Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Modeling Hose Dynamics For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Blake Hament, Paul Y. Oh, Autonomous Systems Lab (Dasl)

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Bridges and other large pieces of infrastructure accumulate massive amounts of dirt, dust, and other particulates that can obscure the structure when scanning to discern structural integrity. Traditionally, these particulates have been removed by humans operating handheld compressed-air hoses, often while mounting ladders -- a risky and inefficient task. To improve infrastructure scanning, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) equipped with hoses could be used to clean the structure in place of the current method.

The challenge in equipping a UAV with a hose is compensating for the reaction forces and torques produced by fluids expelled by the hose. In order to …

Parallel Manipulator-Gripper For Mobile Manipulating Uavs, Dongbin Kim, Paul Y. Oh, Autonomous Systems Lab (Dasl)

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are originally developed for military, but have been developed over time to time for valuable roles in surveillance, work-assistant, and intelligence for both civilian and military operations.

The ability of UAVs that manipulate or carry objects can expand the type of tasks achieved by unmanned aerial systems. High degree of freedom robots with dexterous arm can lead to various applications. Most of manipulators are serial, each motor on each joint affects on stabilizing UAVs. Our lab , DASL , has presented parallel mechanism manipulator for UAVs. It results in less impact on center of gravity(CoG) of …

Integrated Fiber Optic Sensors For Strain, Temperature And Corrosion-Induced Mass Loss Measurement, Chuanrui Guo, Liang Fan, Genda Chen

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

In this study, a fiber optic sensing system based on long period fiber gratings (LPFG) in LP06 and LP07 modes is designed, fabricated and tested for simultaneous measurements of strain, temperature and corrosion-induced mass loss. It consists of three steel tubes and several Fe-C coated LPFG sensors for long- and short-term corrosion monitoring, respectively, when deployed in proximity and parallel to a steel member. Graphene/silver nanowire (Gr/AgNW) composite was coated on the LPFG surface for efficient Fe-C electroplating due to its high optical transparency and conductivity. The sensor was subjected to both tensile strain and temperature, and submerged in 3.5 …

Bridge Resilience Assessment With Inspire Data, Yijian Albert Zhang, Reginald Desroches, Iris Tien

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

In this research, we proposed analytical models validated with numerical results to assess how inspection-collected data on corrosion can be used to update bridge models and predict performance under future events. A detailed investigation of the vulnerability of bridges due to corrosion at both component and global levels. The results show the impact of corrosion-induced degradation on the seismic fragility of reinforced concrete columns under various failure modes, e.g., flexural, shear, and lap-spliced failures. As increasing amounts of data are collected on the states of bridges, the results show how these data can be used to update bridge assessments and …

Microwave Imaging For Corroded Rebars And Delamination In Concrete Structures, Matthew Dvorsky, Stephon Barker, Mohammad Tayeb Ahmad Ghasr, R. Zoughi

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Corrosion of embedded steel reinforcement bars (rebars) in concrete leads to concrete cracking and delamination, which in turn leads to increased salt and moisture permeation and further damage. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of microwave imaging for the characterization of this corrosionand delaminationof steel rebar embedded in concrete.

Hyperspectral Image Analysis For Mechanical And Chemical Properties Of Concrete And Steel Surfaces, Liang Fan, Paul Manley, Huaishuai Shang, Abdullah Alhaj, Hongyan Ma, Genda Chen

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

According to the 2017 ASCE Report Card, 39% and 15% of 614,387 bridges in the U.S. are more than 50 years and 40 to 49 years, respectively. The number of deficient bridges is increasing. One of the most common causes of reinforced concrete deterioration is corrosion of steel reinforcing bars. Currently, most bridges are visually inspected every two years using boom/snooper trucks to get access to various areas to be inspected. The subjective visual inspection often leads to inconsistent results that are less useful in bridge management. Hyperspectral camera, installed on an unmanned aerial vehicle, can potentially supplement visual inspection …

Uav-Enabled Measurement On Magnetic Field Of Smart Rocks For Bridge Scour Monitoring, Haibin Zhang, Zhaochao Li, Genda Chen

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Scour and other hydraulic induced failures accounted for 58% of over 1,500 bridge collapses in the U.S. Bridge scour is the engineering term for the erosion of soil surrounding a bridge foundation as a result of water current. Monitoring with fixed and/or portable instrumentations is one of the most effective measures in mitigating scour hazards. However, fixed instrumentation with sensors installed prior to flood events cannot detect scour other than the area instrumented. It is susceptible to the harsh environment during a flood event. Portable instrumentation is difficult to deploy during a severe flood event due to safety consideration and/or …

Battery-Free Antenna Sensors For Strain And Crack Monitoring Of Bridge Structures, Yang Wang

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Fatigue cracks need to be monitored in fatigue critical elements. Previous research by the PI produced a radiofrequency identification (RFID) sensor prototype that can accurately measure tens of micro-strains in laboratory. The antenna sensor was made on a glass microfiber-reinforced polymer substrate. Although accurate for strain measurement and detection of fatigue cracks, the sensor performs less satisfactorily in field conditions since the substrate material (RT/duroid® 5880) is susceptible to thermal effect. In addition, a wireless interrogation distance by a general-purpose commercial RFID reader is limited to the order of meter, which is not desirable with the operation of a UAV. …

Uav-Enabled Measurement For Spatial Magnetic Field Of Smart Rocks In Bridge Scour Monitoring, Genda Chen

INSPIRE-UTC Annual Meetings

Foundation scour is the main cause of bridge collapses in the U.S. In 2011, the principal investigator (PI) proposed smart rocks with embedded magnets for bridge scour monitoring. Once deployed around a bridge pier, smart rocks as field agents offer mission-critical information about the maximum depth of a scour hole developed around the bridge foundation – the key parameter that is used to assess foundation stability in engineering design and retrofit. Smart rocks have recently been deployed and tested at three bridge sites in California and Missouri. With multiple measurements, they can be located with an accuracy of 0.5 m. …

High-Resolution Qpf Uncertainty And Its Implications For Flood Prediction: A Case Study For The Eastern Iowa Flood Of 2016, Bong Chul Seo, Felipe Quintero, Witold F. Krajewski

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study addresses the uncertainty of High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPFs), which were recently appended to the operational hydrologic forecasting framework. In this study, we examine the uncertainty features of HRRR QPFs for an Iowa flooding event that occurred in September 2016. Our evaluation of HRRR QPFs is based on the conventional approach of QPF verification and the analysis of mean areal precipitation (MAP) with respect to forecast lead time. The QPF verification results show that the precipitation forecast skill of HRRR significantly drops during short lead times and then gradually decreases for further lead times. The …

A Framework For Estimating Immediate Interdependent Functionality Reduction Of A Steel Hospital Following A Seismic Event, Emad M. Hassan, Hussam Mahmoud

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Functionality of an infrastructure is its ability to provide its intended services. Maintaining an acceptable level of infrastructure functionality, particularly for critical infrastructure, following an extreme event is vital for effective community recovery. Estimating functionality depends on proper quantification of losses, which requires accurate assessment of infrastructure damage. The damage is presented in the form of fragility functions that are generally developed using nonlinear finite element analysis. To date, no study has been conducted to assess the effect of modeling approach on seismic fragilities of an infrastructure, the associated losses, and functionality reduction. In addition, existing frameworks for estimating functionality …

A New Approach To Measure Soil Shrinkage Curve, Lin Li, Xiong Zhang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The shrinkage curve is widely used to characterize soil deformation during drying. Over the years, several methods have been developed to measure soil shrinkage curves. However, these methods suffered from several limitations and were rarely used because of difficulties in accurate soil volume measurement during drying. In this study, a simple method is proposed to measure soil shrinkage curves. The soil volume is measured using a photogrammetric technique from which a three-dimensional (3D) model of the soil specimen during drying can be accurately reconstructed. The soil volume is calculated based on the reconstructed 3D model. Meanwhile, a digital balance is …

Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study On The Possible Factors Affecting Stability Of Ods Steel, M. Mustafa Azeem, Zhongyu Li, Qingyu Wang, Abid Hussian

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Oxide-dispersed-strengthened (ODS) steel has excellent mechanical, thermodynamic and radiation resistant properties, which makes it an important candidate material for high-Temperature reactors applications. Radiation stability of oxide is very important to study at the atomic level. In present case molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used to study stabilities of Y₂O₃ particles in ODS steel as a function of particle sizes. The size dependence is obvious for particle sizes larger than 2.8 nm. Furthermore, the stabilities depend on charges of Y and O atoms.

Seismic Performance And Retrofit Evaluation Of Hollow-Core Composite Bridge Columns, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Ahmed Gheni, Nicholas Colbert, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the seismic behavior of large-scale hollow-core fiber-reinforced polymerconcrete-steel (HC-FCS) bridge column. The HC-FCS column consists of a concrete wall sandwiched between an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner thin-walled steel tube. The width-to-diameter ratio for the steel tube was 147. The column had an outer diameter of 24 inches and a height-to-diameter ratio of 4.0. The steel tube was embedded into reinforced concrete footing with an embedded length of 1.25 times the steel tube diameter, while the FRP tube only confined the concrete wall thickness and curtail at the top of the footing level. The …

Identification Of Transportation Infrastructure At Risk Due To Sea Level Rise And Subsidence Of Land In Coastal Louisiana, Sanjay Tewari, Wesley Palmer

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The coast of Louisiana is under threat because of sea level rise and land subsidence. Sea water is encroaching deeper inland and as a result Louisiana is losing at an alarming rate. The combined effect of sea level rise and land subsidence is variable spatially. This paper focuses on this combined effect in identifying the transportation infrastructure that is at risk of getting affected by the sea-water inundation of the land.

This paper is an attempt of taking account of land elevation data monitored continuously at various locations along the coast of Louisiana and combining it with local sea level …

A Nonlinear Crack Model For Concrete Structure Based On An Extended Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method, Jian-Bo Li, Xin Gao, Xing-An Fu, Chenglin Wu, Gao Lin

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fracture mechanics is one of the most important approaches to structural safety analysis. Modeling the fracture process zone (FPZ) is critical to understand the nonlinear cracking behavior of heterogeneous quasi-brittle materials such as concrete. In this work, a nonlinear extended scaled boundary finite element method (X-SBFEM) was developed incorporating the cohesive fracture behavior of concrete. This newly developed model consists of an iterative procedure to accurately model the traction distribution within the FPZ accounting for the cohesive interactions between crack surfaces. Numerical validations were conducted on both of the concrete beam and dam structures with various loading conditions. The results …

Inelastic Response Evaluation Of Precast Composite Columns Under Seismic Loads, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents a non-linear finite element analysis of large-scale hollow-core fiber-reinforced polymer-concrete-thin walled steel (HC-FCS) precast columns under reversed cyclic loading. The HC-FCS columns provide an economical and efficient alternative to conventional concrete bridge columns. The precast HC-FCS column consists of a concrete shell sandwiched between an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner thin-walled steel tube. The steel tube diameter-to thickness (D_i/t_s) ratio was 254. The proposed FEA model was developed using LS_DYNA multipurpose software and was verified by experimental results performed in this study. The FE model was used to investigate some …

Climbing Robots For Steel Bridge Inspection And Evaluation, Hung La

INSPIRE Archived Webinars

Steel structures and steel bridges, constituting a major part in civil infrastructure, require adequate maintenance and health monitoring. In the U.S., more than 50,000 steel bridges are either deficient or functionally obsolete, which likely presents a growing threat to people's safety. The collapse of numerous bridges recorded over the past 16 years has shown significant impact on the safety of all travelers.

In this presentation, the design and implementation of two different climbing robots for steel structure inspection are reported. Based on the magnetic wheel design, the robot can climb on different steel surface structures (i.e., flat, cylinder, cube). The …

Performance Of Carbon Aerogel/Fiber Paper As Capacitive Deionization Electrodes Under Variable Operating Conditions, Md Ashique Ahmed, Sanjay Tewari

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The capacitive deionization has garnered renewed interested with recent modifications resulting in efficient (energy and cost) alternatives to desalinate brackish water (salt concentration less than 10 g/L). Recent research efforts, to improve the technology, have been focused mainly on electrode material development and modifications of operational parameters for optimized performance. This research is focused on performance evaluation of carbon aerogel/fiber paper as capacitive deionization electrodes under variable operating conditions. The main operational parameters that were varied are applied voltage, influent temperature and initial concentration. The highest adsorption capacity achieved in this on-going study is 4.61 mg/g at 33.5 oC with …

Ccfss Special Edition Technical Bulletin Summer 2018, Wei-Wen Yu Center For Cold-Formed Steel Structures

CCFSS Technical Bulletins (1993 - 2020)

No abstract provided.

Leveraging The Nam's 'Getting Nurses On Boards Coalition' To Promote Nae's 'Changing The Conversation' Campaign, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As described in reports by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), engineers and the profession of engineering lack visibility, relevance, and influence with the public. One approach to address this situation is the, "Changing the Conversation," campaign that uses market research techniques to improve the public image of the engineering profession. In related efforts, scientists have developed the, "March for Science," campaign to advocate for the role of science in evidence-based public policy at the local, state, and international levels. In contrast to marketing materials and advocacy campaigns, this article argues that the approach adopted by nurses and the profession …

Generating Interest Among Undergraduates Toward Research In Environmental Engineering By Incorporating Novel Desalination Technology-Based Hands-On Laboratory Assignments, Sanjay Tewari, Md Ashique Ahmed, Chandra Mouli Tummala

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Undergraduate students were exposed to hands-on novel desalination laboratory experiments in an attempt to generate interest towards research in the broad field of environmental engineering and specifically in the field of water desalination. The laboratory exercises were designed to introduce desalination techniques, enhance their learning experiences, generate interest among them, and prepare them as potential researchers in laboratory settings. The hands-on experience of capacitive deionization (CDI) based laboratory experiments provided foundational and working knowledge of the CDI concept and allowed students to learn basic methodology followed in environmental laboratories to arrive at technical conclusions.

Students were given opportunity to desalinate …

Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, And Math (Steam) Diplomacy: Preliminary Results From An Initial Pilot Course, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A new course, "Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) Diplomacy," has been developed at the Missouri University of Science and Technology to introduce engineering students to the field of foreign relations and the tripartite objectives of: 1) science in diplomacy; 2) science for diplomacy; and 3) diplomacy for science. The course employs an available scholarly monograph as a text and integrates materials created by the Center for Science Diplomacy of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) as well as publically available materials. The new course employs a previously reported format including blended delivery, a flipped classroom, …

Introduction To Public Health For Environmental Engineers: Results From A Three-Year Pilot, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The field of environmental engineering traces its origins to the integration of "civil engineering" infrastructure and the objectives of "public health", namely cost effective disease prevention at the community-scale. To address the urgent need to re-invigorate the "ancient" sub-specialization of "sanitary engineering" within the field of environmental engineering, a new course was created at the Missouri University of Science and Technology entitled, "Public Health for Environmental Engineers." The new course leverages available online materials disseminated by The Johns Hopkins University as well as materials disseminated by the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) to emphasize environmental health practice in diverse communities …

Resilient Civil Infrastructure Under Dynamic Loadings, Xing Ma, Nawawi Chouw, Mohamed Elgawady, Songye Zhu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A resilient infrastructural system is an important component of a modern city. The main principles are safety, sustainability, functionality, maintainability, and fast recoverability following natural and/or man-made hazards. This special issue addresses new research developments in resilient infrastructural systems under dynamic loadings, for example, wind, traffic, tsunamis, and earthquakes.

Flexural Rigidity Evaluation Of Seismic Performance Of Hollow-Core Composite Bridge Columns, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates experimentally the seismic behavior of two hollow-core fiber-reinforced polymer-concrete-steel HC-FCS columns under cyclic loading as a cantilever. The typical precast HC-FCS member consists of a concrete wall sandwiched between an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner steel tube. The FRP tube provides continuous confinement for the concrete wall along the height of the column. Five large-scale HC-FCS columns were investigated during this study to estimate the effective flexural (which is an important factor to define the buckling capacity and deflection of such columns) and the effective structural stiffness of the composite columns. These columns have …

Corrosion Resistance Of Pipeline Steel With Damaged Enamel Coating And Cathodic Protection, Liang Fan, Signo Tadeu Dos Reis, Genda Chen, Michael L. Koenigstein

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the first report on the corrosion resistance of pipeline steel with damaged enamel coating and cathodic protection in 3.5 wt % NaCl solution. In particular, dual cells are set up to separate the solution in contact with the damaged and intact enamel coating areas, to produce a local corrosion resistance measurement for the first time. Enamel-coated steel samples, with two levels of cathodic protection, are tested to investigate their impedance by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and their cathodic current demand by a potentiostatic test. Due to its glass transition temperature, the enamel-coated pipeline can be operated on …

Elucidating The Effect Of Water-To-Cement Ratio On The Hydration Mechanisms Of Cement, Aida Margarita Ley-Hernandez, Jonathan Lapeyre, Rachel Cook, Aditya Kumar, Dimitri Feys

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The hydration of cement is often modeled as a phase boundary nucleation and growth (pBNG) process. Classical pBNG models, based on the use of isotropic and constant growth rate of the main hydrate, that is, calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H), are unable to explain the lack of any significant effect of the water-to-cement (w/c) ratio on the hydration kinetics of cement. This paper presents a modified form of the pBNG model, in which the anisotropic growth of C-S-H is allowed to vary in relation to the nonlinear evolution of its supersaturation in solution. Results show that once the supercritical C-S-H nuclei form, their …

Program Progress Performance Report #2, Missouri University Of Science And Technology. Inspire - University Transportation Center

Semi-Annual Progress Reports

No abstract provided.

Test Standard For Determining The Rotational-Lateral Stiffness Of Beam-To-Panel Assemblies, 2017 Edition, American Iron And Steel Institute

American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) Specifications, Standards, Manuals and Research Reports (1946 - present)

No abstract provided.