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Articles 121 - 150 of 627

Full-Text Articles in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Numerical Analysis On The Geomechanical Mechanisms And Stability Of Sinkholes In Central Florida, Moataz Soliman Jan 2020

Numerical Analysis On The Geomechanical Mechanisms And Stability Of Sinkholes In Central Florida, Moataz Soliman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Sinkholes are a common geohazard in karst areas that can threaten human life and causes significant damage to infrastructure. Approximately 18% of the United States falls into karst area where overburden soils are underlain by soluble carbonate rocks. In Florida, sinkhole-related insurance claims between 2006 and the third quarter of 2010 amounted to $1.4 billion according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Effective methods and tools for the sinkhole detection and characterization are necessary. Numerical analysis can play an important role in determining the stability of sinkholes and understanding the failure mechanism under varied subsurface geological conditions. In this …


Understanding The Socio-Infrastructure Systems During Disaster From Social Media Data, Kamol Chandra Roy Jan 2020

Understanding The Socio-Infrastructure Systems During Disaster From Social Media Data, Kamol Chandra Roy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Our socio-infrastructure systems are becoming more and more vulnerable due to the increased severity and frequency of extreme events every year. Effective disaster management can minimize the damaging impacts of a disaster to a large extent. The ubiquitous use of social media platforms in GPS enabled smartphones offers a unique opportunity to observe, model, and predict human behavior during a disaster. This dissertation explores the opportunity of using social media data and different modeling techniques towards understanding and managing disaster more dynamically. In this dissertation, we focus on four objectives. First, we develop a method to infer individual evacuation behaviors …


Improving Traffic Safety And Efficiency By Adaptive Signal Control Systems Based On Deep Reinforcement Learning, Yaobang Gong Jan 2020

Improving Traffic Safety And Efficiency By Adaptive Signal Control Systems Based On Deep Reinforcement Learning, Yaobang Gong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

As one of the most important Active Traffic Management strategies, Adaptive Traffic Signal Control (ATSC) helps improve traffic operation of signalized arterials and urban roads by adjusting the signal timing to accommodate real-time traffic conditions. Recently, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, many researchers have employed deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithms to develop ATSCs. However, most of them are not practice-ready. The reasons are two-fold: first, they are not developed based on real-world traffic dynamics and most of them require the complete information of the entire traffic system. Second, their impact on traffic safety is always a concern by …


Compressibility Of Fine-Grained Soil In Central Florida, Andre Kruk Jan 2020

Compressibility Of Fine-Grained Soil In Central Florida, Andre Kruk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Fine-grained soils are responsible for most site settlements through a time dependent process known as consolidation. The magnitude of consolidation is quantified with three terms: the recompression and compression indices, referred to as the soil's compressibility indices, and preconsolidation pressure. The ideal methods to estimate these parameters are direct measurements from lab or in-situ field tests, other method include estimation from experience or from correlations to soil parameters. This study refines correlations between compressibility indices and index properties as previously researchers and soil mechanics suggest a strong correlation exists. This study also suggests a correlation to CPT parameters as this …


A Corridor Level Gis-Based Decision Support Model To Evaluate Truck Diversion Strategies, Samar Younes Jan 2020

A Corridor Level Gis-Based Decision Support Model To Evaluate Truck Diversion Strategies, Samar Younes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Increased urbanization, population growth, and economic development within the U.S. have led to an increased demand for freight travel to meet the needs of individuals and businesses. Consequently, freight transportation has grown significantly over time and has expanded beyond the capacity of infrastructure, which has caused new challenges in many regions. To maintain quality of life and enhance public safety, more effort must be dedicated to investigating and planning in the area of traffic management and to assessing the impact of trucks on highway systems. Traffic diversion is an effective strategy to reduce the impact of incident-induced congestion, but alternative …


Modeling Flow And Nitrate Transport In Karst Groundwater Basins, Yuan Gao Jan 2020

Modeling Flow And Nitrate Transport In Karst Groundwater Basins, Yuan Gao

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Understanding the groundwater flow in karst aquifers and the effect of best management practices (BMPs) on nitrate decrease in spring discharge is critical for effective management and protection of karst water resources. However, the control on the conduit network's impacts on spring discharge and nitrate concentration is not fully understood, and the cumulative effects of BMP on reducing nitrate in karst groundwater systems have not been evaluated at the basin scale. In this dissertation, a coupled Conduit Flow Process (CFPv2) and Conduit Mass Three-Dimensional (CMT3D) model was applied to evaluate the biosorption-activated media (BAM)-based BMP on nitrate removal in Silver …


Removal Of Heavy Metals From Landfill Leachate Using Electrospun Polyelectrolyte Complex Fiber-Laminated Ultrafiltration Membrane, Amirsalar Rabbani Esfahani Jan 2020

Removal Of Heavy Metals From Landfill Leachate Using Electrospun Polyelectrolyte Complex Fiber-Laminated Ultrafiltration Membrane, Amirsalar Rabbani Esfahani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Ultrafiltration (UF) is a low-pressure membrane process that yields higher permeate flux and saves significant operating costs compared to NF/RO. However, UF has not been applied as a primary method for landfill leachate treatment due to its large pore size. This research investigated the removal of heavy metals from landfill leachate using an UF membrane laminated with fiber mats produced from electrospinning of a polyelectrolyte complex. In this research, we modified the surface of the UF membrane with two polyelectrolytes including Polyacrylic Acid (PAA) and Polyallylamine Hydrochloride (PAH). The removal of heavy metals including Pb, Cd, and Cu from water …


Development Of Daily, Monthly, Inter-Annual, And Mean Annual Hydrological Models Based On A Unified Runoff Generation Framework, Marwan Kheimi May 2019

Development Of Daily, Monthly, Inter-Annual, And Mean Annual Hydrological Models Based On A Unified Runoff Generation Framework, Marwan Kheimi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of this dissertation develops a unified model structure for runoff generation based on observations from a large number of catchments. Furthermore, obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the physical controlling factors that control daily, monthly, and annual water balance models. Meanwhile, applying the developed Unified model on different climate conditions, and comparing it with different well-known models. The proposed model was compared with a similar timescale model (HyMOD, and abcd) and applied on 92 catchments from MOPEX dataset across the United States. The HyMOD and abcd are a well-known daily and monthly hydrological model used on a variety …


Analysis Of Hydrodynamic And Bathymetric Gradients In Canaveral National Seashore Following Living Shoreline And Oyster Restorations, David Spiering May 2019

Analysis Of Hydrodynamic And Bathymetric Gradients In Canaveral National Seashore Following Living Shoreline And Oyster Restorations, David Spiering

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal vulnerability has been gaining recognition as a critical issue, especially with the increasing predictions of sea level rise. Susceptibility to extreme events, eutrophication, and shoreline modification has left many coastal regions in a degraded state. Shoreline protection has traditionally taken the form of seawalls and offshore breakwaters which can be detrimental to both the local ecosystems and adjoining shorelines. The objective of this thesis is to analyze the hydrodynamic and bathymetric variation that occurs within Mosquito Lagoon, Florida following living shoreline and oyster reef restorations. The shoreline sites were sampled using a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) design and data were analyzed …


Applications Of Deep Learning Models For Traffic Prediction Problems, Rezaur Rahman May 2019

Applications Of Deep Learning Models For Traffic Prediction Problems, Rezaur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Deep learning coupled with existing sensors based multiresolution traffic data and future connected technologies has immense potential to improve traffic operation and management. But to deal with complex transportation problems, we need efficient modeling frameworks for deep learning models. In this study, we propose two different modeling frameworks using Deep Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network (LSTM NN) model to predict future traffic state (speed and signal queue length). In our first problem, we present a modeling framework using deep LSTM NN model to predict traffic speeds in freeways during regular traffic condition as well as under extreme traffic demand, such …


Point Cloud Technology For Analysis Of Existing Structures, Jacob Cano May 2019

Point Cloud Technology For Analysis Of Existing Structures, Jacob Cano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For this thesis, a study was completed on two different structures on the UCF Orlando campus through the use of both structural plans and point cloud technology. The results sought to understand the viability of point cloud technology as an accurate tool for the static and dynamic modal analysis of existing structures. For static analysis, a portion of the framing of Spectrum Stadium was rendered, modeled, analyzed and compared to a previous case study. The results emphasized how different users can render dissimilar member sizes and lengths due to human judgment on point cloud visuals. The study also found that …


Forward Osmosis For Algae Dewatering And Electrical Field-Driven Membrane Fouling Mitigation, Faris Munshi May 2019

Forward Osmosis For Algae Dewatering And Electrical Field-Driven Membrane Fouling Mitigation, Faris Munshi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Efficient and low-energy microalgae harvesting is essential for sustainable biofuel production. Forward osmosis (FO) can provide a potential alternative for algae separation with low energy consumption by using osmotic pressure. In this study, an aquaporin-based polyethersulfone (PES) membrane was evaluated for algae dewatering using FO with three different types of draw solutions (DSs: NaCl, KCl and NH4Cl), and under different cross flow velocities (CFVs). 81% of algae dewatering was achieved with a 29% flux drop. Among three different DSs, although NH4Cl was the best candidate for improved water flux and low reverse salt flux (RSF), it could accelerate cell division, …


Streamflow Prediction In Ungauged Basins Located Within Data-Scarce Regions, Mohammadhossein Alipour May 2019

Streamflow Prediction In Ungauged Basins Located Within Data-Scarce Regions, Mohammadhossein Alipour

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Preservation and or restoration of riverine ecosystem requires quantification of alterations inflicted by water resources development projects. Long records of streamflow data are the first piece of information required in order to enable this analysis. Ungauged catchments located within data-scarce regions lack long records of streamflow data. In this dissertation, a multi-objective framework named Streamflow Prediction under Extreme Data-scarcity (SPED) is proposed for streamflow prediction in ungauged catchments located within large-scale regions of minimal hydrometeorologic observation. Multi-objective nature of SPED allows for balancing runoff efficiency with selection of parameter values that resemble catchment physical characteristics. Uncertain and low-resolution information are …


Characterization Of Florida Landfills With Elevated Temperatures, Ryan Joslyn May 2019

Characterization Of Florida Landfills With Elevated Temperatures, Ryan Joslyn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The occurrence of elevated temperatures within landfills is a very challenging issue for landfill operators to detect and correct. Little is known regarding the causes of elevated temperatures (ETs) and the number of landfills currently operating under such conditions. Therefore, the goal of this research was to determine which landfills within Florida have been impacted by ETs, and to develop a more complete understanding of the factors that may lead to these landfills becoming elevated temperature landfills (ETLFs). Historical landfill gas wellhead data, waste deposition reports, and landfill site geometry were collected for 27 landfill cells through the FDEP OCULUS …


Energy Consumption And Routing Model For First Responder Vehicles, Alex Rodriguez Mar 2019

Energy Consumption And Routing Model For First Responder Vehicles, Alex Rodriguez

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

The ongoing research and prototyping of electric vehicles (EVs) offers numerous opportunities to investigate their performance in various service contexts. As EVs are integrated into society, the reliable prediction of fuel consumption and routing time becomes particularly important in emergency response services. This project develops a preliminary stochastic model that can route and predict the energy consumption and travel time for hypothetical emergency vehicles operating on an electric battery cell. Using a Monte-Carlo framework, we constructed a routing model designed to minimize travel time and resource consumption under various simulated conditions. In doing so, we establish the foundation for balancing …


Improving Traffic Safety At School Zones By Engineering And Operational Countermeasures, Md Hasibur Rahman Jan 2019

Improving Traffic Safety At School Zones By Engineering And Operational Countermeasures, Md Hasibur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Safety issues at school zone areas have been one of the most important topics in the traffic safety field. Although many studies have evaluated the effectiveness of various traffic control devices (e.g., sign, flashing beacon, speed monitoring display), there is a lack of studies exploring different roadway countermeasures and the relationship between school-related factors and crashes. In this study, the most crash-prone school zone was identified in Orange and Seminole Counties, Florida, based on crash rate. Afterward, a microsimulation network was built in VISSIM environment to test different roadway countermeasures in the school zones. Three different countermeasures: two-step speed reduction …


Timescales Of Global Tidal Flooding, Maria Bower Jan 2019

Timescales Of Global Tidal Flooding, Maria Bower

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Millions of people in low-lying areas are already affected by flooding, and the number will increase substantially in the future. Tidal flooding, the form of flooding caused by a combination of high tides and sea level rise to overcome protection levels, can cause damage and inconveniences such as road closures, overwhelmed drainage systems, and infrastructure deterioration from water damage. Tidal flooding already occurs annually in cities along the U.S. east coast, most notably Miami. However, the time it will take for other regions globally to begin to experience tidal flooding has not yet been assessed. Therefore, there is a limited …


Biomass Density Based Adjustment Of Lidar-Derived Digital Elevation Models: A Machine Learning Approach, Khalid Abdelwahab Jan 2019

Biomass Density Based Adjustment Of Lidar-Derived Digital Elevation Models: A Machine Learning Approach, Khalid Abdelwahab

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Salt marshes are valued for providing protective and non-protective ecosystem services. Accurate digital elevation models (DEMs) in salt marshes are crucial for modeling storm surges and determining the initial DEM elevations for modelling marsh evolution. Due to high biomass density, lidar DEMs in coastal wetlands are seldom reliable. In an aim to reduce lidar-derived DEM error, several multilinear regression and random forest models were developed and tested to estimate biomass density in the salt marshes near Saint Marks Lighthouse in Crawfordville, Florida. Between summer of 2017 and spring of 2018, two field trips were conducted to acquire true elevation and …


Arterial-Level Real-Time Safety Evaluation In The Context Of Proactive Traffic Management, Jinghui Yuan Jan 2019

Arterial-Level Real-Time Safety Evaluation In The Context Of Proactive Traffic Management, Jinghui Yuan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the context of pro-active traffic management, real-time safety evaluation is one of the most important components. Previous studies on real-time safety analysis mainly focused on freeways, seldom on arterials. With the advancement of sensing technologies and smart city initiative, more and more real-time traffic data sources are available on arterials, which enables us to evaluate the real-time crash risk on arterials. However, there exist substantial differences between arterials and freeways in terms of traffic flow characteristics, data availability, and even crash mechanism. Therefore, this study aims to deeply evaluate the real-time crash risk on arterials from multiple aspects by …


Assessing Pedestrian Safety Conditions On Campus, Morgan Morris Jan 2019

Assessing Pedestrian Safety Conditions On Campus, Morgan Morris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pedestrian-related crashes are a significant safety issue in the United States and cause considerable amounts of deaths and economic cost. Pedestrian safety is an issue that must be uniquely evaluated in a college campus, where pedestrian volumes are dense. The objective of this research is to identify issues at specific locations around UCF and suggest solutions for improvement. To address this problem, a survey that identifies pedestrian safety issues and locations is distributed to UCF students and staff, and an evaluation of drivers reactions to pedestrian to vehicle (P2V) warning systems is studied through the use of a NADS MiniSim …


An Assessment Of Biosorption Activated Media For The Removal Of Pollutants In Up-Flow Stormwater Treatment Systems, Andrew Hood Jan 2019

An Assessment Of Biosorption Activated Media For The Removal Of Pollutants In Up-Flow Stormwater Treatment Systems, Andrew Hood

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nitrogen and phosphorus are often the limiting nutrients for marine and freshwater systems respectively. Additionally, stormwater often contains elevated levels of pathogens which can pollute the receiving water body and impact reuse applications [1-4]. The reduction of limiting nutrients and pathogens is a common primary target for stormwater best management practices (BMPs) [5]. Traditional BMPs, such as retention/detention treatment ponds require large footprints and may not be practical in ultra-urban environments where above ground space is limited. Upflow filters utilizing biosorption activated media (BAM) that can be placed underground offer a small footprint alternative. Additionally, BAM upflow filters can be …


Probabilistic Spatio-Magnitude Sinkhole Hazard Analysis For East Central Flrodia, Yong Je Kim Jan 2019

Probabilistic Spatio-Magnitude Sinkhole Hazard Analysis For East Central Flrodia, Yong Je Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In Karst areas, sinkholes are a major geohazard that creates damage and economic loss to building and civil infrastructure. The main goal of the proposed study is to develop a probabilistic spatio-magnitude sinkhole susceptibility model that predicts the potential of sinkhole occurrence on a regional scale. The dissertation presents statistical techniques such as frequency ratio (FR) and logistic regression (LR), and a machine learning technique such as artificial neural network (ANN) to develop the sinkhole hazard models. The study area was limited to the East Central Floria (ECF) region. Seven hydrogeological factors were identified as key contributing factors to sinkhole …


Assessing The Safety And Operational Benefits Of Connected And Automated Vehicles: Application On Different Roadways, Weather, And Traffic Conditions, Md Sharikur Rahman Jan 2019

Assessing The Safety And Operational Benefits Of Connected And Automated Vehicles: Application On Different Roadways, Weather, And Traffic Conditions, Md Sharikur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies have recently drawn an increasing attention from governments, vehicle manufacturers, and researchers. Connected vehicle (CV) technologies provide real-time information about the surrounding traffic condition (i.e., position, speed, acceleration) and the traffic management center's decisions. The CV technologies improve the safety by increasing driver situational awareness and reducing crashes through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I). Vehicle platooning with CV technologies is another key element of the future transportation systems which helps to simultaneously enhance traffic operations and safety. CV technologies can also further increase the efficiency and reliability of automated vehicles (AV) by collecting real-time …


Mechanical Study On Edge-Oxidized Graphene Oxide (Eogo) Reinforced Concrete, Mohammad Khawaji Jan 2019

Mechanical Study On Edge-Oxidized Graphene Oxide (Eogo) Reinforced Concrete, Mohammad Khawaji

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It is known that graphene oxide (GO) has superior mechanical properties and can enhance mechanical properties of cement composites. However, Hummer produced conventional GOs have been limited to small-scale specimens (e.g., cement paste and mortar) and applications to concrete have not been implemented due to their high cost and large volume of concrete. Edge-oxidized graphene oxide (EOGO) is a low-cost, carbon-based nanomaterial produced by a mechanochemical process with ball milling and a non-toxic oxidizing agent. The low cost (less than $50/kg) of EOGO enables its use in bulk-scale concrete materials/structures, which is a prerequisite for the field implementation. In this …


Enhanced Concrete Bridge Assessment Using Artificial Intelligence And Mixed Reality, Enes Karaaslan Jan 2019

Enhanced Concrete Bridge Assessment Using Artificial Intelligence And Mixed Reality, Enes Karaaslan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conventional methods for visual assessment of civil infrastructures have certain limitations, such as subjectivity of the collected data, long inspection time, and high cost of labor. Although some new technologies (i.e. robotic techniques) that are currently in practice can collect objective, quantified data, the inspector's own expertise is still critical in many instances since these technologies are not designed to work interactively with human inspector. This study aims to create a smart, human-centered method that offers significant contributions to infrastructure inspection, maintenance, management practice, and safety for the bridge owners. By developing a smart Mixed Reality (MR) framework, which can …


Investigation Of Coastal Vegetation Dynamics And Persistence In Response To Hydrologic And Climatic Events Using Remote Sensing, Subrina Tahsin Jan 2019

Investigation Of Coastal Vegetation Dynamics And Persistence In Response To Hydrologic And Climatic Events Using Remote Sensing, Subrina Tahsin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Coastal Wetlands (CW) provide numerous imperative functions and provide an economic base for human societies. Therefore, it is imperative to track and quantify both short and long-term changes in these systems. In this dissertation, CW dynamics related to hydro-meteorological signals were investigated using a series of LANDSAT-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data and hydro-meteorological time-series data in Apalachicola Bay, Florida, from 1984 to 2015. NDVI in forested wetlands exhibited more persistence compared to that for scrub and emergent wetlands. NDVI fluctuations generally lagged temperature by approximately three months, and water level by approximately two months. This analysis provided insight …


Disinfection By-Product Formation Potential Assessment For Central Florida Groundwater Supplies, Tulsi Shukla Jan 2019

Disinfection By-Product Formation Potential Assessment For Central Florida Groundwater Supplies, Tulsi Shukla

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Disinfection of potable water supplies is a primary requirement of the United States' Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA's) Safe Drinking Water Act. The use of chlorine as a disinfectant is widely accepted by water purveyors due to its effectiveness and low cost. However, chlorine reacts with natural organic matter present in water supplies to form suspected carcinogenic disinfection by-products (DBPs). In this work, the formation of the regulated chlorinated by-products total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) and haloacetic acids (HAA5) for eleven Central Florida wells has been investigated. Fluorescence, UV-254, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), specific UV absorbance (SUVA), chlorine decay, and TTHM and HAA5 …


Basic Turbo Roundabouts As An Alternative To Conventional Double-Lane Roundabouts: Operational Performance Evaluation, Zuhair Elhassy Jan 2019

Basic Turbo Roundabouts As An Alternative To Conventional Double-Lane Roundabouts: Operational Performance Evaluation, Zuhair Elhassy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conventional roundabouts have been prevalent worldwide since the emergence of modern roundabouts in 1966. An innovative design of multilane roundabouts known as turbo roundabouts, however, has been recently introduced as an alternative to conventional multilane roundabouts. Due to several reasons, there has been no general consensus on the operational performance of turbo roundabouts throughout the world. Nationwide, turbo roundabouts have yet to be part of roadway systems, but there is an ongoing project expected to be finished in early 2020. Therefore, this dissertation aims to evaluate the operational performance of a widespread variant of turbo roundabouts, namely basic turbo roundabouts, …


Warrants For Right-Turn Flashing Yellow Arrow Signal Phases, Mohammed Alfawzan Jan 2019

Warrants For Right-Turn Flashing Yellow Arrow Signal Phases, Mohammed Alfawzan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The right-turn flashing yellow arrow (FYA) signal phasing is a new signal practice in the United States. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices MUTCD (2009) allocates a signal phasing section for the right-turn FYA, which requires a four-section head FYA signal. It supports multiple phases' indications that guide the motorist through permissive, protected, and/or permissive/protected phases. For this dissertation, I investigated three permissive right-turn FYA signal phases in various traffic conditions and signal timing circumstances. The first permissive right-turn FYA signal phase is the tight-turn on impeding through (RTOIT) taking place during the cross-street through traffic movement. The second …


Safety, Operational, And Design Analyses Of Managed Toll And Connected Vehicles' Lanes, Moatz Saad Jan 2019

Safety, Operational, And Design Analyses Of Managed Toll And Connected Vehicles' Lanes, Moatz Saad

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Managed lanes (MLs) have been implemented as a vital strategy for traffic management and traffic safety improvement. The majority of previous studies involving MLs have explored a limited scope of the impact of the MLs segments as a whole, without considering the safety and operational effects of the access design. Also, there are limited studies that investigated the effect of connected vehicles (CVs) on managed lanes. Hence, this study has two main objectives: (1) the first objective is achieved by determining the optimal managed lanes access design, including accessibility level and weaving distance for an at-grade access design. (2) the …