Engineering Commons^™

A Review Of Different Aspects Of Applying Asphalt And Bituminous Mixes Under A Railway Track, Kazem Jadidi, Morteza Esmaeili, Mehdi Kalantari, Moses Karakouzian

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Asphalt is a common material that is used extensively for roadways. Furthermore, bituminous mixes have been used in railways, both as asphalt and as mortar. Different agencies and research institutes have investigated and suggested various applications. These studies indicate the benefits of bituminous material under railways, such as improving a substructure’s stiffness and bearing capacity; enhancing its dynamic characteristics and response, especially under high-speed train loads; waterproofing the subgrade; protecting the top layers against fine contamination. These potential applications can improve the overall track structure performance and lead to minimizing settlement under heavy loads. They can also guarantee an appropriate …

Effect Of Temperature On Early‐Age Properties Of Self‐Consolidating Concrete Equivalent Mortar, Nima Farzadnia, Jing Pan, Kamal Khayat, Eric Wirquin

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, the effect of ambient temperature during casting on fresh properties, hydration kinetics, and early‐age compressive strength of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) was evaluated. Concrete equivalent mortars (CEMs) with water‐to‐binder ratios of 0.41 and 0.45 were cast based on SCC mixture designs for building and infrastructure construction and precast applications. The CEMs were prepared at temperatures ranging from 8 to 36°C. Superplasticizer (SP) and air‐entraining agent (AEA) demand were evaluated for the CEM mixtures made with different supplementary cementing material (SCM) and limestone filler types. Test results showed that the ambient temperature can significantly affect the SP and AEA …

Ccfss Technical Bulletin Fall 2020, Vol. 21, Number 3, Wei-Wen Yu Center For Cold-Formed Steel Structures

CCFSS Technical Bulletins (1993 - 2020)

No abstract provided.

Bio-Binder—Innovative Asphalt Technology, Amir Tabakovic

Articles

The global road network spans 16.3 million km [1], of which 5 million km is in the EU. These road networks fulfil major economic and social goals by facilitating the movement of goods and people throughout the EU, and are therefore of the utmost importance to the economic and social life of the EU [2]. National governments invest heavily in their road networks, e.g., in 2014, EUR 53.33 billion was invested in the development and maintenance of the EU road network [3]. Each year, the world produces 1.6 trillion tonnes of asphalt [4], of which 218 million tonnes is produced …

Ccfss Technical Bulletin Fall 2020, Vol. 21, Number 2, Wei-Wen Yu Center For Cold-Formed Steel Structures

CCFSS Technical Bulletins (1993 - 2020)

No abstract provided.

Ccfss Technical Bulletin Fall 2020, Vol. 21, Number 1, Wei-Wen Yu Center For Cold-Formed Steel Structures

CCFSS Technical Bulletins (1993 - 2020)

No abstract provided.

Wei-Wen Yu Center For Cold-Formed Steel Structures (1990-2020), Roger A. Laboube, Wei-Wen Yu

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

Final Report: Wei-Wen Yu Center For Cold-Formed Steel Structures

Innovative Approach To Repair Corroded Steel Piles Using Ultra-High Performance Concrete, Binod Shrestha, Ahmed Gheni, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Steel H-piles are a common structural system in existing bridges. Many steel H-piles have been corroded as a result of severe weather and acid/alkaline salt exposures, causing a reduction in the axial load capacity. This paper experimentally investigates the use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) encasement as a novel repair method for corroded steel H-pile. UHPC displays better tensile strength, early compressive strength, workability, and durability compared with conventional concrete. The proposed repair is used to bridge the corroded section in H-pile using either a cast-in-place or precast UHPC elements. A series of push-out tests was conducted on eight full-scale …

Bond Behavior Between Steel Fiber Reinforced Polymer (Srp) And Concrete, Xingxing Zou, Lesley Sneed

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Steel fiber reinforced polymer (SRP) composite materials, which consist of continuous unidirectional steel wires (cords) embedded in a polymeric matrix, have recently emerged as an effective solution for strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) structures. SRP is bonded to the surface of RC structures by the same matrix to provide external reinforcement. Interfacial debonding between the SRP and concrete is a primary concern in this type of application. This study aimed to investigate the bond characteristics between SRP and concrete determined by single-lap direct shear tests with different composite bonded lengths and fiber sheet densities (cord spacings). Specimens with medium density …

Tensile Behavior Of Frp Anchors Made From Cfrp Ropes Epoxy-Bonded To Uncracked Concrete For Flexural Strengthening Of Rc Column, Yasir Saeed, Wisam Amer Aules, Franz N. Rad, Anis M. Raad

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

One of the major problems with using fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) in strengthening reinforced concrete (RC) structures is FRP premature debonding. Anchoring FRP materials to concrete has become associated with most of the strengthening techniques. One of the anchoring techniques is using handmade anchors made from FRP materials. In previous studies, most FRP anchors were made from rolling pre-cut FRP sheets and had short embedment (mm) as they were used for flexural or shear strengthening of RC beams. In the present study, FRP anchors were made from carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) ropes and had long embedment to be used …

Analysis Of Electric Vehicle Charging Behavior Patterns With Function Principal Component Analysis Approach, Chenxi Chen, Yang Song, Xianbiao Hu, Ivan G. Guardiola

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This manuscript focused on analyzing electric vehicles’ (EV) charging behavior patterns with a functional data analysis (FDA) approach, with the goal of providing theoretical support to the EV infrastructure planning and regulation, as well as the power grid load management. 5-year real-world charging log data from a total of 455 charging stations in Kansas City, Missouri, was used. The focuses were placed on analyzing the daily usage occupancy variability, daily energy consumption variability, and station-level usage variability. Compared with the traditional discrete-based analysis models, the proposed FDA modeling approach had unique advantages in preserving the smooth function behavior of the …

Investigation Of Bolted Connections In Cold-Formed Steel Members Using Sae J429 Bolts, Babak Yeganeh, Cheng Yu

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

The report presents a research project aimed at comparing ASTM and SAE J429 bolts. The research includes comparison of those two bolt standards in terms of tensile strength, chemical and mechanical properties, shanks length, head size, thread profile and bolt styles. The research shows that the overall dimension, tensile strength, head and shank size for both standards are the same and no considerable difference is observed.

Risk Assessment Of Water Inrush Caused By Karst Cave In Tunnels Based On Reliability And Ga-Bp Neural Network, Zhaoyang Li, Yingchao Wang, C. Guney Olgun, Shengqi Yang, Qinglei Jiao, Mitian Wang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In order to evaluate the risk level of water inrush caused by karst cave accurately and effectively, a novel quantitative assessment model was established based on the reliability theory and genetic algorithm-back propagation (GA-BP) neural network. First, the reliability theory and the calculation formula of the minimum safe thickness were used to calculate the water inrush probability. Second, the GA-BP neural network was applied to predict the disaster consequence caused by water inrush. Six factors, including water pressure, hydraulic supply, type of gap, filling situation, degree of water enrichment and reserves of cave, were selected as the input layer of …

Detection Of Corrosion-Indicating Oxidation Product Colors In Steel Bridges Under Varying Illuminations, Shadows, And Wetting Conditions, Dayakar L. Naik, Hizb Ullah Sajid, Ravi Kiran, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Early detection of corrosion in steel bridges is essential for strategizing the mitigation of further corrosion damage. Although various image-based approaches are available in the literature for corrosion detection, most of these approaches are tested on images acquired under uniform natural daylight illuminations i.e., inherent variations in the ambient lighting conditions are ignored. Owing to the fact that varying natural daylight illuminations, shadows, water wetting, and oil wetting are unavoidable in real-world scenarios, it is important to devise a robust technique for corrosion identification. In the current study, four different color spaces namely ‘RGB’, ‘rgb’, ‘HSV’ and ‘CIE La*b*’ along …

Evaluation Of Anti-Aging Performance Of Biochar Modified Asphalt Binder, Wenhao Dong, Feng Ma, Chen Li, Zhen Fu, Yue Huang, Jenny Liu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As a renewable biomass resource, biochar is new to modify or replace asphalt binder in pavement engineering. This paper focuses on the effect of biochar on the anti-aging performance of asphalt binder. The short-and long-term aging properties of biochar modified asphalt binder were investigated using dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and bending beam rheometer (BBR) tests. The modification mechanism was investigated through the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) test. The aging tests and viscosity analysis showed that the softening point of biochar modified asphalt binder was higher than base asphalt binder, while the aging index and aging viscosity ratio were lower than …

Failure Sampling With Optimized Ensemble Approach For The Structural Reliability Analysis Of Complex Problems, Christopher Eamon, Kapil Patki, Ahmad Alsendi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

Failure sampling is a structural reliability method based on modified conditional expectation suitable for complex problems for which reliability index-based approaches are inapplicable and simulation is needed. Such problems tend to have non-smooth limit state boundaries or are otherwise highly nonlinear. Previous studies recommended implementation of failure sampling with an extrapolation technique using Johnson's distribution or the generalized lambda distribution. However, what implementation method works best is problem dependent. The uncertainty of which approach provides best results for a particular problem limits the potential effectiveness of the method. In this study, a solution is proposed to this issue that eliminates …

Semi-Annual Progress Report #7, Missouri University Of Science And Technology. Inspire - University Transportation Center

Semi-Annual Progress Reports

No abstract provided.

Aeroelastic Testing To Evaluate Wind Effects On Transmission Systems, Ziad Azzi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The transmission infrastructure in the U.S. faces substantial risk from hurricanes. Wind-induced damage poses an immense threat to the electric power grid; such hazards have significantly impacted the supply, generation, and delivery of power to large portions of the U.S. in the past. When exposed to strong winds, critical demands in several elements in transmission tower-line systems may exceed corresponding capacities and trigger various modes of failure. Enhancing the resilience of the transmission grid against increasing threats from hurricanes and strong winds is therefore of critical importance. The results of 1:50 aeroelastic scaled models of a self-supported steel lattice tower …

Online Implementation Of Structural Analysis Tool For Remote Learning, Ghada El-Mahdy, Amany Micheal

Civil Engineering

The delivery of a structural analysis module to architectural or civil engineering students needs the visualization of certain diagrams, such as the internal force diagrams and the elastic line. These diagrams are difficult to grasp for students new to structural analysis and need a lot of practice to become proficient in drawing them. Current structural analysis textbooks with electronic platforms do not include tools to draw the internal force diagrams or deflection. This has led to the initiative of creating an online structural analysis tool to enable the student to easily apply different loadings on different statical systems to draw …

The Application Of Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process In Sustainable Project Selection, Rakan Alyamani, Suzanna Long

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The project selection process is a crucial step in sustainable development. Effective sustainable development depends on the ability to select the appropriate sustainable project to implement to ensure that the desired goals are met. Some of the most common characteristics or criteria used in evaluating sustainable projects include novelty, uncertainty, skill and experience, technology information transfer, and project cost. Prioritizing these criteria based on relative importance helps project managers and decision makers identify elements that require additional attention, better allocate resources, as well as improve the selection process when evaluating different sustainable project alternatives. The aim of this research is …

Rheological And Component Characterization Of An Innovative Bio-Binder Using Guayule Resin In Partial And Entire Asphalt Replacement, Ahmed Hemida, Magdy Abdelrahman

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Asphalt cement will not last for a long time as the world encounters a diminishment in the crude oil. For sustainable, flexible pavement development, new resources can provide a contribution to replace it partially or entirely. In this study, asphalt was partially and entirely replaced by guayule resin as a bioresource by-product, extracted during the guayule natural rubber production. Crumb rubber modifier (CRM) was used as an asphalt enhancer. The Superpave grading system was followed at high, intermediate, and low temperatures to evaluate such innovative binder for rutting, fatigue, and thermal cracking, respectively, in addition to viscosity. Therefore, the original, …

Quantitative Evaluation Of Asphalt Binder Extraction From Hot Mix Asphalt Pavement Using Ashing And Centrifuge Methods, Ahmed Hemida, Magdy Abdelrahman, Eslam Deef-Allah

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Asphalt binder requires more investigation to be accurately and precisely extracted since it is a significant procedure for quality control quality assurance (QC/QA) and subsequent binder characterization. In this research, the authors provided a hands-on experience with binder extraction to deliver recommendations concerning the sensitive steps that may affect the outcomes (extracted binder content, P_be %). Based on the extraction by the centrifuge method, two mineral matter determination methods (ashing and centrifuge) were addressed. Field cores were investigated with comparing the P_be % to the actual binder content, P_ba %. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey Post-Hoc …

Wind Hazard Resilient Construction Mitigation Decision-Making Using A Multi-Objective Optimization, Erin Gregory

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

While storms worsen and damage to homes increases, limited information is available about mitigations that are effective in lessening damage to homes and/or buildings. Information on past storms exists within FEMA’s Hazus-MH application, but the information provided by the data within the Hazus-MH application, while very informative on its own, was decidedly more precise and useful when optimized to provide defined information to those responsible for determining building codes or regulations for homes.

The research available from Hazus-MH details results from past storms categorized by building type, mitigations, and intensity of disaster. The data can be used to simulate storm …

Utilization Of Lidar Technology To Assess Vertical Clearances Of Civil Infrastructure, Daniel Levi Mcintosh

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The issue of vertical clearances along highway systems impact the functionality of the road network. Extracting current routing clearances for each structure can be a challenging and hazardous task. Pavement changes and roadway rehabilitation projects can alter roadway geometry, complicating efforts to maintain accurate clearance databases. Vertical clearance measurements may vary from one lane to another beneath overhead structures and are often difficult to obtain due to high traffic volumes. Inherently, traditional methods that are used to obtain the measurements routinely impede the flow of traffic and subject workers to dangerous environments. This study will examine the use of a …

Dual Target Optimization Of Two-Dimensional Truss Using Cost Efficiency And Structural Reliability Sufficiency, Mohammad Rezaee, Seyed Hooman Ghasemi, Mansoureh Rezaee

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Faculty Scholarship

The main contribution of this study is to open a discussion regarding the structural optimization associated with the cost efficiency and structural reliability sufficiency consideration. To do so, several various optimization approaches are investigated to deliberate both cost and reliability concerns. Particularly, particle swarm optimization is highlighted as a reliable optimization approach. Accordingly, an illustrative example is rendered to compare the feasibility of the considered optimization approaches. The feasibility of the investigated approaches is evaluated using the cost and reliability analysis. For the considered example, it was observed that the PSO optimization algorithm has multiple advantages such as easy realization, …

Building Life-Cycle Carbon And Operational Energy Report, Duncan Cox, Alexandra Davis, Vamshe Gooje

General University of Maine Publications

The premise of this report is to surmise the embodied carbon impact and anticipated operational energy use of the 57,995 sf crosslaminated timber (CLT) and glulam addition to the Advanced Structures and Composites Center (ASCC) on the University of Maine campus. The project will contain open lab space for the world’s largest prototype polymer 3D printer, offices, and a presentation venue.

A life-cycle assessment is a methodology for quantifying environmental impacts at all stages of a building’s life cycle. This is a cradle-to-grave assessment of the building, beginning from raw material extraction and sourcing, to manufacturing, transportation, construction, energy use, …

Measuring Three-Dimensional Temperature Distributions In Steel-Concrete Composite Slabs Subjected To Fire Using Distributed Fiber Optic Sensors, Yi Bao, Matthew S. Hoehler, Christopher M. Smith, Matthew Bundy, Genda Chen

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Detailed information about temperature distribution can be important to understand structural behavior in fire. This study develops a method to image three-dimensional temperature distributions in steel–concrete composite slabs using distributed fiber optic sensors. The feasibility of the method is explored using six 1.2 m × 0.9 m steel–concrete composite slabs instrumented with distributed sensors and thermocouples subjected to fire for over 3 h. Dense point clouds of temperature in the slabs were measured using the distributed sensors. The results show that the distributed sensors operated at material temperatures up to 960◦C with acceptable accuracy for many structural fire applications. The …

Benefits Of Including Sae Bolts, Nuts, And Washers In The Aisi Standard S100, Patrick Bodwell, Perry S. Green

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

The addition of SAE J429 bolts along with their associated nuts and washers into the AISI STANDARD S100, North American Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Members, would be a significant enhancement to the specification by providing practitioners the opportunity to use a broader range of fasteners for the design of cold-formed steel structures. The design of bolted connections using SAE J429 bolts would be advantageous for many types of structures including mechanical support structures, storage rack systems, photovoltaic support structures, carport structures, and conventional repetitive frame structures that all utilize cold-formed steel members. These structures would benefit by having …

Novel Adhesive Anchoring System Through Engineered Interface, Hua Liu, Jian Zhao

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Articles

This report describes a study of an innovative adhesive anchoring system. The weak link in the load transferring path of adhesive anchors is at adhesive-concrete (A-C) interface; hence, the innovation is about creating threads/grooves in drilled holes in concrete before the holes are filled with adhesive and anchors are installed. The new anchoring system is expected to improve the robustness of A-C interface and the consistence of adhesive anchors.

The new adhesive anchoring system was verified in this study using both unconfined and confined pullout tests in uncracked concrete. The tests were divided into to two groups, one using traditional …

Uav-Enabled Measurement For Spatial Magnetic Field Of Smart Rocks In Bridge Scour Monitoring, Genda Chen

INSPIRE Archived Webinars

This lecture will present an overview of the research, development, validation, and implementation of 'smart' rocks as in-situ agents to assist in remote monitoring of bridge scour in real time. It will start with a brief review of fundamental concepts such as magnet, polarization, magnetic field, and field measurement principle. It will then introduce the concept of ‘smart’ rocks, demonstrate it through small-scale laboratory tests, and design and fabricate gravity-controlled ‘smart’ rocks for field implementation based on river hydrodynamics and riverbed conditions. Next, a ‘smart’ rock localization optimization algorithm will be formulated analytically and validated experimentally in open fields. It …