Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Analysis And Optimisation Of Tii’S Pams Reset Values And Deterioration Models For Irish Pavement Conditions, James Quinn, Raymond Mcgowan, Tomas O'Flaherty

Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2020

Ireland has a national road network of approximately 5300km that is managed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). TII create yearly pavement maintenance and renewal programs from the operation of a Pavement Asset Management System (PAMS). Accurate pavement deterioration models and reset values are an essential part of PAMS and are required for life cycle cost analysis (LCCA). Pavement maintenance and renewal schemes are prioritised based on the LCCA's largest benefit to cost ratio, and therefore optimise the annual pavement maintenance and renewal budget. Currently, TII implement pavement deterioration models and reset values from Austria's and Belgium's PAMS, and are not …

An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Bitumen Additives On The Performance Of Pavement Surface Dressings, Alan Anderson, John Casserly, Alan Kavanagh, Jim Campbell

Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2020

Surface dressing is a maintenance technique that uses thin layers of bitumen emulsion and single sized aggregates. The surface dressing process seals and binds the surface of a road to protect its substructure from water ingress. It also provides increased skid resistance, which improves safety for road users. Early life chip-loss can occur if there is an insufficient degree of adhesion between the emulsion and aggregate used. The range of additives used in bitumen can have an effect on their adhesion properties. The focus of this research project was to investigate if the use of these additives in surface dressing …

Winter Maintenance On The Irish Road Network, Hugh Mcconnell, Brian Mccann

Civil Engineering Research in Ireland 2020

Winter maintenance relates to those activities undertaken where the objective is to minimise the impact of frost, ice or snow on the travelling public. The responsibility for winter maintenance of all roads in Ireland currently rests with local authorities and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) (Formerly the NRA) on behalf of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTaS), (DTTaS, 2017). The aim of the study was to examine current winter maintenance practices undertaken in Ireland by local authorities and the Motorway Maintenance and Renewals Contracts (MMaRC) contractors and examine the potential financial, operational and environmental benefits if pre-wet and brine …

Thermodynamic Cement Hydration Modelling Using Hydcem, Niall Holmes, Denis Kelliher, Mark Tyrer

Conference papers

Thermodynamics have been successfully applied to the field of cement hydration science to predict the formation of phase assemblages and pore solution chemistry. For any cement hydration model to be accepted, it must provide accurate forecasts of which solids may form and how the cement will dissolve over time. This is particularly important for the ongoing development of new sustainable cements and understanding their hydration behaviour in service. HYDCEM is a cement hydration model that simulates volumetric changes of cement and gypsum dissolution and product growth that, up to now, assumed which solids would form. In order to improve its …

Effects Of Accelerated Carbonation Curing On Co2 Sequestration And On The Compressive Strength Of Concrete Masonry Units, Barry Gilroy, Leon Black, David Thompson, Ronan Hogan, Niall Holmes

Conference papers

The global consumption of Portland cement has risen to over 4 billion tonnes per annum. Its manufacture is energy and carbon intensive and approximately 900 kg of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere for each tonne of Portland cement produced. The International Energy Agency (IEA) roadmap sets out a goal to reduce emissions due to cement production to 18 % below 2006 levels by 2050. Concrete has the potential to re-absorb CO2 by the process of carbonation, where it reacts with CaO in the concrete to form calcium carbonate. Accelerated carbonation curing (ACC) is a technique for curing fresh concrete …

Predicting Mortar Compressive Strength Using Hydcem, Ewoma Ogoro, Niall Holmes, Denis Kelliher, Mark Tyrer

Conference papers

The compressive strength of mortar is a significant property that will influence its performance in concrete or masonry. Being able to accurately model and predict the mortar compressive strength would be of great benefit to suppliers and end users alike that could possibly reduce the need for multiple physical testing. A section of the original HYDCEM cement hydration model (amoungst others) has been partitioned to focus on predicting the compressive strength of Portland cement and cement-limestone mortars, entitled HYDCEM_CompressiveStrength. The model uses the cement/binder oxide composition along with other inputs to predict the compressive strength development over time. This paper …

Characterization And Performance Of Cement-Based Thermoelectric Materials, Ruchita Jani, Niall Holmes, Roger P. West, Kevin Gaughan, Xiaoli Liu, Esther Orisakwee, Conrad Johnston, Ming Qu, Jorge Kohanoff, Lorenzo Stella, Hongxi Yin

Conference papers

Thermoelectric materials enable direct conversion of thermal energy to electricity. Ambient heat energy harvesting could be an effective route to convert buildings from being energy consumers to energy harvesters, thus making them more sustainable. There exists a relatively stable temperature gradient (storing energy) between the internal and external walls of buildings which can be utilized to generate meaningful energy (that is, electricity) using the thermoelectric principle. This could ultimately help reduce the surface temperatures and energy consumption of buildings, especially in urban areas. In this paper, ongoing work on developing and characterizing a cement-based thermoelectric material is presented. Samples are …

Solar Pv Feasibility Study On Higher Education Institutions In Connecticut, Sai Pujitha Karanam

Master's Theses

One of the most common issue in Connecticut (CT) is the high electricity rates. CT stands among the top five states for its high electric rates due to limitation in transmission facilities and storage of natural gas. Education institutions serve as good places to install photovoltaic systems as they have a large number of buildings available. Photovoltaic systems are a growing alternative energy source that reduces the electricity demand and hence higher education institutions should start implementing these technologies to reduce the burden of paying more for electricity bills.

The primary objective of the study was to analyze the economic …

Development Of Artificial Intelligence Approach To Nowcasting And Forecasting Vibrio Prevalence In Coastal Waters, Peyman Hosseinzadeh Namadi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V.p) is an epidemiologically significant pathogen that poses high risks to the human health and shellfish industry, calling for predictive models for management interventions. This study presents an Artificial Intelligence(AI)-based approach to predicting and reducing the risks. The AI-based approach involves the identification of environmental indicators and their optimum variation ranges favoring V.p prevalence, the development of nowcasting and forecasting models for predicting V.p prevalence, and the creation of remote sensing algorithms for mapping concentrations of V.p and its environmental indicators by synergistically combining the Deep Neural Network (DNN) modeling technique, Genetic Programming (GP) method, R …

Study The Effect Of Damping Change During The Dynamic Analysis Of A Reinforced Concrete Bridge With Neoprene Cushions, Mais Ghassoun

Emirates Journal for Engineering Research

The damping ratio has a important effect on the dynamic behavior of the bridges. and it is customary when designing to assume it as a predetermined fixed value independent of the response amplitude and frequency of the structure . A lot of experimental research worked on identifying them, but the dependence of damping and other dynamic characteristics of vibration amplitudes and their impact on responses and the results of the analysis need more scrutiny and simulation due to the difficulty of conducting vibration experiments for structures of realistic dimensions and large weights such as a RC bridge, which necessitated a …

Visible-Light-Active Disinfection Of Surface Water Coliform Using Silver/Titanium Dioxide/Silver Bromide(Ag/Tio2/Agbr) As Photocatalyst, Ashraya Upadhyaya

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

As human population becomes diverse, the need for sustainable, inexpensive, scalable, and decentralized water treatment technologies to supplement or replace conventional treatment methods are important, especially to satisfy the need of small, rural communities for safe drinking water. These challenges can be somewhat met with the use of semiconductor photocatalysis, especially if the process is driven by visible light energy. Visible-light-active (VLA) photocatalysis can be effectively applied in disinfection of drinking water. In comparison to traditional, energy-intensive, physical and chemical disinfection methods, VLA photocatalysis is capable of providing high disinfection efficiency with the use of cheaper energy, no harmful by-products, …

Development Of A Nomogram To Predict The Maximum Contact Stress Between A Bridge I-Girder And A Support Roller, Thanin Chanmalai

Master's Theses

The incremental launching method (ILM) is one of the methods of bridge construction located in environmentally sensitive areas. During the bridge launching, there are significant contact stress issues at the contact regions between the launching system and the steel bridge girders. The Iowa River Bridge (IRB) is a case study of bridge construction that used the ILM during a steel I-girders installation. Contact stress can cause severe defects during launch, which can occur within the material where the material could be damaged.

Hertz contact theory is applied for calculating contact stress between two solid surfaces, which is initially derived from …

Gas Component Transport Across The Soil-Atmosphere Interface For Gases Of Different Density: Experiments And Modeling, L. M. Bahlmann, K. M. Smits, K. Heck, E. Coltman, R. Helmig, I. Neuweiler

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications - Archive

We investigate the influence of near-surface wind conditions on subsurface gas transport and on soil-atmosphere gas exchange for gases of different density. Results of a sand tank experiment are supported by a numerical investigation with a fully coupled porous medium-free flow model, which accounts for wind turbulence. The experiment consists of a two-dimensional bench-scale soil tank containing homogeneous sand and an overlying wind tunnel. A point source was installed at the bottom of the tank. Gas concentrations were measured at multiple horizontal and vertical locations. Tested conditions include four wind velocities (0.2/1.0/2.0/2.7 m/s), three different gases (helium: light, nitrogen: neutral, …

Investigation Of Modeling Strategies For Slender Lightly Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls, Jenna Marie Williams, Tracy Destiny Doan

Architectural Engineering: Graduate Reports

A large number of pre-1980’s non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) structures in California utilizing RC shear walls to resist seismic lateral forces have been identified as deficient by industry practitioners. These non-ductile wall systems are typically lightly reinforced and lack adequate boundary element detailing. Analytical studies suggest these walls are susceptible to brittle, compression-controlled failure modes due to damage from concrete crushing and bar buckling. Furthermore, poor behavior of lightly reinforced concrete walls was observed in many recent earthquakes, for example in Chile (1985), New Zealand (2010/2011) and Mexico (2017). This has generated concern among engineers in high seismic regions around …

Accuracy Comparison Of Aerial Lidar, Mobile-Terrestrial Lidar, And Uav Photogrammetric Capture Data Elevations Over Different Terrain Types, Mandar Khanal, Mahamudul Hasan, Nikolaus Sterbentz, Ryen Johnson, Jesse Weatherly

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lidar and other remotely sensed data such as UAV photogrammetric data capture are being collected and utilized for roadway design on an increasing basis. These methods are desirable over conventional survey due to their efficiency and cost-effectiveness over large areas. A high degree of relative accuracy is achievable through the establishment of survey control. In this case study, elevations (z-values) derived from mobile-terrestrial lidar, aerial lidar, and UAV photogrammetric capture collected with survey control were statistically compared to conventionally surveyed elevations. A cost comparison of the methods is also included. Each set of z-values corresponds to a discrete horizontal point …

Quantifying Shallow Depth Concrete Delaminations Using Impact Echo, Mantaka Mahjabin Momo

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Delamination is a type of deterioration commonly found in concrete structures. It may form due to corrosion of embedded steel, poor construction, excessive vibration, or lack of bonding in composite construction. Impact echo (IE) is a simple and straightforward non-destructive testing (NDT) technique that is used to detect the presence and extent of delamination within concrete structures. It is capable of detecting its presence of delaminations in deep depths, but cannot accurately measure the defects that are near the surface. This phenomenon occurs due to the differences in the vibration modes of deep and shallow depth delaminations. The objective of …

Durability And Prediction Of Long-Term Performance Of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (Cfrp) Laminates Under Environmental Conditions, Eyad Alsuhaibani

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Strengthening deteriorated concrete structures with carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) has been widely validated through laboratory experiments and field tests. Questions and concerns persist related to the CFRP’s long-term performance and service life, however, thus the main objective of this research was to evaluate its durability under various environmental conditions. This research is divided into four distinct phases. In the first phase, the deterioration trends of CFRP laminate under environmental regimes were evaluated after immersion in water at 23, 45, and 60 °C for periods up to 32 weeks. In the second phase, four prediction models of the long-term performance …

Sorption-Mediated Chemical Processes For The Versatile Treatment Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Complex Media, Naomi Gevaerd De Souza

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In recent years, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have gained notoriety due to environmental and health concerns. These molecules are chemically stable which contributes to their persistence in biological systems and their increased detections in surface waters. Treatment of highly persistent PFAS has been a challenging but significant task. The most practical technique for removal of PFAS is through adsorption onto granular activated carbon (GAC) or other novel materials. Meanwhile, PFAS are resistant to simple oxidation, and although decomposition of specific PFAS has been reported through advanced oxidation technologies, often energy-intense technologies capable of generating electrons such as ultraviolet radiation, …

Evaluation Of Long Term Durability In Concrete With External Pre-Saturated Cfrp Laminate, Ramya Anandhan

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Many studies have investigated the use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) wraps to strengthen structural members, but there is limited literature on the application of presaturated CFRP wraps on reinforced concrete members. The main objective of this research is to study the long-term effectiveness of presaturated CFRP wraps in preventing corrosion of reinforced concrete specimens in severe environments. This paper presents numerical and experimental studies that were conducted to determine whether CFRP presaturated wraps provide a barrier against the ingress of chloride and permeability of water into concrete and thereby decelerate the corrosion process. The results show that the …

An Experimental Study Of Coupled Thermo-Hydro Behavior In Unsaturated Soil, Nice Kaneza

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Understanding unsaturated soils in response to the impact of temperature will better predict the performance of geo-structures that extract and inject underground heat. Previous studies have shown that heat and water in unsaturated soil affect the movement of each other and that thermal gradients are responsible for the migration of water and thermal properties. Therefore, it is essential to study the coupling behavior of thermal and hydraulic (TH) processes to analyze the distribution of moisture and thermal properties of unsaturated soil. These processes are transient and difficult to examine in the field. In addition, there is a lack of laboratory …

Transient Seepage And Slope Stability Analysis In Partially Saturated Earthen Dam, Puneet Bhaskar

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The problem of slope stability in earthen dams is a major concern to geotechnical engineers. Traditionally, the seepage through embankments and other geotechnical structures is estimated using hydraulic properties of saturated soil. In most of the cases, the soil is not fully saturated and use of saturated soil properties can lead to erroneous results. The reliable assessment of slope stability needs comprehensive characterization of both unsaturated and saturated hydraulic properties of soil. The coefficient of permeability is a key hydraulic property in solving any flow related problem in geotechnical engineering. The permeability coefficient of unsaturated soil is usually estimated using …

Development Of A Structural Design Methodology For Polymeric Spray Applied Pipe Linings, Zahra Kohankar Kouchesfehani

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Buried culverts are important components of the highway infrastructure. Most large culverts are built decades ago from corrugated metal or reinforced concrete materials and now have reached their design lives. Trenchless renewal techniques can be utilized to enhance load carrying capacity of the existing deteriorated culverts and provide them a new design life. Spray applied pipe lining (SAPL) is a trenchless renewal methodology to renew damaged pipes and culverts by applying layers of liner on the interior surface of the deteriorated host culvert. The development of practical spray applied pipe linings could be of enormous benefit to the Departments of …

Development Of Reductive/Oxidative Treatment Strategy For The Removal Of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas) In Water, Akshay Parenky

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The detrimental health effects of halogenated compounds in humans has been well documented, and the frequent occurrence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the water environment is a recent global concern. Feasible and sensible treatment strategies are in dire need for environmental remediation and water treatment. Currently, efficient treatment is only obtained at a small scale and at a high energy cost. This research is presented in three subsections, where decomposition of selected PFAS was evaluated under advanced oxidation techniques. The first study involved decomposition of a polyfluoroalkyl substance, 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate (6:2 FTS), in which 2 carbons of …

Analysis Of Barriers Causing Delay In Post-Hurricane Recovery: Experts’ Vs. Public’S Perspectives, Behzad Rouhanizadeh

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Destructive natural disasters such as hurricanes, affect countries around the world. To recover from a hurricane, the managers need to make various decisions; however, what makes the post-hurricane decision making unique is lack of time to make the optimum decision. A comprehensive understanding of barriers to recovery can lead to development of policies that help prevent delays in recovery process and consequently results in resiliency. Although several studies have been performed to identify the recovery barriers, they did not provide a comprehensive review of barriers and their classification. On the other hand, experts and the public commonly have different understandings …

Statistical Models Of Pipe Service Life Towards Artificial Intelligence Based Decision Support, Vahid Eghbalifarkoosh

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In this dissertation, through utilizing various artificial intelligence-based as well as statistical models, an effort has been made to investigate the deterioration of sewer pipes. Once the deterioration rates of sewer pipes are estimated, by assuming failure criteria, as specified in the dissertation, the associated service lives for the sewer pipes can therefore be estimated. However, it should be noted that for different sewer pipes and based upon the availability of suitable data, and due to various failure modes that could transpire in various sewer pipes, the results will thus be subjected to uncertainties and variations. In other words, depending …

A Decision Support System For Success Of Post-Hurricane Reconstruction Of Transportation Infrastructures, Elnaz Safapour

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In the aftermath of hurricanes, when reliable transportation systems are vital, the chaotic and complex environment creates multiple uncertainties and risks in the reconstruction of transportation infrastructures. Damaged transport infrastructures decrease the timeliness of emergency responses and recovery procedures, and make it difficult for authorities, who are under excessive pressure and are struggling to find the financial resources to reconstruct them on time and within budget. The aim of this research was to develop a decision support system that would improve the cost and schedule performance, as well as reduce the number and extent of rework in post-hurricane reconstruction of …

Quantitative Assessment Of Alkali-Silica Reaction In Small And Large-Scale Concrete Specimens Utilizing Nonlinear Acoustic Techniques, Clayton Malone

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nonlinear resonance techniques have been shown to be sensitive to microcracking in materials, including alkali-silica reaction (ASR) damage in concrete. However, application of nonlinear resonance tests have been limited due to the difficulty of application to large-scale field structures and the inability to quantitatively relate material nonlinearity with damage development. In this study, the development of ASR in concrete prisms and large concrete beam specimens of varying aggregate types and specimen sizes was monitored using linear and nonlinear resonance techniques.

For the concrete prisms, although the linear resonance frequency test could detect initiation and development of ASR damage in specimens …

Estimation Of Construction Site Elevations Using Drone-Based Orthoimagery And Deep Learning, Yuhan Jiang, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Using deep learning to recover depth information from a single image has been studied in many situations, but there are no published articles related to the determination of construction site elevations. This paper presents the research results of developing and testing a deep learning model for estimating construction site elevations using a drone-based orthoimage. The proposed method includes an orthoimage-based convolutional neural network (CNN) encoder, an elevation map CNN decoder, and an overlapping orthoimage disassembling and elevation map assembling algorithm. In the convolutional encoder-decoder network model, the max pooling and up-sampling layers link the orthoimage pixel and elevation map pixel …

Sharing Is Caring: Assessing Willingness To Share Autonomous Vehicles For Evacuation And Disaster Relief, Thomas Alan Shirley

All Theses

Coastal areas in the southeastern United States face the threat of hurricanes each year. Some of the greatest danger associated with these storms is experienced by citizens without personal means to evacuate. Along with storms comes the inevitable post-disaster relief process of evaluating losses and delivering supplies. With the rapid development of autonomous vehicle technology, this study examines the potential use of autonomous vehicles, publicly or privately owned, to assist in these evacuation and disaster relief efforts. Examining this new field of study, the researchers hosted three focus groups and received 1050 responses to an online survey. Based on the …

Performance Of Cracked Reinforced Concrete Pipes Subjected To Different Environmental Conditions, Bassam Hatem Karim Al-Lami

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Performance of reinforced concrete pipes, as a major part of the water and waste-water infrastructure, plays an important role in the resilience and sustainability of today’s modern cities. Cracks may appear in these pipes due to handling and placement and might affect their long-term performance due to corrosion concerns. Current practice for quality control after installation of these pipes is quite strict and any pipe with a crack width of more than 0.01" is not approved. The goal of this research project is to evaluate the performance of cracked reinforced concrete pipes subjected to saline environments with three different concentration …