Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Earthquake-Induced Deformation Analysis Of A Bridge Approach Embankment In Missouri, W. Liu, Ronaldo Luna, Richard Wesley Stephenson, S. Wang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Earthquake-Induced Deformations for a Bridge Approach Earth Embankment Are Predicted using a Calibrated Numerical Model. the Constitutive Soil Model is a Modified Hyperbolic Model that Uses Masing Rules and Incremental Pore Pressure Relations. the Model Was Calibrated using Both Laboratory and Field Data. a Shaking Table Physical Model Was Used to Verify the Numerical Simulation. Additionally, the Upper San Fernando Dam Was Modeled to Reproduce the Deformations in the 1971 Earthquake. the Subsurface and Embankment Soil Conditions Were Characterized using Field and Laboratory Methods. the Model Developed Was Used to Predict the Earthquake-Induced Deformations of an Approach Embankment to Bridge …

Influence Of Geotechnical Dataset On The Range Of Influence Of Undrained Shear Strength, Site Onyejekwe, Louis Ge

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The knowledge of the spatial variability of geotechnical parameters, which can be described statistically by the mean, the variance, and the scale of fluctuation, is important in reliability-Based design. of particular importance is the scale of fluctuation. It can be used to compute the variance reduction factor, a factor of spatial averaging of geotechnical properties to reduce their point variance. the most prevalent method of determining the scale of fluctuation uses datasets whose data points are at close and regular intervals, e.g. measurements from cone penetrometer soundings. Another method, when continuous measurements are not available, uses datasets that are widely …

Special Issue On The 6th International Phytotechnologies Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, 2009: Conference Review, Joel G. (Gerard) Burken, Jason C. White

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Arsenic Accumulation In Rice Grains: Effects Of Cultivars And Water Management Practices, Bin Hua, Wengui Yan, Jianmin Wang, Baolin Deng, John Yang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Arsenic (As) accumulation in rice grains is a threat to human health and marketability of rice products. in an effort to minimize as uptake by rice grains, field experiments were conducted to investigate as accumulation in rice grains of three cultivars in monosodium methane arsonate-treated soil under saturated and flooded water management practices. Results indicated that as concentrations in rice grains were cultivar-dependent and influenced by water management. Soil flooding would substantially enhance the as accumulation with a great variation among cultivars. Extractable as in the soil was positively correlated with sodium dithionite-sodium citrate-sodium bicarbonate solution-extractable Fe, suggesting a strong …

Numerical Modeling Of Aquaculture Dissolved Waste Transport In A Coastal Embayment, Subhas K. Venayagamoorthy, Hyeyun Ku, Oliver B. Fringer, Alice Chiu, Rosamond L. Naylor, Jeffrey R. Koseff

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Marine aquaculture is expanding rapidly without reliable quantification of effluents. The present study focuses on understanding the transport of dissolved wastes from aquaculture pens in near-coastal environments using the hydrodynamics code SUNTANS (Stanford Unstructured Nonhydrostatic Terrain-following Adaptive Navier-Stokes Simulator), which employs unstructured grids to compute flows in the coastal ocean at very high resolution. Simulations of a pollutant concentration field (in time and space) as a function of the local environment (bathymetry), flow conditions (tides and wind-induced currents), and the location of the pens were performed to study their effects on the evolution of the waste plume. The presence of …

Phytoforensics, Dendrochemistry, And Phytoscreening: New Green Tools For Delineating Contaminants From Past And Present, Joel Gerard Burken, Don A. Vroblesky, Jean Christophe Balouet

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

As Plants Evolved to Be Extremely Proficient in Mass Transfer with their Surroundings and Survive as Earth's Dominant Biomass, They Also Accumulate and Store Some Contaminants from Surroundings, Acting as Passive Samplers. Novel Applications and Analytical Methods Have Been Utilized to Gain Information About a Wide Range of Contaminants in the Biosphere Soil, Water, and Air, with Information Available on Both Past (Dendrochemistry) and Present (Phytoscreening). Collectively These Sampling Approaches Provide Rapid, Cheap, Ecologically Friendly, and overall "Green" Tools Termed "Phytoforensics". © 2011 American Chemical Society.

Implementation And Testing Of Rans Turbulence Models For Stably Stratified Flows, Zachary A. Elliott, S. K. Venayagamoorthy

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The presence of buoyancy forces due to stratification has a substantial effect on the flow development and mixing processes and hence influences the distribution of pollutants and suspended matter in environmental flows such as in reservoirs, lakes, and estuaries. In this study, we focus on the implementation and testing of proposed changes that explicitly account for buoyancy effects in Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) turbulence models. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) data of stably stratified homogeneous turbulence are used to study the parameters in two-equation RANS turbulence models such as the buoyancy parameter Cε3, and the turbulent Prandtl number Prt in the k-ε …

Buckling Of Profiled Steel Diaphragms, Rao V. Nunna

CCFSS Library (1939 - present)

No abstract provided.

A Slurry Consolidation Approach To Reconstitute Low-Plasticity Silt Specimens For Laboratory Triaxial Testing, Shuying Wang, Ronaldo Luna, Richard Wesley Stephenson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Silt Specimen Reconstitution using a Slurry Consolidation Approach is Commonly Used for Laboratory Testing. This Paper Presents a New Slurry Consolidation Approach to Reconstitute Silt Specimens for Use in Triaxial Testing. Silt Specimens Were Reconstituted in a Split Vacuum Mold Mounted on a Special Experimental Setup. the Uniformity of the Reconstituted Specimens Was Verified by Measuring the Water Content and Grain Size Distribution throughout the Specimens. the Testing Program Was Expedited using a Special Sample Handling Technique to Move the Specimen from the Special Experimental Setup to the Triaxial Chamber Base Platen. the Handling Process Did Not Disturb the Specimens …

The Effect Of On-Line Videos On Learner Outcomes In A Mechanics Of Materials Course, Jeffery S. Thomas, Richard H. Hall, Timothy A. Philpot, Douglas R. Carroll

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The Mechanics of Materials course is one of the core engineering courses included in the curriculum of mechanical, civil, mining, petroleum, marine, aeronautical, and several other engineering disciplines. As a core course, the Mechanics of Materials course typically has large enrollment. Initiatives aimed at improving the effectiveness of the engineering core courses can have a major impact on engineering education by virtue of the large number of students affected.

Computers afford opportunities for creative instructional activities that are not possible in the traditional lecture-and-textbook class format. The study described in this paper examines the effectiveness of asynchronous online video that …

Spatial Variation And Correlation Between Undrained Shear Strength And Plasticity Index, Xin Kang, Site Onyejekwe, Louis Ge, Richard Wesley Stephenson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A Soil Variability Analysis is Presented in This Paper. About 317 Unconsolidated Undrained Triaxial Compression Tests (UU) Were Carried Out on Undisturbed Samples from Four Locations in Missouri. the Spatial Variation of the Undrained Shear Strength and Plasticity Index Was Described by the Second-Moment Statistics (Mean and Variance). Meanwhile, the Correlation between the Undrained Shear Strength and Plasticity Index Was Established and Compared with Other Published Empirical Equations. the Results from the Soil Variability Analysis Provide a Framework to the Reliability-Based Design. © 2011 ASCE.

Effectiveness Of Objective Functions In Soil Model Calibration Through Numerical Optimization, Michelle Deng, Louis Ge

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

When a conventional method such as linear regression is insufficient to identify the constants and parameters of an advanced constitutive model, numerical optimization techniques are often being used. in employing numerical optimization to constitutive model calibration, an objective function essentially needs to be formulated in such way that the difference between the measured and computed data points is quantified. When a minimum value of the objection function is obtained, the corresponding variables are the optimized model constants and parameters. in this paper, a modified Cam-Clay model is calibrated against laboratory data. Three objective functions are proposed in different forms to …

Variability Analysis Of Undrained Shear Strength For Reliability-Based Design, Site Onyejekwe, Xin Kang, Louis Ge, Richard Wesley Stephenson

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Description of the Spatial Variation of Compositional and Mechanical Soil Parameters is Often Paramount in Site Characterization of Geotechnical Design and Analysis. the Values of the Parameters Themselves Largely Depend on In-Situ State Factors Which Are Related to Spatial Locations. Also, for Large-Scale Engineering Projects Such as Earth Dams or Highways, It is Generally Expected that Heterogeneous Site Characteristics Will Be Revealed by Investigations at Spatially Distant Locations. Currently, Most Reliability-Based Design Methods Are based on the Second-Moment Statistics (Mean and Variance). However, They Are Unable to Adequately Describe the Spatial Variation of Soil Properties. in This Paper, Spatial Correlation …

Surface Reaction Rate And Probability Of Ozone And Alpha-Terpineol On Glass, Polyvinyl Chloride, And Latex Paint Surfaces, Shi Shu, Glenn Morrison

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ozone can react homogeneously with unsaturated organic compounds in buildings to generate undesirable products. However, these reactions can also occur on indoor surfaces, especially for low-volatility organics. Conversion rates of ozone with α-terpineol, a representative low-volatility compound, were quantified on surfaces that mimic indoor substrates. Rates were measured for α-terpineol adsorbed to beads of glass, polyvinylchloride (PVC), and dry latex paint, in a plug flow reactor. a newly defined second-order surface reaction rate coefficient, k2, was derived from the flow reactor model. the value of k2 ranged from 0.68 - 10-14 cm 4s-1molecule-1 for α-terpineol adsorbed to PVC to 3.17 …

Systematic Evaluation Of A Variable Speed Limit System In St. Louis Missouri, Khushboo Lall, Ghulam H. Bham

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the systematic evaluation of Variable Speed Limit (VSL) system implemented on I-270 in St. Louis County. the system varies the speed limit in real time during periods of recurring and non-recurring congestion to prevent traffic from breaking down. the system was evaluated objectively and subjectively, and this paper describes the objective evaluation of the system. the objective evaluation was performed by comparing the traffic flow parameters during static speed limit (pre-VSL) with variable speed limit (post-VSL) by using five measures of performance: 1) speed, 2) volume, 3) occupancy, 4) travel time, and 5) congestion measures. Identification of …

An Exploratory Study Of Speed Limit Compliance In Missouri Work Zones, Mojtaba A. Mohammadi, Ghulam Bham, Hadi Khazraee

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study evaluated the speed compliance with the posted speed limit both quantitatively and qualitatively using objective and subjective data analysis. Free flow speed data for three work zones on I-44 in Missouri were used for the objective evaluation. Speeds analyzed for cars and trucks were distributed normally. Construction activity had a significant effect in reducing the speed of vehicles. Results indicate that the speeds of vehicles were statistically higher than the speed limit regardless of the construction activity, when the lane width was not reduced. the subjective evaluation investigated the drivers' perception of driving through the work zone by …

Travel Time Reliability Estimation: Use Of Median Travel Time As Measure Of Central Tendency, M. Arezoumandi, Ghulam H. Bham

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper proposes use of median travel time compared to mean travel time as the measure of central tendency to calculate Buffer Time Index (BTI), one of the most important measures of travel time reliability. This study examined gamma, exponential, largest extreme value, smallest extreme value, logistic, Weibull, lognormal and log-logistic distributions to determine the best fit to travel time data for two cases: 24 hours and peak hours for a highway with Variable Speed Limit (VSL) conditions. the goodness-of-fit tests indicated that the log-normal distribution best represented the travel time data for peak periods and log-logistic distribution better fitted …

Slip Ramp Spacing Design For Truck Only Lanes Using Microscopic Simulation, Ghulam H. Bham, Manoj Vallati

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

For the Corridors of the Future project, slip ramps will provide access to trucks between the proposed truck-only lanes (TOLs) and general-purpose lanes (GPLs) for trucks to exit using at-grade interchanges. This paper proposes recommendations for slip ramp spacing between the TOLs and the general GPLs along Missouri rural interstate highways using a microscopic simulation model, VISSIM. Simulation of peak period traffic conditions indicated that heavy vehicle speeds were directly proportional to the lengths of the merge, diverge, and link sections. the proposed design recommendations for slip ramp spacing are based on the results of these section lengths. Central composite …

Wave Passage And Ground Motion Incoherency Effects On Seismic Response Of An Extended Bridge, Aman M. Mwafy, Oh Sung Kwon, Amr Elnashai, Youssef M.A. Hashash

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates the implications of ground motion spatial variability on the seismic response of an extended highway bridge. an existing 59-span, 2,164-meter bridge with several bearing types and irregularity features was selected as a reference structure. the bridge is located in the New Madrid Seismic Zone and supported on thick layers of soil deposits. Site-specific bedrock input ground motions were selected based on a refined probabilistic seismic hazard analysis of the bridge site. Wave passage and ground motion incoherency effects were accounted for after propagating the bedrock records to the ground surface. the results obtained from inelastic response-history analyses …

Comparative Fecal Metagenomics Unveils Unique Functional Capacity Of The Swine Gut, Regina Lamendella, Jorge W. Santo Domingo, Shreya Ghosh, John Martinson, Daniel B. Oerther

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Background: Uncovering the taxonomic composition and functional capacity within the swine gut microbial consortia is of great importance to animal physiology and health as well as to food and water safety due to the presence of human pathogens in pig feces. Nonetheless, limited information on the functional diversity of the swine gut microbiome is available. Results: Analysis of 637, 722 pyrosequencing reads (130 megabases) generated from Yorkshire pig fecal DNA extracts was performed to help better understand the microbial diversity and largely unknown functional capacity of the swine gut microbiome. Swine fecal metagenomic sequences were annotated using both MG-RAST and …

Design Guide For Cold-Formed Steel Purlin Roof Framing Systems, American Iron And Steel Institute (Aisi)

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

"The Design Guide for Cold-Formed Steel Purlin Roof Framing Systems provides information for the designer of single span and continuous multiple span steel purlin-supported roof systems with an emphasis on the design anchorage systems. The Design Guide is based on the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) North American Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members, 2007 Edition. Where the Specification is silent on design issues, the procedures are based on published references and on the opinions of the authors.

The Design Guide was co-sponsored by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) and the Metal Building …

Postearthquake Recovery Of A Water Distribution System: Discrete Event Simulation Using Colored Petri Nets, Ronaldo Luna, Nandini Balakrishnan, Cihan H. Dagli

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Planning and preparedness is essential for any resilient infrastructure system. Modeling and simulation give engineers and planners a better understanding of the system and help them make better decisions. the objective of this study is to demonstrate an improved model for the disaster restoration process by using a discrete event simulation approach. the study also aims to help improve the post-earthquake restoration process by simulating restoration curves. in this paper, colored Petri nets are used to model the system and to simulate its behavior. the resource allocation after a rare event such as an earthquake differs from the resource allocation …

Corrosion-Resistant Glasses For Steel Enamels, Richard K. Brow, Signo Tadeu Dos Reis, Michael L. Koenigstein, Genda Chen

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A cementitious composite material wherein glass-coated steel rods are positioned in a cementitious matrix. The glass composition for coating the steel reinforcing rods includes between about 33-45 weight percent SiO₂, 13.5-19.5 weight percent B₂O₃, 3.5-4.6 weight percent Al₂O₃, 4.0-13.5 weight percent K₂O, 5.5-15.5 weight percent ZrO₂, 8.6-15.9 weight percent Na₂O, 4.6-5.1 weight percent CaO, 0.6-0.7 weight percent MnO₂, 1.0-1.0 weight percent NiO, and 1.0-1.1 weight percent CoO. The glass composition is typically in compression on the rods at ambient temperatures, has a …

Calibration Of Load And Resistance Factors In Lrfd Foundation Design Specifications, Zuocai Wang, Genda Chen, Oh-Sung Kwon, Sarah Orton

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This report summarizes the findings and recommendations on the impact of foundation settlements on the reliability of bridge superstructures. As a collaborative effort of an overall initiative for the development of LRFD foundation design specifications, this study is focused on the investigatio of pros and cons for including foundation settlements in bridge designs under gravity loads. Settlement was modeled both probabilistically and deterministically. In the case of a random settlement variable, a lognormal distribution was used in reliability analysis with a fixed coefficient of variation of 0.25. Dead and live loads were modeled as random variables with normal and Gumbel …

Physical Impact Of Waterjet-Based Sediment Remediation On Benthic Organisms, Grace Harper, Andrew Curtis Elmore, Christopher Redell, Gavin Risley, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Adding Activated Carbon to Sediments Has Been Shown to Be an Effective Means of Reducing the Bioavailability of Certain Contaminants. the Current State of the Practice is to Mechanically Mix Activated Carbon to a Target Concentration of 3 Percent at Depths of Approximately 30 Cm using a Rotovator or Similar Construction Equipment. Waterjets Have Been Used to Cut Hard Material using a Mixture of Water and an Abrasive. If Activated Carbon is Substituted for the Abrasive, Waterjets Have the Potential to Use Surface Injection as a Replacement for Mechanical Mixing during Sediment Remediation. a Perceived Benefit of Waterjet-Based Sediment Remediation …

Development Of A Waterjet System For Direct Delivery Of Granular Iron And Activated Carbon To Remediate Contaminated Aqueous Sediments, Gavin H.R. Risley, Andrew Curtis Elmore, Joel Gerard Burken, Grzegorz (Greg) Galecki

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

While the Techniques and Technologies Associated with Contaminated Sediment Remediation Are Relatively Mature, There Are Several Issues Associated with These Practices that Make Them Unattractive. the Inability of Currently Used Mechanical Mixing Implements to Place Amendments in Aqueous Environments and their Intrusive Behavior toward Benthic Communities Are Just Two Examples of a Necessity for an Improved Delivery Method. Waterjets May Be a Viable Option for Placement of Particulate Remediation Amendments, Such as Activated Carbon and Granular Iron, at Depth. a Custom Waterjet Nozzle and Injection System Has Been Fabricated by the Authors to Examine This Delivery Concept. the Developed Injection …

Special Section On Advanced Modeling And Numerical Simulations In Geomechanics, Louis Ge, Dar Hao Chen, Rafiqul Alam Tarefder

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Radar-Rainfall Estimation Algorithms Of Hydro-Nexrad, Bong Chul Seo, Witold F. Krajewski, Anton Kruger, Piotr Domaszczynski, James A. Smith, Matthias Steiner

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Hydro-NEXRAD is a prototype software system that provides hydrology and water resource communities with ready access to the vast data archives of the U.S. weather radar network known as NEXRAD (Next Generation Weather Radar). This paper describes radar-rainfall estimation algorithms and their modular components used in the Hydro-NEXRAD system to generate rainfall products to be delivered to users. A variety of customized modules implemented in Hydro-NEXRAD perform radar-reflectivity data processing, produce radar-rainfall maps with user-requested space and time resolution, and combine multiple radar data for basins covered by multiple radars. System users can select rainfall estimation algorithms that range from …

A Web-Based Learning Module For Teaching Gis Within The Context Of Environmental Engineering, Sirjana Dahal, Richard H. Hall, Glenn Morrison, Seth Paul Lamble, Ronaldo Luna

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

There is a Growing Need for Teaching Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Engineering Disciplines, Such as Environmental. However, There Has Been Limited Focus on GIS in Undergraduate Programs, Since It's Difficult to Fit a GIS Class into the Large Number of Class Requirements Already Included in Engineering Curricula. the Purpose of This Research is the Evaluation of Web-Based Learning Module Created by a Multidisciplinary Team at a Midwestern Technological Research University, Which Allows Instructors to Integrate GIS Instruction into Existing Courses. This Module is One Part of a Large-Scale National Science Foundation Funded Project in Which GIS Modules Are Being …

Localization Of Free-Spanning Damage Using Mode Shape Curvature, Guirong Yan, Xuelin Peng, Hong Hao

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This Study Proposes a Damage Indicator based on Mode Shape Curvature to Localize Free-Spanning Damage of Submarine Pipeline Systems. the Feasibility of Curvatures of Low-Frequency Mode Shapes for Localizing Free-Spanning Damage of Pipeline Systems is Discussed, and Damage Indicators based on Mode Shape Curvatures Are Proposed. the Efficacy of the Proposed Damage Indicators is Demonstrated by Numerical Simulations of Dynamic Responses of a Submarine Pipeline under Ambient Conditions with Considering the Real Subsea Environment. the Proposed Approach is Simple, Which Does Not Require Baseline Data, and Thus is Promising in Practical Applications. © 2011 Published under Licence by IOP Publishing …