Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Urban And Environmental Planning In Nepal, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

This collection of essays deals with issues related to housing, and urban and environmental planning in Nepal. Specific focus is on the planning and environmental problems related to the towns of the Kathmandu Valley.

Nepal is facing several challenges in the areas of urban and environmental management and planning . Rapidly increasing population is exerting pressure in all aspects of urban infrastructure, services and housing. Traditional community support and planning systems are breaking apart due to several factors, such as changing societal values, urban consumption patterns and commercialization of traditionally household activities. On the other hand, Nepali society is not …

Numerical Study Of Granular Soil Behavior Using Random Arrays Of Elastic Ellipsoids, Xiaoshan Lin

Civil Engineering ETDs

For the purpose of improving computer simulation of granular materials in the framework of the Discrete Element Method (DEM), 2-D and 3-D discrete element models using random arrays of elastic ellipsoids have been developed.

Development Of High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography Techniques For The Analysis Of Wastewater Effluent, Glenn Douglas Pierce

Civil Engineering ETDs

This investigation characterized a biological secondary wastewater effluent by conventional wastewater analysis parameters, evaluated the capabilities of activated carbon and macroreticular resin for recover­ing residual organics from the effluent, correlated conventional para­meters with carbon recoveries, developed high-pressure liquid chroma­tographic techniques for separation of organics in the recovered mixtures and identified a selected extract fraction. The Organics-Carbon Adsorbable Standard Method was adapted for use with a low turbidity effluent and a mass balance based on non-volatile total organic carbon was developed, demonstrating that the sorptive capacity of the system was not exceeded by a 60-1 sample. Ten individual carbon chloroform extracts …

The Effect Of Earth Media On Seismic Motion And Structure Response, Joseph John Fedock

Civil Engineering ETDs

An analysis is performed to determine the influence of the choice of a constitutive model for the earth medium upon the response of a rigid structure to seismic waves. A finite element method is employed to analyze the motions of an embedded structure in which the surrounding earth medium is represented by three different constitutive models. Linear elastic, linear viscoelastic, and elastic-plastic models of soil behavior are utilized in one- and two-dimensional analyses. The seismic disturbance is characterized by a pressure wave for the one-dimensional case while a system of horizontally propagating Rayleigh waves is used in the two-dimensional analysis. …

Buckling Of Stiffened Plates And Shells, William De La Garza

Civil Engineering ETDs

The emphasis in this dissertation is the determination of buckling loads on many types of structures. The available solutions are usually written in a complex form that requires large amounts of time in order to find the buckling loads. For stiffened structures the use of finite difference calculus will provide a vehicle for obtaining solutions that are not as complex. In addition, the use of a reasonable approximation for the stiffener behavior allows the solution to be written in closed from. Direct substitution of the elastic and geometric properties of the stiffeners gives the buckling loads. The application of finite …

Transient Response Of Visoplastic And Viscoelastic Shells Submersed In Fluid Media, Thomas A. Duffey Jr.

Civil Engineering ETDs

The transient fluid-shell interaction problem is investigated for thin shells constructed of other than linearly elastic materials. Specifically, solutions are developed in terms of elementary functions for the transient responses of impulsively loaded, fluid-surrounded spherical shells constructed of either viscoplastic or viscoelastic materials. In all cases the fluid medium surrounding the shell is taken as inviscid and compressible and only spherically symmetric shell motions and radiation of sound into the surrounding medium are considered. For the viscoplastic (strain rate sensitive) shells considered, two separate elastic-plastic solutions are presented. The first is based upon a shell material exhibiting linear strain hardening …

A Summary Of The Engineering Properties Of Subsurface Soils In The Albuquerque Area., Edmond Pierce Ryan

Civil Engineering ETDs

This investigation brings together in one volume information concerning subsurface conditions below, and foundation design data for, various structures in the Rio Grande Inner Valley and on the East Mesa. This information was collected from the engineering and architectural firms responsible for the design of the structures. Results of the analysis of the subsurface information are presented in the form of penetration graphs and plasticity charts. In addition, soil profiles and penetration profiles are pre­sented for the Inner Valley structures.

A summary of foundation design data for each struc­ture includes type of foundation, depth of the base of the foundation …

Vibratory Densification Of Granular Materials, Gurbux Rai Mehdiratta

Civil Engineering ETDs

The densification behavior of 13 different types of materials was investigated by subjecting each material to vertical simple harmonic motion using an electromagnetic vibrator. A total of more than 1000 maximum density tests were performed. The soil parameters investigated were angularity, uniformity coefficient, percentage of fines and specific gravity. The vibration parameters investigated were frequency, acceleration, displacement and time of vibration. To study the effect of angularity, four different types of materials ranging from angular to rounded were tested. The effect of uniformity coeffi­cient, percentage of fines and specific gravity was investigated by varying the uniformity coefficient from 2 to …

The Dynamic Response Of Continuous Beams And Plates, Robert L. Dineen

Civil Engineering ETDs

The objective of this investigation is to determine the complete response of undamped structural systems to time-dependent loads. Two systems, continuous beams and plates with equally spaced interior supports, are examined. Both have distributed mass and experience small linearly elastic deflections. The problems are formulated using the discrete mechanics method in which the response of a typical element of the system is first determined. A difference equation for the moments at the support locations is then derived by satisfying the force and compatibility conditions between adjacent elements. Finally, a closed form solution of this equation is obtained in terms of …

Dynamic Response Of Predictions Of Reinforced Concrete Beams, Lawrence D. Reaveley

Civil Engineering ETDs

Prediction of the dynamic response of reinforced concrete beams by various analytical model techniques was considered. Four models were studied: (1) an elastic or elasto-plastic SDF model, (2) an SDF model based on experimental force-displacement data, (3) an SDF model based on a theoretical moment-flexural rigidity relationship, and (4) an MDF model based on a theoretical moment-flexural rigidity relationship.

Beam response, as predicted with the various models, was compared to experimental response data obtained from simply supported, singly reinforced, concrete beams. Static and dynamic response was considered. Dynamic model modifications for the stiffness, yield strength and damping were studied. Nominal …

Free Vibration Of Plates Stiffened By Parallel Ribs., Charles Edward Bacchus

Civil Engineering ETDs

A method is presented to obtain the natural frequencies and related mode shapes of certain types of stiffened plate systems. Dynamic stiffness matrices, based on ordinary assumptions in beam and plate theory, are derived to relate the displacements at the edges of a system element to the edge forces. Both in-plane and transverse forces and displacements are considered. Compatibility and equilibrium conditions at the intersections of plate panels and stiffening elements are employed to derive the governing equations of the system.

For general systems, the result is a set of linear homogeneous algebraic equations which must be solved by trial-and-error. …

Static And Dynamic Shear Behavior Of Uniformly Loaded Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams., Robert A. Crist Jr.

Civil Engineering ETDs

The objective of this research Kas to develop behavioral equations for reinforced concrete deep beams especially in the realm of shear capacity. A series of static and dynamic beam tests was performed to aid in the develop­ment of this objective.

Static testing was completed on nine uniformly loaded reinforced concrete deep beams. Span-to-depth ratios varied from 1.6 to 3.3. Intermediate-grade ASTM A 15 reinforcing steel was used. Nominal concrete strength was 3,750 psi. All beams contained longitudinal tensile reinforcing and no compressive reinforcing. Five beams contained an orthogonal array of web reinforcing coincident with the longitudinal axes of the beams …

The Use Of Graphical Techniques In Construction Management, Varne M. Kimmick

Civil Engineering ETDs

The relation and practical uses of graphics in construction management is a study area in which little work, with the exception of the critical path method, has been done. As the subject was begun, it was discovered there was little specific written material on the graphs themselves; therefore, a considerable portion of the thesis was devoted to basic graphics in order to make the discussion relative to construction more meaningful. Chapters I through VII cover the subject of basic graphics. The basic graphics portion was considered essential to the study in order to allow practical use of the work by …

Structural Stability In Earthquake Engineering., Aybars GüRpinar

Civil Engineering ETDs

To pate, only special cases of dynamic stability have been solved. In this dissertation, an attempt is made to obtain practical solutions to the stability problem in earthquake engineering.

A column supporting a concentrated mass at the top is treated as a single-degree-of-freedom system. The system is assumed to be linearly e·1astic with viscous damping. It is subjected to both horizontal and vertical random acceleration at the base, which are taken to be a band limited white noise simulating earthquake motions. The objective of this investigation is to find the probability of instability of the system.

Two methods of solution …

A Comprehensive Investigation Of The Behavior Of Saturated Sands Subjected To Cyclic Triaxial Loadings., James Francis Kanipe

Civil Engineering ETDs

Considerable interest in earthquake engineering has developed during the past decade. Due to the potential hazards involved in foundation failures of nuclear power plants, and because there is an increase in the demand for earth dams throughout the world together with a decrease in desirable sites, it has become imperative that reliable techniques be developed to predict the response of soils to earthquake induced forces. As an integral part of such an endeavor, this research program was directed toward the identification of the various factors which significantly influence the development of pore pressure in saturated sands subjected to cyclic stress …

Prediction Of Hugoniots For Soil Using The Theory Of Mixtures., Robert O. Davis

Civil Engineering ETDs

An analytic derivation for the constitutive relation governing the response of soil to high intensity shock loading is presented. The derivation is based on the contemporary theory of mixtures. Soil is envisioned as a three component mixture (solids, water, and air) and jump equations for each of the components are derived. Mass, momentum, and energy transfer between the various components is allowed and it is assumed that the solid and water components obey a Mie-Gruneisen equation of state. A mixture Hugoniot is developed and compared with published experimental results.

The Dynamic Pressure Distribution And Rigid Body Response Of A Small Buried Dome Subjected To An Airblast-Induced Loading., Richard Cramond

Civil Engineering ETDs

A 9 inch in diameter rigid hemispherical dome was buried in the bottomless soil bins of a vertical shock tube. The interior diameter of the soil bins was 22-3/4 inches, with the interior wall being covered with a friction reducing membrane. An airblast was generated so as to strike the soil perpendicular to the soil surface. The peak reflected pressure of this airblast averaged 315 psi throughout the fourteen tests with the dome. Instrumentation measured the air pressures at the soil surface, the free-field soil stress above and below the dome, the radial on-structure stress on the dome, the rigid …

Runoff And Sediment Studies For San Pedro Creek, Sandoval, Bernalillo, And Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico, Elvidio Olavo Vidalito Bernado Diniz

Civil Engineering ETDs

The San Pedro Creek basin has a drainage area of 195 square miles stretching from the eastern slopes of the Sandia Mountains to the Rio Grande in the northwest. The lower elevations in the basin have a typical semiarid climate, but the higher elevations are more humid. The basin is disected by dendritic patterned drainage systems; approximately twenty-two of these systems compose the basin. The area is a woodland with juniper, pinon, and grasses prevalent. The geology of the area is very complex numerous faults occur within the basin, and three major faults border it. The soils in the basin, …

This Study Consisted Of A Laboratory Investigation Of The Penetration Behavior Of A Footing Supported In A Vibrating Dry Sand, And Located Below The Surface. A Laboratory Model Was Designed To Simulate These Conditions And Testing Was Conducted To Obtain Data Relating The Magnitude Of Acceleration Of Vibration To The Rate Of Penetration And The Magnitude Of Resistance To Penetration Of A Plunger. Accelerations Ranged Between Zero And 1.5 Times The Acceleration Due To Gravity., Baburao Kasmalkar

Civil Engineering ETDs

This study consisted of a laboratory investigation of the penetration behavior of a footing supported in a vibrating dry sand, and located below the surface. A laboratory model was designed to simulate these conditions and testing was conducted to obtain data relating the magnitude of acceleration of vibration to the rate of penetration and the magnitude of resistance to penetration of a plunger. Accelerations ranged between zero and 1.5 times the acceleration due to gravity.

Large Deflection Analysis Of Laterally Restrained Reinforced Concrete Slabs, Satwant Singh Rihal

Civil Engineering ETDs

This dissertation is an attempt to analytically predict the large deflection behavior of orthogonally reinforced concrete slabs. The problem considered is that of a laterally restrained, simply supported square slab under uniform loading. The range of loading considered is from zero load to the load at which yielding first commences in the steel reinforcement.

This problem is first formulated using the classical large deflection theory of homogeneous plates. This formulation is based on a constant overall stiffness for the entire slab.

A modified large deflection theory is next developed for reinforced concrete slabs. In this theory concrete on the tension …

Military Environics - Water And Waste, James Anthony Mahoney

Civil Engineering ETDs

This thesis summarizes the activities of the United States Military Services effort, in the areas of water supply, waste water treatment, and solid waste disposal for personnel of the Armed Forces and their dependents. This thesis surveys the state-of-the-art of the present sanitary facilities in the United States and abroad as associated with the military environment. Chapter I compares the responsibilities of the military installation engineer to that of a municipal public works director. Discussed are the service laboratories and their locations. Chapter II includes supply, treatment, design, distribution and storage of water. It is concluded with a reference section …

A Study Of The Aerobic Treatment Characteristics Of The Raffinates From A Reverse Osmosis Waste Water Reclamation Plant., Joseph Charles Jennett

Civil Engineering ETDs

Water Supply

In the United States today the problem of pollution of our surface water is an ever increasing one. Conventional processes of treating waste water are approaching their effective limit in removing pollutants. Both the population and the per capita consumption of water are increasing. More and more often the idea of complete water reclamation is coming under consideration.

Shock Shields, Asbjorn Kvammen Jr.

Civil Engineering ETDs

A series of tests was conducted to obtain information concerning the effectiveness of a shock shield of reinforced concrete between ground surf ace and a buried structure as a means of reducing the shock transmitted to the structure due to airblast loading. Two shock shields were used. The diameter of both shields was 20 inches and the thicknesses were 6 inches and 2 feet. The structure was 20 inches in diameter with a thickness of 5 feet. Tests were performed in a 2- by 40-foot shock tube without shock shield and structure, with structure only, and with different thicknesses of …

Economic Feasibility Of Increasing Southwestern Water Supplies Through The Reduction Of Evaporation And Evapotranspiration, William C. Hughes

Civil Engineering ETDs

Each year a large portion of the southwestern water supply is lost through evaporation and plant transpiration. The growing water shortage in the Southwest makes vegetation manipulation and evaporation suppression to reduce these losses increasingly attractive. These losses can be successfully reduced, but it has been difficult to estimate how much additional water large scale vegetation management and evaporation control could produce. Three hydrologic models were developed for the Pecos River Basin in New Mexico to estimate the additional water which could be obtained by vegetation treatment in the forested headwater areas, the removal of salt cedar in the lower …

An Experimental Study Of Soil-Structure Interaction, Stephen Connally Mitchell

Civil Engineering ETDs

Experimental data obtained from a series of static arching tests run on vertically oriented rigid-base cylindrical structures buried in a partially saturated low plasticity soil are presented. The experimental results are compared to an available analytical approach. The axial stiffness of the structure, the confined tangent modulus (stiffness) of the soil, and the applied surface overpressure were varied. The most important measurement in this experimental study was the total load carried by the structure for different values of structural stiffness and soil stiffness. The index properties, as well as the shear strength and angle of internal friction for the soil …

A Soil Stress Gage Evaluation., Caryl Martin Reiff

Civil Engineering ETDs

The static evaluation of a recently developed soil-stress gage, primarily designed for laboratory use in dry cohesionless soils, is presented. Two variations of the same basic soil stress gage design are discussed. Tests were performed to evaluate the gage linearity, temperature sensitivity, and electrical response to applied soil pressure. The gage responded linearly to pressure and the calibration curves remained stable within ± 5 percent over a period of two years. With a 10 ma bridge current, the gage had an output sensitivity of 0.040 mv per psi. Temperature changes produced signals which could not be distinguished from pressure signals. …

Low-Cycle Fatigue Damage In Structures Subjected To Earthquake Excitation., Iyadurai Kasiraj

Civil Engineering ETDs

The object of this investigation is to ascertain the possibility of having low-cycle fatigue failure of structures resulting from earthquake loads. In addition, a comparison is made between criteria of failure for maximum displacement and low-cycle fatigue.

The relationship between applied load, deflection and maximum strain in a shear type simple frame with rectangular columns have been analyzed for reversals of loadings. Two interrelated hysteresis loops, namely load-maximum strain curve and deflection-maximum strain curve, are proposed to give the upper-bound safety of the structure having columns with an average wide-flange (WF) section. These hysteresis loops are utilized for finding the …

Trends Of Suspended Sediments In The Upper Rio Grande Basin In New Mexico., Vernon W. Norman

Civil Engineering ETDs

Man has been troubled by the sediment in streams for many thousands of years. Any information toward understanding the nature of this sediment should benefit man in his endeavor to cope with it. Available information was used to determine if trends in the annual quantities of suspended sediment exist in the Upper Rio Grande Bas in in New Mexico. The study revealed that trends do exist and quantitative values were determined for the different trend periods. An effort was made to determine the most probable cause or causes for the changes that occurred in the trends. Eighteen years of suspended …

Behavior Of Reinforced Concrete Deep Slabs Subjected To A Uniform Load., Golden E. Lane Jr.

Civil Engineering ETDs

Within the last ten years a considerable amount of research has been conducted to determine the behavior of reinforced concrete deep

structures. The major portion of this recent research has been devoted to deep beams. The results have shown a marked difference in the behavior of deep beams as compared to beams of “normal” proportions. In

this context the word "deep" implies a small span-to-depth ratio. There is not a clear-cut distinction between a "normal-depth" and a deep struc­ture; however, span-to-depth ratios less than ten would suggest deep structures. The difference in behavior between deep beams and normal depth beams …

The Overall Force-Deformation Relations Of Latticed Frames, Syamal C. Dasgupta

Civil Engineering ETDs

Most elastic bodies in the field of civil engineering are composed of discrete elements which are interconnected in some way. A distinct characteristic of such systems is the presence of jump discontinuity in the physical properties of the systems. Trusses, ribbed shells, multi­story frames, continuous and folded plates, built-in columns, etc. are a few examples of this kind. From the conventional methods of analysis of these systems, it can be realized that considerable effort is being expended to approximate the actual system by .means of a relatively simpler system. Most of the established methods of analysis of such systems involve …