregate. The study was inspired by the author’s Peace Corps service in Kilwa, Tanzania. Coconut shell, sisal fiber, and PET plastic were chosen as the test waste products due to their abundance in the area. Two mixes were produced for each waste product and the mix proportions designed for resulting compressive strengths of 3000 and 5000 psi. The proportions were selected based on guidelines for lightweight concrete from the American Concrete Institute. In preparation for mixing, coconut shells were crushed into aggregate no larger than …

Transatlantic Maritime Transportation Between The Czech Republic And The United States, Petr Toman

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Maritime transportation is the backbone of today´s world trade and therefore there special attention should be paid to all subjects concerning this mode of transportation. It is also necessary to complement maritime transportation by other modes, such as rail and/or truck (road). This thesis deals with the problems of maritime transportation and provides the summary of recent developments, trends and statistics mainly on Transatlantic maritime routes (Europe to U.S.). Besides maritime transportation, this thesis also reviews the trends and statistics of rail and truck (road) transportation in U.S. and Europe.

The second part of thesis seeks to create a mathematical …

Behavior Of I-Section Gfrp Beam Including Retrofitting For Damage Effects, Mamadou Konate, Zia Razzaq

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents the outcome of a study of an I-section Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) beam including retrofitting for damage effects. A total of three beam tests were conducted in the following sequence: GFRP beam with no retrofitting and a single mid-span web brace; the partially damaged (cracked) beam with GFRP plates used for retrofitting; and the retrofitted beam re-tested with the lateral brace at the top flange level. Both cracking and lateral-torsional buckling behavior is studied and experimental load-deflection relationships recorded. Using the mechanical properties of GFRP based on the experimental data, theoretical predictions are made for the …

Ole Miss Engineer 2013-2014

Ole Miss Engineer

No abstract provided.

Sodhana Environmental - Final Design Report, Eric Taylor, Corissa Bellis, Cody Perez, Cameron Zeller

Mechanical Engineering

A fully designed cost-effective, sustainable, toilet for the developing world.

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Diffusivity And Sorptivity Of Berea Sandstone Determined Using Neutron Radiography, M. Kang, Chu-Lin Cheng, H. Z. Bilheux, Michael J. Gragg, D. M. Wright, J. M. Lamanna, J. Horita, J. M. Warren

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Neutron radiography is increasingly being used to study the dynamics of water movement in variably saturated porous media. It has been applied to visualize water imbibition in both natural and engineered materials, including soil, rock, brick, concrete, and glass. The sorptivity, S, and unsaturated diffusivity, D(θ), are important parameters for describing water movement under partially saturated conditions. Estimates of S and D(θ) have been obtained using a variety of techniques, including neutron imaging. However, we could find no previous reports of such measurements for the Berea sandstone, regardless of the method employed. Berea sandstone is a widespread, …

Removal Of Arsenic From Simulated Groundwater Using A Pilot-Scale Constructed Wetland Treatment System, Jeffrey Schwindaman

All Theses

A pilot-scale constructed wetland treatment system (CWTS) was designed and built to produce biogeochemical conditions that promoted targeted processes for removal of arsenic from simulated groundwater. Two series were designed to promote co-precipitation and sorption of arsenic with iron oxyhydroxides under oxidizing conditions, and two series were designed to promote precipitation of arsenic sulfide and co-precipitation of arsenic with iron sulfide under reducing conditions. The two major objectives were to (1) assess arsenic removal performance and (2) determine the fate and distribution of arsenic in each series. Results indicate that arsenic removal performance was greater in series designed to promote …

Miniature Concrete Prism Test - A New Test Method For Evaluating The Asr Potential Of Aggregates, The Effectiveness Of Asr Mitigation And The Job Mixture, Enamur Latifee

All Dissertations

Existing test methods to characterize ASR potential of aggregates and mitigation ability of supplementary cementing materials such as the Accelerated Mortar Bar Test (AMBT) and the Concrete Prism Test (CPT) are widely accepted in the industry. Although, the AMBT is a rapid test, the results from this test can be unreliable, particularly with certain types of aggregates. The CPT is considered as a more reliable test; however, the duration of this test method renders it impractical for routine usage in the industry to screen deleterious materials or inefficient ASR mitigation measures. This research presents a new test method-Miniature Concrete Prism …

Renovation Of Ammonia Contaminated Produced Water Using Constructed Wetlands, Donald Beebe

All Dissertations

Pilot-scale wetland treatment systems were designed and constructed to evaluate renovation of simulated oilfield produced water contaminated with ammonia (20 mg/L ammonia-N). A process-based pilot-scale constructed wetland was designed to meet specific biogeochemical conditions for conversion of ammonia to nitrogen gas through microbial nitrification and denitrification. The process-based constructed wetland treated the simulated produced water to meet stringent discharge requirements (less than 1.2 mg/L ammonia-N). Clinoptilolite, a zeolite mineral, was evaluated for use in constructed wetlands to increase ammonia sorption and nitrification activity. Clinoptilolite increased wetland ammonia sorption capacity and served as a microbial carrier for nitrifying bacteria when ranges …

Air Pressure Energy Storage For Reverse Osmosis: Bench-Scale Proof Of Concept, Ying Sun

All Theses

Society faces diminishing access to clean drinking water because of increasing global population and the development of modern industries. At the same time, climate change and other environmental problems caused by the increase in fossil fuel consumption the emphasis on reducing dependency on traditional energy resources in the process of potable water production. To address both problems, a small-scale wind powered reverse osmosis (RO) desalination system with a unique energy storage mechanism was envisioned to provide an energy buffer such that fluctuating and intermittent wind can be utilized. Energy is stored in the form of compressed air in a pressure …

Exploring Data Quality Of Weigh-In-Motion Systems, Chengxin Dai

Dissertations and Theses

This research focuses on the data quality control methods for evaluating the performance of Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) systems on Oregon highways. This research identifies and develops a new methodology and algorithm to explore the accuracy of each station's weight and spacing data at a corridor level, and further implements the Statistical Process Control (SPC) method, finite mixture model, axle spacing error rating method, and data flag method in published research to examine the soundness of WIM systems. This research employs the historical WIM data to analyze sensor health and compares the evaluation results of the methods. The results suggest the new …

Isolation And Characterisation Of Micro-Organisms With Industrial Importance From Sisal Bole Rots, Consolatha Mhaiki

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Investigation of microorganisms naturally acclimatized to Agave hybrid H 11648 (sisal bole rot) was conducted, with the aim of isolating and characterizing Aspergillus niger strains for industrial use. Microorganism were identified morphologically and then confirmation made by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results showed the existence of four major groups, listed in order of abundances as follows; Aspergilli (36.0±0.8) %, Penicillin (28.0±0.1) %, Yeast (15.0±1.6) %and Fusarium (10.0±0.12) %. The main groups of Aspergilli strains were A. nidulans, A. tamari and A. niger in ratios (3:2:2), respectively. Several endo-spore forming non-enteric gram (-) rods and coccid bacteria identified by API 20 …

Problems And Prospects Of Hydraulic Modelling For Environmental Flows Assessment Studies In East Africa, Preksedis Ndomba

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The objective of this paper is to document the problems and prospects of hydraulic modelling for Environmental Flows Assessment (EFA) studies based on selected case studies. Most of studies in East Africa use Holistic methodologies. An ideal data set for defining river hydraulics for most of these methods would be six data points of stage measurements over a good distribution of discharges, the stage of zero discharge and some flood-related data. Besides, in East African region EFA studies suffer from data scarcity (i.e., poorly gauged sites) and limited expertise and funding. The hydraulics studies conducted by the authors entailed desktop …

Numerical Investigation On The Effects Of Wave Grouping On The Motion Of Moored Ddms Platform, Xing-Gang Wang, Zhao-Chen Sun, Shu-Xiu Liang, Si Liu, Shu-Xue Liu, Jun-Bin Luo

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

The random wave groups with the same wave parameters, such as significant wave height, period and overshoot parameter, but with different wave groupiness are simulated by an empirical wave envelope spectrum involved the group height factor GFH and group length factor GLF based on field measured sea waves. A geometrically nonlinear finite element method based on the total Lagrangian formulation is developed to calculate the mooring-line dynamics. Coupled dynamic analysis of DDMS (Deep Draft Multi-Spar) platform and the attached mooring lines under the action of wave groups with different groupiness in deep water is executed in time domain. The effects …

1976 Montreal Olympics: Case Study Of Project Management Failure, Ashish Patel, Paul A. Bosela, Norbert Delatte

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

A successful engineering project must include its timely and economic completion. A project management failure can lead to delays and cost overruns. One example of a project that greatly exceeded its projected budget is the construction of the multiple facilities for the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal. These included the Olympic Stadium, a velodrome for bicycle events, and the Olympic Village to house the athletes. This case study reviews the circumstances of the cost increases and the design decisions and other circumstances that led to them. The difficulties were brought on by an unrealistic schedule to complete the facilities before …

Seismic Design Manual For Interlocking Compressed Earth Blocks, Nicholas Edwards Kennedy

Master's Theses

Seismic Design Manual for Interlocking Compressed Earth Blocks

Nicholas Edwards Kennedy

This thesis presents a comprehensive seismic design manual to be used to design and construct simple Interlocking Compressed Earth Block (ICEB) structures in seismically active regions. ICEBs are earth blocks made primarily of soil and stabilized with cement. They have female and male stud mechanisms designed to interlock when stacked, eliminating the need for mortar. The blocks can accept reinforcement and grout after they are placed. While ICEB construction is similar to conventional masonry construction, current design code standards for masonry only partially capture the actual behavior of ICEB …

Return To Traffic Of Full Depth Reclamation Pavements, Robert Benjamin Hill

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Full-Depth Reclamation (FDR) is a cost-effective rehabilitation treatment for deteriorated pavements. However, when using asphalt emulsion based rehabilitation techniques one of the most challenging aspects of FDR is determining when traffic can be returned to the rehabilitated pavement surface. Since asphalt emulsion mixtures need ample time for curing, they cannot be sealed with a surface layer until the water has evaporated from the rehabilitated layer. It is often not possible to keep the road closed until all of the water has evaporated and the surface layer is placed, therefore, at some point the traffic needs to be returned to the …

Full Depth Reclamation: Bringing Developing Countries' Transportation Up To Speed, Sadie Smith

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Often, a direct correlation is observed between a country’s transportation network and economic development. Evidence of this is observed all over the world. Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) is a roadway recycling technique that mills and mixes the existing roadway with a stabilizing agent and then re-compacts the mixture to create a thicker, stabilized pavement layer. This method is both cost effective and environmentally friendly, making it a very appealing option as the need to rehabilitate or increase the structural capacity of existing roads grows. In this study, the material characterization of FDR was examined as a composite material of both …

Soil Organic Carbon Dynamics In Agriculture: Model Development And Application From Daily To Decadal Timescales, Matthew P. Pelton

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soil carbon (C) is the largest terrestrial C pool globally, containing more C than the atmosphere and biosphere. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a source and sink of CO₂ emissions to and from the atmosphere, thus influencing future climate change. Understanding SOC dynamics is also important for maintaining C stocks to sustain and improve crop yields. An existing model to estimate changes in SOC due to respiration was modified to operate in three computational platforms: MS Excel, MS Excel with Visual Basic for Applications, and supercomputing. This model was validated against CO₂ flux data from a 9-year field …

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Pavement Management Analysis Of Hamilton County Using Hdm-4 And Hpma, Trisha Sen

Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

According to the 2009 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card, Tennessee roadways have received a B- due to lack of funding. This thesis focuses on the optimal utilization of available funds for Hamilton County using PMS. HDM-4 and HPMA are used to assess the existing pavement conditions and predict future conditions; estimate fuel consumption; calculate road agency costs and user costs; determine cost-effective maintenance treatment; and suggest optimum utilization of funds. From this study, fuel consumption is higher at peak hours due to reduced traffic speeds. User cost is higher on the state route than the interstate due to stop-and-go motion. Road …

Geotechnical Aspects Of Recent Extreme Floods In Pakistan; A Case History, Sarfraz Ali, Fawad Akram, Abdul Qudoos Khan, Misba-Hafsa

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

Topographically, Pakistan comprises three major areas; Northern Highland Area, Indus Basin and Baluchistan Plateau. Its elevation varies from Mean sea Level (0 meter) at south to 8619 meters in the North at K-2 Peak. Northern Highland Area, generally sloping southwards includes Himalayan, Karakorum and Hindu-Kush ranges covering approximately an area of 155,831 square kilometers. Indus Basin stretches from foothills of Northern Highland Area to Arabian Sea in south covering approximately an area of 346,259 square kilometers. Baluchistan Plateau in the West and South comprises mountain ranges of Koh-i-Suleman, Kirther, blow-outs of coralline and lacustrine deposits along coastal belt and covers …

Table Of Contents, Multiple Authors

International Conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering

No abstract provided.