Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Internet Of Things For Sustainable Mining, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

The sustainable mining Internet of Things deals with the applications of IoT technology to the coupled needs of sustainable recovery of metals and a healthy environment for a thriving planet. In this chapter, the IoT architecture and technology is presented to support development of a digital mining platform emphasizing the exploration of rock–fluid–environment interactions to develop extraction methods with maximum economic benefit, while maintaining and preserving both water quantity and quality, soil, and, ultimately, human health. New perspectives are provided for IoT applications in developing new mineral resources, improved management of tailings, monitoring and mitigating contamination from mining. Moreover, tools …

Steel Bridge Truss Analysis, Alastair Seed

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The purpose of this project is to conduct a study comparing the effectiveness of different cross frame orientations in lowering the deflection of the main stringers of a bridge. Three different orientations of cross frames were researched; vertical, angled with the superstructure webbing, and halfway-angled. All of these were studied when the stringers were placed directly under the superstructure and when the superstructure was placed outside of the stringers. Analysis was performed in a program called SAP 2000 to find the deflections along the stringers under different loading conditions. The results showed that when the superstructure was oriented over the …

Can The Integration Of Bim And Gis Enhance Information Management For Large Scale Linear Infrastructure Projects?, Bim Tudublin, Brendan Kennedy

Capstone Reports

The integration of BIM and GIS is the subject of considerable research, particularly as the two coalesce for the purpose of information management. Large scale infrastructure projects require best practice in terms of how information is managed given the volume of information generated throughout the project lifecycle and the numerous parties requiring access to project content. This paper investigates whether the integration of BIM and GIS can enhance information management on large scale linear infrastructure projects. The research comprised a literature review and interviews with a number of BIM/GIS professionals actively working on linear infrastructure projects across the world. Some …

Binary Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm For Optimization Of Steel Structure, Atitaya Chaiwongnoi

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This research studies on the performance of Binary Particle Swarm Optimization (BPSO) algorithm. The first part is finding the best inertia weight of BPSO from various types of inertia weight. The second part is optimizing the cross-sectional area of steel structures and topology of bracing system under vertical and lateral load. The structures studied in the research include unbraced frames and X-braced frames. Moreover, the braced frame also investigates the influence of the classification groups of elements. The elements are classified into finer groups than the original group. The design of the structure follows the AISC code. From the investigation …

Macro - And Microstructure Evaluation And Field Applications Of Concrete With Recycled Glass Pozzolan, Marija Krstic

Dissertations and Theses

Concrete is the most used material in the world, second only to water. Conventional concrete is produced with Portland cement (PC). The production of cement is an energy intensive operation that has raised significant environmental concerns, since one ton of cement generates an equal ton of CO₂. In the USA about 90 million tons of cement are used annually, with 3 million tons used in New York. Most contemporary concrete applications for buildings and infrastructure use high-performance concrete (HPC) mixtures which are produced by replacing a percentage of cement with supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), consisting mainly of fly-ash …

Decision-Making In Reuse Of Highway Bridge Foundations, Ehssan Hoomaan

Dissertations and Theses

According to the 2019 National Bridge Inventory data from Federal Highway Administration, the average age of highway bridges in the U.S.A. is 45 years, with almost 43% of existing highway bridges being older than 50 years, and eight percent of all U.S. national highway bridges being in poor condition. Foundation and substructure of existing highway bridges (over land and water) may have significant functional values even after being under service for decades. Reusing an existing bridge foundation during the reconstruction of a bridge (e.g., major rehabilitation, retrofitting, replacement of superstructure and substructure, and addition/removal of a span) has the potential …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation Of Rain-Wind-Induced Vibration Of Stay Cables, Hongfan Wang

Dissertations and Theses

Due to the large amplitude, frequent occurrence and severe consequences, the rain-wind induced vibration (RWIV) of stay cables in cable-stayed bridges has been investigated extensively by researchers around the world. However, the underlying excitation mechanism is still unclear. Recently, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation has been widely applied in the research on structure vibrations due to dynamic wind loads, with great potential as an alternative tool for wind tunnel testing. It has also been adopted to investigate the RWIV, but only a few studies have been conducted so far. Furthermore, most of the CFD simulations reported in literatures are two-dimensional, …

Slender Frp Elements As Discrete Reinforcement For Concrete, Yuan Tian

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation presents a study that led to the development of slender elements that look like fibers used for reinforcing concrete but with a very different reinforcing mechanism. These elements, referred to as “Needles” are very rigid and strong; when intersected by growing cracks in concrete under heavy and increasing loads, they do not break and deform minimally. In the present work major steps were taken to understand the reinforcing mechanism of Needles. In addition, to investigate the influence of Needles on the mechanical performance of concrete incorporating Needles, at both material and structural levels, a series of laboratory experiments …

Tire-Chip Reinforced Foundation As Liquefaction Countermeasure For Residential Buildings, Hemanta Hazarika, Siavash Manafi Khajeh Pasha, Isao Ishibashi, Norimasa Yoshimoto, Tota Kinoshita, Shigeki Endo, Ashoke Kumar Karmokar, Takuto Hitosugi

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

To prevent vibration-induced and liquefaction-induced damage to residential buildings during earthquakes, a low-cost technique has been developed and described here. It utilizes a mixture of tire chips and gravel as the horizontal reinforcing inclusion under the foundation of residential houses. The horizontal reinforcing inclusion refers to a layer of tire chips and gravel which is placed horizontally beneath the foundation. This mixture of tire chips and gravel provides sufficient bearing capacity to the foundation. In this research, a series of small-scale 1 g model shaking table tests was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of the technique. In addition, cyclic undrained …

Behavior Of Negative Stiffness Metamaterial Systems In Structural Engineering Applications, Yasser Darwish

Doctoral Dissertations

“Metamaterial systems with negative stiffness behavior became a point of interest in many energy dissipation applications due to their ability to dissipate high levels of energy. Negative stiffness metamaterial elements can dissipate energy through non-linear elastic behavior when transferred from one stable mode of buckling to another. Hence, the ability of such elements to be reusable for multiple loading cycles exists. Such unique properties made the metamaterial systems a perfect candidate for structural applications such as impact protection of bridges against collision. This research provides innovative metamaterial shell structure that can exhibit negative stiffness behavior by deforming from one shape …

Dynamic Loading Experimentation And Surface Imaging Of Pressure Vessel Loadcell Fractures, Austin T. Sumner

Honors College Theses

Pressure vessels are very common pieces of equipment in industry and they are used for a variety of applications. It is standard in industry to rest pressure vessels on load cells. For some special cases, the pressure vessels are rested on load cells instead of solid foundation. Pressure vessels and their loadcells are generally designed for static environmental conditions and loading and tend to experience adverse effects when exposed to dynamic environments, such as hurricanes and earthquakes. These adverse-loading conditions cause vibrations and asymmetrical loading on the load cells, which can concurrently cause unexpected failure. This research investigates the effects …

Control Of Energy Storage Utilisation For A Building Integrated Microgrid Using Multi-Objective Metaheuristic Optimisation Methods, Quang An Phan

Theses

The aim of this thesis was to develop and analyse optimisation strategies for commercial buildings with integrated microgrids, in order to find optimal trade-offs between maximising profitability and facilitating renewable energy from the national power grid. The continued proliferation of microgrids, as well as the increase in electricity produced by renewable energy sources on the Irish national grid has necessitated the requirement for these strategies. Models to simulate the performance of a photovoltaic system, wind turbine and battery bank were developed and validated. The most suitable optimisation algorithm to generate an optimal charge/discharge rate schedule for a battery bank was …

Compressibility Of Fine-Grained Soil In Central Florida, Andre Kruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Fine-grained soils are responsible for most site settlements through a time dependent process known as consolidation. The magnitude of consolidation is quantified with three terms: the recompression and compression indices, referred to as the soil's compressibility indices, and preconsolidation pressure. The ideal methods to estimate these parameters are direct measurements from lab or in-situ field tests, other method include estimation from experience or from correlations to soil parameters. This study refines correlations between compressibility indices and index properties as previously researchers and soil mechanics suggest a strong correlation exists. This study also suggests a correlation to CPT parameters as this …

On-Site Measurement Of The Water-Cementitious Ratio And Heat Of Hydration Of Delivered Concrete, Seyednavid Mardmomen

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, AASHTO T318-15 was adopted to estimate the water content of fresh concrete mixes and then revised to have better precision. The additional step required sieving out the coarse aggregate after drying the sample in a microwave oven, and it was then used in the calculation of the absorbed water and cementitious material content. Several laboratory batches, as well as on-site water-cementitious (w/cm) ratio tests, were performed on concrete mixes containing ordinary Portland cement, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and Class F fly ash. The results of the experiments indicated that the accuracy of the revised method was …

Experimental And Field Evaluation Of Frp Pedestrian Bridge Decks, Kalrav Singh Tomer

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Traditional materials such as steel, timber, and concrete have continued to dominate their usage in civil infrastructure. They offer great advantages like strength and stiffness but at the same time they pose major issues in terms of durability and maintenance. Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) exhibits outstanding properties like lightness, excellent corrosion and wear resistance along with superior thermo-mechanical properties. Glass FRPs (GFRPs) have emerged as one of the best alternatives in the field of civil infrastructure. It has been more than four decades since fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have gained notable applications in civil infrastructure industry. However, FRPs have …

Field Evaluation Of A Modular Press-Brake-Formed Steel Tub Girder In An Application That Includes Skew And Superelevation, Adam D. Roh

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) is a group of bridge and culvert industry leaders (including steel manufacturers, fabricators, service centers, coaters, researchers, and representatives of related associations and government organizations) who have joined together to provide educational information on the design and construction of short span steel bridges in installations up to 140’-0” in length. A technical working group from within the SSSBA developed the notion for the modular shallow press-brake-formed steel tub girder as a solution for the short span steel bridge market.

After extensive testing at West Virginia University and multiple successful field demonstrations, members of …

Monotonic Response Of Rc Exterior Beam-Column Joints Reinforced With Filler-Modules And Frp Composite Wraps/Gussets, Praveen Kumar Reddy Majjigapu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

A review of post-earthquake reconnaissance studies revealed that reinforced concrete (RC) structures, designed and built before the development of Uniform Building Code (UBC) seismic design guidelines in 1976, have suffered complete collapse or severe damages due to the brittle failure of exterior beam-column joints. Over the past 50 years, several studies were conducted to strengthen exterior joints of in-service structures, with limited emphasis on developing simple, economic and durable repair strategies to improve energy absorption through large inelastic joint deformations. Even less emphasis was devoted to developing repair procedures that minimize stress-concentrations at joint corners and enhancing the strength, ductility, …

Time-Dependent Reliability Framework For Durability Design Of Frp Composites, Rajneesh Kumar Bharil

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The life-cycle performance, durability, and aging characteristics of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP or Structural Composites) have been of keen interest to the engineers engaged in the FRP design, construction, and manufacturing. Unlike conventional construction materials such as steel and concrete, the design guidelines to account for the aging of FRP are somewhat scattered or not available in an approved or consistent format. Loss of strength over time or aging of any structural material should be of concern to engineers as the in-service lifespan of many engineering structures is expected to exceed 100 years. Use of durability strength-reduction factors or factors …

The Potentials Of Faecal Sludge Treatment Using Local Conditioners In Tanzania: A Review, Doglas Benjamin1

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Worldwide, every day human beings generate millions of tons of Faecal Sludge (FS), which is rich in water, nutrients, energy, and organic compounds. Yet FS is not being managed in a way that permits us to derive value from its reuse, while at the same time, millions of farmers struggle with depleted soils and lack of water. In most of the developing countries, energy for cooking is mainly derived from cutting of trees, either as wood or charcoal. Resource recovery and reuse from FS can create livelihoods, enhance food security, support green economies, reduce waste and contribute to cost recovery …

Two Clamped Pipe Support Connections For Oil And Gas Brownfield Projects, Helen M. Claycomb

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In the oil and gas industry, brownfield projects focus on the modification of or addition to an existing production facility that is fully operational and operating. Welding is typically avoided on these projects. The drilling of holes in existing primary structural elements is also prohibited. Clamped connections are often used when adding additional services in a brownfield project. There are different types of clamped connections utilized when a new structural support must be attached to an existing vertical structural pipe. The short bolt clamped connection is a well-established connection and typically used on offshore projects. The U-bolt clamped connection is …

Strengthening Of Corroded Steel Structures Using Cfrp – An Experimental Review, Ghada El-Mahdy Ph.D., P.Eng, Abdallah H. Yassin, Abdel El Rahman Khaled

Civil Engineering

Fibre reinforced polymers (FRP) have been widely used to strengthen reinforced concrete structures, however, nowadays their use to strengthen steel structures is under investigation. In particular, the need to strengthen corroded steel structures found in aggressive environments, such as marine environments, which have undergone a reduction in cross-sectional area and hence a reduction in their load-carrying capacity is in need of studying. The main problems that arise when using carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets to strengthen steel structures is the weakness in the interfacial bond between the CFRP and the steel surface, the thinness of CFRP sheet, and the …

Sway And No-Sway Behaviour Of Pitched Roof Portal Frames Composed Of Cold-Formed Steel Sections, Ghada El-Mahdy Ph.D, P.Eng., Maged Tawfick Hanna Ph.D

Civil Engineering

Cold-formed sections buckle locally and distortionally in combination with overall buckling of the member. When these sections are incorporated into a portal frame structure, this combination of buckling modes affects the overall buckling behaviour of the portal frame. The objective of this paper is to study the effect of local and distortional buckling on the overall behaviour of portal frames. The portal frames studied have a span of 10 m and an eave height of 3 m with a roof pitch of 1:10. Two frames are studied the first with one intermediate interconnector at the midpoints of the column and …

Evaluation Of A Novel Remote Displacement Sensor Prototype Using Video And Laser-Based Technology For Civil Infrastructure Applications, Nicholas J. Brown

Civil and Environmental Engineering Master's Project Reports

Deflection measurements on structures, especially with regards to long-term monitoring, continues to be a challenge with current sensor technologies. Material degradation and changes in the mechanical properties due to aging (for example, creep and shrinkage in concrete bridges) directly impact the deflections exhibited by a structure. In this article we introduce and discuss the evaluation of a novel laser and video-based displacement sensor prototype to monitor displacements and rotations in structures remotely. The sensor is both inexpensive, using off-the shelf components, but also accurate and practical for situations that do not allow the use of conventional displacement sensors, which require …

Retrofit Of Corroded Corrugated Metal Culverts Using Gfrp Slip-Liner, Rahulreddy Chennareddy

Civil Engineering ETDs

Culverts are water conveyance structures, typically used to allow water flow and maintain a balance between the flow streams without interrupting structures such as highways and bridges. Corrugated metal pipes (CMPs) have been used as culverts in North America since the 1950s because of their low cost and simple construction method. Today, the corrosion of CMPs is a major problem faced by all U.S. Departments of Transportation. There is an urgent need to provide an efficient solution, one that is corrosion-resistant, to retrofit thousands of corroded CMPs across the country. High specific strength, high strength to weight ratio, corrosion resistance, …

Forensic Investigation Of Building Failure – The Harbour Cay Condominium Disaster, John Airis

Publications and Research

When a building suffers collapse, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is tasked with conducting an investigation into the cause. Often OSHA will request technical assistance from the National Institute for Standards and Technology to assist in the forensic technical aspects determining a most probable cause. This forensic effort entails many actions. The Harbour Cay Condominium disaster occurred on March 28, 1981 in Cocoa Beach, Florida. It was a total collapse of a five story reinforced concrete structure during the last stage of roof construction, resulting in 11 deaths and 24 injuries. The investigation report revealed structural design …

Diffusion And Uniformity Of Recycled Asphalt In Pavements, Baoshan Huang

Abbett Distinguished Seminar Series

Asphalt pavements covers over 93 percent of the paved roads in the United States. The use of recycled asphalt into pavement maintenance and construction has been a common practice. However the lack of understanding of the interaction between recycled and virgin asphalt poses a change on the efficient use of recycled asphalt, and often causes pavement premature failures. The present study addressed some fundamental aspects associated with the beneficial use of recycled asphalt into asphalt paving mixtures: 1) how much recycled asphalt can be mobilized into a uniform asphalt coating in the mixture? and 2) will the mobilized old asphalt …

Simulation Training And Route Optimization For Bridge Inspection, Sushil Louis

INSPIRE Archived Webinars

Since the 1970s, simulation training has developed opera­tional trainers for a variety of complex systems from pilot flight simulations to cultural awareness training simulations. When connected to the real world, such simulation training interfaces can drive real vehicles and systems. We have been building a Simulation Training And Control System (STACS) for autonomous bridge inspection that uses a simulated world to train inspectors to control a heterogeneous group of robots. The objective is that, once trained, inspectors can use the same STACS interface used in training to control multiple real robots simultaneously during a bridge inspection task. We first built …

Static Analysis Of Circular Plates Under Mechanical Loads, Harpreet Lalia

Publications and Research

In this research statics analysis of circular plates is performed using SolidWorks.

Circular plates with different material properties, thickness to radius ratios, and boundary conditions under mechanical loads are modeled and analyzed in SolidWorks.

The results are obtained for deflections of circular plates under uniform and point loads.

A three-dimensional (3D) model of circular plates is first created in SolidWorks. Then the material properties, mechanical loads and boundary conditions are defined for the plate.

It is found deflection of plates is depended on magnitude of mechanical loads, geometrical parameters, boundary conditions and material properties. Responses of SolidWorks for deflections of …

Static Analysis Of Structural Members, Amani Calderon, Alexis Villalona, Farhad Alinaghizadeh

Publications and Research

This research is devoted to statics analysis of structural members under mechanical loads. Static analysis of beams under uniform transverse mechanical loads is presented. The beams are supported by simply supported boundary condition at both sides. The equilibrium equation of the beams is obtained and solved using analytical method and numerical method. The numerical method employed in this work is generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method. The type of differential quadrature method used for numerical solution is the polynomial-based GDQ method. The differential equation is discretized into algebraic equations based on the GDQ technique. The algebraic equations are then solved to …

A New Synthesized Microalloys Steel Ods Of High Amplitude Ultrasonically Irradiation, Marzuki Silalahi, Hanif Abdurrahman Wicaksana, Ferhat Aziz, Syahfandi Ahda, Mohamad Riza Iskandar

Makara Journal of Technology

Micropowders of oxide-dispersion-strengthened (ODS) steel have been synthesized using the ultrasonic irradiation method with variations in amplitude. The ultrasonic irradiation process is performed for 50 h at a frequency of 20 kHz with 40%, 50%, and 60% amplitudes in toluene solution. The formation of Fe-Cr microalloys in the preparation of Fe- 15Cr-0.5Y2O3 powder was analyzed using SEM-EDS, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and TEM-EDS. The percentage of Fe- Cr phase mass fraction of ODS steel micropowder formed during ultrasonic irradiation with 40%:50%:60% amplitude was 12.2%:34.1%:22.1%, with 25.67:77.02:38.51 nm crystallite size. The crystallite size at 50% amplitude was the largest, and the diffusion …