Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Effect Of Driver, Vehicle, And Road Related Factors On Crashes At Intersections And Non-Intersections: A Naturalistic Driving Study, Grace Naa Ashley

LSU Master's Theses

Traffic accidents in the U.S. have declined over the last two decades but continue to cost the country billions of U.S. dollars each year. Intersection accidents alone account for 23% of the 32,675 deaths that occurred by motor vehicle crashes in 2014. In light of this, the first part of this study sought to identify driver behavior and secondary tasks that influenced the occurrence of a crashes at controlled, uncontrolled and non-intersections with multiple logistic regression. The second part of the study used decision tree which applied machine learning algorithms to identify significant factors that influenced the occurrence of crashes …

Over-Height Vehicle Impact Reduction On Bridges: A Case Study, Marc Alexander Hoffmann

LSU Master's Theses

Over-height vehicle collisions are a growing concern as commercial vehicles, as well as their cargo, become taller. Engineers recognize the dangers of over-weight vehicles traveling on our bridges and are able to adequately predict the behavior of a bridge subjected to increased live loads. However, bridges are becoming more vulnerable to collisions from over-height vehicles. Not only are the time and place of over-height vehicle collisions difficult to predict, but also the exact response of the bridge subjected to the lateral impact force is difficult to predict.

Most states use early warning detection systems to alert over-height vehicles and/or crash …

Mechanical And Physical Properties Of Fluorogypsum-Cement-Fly Ash Blends For Artificial Reef And Coastal Protection Structures, Yasser Bigdeli

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The State of Louisiana faces severe soil erosion along its coastlines. Coastal protection structures most commonly are made of limestone and concrete. However, in Louisiana, these materials are not widely available, which makes it significantly expensive to protect the coastlines and marine life. This study proposes to use locally available materials that have lower cost and lower density than limestone and concrete to reduce the economic burden of protecting and enhancing coastlines.

This study presents an extensive investigation of strength and durability properties of a low-cost concrete-like composite material made of pH-adjusted fluorogypsum (FG), class C fly ash (FA), and …

“Effectiveness Of Measuring Pedestrian And Bicycle Traffic Volumes Using Eco-Counter Passive Infrared Counting Technology”, Clarissa Bruns

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Artificial Recharge Of Groundwater As A Management Tool For The Kabul Basin, Afghanistan, Mohammad Farid Masoom

LSU Master's Theses

Decades of war and political instability, consecutive droughts, population increase and displacement, caused serious infrastructural damages to water resources of Afghanistan. The main source of water supply for people in Afghanistan is groundwater. However, over-exploitation of groundwater has led to groundwater level declines in most parts of the country. Kabul, the largest city of Afghanistan, is the capital city with a population of 4.5 million and the fifth fastest-growing city in the world. The city has observed groundwater level declines of 5-10 meters (m) since 1980. Decline of about 30 m has also been observed in one of the monitoring …

Operational Impact Of Shadow Evacuation On Regional Road Networks During Short-Notice Emergency Evacuations, Efe Emre Tuncer

LSU Master's Theses

As part of evacuation planning, development of effective tactical and operational strategies are essential to safely and efficiently mobilize the public away from the threat. Evacuations are classified by the time between notification and the anticipated arrival of the threat which can be categorized as short, or no-notice emergencies. Emergencies involve the computation of the time required to evacuate the area of risk, which is the time to clear a radius of up to about 10-miles around the nuclear power plant, known as the emergency planning zone (EPZ). These evacuation time estimates (ETE) also account for the evacuation of the …

The Tensile Root Strength Of Emergent Coastal Macrophytes, Lauris Olivia Hollis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Spartina patens is a dominant emergent macrophyte in fresh, intermediate, and brackish marshes along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of United States where its biomechanical properties are a key component of wetland health and resilience. Its root biomass and tensile root strength are essential for anchorage, erosion protection, and are important determinants of soil strength. Nutrients and the herbicide atrazine are suspected of negatively impacting this wetland plant and others. The objectives of this study were to: 1) ascertain the tensile root strength of five emergent coastal macrophytes in coastal estuaries, and 2) test the effects of nutrient addition, atrazine …

Investigation Of Morphological Changes In Small Coastal Rivers During Flood, Tanzina Afrin

LSU Master's Theses

The delivery of fluvial sediment to coastal margins is one of the major concerns for river and coastal morphodynamics. Relevant research has primarily focused on large rivers that transport substantial sediment load and thus are responsible for building deltaic landscapes. However, less research is concentrated on small coastal rivers. A need exists to better understand the sediment dynamics in small coastal rivers that have different backwater regimes than their larger counterparts. The main objective of this research was to examine the influence of backwater on the morphodynamics of a small coastal meandering river during a large flood event. The investigation …

System Nonlinear Performance Of Low-Rise Buildings Under Database-Assisted Hurricane Loads, Jing He

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Light-frame wood buildings account for over 95% of all residential structures in the U.S, of which the majority are designed as low-rise buildings. These low-rise residential buildings in the U.S. have performed unsatisfactorily and are the largest source of the damage and fatality during the past extreme wind events. To deepen the understanding and reduce the vulnerability of the infrastructures, the accurate prediction of the hurricane loss has been an urgent need, and the hurricane catastrophe models are developed in response. However, the current hurricane catastrophe models are focused on the economy loss estimation rather than investigating the root causes …

An Evaluation Of The Groundwater Microbial Community's Toluene Biogenesis Potential At A Site In Southeast Louisiana, Michael A. Griffin Jr.

LSU Master's Theses

The broad goal of the research described in this thesis was to better understand the potential for biological toluene production to occur in groundwater at a Superfund Site located in southeast Louisiana. Previous literature reported that bacterial isolates under laboratory test conditions and undefined microbial communities in anaerobic sludge digesters and seasonally stratified lakes can produce toluene biogenically. Most of the research reported on this subject previously, however, has been on systems in Europe and little research has been reported previously on such phenomena in North America.

In the research described here, studies were conducted utilizing groundwater from a Superfund …

Diversionary Behavior During Congestion, Venkata Vamsikrishna Peddisetty

LSU Master's Theses

Most people in the US prefer to travel on freeways, but when there is congestion they divert onto local routes to avoid travel delay. This study measures the traffic diversion induced by an increase in congestion on I-10 freeway in Baton Rouge during congestion, using a Bluetooth Detection System. The main objective of the study was to identify the difference in the level of congestion on the I-10 between the Mississippi River Bridge and the I-10/I-12 split and the level of congestion on local roads that triggers traffic to divert from the freeway to parallel arterials. Other objectives include measuring …

Microfluidic Pore Model Study On Physical And Geomechanical Factors Influencing Fluid Flow Behavior In Porous Media, Shuang Cao

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fluid flow in porous media is a subject of fundamental importance and relevant to numerous engineering applications. The comprehensive description of fluid interaction parameters containing wetting properties, fluid-fluid displacement ratio, and capillary pressure, are inevitably needed. Moreover, the fine-grained sediments’ response to various pore fluids and migration in porous media influences reservoir geomechanical properties and pore clogging is essential to a better understanding of fluids flow behavior.

This dissertation provides a detailed study of physical and geomechanical factors influencing fluids flow behavior in porous media. The two-dimensional micromodel tests have been conducted under a wide selection of fluids flow conditions. …

Multi-Hazard Performance Assessment Of High-Rise Buildings, Jad El Khoury Antoun

LSU Master's Theses

In the last few decades, there has been an important increase in building high-rise constructions in many cities around the world. Since they offer several benefits in populous areas in terms of space efficiency, economy and sustainability, tower buildings attracted practitioners and researchers to understand better their exclusive behavior and response to natural hazards (e.g., hurricanes, earthquakes). Because of their flexibility and their commonly limited damping, skyscrapers are more susceptible to wind and earthquake actions than low- and mid-rise buildings. Moreover, many locations are prone to multiple hazards; hence, it is important to understand thoroughly the structural behavior of structures …

Sustained Flow Index: A Stochastic Measure Of Freeway Performance, Siavash Shojaat

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The capacity of a road addresses its quantitative traffic carrying ability. The estimation of capacity as a parameter to assess traffic flow performance on freeway facilities has received considerable attention in the literature. Research into the traffic operation at high volumes reveals that the capacity of freeways is not a fixed number, but rather a random variable. Thus, in a stochastic approach to freeway capacity of estimation, the capacity is treated as a random variable generated from a population of flow observations, stemmed from a certain distribution function. Since the type of capacity distribution function is generally not known with …

Field Investigation And Performance Evaluation Of Interface Bonding Between Pavement Layers, Ramendra N. Das

LSU Master's Theses

Proper bonding between pavement layers is essential to provide a monolithic pavement structure that allows distribution of loading over a larger area. Inadequate interface bonding may cause debonding or shear failure at the interface due to the accumulation of concentrated tensile stresses at the bottom of the overlay. Tack coat, a light application of asphaltic cement emulsion is applied on the existing surface to create a strong adhesive bond between pavement layers. The objectives of this study are to investigate the effects of various factors affecting bond strength between hot-mix asphalt (HMA) overlay and underlying pavement layers in the field. …

Development Of Artificial Intelligence Approach To Nowcasting And Forecasting Oyster Norovirus Outbreaks Along The U.S. Gulf Coast, Shima Shamkhali Chenar

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Oyster norovirus outbreaks pose increasing risks to human health and seafood industry worldwide. This study presents an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based approach to identifying the primary cause of oyster norovirus outbreaks, nowcasting and forecasting the growing risk of oyster norovirus outbreaks in coastal waters. AI models were developed using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Genetic Programming (GP) methods and time series of epidemiological and environmental data. Input variable selection techniques, including Random Forests (RF) and Forwards Binary Logistic Regression (FBLR), were used to identify the significant model input variables among six independent environmental predictors including water temperature, solar radiation, gage height, …

Development Of A Mode And Destination Type Joint Choice Model For Hurricane Evacuation, Ruijie Bian

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Since Hurricane Katrina, transit evacuation service has been seen to serve critical needs in affected cities and an increasing number of hurricanes have struck the east coast where more people rely on public transportation to evacuate. Thus, it is important to model mode choice in evacuation for a better estimation of evacuation transit demand. In this study, a joint mode and destination type choice model was estimated based on multiple post-storm behavioral surveys from the northeastern seaboard to the Gulf coast. A Nested Logit model specification was used to estimate this joint choice model. The estimated model showed significant linkage …

An Enhanced Bridge Weigh-In-Motion Methodology And A Bayesian Framework For Predicting Extreme Traffic Load Effects Of Bridges, Yang Yu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the past few decades, the rapid growth of traffic volume and weight, and the aging of transportation infrastructures have raised serious concerns over transportation safety. Under these circumstances, vehicle overweight enforcement and bridge condition assessment through structural health monitoring (SHM) have become critical to the protection of the safety of the public and transportation infrastructures. The main objectives of this dissertation are to: (1) develop an enhanced bridge weigh-in-motion (BWIM) methodology that can be integrated into the SHM system for overweight enforcement and monitoring traffic loading; (2) present a Bayesian framework to predict the extreme traffic load effects (LEs) …

Numerical Evaluation Of The Lateral Behavior Of Vertical And Battered Pile Group Foundations Using 3-D Finite Element Modeling, Ahmad Souri

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The design of pile foundations to resist lateral loads is essential in offshore structures and bridge foundations. The lateral behavior of piles has been studied in the past by experimental investigations coupled with analytical and numerical methods. The problem is complex due to the nonlinearities from soil behavior, gap formation, and pile-soil-pile interaction in pile groups (or the group effect). In this work, the finite element (FE) modeling was used to study the lateral behavior of pile groups. The FE method is robust and allows incorporating the necessary aspects for studying the behavior of pile groups. The nonlinear material behavior …

Application Of Surface Treatments To Improve Fuel Efficiency Of Internal Combustion Engines, Amirabbas Akbarzadeh

LSU Master's Theses

To improve the tribological performance of contacting surfaces, different surface modification methods can be employed. Surface texturing and surface coating are examples of viable techniques developed for this purpose. Surface texturing involves creating micropatterns on the contacting surfaces while surface coating requires depositing a thin layer of a suitable material on the surface(s) to improve the component’s friction and wear characteristics. The performance of textured surfaces is affected by the geometric characteristic of textures.When dealing with surface coating parameters, the parameters of interests are the type of coating materials and their thicknesses.

The current study aims to experimentally study the …

Optimizing Stabilized Fluorogypsum To Decrease Dissolution Potential In Aquatic Environments For Construction Of Artificial Reefs, Charles Davis Lofton

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The use of limestone as coastal protection devices and as an oyster cultch material has placed a substantial economic burden on the State of Louisiana. Limestone is not locally available in the State of Louisiana and must be transported from out of state which significantly increases the cost of utilizing the material. Placement of limestone on the unconsolidated soils in coastal Louisiana result in significant losses to sinking of the material due to the density of limestone. Therefore, locally available materials with a lower density compared to limestone are needed to reduce the economic burden of protecting and enhancing coastlines. …

Enhancing The Performance Of Anaerobic Bioreactors For The Biological Degradation Of Volatiles Organic Compounds In Groundwater Using Alternate Electron Acceptors, Leslie Michele Pipkin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Engineered anaerobic bioreactors (ABR) constructed from mixed media and sand can biodegrade high concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Sustainable treatment of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX), chlorinated ethenes and ethanes were used to investigate the use of engineered ABRs, while also analyzing the system performance of a full-scale ABR system. Experimentations conducted on environmental and biological factors that affect ABR system performance was conducted through serum bottles, columns, and reactor studies.

Column and reactor ABR systems were designed to treat VOCs via biodegradation in groundwater with varying terminal electron acceptors (TEAs). Laboratory-scale column ABRs were constructed to treat …

Performance Evaluation And Development Of Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Procedure Of Thin Rcc Pavements, Moinul Islam Mahdi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the increasing shale gas exploration, agricultural and logging activities on the low volume roadways, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) and the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC) are interested in thin applications of Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) to be used as a design alternative for those low volume roadways having frequently heavy truck trafficking. The objectives of this research were: (1) to evaluate the structural performance and cracking failure mechanism of thin RCC pavements; (2) to develop a mechanistic-empirical based RCC pavement thickness design procedure for LADOTD to use in their low-volume pavement design.

In this study, …

Diagenesis And Formation Stress In Fracture Conductivity Of Shaly Rocks; Experimental-Modelling Approach In Co2-Rock Interactions, Abiola Olukola Olabode

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In large scale subsurface injection of carbon dioxide (CO₂) as obtainable in carbon sequestration programs and in environmentally friendly hydraulic fracturing processes (using supercritical CO₂), long term rock-fluid interaction can affect reservoir and seal rocks properties which are essential in monitoring the progress of these operations. The mineralogical components of sedimentary rocks are geochemically active particularly under enormous earth stresses, which generate high pressure and temperature conditions in the subsurface. While geomechanical properties such as rock stiffness, Poisson’s ratio and fracture geometry largely govern fluid flow characteristics in deep fractured formations, the effect of mineralization can …

Rice Hull Bioreactor For Recirculating Aquaculture, Marlon A. Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The engineering of floating media biofilters has been optimized over the years. The backwashing process has made them more energy and water efficient. Likewise, moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) are gaining interest and popularity because they are relatively affordable to build. Yet, developing countries’ aquaculture production remains largely excluded from the advances made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This discrepancy is partially driven by the high costs of media such plastic beads and Kaldnes (KMT) media, commonly used in MBBR.

This dissertation evaluates the usability and profitability of rice hulls (RH), an abundant by-product in many developing nations, as a sinking …

A Decision Making Tool For Incorporating Sustainability Measures In Rigid Pavement Design, Neveen Samy Talaat Soliman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

One of the most important tools in assessing rigid pavement design sustainability (or environmental impact) is a lifecycle assessment (LCA), which may be applied in any stage of a product’s lifecycle from cradle to grave, such as pavements. Although LCA was the focus of much research and codification by organizations such as the International Organization for Standards and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, limitations exist, such as a) LCA is time consuming; and b) the used data may become outdated, inaccurate, biased, incomplete, and/or expensive to use. These limitations are not a deficiency in LCA as a tool, …

Atmospheric Boundary Layer Processes To Mimic Peak Pressures On Low-Rise Buildings: Cfd Versus Full-Scale And Wind Tunnel Measurements, Hamzeh Gol Zaroudi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Realistic prediction of peak wind pressures is indispensable in a safe design of low-rise buildings. For several decades wind tunnel testing was employed to obtain wind loads on buildings and other structures. However, there is still doubt in the wind engineering community regarding the adequacy of wind tunnels to predict accurately full-scale pressures on low-rise buildings and small-size structures. The recommendations of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 7-10 standard for external pressure coefficients, for roof components and cladding (C&C) design are also based on published wind tunnel data. Recent field measurements show significant deviation of full-scale pressures from …

Transport And Degradation Of Oil Residues On Coastal Beaches, Sirui Wen

LSU Master's Theses

Fourchon Beach, a 9-mile coastal headland located in Louisiana Gulf Coast, has been heavily impacted by the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, which began on April 20th 2010. Once on the beach, the oil spill residues were moved, suspended and transported by subsequent washover events. These washover events occur during storm surges, hurricanes or other situations with high water levels; pushing oil residues from the subtidal and intertidal zone of the beach and then depositing them in the supratidal marshes and mudflat areas. In order to determine the impacts of washover events on oil residues, two complementary studies regarding degradation …

Characterizing The Hydrodynamics Of A Meandering River Neck Cutoff, Christopher Turnipseed

LSU Master's Theses

Meandering river systems often experience a geomorphic phenomenon known as a neck cutoff. The White River of Arkansas has recently undergone several neck cut offs, which have provided a unique opportunity to collect field measurements of the first two years after the opening of the cutoff. In this study the field data was complemented with hydrodynamic simulations to assess the significance of different flow conditions. The findings suggest that flood events play a substantial role in the geomorphic adjustment of the river to the cutoff.

Cuticle Accumulation Of Petrogenic Pahs On Spartina Alterniflora: A Novel Exposure Pathway For Marsh Biota, Joyce Gabriel Kassenga

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana coastal marshes were heavily impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. MC252 oil pollution in coastal marshes lead to the exposure of biota to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). PAHs are persistent organic pollutants that can reside and accumulate in marsh biota. The aim of this study was to investigate the uptake mechanisms of PAHs by Spartina alterniflora at heavily oiled Bay Jimmy marsh in Barataria Basin, Louisiana. Study objectives were to quantify and investigate the uptake mechanisms of PAHs in the leaves of Spartina. The plant/air partitioning of PAHs was studied using a fugacity approach to determine their …