Engineering Commons^™

Development Of Novel Ultra-High Performance Engineered Cementitious Composites (Uhp-Ecc) For Durable And Resilient Transportation Infrastructure, Gabriel A. Arce, Marwa Hassan, Daniel E. Game

Publications

The objective of this study was to develop novel UHP-ECC materials utilizing readily available ingredients in Region 6 for the construction and repair of transportation infrastructure. Phase one of this study focused on the development of ultra-high strength cementitious matrices by evaluating the effects of ingredient selection and mixture proportioning on the materials’ compressive strength. Variables evaluated included the mass ratios of silica fume to fly ash (SF/FA), supplementary cementitious materials to cement (SCMs/C), and ordinary sand to microsilica sand (OS/MS). Phase two of the study focused on the development of UHP-ECC materials. To this end, based on the knowledge …

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 …

Evaluation Of Alternative Sources Of Supplementary Cementitious Materials (Scms) For Concrete Materials In Transportation Infrastructure, Gabriel A. Arce, Miladin Radovic, Zahid Hossain, Marwa Hassan, Sujata Subedi

Publications

Fly ash is the most utilized supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in the US. Nonetheless, rapid decline in coal-fired power generation threatens its supply. The objective of this study was to evaluate alternative SCMs for concrete transportation infrastructure in Region 6. SCMs investigated included reclaimed fly ash (RFA), reclaimed ground bottom ash (GBA), metakaolin (MK), and conventional Class F fly ash (FA) as a reference. SCMs were characterized and the fresh and hardened properties of concrete incorporating different dosages (i.e., 10, 20, and 30% cement replacement by mass) of the individual SCMs (i.e., binary systems) and blended SCM systems of RFA-MK …

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 …

Multi-Sensor Data Collection And Fusion Using Autoencoders In Condition Evaluation Of Concrete Bridge Decks, Sepehr Pashoutani, Jinying Zhu, Chungwook Sim, Kwanghee Won, Brian A. Mazzeo, W Spencer Guthrie

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper presents a multi-sensor data collection and data fusion procedure for nondestructive evaluation/testing (NDE/NDT) of a concrete bridge deck. Three NDE technologies, vertical electrical impedance (VEI), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and high-definition imaging (HDI) for surface crack detection, were deployed on the bridge deck. A neural network autoencoder was trained to quantify the relationship between VEI and GPR results using the data collected at common positions. This relationship was then used for fusion of VEI and GPR data to increase the reliability and spatial resolution of the NDE measurements and to generate a data-fused condition map that showed novel characteristics. …

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 …

San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden Concrete Benches, Anthony N. Masarweh

Construction Management

The purpose of this project is to build a total of 10, 8-foot-long concrete benches. These benches will be stationed at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden located at 3450 Dairy Creek Road, San Luis Obispo. The design consists of a large block style bench with composite Trex boards layered on top for comfort upon sitting. The structure consists of a rebar cage made of #3, 12”x18” stirrups at 16” O.C. There is a foam core in the middle of the rebar cage to allow for lighter weight benches and also to minimize the cubic yards of concrete used per …

San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden Benches, Brandon Keefer

Construction Management

The San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden is an outdoor area where people often gather for events such as weddings or just simply for a casual stroll through nice scenery. There were 6 students, including myself, who teamed up to complete this project where we divided into two sub-teams, one design team and one construction team. Since I was assigned to be the team captain but was placed on the construction team, I will touch a little bit on the design process since I was involved with overseeing this aspect but focus mainly on the actual construction of the benches. This …

Paso Robles Police Department Outdoor Training Facility Improvements, Nicolas A. Petri

Construction Management

This paper will outline the pre-construction and construction processes of the Paso Robles Police Department’s outdoor training facility improvements. The project, located in East Paso Robles, focuses on 12,000 square feet of a 24,300 square foot site owned by the city of Paso Robles. This is a group project done with Gavin Abraham and Zach Stellini that remodeled an existing outdoor training facility, including over 1400 square feet of concrete flatwork, underground utilities, 80 cubic yards of decomposed granite and various site civil improvements. The purpose of this project was to provide the Paso Robles Police Department with a cleaner …

Testing Concrete Reinforcing Fibers To Reduce Surface Cracking, Shaina Marie Suanico

Construction Management

Concrete reinforcing fibers are a fairly new technology being used in the construction industry to replace reinforcing bar in various applications. In partnership with Largo Concrete, Master Builders Solutions, and Cal Portland, this action research-based project aimed to test how the MasterFiber 360FF synthetic reinforcing fibers impact plastic shrinkage cracking with various types of aggregate using the ASTM C1579-06 test. The end goal of this project is to provide a baseline for future construction management students to test plastic shrinkage using the C1579-06 apparatus that was built to produce further knowledge on the feasibility of concrete reinforcing fibers. The review …

Pouring Concrete Benches For The Amphitheater At Slo Botanical Garden, Makenna Paige Gitchell

Construction Management

This paper will outline the logistics and construction processes for the construction of ten concrete benches for a new amphitheater area at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden. These benches will provide stadium-style seating for around forty guests that the botanical garden staff can utilize for special events, tours and outdoor classes. The overall project team was composed of 6 students broken out into a preconstruction (Anthony Masarweh, Sydnee Greer and Devon Barthmaier) and a construction team (Makenna Gitchell, Brandon Keefer, and Kyler Cruz). As part of the construction team, we were responsible for coordinating material deliveries, building the formwork, …

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

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

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

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

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

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

Possible Use For Recycled Disposable Face Masks In Concrete, Lauren Douglas

Construction Management

Disposable face masks are one of many single use products that are detrimental to the environment. The construction industry has been introducing new ways to incorporate recycled products into their materials. This paper addresses one possible way to use more environmentally friendly materials in the construction industry. 16 concrete cylinders were prepared using 4x8 forms. The mix was manipulated to test the impact of incorporating varying levels of disposable shredded face masks. Compressive strength and workability were measured in these cylinders. Eight cylinders were prepared for the control batch. Four cylinders were prepared using 10 oz. of shredded face masks …

The Effects Of Waste Marble Powder On Sustainable Concrete, Jeremy S. Tennesen

Construction Management

Sustainability has been growing consistently more popular in construction, with projects introducing innovative ideas to build greener every year. One material that has not experienced many innovations since emerging in building use is concrete. The reason behind this could be the chemical process of curing concrete being unique compared to most materials. While concrete can be broken down into some of its original components, water, cement, and admixtures used are not retainable. This makes it difficult to recycle the material, and the aggregates recovered from recycling also experience a loss in strength. With admixtures being involved in most concrete mixes …

Paso Robles Police Department Outdoor Training Facility Improvements - Phase 1, Zachary T. Stellini

Construction Management

This paper outlines the pre-construction and construction of the 24,300 square foot Paso Robles Police Department outdoor training facility improvements. The project focuses 12,000 square feet of the total site with improvements that include earthwork and new concrete flatwork. This project is group project with Gavin Abraham and Nic Petri that is broken up into 3 phases, this paper will primarily focus on the phase 1 which includes grading and excavation. The purpose of this project was to provide the Paso Robles Police Department with a modern, functional facility that allows its officers to be better equipped to protect the …

Application Of Ultrasonic Measurements For The Evaluation Of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Belayhun Gebretsadik, Kazem Jdidirendi, Visar Farhangi, Moses Karakouzian

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

This study investigates the feasibility of the application of ultrasonic measurement to characterize Steel-Fiber-Reinforced Concrete (SFRC). Specifically, the effects of steel fiber content, age, moisture content, and fiber orientation on Ultrasonic-Pulse-Velocity (UPV) were investigated. In this regard, beam and cylindrical samples were fabricated with different steel fiber contents. The result indicated that for beam specimens the UPV increases with the addition of fiber up to 2% and decreases for higher fiber percentages. Additionally, the fiber orientation within the beam specimens influences the UPV measurements. For cylindrical samples, the rate of UPV decreased with the addition of steel fiber reinforcement. In …

Experimental And Numerical Studies Of Novel Thermal Energy Storage Materials For Applications In Concrete And Energy Storage Systems, Wenyu Liao

Doctoral Dissertations

In this work, several types of novel thermal energy storage (TES) materials and composites are explored, and a series of numerical simulation models and experimental protocols are developed to evaluate the potentials of these materials to be applied in concrete, pavement, and thermal energy storage systems.

The first two types of novel TES materials/composites are at the micro-scale, which use micro diatomite (DE) and cenosphere (Ceno) as carriers of phase change material (PCM), respectively. The third type of novel TES material is at the macro-scale, utilizing lightweight sand (LWS) and lightweight coarse aggregate as carriers to load PCM. The last …

Projectile Generator Design For Underground Coal Mine Seal Testing, Ethan Allan Steward

Masters Theses

"Underground coal mines have several dangers, one of the most hazardous of which is the possibility of an explosion caused by the ignition of methane gas. To reduce ventilation costs, coal mines have the option to close off abandoned areas that are no longer active with structural seals to keep an explosion from propagating into working areas of the mine. Though seals have been designed to resist the overpressure, none have been evaluated for their resistance to the impact of heavy objects. Underground explosions produce high velocity gasses that, traveling through mine openings, may propel objects in the mine at …

Use Of Portable Seismic Property Analyzer And Ground Penetrating Radar To Assess Bridge Decks, Samie Ramadan A Hamad

Doctoral Dissertations

The Montauk Bridge deck was assessed based on the portable seismic property analyzer and ground penetrating radar data. Based on the analysis of the portable seismic property analyzer data, it was determined that over 65% of bridge conditions were rated serious to poor condition with an average compressive strength of less than 2500 psi; less than 35% of bridge deck conditions were rated fair to good with an average compressive strength over 2500 psi. Based on ground penetrating radar data, it was determined that 72% of the bridge deck was in serious to poor condition, and only 28% of the …

Nondestructive Condition Assessment Of Civil Infrastructure Using Ultrasonic Technique, Tyler Keith Ashbrook

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Civil Infrastructure controls the way people live by providing safe passage and shelter across the entire globe. Since safety leads the concern in infrastructure, it is essential to ensure that these structures have been adequately tested and analyzed periodically. Testing these structures can be extremely expensive when parts are required to be removed to capture the flaw, which is why nondestructive testing (NDT) continues to grow in demand since it can evaluate the structural component in-situ without causing any damage. Ultrasonic testing (UT) helps to adequately sustain and advance the safety in existing and future infrastructure across the globe. Continual …

Measurement On Stress-Time Avalanches Of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams During Flexure, Zhuang Liu

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Stress variations of loading histories on fiber reinforced concrete beams during flexure was investigated in this dissertation. A new experimental system was developed to collect the stress-time curves at 100 kHz sampling rate to measure temporal profiles in high resolution. Concrete beams prepared at the early age of seven days with different fiber types and fiber volume fractions were loaded at various rates during four-point bending tests. The four types of fiber used to make reinforced concrete were: steel fibers, basalt fibers, polypropylene (PP) fibers and recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers. Stress drops induced by interactions between fibers and cementitious …

Effect Of Using Cathode-Ray Tubes (Crt) Waste Glass On Concrete Properties, Jad Bawab, Jamal Khatib, Ali Jahami, Said Kenai, Adel Elkordi

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

Cathode-ray tube (CRT) glass is a hazardous material that should be responsibly managed when disposed. One of the possible options for recycling CRT waste glass is using it as fine aggregates in concrete for its richness in silica. For the aim of evaluating concrete with this material, four mixes with replacement levels of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% are prepared. Workability, hardened density, ultra-pulse velocity, compressive strength, tensile strength, and static modulus of elasticity were examined. Experimental results showed that the use of CRT improved properties of concrete at certain replacement levels. CRT glass improved the workability of concrete where …

Concrete Mix Design Using Simple Equations, Hakim Abdelgader, Ramadan Suleiman, Abdalla Adam, Jamal Khatib

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

The behaviour of concrete, whether fresh or hardened, depends basically on the behaviour of its components and the relationship between them, therefore, obtaining a concrete with certain properties depends fundamentally on the concrete mix design. Concrete mix design generally includes two main steps: 1-Selection of the main components suitable for the concrete (cement, aggregate, water, and additives); 2-Determination of more economical mix ratios to fulfil the workability, strength and efficiency requirements. Currently, there are many international methods locally approved for mix designs. They are all related to each other, they give relatively the same quantities of the mix components and …

The Compressive And Flexural Strength Of Concrete Containing Recycled Waste Plastic, Isaiah Akinkunmi

Master of Science in Civil Engineering Theses

Annually, tons of plastic wastes end up in landfills and the oceans through indiscriminate dumping, constituting a major source of pollution to the environment and threat to human health and marine lives. It therefore necessitates an innovative strategy to help mitigate the environmental hazards caused by this pollution. A feasible eco-friendly strategy is by using granulated plastics, fibers or regrinds in concreting. This research explored the feasibility of this strategy by testing the compressive and flexural strengths of hardened concrete specimens containing varying percent of plastic aggregates used as partial replacement for fine aggregates. The compressive strength of specimens of …

An Investigation Into The Effects Of Fly Ash On Freeze-Thaw Durability Prediction, Yancy Schrader

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Air is purposefully entrained into concrete primarily to improve resistance to freeze-thaw deterioration while saturated with water. Air entraining admixtures (AEAs) are chemical admixtures designed to entrain air into the concrete to provide adequate resistance to the effects of freezing and thawing. One of the challenges associated with air entrainment in concrete is the interaction of an AEA with supplementary cementitious materials present in the concrete, particularly fly ash. Fly ash is a by-product of the coal fired electrical generation industry, and often contains residual unburned carbon and other components that can increase the AEA demand of a particular concrete …

Tanzanian Concrete Masonry Walls, Edward J. Kaminski

Architectural Engineering

Walls that replicate masonry walls used in Tanzania are constructed and tested. The results from testing was compared with the respective predictions made using code guidelines from ASCE 7 and TMS 402.