Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Potential Of Rainwater Harvesting In Meeting The Domestic Outdoor Demand: A Study In Dry And Wet Regions Of The United States, Kazi Ali Tamaddun, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Feasibility of meeting the outdoor water demand with rainwater harvesting (RWH) was evaluated for the states of Arizona and Florida as representatives of dry and wet regions, respectively, using a system dynamic model. The potential of RWH was found to be highly sensitive to the demand of water, desert landscaping potential, and the percentage of households with RWH systems. The percentage of demand met through RWH and the storage potential of a 50-gallon rainwater barrel was found to be significant even for arid regions. The model can be used to compare among various influencing parameters of RWH systems.

Study Of Potential Integrated Management Of Water Resources In Las Vegas Valley, Haroon Stephen, Yoohwan Kim, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Water resource management under short term system perturbations such as storms and longer-term systemic changes caused by climate change such as droughts is a challenge when multiple agencies are involved. To address this challenge this research focuses on water management under changing climate conditions and population growth through understanding the agency water jurisdictions, management strategies, and modes of operation in Las Vegas Valley. A framework for integrated management through sharing data and models is presented that combines drinking water supply, flood control, and waste water treatment. This framework can be adopted to improve coordination among different water management agencies.

A Conceptualized Groundwater Flow Model Development For Integration With Surface Hydrology Model, Chao Chen, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

A groundwater system model was developed and calibrated in the study area of Lehman Creek watershed, eastern Nevada. The model development aims for integrating the surface hydrologic model - precipitation runoff modeling system (PRMS) model - with the three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference model MODFLOW. A two-layer groundwater model was developed with spatial discretization of 100 x 100 m grid. The water balance was estimated with inflows of gravity drainage and initial streamflow estimated from a calibrated PRMS model, and with outflows of spring discharges, boundary fluxes, and stream base flow. A steady-state model calibration was performed to estimate the hydraulic properties. …

Coupling Hec-Ras And Hec-Hms In Precipitation Runoff Modelling And Evaluating Flood Plain Inundation Map, Balbhadra Thakur, Ranjan Parajuli, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad, Ritu Gupta

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The climate change and land use change have raised the challenges associated with increased runoff and flood management. The risks associated with flooding have been increasing with development in flood plain and changing climate resulting in increase in inundation of flood plain. The current study will help to evaluate the extent of flood plain in the study area – copper slough watershed (CSW) in Champaign, Illinois; utilizing the known precipitation and land use. The study of CSW is taken into account, as this is the largest watershed of Champaign City and had undergone major land use change increasing the flooding …

2d Unsteady Routing And Flood Inundation Mapping For Lower Region Of Brazos River Watershed, Manahari Bhandari, Narayan Nyaupane, Shekhar Raj Mote, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Present study uses two dimensional flow routing capabilities of hydrologic engineering center's river analysis system (HEC-RAS) for flood inundation mapping in lower region of Brazo River watershed subjected to frequent flooding. For analysis, river reach length of 20 km located at Richmond, Texas, was considered. Detailed underlying terrain information available from digital elevation model of 1/9-arc second resolution was used to generate the two-dimensional (2D) flow area and flow geometrics. Streamflow data available from gauging station USGS08114000 was used for the full unsteady flow hydraulic modeling along the reach. Developed hydraulic model was then calibrated based on the manning's roughness …

Ice-Cover And Jamming Effects On Inline Structures And Upstream Water Levels, Addison Jobe, Swastik Bhandari, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

River ice cover is a reoccurring phenomenon in the Northern United States every year. Sheets and layers of ice result in a rise of water surface elevation and may lead to ice jams in a river. This research explains the modeling of a river reach through Northern Illinois containing a structural weir and how the water profile is effected during ice cover and ice jam events. The Hydraulic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System was used in conjunction with Esri ArcMap software to model a portion of the river for analysis. The study area of the Rock River flowing through Oregon, …

Multi-Scale Correlation Analyses Between California Streamflow And Enso/Pdo, Kazi Ali Tamaddun, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are two of the most important climate indices that influence the western U.S. hydrology significantly. This study evaluated how these two indices have influenced California streamflow over the years and determined their correlation at multiple time-scales. Data were obtained from 14 unimpaired streamflow stations of California for a study period of 63 years (i.e., 1951 to 2013). The concept of continuous wavelet transform was applied to observe the variance in each time-series at multiple time-scale bands over the years. The correlation was found to be higher in the latter half …

Precipitation And Indian Ocean Climate Variability-Acase Study On Pakistan, Kazi Ali Tamaddun, Ajay Kalra, Waqas Ahmed, Ghulam Hussain Dars, Steve Burian, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The study evaluated the relationship between two climate variability indicators – sea- surface temperature (SST) and 500-mbar geopotential height (HGT/Z500) – and the monsoonal precipitation pattern of Pakistan. Data from 30 precipitation gauges were obtained and were analyzed over a period of 35 years from 1980 to 2014. Singular-valued decomposition (SVD) technique was used to determine the association of previous year’s SST and HGT with the current year’s monsoonal precipitation. The results indicated that the association of SST and HGT with precipitation varied depending on the lead-times selected. Multiple regions of the North Indian Ocean were identified that showed significant …

Response Of Climate Change On Urban Watersheds: A Case Study For Las Vegas, Nv, Narayan Nyaupane, Ranjeet Thakali, Ajay Kalra, Lorenzo Mastino, Marco Velotta, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The current research is a partnering effort between Southern Illinois University Carbondale and City of Las Vegas to assess the vulnerability to drought, extreme heat, and extreme precipitation. This study focuses on precipitation and usesdifferent climate scenarios from the high-resolution North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) climate model data to evaluate the existing stormwater infrastructure of the Gowan watershed in the Las Vegas valley. Six NARCCAP modelsconsidered in the study have shown the Gamma distribution as the best fitted from Kolmogorov Smirnov best fit test. Delta change method is adopted to quantify the effect of climate change on …

Flood Risk Assessment Using The Updated Fema Floodplain Standard In The Ellicott City, Maryland, United States, Ranjeet Thakali, Ranjit Bhandari, Giles-Arnaud Arif-Deen Kandissounon, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Every Year, flooding causes a calamitous impact on the people, economy, and environment all over the world. In recent years, the flood-related damages have been increasing in the United States regardless of several investments in the flood control measures. Floodplain mapping is an important tool for management that aids in the planning of infrastructures within the floodplain zone. With the magnifying effects of climate change on the hydrological cycle the study of floodplain is becoming a key tool in the water management. Federal Emergency Management Agency has recently updated their floodplain standard as per the presidential executive order 2015 on …

Using Wavelet To Analyze Periodicities In Hydrologic Variables, Balbhadra Thakur, Pratik Pathak, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad, Miguel Bernardez

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The trend and shift in the seasonal temperature, precipitation and streamflow time series across the Midwest have been analyzed, for the period 1960-2013, using the statistical analyses (Mann- Kendall test with and without considering short term persistence (MK2 and MK1, respectively) and Pettitt test). The paper also utilizes a relatively new approach, wavelet analysis, for testing the existence of trend and shift in the time series. The method has the ability to decompose a time series in to lower (trend) and higher frequency components (noise). Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) has been employed in the present study with an aim to …

Streamflow Pattern Variations Resulting From Future Climate Change In Middle Tianshan Mountains Region In China, Feiyun Zhang, Lanhai Li, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

In arid and semi-arid regions of North West china, glacier-melt, seasonal snowmelt and rainfall are the primary sources of flow in the rivers that originate from alpine areas. Spring and summer peak flow resulting from snowmelt and rainfall, respectively, are the main characteristics of streamflow pattern. Because of the damages caused by the spring and summer peak flow, a better understanding of the streamflow pattern variation under future climate warming is crucial. To analyze the variation of streamflow pattern under climate warming, the Kaidu River and the Manasi River watersheds in northern and southern slopes of Middle Tianshan Mountains, located …

An Investigation Of Geography And Climate Induced Distresses Patterns On Airfield Pavements At Us Air Force Installations, L K. Sahagun, M Karakouzian, A Paz-Cruz, H De La Fuente Mella

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

This study investigated climate induced distresses patterns on airfield pavements at US Air Force installations. A literature review and surveys of Pavement Condition Index indicated that the predominant factor contributing to the development of pavement distress was climate. Results suggested that, within each type of pavement distress, a geographic pattern exists which is strongly correlated to conventional US climate zones. The US Air Force Roll-Up Database, housing over 50,000 records of pavement distress data, was distilled using a process designed to combine similar distresses while accounting for age and size of samples. The process reduced the data to a format …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Spring 2017, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

Impacts Of Ozone Dose And Empty Bed Contact Time On Bulk Organic Removal And Disinfection Byproduct Mitigation In Ozone-Biofiltration Systems, Mayara Aquino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In areas where water shortages have compromised water supplies, potable reuse is a promising solution. However, additional research is needed to identify and/or optimize cost-effective treatment technologies to demonstrate compliance with potable reuse regulations. Treatment trains employing reverse osmosis (RO) and advanced oxidation, a combination known as ‘full advanced treatment’ (FAT), are required by the California Division of Drinking Water (CDDW) for surface water augmentation and direct injection of recycled water into local aquifers. A maximum concentration of 0.5 mg/L of wastewater-derived total organic carbon (TOC) is also required by CDDW in all groundwater recharge applications. This appears to be …

Re-Evaluation Of Acceptance Testing Criteria For Structural Masonry Using The Prism Test Method, James Bristow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The current acceptance criteria for structural masonry in accordance with International Building Code allows for the prism test method to be used. However, without a proper understanding of the effects of variable material properties such as individual masonry unit compressive strength and the various material moduli of elasticity, as well as the effect of field conditions on the unit’s performance, masonry prisms may “fail” to reach the design compressive strength (f’m).

By identifying causes of failure and evaluating the failure magnitude, it is concluded that when the masonry prism test method is utilized for acceptance testing of as-built masonry structures, …

Generalized Clusterwise Regression For Simultaneous Estimation Of Optimal Pavement Clusters And Performance Models, Mukesh Khadka

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The existing state-of-the-art approach of Clusterwise Regression (CR) to estimate pavement performance models (PPMs) pre-specifies explanatory variables without testing their significance; as an input, this approach requires the number of clusters for a given data set. Time-consuming ‘trial and error’ methods are required to determine the optimal number of clusters. A common objective function is the minimization of the total sum of squared errors (SSE). Given that SSE decreases monotonically as a function of the number of clusters, the optimal number of clusters with minimum SSE always is the total number of data points. Hence, the minimization of SSE is …

Calibration Of Microscopic Traffic Flow Models Enabling Simultaneous Selection Of Specific Links And Parameters, Kul Prasad Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study proposes a methodology for the calibration of microscopic traffic flow simulation models by enabling simultaneous selection of traffic links and associated parameters. That is, any number and combination of links and model parameters can be selected for calibration. Most calibration approaches consider the entire network without enabling a specific selection of location and associated parameters. In practice, only a subset of links and parameters are used for calibration based on a number of factors such as expert local knowledge of the system. In this study, the calibration problem for the simultaneous selection of links and parameters was formulated …

Dynamic Risk Analysis Of Construction Delays Using Fuzzy-Failure Mode Effects Analysis, Mohammadsoroush Tafazzoli

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Considering the tremendous losses in the worldwide economy caused by construction delays, it is essential to invest in minimizing the risks of delays. In order to make this happen, two measures should be taken:

1) The roots and fundamental causes of delay should be identified and strategies to mitigate their risks be developed (General remedy).

2) The most significant potential causes of delay in each project should be identified and these causes should be given priority to control (Project-Specific Remedy).

The current research invests in both of the measures. To provide the general remedy, causes of delay in the construction …

High Early-Age Strength Concrete For Rapid Repair, Matthew O. Maler

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The aim of this research was to identify High Early-Age Strength (HES) concrete batch designs, and evaluate their suitability for use in the rapid repair of highways and bridge decks. To this end, two criteria needed to be met; a minimum compressive strength of 20.68 MPa (3000 psi) in no later than 12 hours, and a drying shrinkage of less than 0.06 % at 28 days after curing. The evaluations included both air-entrained, and non-air-entrained concretes.

The cement types chosen for this study included Type III and Type V Portland cement and “Rapid Set” − a Calcium Sulfoaluminate (CSA) cement. …

Faculty Perceptions Of Student Recruitment And Retention In Stem Fields, Eshani Gandhi-Lee, Heather Skaza, Erica Marti, Peter G. Schrader, Marykay Orgill

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

According to the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST, 2012), there is a need to produce one million more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) graduates in the U.S. over the next decade. Thus, more students must be recruited into and retained in STEM degrees of study. Because faculty are considered influential in students' choices to pursue and remain in STEM disciplines, we interviewed university STEM faculty in order to identify their perceptions of student recruitment and retention in STEM fields. Our data indicate that faculty are generally unaware of or not worried about the need to …

Linking Information With Knowledge For Enhanced Learning, Haroon Stephen

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Learning in classroom needs continuous engagement and triggering of curiosity. A non-stop delivery of information without context becomes “blah-blah-blah”. There is a need to create a link at every step of the way in learning.

The Las Vegas Wash: Student Real-World Site Involvement, Erica S. Tietjen

UNLV Best Teaching Practices Expo

Students from all disciplines (not just Environmental Science) can gain experience with and appreciation of their local natural resources

Factors Associated With Crash Severities In Built-Up Areas Along Rural Highways Of Nevada: A Case Study Of 11 Towns, P P. Shrestha, K J. Shrestha

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

In 2014, 32,675 deaths were recorded in vehicle crashes within the United States. Out of these, 51% of the fatalities occurred in rural highways compared to 49% in urban highways. No specific crash data are available for the built-up areas along rural highways. Due to high fatalities in rural highways, it is important to identify the factors that cause the vehicle crashes. The main objective of this study is to determine the factors associated with severities of crashes that occurred in built-up areas along the rural highways of Nevada. Those factors could aid in making informed decisions while setting up …

Effect Of Inlet Angle From Tributary Into Main Channel, Artuan Mcgee, Moses Karakouzian

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

Open channel flows play a significant role within major metropolitan areas in the removal of excess surface runoff. Main channels are responsible for the removal of all excess surface runoff which are fed by connecting tributaries. Both main channels and tributaries can occur naturally or be manmade but their orientation must be considered in the removal of excess surface run off. It is believed that the angle in which the tributaries connect to the main channel is an important factor in whether the run off is removed efficiently or a major contributor to flooding. Current practice requires tributaries in flood …

College Of Engineering Senior Design Competition Fall 2016, University Of Nevada, Las Vegas

Fred and Harriet Cox Senior Design Competition Projects

Part of every UNLV engineering student’s academic experience, the senior design project stimulates engineering innovation and entrepreneurship. Each student in their senior year chooses, plans, designs, and prototypes a product in this required element of the curriculum. A capstone to the student’s educational career, the senior design project encourages the student to use everything learned in the engineering program to create a practical, real world solution to an engineering challenge. The senior design competition helps focus the senior students in increasing the quality and potential for commercial application for their design projects. Judges from local industry evaluate the projects on …

A Business Intelligence Framework For Network-Level Traffic Safety Analyses, Naveen Kumar Veeramisti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Currently, there are both methodological and practical barriers that together preclude a substantial use of theoretically sound approaches, such as the ones recommended by the Highway Safety Manual (HSM), for traffic safety management. Although the state-of-the-art provides theoretically sound approaches such as the Empirical Bayes method, there are still various important capabilities missing. Methodological barriers include among others (i) lack of a theoretically sound approach for corridor-level network screening, (ii) lack of a comprehensive approach for estimation of Safety Performance Functions based on a simultaneous consideration of both crash patterns and associated explanatory variables, and (iii) lack of theoretically sound …

Sulfate Resistance Of Nanosilica Contained Portland Cement Mortars, Iani Batilov Batilov

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Soils, sea water and ground water high in sulfates are commonly encountered hostile environments that can attack the structure of concrete via chemical and physical mechanisms which can lead to costly repairs or replacement. Sulfate attack is a slow acting deteriorative phenomenon that can result in cracking, spalling, expansion, increased permeability, paste-to-aggregate bond loss, paste softening, strength loss, and ultimately, progressive failure of concrete. In the presented research study, Portland cement (PC) mortars containing 1.5% to 6.0% nanosilica (nS) cement replacement by weight were tested for sulfate resistance through full submersion in sodium sulfate to simulate external sulfate attack. Mortars …

Causes And Impacts Of Geotechnical Problems On Bridge And Road Construction Projects, Krishna Prasad Neupane

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Changes during the construction phase generate cost growth, schedule delays, and claims in any project. However, the impact of geotechnical problems on construction costs, schedules, and claims in bridge and road projects had not been investigated in depth. The major objectives of this study were to determine the geotechnical-related causes of cost and schedule growth and claims as well as their impacts on the bridge and pavement projects’ performance. This study also identifies mitigation measures to avoid cost and schedule growth and claims in these projects.

A survey was conducted with 53 engineers from state Department of Transportations (DOTs) and …

Occurrence And Proliferation Of Antibiotics And Antibiotic Resistance In Wastewater Treatment Plants, Majid Neyestani

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Solids retention time (SRT) is one of the most important factors in designing and operating activated sludge systems for biological wastewater treatment. Longer SRTs have been shown to alter the structure and function of microbial communities, thereby leading to improved treatment efficacy with respect to bulk and trace organics, nutrient removal, and membrane fouling. However, research has also shown that longer SRTs lead to increased prevalence of antibiotic resistant bacteria, perhaps due to increased exposure to antibiotics present in influent wastewater. The purpose of this study was to characterize changes in microbial community structure in a laboratory-scale activated sludge system …