Engineering Commons^™

Minidoka Memorial Hospital Expansion, Bryanne Calkins, Mike Dupras, William Thornton, Brett Feichtinger, Corinne Haase, Ena Beganovic, Scott Moreno

College of Engineering Poster Presentations

The Minidoka Memorial Hospital is the main hospital serving Minidoka County. Due to an increase in farming and traffic accidents, the emergency facilities are no longer adequate and require expansion.

Development Of An Integrated Project-Based Course: A Jobsite Management Class Case Study, Philip L. Barlow

Construction Management

At universities offering professional degrees, such as construction management, some programs are moving towards and exploring alternative delivery methods for achieving the curriculum’s goals and objectives. This paper describes a curriculum integrated course founded in a project-based learning environment applied to a jobsite construction management undergraduate course being taught at a major university. A course overview describing the various delivery methods used (such as lectures, reading assignments, supplemental materials, guest lecturers, lab assignments, technology, and a jobsite visit) is presented. The benefits of course integration in a construction management undergraduate curriculum are emphasized and more fully explained. The unique student …

Embodied Emissions Abatement: A Policy Assessment Using Stochastic Analysis, Adolf Acquaye, Aidan Duffy, Biswajit Basu

Articles

Policymakers traditionally focus on regulating operational energy use in buildings, ignoring other life cycle components such as embodied energy even though this may account for a significant portion of life cycle emissions. Data relating to embodied energy and emissions in buildings is limited. However, stochastic techniques can be used to estimate the distribution of such emissions from buildings. This helps policymakers identify which instruments are appropriate for achieving emissions reductions. A primary aim of this paper is to demonstrate this approach using a sample of apartment buildings in Ireland. A Monte-Carlo simulation suggests that the average probability distribution of embodied …

Green Building Policy And School Performance, S. Kelting, M. Montoya

Construction Management

The movement to construct high performance “green” buildings has had unprecedented market growth and continues to become a mainstream practice for constructing schools in the United States. This paper will consider how the results of government requirements for higher performance school buildings may affect the health and performance of students. The research focuses on educational leaders’ perceptions of how they would prioritize green building strategies based on recent governmental policy that requires building green schools. There is clear and compelling evidence that schools currently built to specific green standards of indoor environmental quality, specifically lighting, result in healthier and more …

A Study Of The Cause Of Failure Of Rotationally Molded, High-Density Polyethylene, Sodium Hypochlorite Storage Tanks, Dixon Harold Abell

Theses and Dissertations

The topic of chemical oxidative degradation in rotational molded polyethylene (high-density cross-linked) chemical (sodium hypochlorite) storage tanks is an industry problem that ranks at the top of current business issues for manufacturers of chemical storage tanks. The degradation of these tanks not only compromises the physical and mechanical properties of the tank material, but reduces the life expectancy of the tank, eventually resulting in catastrophic tank failure. Premature tank failure comes at a hefty cost. The reputation of the manufacturer is questioned often resulting in immediate loss of customer satisfaction and future business. The leaking of the chemical from the …

Application Of Relational Contracting Methods To Federal Construction Projects, Travis R. Johnson

Theses and Dissertations

Relational contracting is a method designed to improve relationships between contracted parties. The federal construction sector was a leader in the development and implementation of an early form of relational contracting known as partnering. Since then, alliancing has emerged as the new evolution of relational contracts. While it provides many potential benefits to contracting parties, alliancing has not yet been utilized in federal construction procurement, which is subject to stringent regulations. A commercially available standard form alliancing contract was selected for analysis against the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Key practices that characterize the alliancing method were identified. Utilizing a panel of …

Understanding Schedule Forecasting Shortfalls In Federal Design-Build Facility Procurement, Timothy W. Gannon

Theses and Dissertations

This research explores whether initial schedules provide reliable forecasting for project control in federal design build facility procurement. The purpose of this research is to understand how scheduling operates in the Department of Defense environment and identify how project change underscores schedule uncertainty. The research methodology involves a comparative analysis of project schedule data from three case studies. The investigation documents how initial project schedules fail to sufficiently forecast and provide a reliable baseline for total cost, final duration, and activity count for three design-build projects. Most schedule variability occurs after the 100% design benchmark. Furthermore, activity growth highlights the …

Tool Life Of Various Tool Materials When Friction Spot Welding Dp980 Steel, Christopher Shane Ridges

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, friction spot welding was used to join DP980 steel sheet. Four different ultra-hard tool materials were used with the objective of determining which tool material produced the highest number of acceptable-strength welds. Three of the tools were composed of various mixtures of polycrystalline cubic Boron Nitride (PCBN), Tungsten, and Rhenium. These materials are referred to herein as Q60, Q70, and Q80, the "Qxx" designation denoting the percentage of the volume of the tool material composed of PCBN. The fourth tool tested was composed entirely of PCBN. The Q70 tool produced approximately 1100 welds of acceptable strength before …

Development And Delivery Of An Integrated Project-Based Jobsite Management Undergraduate Course, Philip L. Barlow

Construction Management

At universities offering professional degrees, such as construction management, some programs are moving towards and exploring alternative delivery methods for achieving the curriculum's goals and objectives. This article describes an integrated and project-based learning Jobsite Construction Management course being taught at a major university. A course overview describing the various delivery methods used (such as lectures, reading assignments, supplemental materials, guest lecturers, lab assignments, technology, and jobsite visits) is presented. The benefits of vertical and horizontal course integration in a project-based learning environment are emphasized and more fully explained. A class survey was conducted over two quarters to assess the …

Bs News March/April

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Advancing The Use Of Bim Through A Government Funded Construction Industry Competency Centre In Ireland, Alan V. Hore, Ken Thomas

Conference papers

The main aim of this paper is to develop the early case for a new Competence Centre dedicated to industry led research in the Irish construction industry. It incorporates the results of a survey carried out by the Construction IT Aliance (CITA) and also identifies similiar centres carrying out industry led research around the world. Results from the survey show a clear support for the establishment of such a centre in Ireland and, in particular, a strong interest in Building Information Modelling (BIM) as a immediate priority research area. BIM is having a profound effect worldwide on the construction industry. …

Limited Scope Permitting For Time-Sensitive Project Delivery Systems, Wayne Jensen, Bruce Fischer, Zhigang Shen

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

Delivery of construction projects in the United States has traditionally been based upon the design-bid-build system. TIlis system has been used to create numerous impressive structures, but it often proves expensive and usually requires considerable time, because design, permitting and construction are accomplished in sequential order and do not overlap. Several alternatives to the traditional system have been developed, many of which fall under the classification of time-sensitive project delivery systems. The most commonly used time-sensitive project delivery systems are phased and fast-track construction (FaZio, Moselhi, Theberge & Revay 1988a). Figure 1 illustrates some of the major differences between traditional …

Combining A Virtual Learning Tool And Onsite Study Visits Of Four Conservation Sites In Europe, Alain Chenaux, Maurice Murphy, Garrett Keenaghan, James Jenkins, Eugene Mcgovern, Sara Pavia

Conference papers

The design and evaluation of virtual learning environments for construction and surveying students is presented in this paper; by combining virtual learning environment and on-site student surveys to model and replicate practice in the architectural heritage sector. The Virtual Learning Environment is enhanced with real live survey projects whereby students collect the data to build virtual historic buildings from onsite surveys using advanced survey equipment. The survey data is modelled in HBIM; Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) is currently being developed as a virtual learning tool for construction and surveying students in the Technological University of Dublin. HBIM, is a …

The Aerodynamic Behaviour Of Respiratory Aerosols, Kristin K. Grosskopf

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

Hospital acquired infections (HAIs) claim on average 90,000 lives each year in the U.S., nearly three times the number of annual highway deaths. Although fewer than 15% of HAIs are directly attributable to airborne transmission, more than a third may be caused by surface microbes aerosolized by the movement of air from building systems, people and equipment. As a result, a study was devised to use a synthetic respiratory aerosol to track the movement airborne contagion with respect to various environmental conditions in a healthcare environment.

Complex Engineering System Learning Through Study Of Engineering Failure Cases Using 3d Animations, Zhigang Shen, Yimin Zhu

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

Complex engineering systems often require dynamic coordination of multidisciplinary teams with conflicting objectives. Failing to understand the complex relationships among the conflicting objectives may result in serious engineering failures. In engineering education, one of the challenges in teaching complex systems is the lack of effective tools to demonstrate system dynamics, especially spatial-temporal relationships in the system. The described project in this paper is supported by grants from Engineering Education program of the National Science Foundation. In the project civil/construction engineering cases are used as the context to test the proposed new teaching/learning tool on the subject and to demonstrate the …

Optimal Loop Placement And Models For Length-Based Vehicle Classification And Stop-And-Go Traffic, Heng Wei, Qingyi Ai, Deogratias Eustace, Ping Yi

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Inductive loops are widely used nationwide for traffic monitoring as a data source for a variety of needs in generating traffic information for operation and planning analysis, validations of travel demand models, freight studies, pavement design, and even emission impact analysis of traffic operation. The loop data have also been used for vehicle length-based classification in many states including Ohio. The dual-loop detector consists of two single loop detectors which are placed apart at a fixed short distance, and this configuration enables the dual-loop detector data a potential real-time data source for speed and vehicle classifications. However, the existing dual-loop …

Replenishment Policies For A Tree-Type Three Echelon Supply Chain System, Ratkrit Rochanaluk

LSU Master's Theses

One of the common goals which most companies have is to maximize profits. There are two way to increase profit: increasing revenue or reducing cost. Lacking of ability to keep the cost down could potentially drive the companies out of the business. In recent years, many researchers have been paying more attention on improving supply chain system due to high potential of creating cost savings. The supply chain network considered in this research is a tree-type, three-echelon single producer, multiple distributors, and multiple retailers system. The goal of this research is to develop a replenishment policy which satisfies customers’ demand …

The Effects Of Highway Environmental Conditions On Photocatalytic Pavement's Ability To Reduce Nitrogen Oxides, Heather Dylla

LSU Master's Theses

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from vehicle exhaust are associated with negative health impacts and are a precursor to ozone. Self-cleaning, air-purifying concrete pavement is a rapidly emerging technology that can degrade pollutants such as NOx through heterogeneous photocatalysis. Although this technology has the potential to support environmentally friendly road infrastructure, a number of design and operational parameters may affect its effectiveness and thus need to be evaluated. The goal of this study was to measure the NOx reduction efficiencies from photocatalytic pavements under various environmental conditions common to highways. To achieve this goal, the objectives were to: (a) evaluate the …

Building Information Management (Bim) Implementation In Naval Construction, Raymond Rohena

LSU Master's Theses

Traditional two-dimensional (2D) delivery systems in the construction industry can hinder the way information is communicated between owners, architects, and contractors. This hindrance exists in all phases of a project, from design and construction to the operation and maintenance of the completed facility. Building Information Management (BIM) is an emerging information technology that promotes a collaborative process for the Architectural, Engineering, Construction and Facilities Management (AECFM) industry; it can aid the exchange of information and provide improved project data accessibility to all stakeholders of a construction project. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), in conjunction with the facility management (FM) …

Performance Assessment Of Innovative Framing Systems Through Building Information Modeling Based Energy Simulation, Santhosh Reddy Chinnayeluka

LSU Master's Theses

While many residential contractors, architects, and home-buyers today are concerned about the environment and interested in sustainable construction technologies, the perceived higher initial costs of innovative materials and methodologies and a lack of life-cycle cost and performance data present significant barriers in the implementation of such techniques. Research regarding an integrated design process has suggested that performance based decision making is key to the successful implementation of sustainable building practices. Therefore, a need exists for the development of whole building design and evaluation models to allow decision making in all phases of a building project. This research seeks information regarding …

Implementing Lean In Healthcare Warehouse Operations - Evaluation Of 5s Best Practice, Sanjith Venkateswaran

LSU Master's Theses

Lean strategies in healthcare aim at improving patient throughput, reducing medication errors, redesigning work flow, improving patient safety, and reducing cycle time. Documented studies to improve healthcare’s warehouse operation are not common in the literature. Managing types of medical supplies has always been a priority due to demand uncertainties and the risk of shortages that would profoundly affect patient safety. This study showcases two implementation approaches for the Lean tool 5S (Hybrid and Traditional) conducted in three different hospitals’ central warehouses at Ochsner Health System. These warehouses store similar medical products with over 1000 types of supplies (e.g. syringes, gloves, …

Material And Energy Flow Analysis Of The Irish Construction Sector, Rachel Woodward

Theses

A national flow model for concrete was developed using the framework of material and energy flow analysis. Using this framework, the Irish concrete material and energy cycles for the year 2007 were constructed by firstly analysing the material life cycle of concrete which consists of the three phases of production (including extraction of raw materials and manufacture of cement), usage into stock (ready-mix and other concrete products), and waste management. In this year, approximately 35Mt of raw materials were extracted to produce both 5Mt of cement and 33Mt of concrete, with 4.5Mt of cement going into the production of concrete. …

Design Of A Smart System For Monitoring Concrete Curing And Structural Health, William Quinn

Theses

Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a rapidly growing sector of the construction industry. Automated monitoring methods arc mainly limited to global monitoring and the application of local monitoring methods has not gained widespread application due to the fact that currently technology requires that the systems are wired to data acquisition devices. This thesis presents a fully embeddable wireless sensor node for the local monitoring of structural concrete. It presents the first reported wireless embedded system implementation of the electromechanical impedance method using both resonant and antiresonant sensors for this purpose.

The first section of this thesis examines the feasibility of …

Sustainable Design Optimization Of Rural Houses In North China, Mingliang Li

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

With the rapid economic development of China, the living standards in rural areas have been experiencing improvement over the past two decades. One important aspect of the improved living standards is housing, which has been transformed from traditional adobe or stone structures into modern brick and concrete ones. In the meantime, active heating and cooling systems are gradually being incorporated and residents are requiring more comfortable indoor air temperatures during cold winters and hot summers. However, most rural houses have no insulation in their exterior walls and roofs. The question is whether or not it is economically viable to build …

Bs News January/February

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Building Lca Case Study Using Autodesk Ecotect And Bim Model, Endong Wang, Zhigang Shen, Charles Barryman

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of utilizing building information model (BIM) to perform whole building Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The research question addressed was how life cycle performance of a building was affected quantitatively by design configurations. Life cycle energy consumption and CO₂ emission of a university building in the Midwest was calculated using Autodesk® Ecotect and BIM model. The study compared life cycle performance, i.e., CO₂ emissions and energy consumptions, among different design configurations, as well as their distributions in the stages of the building’s life time. Sensitivity analysis was performed …

Wash Water In The Mix: Effects On The Compressive Strength Of Concrete, Brian Wasserman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Beginning with the Water Quality Act of 1987, requirements were put in place to control sediment run off from construction sites, which typically meant silt fences were installed and maintained on job sites. In 2009, when Aggregate Industries was fined $2.7 million by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for poor management of concrete wash water, the disposal of concrete wash water became a significant issue. Following the EPA guidelines, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) currently allows the dumping of excess concrete on the job sites, but requires control of all water used to wash concrete ready mix trucks, delivery …

Effects Of Warm-Mix Asphalt Additives On Asphalt Mixture Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Jun Zhang

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the feasibility of several WMA mixtures as potential asphalt paving mixtures for Nebraska pavements. To that end, three well-known WMA additives (i.e., Sasobit, Evotherm, and Advera synthetic zeolite) were evaluated. For a more realistic evaluation of the WMA approaches, trial pavement sections of the WMA mixtures and their HMA counterparts were implemented in Antelope County, Nebraska. More than one ton of field-mixed loose mixtures were collected at the time of paving and were transported to the NDOR and UNL laboratories to conduct comprehensive laboratory evaluations and pavement performance predictions of the …

The Use Of Building Information Modeling In Generating Hard Bid Estimates, Peter Samuel Jensen

Theses and Dissertations

Building Information Modeling has provided many benefits to the architectural, engineering, construction and facilities management communities. Many studies have been done to validate the asserted benefits, including benefits to the field of estimating. The studies on estimating are currently limited to the realm of conceptual estimates, and have only treated detailed estimates in the abstract. The purpose of this study was to determine how BIM was being used by companies in a hard bid, or detailed estimate scenario. The research team used the Deseret Towers housing project at Brigham Young University as the basis for the research. A building information …

Culvert Material Cost Comparison, New England Environmental Finance Center

Economics and Finance

The following tables provide a detailed look at the role that culvert material and culvert diameter play in the overall cost of a culvert replacement project. Table 1 displays the cost per foot purchase price arranged by diameter size for the various culvert materials that are currently available. Table 2 displays the average additional culvert pipe material cost (increased cost to upsize minus original in-kind replacement cost) that would be incurred when upsizing a given diameter of culvert with a 50 foot length by factors of: 200%, 250% and 300%.