Engineering Commons^™

Fatigue Monitoring Through Wearable Sensors For Construction Workers, Srikanth Sagar Bangaru

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

About 40% of the US construction workforce experiences high-level fatigue, which leads to poor judgment, increased risk of injuries, a decrease in productivity, and a lower quality of work. Excessive fatigue from working in unpleasant working conditions, long working hours, or heavy workloads can aggravate fatigue's adverse effects, leading to work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) and productivity loss. Therefore, it is essential to monitor fatigue to reduce the adverse effects and preventing long-term health problems. However, since fatigue demonstrates itself in several complex processes, there is no single standard measurement method for fatigue detection. This research aims to develop a system …

Computational Design Of Nonlinear Stress-Strain Of Isotropic Materials, Askhad M.Polatov, Akhmat M. Ikramov, Daniyarbek Razmukhamedov

Chemical Technology, Control and Management

The article deals with the problems of numerical modeling of nonlinear physical processes of the stress-strain state of structural elements. An elastoplastic medium of a homogeneous solid material is investigated. The results of computational experiments on the study of the process of physically nonlinear deformation of isotropic elements of three-dimensional structures with a system of one- and double-periodic spherical cavities under uniaxial compression are presented. The influence and mutual influence of stress concentrators in the form of spherical cavities, vertically located two cavities and a horizontally located system of two cavities on the deformation of the structure are investigated. Numerical …

Assessment Of Contract Terms And Conditions For Lump-Sum Contracts, Omar Othman

Theses and Dissertations

A Contract is a tool that defines the obligations of the contracting parties and assigns the risk between them. Contracts are usually drafted to meet the interests of the owner by addressing the legal issues and liabilities. Meanwhile, less emphasis is placed on clearly communicating the contract terms and ensuring that all contracting parties comprehend their risks and obligations. In a country like Egypt, which has faced drastic economic and political changes in the past few years, and yet is experiencing a boom in the construction sector, many developers tend to draft contracts that might be legally complicated or lacks …

Context-Aware Sensing And Fusion For Structural Health Monitoring And Night Time Traffic Surveillance, Xinxiang Zhang

Electrical Engineering Theses and Dissertations

Rapid developments in computer vision technologies have been transforming many traditional fields in engineering and science in the last few decades, especially in terms of diagnosing problems from visual images. Leveraging computer vision technologies to inspect, monitor, assess infrastructure conditions, and analyze traffic dynamics, has gained significant increase in both effectiveness and efficiency, compared to the cost of traditional instrumentation arrays to monitor, and manually inspect civil infrastructures and traffic conditions. Therefore, to construct the next-generation intelligent civil and transportation infrastructures, this dissertation develops a comprehensive computer-vision based sensing and fusion framework for structural health monitoring and intelligent transportation systems. …

Error Prevention In Sensors And Sensor Systems, Pedro J. Chacon Dominguez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Achievements in all fields of engineering and fabrication methods have led towards optimization and integration of multiple sensing devices into a concise system. These advances have caused significant innovation in various commercial, industrial, and research efforts. Integrations of subsystems have important applications for sensor systems in particular. The need for reporting and real time awareness of a device’s condition and surroundings have led to sensor systems being implemented in a wide variety of fields. From environmental sensors for agriculture, to object characterization and biomedical sensing, the application for sensor systems has impacted all modern facets of innovation. With these innovations, …

Reliability Of Sfrp-Strengthened Rc Bridge Columns Subjected To Blast Loads, Ahmad Alsendi, Christopher D. Eamon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

The reliability of reinforced concrete bridge columns strengthened with externally bonded, steel-fiber reinforced polymer fabric subjected to blast loads was investigated. Columns were modeled with a nonlinear finite element approach that considers material damage, fracture, and separation. Different concrete strengths, longitudinal reinforcement ratios, and gravity and blast load levels were considered, while uncertainties in material strength and stiffness parameters, as well as load characteristics, were incorporated in the probabilistic analysis. It was found that the use of SFRP can allow significant increases in blast load while maintaining the same level of column reliability.

Exploration Of The Sludge Biodiesel Pathway, Zachary Christman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wastewater sludge is an overlooked source of fat, oil, and grease (FOG) that could be converted into biodiesel. The United States produces about 8 million tons of sludge per year. The disposal cost for this amount of sludge is about 2 billion US dollars. The widespread availability and low cost of sludge compared to other biodiesel raw materials make it an economical choice for a renewable fuel. Using sludge as a raw material can produce 25 to 30 mg per gram of fatty acid methyl ester (FAME); the main component of biodiesel. Sludge biodiesel has the potential of transforming a …

Comparison Of The Resistance Of Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement And Portland Cement To Sulfate Attack And Sulfuric Acid, Rilye Dillard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microbially induced corrosion (MIC) is a fairly common concrete deterioration mechanism with many negative effects. MIC is a complex chemical and biological process that occurs in sewage systems and is nearly impossible to replicate in a laboratory setting. For this study, sulfate and sulfuric acid attack on concrete were studied to mimic two stages of the MIC process. The ASTM C1012, Standard Test Method for Length Change of Hydraulic-Cement Mortars Exposed to a Sulfate Solution and a modified ASTM C1012 accelerated method were used to compare the sulfate resistance of belitic calcium sulfoaluminate (BCSA) cement, portland cement (PC), and PC-fly …

Development Of An Ultraviolet Absorbance Assay To Estimate Air Entrainer Dosing For Concrete Containing Fly Ash, James Spencer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Fly ash is a coal combustion byproduct that can be used as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in concrete, offering benefits such as increased workability, durability, and strength. Fly ash can be used as a partial replacement to cement, reducing concrete productions costs and decreasing disposal in landfills. However, variability of fly ash properties (e.g., carbon content, adsorption site density) confounds estimates of the air entraining admixture (AEA) dose needed to achieve a specified air content in concrete. Air entrainment is needed to improve freeze-thaw resistance and limit concrete cracking. The foam index (FI) test is currently used to estimate …

Meta-Network Analysis Of Complex Construction Systems: Improving Project Efficiency Using Novel Computer-Based Analytic Methodology, Ethan Cummiskey

Honors Scholar Theses

The objective of this study is to build upon the framework of a meta-network approach to assessing vulnerabilities in construction projects. By viewing these complex environments as configurations of various nodes and links, it is possible to show the relationship between each entity in the project and the overall completion that is achieved from these connections. To expand upon previous studies, the vulnerabilities measured from this approach will be used to optimize the current network to eliminate any shortcoming in the project model. By investigating the congruence of different agents on the project, resources and informational nodes can be supplied …

On The Computational Efficiency Of Les And Hybrid Rans-Les Models In Building Aerodynamics, Aly Mousaad Aly, Faiaz Khaled

Faculty Publications

Large-eddy simulation (LES) has proven to offer superior accuracy in regards to predicting surface pressures compared to the Reynolds-averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) models. However, the primary impediment is the high computational cost associated with LES. The authors attempt to investigate the computational cost and accuracy by employing different sub-grid scale (SGS) models in LES and hybrid RANS-LES models. One of the prerequisites of accurate pressure estimations is to ensure a horizontally homogeneous empty computational domain. This study aims to compare the computational competence qualitatively and quantitatively using an empty domain in regards to the ability to maintain horizontal homogeneity. The …

On The Computational Efficiency Of Les And Hybrid Rans-Les Models In Building Aerodynamics, Faiaz Khaled, Aly Mousaad Aly

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Market Analysis Of Virtual Estimating For Reconstruction, William Robert Spencer

Construction Management

Reconstruction is the sector of construction that focuses on fixing fire, mold, and water damage to properties. Typically these are covered by insurance companies and the cost of these are determined through an insurance estimate using Xactimate. These insurance estimates are typically performed through visiting the site a few times by both the insurance company and the reconstruction company. Each of them will typically put together an estimate based on normal photos and then compare the estimates and then pay out the homeowner. This paper will examine the market interest in California for using virtual tours and expert insurance estimators …

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 …

International Sustainability Trends In Construction And Potential Applications In The American Market, Dante De Mayo

Construction Management

The construction industry evolves everyday as it attempts to stay up to date on current technologies, meet the needs of consumers, and take action on the ever-pressing topic of sustainability. Sustainability is one of the main ways the industry continues to advance. The United States is one of the world leaders in sustainable construction, however with limited research and restrained interest there is only so much progress that can be made when solely relying on domestic resources. By studying and collaborating with foreign construction institutions, the American construction industry has the potential to improve its sustainability performance significantly. By performing …

Cm Member Of Slocoe Peace Conference Center Feasibility Study, Jackson Reynolds

Construction Management

This paper describes the parking design and estimate portion of a whole feasibility study conducted by an interdisciplinary team. The interdisciplinary team consisted of three senior undergraduate industrial engineering students, and one senior undergraduate construction management student. This feasibility study was conducted for the San Luis Obispo County Office of Education (SLOCOE) to determine if it is feasible to construct a new, 400-person conference center on a site in San Luis Obispo, CA. The complete study includes analyses of the following topics: economic, utilities, traffic/road, approval from Chumash Tribe, social/historical, climate, geological, vegetation and wildlife, noise and pollution, parking, mandatory …

Building Services Engineering May/June 2021

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Medical Service Facility Site Development, Sabrina Carvajal

Honors Theses

This report provides a clear description of a site development design project for a future medical service facility. The site is approximately 46,818 square feet and is located at 203 E. Centre Avenue Portage, Michigan 49002 United States. This is in a high traffic area that is surrounded by different public and academic institutions including Portage Central High School and Portage Public Library. The commercial buildings surrounding this area are Comerica Bank, Dairy Queen and a new Senior Center currently under construction. Our team is proposing two different site-layout options for the future development of this building. This medical service …

Building Our Future: Positive Steps Forward For Apprenticeship Education And Training In Ireland, Roisin Murphy Dr

Level 3

The construction labour market has undergone a period of considerable turbulence resulting from economic cyclicality over the last decade. While some facets of the labour market have recovered in line with economic growth, there remain challenges in attracting new apprentices. The issue is particularly pronounced for certain “wet trades”; namely bricklaying, floor and wall tiling, painting and decorating and plastering.

A mixed method research strategy was employed for the purpose of determining labour market trends for these trades, comprising of employer and apprentice surveys in addition to semi-structured interviews. Findings from the research uncover not only a shift …

Study Of Fragility Functions For Assessing Damage To Water Pipe Networks Caused By Earthquake Loading, Dylan Joseph Merlo

Master's Theses

The performance of water lifelines during seismic events is an area of ongoing research. In this study we evaluate eight (8) different seismic events and the impact that ground shaking and ground deformations had on water pipeline systems. The overall goal of this work is to provide municipalities and utility providers with tools for mitigating the consequences of seismic hazards on water lifeline systems by analyzing the accuracy of damage estimation models. Three (3) different repair rate models are evaluated using data collected from the seismic events and compared to observed repair rate data. Results are analyzed to examine the …

Facilitating The Industrial Sector's Adoption Of Collaborative Project Delivery Methods, Xavier Wood-Aliberch

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In an effort to improve outcomes in the civil and healthcare sectors, clients have adopted collaborative project delivery methods for the delivery of their capital projects. The success stories in these sectors have gathered the attention of clients in the industrial sector, where cost and schedule overruns have become the norm. The central objective of this thesis is to help clients make the transition to this new type of project delivery.

This thesis was written in a three-paper format, where each paper addresses a challenge with the adoption of collaborative delivery methods. The first paper investigates what type of industrial …

Ultra-High Performance Concrete (Uhpc) Deck-To-Girder Connection For Accelerated Bridge Construction, Mostafa Abo El-Khier

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Precast concrete deck systems have been successfully used for Accelerated Bridge Construction. In most systems, special deck-to-girder connections are designed to achieve structurally composite sections. These connections require tight production/erection tolerances that complicate deck and girder fabrication and compromise the economics of these systems. This study presents a new precast concrete deck-to-girder connection that takes advantage of the excellent mechanical, workability, and durability properties of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) to simplify precast concrete deck and girder fabrication and erection. Typical girder shear reinforcement is terminated below the soffit of deck panels to eliminate any conflicts with deck reinforcement and relax …

Collective Risk Of Construction Development On Desert Tortoise Populations, Paulina Smith

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) are threatened, extremely territorial reptiles living on a rapidly-shrinking landscape. This literature review was conducted with the goal of determining whether the desert tortoises of the Mojave Desert are experiencing compounded effects from construction development which are not reflected in mortality/fecundity calculations in the current literature. Seventeen peer-reviewed sources were identified from the last 20 years which related to roads, railroads, wind-harvesting, solar energy, and man-made barriers/flood control centers in the Mojave. Current literature reveals that researchers do not have the time nor resources to pursue long-term studies on all of the possible effects on this …

An Experimental Study On Concrete’S Durability And Mechanical Characteristics Subjected To Different Curing Regimes, Edgar L.S. Borrero, Visar Farhangi, Kazem Jadidi, Moses Karakouzian

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Considering a constant demand in construction of concrete structures to develop novel approaches for predicting the concert’s properties, a host of investigations were performed on concrete’s mechanical properties and durability under various curing regimes. However, few studies were concerned with evaluating the concrete’s durability using non-destructive concrete surface resistivity tests by applying various curing conditions. The present study compares the influence of different curing regimes on durability and compressive strength of concrete to recommend the most effective curing conditions on concrete’s characteristics. Five curing conditions including ambient, laboratory, dry oven, wet oven and 7-days were analyzed. Accordingly, a non-destructive concrete …

The Professional Constructor, Full Issue, Volume 46, Number 01

The Professional Constructor

No abstract provided.

Advanced Concrete Composites For Improved Performance: A Bibliometric Survey, Dhruv Patel, Aryan Tiwari, Nishnat Nikhare, Rohit Shinde, Ashutosh Dubey, Manan Shah, Shalaka Hire, Sayali Sandbhor

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Concrete is the core component of any civil engineering construction. Conventional concrete can be modified depending upon the needs and requirements of the construction. Such concrete is called advanced concrete and this report aims to study advanced concrete and its composites. The main objective of this report is to perform a bibliographic survey on the latest research literature available under the domain of advanced concrete composites for improved performance. Timespan considered for the survey is from the year 2015 to 2020. The bibliographic survey consists of literature from online platforms such as the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus database. …

Educational Theory-Embedded Training For Construction Industry Professionals, Hazem Jadallah

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Workforce training is needed throughout the construction industry to create and maintain competent workers; unfortunately, most construction training and education research focuses on university student education. The focus of this dissertation research is the current state of educational-theory embedded construction workforce training, how such trainings are effective, and how they may be further optimized based on established educational theory. This is accomplished through a review of construction training for current industry professionals, an evaluation of the assessment criteria used to measure effectiveness, followed by the creation of a framework for construction training.

There is a lack of recommendations for improvement …

Mechanical Characteristics Of Cement Paste In The Presence Of Carbon Nanotubes And Silica Oxide Nanoparticles: An Experimental Study, Moses Karakouzian, Visar Farhangi, Marzieh R. Farani, Alireza Joshaghani, Mehdi Zadehmohamad, Mohammad Ahmadzadeh

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Considering the remarkable characteristics of nanomaterials, previous research studies investigated the effects of incorporating different types of these materials on improving the concrete properties. However, further studies are required to evaluate the complementary hybridization and synergistic influence of nanomaterials. In this research, the combined effect of adding nano silica particles (NS) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) on enhancing both the compressive and flexural strengths of the cement paste was investigated. Moreover, the morphology of the interface between cement paste and aggregates was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mixtures were prepared using three different portions of MWCNT and NS. …

Developing A Cost Of Delay (Cod) Framework For The Dod & Analyzing The Current State Of Air Force Agile Cost Estimation, James Goljan

Theses and Dissertations

The study has two research objectives. The first research objective develops a proof of concept for a Cost of Delay (CoD) framework to evaluate the Air Forces Kessel Run Software Factory. CoD provides a means to justify and prioritize competing interests regarding budgetary, manpower, and overall strategic decisions. DoD organizations can employ a cost minimization framework to conduct CoD Analysis. The results demonstrate Software Factories eschew trends in the literature towards more complicated cost models that incorporate machine learning with Data-Based techniques in lieu of simpler models that utilize Engineering Build-up Capacity Based techniques.

Applications Of Biomimicry In Construction And Architecture: A Bibliometric Analysis, Mugdha Praveen Kshirsagar Mrs, Sanjay Kantrao Kulkarni Dr, Ankush Kumar Meena Mr, Danby Caetano D’Costa Mr, Sushant Sunil Bhavsar Mr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Biomimicry can be considered to be a way of connecting the environment created by man to the natural world. Biomimicry is a science that, as a model, a measure and a tutor, looks to nature. Via site work, construction and everyday operations, biomimicry can be used to enhance the way the built environment is constructed. The main objective of this paper is to perform a bibliometric study of biomimicry-related literature in order to discover the growth of biomimicry as an architectural method in recent years. The time frame considered for this survey is between 1990 and 2020. The findings, however, …