Engineering Commons^™

Technology And Methodology For The Production Of High Quality Polymer Filler And Super-Pozzolan From Fly Ash, Thomas L. Robl, John G. Groppo

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty Patents

A novel method for producing fly ash material with a range of particle sizes from about 2.0 to about 4.0 μm is provided utilizing superplasticizers. The method produces fly ash material suitable for use as filler material in the plastics industry and super pozzolan for the concrete industry.

Kentucky Highway Rating System, Doug Kreis, Lenahan O'Connell

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This study had two goals: 1. Formulate a new method for generating roadway adequacy ratings; 2. Construct an appropriate data set and then test the method by comparing it to the results of the HPMS-AP method. The recommended methodology builds on the previous methodology, the HPMS-AP. However, the recommended differs from the HPMS-AP in that it incorporates crash data into the adequacy rating and increases the relative weight given to indicators of roadway safety for the appropriate functional classification of highways. The software for the proposed highway rating system is in a format that permits "what if" scenarios. The comparison …

The Development Of Relationships Between Constituent Concentrations And Generic Hydrological Variables, Carmen T. Agouridis, Dwayne R. Edwards

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The collection and analysis of samples from storm events constitutes a large portion of the effort associated with water quality research. Estimating concentrations or loads from these events is often difficult. The equipment necessary to analyze the samples and the required laboratory resources are typically significant expenses incurred by the researcher. One potential method to reduce these costs is through the development of generic relationships between concentrations and easily measured variables such as dimensionless flow rate or time. The benefits recognized from such an effort include a reduction in the number of required samples, resulting in a reduction in cost. …

Maintenance Painting Of Various Bridge Projects During 2001-2002: Kentucky Highway Investigative Task 42, Rick Younce, Sudhir Palle, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) at the University of Kentucky has performed a series of research studies for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to monitor various experimental bridge painting projects and conduct investigative work focusing on new paint systems. The research study addressed in this report “Maintenance Painting of Various Bridge Projects During 2001-2002” Kentucky Highways Investigative Task No: 42 were intended to address experimental projects in fiscal years 2001 and 2002.

KTC and KYTC Project Design Team’s joint efforts in 2000 into early 2001 centered on the preparation of experimental bridge maintenance painting special notes, preliminary field testing/development of …

Pc–Based Data Acquisition For A Solid Substrate Cultivation Deep Bed Reactor, Mari S. Chinn, Sue E. Nokes, Richard S. Gates

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

This work describes an instrumentation and data acquisition system designed for a deep bed reactor used to cultivate Trichoderma longibrachiatum on wheat bran. The system allowed on–line measurements of substrate temperature, oxygen concentration within the reactor headspace, relative humidity and temperature of the inlet air, and inlet airflow rates while maintaining aseptic conditions and without disturbing the cultivation process. An error analysis for the instrumentation and data acquisition equipment was completed and provided insight into the reliability of the sensor readings. The collected data provided quantitative information about the reactor system dynamics which can be used to evaluate and apply …

Environmental Impacts Of Bridge Cleaning Operations, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Sudhir Palle, Rick Younce

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Cleaning (washing) operations of existing leaded paints on bridges were studied to determine the level of lead contamination in the resulting wastewater. Twelve experimental overcoating projects were let on bridges with various types of existing paint in varying states of deterioration. The projects employed different washing pressures ranging from 2500 psi to 10000 psi and various wash nozzles (fan and 0o spinner tips). KYTC standard filtration was used on 10 projects and 2 projects used an experimental filtration unit having a sand filter and two types of chemical filter media.

Prior to painting, the existing paint was analyzed for thickness, …

Analysis Of Field Permeability And Laboratory Shear Stress For Western Kentucky Parkway, Milepost 18.240 To Milepost 25.565, Caldwell-Hopkins Counties, David L. Allen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report lists and discusses results of field permeability tests and laboratory shear tests on samples from a construction project on the Western Kentucky Parkway in Caldwell-Hopkins Counties. Approximately 6,500 tons of asphaltic concrete overlay placed on this project failed to meet minimum density requirements.

Field permeability tests were performed and the results showed that in areas where the mat failed to meet density requirements there was very high permeability in those locations.

The laboratory shear tests also showed that there was a direct relationship between shear strength and density. A linear elastic layer stress analysis also indicated that the …

Development Of A Statewide Landslide Inventory Program, Tommy C. Hopkins, Tony L. Beckham, Liecheng Sun, Barry Butcher

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Development of a comprehensive geotechnical database for risk management of highway landslide problems is described. Computer software selected to program the client/server application in a data window, components and structure of the geotechnical database, and some of the primary factors considered in constructing the database are discussed. In the establishment of a large database that will be used widely, it is extremely important to select development software that will allow simultaneous use of the database by numerous users. Major integrated components of the database include landslide, rock slope, and soil and rock engineering data. This report mainly focuses on the …

Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute Annual Technical Report Fy 2002, Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, University Of Kentucky

KWRRI Annual Technical Reports (USGS’s 104b Grant Program)

The FY 2002 Annual Technical Report for Kentucky consolidates reporting requirements of the Section 104(b) base grant award in a single technical report that includes: 1) a synopsis of each research project supported during the period, 2) a list of related reports, 3) a description of information transfer activities, 4) a summary of student support during the reporting period, and 5) notable achievements and awards during the year.

Roadway Related Tort Liability And Risk Management: 5th Edition, Kenneth R. Agent, Daniel S. Turner

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This training material has been prepared to address the tort liability problems faced by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Kentucky local governments. The manual defines the problem by reviewing the national picture of generally growing numbers of suits and escalating financial losses from suits against highway agencies.

The manual also sets out solutions, and reviews actions, which can decrease the exposure of highway agencies to these suits. This risk management concept is emphasized throughout the manual.

Entrainment Of Electrical Activation By Spatio-Temporal Distributed Pacing During Ventricular Fibrillation, Yiping Gu

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Spatio-temporal variation in action intervals during ventricular fibrillation (VF) suggestthat the excitable gap may also be distributed spatio-temporally. The observation leadus to hypothesize that distributed pacing can be used to modify and entrain electricalactivation during VF. We tested this hypothesis using simulated VF and animal studies.

We simulated VF in a 400 by 400 cell matrix. Simulation results showed that activationpattern could be entrained using spatially distributed stimulation. Up to a certain limit,increasing stimulus strength and density led to improved entrainment. Best entrainmentwas obtained by pacing at a cycle length similar to the intrinsic cycle length.

In order to verify …

Evaluation Of Fire-Fighting Helmet Surface Technology For High Radiant Heat Applications, David L. Barnett

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Protective helmets used by fire-fighters must be designed to minimize the amount of heat transferred to the users head while providing durability, comfort, and affordable costs. This thesis highlights the evaluation of new helmet technology specifically tailored to high radiant heat environments to advance the state-of-the-art in head protection for this application. The research focused on the assessment of the outer shells of helmets and the properties of the surfaces. The development included the evaluation of radiation heat transfer, in a laboratory environment, to various helmet shell surface constructions. Industry standards were considered, and critiqued. Experiments were designed to isolate …

Experimental Investigation Of Separation In A Low Pressure Turbine Blade Cascade Model, Brian Hollon

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The flow field around a low pressure turbine blade is examined using smoke-wire flow visualization, static surface pressure measurements, and particle image velocimetry (PIV). The purpose of the experimental study is to investigate the transition and separation characteristics on low pressure turbine blades under low Reynolds number (Re) and varying freestream turbulence intensity (FSTI). A cascade model consisting of 6 Pratt andamp; Whitney PAK-B low pressure turbine blades was examined in a wind tunnel using PIV and flow visualization. Smoke-wire visualization was performed for test section exit angles of 93°, 95°, and 97°, in the range Re = …

Measurements In A Rotating Serpentine Duct With Multiple Rib Arrangements, Rahul Bharadwajh

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The effect of rotation on flow in a gas turbine blade cooling duct model is investigated experimentally. The present work consists of velocity measurements at different locations in a test section with a 180° bend with ribs on one wall. Three geometric rib parameters are considered; rib-rib spacing, rib orientation angle and rib blockage ratio. PIV is used for flow visualization and analysis. Along with the clean duct measurements, ribs with blockage ratios, b/h, of 0.25 and 0.125 were considered. The b/h = 0.25 cases have been comprehensively analyzed while the b/h = 0.125 cases have been studied at …

Study Of The "Poor Man's Navier-Stokes" Equation Turbulence Model, Stewart Andrew Bible

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The work presented here is part of an ongoing effort to develop a highly accurate and numerically efficient turbulence simulation technique. The paper consists of four main parts, viz., the general discussion of the procedure known as Additive Turbulent Decomposition, the derivation of the "synthetic velocity" subgrid-scale model of the high wavenumber turbulent fluctuations necessary for its implementation, the numerical investigation of this model and a priori tests of said models physical validity. Through these investigations we have demonstrated that this procedure, coupled with the use of the "Poor Mans Navier-Stokes" equation subgrid-scale model, has the potential to be …

Investigation Of Soluble Salts On Kentucky Bridges, Sudhir Palle, Rick Younce, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Invisible soluble salts present on steel highway structures can act to promote corrosion even after maintenance painting. Soluble salts include chloride, nitrate and sulfate ions. Soluble salts found on bridge decks and roadways are the result of usage of deicing salts (chlorides), and the deposition of atmospheric pollution (nitrates and sulfates) on exterior surfaces. Typical pollution-related sources of soluble salts are coal-fired power plants, refineries, farming operations, vehicle emissions, and chemical plants. Sites for soluble salt damage on bridges include:

• Beam ends under open or leaking expansion joints,
• Flanges and lower portions of webs of overpass structures,
• Lower chords and …

Processor Microarchitecture For Implementation Of Ephemeral State Processing Within Network Routers, Muthulakshmi Muthukumarasamy

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

The evolving concept of Ephemeral State Processing (ESP) is overviewed. ESP allows development of new scalable end-to-end network user services. An evolving macro-level language is being developed to support ESP at the network node level. Three approaches for implementing ESP services at network routers can be considered. One approach is to use the existing processing capability within commercially available network routers. Another approach is to add a small scale existing ASIC based general-purpose processor to an existing network router. This thesis research concentrates on a third approach of developing a special-purpose programmable Ephemeral State Processor (ESPR) Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) …

Electrostatic Particle Separation System, Apparatus, And Related Method, John M. Stencel, John L. Schaefer, James K. Neathery, Heng Ban, Dennis Finseth

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty Patents

An electrostatic separation apparatus or system is provided for separating a particle mixture into two constituent species. The system includes a distributor for differentially tribocharging the particle species forming the mixture and supplying the charged mixture to a plurality of electrostatic separation cells. Each cell includes at least one separator having an inlet, a separation chamber having an electric field zone for drawing selected charged particles from the particle mixture, a collector, and a transition outlet. The length of the electric field zone is selectively adjustable for varying the charged particle drawing action. A curtain gas flow introduced into the …

Ground Penetrating Radar: "Pavement Layer Thickness Evaluation", David A. Willett, Brad Rister

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The following report demonstrates the accuracy of using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to determine both the surface layer thickness for asphalt, and concrete pavements. In addition tests were conducted to identify GPR’s repeatability on dry pavements, GPR’s ability to determine pavement layer thicknesses in wet conditions, and an attempt was made to determine the number of actual field cores necessary to accurately post-process radar data into thickness values.

The equipment used to perform these evaluations was Geophysical Survey Systems Inc.’s model SIR 10B with the model 4108 (1 GHz.) air-launched horn antenna.

Preliminary results indicate that when ground truth cores …

Evaluation Of Post-Interchange Guide Signs, Monica L. Barrett, Jerry G. Pigman, Ronald E. Langley

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

There are four basic types of guide signs related to tourist and recreational facilities, each with its own requirements and purpose. These include limited supplemental guide signs, cultural and recreational supplemental guide signs, fifth legend logos, and tourist oriented directional signs. Under the category of limited supplemental guide signs is a new pilot program to include a similar type sign at 10- and 20-mile points before an interchange. These signs are called post-interchange guide signs.

This report evaluates these experimental post-interchange guide signs. This evaluation included a before and after study of crash information including total numbers and trends, a …

Assessment Of The 1997 Commodity Flow Survey For State-Level Freight Transportation Planning, Darren M. Scott

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Urban travel demand modeling in the United States has a rich history in both practice and academic research. The same cannot be said, however, of freight demand modeling despite the intermodel planning requirements of IS TEA and TEA21. In most instances, agencies responsible for state transportation planning (e.g. Kentucky Transportation Cabinet) have applied, in a limited way, the methodology developed for urban travel demand modeling (i.e., Urban Transportation Modeling System or UTMS 1) to the freight arena (see, for example, Black 1997). Obviously, this methodological similarity implies that the fundamental data requirements for both types of demand modeling are also …

Mechanical Properties Of Corn And Soybean Meal, Marek Molenda, Michael D. Montross, Jozef Horabik, Ira Joseph Ross

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Ground corn and soybean meal are common ingredients in feed mixes. The knowledge of their mechanical properties is important to the feed manufacturer and consumer. Changes in these properties can lead to abnormally high or low levels of active ingredients in finished feed, thus decreasing its quality. Mechanical properties of wheat, corn meal, and soybean meal were investigated using a modified direct shear apparatus. The moisture content (wet basis), uncompacted bulk density, and particle density were: 10.4%, 733 kg/m³, and 1410 kg/m³ for soft red winter wheat; 11.4%, 583 kg/m³, and 1350 kg/m³ for …

Evaluation Of Kentucky’S You Drink And Drive. You Lose”, Kenneth R. Agent, Eric R. Green, Ronald E. Langley

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

Alcohol and drug related crashes continue to be one of the highest priority problem identification areas and considerable emphasis is being placed on programs to impact those types of crashes. Various types of campaigns have been used over the years in an attempt to reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes. Kentucky was selected within the Southeast Region of the United States by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to conduct a comprehensive impaired driving campaign entitled “You Drink & Drive. You Lose”. The campaign was conducted around the 2002 Labor Day holiday. The objective of this report was to document …

Experimental Maintenance Painting Of I-65 In Louisville (Fr 108), Rick Younce, Theodore Hopwood Ii, Sudhir Palle

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

I-65 project in downtown Louisville consisted of 27 bridges having approximately 1,493,100 ft2 of steel. The structures had existing coatings that contained lead. The project posed significant operational and public safety and operational constraints due to close proximity of the structures with residences and businesses along the entire route. In 2000, the Central Office Project Design Team developed experimental specifications to abrasive blast and re-paint the bridges. Surface preparation procedures included solvent cleaning, pack rust removal and abrasive blast cleaning. Containment enclosures were employed throughout the project, air monitoring was performed to assure satisfactory containment, and hazardous wastes were collected …

A Mechanical System For Soil Reconstruction, John Patrick Fulton, Larry G. Wells, Timothy D. Smith

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

One of the most perplexing problems associated with reclaiming surface–mined lands is excessive compaction of soil due to the heavy earthmoving equipment used during the reclamation process. Over the years, some innovative material handling schemes have been devised to limit vehicle traffic during reclamation on reconstructed soil. However, final grading operations can often create root–limiting bulk densities, which affect plant growth and yield. The purpose of this article is to describe a mechanism designed at the University of Kentucky whereby mine soil can be reconstructed without introducing compaction caused by surface traffic in order for the soil to sustain desirable …

Development Of A Finite-Element Stored Grain Ecosystem Model, Michael D. Montross, Dirk E. Maier, Kamyar Haghighi

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

An axisymmetric finite–element model was developed that predicts the heat, mass, and momentum transfer that occurred in upright corrugated steel storage structures due to conduction, diffusion, and natural convection using realistic boundary conditions. Weather data that included hourly total solar radiation, wind speed, ambient temperature, and relative humidity were used to model the temperature, moisture content, dry matter loss, and maize weevil development during storage with no aeration, and with ambient and chilled aeration. Periods of aeration were simulated assuming a uniform airflow rate through the grain mass. Heat and mass balances were used to calculate the temperature and absolute …

Safety Evaluation Of New Roads, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The primary objective of this research study was to evaluate the crash history of bypass routes to determine if there were unusual patterns or changes in the crash history on these routes over the first years of operation. The focus of the evaluation was to collect data at bypass routes opened in recent years in Kentucky. Crash patterns were summarized with recommendations made for countermeasures to reduce the probability of crashes, specifically at intersections, with an emphasis on the early stages of operation. The literature was reviewed, crash data were obtained at nine case study bypasses, and discussions were held …

Experimental Maintenance Painting On Various Bridge Painting Projects (Kentucky Highway Investigative Task No: 31), Sudhir Palle, Theodore Hopwood Ii

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) at the University of Kentucky conducted a research study with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) to monitor various experimental bridge painting projects. The research study Kentucky Highways Investigative Task (KHIT) No: 31 “Experimental Maintenance Painting on Various Bridge Projects During 1997-1998” covered experimental bridge projects completed through the FY 1997 and FY 1998 painting seasons (April 1 through November 15) were monitored and reported. The objectives of the research study were to:

• assess the condition of the existing paint on bridge prior to maintenance painting,
• monitor the project throughout completion,
• note problems and their resolution, …

Validation Of A Finite-Element Stored Grain Ecosystem Model, Michael D. Montross, Dirk E. Maier, Kamyar Haghighi

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

An axisymmetric finite–element model was validated with respect to predicting the heat, mass, and momentum transfer that occurred in upright corrugated–steel storage bins due to conduction, diffusion, and natural convection using realistic boundary conditions. Hourly weather data that included hourly total solar radiation, wind speed, ambient temperature, and relative humidity were used to model the corn temperature and moisture content during storage with no aeration, and with ambient and chilled aeration. Periods of aeration were simulated assuming a uniform airflow rate through the grain mass. Sixteen bins with a capacity of 11.7 t each and instrumented with temperature cables were …

Documentation Of Context-Sensitive Design Case Studies, Jerry G. Pigman, Donald L. Hartman, Nikiforos Stamatiadis, Lisa Aultman-Hall, Sally G. Oldham

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

A major challenge for many current transportation projects is to plan, design and build to create a solution which will not only address the planning and engineering requirements, but also satisfy the human and natural environmental issues related to a specific project. Occasional projects of this type have been designed and built for many years, typically when there have been few alternatives otherwise. A key component to these types of projects has been a greater level of community interest and public involvement. Initial efforts to introduce the concept of increased sensitivity to community interests and the natural environment was labeled …