Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Impact Of Dedicated Bus Lanes On Intersection Operations And Travel Time Model Development, Stephen Arhin, Babin Manandhar, Kevin Obike, Melissa Anderson

Mineta Transportation Institute

Over the years, public transit agencies have been trying to improve their operations by continuously evaluating best practices to better serve patrons. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) oversees the transit bus operations in the Washington Metropolitan Area (District of Columbia, some parts of Maryland and Virginia). One practice attempted by WMATA to improve bus travel time and transit reliability has been the implementation of designated bus lanes (DBLs). The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) implemented a bus priority program on selected corridors in the District of Columbia leading to the installation of red-painted DBLs on corridors of H Street, …

Partial Systems' Analysis Of Traffic Noise Reduction In Tarik Al Jadidah, Beirut, Ibtihal Y. El-Bastawissi, Nour El Baba, Shireen Khalil, Nour El Hage, Rouba Joumblat, Franz Gatzweiler

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Traffic noise is considered one of the main pollutants in an urban space and has multiple side effects regarding the physical and mental health of the human being. Tarik Al Jadidah, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Beirut City- Lebanon, is selected as urban area for a project-based initiative and the focal point of different studies in BAU Urban Lab. The area suffers from various urban problems, but prominently traffic noise that highly damages the urban residents' quality of life due to its high levels of traffic noise that surpasses the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

BAU Urban …

Our Streets: Increasing Equity In Active Transportation Planning Through Community Outreach, Jordan Hoy

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT Significant research has demonstrated that active transportation infrastructure is essential for the growth and livability of San Francisco: it increases access to economic opportunities, promotes overall improved public health, encourages mobility without contributing to roadway congestion, prevents traffic injuries and fatalities, and supports the sustainability goals of the city. Despite the fact that communities of color will benefit the most from active transportation infrastructure development, historical disenfranchisement in tandem with a lack of diverse representation within public participation contributes to an inequitable distribution of walking and biking investments throughout the city of San Francisco. While research shows that Black …

A Circular Economy Approach To Improve E-Waste Recycling In California: Economic Potential And Policy Options, Kripa Shah

Master's Projects and Capstones

The higher consumption rates of electronic devices along with their short life cycles and few repair options poses a huge challenge for E-waste industries to manage them effectively. E-waste comprises of hazardous materials and toxic constituents that can affect the environment and public health through improper disposal. However, they also contain few valuable materials that, if recovered, can reduce the dependence on virgin raw materials. Circular economy has the potential to utilize these valuable materials and gain environment and socio-economic benefits. The research explains how the adoption of a circular economy approach can help improve the E-waste recycling in California …

Design Of A Freight Transportation Outreach Curriculum, Breanna Stoesz

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project is centered around finding a solution to the shortage of truck drivers within the freight industry. Specifically, this project aims to lessen this shortage by ensuring potential future drivers are aware of the benefits of the industry and are encouraged to consider this career path for themselves. By producing an engaging and educational freight transportation curriculum for middle and high school students to go through in outreach programs, these students would have an increased likelihood of joining the trucking profession and encourage others to become informed about the profession as well. In addition to the direct driving role, …

Determining Earthquake Impacts On Arkansas' Roadway Network: An Application Of Hazus., Simon Rothwell

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Natural hazards are a dangerous and unpredictable aspect of life on earth. They can cause devastating damage to our surroundings that makes movement of people, goods, and emergency services difficult. There is a need to plan for these disasters to ensure that damages to our infrastructure and people are minimized. It can be difficult for planners to determine which parts of a roadway network are most vulnerable to a specific disaster and what their impact on the rest of the network may be. This thesis uses a nationally available natural disaster estimation tool developed by FEMA called “Hazus” (FEMA, 2020). …

Community Transportation Needs And Willingness To Use Shared Micromobility: A Case Study Of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Anthony Michael Kammerer

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Shared micromobility is utilized in “targeted service areas with the usage generally intended for short trips such as "first- and last-mile" connections to complete trips made via other modes, including transit” (Price et al., 2021). In the United States, this practice has especially taken off with the implementation of sharing-based systems. This is evidenced by ridership numbers in the United States growing from 84 million riders nationwide in 2018 to 136 million riders in 2019 (NACTO, 2020). Users often use their smart phone or another similar device to unlock the vehicle after paying a fee on the device through their …

Protecting Our Community From The Hidden Vulnerabilities Of Today’S Intelligent Transportation Systems, Shahab Tayeb

Mineta Transportation Institute

The ever-evolving technology interwoven into the transportation industry leaves it frequently at risk for cyber-attacks. This study analyzes the security of a common in-vehicle network, the Controller Area Network (CAN), standard in most vehicles being manufactured today. Like many other networks, CAN comes with inherent vulnerabilities that leave CAN implementations at risk of being targeted by cybercriminals. Such vulnerabilities range from eavesdropping, where the attacker can read the raw data traversing the vehicle, to spoofing, where the attacker can place fabricated traffic on the network. The research team initially performed a simulation of CAN traffic generation followed by hardware implementation …

Investigating The Resilience Of Accessibility To Emergency And Lifesaving Facilities Under Natural Hazards, Chih-Hao Wang, Na Chen

Mineta Transportation Institute

Studying accessibility, including the resilience of city transportation networks, is critical to understand how these networks influence individuals’ mobility and lives. This study developed an analytical research framework to examine the resilience of accessibility to emergency and lifesaving facilities under the threats of natural hazards such as earthquakes and wildfires. With a cumulative-opportunity approach, the authors measured accessibility by counting emergency and lifesaving facilities (including parks, schools, hospitals, roads, and fire stations) that can be reached by driving at the census tract level in San Fernando Valley, CA. With the calculated accessibility, the authors run simulations to collect data showing …

Data-Driven Framework For Understanding & Modeling Ride-Sourcing Transportation Systems, Bishoy Kelleny

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Ride-sourcing transportation services offered by transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft are disrupting the transportation landscape. The growing demand on these services, along with their potential short and long-term impacts on the environment, society, and infrastructure emphasize the need to further understand the ride-sourcing system. There were no sufficient data to fully understand the system and integrate it within regional multimodal transportation frameworks. This can be attributed to commercial and competition reasons, given the technology-enabled and innovative nature of the system. Recently, in 2019, the City of Chicago the released an extensive and complete ride-sourcing trip-level data for …

Pedestrian Evacuation: Vulnerable Group Member Influence On The Group Leaders’ Decision-Making And The Impact On Evacuation Time, Terra Lynne Elzie

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Theses & Dissertations

As pedestrian evacuations of buildings, outdoor venues, and special events occur, dynamic interactions between pedestrians and vehicles during egress are possible. To model pedestrian and vehicle evacuations, simulation models have evolved to incorporate more realistic crowd characteristics and behaviors to provide improved results. Past studies using modeling and simulation, specifically agent-based modeling, have explored pedestrian behaviors such as decision-making, navigation within a virtual environment, group formations, intra-group interactions, inter-group dynamics, crowd behaviors such as queuing and herding, and pedestrianvehicle interactions. These studies have led to relevant insights helpful to improving the accuracy of evacuation times for normal and emergency egress …

Fight For Flight: The Narratives Of Human Versus Machine Following Two Aviation Tragedies, Andrew Prahl, Rio Kin Ho Leung, Alicia Ning Shan Chua

Human-Machine Communication

This study provides insight into the relationship between human and machine in the professional aviation community following the 737 MAX accidents. Content analysis was conducted on a discussion forum for professional pilots to identify the major topics emerging in discussion of the accidents. A subsequent narrative analysis reveals dominant arguments of human versus machine as zero-sum, surrender to machines, and an epidemic of mistrust. Results are discussed in the context of current issues in human-machine communication, and we discuss what other quickly automating industries can learn from aviation’s experience.

Policy Strategies To Solve The U.S. Recycling Crisis, Flavia M. Scotto D'Antuono

Student Publications

Following China’s Operation National Sword in 2018, the politics and economics of recycling have increasingly come under scrutiny as many examine whether it remains a worthwhile endeavor. Differences across municipalities, changing prices of goods, contamination, mislabeling, and involvement by the plastics industry has further confused the issue. This paper examines to what extent a national recycling policy would be effective and what form it may take using several case studies - whether it be mandatory recycled content minimums, extended producer responsibility, or allowing the industry to phase out completely,

Development And Testing Of Braking And Acceleration Features For Vehicle Advanced Driver Assistance System, Johann Carlo Marasigan, Gian Paolo Mayuga, Elmer R. Magsino

Electronics, Computer, and Communications Engineering Faculty Publications

Traffic congestion is a constant problem for cities worldwide. The human driving inefficiency and poor urban planning and development contribute to traffic buildup and travel discomfort. An example of human inefficiency is the phantom traffic jam, which is caused by unnecessary braking, causing traffic to slow down, and eventually coming to a stop. In this study, a brake and acceleration feature (BAF) for the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) is proposed to mitigate the effects of the phantom traffic phenomenon. In its initial stage, the BAF provides a heads-up display that gives information on how much braking and acceleration input …

Using Remote Sensing Technologies In Relocating Lubrak Village And Visualizing Flood Damages, Ronan Wallace

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As weather patterns change across the world, there are communities impacted by climate change that are left unnoticed. In the Himalayan mountain range, communities have suffered, experiencing an increase in flash flooding and droughts. For Lubrak Village in Lower Mustang, the community faces the threats of flash flooding. Over the last ten years, the amount of flash flooding has increased, occurring more than once each monsoon season. After every flood, concrete-like sediment is left behind, hardening across the riverbed and increasing its elevation. As the riverbed elevation increases, this sediment encroaches on Lu-brak Village’s agricultural fields and ancient mud buildings, …

Streamlining Project Development Through Planning & Environmental Linkages, Karen Hadley, Brett Lackey

Purdue Road School

As transportation agencies continue to explore ways to be more efficient in the project development process, they are embracing integrated methodologies like planning and environmental linkages. This tool is practical, yet highly effective and inclusive, and teams across the country are experiencing its value. This presentation will highlight a variety of use cases, discuss lessons learned and best practices, and specifically address how planning and environmental linkages can be applied in Indiana and the Midwest.

Big Data Applications: Public Involvement Tools For Public Involvement, Amy L. Livingston, Houssam Ghandour

Purdue Road School

Using big data to better understand origin-destination and regional travel patterns is critical to project development. Tools such as passive geographically based data lead to improved definitions for traffic analysis zones (TAZs), which, in turn, help inform public involvement plans for a more targeted approach and improved equity. This presentation will highlight future planning applications in Indiana and other case examples where we have used big data to aid the plan development of public and stakeholder engagement.

Increasing Heat-Stress Inequality In A Warming Climate, Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, John T. Abatzoglou, Jan F. Adamowski, Jeffrey P. Prestemon, Bhaskar Chittoori, Ata Akbari Asanjan, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Adaptation is key to minimizing heatwaves' societal burden; however, our understanding of adaptation capacity across the socioeconomic spectrum is incomplete. We demonstrate that observed heatwave trends in the past four decades were most pronounced in the lowest-quartile income region of the world resulting in >40% higher exposure from 2010 to 2019 compared to the highest-quartile income region. Lower-income regions have reduced adaptative capacity to warming, which compounds the impacts of higher heatwave exposure. We also show that individual contiguous heatwaves engulfed up to 2.5-fold larger areas in the recent decade (2010–2019) as compared to the 1980s. Widespread heatwaves can overwhelm …

Development Of Guidelines For Collecting Transit Ridership Data, Hong Yang, Kun Xie, Sherif Ishak, Qingyu Ma, Yang Liu

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Transit ridership is a critical determinant for many transit applications such as operation optimizations and project prioritization under performance-based funding mechanisms. As a result, the quality of ridership data is of utmost importance to both transit administrative agencies and transit operators. Many transit operators in Virginia report their ridership data to the Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) and the National Transit Database (NTD). However, with no specific guidelines available to transit agencies in Virginia for collecting ridership data, the heterogeneous mixture of diverse data collection methods and technologies has often raised concerns about the consistency and quality of …

A Global Survey Of Infection Control And Mitigation Measures For Combating The Transmission Of Covid-19 Pandemic In Buildings Under Facilities Management Services, Hadi Sarvari, Zhen Chen, Daniel W. M. Chan, Ellyn A. Lester, Nordin Yahaya, Hala Nassereddine, Aynaz Lotfata

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Facilities management along with health care are two important aspects in controlling the spread of infectious diseases with regard to controlling the outbreak of global COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, with the increasing outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of examining the relationship between the built environment and the outbreak of infectious diseases has become more significant. The aim of the research described in this article is to develop effective infection control and mitigation measures to prevent the transmission of COVID-19 pandemic in the built environment. This study seeks to answer the question of how the facilities management industry can help reduce …

The Impact Of New Light Rail Service On Employment Growth In Portland, Oregon, Lahar Santra

Dissertations and Theses

This study quantitatively examines the impact of the new Light Rail Transit (LRT) service on employment growth in retail, knowledge, and service sectors before and after opening the LRT. At the corridor level, this study conducts a case study of Greenline in Southeast Portland, Oregon. The results of the corridor level study suggest that the new LRT service increased employment along the Greenline corridor among all the three sectors of interest- retail, knowledge, service in the long-term (ten years) while having slightly different results for the short-term (five years), likely due to the slow growth of LRT benefits. This study …

Adapting The Human Factors Analysis And Classification System For Commercial Fishing Vessel Accidents, Peter Zohorsky, Holly Handley, Ronald Boring (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The commercial fishing industry is frequently described as one of the most hazardous occupations in the United States. The objective, to maximize the catch, is routinely challenged by a variety of elements due to the environment, the vessel, the crew, and how they interact with each other. This study developed and evaluated a version of Wiegmann and Shappell’s (2003) Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), specifically for commercial fishing industry vessels (HFACS-FV), using data from ten years of fatal fishing vessel accidents. For this study, the accident investigation information was converted into the HFACS-FV format by independent raters and …

A Primer On The Human Readiness Level Scale (Ansi/Hfes 400-2021), Kelly Steelman, Holly Handley, Katie Plant (Ed.), Gesa Praetorius (Ed.)

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

"The Human Readiness Level (HRL) Scale is a simple 9-level scale for evaluating, tracking, and communicating the readiness of a technology for safe and effective human use. It is modeled after the well-established Technology Readiness Level (TRL) framework that is used throughout the government and industry to communicate the maturity of a technology and to support decision making about technology acquisition. Here we (1) introduce the ANSI/HFES 400-2021 Standard that defines the HRL scale and (2) provide concrete examples of evaluation activities to support the application of HRLs in the development of automated driving systems."

Accessing 3d Data, Francesca Albrezzi, John Bonnett, Tassie Gniady, Heather Richards-Rissetto, Lisa Snyder

Department of Anthropology: Faculty Publications

The issue of access and discoverability is not simply a matter of permissions and availability. To identify, locate, retrieve, and reuse 3D materials requires consideration of a multiplicity of content types, as well as community and financial investment to resolve challenges related to usability, interoperability, sustainability, and equity. This chapter will cover modes, audiences, assets and decision points, technology requirements, and limitations impacting access, as well as providing recommendations for next steps.

Advances In Chemotactic And Non-Chemotactic Bioremediation Of Water: A Comprehensive Review, Sheetal Pardeshi, Prafulla Shede

Applied Environmental Research

Pollution has reached to a critical threshold affecting the climate and diversity of the planet Earth. All global authorities have included pollution control in their agenda for near future. Most of the environmental research nowadays is focused on removing waste generated by anthropogenic activities, may it be solid, liquid or gaseous waste. Bioremediation is believed to be the most eco-friendly approach for reducing or removing pollutants contaminating different matrices of the environment. There are various methods covered under the umbrella term of bioremediation. Chemotaxis-mediated bioremediation attracted attention of several research groups since early decade of twenty first century due to …

Soil Contamination And Risk Assessments On Selected Dumpsites Within The Basement Complex And Sedimentary Formations Of Ogun State, South-Western Nigeria, Akintayo O. Ojo, Oluwaseun T. Olurin, Oluseyi O. Adeleke

Applied Environmental Research

The concentrations of inorganic elements in soils of Saje, Ita-Oshin, Premier, and Oke-Diya dumpsites were determined using an X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometer to assess the soil quality through chronological changes with depths. A soil core sampler collects 56 samples at 20, 40, 60, and 80 cm depths. Saje showed high mean concentrations of Ca, K, Fe, Rb, and Ti at all depths, while Oke-Diya revealed high mean concentrations of Ca, K, Fe, Rb, Ti, Mn, Zn, V, Cr, and Ni at all depths. These concentrations were in a closed range suggesting a build-up of elements in the soil profiles. Oke-Diya had …

Occurrence Of Microplastics In The Asian Freshwater Environments: A Review, Farah Akmal Idrus, Noradriena Mohd Fadhli, Mohd Nasarudin Harith

Applied Environmental Research

Microplastics pollution has become a worldwide common problem. Despite the growing numbers in researches regarding the microplastics, the understanding of microplastics in the freshwater environment are still less. This paper overviews the present knowledge and findings on the occurrence of microplastics in water and sediment of the freshwater environments in Asia. The review also covers the size distribution, polymers, morphological characteristics and sources of microplastics to the freshwater systems. Perspective of the adsorption of heavy metals on the microplastics to the freshwater systems are also discussed in this review.

Ecological And Human Health Risk Assessment Of Heavy Metals By Consuming The Aquatic Plant Species Near An Electronic Waste Open Dumpsite In Thailand, Thitima Parkpoom, Somsak Intamat, Uraiwan Phoonaploy, Lamyai Neeratanaphan

Applied Environmental Research

Heavy metals from electronic waste (e-waste) accumulate in the environment and can affect human health. The purpose of this study was to determine As, Cd, Cr and Pb concentrations in water, sediment and three species of edible aquatic plants (Ottelia alismoides, Ipomoea aquatic and Marsilea crenata) near an e-waste open dumpsite. Samples were collected from six sampling points surrounding an e-waste open dumpsite and heavy metal concentrations were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Bioaccumulation factors (BAFs), estimated daily intake (EDI), hazard quotient (HQ), hazard index (HI) and carcinogenic risk (CR) were evaluated in …

Assessing Vegetation Cover Change Using Remote Sensing: Case Study At Binh Duong Province, Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Huyen, Le Hoang Tu, Le Truong Ngoc Han, Vuong Thi Thuy, Dang Nguyen Dong Phuong, Nguyen Kim Loi

Applied Environmental Research

This study aims to present the application of remote sensing in monitoring vegetation change in Binh Duong Province, Vietnam. The study used Landsat 5 images in the year 2010 and Landsat 8 images in the years 2015 and 2020 to investigate the area of vegetation. The maximum likelihood classification method (MLC) was used to classify land cover and an accuracy matrix was computed to validate the classification results. The references data were collected to support classification and accuracy assessment processes including land use maps in 2010, 2015, and 2020. In addition, collected field points and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) in …

Biochar From Empty Date Fruit Bunch As An Adsorbent To Remove Eriochrome Black T And Methylene Blue From Aqueous Solution, Houari Bella, Hayet Bendaikha

Applied Environmental Research

Date fruit has a significant role in Sahara countries' economies. In this study, a bunch of empty dates waste was used to produce biochar, which will be used to adsorb Eriochrome black T (EBT) and methylene blue (MB) dyes from aqueous solution. The dates bunch was washed, dried, and ground into small particles. Then it was heated in a muffle furnace at 850 °C. The biochar from empty date bunches (BEDB) characteristics before and after adsorption was determined by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The experiment has used different parameters notably initial concentration (25 …