Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Analytical Assessment Of Project Complexity: A Guide To Managing Projects Through Reduction Of Complexity, Christopher Vanarsdale

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research discusses the characteristics that make projects difficult to manage. Project inefficiencies and failures can be attributed to the structure of a system. Developing a measurement for complexity based on the number and nature of interactions in the system can allow project complexity to be reduced while still meeting project objectives. Previous research has identified characteristics or markers of complex systems but does not address how to measure or how to reduce a system’s complexity.

The objective of this dissertation is to develop a metric for complexity that assists project and emergency managers in reducing project complexity either by …

Multi-Dimensional Modeling For Environmental Impact Assessment At Intersections Of The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, Jessica Daignault

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation uses multi-dimensional modeling for environmental impact assessment at intersections of the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus, including life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling for quantification of environmental impacts due to household FEW consumption, a linear regression framework for quantification of water-use impacts of marginal electricity generation, and a multi-objective optimization model to assess monetization of water withdrawals for electricity generation and impacts to water stress due to electricity dispatch schemes. Chapter 2 of this dissertation summarizes the development of an LCA model that quantifies the direct and indirect environmental impacts of household FEW consumption. The model is executed through a novel …

Case Study Of Gravity-Fed Mountain Spring Tap System In Ha Leronti, Lesotho, Africa, Sarah Peterson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Water security has been declining rapidly in Lesotho, Africa in recent years. Lack of water has led to food insecurity, livestock deaths, and the spread of disease. Rural Basotho depend on rainfall to sustain their livelihoods; however, precipitation variability has recently increased due to climate change. For those who reside in the highlands of Lesotho, mountain springs can be a clean source of water. The tap system in the village of Ha Leronti relies on gravity to distribute water from two mountain springs to the ten village taps and nearby school campus. However, it is incapable of transporting the basic …

Predicting The Impacts Of Climate Change On The Great Lakes Water Levels Using A Fully Coupled 3d Regional Modeling System, Miraj Kayastha

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Great Lakes of North America are the largest surface freshwater system in the world and many ecosystems, industries, and coastal processes are sensitive to the changes in their water levels. The recent changes in the Great Lakes climate and water levels have particularly highlighted the importance of water level prediction. The water levels of the Great Lakes are primarily governed by the net basin supplies (NBS) of each lake which are the sum of over-lake precipitation and basin runoff minus lake evaporation. Recent studies have utilized Regional Climate Models (RCMs) with a fully coupled one-dimensional (1D) lake model to …

An Overview Of Converting Kabul’S Traffic Circles And Rotaries To Modern Roundabouts, Mohammad Anas Taeb

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Circular intersections, in the form of traffic circles and rotaries, were built around the world in the first half of the twentieth century. However, with the rise in traffic flow, regular traffic congestion and accidents forced authorities to look for alternative solutions and, in many cases, signalized intersections became the preferred alternative. In the 1960s, the UK introduced concept of modern roundabouts and a new set of priority rules for the circulating traffic. Since the inception of modern roundabouts, they have enhanced both operational and safety aspects at these locations, even when used to replace large traffic circles/rotaries, proving that …

Local Watershed Analysis For Hubbell And Lake Linden, Michigan, Brittany Hubbard

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This report analyzes flood frequency risk, examines drainage, and delineates local level watershed characteristics for the Site located in western HUC 12-040201 030304 Torch Lake Subwatershed. Specifically, unnamed catchments in need of HUC-14 or HUC-16 local level delineation are evaluated to determine the effects of excess runoff on the cities of Hubbell and Lake Linden, Michigan. Further, this report aims to identify the location of known or suspected historical and current drainage infrastructure, and to prioritize locations for low-impact sustainable designs that reduce excess runoff and provide flood protection for these lakeshore communities.

Achievements And Prospects Of Advanced Pavement Materials Technologies, Zhanping You, Jian Long Zheng, Hainian Wang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

No abstract provided.

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

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In order to further promote the development of functional pavement technology, a Special Issue of “Achievements and Prospects of Functional Pavement” has been proposed by a group of guest editors. To reach this objective, articles included in this Special Issue are related to different aspects of functional pavement, including green roads to decrease carbon emission, noise, and pollution, safety pavement to increase skid resistance by water drainage and snow removal, intelligent roads for monitoring, power generation, temperature control and management, and durable roads to increase service life with new theory, new design methods, and prediction models, as highlighted in this …

Single-Particle Chemical Force Microscopy To Characterize Virus Surface Chemistry, Xue Mi, Caryn L. Heldt

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Two important viral surface characteristics are the hydrophobicity and surface charge, which determine the viral colloidal behavior and mobility. Chemical force microscopy allows the detection of viral surface chemistry in liquid samples with small amounts of virus sample. This single-particle method requires the functionalization of an atomic force microscope (AFM) probe and covalent bonding of viruses to a surface. A hydrophobic methyl-modified AFM probe was used to study the viral surface hydrophobicity, and an AFM probe terminated with either negatively charged carboxyl acid or positively charged quaternary amine was used to study the viral surface charge. With an understanding of …

Design And Performance Of Polyurethane Elastomers Composed With Different Soft Segments, Xin Jin, Naisheng Guo, Zhanping You, Yiqiu Tan

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Thermoplastic polyurethane elastomers (TPUs) are widely used in a variety of applications as a result of flexible and superior performance. However, few scholars pay close attention on the design and synthesis of TPUs through the self‐determined laboratory process, especially on definite of chemical structures and upon the influence on properties. To investigate the properties of synthesized modifier based on chemical structure, firstly each kind of unknown structure and composition ratio of TPUs was determined by using a new method. Furthermore, the thermal characteristics and mechanical properties of modifiers were exposed by thermal characteristics and mechanics performance tests. The experimental results …

Recent Advances In Graphene-Based Materials For Fuel Cell Applications, Hanrui Su, Yun Hang Hu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The unique chemical and physical properties of graphene and its derivatives (graphene oxide, heteroatom-doped graphene, and functionalized graphene) have stimulated tremendous efforts and made significant progress in fuel cell applications. This review focuses on the latest advances in the use of graphene-based materials in electrodes, electrolytes, and bipolar plates for fuel cells. The understanding of structure-activity relationships of metal-free heteroatom-doped graphene and graphene-supported catalysts was highlighted. The performances and advantages of graphene-based materials in membranes and bipolar plates were summarized. We also outlined the challenges and perspectives in using graphene-based materials for fuel cell applications.

Laboratory Evaluation Of The Residue Of Rubber-Modified Emulsified Asphalt, Dongdong Ge, Xiaodong Zhou, Siyu Chen, Dongzhao Jin, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Emulsified asphalt has been widely used in various surface treatment methods such as chip seal for low-volume road preservation. Using modified emulsified asphalt made it possible to use chip seal technology on medium-and even high-volume traffic pavements. The main objective of the study is to quantify the residue characteristics of rubber-modified emulsified asphalt and to assess the effectiveness of using crumb rubber to modify emulsified asphalt binder. The four emulsified asphalt residues used the distillation procedure. Then, the rheology characteristics of emulsified asphalt residue were evaluated. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) test analyzed the chemical change of emulsified asphalt …

Hydrologic Impacts And Trade-Offs Associated With Developing Oil Palm For Bioenergy In Tabasco, Mexico, Azad Heidari, Alex Mayer, David Watkins, María Mercedes Castillo

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Study region: Oil palm cultivation has rapidly expanded worldwide due to demands for food oils and the potential for liquid fuel production. However, there is a scarcity of research on the hydrologic impacts of oil palm plantations at a watershed scale, especially in Latin America. We focus on a watershed typical of intensive palm oil production in Tabasco, Mexico. Study focus: A Soil and Water Assessment Tool model was calibrated to simulate long-term streamflow in the study watershed. The plant growth module was calibrated for leaf area index (LAI) and fruit yield simulations. Oil palm development scenarios were simulated to …

Effects Of Tire Pressures And Test Temperatures On Permanent Deformation Of Direct Coal Liquefaction Residue Mixture, Suo Zhi, Ji Jie, Zhang Ran, Wang Zhe, Yao Hui, Dongzhao Jin

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The main objective of this research is to investigate the permanent deformation of asphalt mixtures containing direct coal liquefaction residue (DCLR) under various tire pressures and temperatures. Three types of asphalt mixtures, including control/DCLR/composite-DCLR modified asphalt mixture, were prepared by the Marshall design method. The rutting test was conducted under a tire pressure range of 0.7–1.0 MPa with a 0.1-MPa interval and at a temperature range of 55–70°C with a 5°C interval. Moreover, the dynamic stability and rutting depth of three asphalt mixtures were obtained to evaluate their resistance of permanent deformation. It was found that the rutting resistance of …

Rapid Visual Presentation To Support Geospatial Big Data Processing, E. Levin, W. Roland, R. Habibi, Z. An, R. Shults

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Given the limited number of human GIS/image analysts at any organization, use of their time and organizational resources is important, especially in light of Big Data application scenarios when organizations may be overwhelmed with vast amounts of geospatial data. The current manuscript is devoted to the description of experimental research outlining the concept of Human-Computer Symbiosis where computers perform tasks, such as classification on a large image dataset, and, in sequence, humans perform analysis with Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) to classify those images that machine learning had difficulty with. The addition of the BCI analysis is to utilize the brain's ability …

Investigation Of Strength And Fatigue Life Of Rubber Asphalt Mixture, Jiang Yuan, Songtao Lv, Xinghai Peng, Lingyun You, Milkos Borges Cabrera

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Strength and fatigue life are essential parameters of pavement structure design. To accurately determine the pavement structure resistance of rubber asphalt mixture, the strength tests at various temperatures, loading rate, and fatigue tests at different stress levels were conducted in this research. Based on the proposed experiments, the change law of rubber asphalt mixture strength with different temperatures and loading rates was revealed. The phenomenological fatigue equation of rubber asphalt mixture was established. The genetic algorithm optimized backpropagation neural network (GA-BPNN) is highly reliable for optimizing production processes in civil engineering, and it has a remarkable application effect. A GA-BPNN …

Geospatial Virtual Reality For Cyberlearning In The Field Of Topographic Surveying: Moving Towards A Cost-Effective Mobile Solution, Eugene Levin, Roman Shults, Zhongming An, William Roland

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In spite of the tremendous success in artificial intelligence technology and a high level of automation in geospatial data obtaining processes, there is still a need for topographical field data collection by professional surveyors. Understanding terrain topology and topography is a cognitive skill set that has to be demonstrated by geospatial Subject Matter Experts (SME) for the productive work in the topographic surveying field. For training of the mentioned above skillset, one has to be exposed to the theory and must also practice with surveying instruments in field conditions. The challenge of any surveying/geospatial engineering workforce training is to expose …

Multiple Salinity Equilibria And Resilience Of Persian/Arabian Gulf Basin Salinity To Brine Discharge, Hamed D. Ibrahim, Pengfei Xue, Elfatih A.B. Eltahir

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Persian/Arabian Gulf is the most important region for seawater desalination. Surrounding countries produce about 50% of global desalinated seawater. If Gulf salinity significantly rises because of desalination effluent (brine), marine ecosystems and the water supply for many population centers will be threatened. In order to quantify current and future impacts of seawater desalination on Gulf salinity and avoid costly environmental problems, it is vital to first examine the present Gulf salinity state and its response to salinity perturbation (i.e., determine its stability). Here, using a coupled Gulf-Atmosphere numerical climate model, we test the hypothesis that the Gulf has a …

Upgrading The Quality Of Recycled Aggregates From Construction And Demolitionwaste By Using A Novel Brick Separation And Surface Treatment Method, Kui Hu, Yujing Chen, Caihua Yu, Dong Xu, Shihao Cao, Rui Pang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Mixed recycled aggregates (MRA) from construction and demolition waste (CDW) with high-purity and environmental performance are required for highway construction application in base layer and precast concrete curbs. The main problematic constituents that reduce the quality level of the recycled aggregates applications are brick components, flaky particles, and attached mortar, which make up a large proportion of CDW in some countries. This paper studies the potential of brick separation technology based on shape characteristics in order to increase the recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) purity for MRA quality improvement. MRA after purification was also processed with surface treatment experiment by rotating …

Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Modeling Over The Maritime Continent: A Review, Pengfei Xue, Paola Malanotte-Rizzoli, Jun Wei, Elfatih A.B. Eltahir

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Maritime Continent (MC) plays a vitally important role in the Earth's climate system from both oceanic and atmospheric perspectives. While the critical role of ocean-atmosphere coupled dynamics over the MC has long been recognized, development of two-way coupled regional climate models for this region is still in its early stages. In this work, the authors review recent progress in two-way coupled ocean-atmosphere regional climate modeling. Development of coupled models and their applications in the MC are summarized. Model performances are discussed with a focus on regional oceanic and atmospheric characteristics. Through a critical review of modeling advances and limitations …

Log Truck Value Analysis From Increased Rail Usage, Sangpil Ko, Pasi Lautala, Kuilin Zhang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Over the past several decades, the transportation of raw materials (logs) has increasingly shifted from the railway to trucks. However, the long-term sustainability of this shift is being questioned due to the shortage of truck drivers, fluctuation of fuel prices, and changes in hours of service laws. The industry is interested in the possibility to shift more logs back to the railway but the impact of such a shift on truckers has not been investigated. This study attempted to quantify the impact of such a change on the operations of log truckers by calculating time efficiency (percentage of daily hours …

The Effect Of Waste Engine Oil And Waste Polyethylene On Uv Aging Resistance Of Asphalt., Chao Peng, Chong Guo, Zhanping You, Fang Xu, Wenbo Ma, Lingyun You, Tianjun Li, Lizhen Zhou, Shifan Huang, Hongchao Ma, Li Lu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Waste engine oil (WEO) and waste polyethylene (WPE) are two common wastes, which are easy to pollute the environment. As the primary material in road construction, natural asphalt is a non-renewable energy source and asphalt is vulnerable to ultraviolet (UV) radiation during the service life. It results in degradation of asphalt pavement performance. In this paper, 22 wt % to 82 wt % of WEO and WPE were used to modify asphalts and the UV aging simulation experiment was carried out. The physical parameters of asphalts before the UV aging experiment show that the asphalt containing 42 wt % WPE …

Porosity Prediction Of Granular Materials Through Discrete Element Method And Back Propagation Neural Network Algorithm, Yu Liu, Miaomiao Li, Peifeng Su, Biao Ma, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Granular materials are used directly or as the primary ingredients of the mixtures in industrial manufacturing, agricultural production and civil engineering. It has been a challenging task to compute the porosity of a granular material which contains a wide range of particle sizes or shapes. Against this background, this paper presents a newly developed method for the porosity prediction of granular materials through Discrete Element Modeling (DEM) and the Back Propagation Neural Network algorithm (BPNN). In DEM, ball elements were used to simulate particles in granular materials. According to the Chinese specifications, a total of 400 specimens in different gradations …

Goodd, A Global Dataset Of More Than 38,000 Georeferenced Dams., Mark Mulligan, Arnout Van Soesbergen, Leonardo Sáenz

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

By presenting the most comprehensive GlObal geOreferenced Database of Dams to date containing more than 38,000 dams as well as their associated catchments, we enable new and improved global analyses of the impact of dams on society and environment and the impact of environmental change (for example land use and climate change) on the catchments of dams. This paper presents the development of the global database through systematic digitisation of satellite imagery globally by a small team and highlights the various approaches to bias estimation and to validation of the data. The following datasets are provided (a) raw digitised coordinates …

2020 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

• Research
• CEEPAC
• Surveying
• Department Awards
• Student Orgs
• CEE Academy
• Alumni Features
• Lifetime Giving

Initial Transformation Of Photo-Viable Free Amino Acids In The Presence Of Surrogate And Standard Dissolved Organic Matter Under Sunlit Irradiation, Ryan J. Kibler

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

With more than half of the nation’s drinking water affected by wastewater discharge from upstream and more indirect and direct reuse of treated wastewater, human health and ecotoxicological impacts resulting from effluent organic material (EfOM) will increase. Dissolved free amino acids (DFAAs), nitrogen components of EfOM, are essential nitrogen sources for microorganisms and play important roles in global N-cycling in natural aquatic environments. Several DFAAs including histidine, methionine, and tyrosine in sunlit surface waters are susceptible to direct and indirect photochemical transformation with reactive oxygen species. In this study, we investigated the reaction kinetics and initial reaction mechanisms involved in …

Micromechanical Prediction Model Of Viscoelastic Properties For Asphalt Mastic Based On Morphologically Representative Pattern Approach, Zhichen Wang, Naisheng Guo, Xu Yang, Shuang Wang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This paper is devoted to the introduction of physicochemical, filler size, and distribution effect in micromechanical predictions of the overall viscoelastic properties of asphalt mastic. In order to account for the three effects, the morphologically representative pattern (MRP) approach was employed. The MRP model was improved due to the arduous practical use of equivalent modulus formula solution. Then, a homogeneous morphologically representative model (H-MRP) with the explicit solution was established based on the homogenization theory. Asphalt mastic is regarded as a composite material consisting of filler particles coated structural asphalt and free asphalt considering the physicochemical effect. An additional interphase …

Metalimnetic Oxygen Minimum In Green Lake, Wisconsin, Mahta Naziri Saeed

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Green Lake, located in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, has been experiencing summer Metalimnetic Oxygen Minima (MOM). The severity of the MOM has increased in recent years and the lake was listed as impaired in 2014. To investigate the MOM, the lake was monitored during 2017 and 2018 at two sites using moored temperature and oxygen sensors recording at 1-hour intervals. Using these data, a hydrodynamic model (Simstrat) was configured for the lake. A new model was then developed to simulate the oxygen changes in the lake. Productivity, respiration, sediment oxygen demand (SOD) and fluxes were included, and hydrodynamics were driven …

Towards Efficient Water Treatment: Mechanism Of Colloidal Fouling Of Ultrafiltration Membranes, Ikenna Henry Ozofor

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This research study first reviewed challenges of conventional and membrane separation systems for water treatment. Though membrane separation systems appeared superior to the conventional counterparts for water and wastewater treatment, wider applications of membrane systems have been limited by some factors, most notably is membrane fouling. Experimental studies were therefore conducted to achieve the goal of this research, which is to investigate how feed properties affect fouling of ultrafiltration (UF) membranes by colloids.

Feed salinity, pH, and nanoparticle concentration were the variables studied to unravel how different UF membranes are fouled by model silica colloids (with average diameter of 25nm). …

Systems Analysis For Sustainability Assessment Of Biogas And Bio-Ch4 Production From Food Waste And Dairy Manure Mixtures In The Us, Sharath Kumar Ankathi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The purpose of the dissertation is to relate systems analysis for bioenergy to identify optimum configurations for improved scenarios and to make better decisions in a systems perspective.

Chapter 1 is a review of the literature to identify the state of the knowledge in terms of systems analysis for anaerobic digestion (AD) bioenergy systems. The key outcomes from this review showed that anaerobic digestion of mixtures of food waste and animal manure has great potential to achieve economic and environmental benefits compared to other treatments of organic waste materials, such as landfilling or conventional manure management.

Chapter 2 focuses on …