Engineering Commons^™

Shape Deformities In Recycled Concrete As A Substitute Aggregate In Concrete, Carson D. Timmerman

Construction Management

Concrete is a universal material that is used widely across the construction industry. Within a standard concrete mix, a fine aggregate and a coarse aggregate are added to the mix design to help with solidity and compressive strength in the mixture. The admixtures, additives, slump, and mix ratios will differ based on the compressive strength you're trying to attain. This paper directly reflects the results of the differences between shapes in recycled concrete used as a coarse aggregate substitute in concrete mixes. As the construction industry grows, so does outreach towards sustainability and reusing materials anywhere the industry can. Testing …

Flexural Bond Strength Of Masonry Assemblies With Lightweight Grout, Benjamin L. Hiner

All Theses

Lightweight grout has many potential benefits in masonry construction, including minimizing mass, improving thermal performance, and potentially reducing shrinkage cracking via internal curing. However, insufficient testing of masonry assemblies with lightweight grout has been conducted to suggest appropriate design modification factors akin to the lambda factor in ACI 318-19. The objective of this paper is to study the tensile bond behavior of masonry assemblies grouted with lightweight grout and to suggest appropriate equations for predicting design capacity. A moment couple test is designed specifically for grouted masonry assemblies and has additional capacity compared to the traditional ASTM 1072 bond wrench …

Evaluating Smartrock Temperature Sensor Performance In Measuring Concrete Strength, Jack Dasch

Construction Management

Concrete testing is one of the most important parts of the concrete placement process. Traditionally, this is done through the use of 6x12 cylinders cured in a lab that are broken at various stages of the curing process. These cylinders are not necessarily representative of the in-situ concrete because of their differing curing conditions- indoors versus exposed to the elements. Wireless temperature sensors, like Giatec’s SmartRock, have the potential to determine concrete strength based off the temperature of the placed concrete over time, thus eliminating the need for cylinder breaks. Once calibrated to the specific mix design, these wireless sensors …

Differing Moisture Content In Concrete And Mitigation Methods: Research Of Sacramento, Taylor S. Tonda

Construction Management

The city of Sacramento and its concrete foundations face one of the most challenging conditions in the flooring industry, high RH Moisture. RH Moisture or Relative Humidity Moisture is one of the main causes for flooring systems to fail. The source of High RH Moisture consists of surrounding geographic features like rivers, flood plains, and elevation, as well as improper or nonexistent use of a vapor barrier beneath the concrete foundation. Mapping and other data is used to support these claims. If a flooring system is not properly prepared for high RH Moisture levels, issues such as bubbling, delamination, and …

Construction Of Modular Concrete Footings For Use In Cal Poly’S High Bay Laboratory, Tyler W. Giddens

Construction Management

This project-based senior project had the end goal of creating two concrete modular foundations that can be used in the High Bay Laboratory for testing procedures. The concrete modular blocks are 6’ long by 3’ wide, and 1.5’ tall. The foundations each held 100 embeds. Each embed serves as an anchor point for various attachments for testing purposes. This was an interdisciplinary project amongst two CM students and one ARCE student. The ARCE student was responsible for the design of the blocks, encompassing the formwork and the rebar. The CM students were responsible for estimating, scheduling, and the construction of …

An Experimental Investigation Of Icephobicity And Hydrophobicity Of Concrete Surface Treated With Pavix, Hussein Hashemi Senejani

Civil Engineering Theses

High ice adhesion is a significant problem in several industries. The majority of practical issues brought on by ice adhesion are still not fully resolved, and the ice-adhesion mechanism is still poorly understood. Ice adhesion is a complex phenomenon that becomes more intricate when salt is involved, as in many marine cases. Reducing ice adhesion by generating hydrophobic surfaces might be advantageous in many applications as a passive ice removal strategy. Lowering adhesion may reduce friction, abrasion, and damage to structures in a maritime environment, as well as any surface prone to ice development. This process may also be utilized …

The Effects Of Recycled Waste On Concrete Mixture Properties, Noral Hadbawi

Master of Science in Civil Engineering Theses

Recent years have seen an exponential increase in plastic product consumption worldwide. Manufacturing, and individuals rely on plastics in almost every aspect, as a result, a negative impact on the environment is detected due to the large quantities and low biodegradability of plastic waste. The massive amount of plastic waste and end-of-life tires produced annually required a vast area of landfills, which became a major concern far and wide. To address these issues, an eco-friendly approach consisting of incorporating plastic and rubber waste into engineering applications, such as plastic concrete, and rubberized concrete was proposed. A primary objective of this …

Cvaf: Service Dog Kennel Construction, Luke A. Terrio, Spencer Allen

Construction Management

The California Veterans Assistance Foundation Service Dog Kennel Construction project gave back to our country’s veterans by constructing new kennels for their service dogs. The previous kennel on the veteran residential site needed an upgrade due to the increased number of service dogs at the shelter. A team of two Cal Poly Construction Management students consisting of Spencer Allen and Luke Terrio worked to design, estimate, coordinate, and construct a new kennel structure for the site. The roles were divided in the project between the preconstruction and construction phases. During pre-construction Spencer’s role was to schedule the job and create …

Performance Evaluation Of Glass-Fiber Reinforced Cement-Free Geopolymer Concrete, Mohammad Zuaiter

Theses

The alkali-activation of aluminosilicate materials produces a geopolymer binder that promises to be a sustainable replacement to cement in concrete. Yet, such concrete has experienced brittle behavior and poor resistance to cracking. As a means of improving its performance, this research assesses the feasibility of utilizing glass fibers in slag-fly ash blended geopolymer concrete for structural applications. A blend of slag and fly ash served as the binding material. Two types of glass fibers were used individually or as a hybrid combination. Type A and B glass fibers had similar properties but different lengths of 24 and 43 mm, respectively. …

Sustainable Concrete And Its Current Stance In The Construction Industry, Morgan Hailey Gawle

Construction Management

Concrete is currently the second most consumed resource used in the world and the production of this material, mainly the production of cement, contributes to a little over 8% of carbon dioxide emissions globally. The concept of sustainable concrete is rapidly surfacing within the construction industry as environmental issues and concerns like global warming and climate change continue to worsen. Scientists have been and continue to consistently conduct studies to test if sustainable concrete is a possible solution to reducing carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions that come straight from the construction industry. But some construction companies have concerns that …

Cvaf: Service Dog Kennel Construction, Spencer G. Allen

Construction Management

The California Veterans Assistance Foundation Service Dog Kennel Construction gave back to our country’s veterans by constructing new kennels for their service dogs. The previous kennel on the veteran residential site needed an upgrade due to the increased number of service dogs at the shelter. A team of two Cal Poly Construction Management students consisting of Spencer Allen and Luke Terrio worked to design, estimate, coordinate, and construct a new kennel structure for the site. The roles were divided on the project between the preconstruction and construction phases. During preconstruction Spencer’s role was to schedule the job and create the …

Using Metal-Organic Frameworks (Mof) To Reduce The Carbon Footprint Of Concrete, Mona Ibrahim El-Hallak

Theses

The production of concrete by the construction industry has a massive impact on the environment. The process of manufacturing its main component, cement, releases a considerable amount of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. This thesis is concerned with the production of sustainable and eco-friendly concrete that integrates metal-organic frameworks (MOF) to capture and offset the CO₂ emissions emitted during the production of cement. The main objective is to synthesize a MOF capable of capturing CO₂ in concrete through accelerated carbonation curing and to assess its impact on concrete performance. Different parameters were examined, including the MOF content, initial curing duration, …

Evaluating The Effects Of Curing Methods On Bcsa Cement Concrete, Hannah Allen

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

BCSA cement is a type of cement that makes concrete set up much quicker than typical portland cement concrete. BCSA cement concrete also has a much higher compressive strength than that of portland cement concrete. This study was conducted to determine the effect of different curing conditions on the compressive strength of BCSA cement concrete.

Persistence And Mitigation Of Pfas Within Concrete Stormwater Drainage Infrastructure, Jason R. Mcdonald

Theses and Dissertations

The persistence, fate, and transport of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, which have been shown to have adverse effects on human health, have been previously studied in environmental media such as soils and groundwater. This study investigates concrete, a medium that is rarely studied but frequently present in instances where PFAS originating from AFFF releases and spills have occurred. Used heavily throughout aviation firefighting, AFFF poses environmental hazards due to the length of PFAS degradation and toxicological implications, thus its classification as a forever chemical. From the very limited reports to date, studies have suggested very slow release from concrete, potentially …

A Comparison Of Common Structural Materials, Molly Green

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This report will compare structural steel, concrete, and lumber through the lenses of mechanical properties, design process, cost, and environmental impact. Steel is a versatile, strong, and lightweight material that comes at a premium price – both financially and environmentally. It is the most expensive material of the three included in this report. This is largely due to its complex manufacturing process that is also responsible for a significant amount of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions. Concrete is significantly less expensive than steel, but the carbon dioxide emissions from manufacturing are approximately equal. Concrete also only performs well in compression …

Austenitic, Duplex, And Lean Duplex Stainless Steel Critical Pitting Temperature In Simulated Concrete Environment, Bobby Giebel

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

In this work, the critical pitting temperature (CPT) will be observed for a selection of austenitic (316LN and 24100) and duplex (2205), and lean duplex (2304, 2001) stainless steels in simulated concrete pore solution. To study the influence of temperature on the pitting stability of the stainless steels, three temperatures were tested: 25oC, 45oC, and 65oC for cyclic potentiodynamic polarization (CPP) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Electrochemical properties of the interfaces we studied via EIS analysis. Kinetics were studied via CPP testing. To reveal the critical pitting temperature of the stainless steels, cyclic thermammetry was used. Characterization of the pits …

Thermal Testing And Simulation Of Lunar And Martian Isru-Based Materials, Andres Campbell

All Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

Upon the eventual return of humans to the lunar surface, leveraging local resources to construct landing pads and other infrastructure is an essential component to minimize cost and risk. The inability to accurately model landing and launch scenarios to predict damage to lunar structures poses risks to astronaut and equipment safety. The following experiment is an investigation of using simulation software and temperature sensors to model lunar and Martian regolith simulant-based concrete exposed to thermal loads. The basis of this experiment is built upon standards defined by the American Society for Testing and Materials, the fundamental axioms of structural health …

Strain And Temperature Measurement From Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors In Performance-Based Fire Engineering, Yanping Zhu

Doctoral Dissertations

"Strain and temperature measurement of steel and concrete structures under fires is critical to the understanding of structural performance yet historically challenging due to a significant gap in measurement science. This Ph.D. study characterizes in six parts low-cost distributed fiber optic sensors and applies them to strain, and temperature measurements based on Rayleigh and Brillouin light scattering. The first part aims to quantify the Rayleigh scattering based measurement accuracy of distributed fiber optic sensors under a heating-holding load protocol and characterize the effect of polymer coating on the sensors as the polymer softens and melts at elevated temperatures. The second …

The Development Of A Finite Element Model For Ballistic Impact Predictions, Richard Allen Perkins

Theses and Dissertations

Concrete is a widely used product and is an important application throughout industry due to its inexpensive cost and wide range of applications. This work focuses on understanding the behavior of high strength concrete in high strain rate ballistic impact loading scenarios. A finite element analysis was created with the implementation of the Concrete Damage and Plasticity Model 2 (CDPM2) to represent the material behavior. The model’s parameters were calibrated to existing literature and the results were analyzed by a comparison of the impact velocity to residual velocity and a qualitative assessment of the impact crater. The model captured the …

Caed Support Shop Concrete Slab, Nathan Horst, Steven Zheng

Construction Management

This senior project paper will explore the history, background, process, and challenges encountered while constructing a dream project for the Cal Poly CAED Support Shop during the Summer of 2021. From the initial site survey, through the design and permitting process and the physical construction, this project truly encapsulated the “learn-by-doing” philosophy. The project was successful in constructing a final product that enables ADA wheelchair access, creates more useable project work area, as well as addresses drainage issues and provides underground electrical conduits for future electrical upgrades.

San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden Amphitheater Benches - The Design, Devon Barthmaier

Construction Management

This paper will outline the process of designing, building, and installing ten concrete benches at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens with an emphasis on the design phase. The San Luis Obispo Botanical Gardens is home to an amphitheater that is used for event spaces. The goal of the project was to create a design to seat approximately forty people facing the stage. The project group consisted of six students broken into two teams, a pre-construction team and a construction team. The preconstruction team focused on designing the benches and procuring the materials while the construction team focused on the …

An Investigation Of The Flexural Strength And Toughness Of Hybrid Plain And Fiber Reinforced Concrete For Pavement Applications, Wesley Keys

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

For decades, many solutions have been evaluated to combat cracking in concrete pavements. The study presented in this paper evaluates and compares the flexural performance under a third point loading configuration of plain concrete (PC) beams, fully fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) beams, and hybrid PC and FRC beams, with a top PC and bottom FRC layer. The purpose of this hybrid approach was to provide FRC in only half the section, saving cost, while providing a PC surface layer that is easier to finish. All PC top layers were applied at an age of 7-days, considered a reasonable time for …

Shear Strength Of Concrete Beams Made With Belitic Calcium Sulfoaluminate Cement, Caleb W. Chesnut

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The need for a cleaner alternative to portland cement (PC) concrete has led to increasing interest in alternatives to PC. Structural properties of most of these alternative cements are still an open research topic. One promising alternative cement is belitic calcium sulfoaluminate (BCSA) cement. The study presented in this paper investigated the shear strength, long term compressive strength, and carbonation in BCSA cement and PC concrete beams. A total of twelve eight-foot long beams were made; eight BCSA cement concrete beams and four PC concrete beams to be tested at various ages depending on cement type. Two beams of each …

Impact Of Exposure On Thin Epoxy Overlay Performance, Abul Fazal Mazumder

Dissertations

Thin epoxy overlays are used for improving the condition and extending the service life of bridge decks. The tensile bond pull-off strength, evaluated as per the ASTM C1583, is used as the performance indicator. A failure in the substrate with a tensile strength of 250 psi or greater is considered acceptable. However, the performance evaluated on in-service bridge decks shows inconsistent results. Laboratory studies by several researchers documented a distinct performance difference when the overlays are exposed to room temperatures in comparison to elevated temperatures. However, the most influential parameters such as concrete surface profile, thermal compatibility between overlay and …

Assessment Of Key Imperatives For Enhancing Precast Adoptability In Egypt, Mostafa Sameh

Theses and Dissertations

Precast Concrete’s modular application concept is a major construction method that has been used historically seen in various shapes, forms, and with a wide range of constituents. Examples include Ancient Egypt and China among several impressive structures in old civilizations. The major advantages of precast concrete lie in its adaptability, resilience, and versatility which makes precast concrete one of the most agile building materials. Precast concrete as we know it today has been introduced to our markets over the past several decades. Having similar advantages to that of old precast building methods, the road has been paved for wider use …

Effect Of Radiation On Bond Behavior Between Concrete And Steel Bar: Development Of Experimental Protocol, Mohammed Abdelrahman

Masters Theses

There is a need to assess the effect of radiation on the behavior of bond strength between steel reinforcement and concrete. However, there is geometrical constraints in the cylindrical capsule which limit the size of concrete samples. Thus, developing a protocol to produce pullout sample and a test setup is needed.

A protocol for fabricating high-precision concrete samples with embedded \#2 steel bar has been developed based on the results of an experimental program. A pullout system has also been developed to investigate the bond activity of concrete and steel. This research looks at two different aggregate sizes 3/8 inch …

Use Of Vertical Electrical Impedance For Nondestructive Evaluation Of Concrete Bridge Decks, Enoch Thomas Boekweg

Theses and Dissertations

Nondestructive evaluation of civil infrastructure is increasingly important in the modern world to assess structures, predict longevity, and prescribe rehabilitation or replacement. For concrete bridge decks, one emerging diagnostic technique is vertical electrical impedance (VEI) testing, which is a nondestructive evaluation technology that quantitatively assesses the cover protection offered to steel reinforcement. Because VEI testing is still a relatively new approach to bridge deck inspection, additional studies are needed to increase the interpretability of VEI data. This thesis increases VEI interpretability with two advances. The first advance, presented in Chapter 2, offers an analytical model for interpreting VEI measurements of …

Monitoring Damage Occurrence, Post-Peak Crack Propagation And Air Permeability In Concrete Using The Brazilian Indirect Tension Test, Angel M. Padilla

Civil Engineering ETDs

This research aims to investigate the relationship between stress, damage, crack propagation, and permeability evolution in concrete. A novel experimental test method is presented that enables monitoring post-peak cracking behavior of concrete using the Brazilian tension test by slowing crack propagation while concurrently measuring permeability and monitoring damage propagation using acoustic emission techniques. The modified Brazilian test method utilizes spring supports in parallel to the test specimen to off-load the test specimen incrementally to slow down the post-peak crack propagation. A vacuum flow system is attached to the rear side of the concrete during loading to measure apparent air permeability …

Mitigating Calcium Oxychloride Damage In Cementitious Paste And Concrete Utilizing Supplementary Cementitious Materials, Casey Jones

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is understood among engineers in the United States (U.S.) that improvement is needed throughout the transportation infrastructure. In the 2021 Infrastructure Report Card produced by the American Society of Civil Engineers, the roadways of this nation merit a D. This leaves room for improvement in order to provide durable pavements throughout this nation. Areas with significant winter weather may have exacerbated effects in decreased roadway longevity due to freezing/thawing cycles and the use of chemical deicers to mitigate gelid roadway conditions. Much research focuses on surface scaling and reinforcement corrosion using these materials; however, joint deterioration, due to chemical …

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

Theses and Dissertations

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

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