Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Flood Inundation Mapping For Huron Creek, Houghton County, Michigan, Sarah Washko

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The 2018 Father’s Day Flood rattled the Houghton County, MI community. Thousands of dollars in damage to public and private property were incurred due to slope failure, scour and stagnant water. Though the flood was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime event, hazard mitigation planning has become essential, as extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent with a changing climate. While Federal Emergency Management Agency funding will provide detailed flood hazard maps in the future, mapping is expected to be several years out. To aid the City of Houghton community with immediate flood hazard mitigation planning, a hydraulic-based flood depth …

A Preliminary Sustainability Analysis Of Producing Class A Biosolids With Conventional And Low-Cost, Low-Tech Processes, Janna Brown

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Producing Class A biosolids is a beneficial way to reuse wastewater sludge. Low-cost, low-tech (LCLT) processes are attractive to small water resource recovery facilities (WRRF) because of their low capital costs and simple designs. This study examined the sustainability of conventional and LCLT processes at small WRRFs. The environmental impacts were determined by conducting life cycle assessments. Cost analyses determined the economic impacts. The social impacts were analyzed by investigating case studies and surveys of social response to biosolids. The environmental, economic, and social impacts were normalized, and each technology received an overall score. The technologies studied were direct heat …

Technology For Integrated Groyne-Vetiver Erosion Reduction (Tiger): Case Study In A West African River, Chase M. West

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

River erosion is a problem all over the world. The effects of river erosion are especially hard for farmers in developing countries, where the river is an important part of their farming practices and daily lives. A case study was done in the small village of Fode Binea in Senegal, West Africa to reduce this stream erosion. A new hybrid approach, Technology for Integrated Groyne-Vetiver Erosion Reduction (TIGER) method, was developed. The method includes combining groynes at the toe of the riverbank to reduce toe erosion in the channel and planting a buffer strip with vetiver grass to reduce erosion …

Improved Methods For The Quantification Of Viable Ascaris Suum And Application To Biosolids, Tanner Keyzers

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The current method for detection of Ascaris ova in biosolids and wastewater has several drawbacks including being labor and time intensive as well as being difficult to quantify viable ova that have larvated during treatment. The goal of this thesis was to improve several methods for the detection and quantification of Ascaris ova during long term-storage of biosolids including improvement of quantifying viable ova using a heat and bleach treatment to promote movement of larvae inside of ova, and comparison of the traditional microscopic method with qPCR and PMA-qPCR to prevent the false-positive results. Improved methods to promote movement of …

Spread Of Emerging Contaminants In Water Distribution Systems, Danielle Pilarski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Emerging contaminants are a growing concern to humans and the environment. Studies have shown these contaminants are present in the environment through continuous release into surface waters from wastewater treatment effluent, manufacturing processes, and agricultural use. The effects of these contaminants have been observed in ecological studies, but they have not yet been well studied for long term exposure in humans. These emerging contaminants have also not been well studied to determine the rates at which they decay or how they move through distribution systems. This study aims to determine the importance of decay rate on concentration throughout a distribution …

Investigation Of Long Term Pillar Stability In An Abandoned Gypsum Mine Based On Dissolution Models, Mohammadhossein Sadeghiamirshahidi

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The abandoned Domtar Mine in Grand Rapids, MI underlies Interstate I-196. The mine operated for over 140 years, mining a 30-meter-deep, four-meter thick gypsum seam. In 2000, the mine was abandoned with the removal of the mine’s dewatering pumps allowing groundwater to flood the mine. The initial flooding resulted in saturating the mine pillars along with some amount of pillar dissolution. Overtime, gypsum dissolution would cease as the water becomes saturated with the gypsum dissolution products. The mine, however, is located adjacent to the Grand River and has groundwater moving through the mine resulting in the potential for continuing dissolution. …

Hydrologic Impacts And Trade-Offs Associated With Forest-Based Bioenergy Development Across The Americas, Azad Heidari

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A simulation-based framework for studying hydrologic impacts and associated tradeoffs for existing and proposed biofuel projects in the US (poplar), Argentina (eucalyptus) and Mexico (oil palm) is developed. For each case study, a representative watershed is selected and a SWAT model is set up and calibrated for an improved simulation of hydrologic processes and plant growth cycles. Potential bioenergy scenarios are developed that represent various planting densities, harvest cycles, fertilization and irrigation rates, land cover types being converted, slope, and locations across the watershed.

Simulations indicate that growth and biomass production are significantly dependent on nitrogen availability, making fertilization a …

Assessing Benthic Recovery In The Torch Lake Aoc, Anya Clare Leach

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Torch Lake, located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, was a site of copper ore processing from the 1860s through the 1960s. During this time, various mining by-products were deposited into the lake and along its shoreline, including mine tailings and associated heavy metals contaminants (e.g., copper). It was anticipated that natural sediment deposition would cover and attenuate toxic sediments over time, but a comprehensive assessment of the benthos has not been performed since a baseline survey conducted in 1999 and 2000. This study was conducted in 2018 to evaluate the current benthic community status as well as sediment composition and metal …

Experimental Study Of Low Cycle Fatigue Properties For Epoxy Resins With Dibutyl Phthalate (Dbp), Zhi Wang, Jiajia Zhou, Lianjian Song, Long Li

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Publications

In order to improve the toughness of traditional epoxy resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) was introduced into the epoxy resin. The static mechanical performance of plasticized and unplasticized epoxy resin was evaluated. The test results showed that the DBP modified epoxy resin can obtain a higher toughness than conventional epoxy resin, but the elastic modulus and the tensile strength were slightly reduced. The low cycle fatigue test results indicated that the stress ratio and the stress level were two critical factors of fatigue life, which was increased with the growth of stress ratio. It was also found that the fatigue life …

Dynamic Response Analysis Of Rutting Resistance Performance Of High Modulus Asphalt Concrete Pavement, Chundi Si, Enli Chen, Zhanping You, Riulan Tian, Ran Zhang, Junfeng Gao

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Publications

In order to systematically study the rutting resistance performance of High-Modulus Asphalt Concrete (HMAC) pavements, a finite element method model of HMAC pavement was established using ABAQUS software. Based on the viscoelasticity theory of asphalt, the stress and deformation distribution characteristics of HMAC pavement were studied and compared to conventional asphalt pavement under moving loads. Then, the pavement temperature field model was established to study the temperature variation and the thermal stress in HMAC pavement. Finally, under the condition of continuous temperature variation, the creep behavior and permanent deformation of HMAC pavement were investigated. The results showed that under the …

Effective Exploitation Potential Of Shale Gas From Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation, Northwestern Hunan, China, Han Cao, Tianyi Wang, Ting Bao, Pinghe Sun, Zheng Zhang, Jingjing Wu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The marine shale in the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation is the dominant shale-gas reservoir in northwestern Hunan, which accounts for more than 70% of unconventional energy in Hunan province. Accurately evaluating the shale-gas exploitation potential is a key to determining whether commercial exploitation standards can be met. In the literature, most existing studies have focused on evaluating the shale-gas exploitation potential based on either accumulation conditions or the shale fracability, which will lead to a gap between the real production and proven gas reserves due to the characteristics of the shale’s low permeability and low porosity. Therefore, further studies are …

Nondestructive Assessment Of Wood Members In A Viewing Tower In Potawatomi State Park, Door County, Wisconsin, Us, Robert Ross, Xiping Wang, C. Adam Senalik

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Publications

The State of Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources is responsible for operating one of the largest state park systems in the United States. Potawatomi State Park, located on the Door County peninsula, consists of about 1,200 acres of flat to gently rolling upland terrain bordered by steep slopes and rugged limestone cliffs along Lake Michigan’s shoreline. A 75-ft observation tower sits atop a 150-ft bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. The USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory, was asked to conduct an assessment of the main support timbers of the tower. This report summarizes the results obtained from the inspection and assessment. …

Rheological Performance Of Bio-Char Modified Asphalt With Different Particle Sizes, Ran Zhang, Qingli Dai, Zhanping You, Hainian Wang, Chao Peng

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

To improve the performance of petroleum asphalt, bio-char was used as a modifier for a petroleum asphalt binder, in this study. The rheological properties of bio-char modified asphalt binders were compared with different particle sizes and contents, with one control and one flake graphite modified asphalt binder. Specifically, the bio-char modifiers with two particle sizes (ranging from 75 μm–150 μm and less than 75 μm) and three contents of 2%, 4%, and 8% were added into the asphalt binder. A flake graphite powder with particle sizes less than 75 μm was used as a comparison modifier. The Scanning Electron Microscopy …

Standardization Of Fatigue Characteristics Of Cement-Treated Aggregate Base Materials Under Different Stress States, Jiawei Xie, Limin Tang, Songtao Lv, Naitian Zhang, Tuo Huang, Hongfu Liu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In this study, to decrease the evaluation uncertainty of the fatigue characteristics of cement-treated aggregate base materials under different test conditions, unconfined compressive, indirect tensile, flexural tensile strength tests and fatigue tests of these base materials with different cement content and at different curing times were carried out. The Weibull distribution was employed to analyze fatigue test results. The standardization model of fatigue characteristics for cement-treated aggregate base materials under different stress states was established. Based on the interval analysis theory, the fatigue characteristic model under different stress states was established using interval parameters. Results revealed that the curing time …

Nonlinear Fatigue Damage Of Cracked Cement Paste After Grouting Enhancement, Zhi Wang, Long Li, Shuaicheng Guo, Qingli Dai

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Grouting reinforcement is an important part of modern engineering and has grown in popularity due to the benefits of grouting enhancement on cyclic loading. Understanding the fatigue mechanism of grouting-enhanced structures is vital to the design and the long-term stability analysis of such structures. In this study, the fatigue mechanical properties of cracked cement paste after epoxy resin grouting enhancement under different cyclic conditions were investigated in the laboratory and an inverted S-shaped curve was proposed to describe the damage accumulation. The test results indicated that the fatigue axial deformation can be divided into three stages: the initial stage, constant …

Effects Of Titanate Coupling Agent On Engineering Properties Of Asphalt Binders And Mixtures Incorporating Lldpe-Caco3 Pellet, Mohd Rosli Mohd Hasan, Zhanping You, Mohd Khairul Idham Mohd Satar, Muhammad Naqiuddin Mohd Warid, Nurul Hidayah Mohd Kamaruddin, Dongdong Ge, Ran Zhang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This study was initiated to evaluate the performance of asphalt binders and mixtures incorporating linear low-density polyethylene- calcium carbonate (LLDPE-CaCO₃) pellet, either with or without titanate coupling agent. The detailed manufacturing process of modifier pellets was displayed. The coupling agent was used to enhance the cross-linking between materials by means of winding up covalent bonds or molecule chains, thus improving the performance of composites. In the preparation of modified bitumen, the preheated asphalt binder was mixed with the modifiers using a high shear mixer at 5000 rpm rotational speed for 45 min. Experimental works were conducted to evaluate …

Laboratory Evaluation On Performance Of Compound-Modified Asphalt For Rock Asphalt/Styrene–Butadiene Rubber (Sbr) And Rock Asphalt/Nano-Caco3, Songtao Lv, Shuangshuang Wang, Tong Guo, Chengdong Xia, Jianglong Li, Gui Hou

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

As a natural modifier of asphalt, rock asphalt has been widely used to improve its thermal stability and aging resistance. However, the thermal cracking resistance of asphalt modified by rock asphalt is unsatisfactory. In order to improve the thermal cracking resistance in low temperature, two kinds of modifiers—styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) and nano-CaCO₃—were selected as the compound modifiers, and then implemented to improve the low-temperature performance of the binder. Then, compound asphalt modified by Buton rock asphalt (BRA) was chosen as the study subject. The thermal stability and aging resistance of asphalt modified by BRA, compound-modified asphalt by BRA/SBR, …

Assessment Of Soil Erosion Vulnerability In The Heavily Populated And Ecologically Fragile Communities In Motozintla De Mendoza, Chiapas, Mexico, Selene González-Morales, Alex Mayer, Neptalí Ramírez-Marcial

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Variability in physical rates and local knowledge of soil erosion was assessed across six rural communities in the Sierra Madre del Sur, Chiapas, Mexico. The average erosion rate estimated using the RUSLE model is 274 t ha-1 yr-1, with the estimated erosion rates ranging from 28 to 717 t ha-1 yr-1. These very high erosion rates are associated with high rainfall erosivity (17 000 MJ mm ha-1 h-1 yr-1) and steep slopes (mean slope Combining double low line 67 %). Many of the highest soil erosion rates are found in communities that are dominated by forestland, but where most of …

Rheological Behavior And Sensitivity Of Wood-Derived Bio-Oil Modified Asphalt Binders, Junfeng Gao, Hainian Wang, Zhanping You, Mohd Rosli Mohd Hasan, Yong Lei, Muhammad Irfan

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The demand for bituminous materials is continuously growing; crude oil-based asphalt binders are non-renewable, and are facing rapid depletion. With the increase of petroleum-based asphalt prices, seeking an alternative, renewable material such as bio-asphalt has become a hot research topic. However, shortcomings in this research area have been identified, notably concerning the high-temperature performance of bio-asphalt at present. This research aims to comprehensively apply conventional tests to, and study the rheological behavior of, the high-temperature performances of bio-asphalt binders, i.e., by temperature and frequency sweeps, using a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR). It will also assess the chemical functional groups of …

Optimal Level Of Woody Biomass Co-Firing With Coal Power Plant Considering Advanced Feedstock Logistics System, Sangpil Ko, Pasi T. Lautala

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Co-firing from woody biomass feedstock is one of the alternatives toward increased use of renewable feedstock in existing coal power plants. However, the economic level of co-firing at a particular power plant depends on several site-specific factors. Torrefaction has been identified recently as a promising biomass pretreatment option to lead to reduction of the feedstock delivered cost, and thus facilitate an increase in the co-firing ratio. In this study, a mixed integer linear program (MILP) is developed to integrate supply chain of co-firing and torrefaction process and find the optimal level of biomass co-firing in terms of minimized transportation and …

Study On Components Determination And Performance Evaluation Of Ls Pre-Maintenance Agent, Yuxiang Tian, Biao Ma, Ke Tian, Ning Li, Xueyan Zhou

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Adequate maintenance and taking active preventive measures can effectively prevent the early disease of asphalt pavements before significant damage occurs. By developing a light screening preventive maintenance agent (LS pre-maintenance agent) for strong ultraviolet (UV) radiation areas, based on the asphalt aging and regeneration mechanism, we analyzed the function and basic components and determined the optimum components ratio based on the best proportion of penetrant and solvent oil for solubility. The optimum ratio for quick-drying and long-term storage ability is the mass ratio of rock asphalt, reducing agent, penetrant, and solvent oil, which is 30:20:20:30. The light-shield agent is 5% …

Characteristics Of Moduli Decay For The Asphalt Mixture Under Different Loading Conditions, Songtao Lv, Xiyan Fan, Chengdong Xia, Jianlong Zheng, Dong Chen, Lingyun You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In order to explore the moduli decay patterns of asphalt mixtures under different loading conditions, the nonlinear fatigue damage model was implemented in order to simulate the moduli decay patterns. Then, the direct tensile, indirect tensile, and uniaxial compression fatigue tests were employed under four kinds of stress levels with four parallel tests. The specimens of AC-13C Styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) modified mixtures were manufactured. Based on the test results, the decay patterns of the moduli during fatigue tests under different stress states were revealed, and the parameters of the damage model under different test conditions were obtained. By changing the values …

Probability Distributions In The Glass Failure Prediction Model, Samir Blanchet, H. Scott Norville, Stephen Morse

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Glass, a brittle material, fractures under tensile stress acting over a time duration. Lateral loads, such as wind, acting on a simply supported rectangular glass lite, put one surface of the lite primarily into tension. ASTM E 1300 defines load resistance of glass as the uniform lateral loading acting over a duration of 3 seconds that is associated with a probability of breakage of 8 lites per 1000 at the first occurrence of the loading. To determine load resistance, the underlying window glass failure prediction model facilitates determination of a probability distribution of 3 second equivalent failure loads, P3. The …

Fatigue Equation Of Cement-Treated Aggregate Base Materials Under A True Stress Ratio, Songtao Lv, Chaochao Liu, Jingting Lan, Hongwei Zhang, Jianlong Zheng, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The objective of this article is to establish a fatigue equation based on the true stress ratio for cement-treated aggregate base materials. The true stress ratio herein means the ratio of the stress and the true strength of the cement-treated aggregate base materials related to loading rates and curing times. The unconfined compressive strength tests and compressive resilience modulus tests were carried out under various loading rates and curing times of 3, 7, 14, 28, 60, 90 days, respectively. According to the test results, the relationship between the unconfined compressive strength (a mix design parameter in China) and the compressive …

Advanced Paving Materials And Technologies, Zhanping You, Qingli Dai, Feipeng Xiao

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

No abstract provided.

Advanced Pavement Materials For Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure, Zhanping You, Meor O. Hamzah, Hainian Wang, Aboelkasim Diab, Qingli Dai

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Many road managers and stakeholders are looking for more and better options for the construction and maintenance of flexible and rigid pavements. Well-designed strategies for pavement construction and maintenance have attracted the interests of researchers since a large number of existing pavements are facing deterioration all over the world. The selection and engineering properties of paving materials are crucial factors affecting the durability and therefore demanding standards of sustainability of the constructed pavement. Researchers worldwide are putting extensive efforts to develop and promote advanced pavement materials and structures for constructing and maintaining sustainable pavements. Pavement materials that can improve durability, …

Evaluation Of Well Designs To Improve Access To Safe And Clean Water In Rural Tanzania, Aminata Kilungo, Linda Powers, Nathan B. Arnold, Kelli Marie Whelan, Kurt Paterson, Dale Young

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The objective of this study was to examine three well designs: drilled wells (20–30 m deep), closed dug wells (>5 m deep), and hand-dug open wells (<5 m deep), to determine the water quality for improving access to safe and clean water in rural communities. Heterotrophic plate count (HPC), total coliforms (TC), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and turbidity, were used to assess the water quality of 97 wells. Additionally, the study looked at the microflora diversity of the water, focusing on potential pathogens using outgrowth, PCR, and genome sequencing for 10 wells. Concentrations of TC for the open dug wells (4 × 10⁴ CFU/100 mL) were higher than the drilled (2 × 10³ CFU/100 mL) and closed dug wells (3 × 10³ CFU/100 mL). E. coli concentration for drilled and closed dug wells was <22 MPN (most probable number)/100 mL, but higher for open wells (>154 MPN/100 mL). The drilled well turbidity (11 NTU) was within the standard deviation of the closed well (28 NTU) compared to open dug wells (49 NTU). Drilled and closed wells had similar microbial diversity. There were no …

2018 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

• External Awards
• Faculty Feature
• Student Features
• Outreach
• Alumni Feature
• CEE Academy
• Internal Awards
• Donors

Mechanistic Insight Into The Degradation Of Nitrosamines Via Aqueous-Phase Uv Photolysis Or A Uv-Based Advanced Oxidation Process: Quantum Mechanical Calculations, Daisuke Minakata, Erica Coscarelli

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Publications

Nitrosamines are a group of carcinogenic chemicals that are present in aquatic environments that result from byproducts of industrial processes and disinfection products. As indirect and direct potable reuse increase, the presence of trace nitrosamines presents challenges to water infrastructures that incorporate effluent from wastewater treatment. Ultraviolet (UV) photolysis or UV-based advanced oxidation processes that produce highly reactive hydroxyl radicals are promising technologies to remove nitrosamines from water. However, complex reaction mechanisms involving radicals limit our understandings of the elementary reaction pathways embedded in the overall reactions identified experimentally. In this study, we perform quantum mechanical calculations to identify the …

Two Pumps, One Volcano: An Epanet Feasbility Study Of Connecting Two Groundwater Pumps In Rural Coastal Communities In West Ambae, Vanuatu, Helen Amiri

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In situations where groundwater supply shows vulnerability, improving water distribution network resiliency can be desirable. To do so, one water source can be linked with another to provide a redundant source.

On the South Pacific island of Ambae, the water demands of its residents routinely exceeded supply. Residents had traditionally used rainwater collection as their sole water supply source. In 2017, groundwater drilling operations created an alternative water supply at two community institutions, Ndui Ndui Health Center and Londua Junior Secondary School. One borehole went dry during pump testing; the feasibility of linking these two boreholes is investigated herein.

EPANET …