Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Long Short-Term Memory Based Subsurface Drainage Control For Rainfall-Induced Landslide Prevention, Aynaz Biniyaz, Behnam Azmoon, Ye Sun, Zhen Liu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Subsurface drainage has been widely accepted to mitigate the hazard of landslides in areas prone to flooding. Specifically, the use of drainage wells with pumping systems has been recognized as an effective short-term solution to lower the groundwater table. However, this method has not been well considered for long-term purposes due to potentially high labor costs. This study aims to investigate the idea of an autonomous pumping system for subsurface drainage by leveraging con-ventional geotechnical engineering solutions and a deep learning technique—Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM)—to establish a geotechnical cyber-physical system for rainfall-induced landslide prevention. For this purpose, a typical soil …

Review On Applications Of Lignin In Pavement Engineering: A Recent Survey, Hui Yao, Yiran Wang, Junfu Liu, Mei Xu, Pengrui Ma, Jie Ji, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Lignin is the second-largest plant polymer on Earth after cellulose. About 98% of lignin produced in the papermaking and pulping industry is used for combustion heating or power generation. Less than 2% of lignin is used in more valuable fields, mainly in the formulation of dispersants, adhesives, and surfactants. Asphalt is one of the most important materials in pavement engineering. It is a dark brown complex mixture composed of hydrocarbons with different molecular weights and their non-metallic derivatives. Because the chemical structure of lignin is similar to that of asphalt, it is a carbon-based hydrocarbon material. More researchers studied the …

Image-Data-Driven Deep Learning For Slope Stability Analysis, Behnam Azmoon

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Landslides cause major infrastructural issues, damage the environment, and cause socio-economic disruptions. Therefore, various slope stability analysis methods have been developed to evaluate the stability of slopes and the probability of their failure. This dissertation attempts to take advantage of the recent advancements in remote sensing and computer technology to implement a deep-learning-based landslide prediction method.

Considering the novelty of this approach, this dissertation leads with proof-of-concept studies to evaluate and establish the suitability of deep learning models for slope stability analysis. To achieve this, a simulated 2D dataset of slope images was created with different geometries and soil properties. …

Maximum Likelihood Estimator Method To Estimate Flaw Parameters For Different Glass Types, Nabhajit Goswami

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Glass is commonly used in architectural applications, such as windows and in-fill panels and structural applications, such as beams and staircases. Despite the popularity of structural glass use in buildings, an engineering design standard to determine the required component or member strength for design loads does not exist. Glass is a brittle material that lacks a well-defined yield or ultimate stress, unlike ductile materials. The traditional engineering methods used to design a ductile material cannot be used to design a glass component. Glass fails in tension primarily due to the presence of microscopic flaws present on the surface that acts …

The Photo-Transformation Of Free Methionine In The Presence Of Surrogate And Standard Isolate Dissolved Organic Matter Under Sunlit Irradiation, Benjamin J. Mohrhardt

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Sulfur (S)-containing amino acids are key sources of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur involved in protein synthesis, protein function, and providing energy for microbial growth. Dissolved free and combined methionine is one of two S-containing amino acids incorporated into proteins and has been attributed to their stability and function. The oxidation of methionine has received considerable attention given its ubiquitous presence in most biological systems and has been associated with losses in protein function and pathological disorders. In natural waters, methionine is rapidly and selectively taken up by microorganisms to achieve cellular requirements of carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur. The abiotic transformation …

Experimental Analysis And Computer Simulation Of A Laboratory-Scale Intermittent Water Supply System, Brian Rivers

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Intermittent water systems (IWS) are prevalent throughout developing regions of the world. However, few tools exist to predict IWS performance because modeling transient flow is difficult: IWS networks can experience widely fluctuating conditions, ranging from completely empty to completely full (pressurized flow). An experimental IWS, consisting of a 50.75-gallon reservoir, an elevated distribution network, and four outlets was constructed to study the hydraulics of IWS. Three experiments were run on the system that represented two falling-head scenarios and a constant-head scenario. Computer simulation models of the experimental IWS were developed in EPANET 2.2.0 and EPA-SWMM 5.1, which are open-source modeling …

Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Mitigation From Contaminated Groundwater Using Halophyte And Cow Bone Biochars, Bailey Papes

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) groundwater contamination is a growing concern for the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility. Two of the four wells onsite are contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS). The removal of PFAS by adsorption onto powder activated carbon (PAC) is promising, but the production of PAC is energy intensive and expensive. A potential cost-effective alternative to PAC is biochar. This study quantified the capacities of two halophyte biochars, cow bone biochar and PAC to adsorb PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS from brackish groundwater. The three biochars were ineffective at …

Simulating Groundwater Pollutant Transport For Remediation Design, Antrim County, Michigan, Abilynn Raetz

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Located in Antrim County, Michigan between the coasts of Torch Lake and Lake Michigan is a hydrocarbon plume that has impacted surrounding residential wells. The plume is comprised of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) and primarily resides in the shallowest groundwater aquifer. The plume is suspected of having originated from an underground storage container that was removed in 1979. A conceptual model was developed for the site, comprising of a simplified hydrogeological model. Groundwater modeling was performed using Aquaveo's groundwater modeling software (GMS). PEST parameter calibration was performed on the hydraulic conductivity and recharge values using data from surrounding …

Salt Water Intrusion In Water Distribution Systems: Analysis, Solution, And Eco-Efficiency, Darud E Sheefa

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Since many water distribution systems (WDSs) experience saltwater intrusion, system behavior during saltwater intrusion is important. An alternative to the currently accepted WDS decontamination method of hydrant flushing is needed since during the current procedure all contaminated water is discharged to the surroundings which imposes environmental impacts. Hence, this research was conducted to study salt spread in different WDSs and to seek an alternative to hydrant flushing as a way of WDS decontamination. First, salt contamination was modelled in real water system models to document the salt spread. It was found that (1) if salt enters as a short pulse, …

Evaluation Of Production-Well Performance In Response To Formation Clogging And Rehabilitation For The Keweenaw Bay Tribal Fish Hatchery, Brock O. Howell

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Temporally, the KBIC (Keweenaw Bay Indian Community) Hatchery wells have manifested general trends of declining specific capacity and higher energy consumption due to mineral precipitation in and around the production wells. Monitoring data, laboratory water analyses, and downhole video logging have confirmed that naturally occurring minerals are precipitating and clogging the screens and, likely, the surrounding formations. The reduction in fluid pressures in and around the well-screens from active pumping wells is typical but, ultimately alters the geochemical and physical conditions such that dissolved minerals precipitate on and around the well-screens, therefore, effectively clogging the well. The clogging from mineral …

Kinematics And Preliminary Fema P-695 Evaluation Of The Newz-Breakss Steel Boundary Frame With Buckling Restrained Brace Structural Fuses, Alexander M. Baker

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Buckling Restrained Braced Frames (BRBFs) have become a popular seismic force resisting system (SFRS) due to their high ductility and energy dissipation. However, BRBFs are also susceptible to large residual drifts, which can make repair difficult. Efforts to reduce the residual drift of BRBFs typically involve special self-centering braces, or by using a dual system in tandem with the BRBF. This study proposes an alternative approach, in which a self-centering steel rocking frame is used as the boundary frame for the BRBF. The proposed system, called the NewZ-BREAKSS Buckling Restrained Braced Frame (NZ-BRBF) utilizes the recently proposed NewZ-BREAKSS (NZ) boundary …

Rebuilding Fish-Human Relationships By Quantifying Combined Toxicity And Evaluating Policy Related To Legacy Contamination, Emily Shaw

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The central theme of this dissertation is relationships – building relationships as research partnerships, disrupting relationships through chemical contamination, and upholding existing relationships (i.e., responsibilities) to address industrial legacies. In partnership with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians (KBIC), this dissertation focuses on rebuilding fish-human relationships within the context of chemical contamination. By quantifying combined toxicity and evaluating the efficacy of cleaning up contamination, conclusions from this work help empower people to maintain practices and knowledges related to fish.

In chapter 1, I positioned myself, a white, American settler scholar, within the context of Indigenous …

Achievements And Prospects Of Functional Pavement: Materials And Structures, Jian-Long Zheng, Zhanping You, Xueyan Liu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

No abstract provided.

New Innovations In Pavement Materials And Engineering: A Review On Pavement Engineering Research 2021, Jtte Editorial Office Chang’An Univeristy, Jiaqi Chen, Hancheng Dan, Yongjie Ding, Yangming Gao, Meng Guo, Zhanping You, Et. Al.

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Sustainable and resilient pavement infrastructure is critical for current economic and environmental challenges. In the past 10 years, the pavement infrastructure strongly supports the rapid development of the global social economy. New theories, new methods, new technologies and new materials related to pavement engineering are emerging. Deterioration of pavement infrastructure is a typical multi-physics problem. Because of actual coupled behaviors of traffic and environmental conditions, predictions of pavement service life become more and more complicated and require a deep knowledge of pavement material analysis. In order to summarize the current and determine the future research of pavement engineering, Journal of …

Research And Applications Of Artificial Neural Network In Pavement Engineering: A State-Of-The-Art Review, Xu Yang, Jinchao Guan, Ling Ding, Zhanping You, Vincent C.S. Lee, Mohd Rosli Mohd Hasan, Xiaoyun Cheng

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Given the great advancements in soft computing and data science, artificial neural network (ANN) has been explored and applied to handle complicated problems in the field of pavement engineering. This study conducted a state-of-the-art review for surveying the recent progress of ANN application at different stages of pavement engineering, including pavement design, construction, inspection and monitoring, and maintenance. This study focused on the papers published over the last three decades, especially the studies conducted since 2013. Through literature retrieval, a total of 683 papers in this field were identified, among which 143 papers were selected for an in-depth review. The …

Editorial: Development And Application Of Bituminous Materials For Civil Infrastructures, Zhanping You, Jie Ji, Dawei Wang, Feng Li, Hui Yao, Yue Hou

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

No abstract provided.

Evaluating Essential Processes And Forecast Requirements For Meteotsunami-Induced Coastal Flooding, Chenfu Huang, Eric Anderson, Yi Liu, Gangfeng Ma, Greg Mann, Pengfei Xue

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Meteotsunamis pose a unique threat to coastal communities and often lead to damage of coastal infrastructure, deluge of nearby property, and loss of life and injury. The Great Lakes are a known hot-spot of meteotsunami activity and serve as an important region for investigation of essential hydrodynamic processes and model forecast requirements in meteotsunami-induced coastal flooding. For this work, we developed an advanced hydrodynamic model and evaluate key model attributes and dynamic processes, including: (1) coastal model grid resolution and wetting and drying process in low-lying zones, (2) coastal infrastructure, including breakwaters and associated submerging and overtopping processes, (3) annual/seasonal …

A Review Of Characteristics Of Bio-Oils And Their Utilization As Additives Of Asphalts, Ran Zhang, Zhanping You, Jie Ji, Qingwen Shi, Zhi Suo

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Transforming waste biomass materials into bio-oils in order to partially substitute petroleum asphalt can reduce environmental pollution and fossil energy consumption and has economic benefits. The characteristics of bio-oils and their utilization as additives of asphalts are the focus of this review. First, physicochemical properties of various bio-oils are characterized. Then, conventional, rheological, and chemical properties of bio-oil modified asphalt binders are synthetically reviewed, as well as road performance of bio-oil modified asphalt mixtures. Finally, performance optimization is discussed for bio-asphalt binders and mixtures. This review indicates that bio-oils are highly complex materials that contain various compounds. Moreover, bio-oils are …

Application Of Epoxy-Asphalt Composite In Asphalt Paving Industry: A Review With Emphasis On Physicochemical Properties And Pavement Performances, Yu Chen, Nabil Hossiney, Xu Yang, Hainian Wang, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

One of the failure mechanisms associated with asphalt paving layers, especially on steel deck bridges, is large permanent deformation, which adversely affects its long-term performance in service. Thus, epoxy resin was introduced in asphalt paving industry to tackle permanent deformation of asphalt mixtures due to its thermosetting nature. In this review, epoxy resin as a dominant component of the epoxy-asphalt composite system was first considered, followed by a discussion on its curing methods and curing mechanism. Furthermore, the physicochemical property and mechanical performance of epoxy asphalt and epoxy asphalt mixture were thoroughly examined. Crosslink density of epoxy asphalt dictates its …

Extension Of A Gaseous Dry Deposition Algorithm To Oxidized Volatile Organic Compounds And Hydrogen Cyanide For Application In Chemistry Transport Models, Zhiyong Wu, Leiming Zhang, John T. Walker, Paul A. Makar, Judith Perlinger, Xuemei Wang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The dry deposition process refers to flux loss of an atmospheric pollutant due to uptake of the pollutant by the Earth's surfaces, including vegetation, underlying soil, and any other surface types. In chemistry transport models (CTMs), the dry deposition flux of a chemical species is typically calculated as the product of its surface layer concentration and its dry deposition velocity (Vd); the latter is a variable that needs to be highly empirically parameterized due to too many meteorological, biological, and chemical factors affecting this process. The gaseous dry deposition scheme of Zhang et al. (2003) parameterizes Vd for 31 inorganic …

Effects Of Sodium Sulfate Attack On Concrete Incorporated With Drying-Wetting Cycles, Fang Liu, Zhanping You, Rui Xiong, Xu Yang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

It has been widely observed that sulfate attack can damage the durability of concrete. This research investigated the mass loss and damage degree of concrete under sodium sulfate attack incorporated with drying-wetting cycles. The impact factors, including water-binder ratio, solution concentration of sodium sulfate, fly ash content, curing time, and drying-wetting cycle system, were observed to influence the sodium sulfate attack by the mass loss rate and damage degree at regular time intervals. Also, the hydrates of sulfate-attacked samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction. Results indicated that a high water-binder and high-concentration sodium sulfate solution could accelerate the transportation of …

Early-Stage Gas Identification Using Convolutional Long Short-Term Neural Network With Sensor Array Time Series Data, Kai Zhou, Yixin Liu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Gas identification/classification through pattern recognition techniques based on gas sensor arrays often requires the equilibrium responses or the full traces of time-series data of the sensor array. Leveraging upon the diverse gas sensing kinetics behaviors measured via the sensor array, a computational intelligence-based meta-model is proposed to automatically conduct the feature extraction and subsequent gas identification using time-series data during the transitional phase before reaching equilibrium. The time-series data contains implicit temporal dependency/correlation that is worth being characterized to enhance the gas identification performance and reliability. In this context, a tailored approach so-called convolutional long short-term memory (CLSTM) neural network …

Evaluation Of Deep Learning Against Conventional Limit Equilibrium Methods For Slope Stability Analysis, Behnam Azmoon, Aynaz Biniyaz, Zhen (Leo) Liu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This paper presents a comparison study between methods of deep learning as a new cat-egory of slope stability analysis, built upon the recent advances in artificial intelligence and conventional limit equilibrium analysis methods. For this purpose, computer code was developed to cal-culate the factor of safety (FS) using four limit equilibrium methods: Bishop’s simplified method, the Fellenius method, Janbu’s simplified method, and Janbu’s corrected method. The code was ver-ified against Slide2 in RocScience. Subsequently, the average FS values were used to approximate the “true” FS of the slopes for labeling the images for deep learning. Using this code, a comprehensive …

Global Health Effects Of Future Atmospheric Mercury Emissions, Yanxu Zhang, Zhengcheng Song, Shaojian Huang, Peng Zhang, Yiming Peng, Peipei Wu, Jing Gu, Stephanie Dutkiewicz, Huanxin Zhang, Shiliang Wu, Feiyue Wang, Long Chen, Shuxiao Wang, Ping Li

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that poses health risks to the global population. Anthropogenic mercury emissions to the atmosphere are projected to decrease in the future due to enhanced policy efforts such as the Minamata Convention, a legally-binding international treaty entered into force in 2017. Here, we report the development of a comprehensive climate-atmosphere-land-ocean-ecosystem and exposure-risk model framework for mercury and its application to project the health effects of future atmospheric emissions. Our results show that the accumulated health effects associated with mercury exposure during 2010–2050 are $19 (95% confidence interval: 4.7–54) trillion (2020 USD) realized to 2050 (3% discount …

Cold In-Place Recycling Asphalt Mixtures: Laboratory Performance And Preliminary M-E Design Analysis, Dongzhao Jin, Dongdong Ge, Siyu Chen, Tiankai Che, Hongfu Liu, Lance Malburg, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Cold in-place recycling (CIR) asphalt mixtures are an attractive eco-friendly method for rehabilitating asphalt pavement. However, the on-site CIR asphalt mixture generally has a high air void because of the moisture content during construction, and the moisture susceptibility is vital for estimating the road service life. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to characterize the effect of moisture on the high-temperature and low-temperature performance of a CIR asphalt mixture to predict CIR pavement distress based on a mechanistic–empirical (M-E) pavement de-sign. Moisture conditioning was simulated by the moisture-induced stress tester (MIST). The moisture susceptibility performance of the CIR …

Spatially Variable Hydrologic Impact And Biomass Production Tradeoffs Associated With Eucalyptus (E. Grandis) Cultivation For Biofuel Production In Entre Rios, Argentina, Azad Heidari, David Watkins, Alex Mayer, Tamara Propato, Santiago Verón, Diego De Abelleyra

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Climate change and energy security promote using renewable sources of energy such as biofuels. High woody biomass production achieved from short-rotation intensive plantations is a strategy that is increasing in many parts of the world. However, broad expansion of bioenergy feedstock production may have significant environmental consequences. This study investigates the watershed-scale hydrological impacts of Eucalyptus (E. grandis) plantations for energy production in a humid subtropical watershed in Entre Rios province, Argentina. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was calibrated and validated for streamflow, leaf area index (LAI), and biomass production cycles. The model was used to simulate …

Management Of The Phosphorus-Cladophora Dynamic At A Site On Lake Ontario Using A Multi-Module Bioavailable P Model, Martin Auer, Cory P. Mcdonald, Anika Kuczynski, Chenfu Huang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The filamentous green alga Cladophora grows to nuisance proportions in Lake Ontario. Stimulated by high phosphorus concentrations, nuisance growth results in the degradation of beaches and clogging of industrial water intakes with attendant loss of beneficial uses. We develop a multi-module bioavailable phosphorus model to examine the efficacy of phosphorus management strategies in mitigating nuisance algal growth. The model platform includes modules simulating hydrodynamics (FVCOM), phosphorus-phytoplankton dynamics (GEM) and Cladophora growth (GLCMv3). The model is applied along a 25 km stretch of the Lake Ontario nearshore, extending east from Toronto, ON and receiving effluent from three wastewater treatment plants. Simulation …

2021 Civil And Environmental Engineering Department News, Department Of Civil And Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Newsletters

Table of Contents

• CEEPAC
• Great Lakes Models
• Wastewater Treatment
• Enterprise
• Outreach
• Rail Program
• Alumni Feature
• Lifetime Giving

Mapping Michigan's Historic Coastlines, Ryan A. Williams

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This five-year project, sponsored by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, is working to map how Michigan’s Great Lakes shorelines have changed over the past 80+ years. Products of this project include publicly available digital, georeferenced, historic aerial photography datasets, as well as map layers depicting the locations of historic shorelines and bluff lines from 1938, 1980, 2009, 2016, 2018, and 2020. Additional products include bluff retreat risk areas, shoreline rate of change map layers, and tools to assist in the development of future Coastal Vulnerability Index projects for the Great Lakes. All products are available as …

Understanding The Weather- And Soil-Related Variability In Agricultural Water Footprints: Case Study Of Maize And Soybeans Grown In The St. Joseph Watershed, Karleigh M. Krieg

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Introduced in 2002, the water footprint is a valuable tool for understanding the consumption of freshwater resources. The traditional approach to quantifying the water footprint is to sum the green, blue, and gray water footprint components. The green water footprint is the volume of water that comes from precipitation, is stored in the soil, and used by vegetation. The blue water footprint is the volume of surface or ground water that is withdrawn and applied to cultivated lands via irrigation. These components are based on the evapotranspiration of green and blue water resources, respectively. The gray water footprint is the …