Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Performance Analysis And Modelling Of Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Panels, Nicole C. Annis

Doctoral Dissertations

A photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panel was constructed, tested, and modelled using both MATLAB and TRNSYS. During the experimental testing, which took place on the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus in Rolla, Missouri; two identical PVT panels were tested alongside two PV panels to gather an electrical baseline for comparison. Approximately 69 days’ worth of data were of data were collected during the summer of 2014. The PV electrical, PVT electrical, PVT thermal and PVT combined (electrical and thermal) efficiencies were 3.5-5.6%, 3.4-5.4%, 20.9-11.6%, and 24.3-17.0%, respectively.

A MATLAB program was developed using existing equations for one-dimensional, quasi-steady model of …

A Revisit Of The Equilibrium Assumption For Predicting Near-Wall Turbulence, Farid Karimpour, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this study, we revisit the consequence of assuming equilibrium between the rates of production (P) and dissipation (∈) of the turbulent kinetic energy (k) in the highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous near-wall region. Analytical and dimensional arguments are made to determine the relevant scales inherent in the turbulent viscosity (νt) formulation of the standard k-∈ model, which is one of the most widely used turbulence closure schemes. This turbulent viscosity formulation is developed by assuming equilibrium and use of the turbulent kinetic energy (k) to infer the relevant velocity scale. We show that such turbulent viscosity formulations are not suitable …

Phytoscreening: A Comparison Of In Planta Portable Gc-Ms And In Vitro Analyses, Matt A. Limmer, Gregory D. Martin, Christopher J. Watson, Camilo Martinez, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Phytoscreening Has Been Proven to Rapidly Delineate Subsurface Contaminant Plumes for Semiquantitative Site Assessment, with Minimal Impact to Property or Ecology through the Collection and Analysis of Tree Cores. Here, Three Phytoscreening Methods Were Applied Concurrently to Identify Multiple Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compounds (CVOCs) in a Phytoremediation Treatment System at a Contaminated Industrial Facility. Tree Coring, in Planta Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), and in Planta Passive Sampling Showed General Agreement, with the in Planta GC-MS Providing the Quickest But Least Quantitative Results. the Portable GC-MS Sampling and Analysis Method Identified Six CVOCs in the Xylem of Hybrid Poplars (Populus Sp.) …

Laminar And Turbulent Regime Changes In Drinking Water Contact Tanks, Taylor C. Barnett, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Transitions in flow regimes that can occur in drinking water contact tanks may significantly affect the disinfection efficiency of the system. To demonstrate these effects, the authors investigated the internal velocity fields and flow regime of a drinking water contact tank located in Jamestown, Colo. The baffling factor (BF) of the system fluctuated annually between 0.5 and 0.6 because of a shift in flow regime caused by changes in the flow rate of the system. The authors studied the effects of the regime change from laminar to turbulent flow (or vice versa) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models and physical …

Factors Affecting The Seismic Behavior Of Segmental Precast Bridge Columns, Haitham Dawood, Mohamed Elgawady, Joshua Hewes

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This manuscript discusses the design parameters that potentially affect the lateral seismic response of segmental precast post-tensioned bridge piers. The piers consist of precast circular cross section segments stacked one on top of the other with concentric tendons passing through ducts made in the segments during casting. The bottommost segments of the piers were encased in steel tubes to enhance ductility and minimize damage. An FE model was used to investigate different design parameters and how they influence the lateral force — displacement response of the piers. Design parameters investigated included the initial post-tensioning stress as a percentage of the …

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

The Relationship Between Bicycles And Traffic Safety For All Road Users, Jasmine A. Martin

Master's Theses

Over the past twenty years bicycle use as a mode of transportation has grown considerably in the United States. Other studies have examined the individual bicyclist’s risk in proportion to the growth in cycling across cities, a phenomenon referred to as ‘safety in numbers.’ This study expands from that research and examines the effect of cyclists on road safety for all road users.

The study examines the roles of bicycle modal split, a city wide analysis, and bicycle infrastructure, a site based analysis, in road safety outcomes. For the city based analysis, twenty years of crash data in 12 California …

Finite Element Modelling And Dilation Of Frp-Confined Concrete Columns, Osama Youssf, Mohamed Elgawady, Julie E. Mills, Xing Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Concrete dilation is one of the main parameters that controls the stress-strain behavior of confined concrete. Several analytical studies have been carried out to predict the stress-strain behavior of concrete encased in fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP), which is crucial for structural design. However, none of these studies have provided a simple formula to determine the dilation parameter that is always required in the finite element (FE) material modelling of concrete. This paper presents a simple empirical model predicting the confined concrete dilation parameter within the theoretical framework of a Karagozian and Case type concrete plasticity model. A set of 105 FRP-confined …

Bs News November/December

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Bridge Newsletter Winter 2014, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

The Bridge Newsletter

-Smart living
-Bodapati earns lifetime award
-TMS honors Myers
-Mays receives award for research

Phytomonitoring Of Chlorinated Ethenes In Trees: A Four-Year Study Of Seasonal Chemodynamics In Planta, Matt A. Limmer, Amanda J. Holmes, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Long-Term Monitoring (LTM) of Groundwater Remedial Projects is Costly and Time-Consuming, Particularly When using Phytoremediation, a Long-Term Remedial Approach. the Use of Trees as Sensors of Groundwater Contamination (I.e., Phytoscreening) Has Been Widely Described, Although the Use of Trees to Provide Long-Term Monitoring of Such Plumes (Phytomonitoring) Has Been More Limited Due to Unexplained Variability of Contaminant Concentrations in Trees. to Assess This Variability, We Developed an in Planta Sampling Method to Obtain High-Frequency Measurements of Chlorinated Ethenes in Oak (Quercus Rubra) and Baldcypress (Taxodium Distichum) Trees Growing above a Contaminated Plume during a 4-Year Trial. the Data Set Revealed …

Effect Of Placement Characteristics On Scc Lateral Pressure Variations, A. F. Omran, Y. M. Elaguab, Kamal Khayat

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Lateral pressure exerted by fresh concrete on vertical formwork systems controls significantly the design of the formwork systems. Several factors including, material properties, placement conditions, and formwork characteristics can affect formwork lateral pressure. This paper presents the results of an extensive experimental work aimed at studying the influence of concrete temperature (10-32 °C), casting depth (up to 13 m), placement rate (2-30 m/h), waiting period between successive lifts, as well as concrete thixotropy on lateral pressure characteristics. The increase of concrete temperature is shown to accelerate the stiffening rate of the concrete leading to reduction in initial lateral pressure. For …

Measurement Of Stiffness Anisotropy In Kaolinite Using Bender Element Tests In A Floating Wall Consolidometer, X. Kang, G. C. Kang, B. Bate

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new floating wall consolidometer-type bender element testing system was developed to study the stiffness anisotropy of clays at applied vertical stresses up to 800 kPa. One-dimensional slurry-consolidated Georgia RP-2 kaolinite samples, prepared with 0.005 and 1 mol/l NaCl solutions, were tested in this system. A floating wall design eliminated the detrimental bending moment that acts upon the horizontally installed benders as a result of soil settlement in a traditional fixed wall setup, which significantly improved the signal quality and bender reuse. Floating wall-soil interface resistance was quantified with pulling tests. Analytical equations were then derived to calculate the wall …

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Quest For An Unambiguous Parameterization Of Mixing Efficiency In Stably Stratified Geophysical Flows, Benjamin D. Mater, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Estimates of turbulent mixing in geophysical settings typically depend on the efficiency at which shear-driven turbulence mixes density across isopycnals. To date, however, no unifying parameterization of diapycnal mixing efficiency exists due to the variability of natural flows and also due to certain ambiguities that arise from descriptions based on a single parameter. Here we highlight important ambiguities of some common single-parameter schemes in the context of a multiparameter framework that considers the independent effects of shear, buoyancy, and viscosity. Parameterizations based on the gradient Richardson number (Ri), the turbulent Froude number (FrT), and the buoyancy Reynolds number (Reb) are …

Coastal Defenses, U.S., Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides an overview of U.S. military coastal defenses during the period up to and including the War 1812.

Bs News July/August

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Where To Park? The East Campus Dilemma, Matthew Lewis

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

James Madison University's East Campus expansion has created parking problems. Student struggle to find a decent parking spot, sacrificing time to park and then perhaps more time to walk to class. This research project seeks answers to the parking problems on the east side of campus, specifically the Festival and Convocation lots. Should students spend time navigating the Festival lot looking for a spot or should they go directly to the Convocation lot? The data and research explain why the latter solution is much more efficient.

Multi-Criteria Decision Modeling For Best Value Selections In Target Value Design Integrated Project Delivery, Brent Patrick Griffis

Master's Theses

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) combined with Target Value Design (TVD) is a better way to deliver value for the client than traditional guaranteed maximum price (GMP) methods. With traditional GMP delivery methods, the interests of the parties are often at odds. The goal of IPD is to align all party interests in order to achieve a win-win scenario. Due to the aligning nature of IPD and the fact that each party’s success is dependent on achieving the project objectives as a whole; a non-biased, transparent, decision-making process is necessary in order to deliver the project objectives within the constraints of …

Ua66 Ogden College Of Science & Engineering Newsletter, Cheryl Stevens, Dean

Ogden College of Science & Engineering Publications

No abstract provided.

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Tendon Spacing On In-Plane Behavior Of Posttensioned Masonry Walls, Dongun Ryu, Anil C. Wijeyewickrema, Mohamed A. Elgawady, M. A.K.M. Madurapperuma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In-plane behavior of unbonded posttensioned clay brick masonry walls are investigated using detailed finite-element (FE) models. FE models of three walls having different aspect ratios of 1.50, 1.00, and 0.67 are developed. Effects of tendon spacing on in-plane behavior of these walls are investigated using different tendon spacings ranging from 0.61 m (2 ft) to 3.81 m (12.5 ft). In addition, the effects of having different horizontal reinforcement ratios of 0%, 0.1%, and 0.5% on the in-plane behavior of the walls were investigated. The stresses in the tendons are calculated using different approaches, and then the flexural strength of each …

A Unifying Framework For Parameterizing Stably Stratified Shear-Flow Turbulence, Benjamin D. Mater, Subhas Karan Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An alternative framework for parameterizing stably stratified shear-flow turbulence is presented. Using dimensional analysis, four non-dimensional parameters of interest are identified that consider the independent effects of stratification, shear, viscosity, and scalar diffusivity. In the interest of geophysical applications, the problem is further simplified by considering only high Reynolds number flow. This leads to a two-dimensional parameter space based on a buoyancy strength parameter (i.e., an inverse Froude number) and a shear strength parameter. Consideration for the gradient Richardson number allows the space to be divided into an unforced regime, a shear dominated regime, and a buoyancy-dominated regime. On this …

Shakers - South Union, Kentucky (Sc 1328), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1328. Letters, written by South Union, Kentucky Shaker leaders, to leaders of the Hancock Shaker Society, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, discussing the building of mills and dam, economic conditions, and religious affairs. The original letters are in the Library of Congress.

A Comparative Study Of The Mechanical Properties, Fracture Behavior, Creep, And Shrinkage Of Chemically Based Self-Consolidating Concrete, Mahdi Arezoumandi, Mark Ezzell, Jeffery S. Volz

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study presents the results of an experimental investigation that compares the mechanical properties, fracture behavior, creep, and shrinkage of a chemically based self-consolidating concrete (SCC) mix with that of a corresponding conventional concrete (CC) mix. The CC and SCC mix designs followed conventional proportioning in terms of aggregate type and content, cement content, air content, water-cementitious materials (w/cm) ratio, and workability. Then, using only chemical admixtures, the authors converted the CC mix to an SCC mix with all of the necessary passing, filling, flowability, and stability requirements typically found in SCC. The high fluidity was achieved with a polycarboxylate-based …

Quantifying And Modeling Stream–Aquifer Interactions In The Elkhorn River Basin, Nebraska, Can Liu

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study combined statistical analyses, field investigations and numerical groundwater flow modeling to quantify the connectivity between the Elkhorn River and its adjacent aquifers in Nebraska. The Mann-Kendall trend tests were conducted to detect increasing or decreasing tendencies on the time series data of streamflow, which were collected from eighteen gauging stations in the Elkhorn River and its tributaries. Decreasing trends were not found in the annual streamflow data.

Field investigation of streambed hydraulic properties was performed in the Elkhorn River near Winslow and Norfolk. Vertical hydraulic conductivities (K_v) of the shallow streambed sediments were obtained by …

Bs News March/April

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

An Experimental Investigation Of Crumb Rubber Concrete Confined By Fibre Reinforced Polymer Tubes, Osama Youssf, Mohamed Elgawady, Julie E. Mills, Xing Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Due to the known loss of compressive strength experienced by crumb rubber concrete (CRC) compared with conventional concrete, there have been few applications explored to date for the structural use of these materials. This paper describes experimental work conducted to explore the possible future use of CRC for structural columns by evaluating the use of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) confinement as a means of overcoming the material deficiencies (decreased compressive strength). The results indicated that the use of FRP to confine rubberized concrete effectively negates the decrease in strength and retains the advantages of increased ductility that arise from rubberized …

Plant Translocation Of Organic Compounds: Molecular And Physicochemical Predictors, Matt A. Limmer, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Root-Soil Boundary Represents One of the Largest Global Biotic-Abiotic Mass-Transfer Interfaces and is a Primary Pollutant Entry Point to the Food Chain. This Interface is Also Critically Important in Phytoremediation Efforts and Herbicide Design. Experimental Data and Single-Parameter Models Have Resulted in the Current Understanding that Moderately Hydrophobic Organic Compounds Are Most Likely to Be Translocated by Plants, Although Recent Evidence Indicates Plants Can Also Translocate Some Hydrophilic Compounds. Molecular Descriptors Initially Applied for Drug Discovery and for Transmembrane Migration in Mammalian Systems Were Applied Here to Determine the Physicochemical Domains and Weighted Desirability Functions to Identify Compounds Amenable …

Improving The Hydraulics Of Drinking Water Contact Tanks Using Random Packing Material, Taylor C. Barnett, Justin J. Kattnig, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy, Gordon Whittaker

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study investigated the use of industrial packing material for increasing the hydraulic efficiency of small-scale, chlorine contact tanks used in drinking water treatment. The packing material used in the study was spherical, with porosities between 0.9 and 0.95 and a density less than that of water. A total of 67 tracer studies, conducted on laboratory-scale chlorine contact tank systems, investigated three sizes of packing material, two tank sizes, and two flow rates. Sodium chloride solution was injected as a continuous tracer and was monitored in the tank outflow through electrical conductivity. Several studies were validated with the use and …