Engineering Commons^™

Effect Of Swirl Ratio On Simulated Vortech Chamber Vortex Parameters, Samuel Kolar

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A numerical simulator can use computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to model an experimental tornado-simulating chamber at Texas Tech University (known as VorTECH). Previous studies evaluating this particular CFD model have produced results that compare the touchdown swirl ratio (S_TD), core radius (r_c), maximum tangential velocity at touchdown (V_tmax @ S_TD), and height of the maximum tangential velocity (z_c) reasonably well with experimental data from the VorTECH facility. The effects of swirl ratio beyond S_TD on important vortex parameters including r_c, V_tmax, z …

Evacuation Of Students With Intellectual Disability In Building Fires: A Three-Part Methodology, Haley Hostetter

All Dissertations

People with disabilities are one of the most vulnerable groups in building fires. Despite this, they have traditionally been overlooked by fire evacuation researchers. This is perhaps the most alarming for the group with Intellectual Disability when given their present statistics for fire involvement, injuries, and death. Annually, people with mental disabilities are involved in 1700 home fires, resulting in 39 fatalities and 122 injuries per 1000 fires. Additionally, 40% of these fires were started intentionally by people with mental disabilities. When combined with their high fire risk, the lack of evacuation research focused on people with Intellectual Disability shows …

Quantifying Hurricane Effects On Housing: Evaluating Damage, Loss, And Shelter Demands Using Historical And Simulated Storm Tracks, Adish Deep Shakya

All Theses

This research introduces an advanced framework which employs parametric wind field models for peak wind speeds, and building fragility curves, loss functions, and demographic data to estimate for estimating housing damage and loss. The uninhabitable units immediate displaced households, short-term and long-term shelter need households are determined. with a particular focus on those eligible for FEMA assistance. The framework's validity is reinforced by a high correlation in the analysis of recent hurricane events between estimated numbers of displaced households and actual FEMA aid recipients, where FEMA aids about 20-60% of the predicted long-term displaced households. A novel application of the …

Analytical And Experimental Studies To Support Codification Of Lightweight Grout For Masonry Design, Cooper Banks

All Theses

Lightweight (LW) aggregates have many potential benefits in masonry construction including minimizing mass, improving thermal performance, and reducing the potential for shrinkage cracking via internal curing. The current masonry design standard, TMS 402/602-22, permits lightweight aggregate in the production of concrete masonry units (CMU), but there has been insufficient testing of masonry assemblies to permit designing with LW grout. Shrestha et al. characterized LW grouts bond to reinforcement, shear strength, tension and shear pullout behavior of anchors and proposed possible reduction factors for design. Hiner characterized the flexural bond strength LW grouted masonry assemblies and proposed possible reduction factors for …

Implementation Of Fluid Viscous Damper For 2023 Eeri Seismic Design Competition, Dalton J. Muck, Payton S. Mcgee, Payton R. Filippin, Tynan Castro

Architectural Engineering

The authors of this report were a part of the 2023 Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI) student chapter for California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly). With thirteen other team members, they traveled to San Francisco, CA to compete in the Seismic Design Competition (SDC) hosted by EERI. The team was tasked with preparing a written proposal, design and computer analysis of the structural system, construction of two physical models, as well as creation of a poster and a presentation for a proposed mid-rise building located in the competition host city. The goal of the design of Cal …

Computationally Modeling The Human-Structure Interaction Response Of An Occupied Cantilevered Structure, Brennan Smith

Honors Theses

There is a limited understanding of the impact that passive human occupants have on a dynamic structural system, referred to as Human-Structure Interaction (HSI). Cantilevers are naturally prone to excessive vibrations due to their long unsupported spans, and cantilevered structures such as those commonly found in the seating area of a stadium facility or concert hall are designed to support a high density of occupancy.

This study determined that HSI in cantilevered structures can be modeled using a simple two-degree-of-freedom system. The results of the model were validated by data that was collected on a small-scale laboratory structure intentionally designed …

Improvement In Benefit-Cost Analysis Of Bridges Through Assessment Of Secondary Benefits And Defect Based Maintenance Cost, Shadman Sakib

Civil Engineering Theses

Benefit-cost Analysis (BCA) is conducted prior to federal grant allocation for bridge replacement and enhancement projects to prioritize decision-making. Benefits are measured based on total bridge closures, requiring vehicles to take alternate detour paths. Primary benefits are the direct user costs such as travel time saving or emission costs. However, there are more secondary benefits that are intangible and hard to monetize, but United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) guidelines suggest considering them wherever possible. There are lack of US based data and research also no set guideline by authority.

Apart from calculating primary benefits for a 95 sample of …

Evaluation Of 50’ Frp Truss Bridges With Timber Decks, Maxwell Browning Carey

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have become mainstream structural materials and are being utilized in many different structural applications because of their outstanding thermos-mechanical properties and other characteristics. These characteristics include exceptional corrosion resistance, energy absorption, durability, high strength-to-weight, stiffness-to-weight ratios, and others. Also, FRP composites are cost effective especially when accounting for the service life of such a material.

In this study, testing and analysis were performed at both the component as well as a structural system levels. Herein, two FRP truss bridges of different widths with 50 ft. spans underwent extensive testing and analysis in accordance with AASHTO specifications. …

Railroad Condition Monitoring Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing And Deep Learning Techniques, Md Arifur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Proper condition monitoring has been a major issue among railroad administrations since it might cause catastrophic dilemmas that lead to fatalities or damage to the infrastructure. Although various aspects of train safety have been conducted by scholars, in-motion monitoring detection of defect occurrence, cause, and severity is still a big concern. Hence extensive studies are still required to enhance the accuracy of inspection methods for railroad condition monitoring (CM). Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) has been recognized as a promising method because of its sensing capabilities over long distances and for massive structures. As DAS produces large datasets, algorithms for precise …

Battery Dunnage, Paul Hirsch, Alex Cox, Ben Strubbe

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Schaeffler is launching a new assembly line for a battery in 2025. As part of the project, it is necessary to design and fabricate a reusable dunnage (packaging) specialized for the battery, meant for safe domestic transportation in the United States. Through an iterative process, the team developed a final dunnage design out of steel components that had a maximum footprint of 62 in X 43.5 in X 29.25 in and a weight of 821.682 lbs. The dunnage is stackable on itself up to two high, weighing a total of 4,918.724 lbs. when loaded with four batteries. The design was …

Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Analysis And Discovery, Payton Maddaloni

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Analysis And Discovery, Payton Summer Maddaloni

Honors Theses and Capstones

This poster encompasses yearlong literary research into floating offshore wind turbines. Limitations created by society are discussed, these have prohibited large leaps to get the turbines out of the design phase. Traditional platform designs are displayed to show the potential the industry has to offer as the next renewable energy source. The maintenance phase seeks optimization. A case study by the University of Cincinnati used production losses as a consideration to lower the total cost of traditionally expensive maintenance. Finally, the end-of-life scenarios are currently being overlooked by developers. This opens the door to multiple options for disposal. Mimicking the …

Early-Age Strength And Failure Characteristics Of 3d Printable Polymer Concrete: Numerical Modelling And Experimental Testing, Mohammad Amin Dehghani Najvani

Civil Engineering ETDs

The time-dependent rheological and early-age strength parameters of Polymer concrete (PC) were investigated. PC flow decreased, and the static yield stress and thixotropy increased as the specimen aged, while the dynamic yield stress remained unchanged. The study found that the Herschel-Bulkley model can accurately describe the PC’s rheological behavior over time. The change in cohesion strength and internal friction angle over time was observed using uniaxial unconfined compression and direct shear tests of fresh PC. A time-dependent MohrCoulomb failure criterion was established. Temperature analysis was used to determine the gel time and explain the evolution of the time-dependent early-age strength …

Analysis Of Loading Rate, Fiber Orientation And Material Composition Through Image Processing And Digital Volume Correlation In High Performance Concrete, Aidan R. Carlson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) and High Performance concrete (HPC) is characterized by high compressive strength and high toughness. This is achieved through maximizing the particle packing density in the matrix and the use of fibers to reinforce the matrix, increasing the materials toughness. The interactions of fibers and the matrix during loading is quite complex and involves several different energy dissipation mechanisms. The goal of this work and this thesis is to investigate these interactions and identify any changes in material response, and hope that these changes may be useful for the design of UHPC moving forward.

In this …

Functional Cementitious Composites With Micro-Sized Particulate Fillers For Additive Construction And Energy-Efficient Buildings, Adam Brooks

Doctoral Dissertations

With a growing energy demand, the development of sustainable and energy efficient building materials is growing rapidly. Numerous researches have focused on low carbon footprint construction materials, high-performance thermal insulations, high-performance façade, and thermal energy storage. Among these, the development of functional cementitious composites has attracted significant attention due to its potential utilities in building energy reduction and decarbonatization efforts. For example, fly ash cenospheres have been used as micro-size lightweight fillers to achieve low density and thermal conductivity. The use of phase change materials (PCM) in concrete has been studied to answer energy demands. While their inclusion into concrete …

Self-Consolidating Concrete Design For Drilled Shaft Structural Applications, Grady S. Caton

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is a relatively new concrete technology which allows the concrete to be placed without the need for manual or machine vibration. This innovation reduces labor costs, construction times, and can provide a smooth, finished surface. However, this technology is used in the United States primarily in the precast and prestressed concrete industry. The utility of SCC in structural applications, such as areas of dense reinforcement or locations where complex geometry makes consolidation impossible, is also advantageous. In this study, a series of SCC mixtures were developed both with and without fly ash replacement. These mixtures were then …

Comparing In-Situ Liquefaction Triggering Procedures For Sites In Arkansas, Sagar Barua

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

There currently exists a significant amount of uncertainty when designing piles for bridge foundations in liquefiable soil. Currently ARDOT engineers use a Standard Penetration Test (SPT) based liquefaction spreadsheet developed 10 years ago to evaluate liquefaction triggering. Since this spreadsheet was developed, updates to the liquefaction triggering procedures have been published making the spreadsheet out-of-date. Moreover, additional methods of liquefaction evaluation using cone penetration test (CPT) and shear wave velocity (Vs) provide added means of evaluating liquefaction potential. This thesis updates ARDOT's liquefaction triggering evaluation methodology with the newest procedures and incorporates additional empirical liquefaction hazard estimates such as the …

Effect Of Latex Modified Concrete Overlays With Reduced Surface Preparation On The Load Distribution And Flexural Strength Of Channel Girders, Samuel Dodd

All Theses

This thesis investigates the use of a Latex Modified Concrete (LMC) overlay to increase the strength of prestressed channel girders and enhance their ability to distribute load. The research conducted in this thesis involved material testing of several different LMC mixes and flexural testing of an LMC overlay and girder system. The material testing was used to determine a reasonable LMC mix design and surface preparation method to be used for the overlay. Based on material testing it was concluded that a rapid-set mix and pressure washing of the girder surfaces were a reasonable mix design and surface preparation for …

Modular Composite Sandwich Structures For Thermal And Structural Retrofitting Of Existing Buildings, Marc Al Ghazal

Masters Theses

Around 40% of global energy consumption and 30% of worldwide carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are attributed to buildings. Most of this consumption is dedicated to ensuring thermal comfort. The goal of this research was to develop and field validate retrofit solutions to improve the energy efficiency of buildings. Exterior cladding panels were designed and tested to ensure adequate thermal and structural performance. Sandwich panels (glass fibers reinforced polymer (GFRP) skins and polymeric foam cores) were fabricated using the vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) process. Extruded polystyrene (XPS) and polyurethane (PU) foams were compared as core materials through a series …

Improvement Of Rotation Capacity Of Composite Beam-To-Hss Column Connections Using External Horizontal Stiffeners, Mahdi Afshar Arjmand

Master's Theses

Improvement of Rotation Capacity of Composite Beam-to-HSS Column Connections Using External Horizontal Stiffeners

Mahdi Afshar Arjmand

This thesis focuses on the analysis of out-of-plane deformation (OOP) in column flange located in the panel zone of composite beam-to-column steel connection, as a critical aspect of steel structural engineering. This type of connection is an integral component of steel structures, and understanding their behavior is essential for ensuring safety and performance. The investigation involves examining the causes, factors influencing, and potential mitigation strategies for out-of-plane deformation of HSS flange column in these connections. Beam-to-column connections play a vital role in transferring loads …

Steel Deck Diaphragms: Characterizing The Hysteretic Behavior Of Light Gage Steel, Screw-Fastened, Support And Sidelap Connections And The Influence Of Support Connections On The Stability Behavior Of Panels, Divyansh Kapoor

Doctoral Dissertations

Steel deck diaphragms are planar structures that serve as critical components of a metal building’s lateral force-resisting system. These can be found in walls, floors, and roofs of metal buildings and aid with the lateral stability of the structure. The diaphragm design process involves the selection of materials, deck geometry, connections, and connection detailing across the steel panels. The American Iron and Steel Institute’s AISI S310 and Steel Deck Institutes DDM04 both provide design guidance on the selection and detailing of materials and fasteners for the applicable limit states of connections and stability of the panels. Both design codes provide …

Application Of Wavelet Analysis And Random Field In Integrity Management Of Pipelines Containing Dents And Corrosions, Junxiong Lin

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Metal loss corrosions and dents are two major threats to the integrity of oil and natural gas pipelines. In the pipeline industry, the Fitness-For-Service (FFS) assessment is commonly employed for pipelines containing these defects. However, FFS assessment usually assumes that a defect has a simple shape, and such a simplification may significantly affect the accuracy of the assessment. Therefore, retaining the actual shapes of defects and incorporating them into the FFS assessment can improve assessment accuracy. The main objective of the present thesis is to extract key information about the sizes, directions, and shapes of corrosions and dents from the …

Parametric Analysis And Enhancement Of The Burst Capacity Model For Composite-Repaired Corroded Pipelines, Rodrigo Silva Silva-Santisteban

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

One of the main causes of pipeline failures is corrosion, which leads to a localized loss of the pipe wall thickness and hence compromises the capacity of the pipeline. Composite repair is a method to rehabilitate corroded pipelines. Design codes such as ASME PCC-2 are commonly used to design the repair thickness. As the predictive accuracy to determine the burst capacity of a composite repaired pipeline with existing models is generally poor, the main objective of the present thesis is to provide insights on the parameters that affect the burst capacity and propose improvements to the prediction of burst capacity …

Towards Smart And Cost-Effective Bridge Infrastructure Monitoring Systems, Premjeet Singh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Bridge health monitoring (BHM) has recently gained significant interest worldwide in the inspection and maintenance of aging bridge infrastructure in the era of climate change and adverse weather conditions. However, extensive datasets resulting from these monitoring systems require appropriate tools to diagnose the data systematically under various operating conditions of bridges, leading to expensive and time intensive BHM strategies. To mitigate this challenge, a smart and cost-effective bridge infrastructure management system is of paramount need in today’s world. This thesis aims to develop a suite of cost-effective bridge management strategies by employing limited and mobile sensing technology and addressing their …

Investigating The Effect Of Bead Geometry On Fiber Orientation And Thermomechanical Properties For Large-Format Extrusion-Based Additive Manufacturing, Joanna F. Keaton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In large-format extrusion-based additive manufacturing of polymer composites, the relationship between material properties and processing parameters requires further investigation. This thesis focuses on the relationship between fiber orientation and thermomechanical properties for short fiber-filled thermoplastic polymer systems manufactured by extrusion-based additive manufacturing. Fiber orientation is particularly important in determining the thermomechanical properties of the composite material as properties in the direction of deposition are expected to be higher for highly aligned fibers than randomly aligned fibers. Fiber orientation distribution, which is related to processing parameters and deposition conditions, can be efficiently represented by the orientation tensor. The orientation tensor can …

Investigation Of Ground Deformations And Vibrations Due To Impact Pile Driving: Measurements And Prediction Model, Berk Turkel

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-

Pile driving, a commonly used method for installing deep foundations, has gained prominence as a foundation solution to transfer structural loads to deep competent strata. However, this method of installation can generate noise, ground vibrations, and deformations. These effects pose risks to adjacent structures and buried utilities, jeopardizing the safety and serviceability of urban infrastructure. Researchers and public and private agencies have proposed many vibration limit criteria to avoid damage to infrastructure. However, these criteria for construction vibrations are not linked to the ground densification associated with repetitive and cumulative loadings in sandy soils. This dissertation focuses on developing a …

The Current State Of Practice Of Building Information Modeling, Kevin P. Brooks

Masters Theses

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has become extremely prominent in the construction industry in the past twenty years. It serves as a digital repository that can, when used to its fullest potential, combine all aspects of designing, building, and managing a structure in one place, alongside all the data produced in those processes. The construction industry has to date struggled to increase productivity alongside similar fields, such as the manufacturing industry, though the construction industry generally has far more stakeholders on one project than the manufacturing industry. Further, building designs are becoming more complex while project schedules are becoming tighter. As …

The Effects Of Hurricane Wind Field Characteristics On Wind Blade Loads, Michael S. Tsai

Masters Theses

Over recent years, offshore wind energy has been growing around the world. This necessitates placing wind turbines directly in or near the oceans where hurricanes can be. Previous research has suggested that hurricane wind veer and direction change can have adverse loading effects on the turbine. Such effects can create damage to the blade or worsen existing ones. Currently, there is no known design standard for addressing wind veer and direction change specifically from hurricanes. Quantifying the loading contribution from these phenomena is not abundant either.

This thesis seeks to demonstrate a proposed procedure for defining design veer profiles and …

Post-Fire Damage Inspection Of Concrete Tunnel Structures, James Viglas

Masters Theses

In general, tunnels are designed with an abundance of safety regarding structural integrity, however, there can be uncertainty related to structural performance after a fire event. The residual condition of a tunnel after a fire is dependent on fire intensity and duration. The goal of this study is to correlate visual and material characteristics of structural and non-structural components of tunnels with fire temperature and exposure time. This can be further related to the residual capacity of structural members in a tunnel, providing insight into safety and overall functionality. Experimental results show that the visual response of materials with heat …

Experimental Investigation Of The Long-Term Bending Deflection And Creep Performance Of Cross-Laminated Timber (Clt), Aaron Desantis

All Theses

Rising popularity in mass timber construction for residential and commercial projects has escalated the need to develop and increase understanding of mass timber products both from a strength and serviceability perspective. For cross-laminated timber (CLT) there is a significant lack of research on the creep characteristics also known as long-term deflection behavior. Creep is particularly important for products such as CLT that are used for floors with longer spans. Full-scale creep testing was conducted using 5-ply CLT panels over the course of 6 months in a controlled environment under dry service condition. Testing resulted in average final deflections 1.73 times …