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Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Microstructural Analysis Of Thermoelastic Response, Nonlinear Creep, And Pervasive Cracking In Heterogeneous Materials, Alden C. Cook Dec 2016

Microstructural Analysis Of Thermoelastic Response, Nonlinear Creep, And Pervasive Cracking In Heterogeneous Materials, Alden C. Cook

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is concerned with the development of robust numerical solution procedures for the generalized micromechanical analysis of linear and nonlinear constitutive behavior in heterogeneous materials. Although the methods developed are applicable in many engineering, geological, and materials science fields, three main areas are explored in this work. First, a numerical methodology is presented for the thermomechanical analysis of heterogeneous materials with a special focus on real polycrystalline microstructures obtained using electron backscatter diffraction techniques. Asymptotic expansion homogenization and finite element analysis are employed for micromechanical analysis of polycrystalline materials. Effective thermoelastic properties of polycrystalline materials are determined and compared …


Reflectivity Of Light Emitting Diodes (Led) And Incandescent Lights On Concrete And Asphalt Pavements., Jeremy Elliott Rice Dec 2016

Reflectivity Of Light Emitting Diodes (Led) And Incandescent Lights On Concrete And Asphalt Pavements., Jeremy Elliott Rice

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the reflectivity of light on concrete and asphalt pavement systems. In 1983, the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) published the first recommended practice (RP-8) for the design of roadway and parking lot lighting. This design method implemented empirically tested factors which were defined as the “reduced luminance coefficients” or the R-Tables. The R-Tables are essential for proper design of light pole installation dimensions, required power, and the distribution of light. The originally tested pavements are not necessarily representative of modern pavement materials used today. Moreover, recent Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are a relatively …


Analysis And Recommendations To Improve Traffic Safety & Flow For Pedestrians Bicyclists And Motorists Along Franklin Street, Matthew Pelletier Aug 2016

Analysis And Recommendations To Improve Traffic Safety & Flow For Pedestrians Bicyclists And Motorists Along Franklin Street, Matthew Pelletier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Franklin Street is a minor arterial servicing Portland, Maine that connects Commercial Street and Route 1 to I-295 and has been a target for redevelopment for some time. Franklin is the epitome of traffic congestion, and has unsafe conditions for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike. Portland is the biggest city in Maine and is an important hub for employment, housing and tourism throughout the year. As the city grows, there is a greater demand to build more sustainable, multi-use streets to service all modes of transportation that supports business development, open space and growth. This new vision is being applied …


Integrating Laminated Strand Lumber And Lumber From Northeastern U.S. Forests Into Cross-Laminated Timber, Nicholas Matthew Willey May 2016

Integrating Laminated Strand Lumber And Lumber From Northeastern U.S. Forests Into Cross-Laminated Timber, Nicholas Matthew Willey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research was to conduct a technical assessment of the engineering properties of cross-laminated timber (CLT) made from local Northeastern lumber, laminated strand lumber (LSL) and mixtures of the two. The technical assessment provided the bending and shear strength and stiffnesses values for select CLT configurations, which were used to determine the feasibility of using local Northeastern lumber and LSL in CLT. Experimental lay-up designs were created for six three-layer CLT configurations using Spruce-Pine-Fir (South) (SPFs) No.2 and better and 1.35E LSL. Preliminary shear block tests were run to determine the optimal spread rate, and a board …


Improvement Of Soil Spring Model For The Analysis Of Buried Arch Structures, Leo N. Helderman May 2016

Improvement Of Soil Spring Model For The Analysis Of Buried Arch Structures, Leo N. Helderman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The University of Maine has developed concrete filled fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tubes (CFFTs) for use in bridge construction. A finite element model was previously developed to analyze these buried arch structures during construction, service live load, and ultimate load. Two shortcomings in that model include how the load distribution method and the soil reaction due to construction and service loads are modeled. There were two objectives to this research: to make a user-friendly software package to analyze a variety of buried arch structures and to improve the existing model to better predict the soil-structure interaction. Prototype software was developed complete …


Evaluation Of Crash Modification Factors And Functions Including Time Trends At Intersections, Jung-Han Wang Jan 2016

Evaluation Of Crash Modification Factors And Functions Including Time Trends At Intersections, Jung-Han Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Traffic demand has increased as population increased. The US population reached 313,914,040 in 2012 (US Census Bureau, 2015). Increased travel demand may have potential impact on roadway safety and the operational characteristics of roadways. Total crashes and injury crashes at intersections accounted for 40% and 44% of traffic crashes, respectively, on US roadways in 2007 according to the Intersection Safety Issue Brief (FHWA, 2009). Traffic researchers and engineers have developed a quantitative measure of the safety effectiveness of treatments in the form of crash modification factors (CMF). Based on CMFs from multiple studies, the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) Part D …


Investigation Of Infrared Thermography For Subsurface Damage Detection Of Concrete Structures, Shuhei Hiasa Jan 2016

Investigation Of Infrared Thermography For Subsurface Damage Detection Of Concrete Structures, Shuhei Hiasa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deterioration of road infrastructure arises from aging and various other factors. Consequently, inspection and maintenance have been a serious worldwide problem. In the United States, degradation of concrete bridge decks is a widespread problem among several bridge components. In order to prevent the impending degradation of bridges, periodic inspection and proper maintenance are indispensable. However, the transportation system faces unprecedented challenges because the number of aging bridges is increasing under limited resources, both in terms of budget and personnel. Therefore, innovative technologies and processes that enable bridge owners to inspect and evaluate bridge conditions more effectively and efficiently with less …


Analysis Of Driving Behavior At Expressway Toll Plazas Using Driving Simulator, Moatz Saad Jan 2016

Analysis Of Driving Behavior At Expressway Toll Plazas Using Driving Simulator, Moatz Saad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this study is to analyze the driving behavior at toll plazas by examining multiple scenarios using a driving simulator to study the effect of different options including different path decisions, various signs, arrow markings, traffic conditions, and extending auxiliary lanes before and after the toll plaza on the driving behavior. Also, this study focuses on investigating the effect of drivers' characteristics on the dangerous driving behavior (e.g. speed variation, sudden lane change, drivers' confusion). Safety and efficiency are the fundamental goals that transportation engineering is always seeking for the design of highways. Transportation agencies have a crucial …


Experimental Study Of Sinkhole Failure Related To Groundwater Level Drops, Mohamed Alrowaimi Jan 2016

Experimental Study Of Sinkhole Failure Related To Groundwater Level Drops, Mohamed Alrowaimi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sinkholes are natural geohazard phenomena that cause damage to property and may lead to loss of life. They can also cause added pollution to the aquifer by draining unfiltered water from streams, wetland, and lakes into the aquifer. Sinkholes occur in a very distinctive karst geology where carbonate, limestone, dolomite, or gypsum, are encountered as the bedrock that can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. Sinkholes can occur gradually or suddenly with catastrophic impact depending on the geology and hydrology of the area. Predicting the formation and the collapse of a sinkhole based on the current ground investigation …


Impact Of Dynamic Message Signs On Driver Behavior Under Reduced Visibility Conditions, Ryan Selby Jan 2016

Impact Of Dynamic Message Signs On Driver Behavior Under Reduced Visibility Conditions, Ryan Selby

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fog along roadways is a dangerous hazard that leads to crashes resulting from limited visibility. Low visibility gives drivers less time to react to potential obstacles that can suddenly appear and require immediate action. To solve this issue, early warning systems involving Dynamic Message Signs or other types of devices are used to alert drivers of the impending visibility condition so that they are prepared. This research focuses on testing the effectiveness of one form of warning systems to investigate how it impacts driver behavior in foggy conditions. To accomplish this objective, a simulation study is developed to test variables …


Microscopic Safety Evaluation And Prediction For Special Expressway Facilities, Ling Wang Jan 2016

Microscopic Safety Evaluation And Prediction For Special Expressway Facilities, Ling Wang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Expressways are of great importance and serve as the backbone of a roadway system. One of the reasons why expressways increase travel speeds and provide high level of services is that limited access is provided to permit vehicles to enter or exit expressways. Entering and exiting of vehicles are accomplished through interchanges, which consist of several ramps, thus the spacing between ramps is important. A weaving segment might form when an on-ramp is closely followed by an off-ramp. The geometric design of ramps and the traffic behavior of weaving segments are different from other expressway segments. These differences result in …


Understanding Hydroclimatic Controls On Stream Network Dynamics Using Lidar Data, Seoyoung Kim Jan 2016

Understanding Hydroclimatic Controls On Stream Network Dynamics Using Lidar Data, Seoyoung Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigates the hydroclimatic controls on drainage network dynamics and characterizes the variation of drainage density in various climate regions. The methods were developed to extract the valley and wet channel networks based on Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data including the elevation and intensity of laser returns. The study watersheds were selected based on the availability of streamflow observations and LiDAR data. Climate aridity index was used as a quantitative indicator for climate. The climate controls on drainage density were re-visited using watersheds with minimal anthropogenic interferences and compared with the U-shape relationship reported in the previous studies. …


The Effect Of Building Information Modeling On Design And Construction Industry, Yahya Alassaf Jan 2016

The Effect Of Building Information Modeling On Design And Construction Industry, Yahya Alassaf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Construction industry's evolution is, historically, in the lowest level, if compared to other industries, such as auto manufacturing. Construction is a multidisciplinary industry, considering that designers, contractors, and owners are all involved in the same project, each one seeking their own interests. The complex environment surrounding design and construction makes the decision-makers hesitate about adopting new methodology. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a new method and technology, which can improve both the design and the construction processes. The adoption of BIM is increasing significantly over the last years, and its effects can be seen on real life projects. In order …


An Integrated Hydrodynamic-Marsh Model With Applications In Fluvial, Marine, And Mixed Estuarine Systems, Karim Alizad Jan 2016

An Integrated Hydrodynamic-Marsh Model With Applications In Fluvial, Marine, And Mixed Estuarine Systems, Karim Alizad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal wetlands experience fluctuating productivity when subjected to various stressors. One of the most impactful stressors is sea level rise (SLR) associated with global warming. Research has shown that under SLR, salt marshes may not have time to establish an equilibrium with sea level and may migrate landward or become open water. Salt marsh systems play an important role in the coastal ecosystem by providing intertidal habitats and food for birds, fish, crabs, mussels, and other animals. They also protect shorelines by dissipating flow and damping wave energy through an increase in drag forces. Due to the serious consequences of …


Mechanistic Behavior Of Uhpc And Uhpc Composite Structural Components, Munaf Al-Ramahee Jan 2016

Mechanistic Behavior Of Uhpc And Uhpc Composite Structural Components, Munaf Al-Ramahee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The resistance of reinforced concrete is mobilized through the composite action of two materials with different mechanical behaviors and physical features. Enabling the composite action requires a transfer mechanism between the concrete and the reinforcement which is referred to as bond. The bond model can be defined as a traction-slip relation tangent to the interface. The bond strength between different types of concrete, internal reinforcement, and external reinforcement has been of interest to structural engineers for decades. Experimental tests have been carried out to validate the existing bond models and introduce new bond models for special cases of concrete or …


Precast Full-Depth Deck Panels Supported On Inverted Bulb-Tee Bridge Girders, Michael James Mingo Jan 2016

Precast Full-Depth Deck Panels Supported On Inverted Bulb-Tee Bridge Girders, Michael James Mingo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) currently uses precast double-tee bridge deck systems for many of its county bridges because they are economical and fast in construction. Current bridges are designed for a service life of 75 years. However, many double-tee girder bridges are deteriorating and some need total replacement after 40 years in service. Furthermore, the double-tee bridge system only has one supplier in South Dakota. Alternative durable precast or prefabricated bridge systems are needed to provide more options to local governments when designing a new bridge. Different alternatives will also give local governments more flexibility to select …


Reuse Of Aqueous Waste Streams For Transportation-Related Applications, Gregory L. Hansen Jan 2016

Reuse Of Aqueous Waste Streams For Transportation-Related Applications, Gregory L. Hansen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aqueous waste streams produced from commercial, industrial, and municipal processes may be potentially reused for transportation applications. The objectives of this project were to identify potential transportation-related applications for aqueous waste streams available in South Dakota, develop guidance for the beneficial reuse of aqueous waste streams, and evaluate the reuse of MIEX® brine generated by the Watertown Municipal Water Treatment Plant (WMWTP). This study identified many aqueous wastes from municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities, industrial and agricultural processes in South Dakota that can be potentially used for ice and dust control. Beneficial reuse of these waste streams requires a …


Impact Of The Longer Change And Clearance Intervals On Signalized Intersections And Corridors, Mohammed Alfawzan Jan 2016

Impact Of The Longer Change And Clearance Intervals On Signalized Intersections And Corridors, Mohammed Alfawzan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Evaluating the impact of longer change and clearance intervals on signalized intersections and corridors is the main goal of this study. In fact, the Florida department of Transportation (FDOT) has adopted a new signal retiming effort in a number of signalized intersections along several corridors. The Orange County started implementing the new signal timing from December, 2013 and completed it in June, 2015. The other objective of this new signal timing is to minimize the red light running rate. This study is dedicated to investigate the signal retiming effort adopted by the FDOT and how the new signal timing might …


Evaluation Of Real World Toll Plazas Using Driving Simulation, Kali Carroll Jan 2016

Evaluation Of Real World Toll Plazas Using Driving Simulation, Kali Carroll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Toll plazas are becoming an essential part of the highway system, especially within the state of Florida. Many crashes reported on highways occur at toll plazas. A primary reason for many vehicle collisions happening at these facilities is the fact that each toll plaza agency has different design, signage and marking criteria. This, in turn, causes driver confusion and possible last minute weaving maneuvers. Even though the varying design of toll plazas is a clear highway safety factor, research in the field is very limited but expanding. This study focuses on one toll plaza, in particular the Dean Mainline Toll …


Getting To Net Zero Energy Buildings: A Holistic Techno-Ecological Modeling Approach, Mehdi Alirezaei Jan 2016

Getting To Net Zero Energy Buildings: A Holistic Techno-Ecological Modeling Approach, Mehdi Alirezaei

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Buildings in the United States are responsible for more than 40% of the primary energy and 70% of electricity usage and greatly in CO2 emission by about 39%, more than any other sector including transportation and industry sectors. This energy consumption is expected to grow mainly due to increasing trends in new buildings construction. Rising energy prices alongside with energy independencies, limited resources, and climate change have made the current situation even worse. An Energy Efficient (EE) building is able to reduce the heating and cooling load significantly compared with a code compliant building. Furthermore, integrating renewable energy sources in …


Flood Disaster Resilient Bridge Structures For Sustainable Bridge Management Systems, Alper Durmus Jan 2016

Flood Disaster Resilient Bridge Structures For Sustainable Bridge Management Systems, Alper Durmus

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Extreme weather events are occurring at an increasing ferocity and frequency. Floods are the most comand damaging natural disaster. More than 4,400 occurrences of flood disasters have been reported globally between 1900 and 2016. As a result, around seven million people were killed and millions more were displaced. Climate impacts are expected to intensify weather related flooding events, and sea level rise expected worldwide will increase the risk of coastal disasters. Transportation infrastructure, vital to the economy and society of every country, is especially prone to the inland and coastal floods. Bridge structures are under the constant threat of these …


Development Of A Dynamic Coupled Hydro-Geomechanical Code And Its Application To Induced Seismicity, Md Mamun Miah Jan 2016

Development Of A Dynamic Coupled Hydro-Geomechanical Code And Its Application To Induced Seismicity, Md Mamun Miah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.


Stability Sensitivity Of Low-Rise Steel-Moment Framed Buildings To Hazard-Independent Damage, Trey Reynolds Powell Jan 2016

Stability Sensitivity Of Low-Rise Steel-Moment Framed Buildings To Hazard-Independent Damage, Trey Reynolds Powell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Structural stability has been the subject of much research in recent years. Simply, structural stability may be vieas the ability of the structure’s response to be relatively unaffected by perturbations to its system. Stability of low-rise steel-moment framed buildings and their sensitivity to perturbations from significant damage are the focus of this work. Perturbations, or changes from the normal state of the structural system, have the ability to affect the structural response. Second-order geometric effects imposed through column axial loads, and/or initial out-of-plumbness during the construction process, are a comperturbation in steel framing systems. If the structural members subjected to …


Computer Vision Based Structural Identification Framework For Bridge Health Mornitoring, Tung Khuc Jan 2016

Computer Vision Based Structural Identification Framework For Bridge Health Mornitoring, Tung Khuc

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation is to develop a comprehensive Structural Identification (St-Id) framework with damage for bridge type structures by using cameras and computer vision technologies. The traditional St-Id frameworks rely on using conventional sensors. In this study, the collected input and output data employed in the St-Id system are acquired by series of vision-based measurements. The following novelties are proposed, developed and demonstrated in this project: a) vehicle load (input) modeling using computer vision, b) bridge response (output) using full non-contact approach using video/image processing, c) image-based structural identification using input-output measurements and new damage indicators. The input …


Estimating A Freight Mode Choice Model: A Case Study Of Commodity Flow Survey 2012, Nowreen Keya Jan 2016

Estimating A Freight Mode Choice Model: A Case Study Of Commodity Flow Survey 2012, Nowreen Keya

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research effort develops a national freight mode choice model employing data from the 2012 Commodity Flow Survey (CFS). While several research efforts have developed mode choice model with multiple modes in the passenger travel context, the literature is sparse in the freight context. The primary reasons being unavailability and/or the high cost associated with the acquisition of mode choice and level of service (LOS) measures – such as travel time and travel cost. The first contribution of the research effort is to develop travel time and cost measures for various modes reported in the CFS. The study considers five …


Joint Modeling Of Traffic Related Crashes: A Copula Based Approch, Tammam Nashad Jan 2016

Joint Modeling Of Traffic Related Crashes: A Copula Based Approch, Tammam Nashad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The study contributes to safety literature on transportation safety by employing copula based models for count frequency analysis at a macro-level. Most studies in the transportation safety area identify a single count variable (such as vehicular, pedestrian or bicycle crash counts) for a spatial unit and study the impact of exogenous variables. While the traditional count models perform adequately in the presence of a single count variable, it is necessary to modify these approaches to examine multiple dependent variables for each study unit. To that extent, the current research effort contributes to literature by developing two multivariate models based on …


Sinkhole Monitoring Using Groundwater Table Data, Ton Tu Jan 2016

Sinkhole Monitoring Using Groundwater Table Data, Ton Tu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Florida might be one of the most sinkhole-active areas on the earth. Due to its unpredictability and significance of occurrence, the development of sinkhole monitoring techniques is imperative to minimize sinkhole-induced hazards. Several methods have been used to evaluate sinkhole risks, including destructive methods, such as Standard Penetrating Tests (SPT) and Cone Penetrating Tests (CPT), geophysical method, and sensor-based groundwater monitoring method. However, few studies are available for comprehensive understanding of spatiotemporal sinkhole mechanism by combining different exploration methods under realistic experimental conditions. The objective of this study is to understand spatiotemporal sinkhole mechanism, using SPT, CPT, ground penetrating radar …


Dynamic Modeling Approach To Quantify Change Orders Impact On Labor Productivity, Zain Al-Kofahi Jan 2016

Dynamic Modeling Approach To Quantify Change Orders Impact On Labor Productivity, Zain Al-Kofahi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In construction projects, change orders are commonly faced. These change orders, which are issued by the owner, may cause interruption to the contractor's work, resulting in damages such as loss of labor productivity, delay damages, and cost overruns which may lead to claims. The relationship between change orders and loss of labor productivity is not well understood because of the difficulty in linking the cause of the productivity loss to the change order. So, to receive compensation, the contractor needs to prove with a credible calculation that the productivity loss was a result of the change order issued by the …


Evaluating Wrong-Way Driving For Florida Interstates And Toll Road Facilities: A Risk-Based Investigation, And Countermeasure Development, John Rogers Jan 2016

Evaluating Wrong-Way Driving For Florida Interstates And Toll Road Facilities: A Risk-Based Investigation, And Countermeasure Development, John Rogers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this dissertation was to examine wrong-way driving (WWD) events on Florida toll roads and Interstates. The universe of WWD data contains many sources of WWD events or incidents. Most of the previous research focused only on WWD crashes without considering other data such as WWD citations and 911 calls related to WWD incidents. While WWD citations and 911 calls data is abundant, this data has been largely overlooked in other studies. This dissertation provides a novel and holistic approach for evaluating WWD risk, which considers other risk factors such as WWD citations and 911 calls in addition …


Validation Of Integrated Coast-Ocean Model Cche2d-Coast And Development Of Wind Model, Afshin Gazerzadeh Jan 2016

Validation Of Integrated Coast-Ocean Model Cche2d-Coast And Development Of Wind Model, Afshin Gazerzadeh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The eastern and southern coastlines of the United States are two of the most cyclone-prone areas of the world. The effects of tropical cyclones vary mainly depending on wind intensity and geological features of the coast that it is crossing. Higher winds potentially generate higher storm surges and consequently larger floods occur along the coastlines. Therefore, it is critical to accurately predict winds, storm surge, and waves associated with a hurricane. In the present study, an integrated coastal and ocean process model, CCHE2D-Coast, is validated by assessing the model’s capabilities in simulating coast-ocean circulations driven by the astronomical tides on …