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2019

Civil Engineering

Boise State University

Articles 1 - 10 of 10

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

Heat Wave Intensity Duration Frequency Curve: A Multivariate Approach For Hazard And Attribution Analysis, Omid Mazdiyasni, Mojtaba Sadegh, Felicia Chiang, Amir Aghakouchak Oct 2019

Heat Wave Intensity Duration Frequency Curve: A Multivariate Approach For Hazard And Attribution Analysis, Omid Mazdiyasni, Mojtaba Sadegh, Felicia Chiang, Amir Aghakouchak

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Atmospheric warming is projected to intensify heat wave events, as quantified by multiple descriptors, including intensity, duration, and frequency. While most studies investigate one feature at a time, heat wave characteristics are often interdependent and ignoring the relationships between them can lead to substantial biases in frequency (hazard) analyses. We propose a multivariate approach to construct heat wave intensity, duration, frequency (HIDF) curves, which enables the concurrent analysis of all heat wave properties. Here we show how HIDF curves can be used in various locations to quantitatively describe the likelihood of heat waves with different intensities and durations. We then …

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Effect Of Subgrade Conditions On Pavement Analysis And Performance Prediction: A Study For Idaho Conditions, Md Jibon Aug 2019

Effect Of Subgrade Conditions On Pavement Analysis And Performance Prediction: A Study For Idaho Conditions, Md Jibon

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

The Mechanistic-Empirical (M-E) pavement design approach detailed in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG), and subsequently implemented through AASHTOWare® Pavement ME Design relies extensively on detailed material properties that ultimately govern the analysis and performance prediction results. For unbound materials like soils and aggregates, Resilient Modulus (MR) is the most critical input parameter affecting layer response under vehicular and environmental loading. Representing a material’s ability to ‘recover’ after loading, resilient modulus is determined in the laboratory through repeated load triaxial testing. Although the original test protocol to measure the resilient modulus value of a soil or aggregate …

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Full-Scale Study Of Infrared Thermography For Assessing Surface And Subsurface Defects In Pavements And Other Civil Infrastructure, Aidin J. Golrokh Aug 2019

Full-Scale Study Of Infrared Thermography For Assessing Surface And Subsurface Defects In Pavements And Other Civil Infrastructure, Aidin J. Golrokh

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Infrared thermography (IRT) is an effective non-destructive testing method in the field of concrete and asphalt pavements inspection. IRT is used to have an initial evaluation of the surface and near surface of pavements in a very time effective manner compared to other types of nondestructive testing (NDT) methods. Different aspects of IRT and its use to assess surface and subsurface defects in different types of pavements are being studied and evaluated in our research group. The effect of the depth of delamination inside concrete pavement on IRT technique is being studied. It is suggested by our group that there …

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Predicting Power-Transformer Bushings’ Seismic Vulnerability: Mounting Stiffness And Coupling, Jon Bender, Arvin Farid Jun 2019

Predicting Power-Transformer Bushings’ Seismic Vulnerability: Mounting Stiffness And Coupling, Jon Bender, Arvin Farid

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Large power transformers are both expensive and vulnerable to seismic failure. Excessive amplification of earthquake loading to power transformer bushings beyond the bushings’ rated strength can occur if the system’s structural dynamics produce unpredictable and unfavorable resonance behavior. Determining the degree of vulnerability to large seismic amplifications is not straight-forward, and general design recommendations do not always resolve problems that can potentially arise. This paper considers a number of Case studies in an attempt to postulate a set of critical factors, which might facilitate better prediction of bushing amplification. Further, several additional Case studies are summarized in order to add …

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Wildfire Smoke: Trends, Challenges, Unknowns, And Human Response, Mariah Dawn Fowler May 2019

Wildfire Smoke: Trends, Challenges, Unknowns, And Human Response, Mariah Dawn Fowler

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Wildfire smoke is a growing threat to human livelihood in the Western United States. The economic and the health burden of smoke is accelerating in response to a growing fire season and escalating fire activity. This study first evaluates the trends in air quality over Boise, Idaho and the entire Northwest (and Montana) to assess the impacts of wildfire smoke in the region. The Mann-Kendall trend analysis shows that there is a statistically significant trend in the average and maximum air quality index (AQI) during the fire season (July-August-September) in the Boise area. The AQI shows a decreasing trend, although …

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A Unified Risk-Based Framework For Assessing Sustainability And Resiliency Of Civil Infrastructure, Thomas Adam Robbins May 2019

A Unified Risk-Based Framework For Assessing Sustainability And Resiliency Of Civil Infrastructure, Thomas Adam Robbins

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

As of February 2019, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has reported since 1880 the average global temperature has increased 1°C, with the warmest year on record being 2016. As the years continue to pass, it is becoming more evident that climate change is occurring, which is known to be a catalyst for climatic weather events. Statistically speaking, these events are more prevalent, and catastrophic exemplified as hurricanes, earthquakes, flooding, and fires. In addition to the increase of potentially catastrophic events, society as a whole has become more conscientious in the use and preservation of natural resources, waste generation, …

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A Robust Decision Support Leader-Follower Framework For Design Of Contamination Warning System In Water Distribution Network, Mohammad S. Khorshidi, Mohammad Reza Nikoo, Elham Ebrahimi, Mojtaba Sadegh Mar 2019

A Robust Decision Support Leader-Follower Framework For Design Of Contamination Warning System In Water Distribution Network, Mohammad S. Khorshidi, Mohammad Reza Nikoo, Elham Ebrahimi, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

In recent years, several models have been proposed to inoculate Water Distribution Systems (WDS) against impacts of accidental and/or intentional compromised water quality through optimal deployment of online monitoring sensors in the network, which is referred to as Contamination Warning Systems (CWS). Translating such modeling efforts to real-world practice is, however, a challenge as different involved parties may pursue conflicting goals and modeling-based recommendations may not justify all stakeholders’ criteria. It is, hence, pivotal to develop conflict resolution methodologies to support engagement of different stakeholders in securing a safe water distribution. The decision making structure for CWS design is often …

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Climate‐Induced Changes In The Risk Of Hydrological Failure Of Major Dams In California, Iman Mallakpour, Amir Aghakouchak, Mojtaba Sadegh Feb 2019

Climate‐Induced Changes In The Risk Of Hydrological Failure Of Major Dams In California, Iman Mallakpour, Amir Aghakouchak, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Existing major reservoirs in California, with average age above 50 years, were built in the previous century with limited data records and flood hazard assessment. Changes in climate and land use are anticipated to alter statistical properties of inflow to these infrastructure systems and potentially increase their hydrological failure probability. Because of large socioeconomic repercussions of infrastructure incidents, revisiting dam failure risks associated with possible shifts in the streamflow regime is fundamental for societal resilience. Here we compute historical and projected flood return periods as a proxy for potential changes in the risk of hydrological failure of dams in a …

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Evaluating Shallow Mixing Protocols As Application Methods For Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation Targeting Expansive Soil Treatment, Bhaskar C. S. Chittoori, Tasria Rahman, Malcolm Burbank, Arif Ali Baig Moghal Jan 2019

Evaluating Shallow Mixing Protocols As Application Methods For Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation Targeting Expansive Soil Treatment, Bhaskar C. S. Chittoori, Tasria Rahman, Malcolm Burbank, Arif Ali Baig Moghal

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Expansive soils, also known as swell-shrink soils, undergo substantial volumetric changes due to moisture fluctuations from seasonal variations. These volumetric changes cause millions of dollars in damages annually. Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) is a promising soil improvement technique, which uses urease producing bacteria to precipitate calcium carbonate. In this study, a stabilization alternative for expansive soils was studied using MICP. Specifically, indigenous bacteria were stimulated by mixing enrichment and cementation solutions with expansive natural soils to precipitate calcium carbonate and make soil stronger and less expansive. This study examined three expansive soils with varying plasticity and mineralogical characteristics. Two …

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Coupled Numerical Analysis Of Variations In The Capacity Of Driven Energy Piles In Clay, Arvin Farid, Daniel P. Zimmerman Jan 2019

Coupled Numerical Analysis Of Variations In The Capacity Of Driven Energy Piles In Clay, Arvin Farid, Daniel P. Zimmerman

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Energy piles are an emerging alternative for the reduction of energy consumption to heat and cool buildings. Most of the research to date has focused on thermodynamic properties or axial and radial stress and strain of piles. This paper focuses on the effects of temperature fluctuation on the capacity of driven energy piles in clayey soils. Consolidation of clay surrounding driven piles affects the pile capacity (i.e., set up in clay). The heating and cooling periods of energy piles can create the excess pore-water pressure (EPWP, ue) or relax the existing one (e.g., due to pile driving or …

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