Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Catalyst Regeneration Of Rap-Binder In Asphalt, D. Spivak, Subramanian Balamurugan

Data

Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) binders are difficult to reuse because they often contain associated/aggregated molecules with very high molecular weights. This is due to the polarity gained during oxidative aging, causing the aggregation to occur. These high molecular weight components are responsible for RAP binder’s increased viscosity and certain deteriorated rheological properties. One strategy to reuse RAP binder is to mix it with virgin asphalt binder and use this partially recycled mixture in asphalt. The RAP binder is usually improved before mixing by the addition of rejuvenators, softening agents, softer binders, and antioxidants to the asphalt binder mix to rebalance …

Catalyst Regeneration Of Rap-Binder In Asphalt, D. Spivak, Subramanian Balamurugan

Publications

Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) binders are difficult to reuse because they often contain associated/aggregated molecules with very high molecular weights. This is due to the polarity gained during oxidative aging, causing the aggregation to occur. These high molecular weight components are responsible for RAP binder’s increased viscosity and certain deteriorated rheological properties. One strategy to reuse RAP binder is to mix it with virgin asphalt binder and use this partially recycled mixture in asphalt. The RAP binder is usually improved before mixing by the addition of rejuvenators, softening agents, softer binders, and antioxidants to the asphalt binder mix to rebalance …

Smart Battery Management System For Electric Vehicles: Selflearning Algorithms For Simultaneous State And Parameter Estimation, And Stress Detection, Avimanyu Sahoo, Samir Ahmed

Data

The project proposes to develop parameter-varying SOH-coupled models for lithium-ion battery and self-learning algorithms to learn the model for simultaneous state and parameter estimation and fault detection. The traditional battery models use constant parameters, limiting their accuracy for predicting the state of the charge and health over the complete life-cycle. In practice, the battery parameters vary with the change in the state of charge and state of health. SOH-coupled models can be used to estimate the state of charge and health accurately. Further, obtaining the model parameters is also a challenging task for designing filters or observers for state estimation. …

Expanding The Concept Of Comprehensive Area Ratio Parameter To The South-Central States: Towards Simplifying The Structural Evaluation Of Flexible Pavements At The Network Level, Mena Souliman, Samer Dessouky, Nitish R. Bastola

Data

The surface deflection bowl data collected through falling weight deflectometer (FWD) test is utilized by highway agencies in assessing the performance of the flexible pavement. However, a robust method to evaluate pavement sections utilizing FWD data from all the sensors is seldom developed. There is always a need for DOTs and highway agencies to have a simplified procedure, which can be directly implemented in agencies' databases. This study focuses on expanding and validating the concept of previously developed area ratio parameters towards the pavement section of South-Central States (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) in effectively analyzing the pavement …

Field Implementation And Monitoring Of An Ultra-High Performance Concrete Bridge Deck Overlay, Craig Newtson, Brad Weldon, William Toledo, Andres Alvarez, Mark Manning

Data

This project focused on field implementation of an ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) overlay during rehabilitation of an existing concrete bridge (No. 7032) deck in Socorro, New Mexico, USA. Bridge 7032 is a two-lane bridge that is approximately 300 ft. (91.4 m) long and 54 ft. (16.5 m) in width. Rehabilitation of bridge 7032 included removal of deteriorated concrete from the existing deck, installation of a high-performance deck (HPD) leveling course, and installation of a 1 in. (25 mm) UHPC overlay. An UHPC mixture with a 19.5 ksi (134 MPa) compressive strength developed in previous research was selected for this project. …

Field Implementation And Monitoring Of An Ultra-High Performance Concrete Bridge Deck Overlay, Craig Newtson, Brad Weldon, William Toledo, Andres Alvarez, Mark Manning

Publications

This project focused on field implementation of an ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) overlay during rehabilitation of an existing concrete bridge (No. 7032) deck in Socorro, New Mexico, USA. Bridge 7032 is a two-lane bridge that is approximately 300 ft. (91.4 m) long and 54 ft. (16.5 m) in width. Rehabilitation of bridge 7032 included removal of deteriorated concrete from the existing deck, installation of a high-performance deck (HPD) leveling course, and installation of a 1 in. (25 mm) UHPC overlay. An UHPC mixture with a 19.5 ksi (134 MPa) compressive strength developed in previous research was selected for this project. …

Bridge Load Posting Prediction, Sabarethinam Kameshwar, Md. Manik Mia, Sai Bandaru

Publications

There are approximately 13,000 bridges in Louisiana facilitating movement of people, goods, and services. At present, about 12% of the bridges are load posted, i.e., they are deemed to lack the strength to safely carry all legal loads. With time bridges will age and deteriorate; at the same time, legal loads might increase. Load posted bridges disrupt the movement of goods and commerce. Therefore, objective of this research was to estimate the number of load posted bridges in Louisiana over the next 50 years. For this purpose, herein, a data based approach was used. For a given bridge type, the …

Smart Battery Management System For Electric Vehicles: Selflearning Algorithms For Simultaneous State And Parameter Estimation, And Stress Detection, Avimanyu Sahoo, Samir Ahmed

Publications

The project proposes to develop parameter-varying SOH-coupled models for lithium-ion battery and self-learning algorithms to learn the model for simultaneous state and parameter estimation and fault detection. The traditional battery models use constant parameters, limiting their accuracy for predicting the state of the charge and health over the complete life-cycle. In practice, the battery parameters vary with the change in the state of charge and state of health. SOH-coupled models can be used to estimate the state of charge and health accurately. Further, obtaining the model parameters is also a challenging task for designing filters or observers for state estimation. …

Expanding The Concept Of Comprehensive Area Ratio Parameter To The South-Central States: Towards Simplifying The Structural Evaluation Of Flexible Pavements At The Network Level, Mena Souliman, Samer Dessouky, Nitish R. Bastola

Publications

The surface deflection bowl data collected through falling weight deflectometer (FWD) test is utilized by highway agencies in assessing the performance of the flexible pavement. However, a robust method to evaluate pavement sections utilizing FWD data from all the sensors is seldom developed. There is always a need for DOTs and highway agencies to have a simplified procedure, which can be directly implemented in agencies' databases. This study focuses on expanding and validating the concept of previously developed area ratio parameters towards the pavement section of South-Central States (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) in effectively analyzing the pavement …

Numerical Investigation Of The Impact Of Distortion On The Hydrodynamics In The Lower Mississippi River Physical Model (Lmrpm), Ali Heidarizhaleh

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The Lower Mississippi River Physical Model (LMRPM) is a distorted-scale, 1:6000 horizontal and 1:400 vertical, movable-bed model that is being used to complement ongoing numerical and field studies directed at studying how non-cohesive sediment transport will be impacted by future changes in relative sea level rise and river discharges, as well various management strategies, such as river sediment diversions, in the lower ~190 miles of the Mississippi River The LMRPM was designed using Froude number (Fr) similarity between the prototype and the model, while the flow Reynolds number is relaxed, but determined to be high enough to ensure rough turbulent …

Investigation Of Sand-Biochar Mixtures As A Potential Roadway Fill Material, Katia J. Lele Lagmago

LSU Master's Theses

Biochar is a sustainable and lightweight carbon-rich material with a high surface area and porosity. Previous studies reported that biochar can reduce soil erosion and cracking, retain contaminants, and enhance soil aggregation. Given these favorable properties, soil-biochar mixtures have the possibility to serve as a multifunctional lightweight fill material for roadway embankment applications. The purpose of this research is to develop sand-biochar mixtures as a sustainable and multifunctional lightweight fill material for roadway embankment applications.

This research investigated the consolidation and hydraulic properties of sand-biochar mixtures by (1) performing 1D consolidation tests, (2) performing permeability tests, and (3) assessing the …

Durability Of Concrete Produced With Alternative Supplementary Cementitious Material, Craig Newtson, Brad Weldon, Judit Garcia, Seyedsaleh Mousavinezhad, William Toledo

Data

Historically, Class F fly ash has been chosen as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in concrete for its ability to mitigate alkali-silica reaction (ASR). However, future availability of fly ash is uncertain because the energy industry has been investing in renewable energy production and removing coal burning generating stations from operation. Consequently, there is a growing need to find new, cost effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to fly ash. This study investigated a locally available natural pozzolan mined from a pumicite deposit near Espanola, NM for its ability to mediate ASR. Concrete and mortar mixtures included SCM contents ranging from …

Durability Of Concrete Produced With Alternative Supplementary Cementitious Material, Craig Newtson, Brad Weldon, Judit Garcia, Seyedsaleh Mousavinezhad, William Toledo

Publications

Historically, Class F fly ash has been chosen as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in concrete for its ability to mitigate alkali-silica reaction (ASR). However, future availability of fly ash is uncertain because the energy industry has been investing in renewable energy production and removing coal burning generating stations from operation. Consequently, there is a growing need to find new, cost effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to fly ash. This study investigated a locally available natural pozzolan mined from a pumicite deposit near Espanola, NM for its ability to mediate ASR. Concrete and mortar mixtures included SCM contents ranging from …

Autonomous Vehicle Communication Strategies Modeled In Virtual Reality, Nick N. Ferenchak Ph.D

Data

We sought to better understand how autonomous vehicle (AV) communication strategies impact human road users’ perceptions and behaviors. More specifically, we explored the impact of different external human-machine interface (eHMI) designs on understanding, task load, comfort, trust, acceptance, and reaction time. To accomplish this, we created virtual reality (VR) scenarios where human participants interacted with AVs. Participants experienced biking, driving, and pedestrian simulators and were brought back after initial testing to explore acclimation and learning effects. In terms of perceptions, the presence of an eHMI was the strongest predictor of understanding, comfort, trust, and acceptance outcomes in the statistical models …

Exploring Traffic Safety Problems And Challenges Of Older Roads’ Users In Louisiana: Causes And Countermeasures, Hany Hassan Ph.D, Saba Doulabi

Data

It is well established that older pedestrians and drivers with 65 years and above are among the most vulnerable road users. As the number and proportion of older road users (as drivers and pedestrians) grows in many countries, as well as their share in pedestrians’ and drivers’ crashes and injuries, it behooves transportation researchers to further investigate the safety and mobility challenges of older road users. This study aims mainly to provide a comprehensive investigation of older pedestrians’ and drivers’ safety challenges. To this end, a three-fold research approach is designed to thoroughly examine older road users’ safety challenges as …

Calculating Pile Downdrag: Experimental And Numerical Investigations, Hai Lin, Shengli Chen, Hussein Alqrinawi

Data

Piles can be exposed to significant settlement (i.e., downdrag) and compressive force (i.e., dragload) if embedded in consolidating ground. Downdrag has been included in the design of piles, but there is uncertainty about how downdrag and dragload are efficiently considered in the pile design due to the differences in the existing design methods (e.g., AASHTO and FHWA). Although several field monitoring programs were successfully conducted on pile downdrag, fully instrumented pile model tests are still needed to investigate the responses at the soil-pile interface to improve the design of pile downdrag. This research focused on investigating the downdrag and skin …

Urban Transportation Infrastructure And Cyclist And Pedestrian Safety, Hatim Sharif, Samer Dessouky

Data

No abstract provided.

Developing Notification And Enforcement Systems To Communicate And Administer Bridge Load Postings, Hany Hassan, Hisham Abdu Kunnah

Data

State and local law enforcement agencies in the US strive to enforce weight restrictions on trucks and heavy vehicles travelling on public roads as a matter of public safety and as a way of safeguarding vital transportation infrastructure. This research aimed to identify plausible notification systems that can effectively communicate bridge load postings to dispatchers and drivers, investigate and suggest possible approaches to communicate potential detour routes, and identify corresponding enforcement methods required to successfully administer bridge load postings. This report discusses the current practices of bridge load posting notification and enforcement systems. Also, it presents an overview of the …

Coupling Novel Soil Moisture-Suction Sensors And Uav Photogrammetry Technology To The Performance Of Highway Embankments, Navid Jafari, Anand Puppala, Xinbao Yu, Surya Sarat Chandra Congress

Data

The movement of water plays a critical role in the mechanical performance and service life of transportation infrastructure, especially for pavement subgrades and highway embankments consisting of high-plasticity, expansive soils that saturate and ultimately lead to infrastructure distress. Shallow slides along highway embankments are ubiquitous across Region 6 because long-term wetting and drying cycles considerably weaken these compacted soils. In the aftermath of heavy rains, pore-water pressures increase to a critical threshold such that a failure occurs. The implications of embankment failures range from repeated maintenance repairs to long-term road closures. A comprehensive approach to model highway embankments comprising of …

An Innovative Thermo-Energy Harvesting Module For Asphalt Roadway Pavement, Seyed Amid Tahami, Samer Dessouky

Data

The importance of green technologies for generating renewable energy and sustainable development is widely accepted. Road surfaces are exposed to solar radiation that generates thermal gradients and heat flow in the pavement layers. The heat stored can be harvested providing an untapped source of renewable energy. This report presents the design, construction, and assessment of an improved thermoelectric energy prototype for harvesting heat energy from roadway pavements. To accomplish this, various prototype designs were simulated using Finite Element (FE) analysis, followed by design construction and laboratory testing of the most promising prototypes to evaluate their power harvesting capabilities. The main …

Exploring Traffic Safety Problems And Challenges Of Older Roads’ Users In Louisiana: Causes And Countermeasures, Hany Hassan Ph.D, Saba Doulabi

Publications

It is well established that older pedestrians and drivers with 65 years and above are among the most vulnerable road users. As the number and proportion of older road users (as drivers and pedestrians) grows in many countries, as well as their share in pedestrians’ and drivers’ crashes and injuries, it behooves transportation researchers to further investigate the safety and mobility challenges of older road users. This study aims mainly to provide a comprehensive investigation of older pedestrians’ and drivers’ safety challenges. To this end, a three-fold research approach is designed to thoroughly examine older road users’ safety challenges as …

Calculating Pile Downdrag: Experimental And Numerical Investigations, Hai Lin, Shengli Chen, Hussein Alqrinawi

Publications

Piles can be exposed to significant settlement (i.e., downdrag) and compressive force (i.e., dragload) if embedded in consolidating ground. Downdrag has been included in the design of piles, but there is uncertainty about how downdrag and dragload are efficiently considered in the pile design due to the differences in the existing design methods (e.g., AASHTO and FHWA). Although several field monitoring programs were successfully conducted on pile downdrag, fully instrumented pile model tests are still needed to investigate the responses at the soil-pile interface to improve the design of pile downdrag. This research focused on investigating the downdrag and skin …

Developing Notification And Enforcement Systems To Communicate And Administer Bridge Load Postings, Hany Hassan, Hisham Abdu Kunnah

Publications

State and local law enforcement agencies in the US strive to enforce weight restrictions on trucks and heavy vehicles travelling on public roads as a matter of public safety and as a way of safeguarding vital transportation infrastructure. This research aimed to identify plausible notification systems that can effectively communicate bridge load postings to dispatchers and drivers, investigate and suggest possible approaches to communicate potential detour routes, and identify corresponding enforcement methods required to successfully administer bridge load postings. This report discusses the current practices of bridge load posting notification and enforcement systems. Also, it presents an overview of the …

An Innovative Thermo-Energy Harvesting Module For Asphalt Roadway Pavement, Seyed Amid Tahami, Samer Dessouky

Publications

The importance of green technologies for generating renewable energy and sustainable development is widely accepted. Road surfaces are exposed to solar radiation that generates thermal gradients and heat flow in the pavement layers. The heat stored can be harvested providing an untapped source of renewable energy. This report presents the design, construction, and assessment of an improved thermoelectric energy prototype for harvesting heat energy from roadway pavements. To accomplish this, various prototype designs were simulated using Finite Element (FE) analysis, followed by design construction and laboratory testing of the most promising prototypes to evaluate their power harvesting capabilities. The main …

Urban Transportation Infrastructure And Cyclist And Pedestrian Safety, Hatim Sharif, Samer Dessouky

Publications

The goal of this project was to perform a comprehensive evaluation of crash causes and risk factors to identify the root causes of crashes involving bicyclists and pedestrians in San Antonio, TX. The research included the development of a database of bicycle and pedestrian crash reports in the target area, calculation of crash counts and rates, identifying road segments and intersections with highly concentrated bicycle and pedestrian crashes, and the development of effective safety countermeasures. Several variables and factors were analyzed, including driver characteristics such as age and gender, road-related factors, and environmental factors such as weather conditions and time …

Coupling Novel Soil Moisture-Suction Sensors And Uav Photogrammetry Technology To The Performance Of Highway Embankments, Navid Jafari, Anand Puppala, Xinbao Yu, Surya Sarat Chandra Congress

Publications

The movement of water plays a critical role in the mechanical performance and service life of transportation infrastructure, especially for pavement subgrades and highway embankments consisting of high-plasticity, expansive soils that saturate and ultimately lead to infrastructure distress. Shallow slides along highway embankments are ubiquitous across Region 6 because long-term wetting and drying cycles considerably weaken these compacted soils. In the aftermath of heavy rains, pore-water pressures increase to a critical threshold such that a failure occurs. The implications of embankment failures range from repeated maintenance repairs to long-term road closures. A comprehensive approach to model highway embankments comprising of …

Rapid Repair Of Cracks On The Embankment Slopes Using Bio-Cement, Hai Lin, Guantao Cheng

Publications

This research explored the feasibility of using Microbially Induced Carbonate Precipitation (MICP) to improve fine-grained soil mechanical properties, seal the soil cracks, and assess the improvement of MICP on slope stability. The conducted research tasks include (1) direct shear tests to investigate the mechanical behavior and biogeochemical reactions of low-plasticity silt treated by MICP, (2) cyclic wetting-drying tests to assess the feasibility of using MICP to seal and waterproof the soil cracks, and (3) SLOPE/W modeling of a slope treated by MICP. Direct shear tests were used to evaluate the shear responses of the low-plasticity silt under different overburden pressures …

Understanding And Overcoming Challenges To Photochemical Water Treatment Technologies, Mostafa Maghsoodi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Photochemical water treatment technologies have been extensively studied in recent years to update the current practices and find an innovative, cheap, and sustainable way to treat contaminated water. Despite the well-documented advantages, these technologies faced some challenges and limitations in the way of technology transfer. Among all the challenges, the presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) poses a serious challenge to the application of these technologies, especially photocatalysis. Moreover, the prospect of utilizing the new technology of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) offers an upgrade in the efficiency of the current practice of ultraviolet (UV) dosing. To understand the effect of DOM …

Engineered Cementitious Composite For Pavement Applications: Materials Development And Design Framework, Hassan Noorvand

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECCs) are a novel class of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites characterized by their high tensile strain capacity. While ECCs have been presented as a promising material alternative for the construction of durable pavements and overlays, the cost of these materials is a major drawback, which limits their widespread implementation. More importantly, performance prediction models for ECC pavements existing in the literature are incomplete as the effect of ECC plasticity has not been considered in the integration of finite element (FE) analysis and beam flexural fatigue experimental test results. Moreover, the existing ECC pavements performance prediction models are …

Development Of Novel Ultra-High Performance Engineered Cementitious Composites (Uhp-Ecc) For Durable And Resilient Transportation Infrastructure, Gabriel A. Arce, Marwa Hassan, Daniel E. Game

Data

The objective of this study was to develop novel UHP-ECC materials utilizing readily available ingredients in Region 6 for the construction and repair of transportation infrastructure. Phase one of this study focused on the development of ultra-high strength cementitious matrices by evaluating the effects of ingredient selection and mixture proportioning on the materials’ compressive strength. Variables evaluated included the mass ratios of silica fume to fly ash (SF/FA), supplementary cementitious materials to cement (SCMs/C), and ordinary sand to microsilica sand (OS/MS). Phase two of the study focused on the development of UHP-ECC materials. To this end, based on the knowledge …