Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Leveraging Product And Process Characteristics Across The Concrete Pavement Life Cycle To Integrate Global Warming Potential Into Project Procurement Processes, Michelle Annette Cooper

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The objective of this research is to support sustainable procurement of concrete pavements by linking materials-level global warming potential (GWP) to the project-level. Infrastructure owners require reliable environmental product declarations (EPDs) and methodologies for integrating GWP into the procurement process to ensure equitable decision-making. This work provides insights into current EPD reliability by assessing the sensitivity of concrete GWP to materials-level contributors to recommend a level of supply chain specificity needed to effectively communicate GWP. A benchmarking methodology was developed and implemented to establish reference values for procuring sustainable products. Having provided evidence towards EPD reliability, this work presents a …

Ansi Z97 Impact Testing Of Thin Glass, Justin P. Anthony

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

To determine whether thin glass constructions can pass Z97 impact test to qualify as safety glass an extensive protocol was performed. Constructions including monolithic, chemically strengthened, filmed, laminated, and triple pane insulated glass units comprised of thin glass ranging in thickness between 0.50 mm and 1.6mm were evaluated. Test results indicate annealed specimens, and laminated specimens performed similar to constructions with 3 mm and 6 mm glass. Specimens with 0.2 mm film consistently performed as safety glass for thicknesses between 0.7 mm and 1.6 mm and similar performance for specimens with 0.1 mm film with thickness of 1.1 mm and …

Life Cycle Assessment Of Renewable Hydrocarbon Fuels Produced By The New Cool Gas To Liquid (Cool Gtl) Process, Elochukwu Okoye

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Cool Gas-to-Liquid (Cool GTL) process converts biogas and captured CO₂ into renewable hydrocarbon fuels, contributing to GHG emissions reduction in transportation. This report explains a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study that was completed to evaluate the environmental impact of different feedstocks, hydrogen sources, and electricity inputs. The analysis considers biogas from food waste, manure, and landfill sources, as well as biogenic, fossil, and direct air capture (DAC) CO₂ feedstocks. Results show that biogas pathways provide the greatest GHG reductions, with the best case (food and manure biogas + solar hydrogen + solar electricity) achieving a net-negative GWP …

Life Cycle Assessment And Life Cycle Cost Assessment Of A Floating Treatment Wetland In A Wastewater Lagoon Located In Copper Harbor, Michigan, Erin Browne

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A full-scale floating treatment wetland was implemented in a wastewater treatment lagoon in Copper Harbor, Michigan. Copper Harbor is a small, rural community located in a cold climate. Many studies have focused on the performance of floating treatment wetlands in mesocosm studies in warmer climates, but there is not a lot of research conducted on the feasibility and performance of full-scale floating treatment wetlands in wastewater lagoons, specifically in cold climates. The 2024 treatment season was the first season with the floating treatment wetland implemented in the wastewater lagoon. A preliminary assessment of the cost and environmental impacts of a …

Developing Inexpensive Sensors That Can Detect Roof Collapse From Snow Loads, Edward Sandy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In cold regions in the United States, residential timber structures are susceptible to roof collapses due to heavy snow accumulation. The recent updates in ASCE 7-22 have introduced reliability-targeted ground snow loads, leading to significant increases in design snow loads for certain areas. Despite this development, existing buildings in these regions designed under historical code requirements may be under-designed for snow load. This fact provides motivation to owners of these structures to pursue effective monitoring and mitigation strategies to prevent structural failures. This research focuses on the development of an early warning system utilizing cost-effective slope monitoring sensors to estimate …

Direct Methane Capture Via Aerobic Methanotrophs, Waaseyaaban Landgren

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Methane, a greenhouse gas with global warming potential 80 times greater than carbon dioxide, heavily contributes to global warming. Removing 1 Gt of atmospheric methane by 2050 would limit global temperature increase from reaching 1.5°C. Currently, biotrickling filter systems for removing atmospheric methane via methanotrophs exist, but not for very low methane concentrations (< 1 v%). Current research work at the University of Washington isolated and engineered a microbe strain which thrives at 500 ppmv methane, solving one obstacle in making this technology feasible. In this thesis, techno-economic analysis and environmental life cycle assessment conducted on this process have assessed its economic feasibility, greenhouse gas reduction potential, and possible areas of improvement. Study results show that at 500 ppmv methane, this process could remove atmospheric methane at a cost of $3,992-5,224 per tCH₄. The ideal case also produces annual net reduction in warming potential by 276-311 tCO₂e per process unit deployed.

Estimating Unconfined Compressive Strength (Ucs) Of Rocks From Measurement While Drilling (Mwd) Data, Can Erdem

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Measurement-while-drilling (MWD) technology enables the real-time monitoring of drilling parameters during the drilling process. MWD data can provide valuable insight into the mechanical behavior of intact rocks and rock masses, which is essential for geotechnical applications such as foundation design and underground construction. The aim of this study is to correlate real-time drilling parameters, recorded using a laboratory-developed MWD system, with the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of rocks. A custom laboratory MWD system was designed to simultaneously record four key drilling parameters: thrust (axial force, crowd), torque, penetration rate, and rotational speed. The custom-built MWD system was used to continuously …

Performance And Environmental Impact Of Waste Glass Asphalt In Cold Regions, Kai Xin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The reuse of waste glass in asphalt mixtures has significant potential in sustainable pavement engineering, yet its performance under cold, freeze–thaw conditions remain underexplored. This dissertation presents a first-of-its-kind comprehensive evaluation of glass asphalt for cold regions, simultaneously assessing its low-temperature cracking resistance, moisture susceptibility, field performance, and life-cycle environmental impacts. A series of laboratory tests were performed on asphalt mixtures incorporating various proportions of crushed waste glass aggregate, including Disk-Shaped Compact Tension (DCT) and Indirect Tensile (IDT) tests for low-temperature fracture resistance, and Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) and Hamburg Wheel Tracking (HWTT) tests for moisture damage and rutting susceptibility. …

Dam It All: A Multi-Scalar Investigation Into The Ecological Role And Function Of Beaver Dams, Kenneth Larsen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The central theme of this dissertation is ecological scaling, which examines how small, localized features, such as beaver ponds, contribute to large-scale watershed processes and how different modeling approaches at various scales reveal distinct insights. Through a combination of probabilistic modeling and high-resolution empirical research, this work demonstrates that small ponded systems, particularly those created by beavers (Castor canadensis), serve as critical biogeochemical control points, whose contributions to sediment and nutrient dynamics have been historically underestimated.

In Chapter 1, I contextualize this research within the broader fields of freshwater ecology, watershed modeling, and ecological restoration. I introduce the …

Performance Of Optimized Composition Of Epoxy Resin Adhesive Used In High Friction Surface Treatment, Jiapeng Li, Xiao Huan, Shubing Wang, Yanping Sheng, Dahui Xu, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications

The High Friction Surface Treatment (HFST) paving technique is widely employed in engineering practices globally, serving to enhance the long-term anti-skid performance of pavements. However, there still exist significant gaps in research regarding the modified and optimized composition and corresponding content of the polymer binding materials used in HFST, as well as the performance of the pavements laid with modified and optimized blended aggregates during service. To address these issues, this research first modified and optimized the composition ratio of traditional epoxy resin materials. Subsequently, a toughened, high-flow epoxy bonding system suitable for the maintenance of concrete pavements was prepared. …

Performance Evaluation Of Bio-Oil And High Rubber Content Modified Asphalt: More Effective Waste Utilization, Zihao Ju, Dongdong Ge, Songtao Lv, Dongzhao Jin, Yanhua Xue, Jianping Xian, Wenhui Zhang

Michigan Tech Publications

In this study, the bio-oil was used to reduce the viscosity and preparation temperature of high content of rubber-modified asphalt. The high rubber content modified bio-asphalt (RMBA) was prepared, the rubber and bio-oil contents were 20 %-30 % and 5 %-15 % (mass ratio of neat asphalt), respectively. The viscosity, temperature sweep (TS), frequency sweep (FS), multi-stress creep recovery (MSCR), and bending beam rheometer (BBR) tests were performed to assess the properties of RMBA. The Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Fluorescence microscopy (FM), and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) tests were conducted to explore the microscopic morphology of RMBA. Besides, the …

Performance Evaluation Of Surface Treatment Waste Glass As Aggregate In Asphalt Mixture, Miao Yu, Dongzhao Jin, Yu Liu, Zhanping You, Yalong Li

Michigan Tech Publications

Surface modification is a crucial strategy for enhancing the pavement performance of waste glass hot mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures. This study conducts a comparative analysis of various surface modification techniques to pinpoint the key factors that influence the interfacial interaction between waste glass and asphalt. To assess the performance of asphalt mixtures containing surface-treated waste glass, the study employed methods such as Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), boiling water tests, and contact angle measurements, which helped to quantify surface morphology and the effectiveness of different treatments. The evaluation also included assessments of water stability, dynamic stability, small beam bending, and …

Assessing Visibility At Highway-Rail Grade Crossings Using Light Detection And Ranging (Lidar) Technology, Mohsen Naghdi, Pasi T. Lautala, Abdolmajid Erfani

Michigan Tech Publications

In 2022, 2034 incidents occurred at highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs) in the United States, posing significant risks such as fatalities, injuries, and property damage. These incidents underscore the need for effective prevention and mitigation strategies. With over 212,000 public and private HRGCs nationwide, safety monitoring is challenging, as traditional inspections primarily rely on manual assessments. Obstructed sightlines at HRGCs further increase safety risks by limiting road users' ability to see approaching trains. Although previous studies have addressed behavioral and safety issues, the literature currently lacks quantitative data analysis of sightlines at HRGCs. This study aims to address this gap by …

Durability Investigation Of Ultra-Thin Polyurethane Wearing Course For Asphalt Pavement, Wenguang Wang, Baodong Liu, Dongzhao Jin, Miao Yu, Junsen Zeng

Michigan Tech Publications

In this study, a wear-resistant ultra-thin wear layer was fabricated with polyurethane as an adhesive to investigate its durability for pavement applications. Its road performance was investigated based on indoor tests. First, the abrasion test was performed using a tire–pavement dynamic friction analyzer (TDFA), and the surface elevation information of the wear layer was obtained by laser profile scanning. The relationship between the anti-skid properties of the wear layer and the macro-texture was analyzed. Second, a Fourier infrared spectrometer and scanning electron microscope were employed to analyze the evolution of polyurethane aging properties in the pull-out test and accelerated ultraviolet …

Study On The Storage Stability And Rheological Property Of Bio-Oil/Lignin Composite-Modified Asphalt, Guixiu Guo, Junfeng Gao, Dongzhao Jin, Xuan Wang, Yanqiu Bi, Peng Guo

Michigan Tech Publications

The objective of this study is to investigate the storage stability and rheological property of bio-oil/lignin composite-modified asphalt. The composite-modified asphalt with different proportions of bio-oil was prepared and cured at 105 °C, 135 °C, and 165 °C for 24 h and 48 h. The storage stability of the composite-modified asphalt was evaluated based on the softening point difference, the storage stability index derived from rotational viscosity, the segregation rate based on temperature sweep, and the non-recoverable creep compliance measured through the Multiple Stress Creep Recovery test. The storage stability of bio-oil/lignin composite-modified asphalt was evaluated through testing and analysis …

Verifying An Improved Intermittent Water Distribution Network Analysis Method Based On Epa-Swmm, Dondu Sarisen, Raziyeh Farmani, David W. Watkins, Brian Barkdoll, Brian Rivers, Chao Zhang, Fayyaz Ali Memon

Michigan Tech Publications

Modelling Intermittent Water Supply (IWS) presents challenges, as traditional hydraulic methods based on EPANET are often inadequate due to their inability to simulate the network filling process. While EPA-SWMM (EPA’s Storm Water Management Model)-based methods enhance IWS analysis, they remain network-specific and lack universal applicability. This study aims to calibrate and verify an improved EPA-SWMM-based model on a 6 m × 5 m laboratory-scale IWS. Experiments were conducted to capture flow rate data from demand nodes under various conditions. The EPA-SWMM model, based on uncontrolled outlets with flow rate varying by pressure, was calibrated using, an automated procedure that integrated …

Laboratory Evaluation And Field Demonstration Of Cold In-Place Recycling Asphalt Mixture In Michigan Low-Volume Road, Dongzhao Jin, Lei Yin, Lance Malburg, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications

Cold-in place recycling (CIR) is a promising technology for the rehabilitation of asphalt pavements. However, the CIR asphalt pavement constructed in the field often has high air voids due to the presence of moisture during construction, and the moisture susceptibility of the pavement is crucial in determining its service life. Therefore, the objective of this research was to assess the laboratory performance of CIR asphalt mixes under freeze-thaw conditions (The mix prior to being subjected to freezing and thawing is labeled as "dry condition", while the mix that was placed in a refrigerator at –18 °C for 16 h and …

Automated Flood Prediction Along Railway Tracks Using Remotely Sensed Data And Traditional Flood Models, Abdul Rashid Zakaria, Thomas Oommen, Pasi Lautala

Michigan Tech Publications

Ground hazards are a significant problem in the global economy, costing millions of dollars in damage each year. Railroad tracks are vulnerable to ground hazards like flooding since they traverse multiple terrains with complex environmental factors and diverse human developments. Traditionally, flood-hazard assessments are generated using models like the Hydrological Engineering Center–River Analysis System (HEC-RAS). However, these maps are typically created for design flood events (10, 50, 100, 500 years) and are not available for any specific storm event, as they are not designed for individual flood predictions. Remotely sensed methods, on the other hand, offer precise flood extents only …

How Could Future Climate Conditions Reshape A Devastating Lake-Effect Snow Storm?, Miraj Kayastha, Chenfu Huang, Jiali Wang, Yun Qian, Zhao Yang, T. C. Chakraborty, William J. Pringle, Robert D. Hetland, Pengfei Xue

Michigan Tech Publications

Lake-effect snow (LES) storms, characterized by heavy convective precipitation downwind of large lakes, pose significant coastal hazards with severe socioeconomic consequences in vulnerable areas. In this study, we investigate how devastating LES storms could evolve in the future by employing a storyline approach, using the LES storm that occurred over Buffalo, New York, in November 2022 as an example. Using a Pseudo-Global Warming method with a fully three-dimensional two-way coupled lake-land-atmosphere modeling system at a cloud-resolving 4 km resolution, we show a 14% increase in storm precipitation under the end-century warming. This increase in precipitation is accompanied by a transition …

Detection Of Wintertime Green Vegetated Cover Using Object-Based Classification With Open-Source Remote Sensing And Geospatial Technologies, Jae Sung Kim, Sara P. Syswerda, Sigrid D. P. Smith

Michigan Tech Publications

It is important to detect wintertime green vegetated cover (WGVC), since it includes cover crop information, which is one of the most important agricultural best management practices used today. Related to this, cover crop area, which is part of WGVC, has been estimated using survey methods traditionally, but remote sensing can be used as a more time- and cost-effective assessment. Previously developed pixel-based methods to assess cover crops using remote sensing can have a salt-and-pepper effect, which lowers classification accuracy. Therefore, object-based classification was applied to estimate the spatial distribution of WGVC across the entire state of Delaware. To reduce …

Development And Optimization Of Object Detection Technology In Pavement Engineering: A Literature Review, Hui Yao, Yaning Fan, Yanhao Liu, Dandan Cao, Ning Chen, Tiancheng Luo, Jingyu Yang, Xueyi Hu, Jie Ji, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications

Due to the rapid advancement of the transportation industry and the continual increase in pavement infrastructure, it is difficult to keep up with the huge road maintenance task by relying only on the traditional manual detection method. Intelligent pavement detection technology with deep learning techniques is available for the research and industry areas by the gradual development of computer vision technology. Due to the different characteristics of pavement distress and the uncertainty of the external environment, this kind of object detection technology for distress classification and location still faces great challenges. This paper discusses the development of object detection technology …

Pet And Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains In Michigan: Present And Future Systems Analysis Of Environmental And Socio-Economic Impacts, Utkarsh S. Chaudhari, Kamand Sedaghatnia, Barbara K. Reck, Kate Maguire, Anne T. Johnson, David Watkins, Robert M. Handler, Tasmin Hossain, Damon S. Hartley, Vicki S. Thompson, Alejandra Peralta, Jenny L. Apriesnig, David Shonnard

Michigan Tech Publications

Many actions are underway at global, national, and local levels to increase plastics circularity. However, studies evaluating the environmental and socio-economic impacts of such a transition are lacking at regional levels in the United States. In this work, the existing polyethylene terephthalate and polyolefin plastics supply chains in Michigan were compared to a potential future (‘NextCycle’) scenario that looks at increasing Michigan’s overall recycling rate to 45%. Material flow analysis data was combined with environmental and socio-economic metrics to evaluate the sustainability of these supply chains for the modeled scenarios. Overall, the NextCycle scenario for these supply chains achieved a …

To What Extent Do Water Reuse Treatments Reduce Antibiotic Resistance Indicators? A Comparison Of Two Full-Scale Systems, Ishi Keenum, Jeanette Calarco, Haniyyah Majeed, E. Eldridge Hager-Soto, Charles Bott, Emily Garner, Valerie J. Harwood, Amy Pruden

Michigan Tech Publications

Water reuse is an essential strategy for reducing water demand from conventional sources, alleviating water stress, and promoting sustainability, but understanding the effectiveness of associated treatment processes as barriers to the spread of antibiotic resistance is an important consideration to protecting human health. We comprehensively evaluated the reduction of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in two field-operational water reuse systems with distinct treatment trains, one producing water for indirect potable reuse (ozone/biologically-active carbon/granular activated carbon) and the other for non-potable reuse (denitrification-filtration/chlorination) using metagenomic sequencing and culture. Relative abundances of total ARGs/clinically-relevant ARGs and cultured ARB were …

Dataset For Article - The Analysis Of Lava Flow Path Using Remote Sensing And Geo-Morphological Techniques: The Case Of Volcano Eruptions In Afar Region Of Ethiopia, Oluwatosin Ayo, Jae Sung Kim

Michigan Tech Research Data

The lava from volcanic eruptions rapidly moves on the Earth surface and affects both natural and man-made features. The objective of this study is to develop a workflow for determining the optimal ground sample distance of a digital elevation model to delineate the lava flow paths using object-based image analysis and geomorphologic analysis. For the experiment, the satellite images and digital elevation model of Afar region of Ethiopia was used. The satellite images of the affected areas were segmented using large-scale mean shift image segmentation to find the lava objects. The main centerline of the lava object from the 2008 …

Soil Stabilization With Gypsum: A Review, Yasaman Abdolvand, Mohammadhossein Sadeghiamirshahidi

Michigan Tech Publications

The demand for sustainable ground improvement methods is rising as urban development expands into areas with challenging soil conditions. Traditional approaches, mostly reliant on cement and lime, contribute significantly to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Researchers, therefore, are constantly searching for new environmentally friendly stabilization methods to improve the engineering properties of soils. One alternative material used for this purpose is gypsum in its hydrated and dehydrated (hemihydrate/anhydrate) states. Not only can natural gypsum be used for ground improvement but also industrial waste and by-products (e.g. used or waste plasterboard, phosphogypsum, flue gas desulfurization gypsum, titanium dioxide production gypsum by-product) can …

Sanitation In Urban Areas May Limit The Spread Of Antimicrobial Resistance Via Flies, Drew Capone, Oliver Cumming, Abeoseh Flemister, Victor Ilevbare, Seth R. Irish, Ishi Keenum, Jackie Knee, Rassul Nala, Joe Brown

Michigan Tech Publications

Synanthropic filth flies are common where sanitation is poor and fecal wastes are accessible to them. These flies have been proposed as mechanical vectors for the localized transport of fecal microbes including antimicrobial resistant (AMR) organisms and associated antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs), increasing exposure risks. We evaluated whether an onsite sanitation intervention in Maputo, Mozambique reduced the concentration of enteric bacteria and the frequency of detection of ARGs carried by flies collected in household compounds of low-income neighborhoods. Additionally, we assessed the phenotypic resistance profile of Enterobacteriaceae isolates recovered from flies during the pre-intervention phase. After fly enumeration at study …

Research And Optimization Of Yolo-Based Method For Automatic Pavement Defect Detection, Hui Yao, Yaning Fan, Xinyue Wei, Yanhao Liu, Dandan Cao, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications

According to the latest statistics at the end of 2022, the total length of highways in China has reached 5.3548 million kilometers, with a maintenance mileage of 5.3503 million kilometers, accounting for 99.9% of the total maintenance coverage. Relying on inefficient manual pavement detection methods is difficult to meet the needs of large-scale detection. To tackle this issue, experiments were conducted to explore deep learning-based intelligent identification models, leveraging pavement distress data as the fundamental basis. The dataset encompasses pavement micro-cracks, which hold particular significance for the purpose of pavement preventive maintenance. The two-stage model Faster R-CNN achieved a mean …

Research And Comparison Of Pavement Performance Prediction Based On Neural Networks And Fusion Transformer Architecture, Hui Yao, Ke Han, Yanhao Liu, Dawei Wang, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications

The decision-making process for pavement maintenance from a scientific perspective is based on accurate predictions of pavement performance. To improve the rationality of pavement performance indicators, comprehensive consideration of various influencing factors is necessary. To this end, four typical pavement performance indicators (i.e., Rutting Depth, International Roughness Index, Longitudinal Cracking, and Alligator Cracking) were predicted using the Long Term Pavement Performance (LTPP) database. Two types of data, i.e., local input variables and global input variables, were selected, and S-ANN and L-ANN models were constructed using a fully connected neural network. A comparative analysis of the predictive outcomes reveals the superior …

Suitability Of The Height Above Nearest Drainage (Hand) Model For Flood Inundation Mapping In Data-Scarce Regions: A Comparative Analysis With Hydrodynamic Models, Navin Tony Thalakkottukara, Jobin Thomas, Melanie Watkins, Benjamin C. Holland, Thomas Oommen, Himanshu Grover

Michigan Tech Publications

Unprecedented floods from extreme rainfall events worldwide emphasize the need for flood inundation mapping for floodplain management and risk reduction. Access to flood inundation maps and risk evaluation tools remains challenging in most parts of the world, particularly in rural regions, leading to decreased flood resilience. The use of hydraulic and hydrodynamic models in rural areas has been hindered by excessive data and computational requirements. In this study, we mapped the flood inundation in Huron Creek watershed, Michigan, USA for an extreme rainfall event (1000-year return period) that occurred in 2018 (Father’s Day Flood) using the Height Above Nearest Drainage …

Climate-Influenced Phenology Of Larval Fish Transport In A Large Lake, Spencer T. Gardner, Mark D. Rowe, Pengfei Xue, Xing Zhou, Peter J. Alsip, David B. Bunnell, Paris D. Collingsworth, Edward S. Rutherford, Tomas O. Höök

Michigan Tech Publications

Elucidating physical transport phenologies in large lakes can aid understanding of larval recruitment dynamics. Here, we integrate a series of climate, hydrodynamic, biogeochemical, and Lagrangian particle dispersion models to: (1) simulate hatch and transport of fish larvae throughout an illustrative large lake, (2) evaluate patterns of historic and potential future climate-induced larval transport, and (3) consider consequences for overlap with suitable temperatures and prey. Simulations demonstrate that relative offshore transport increases seasonally, with shifts toward offshore transport occurring earlier during relatively warm historic and future simulations. Intra- and inter-annual trends in transport were robust to assumed pelagic larval duration and …