Engineering Commons^™

Western Kentucky University Stormwater Utility Survey 2021, Warren Campbell, Jerry Bradshaw

SEAS Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Novel Eco-Friendly, Recycled Composites For Improved Ca Road Surfaces, Daniel Whisler, Rafael Gomez Consarnau, Ryan Coy

Mineta Transportation Institute

The continued use of structural plastics in consumer products, industry, and transportation represents a potential source for durable, long lasting, and recyclable roadways. Costs to dispose of reinforced plastics can be similar to procuring new asphalt with mechanical performance exceeding that of the traditional road surface.

This project examines improved material development times by leveraging advanced computational material models based on validated experimental data. By testing traditional asphalt and select carbon and glass reinforced composites, both new and recycled, it is possible to develop a finite element simulation that can predict the material characteristics under a number of loads virtually, …

Economic Assessment Of Factors Affecting The Decision Of Households To Engage In Non-Farm Activities, Sh.A. Muratov

Irrigation and Melioration

In this study, non-farm activities and their importance were studied, and it is analysed the influence of push and pull factors on the decision of family heads to engage in non-farm activities by Probit model regression. Furthermore, it is determined their elastic coefficients. The analysed data are collected by conducting an online survey from 134 respondents. The results are showed that the decision of family heads to engage in non-farm activities was greatly influenced by their gender, education, and number of family members, electricity supply, transport services, and size of their land. Namely, the decision of the head of the …

Identifying The Determinants And Extent Of Crop Diversification At Farm Level: A Case Study Of Uzbekistan, A.Э. Primov, M.H. Saidov, I. B. Rustamova, A.A. Abduvasikov

Irrigation and Melioration

Since independence, the government of Uzbekistan has implemented the number of agricultural policies such as making some crucial structural reforms at the farms, comprising different institutions and enhancing diversification of agricultural production in order to stabilize the agricultural sector of the country. Therefore, crop diversity has an important role in sustainable agriculture. We calculated the diversification index based on the Simpson Diversity Index method while ordinary least square (OLS) regression analysis was employed to assess the association of crop diversification on farm income using cross-sectional data from 381 farmers of Uzbekistan. The study revealed the mean computed Simpson Index values …

Leaf Cutter Ant Nest Soil Cement Stabilized Earthen Bricks: Materials And Methods For Engineering Field Applications, Faith Malay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As climate change threatens vulnerable tropical climates and development outpaces resource availability, the need for diverse construction material grows. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim to reduce poverty in all forms. Diversifying construction material works toward reducing indoor air pollution, the eradication of houselessness, encouraging diversification in industry, and supporting small scale industrialization. In the Province of Bocas del Toro in Panama, there is a tenuous connection to the greater industries in the country due to location and existing infrastructure.This research presents a literature review of the historical approaches to the construction and chemistry of cement stabilized earth bricks, …

Solar Disinfection Of Turbid Hygiene Waters In Lexington, Ky, Usa, Atena Amirsoleimani, Gail M. Brion

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Solar disinfection (SODIS) could be a key to providing a clean, hygiene water for birthing uses, but the recommended climate zone is limited, the microbial indicators are related to gastrointestinal illness and not wound infections. SODIS feasibility was investigated to remove Escherichia coli from turbid water at temperatures less than 50 °C in Lexington, KY. Increasing turbidity from 0 to 200 NTU decreased E. coli inactivation from 5 to 1 log. With the same experimental protocol, more than 4-log inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis (common human-skin microorganisms related to serious post-partum infections of both mother and child) was …

Assessment Of Carbon Dioxide Emission And Its Impact On High-Rise Mixed-Use Buildings In Egypt, Ahmed Salah Hamza

Theses and Dissertations

With Egypt's vision of 2030 focusing on sustainable development with a true emphasis on Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emission reduction in the newly built cities and high-rise buildings, efforts are exerted on various levels towards accomplishing the vision’s goals. This is achieved through multiple tools and models associated with aiding the reduction of carbon emissions, yet not a clear one was introduced for the mixed-use buildings in Egypt.

Through this work, a significant gap was identified with respect to high-rise buildings carbon emission assessment in Egypt. This was a main driving force for this work in an attempt to …

Interactive Expert System For Budgeting World Bank Consultancy Projects, Yosra Rafat

Theses and Dissertations

Cost estimating and forecasting are key components of the budgeting of any construction project. However, conventional approaches may result in uncertainty and usually do not utilize the organizational knowledge of past projects. Ideally, performing a cost estimation under the best predictions of the relevant future conditions, is the best approach of economic analysis to evaluate the optimum value for money. With the rise of Artificial Intelligence techniques, there are now several Machine Learning (ML) methods that are being studied to capitalize on accuracy gains with regards to cost estimating techniques to increase reliability during the tendering phase. This research aims …

Urban Aerosol Size Distributions: A Global Perspective, Tianren Wu, Brandon E. Boor

Purdue University Libraries Open Access Publishing Fund

Urban aerosol measurements are necessary to establish associations between air pollution and human health outcomes and to evaluate the efficacy of air quality legislation and emissions standards. The measurement of urban aerosol particle size distributions (PSDs) is of particular importance as they enable characterization of size-dependent processes that govern a particle's transport, transformation, and fate in the urban atmosphere. PSDs also improve our ability to link air pollution to health effects through evaluation of particle deposition in the respiratory system and inhalation toxicity. To inform future measurements of urban aerosol observations, this paper reviews and critically analyzes the current state …

Anthropogenic Drought: Definition, Challenges, And Opportunities, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Traditional, mainstream definitions of drought describe it as deficit in water-related variables or water-dependent activities (e.g., precipitation, soil moisture, surface and groundwater storage, and irrigation) due to natural variabilities that are out of the control of local decision-makers. Here, we argue that within coupled human-water systems, drought must be defined and understood as a process as opposed to a product to help better frame and describe the complex and interrelated dynamics of both natural and human-induced changes that define anthropogenic drought as a compound multidimensional and multiscale phenomenon, governed by the combination of natural water variability, climate change, human decisions …

Structural Calculations For Salvation Academy School For Disadvantaged Children, Emma Constance Lambert

Architectural Engineering

Journeyman International is a non-profit organization who partners with students and professionals to provide architectural design, architectural engineering, and construction management work for developing countries in order to combat poverty and ecological destruction on a global scale. The Salvation Academy for Disadvantaged Children is sponsored by Journeyman International and a private client to provide a school campus with a safe and productive environment for children and staff with disabilities. The campus is equipped with classrooms, outdoor gymnasiums, residences for both students and faculty, as well as computer labs and conference areas. The site is located in the Western Area of …

Comprehensive Characterization Of The Aerosol And Cloud Condensation Nuclei In The Uae, Farah Hassan Abdi

Theses

Cloud seeding has emerged as a significant alternative freshwater source in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is employed to manipulate weather conditions and increase precipitation in specific target regions. These efforts aim to densify clouds and enhance the likelihood of rainfall by inducing nucleation. This technique involves an operational crew aboard an aircraft that disperses substantial quantities of seeding particles, such as salts or silver iodide, into suitable clouds. These particles can serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and indirectly affect the rate of rainfall. In 2018, cloud seeding operations were responsible for approximately 10-15% of the UAE's total …

Analyzing The Causes Of Labor Shortage In The Commercial Carpentry Trades In The San Francisco Bay Area, Jack Crayne

Construction Management

Skilled labor is vital to the success of any construction project, and no contractor would be able to operate without the skilled laborers that they employ. The construction industry has been subject to a shortage of skilled labor for the last two decades for many reasons, including the poor image of construction workers among the public, inadequate training measures, and an aging workforce. Reviewing the literature on the matter shows that the leading cause of shortage is low pay and increasing age of the workforce overall, while the demand for labor grows at a faster rate than the supply of …

Learn By Giving: Non-Profit Information For Future Senior Projects, Ryan H. Proctor

Construction Management

This report details the processes, deliverables, and partnerships between various non-profit construction organizations to provide students with accessible information about non-profit construction companies for future senior projects. The information and deliverables of this senior project also to be found in the portal for the construction management preliminary senior project class (CM 460). One of the main goals of this senior project is to encourage students to sharpen construction skills while helping communities in need. This project consists of interviewing local, national, and international non-profit companies to compile information so students understand the different opportunities they have. The first deliverable that …

Use Of Biomimicry Design Approach In Constructing Sustainable Resilient Structures (Case Study: Port Of Beirut), Farouk Bader, Marwan Halabi, Hiba Mohsen, Maged Youssef

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Resiliency is not the same as sustainability, nor its substitute, but definitely the two concepts complement each other’s. Sustainability is the avoidance of depletion of natural resources to maintain ecological balance whereas resiliency is to recover, adapt and keep going in the face of setbacks. While designing with green approach is important but what will happen to leed points if the building becomes uninhabitable due to disasters, that’s where resiliency comes into play. The 2019 statistics showed that natural disasters accounted for 133 billion dollars losses and manmade ones accounted for other 7 billion in addition to 11,755 people worldwide …

Aircraft Measurements Of Aerosol And Trace Gas Chemistry In The Eastern North Atlantic, Maria A. Zawadowicz, Kaitlyn Suski, Jiumeng Liu, Mikhail Pekour, Jerome Fast, Fan Mei, Arthur J. Sedlacek, Stephen Springston, Yang Wang, For Full List Of Authors, See Publisher's Website.

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Aerosol and Cloud Experiment in the Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA) investigated properties of aerosols and subtropical marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds. Low subtropical marine clouds can have a large effect on Earth s radiative budget, but they are poorly represented in global climate models. In order to understand their radiative effects, it is imperative to understand the composition and sources of the MBL cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). The campaign consisted of two intensive operation periods (IOPs) (June-July 2017 and January-February 2018) during which an instrumented G-1 aircraft was deployed from Lajes Field on Terceira Island in the Azores, Portugal. …

The Correlation Between Poverty, Water Quality, Community Health, And Education In Guatemala And Tanzania, Jessica R. Besnier

Senior Honors Projects, 2020-current

This paper explores the relationship between poverty, water quality, community health, and education in Tanzania and Guatemala. These metrics will allow for a thorough analysis of the relationships between the countries and will determine their impact on the other aspects in these two countries. While Guatemala and Tanzania are very different countries, they share many things in common such as inequalities among different groups, having many different groups of indigenous people, having most people living in rural areas, and are located on a coast. Also, they share similarities regarding poverty, water quality, community health, and education. By looking into these …

Analysis Of Covid-19 Concerns Raised By The Construction Workforce And Development Of Mitigation Practices, Makram Bou Hatoum, Ali Faisal, Hala Nassereddine, Hadi Sarvari

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The coronavirus outbreak has created a global health crisis that has disrupted all industries, including the construction industry. Following the onset of the pandemic, construction workers faced and continue to face unprecedented safety and health challenges. Therefore, construction employers established new safety precautions to protect the health and safety of the workforce and minimize the spread of the virus. The new precautions followed the advice and guidelines offered by different health and safety agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC). With construction projects …

Post Covid-19 Water And Waste Water Management To Protect Public Health And Geoenvironment, Ken Cornell, Arvin Farid

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications and Presentations

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has posed severe threats to humans and the geoenvironment. The findings of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (Sars-CoV-2) traces in waste water and the practice of disinfecting outdoor spaces in several cities in the world, which can result into the entry of disinfectants and their by-products into storm drainage systems and their subsequent discharge into rivers and coastal waters, raise the issue of environmental, ecological and public health effects. The aims of the current paper are to investigate the potential of water and waste water to operate as transmission routes for Sars-CoV-2 and the …

Effect Of Modified Moisture Barrier In Mitigating Pavement Distresses Due To Expansive Subgrade, Pratibha Pandey

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Surficial distresses in roadways of Texas are very common due to presence of high plastic clayey soil in the subgrade. Increased sensitivity of high plastic clay towards seasonal moisture change results in repeated swelling and shrinkage, and ultimately the development of pavement cracks. Annual expenses of such distresses impose huge financial liability to maintenance authorities. Studies have indicated rainwater intrusion into underlying expansive subgrade soil coupled with inadequate drainage as the main cause of pavement damage in semi-arid regions. The inability of drainage layer to laterally drain the excess moisture may lead to moisture accumulation within the base layer which …

Effect Of Sludge Content On Different Types Of Food Waste Degradation In Anaerobic Digester, Mumtahina Binte Latif

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Food waste (FW) is the second-largest component in landfills which impacts environments adversely by generating excessive leachate and greenhouse gas. Generally, conventional anaerobic digester and composting can be used for FW disposal. However, the former is highly expensive while the latter is energy inefficient. In contrast, household or community level underground anaerobic digester offers a cost-efficient solution as well as retrieves valuable energy from FW. The addition of nutrients such as sludge to organic waste especially FW accelerates the production of energy by limiting volatile fatty acid (VFA) accumulation. The objective of the current study is to find out the …

Feasibility Assessment Of Production Of Liquid Organic Fertilizer (Lof) From Food Waste For Sustainable Waste Management, Shadman Sakib

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The increasing volume of food waste is responsible for the generation of potent greenhouse gases and is resulting in the wastage of valuable resources. In all regions of the world, the percentage of food waste in municipal solid waste is greater. Due to the lack of waste segregation at collection points and modern waste disposal methods in developing countries, organic waste is piling up in the dumpsites and landfills. Besides due to poor harvest and post-harvest procedures and inefficient supply chain, almost 55% of the cultivated crops do not even reach the consumers and get wasted. On the other hand, …

A Comprehensive Framework To Mitigate Surficial Slope Failures, Burak Boluk

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Each year, numerous highway and dam slopes that are built with high plasticity clays experience shallow slope failures. Besides the high maintenance and repair costs, these failures negatively impact the public life by interrupting the traffic flow and causing serious safety hazards. The development of desiccation cracks due to weathering cycles deteriorates hydro-mechanical properties of soil, increases water infiltration, and ultimately results in surficial slope failure. Several slope rehabilitation methods have been developed to stabilize clayey soil slope sections affected by surficial failures. Lime stabilization is an effective treatment method that generally reduces the swell-shrink potential of expansive soil and …

Supporting Transportation System Management And Operations Using Internet Of Things Technology, Hong Yang, Yuzhong Shen, Mecit Cetin, Zhenyu Wang

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Low power wide-area network (LPWAN) technology aims to provide long range and low power wireless communication. It can serve as an alternative technology for data transmissions in many application scenarios (e.g., parking monitoring and remote flood sensing). In order to explore its feasibility in transportation systems, this project conducted a review of relevant literature to understand the current status of LPWAN applications. An online survey that targeted professionals concerned with transportation was also developed to elicit input about their experiences in using LPWAN technology for their projects. The literature review and survey results showed that LPWAN’s application in the U.S. …

Cross Domain Iw Threats To Sof Maritime Missions: Implications For U.S. Sof, Gary C. Kessler, Diane M. Zorri

Publications

As cyber vulnerabilities proliferate with the expansion of connected devices, wherein security is often forsaken for ease of use, Special Operations Forces (SOF) cannot escape the obvious, massive risk that they are assuming by incorporating emerging technologies into their toolkits. This is especially true in the maritime sector where SOF operates nearshore in littoral zones. As SOF—in support to the U.S. Navy— increasingly operate in these contested maritime environments, they will gradually encounter more hostile actors looking to exploit digital vulnerabilities. As such, this monograph comes at a perfect time as the world becomes more interconnected but also more vulnerable.

Journeyman International: Canopy Life School, Housing & Training Complex In Kenya, Spencer P. Mishky

Construction Management

The purpose of this project was to provide a master plan for a primary school complex in a rural village in Migori County, Kenya. This facility aims to eliminate any issues for students growing up in the area. The master plan includes a primary school, housing accommodations, a training center, and a dining hall to cultivate success through all stages of these children’s lives. The project is headed by a non-profit organization, Journeyman International in conjunction with Canopy Life International and Take Heart Africa. The project was interdisciplinary involving a construction manager, an architect, and two architectural engineers all working …

Building Services Engineering May/June 2021

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Sustainable Water Treatment Systems: A Direct Potable Proposal, Kayla Alsup, Kayla E. Alsup

Honors College Theses

A common need among all people is water—we cannot survive without it. And yet, all around the world, achieving a high quality of drinking water is a constant struggle. This water crisis is brought on by many different factors. Some are natural, such as droughts and flooding, but as the effects of climate change continue to reveal themselves, some areas are becoming drier, while other areas are experiencing less predictable and harsher weather patterns.

Our current approach towards water is not sustainable, and we are starting to see that in both under-developed and developed countries alike. Indiscriminate use of water …

Willingness To Pay For Improving Household Solid Waste Management In Vietnam, Phan C. Chinh, Nguyen T.Q. Hung, Nguyen M. Ky, Nguyen T.L. Ai, Nguyen M. Tam

Applied Environmental Research

Management of solid waste is a major challenge in urban areas of most parts of the world, especially in developing countries. The study aimed to determine and estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) of the selected households for the improvement of solid waste management in Vietnam. The research evaluated WTP of household solid waste in case studies in Bien Hoa and My Tho cities using contingent valuation method (CVM). The data were collected through a closed-ended questionnaire survey and interviews with 200 households. The results showed that the most willingness to pay was equal to 10,000 and 15,000 VND per …

Past The Tipping Point, But With Hope Of Return: How Creating A Geoengineering Compulsory Licensing Scheme Can Incentivize Innovation, Brooke Wilson

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

This Note explores the patenting of geoengineering technologies and issues arising from the early stages of this high-risk, high-reward technology. This Note focuses on one possible solution to solving the issues surrounding the patenting of geoengineering technology: Creating a specialized compulsory licensing scheme.