Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

New Orleans And Hurricane Katrina. Iii: The 17th Street Drainage Canal, R. B. Seed, R. G. Bea, A. Athanasopoulos-Zekkos, G. P. Boutwell, J. D. Bray, C. Cheung, D. Cobos-Roa, L. F. Harder, Jr., Robb E.S. Moss, J. M. Pestana, M. F. Riemer, J. D. Rogers, R. Storesund, X. Vera-Grunauer, J. Wartman

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The failure of the levee and floodwall section on the east bank of the 17th Street drainage canal was one of the most catastrophic breaches that occurred during Hurricane Katrina. It produced a breach that rapidly scoured a flow pathway below sea level, so that after the storm surge had largely subsided, floodwaters still continued to stream in through this breach for the next two and a half days. This particular failure contributed massively to the overall flooding of the Metropolitan Orleans East Bank protected basin. Slightly more than half of the loss of life, and a similar fraction of …

Freeway Work-Zone Crash Analysis And Risk Identification Using Multiple And Conditional Logistic Regression, Rami Harb, Essam Radwan, Xuedong Yan, Anurag Pande, Mohamed Abdel-Aty

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Work-zone safety continues to be a priority and a concern for the Federal Highway Association as well as most state departments of transportation. The main objective of this study is to uncover work-zone freeway crash characteristics to help develop countermeasures that limit work-zones’ hazards. The Florida Crash Records Database for years 2002, 2003, and 2004 was utilized for this study. Conditional logistic regression along with stratified sampling and multiple logistic regression models were estimated to unveil work-zone freeway crash traits. According to the models’ results, roadway geometry, weather condition, age, gender, lighting condition, residence code, and driving under the influence …

Exploration Of Crash Prone Traffic Conditions On Freeways In The Netherlands Using Random Forests, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Anurag Pande, Abhishek Das, Wiilem Jan Knibbe

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Underground loop detectors are one of the most common traffic surveillance apparatus on freeways. Traffic data obtained from these detectors are used for various ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) applications such as travel time estimation and incident detection. In the recent past, however, researchers have been interested in proactive applications of these data. These proactive applications primarily involve real-time crash risk assessment based on analysis of traffic surveillance data observed prior to historical crashes. In this study, we have analyzed the crash data from five freeway sections in the Utrecht region of the Netherlands to identify the traffic conditions significantly associated …

Evaluating Route Diversion As A Strategy For Reduction Of Real-Time Crash Risk On Freeways Using Microscopic Simulation, Vikash V. Gayah, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Anurag Pande

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The objective of this study is to evaluate route diversion as a strategy for reducing crash risk on freeways using Microsimulation. Traffic simulation environment provides the 'loop detector data' which in turn are the inputs to the models used for real-time crash risk estimation. It has been found that rear-end crashes are more accurately described as occurring within one of two distinct traffic regimes. Hence, the crash risk estimates for rear-end crashes belonging to Regime 1 and Regime 2 are output posterior probabilities from two different models which are not directly comparable. A method was proposed to transform the output …

Analytical And Numerical Methodology For Modeling Temperatures In Landfills, James L. Hanson, Wei-Lien Liu, Nazli Yesiller

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Analytical and numerical approaches have been developed for modeling temperatures in municipal solid waste landfills. Steps for model formulation and details of boundary conditions are described. The formulation was based on a transient conductive heat transfer analysis. Conventional earth temperature theories were modified for landfill systems by incorporating heat generation functions representing biological decomposition of wastes. Finite element analysis was used for general modeling and parametric evaluations. Thermal properties of materials were determined using field observations and data reported in literature. The boundary conditions consisted of seasonal temperature cycles at the ground surface (established using near-surface field measurements) and constant …

Engineering Controlled Low Strength Materials Using Scrap Tire Rubber, Tammie Cheung, Daniel C. Jansen, James L. Hanson

Civil and Environmental Engineering

An investigation was conducted to determine the influence of recycled scrap tire rubber on the engineering properties of controlled low strength material (CLSM). With control over the ultimate compressive strength of CLSMs being key for applications such as backfilling utility trenches where re-excavation is often necessary, incorporation of scrap tire rubber into the CLSM mixture is a viable way to limit the ultimate strength. The work presented includes the results of 27 batches of CLSM, 20 of which included scrap tire rubber. The variables included: cement content, fly ash content, and fractional replacement of sand with scrap tire rubber. Results …

Now Hear This! What All Environmental Engineers Should Know About Noise Control, Harold M. Cota, Mark Bastasch, Roger Wayson, Tracy Thatcher

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Noise is an is an that affects almost everyone. And even though environmental engineers are often called on to deal with noise-related problems, most of them receive little or no academic training in noise control. This primer suggests why all environmental engineers should know something about noise control, what they need to know, and where they can find the necessary information.

Assessing Safety On Dutch Freeways With Data From Infrastructure-Based Intelligent Transportation Systems, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Anurag Pande, Abhishek Das, Willem Jan Knibbe

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Most freeway traffic surveillance technologies deployed around the world remain infrastructure based, with underground loop detectors being the most common among them. A proactive application for traffic surveillance data recently explored for some freeways in the United States is the estimation of real-time crash risk. The application involves establishing relationships between historical crashes and archived traffic data collected before those crashes. In these studies, crash occurrence on freeway sections has been related to temporal-spatial variation in speed and high lane occupancy. Critical modeling questions that remain unanswered relate to transferability of such an approach. This study attempts to address the …

Understanding The Impact Of A Recent Hurricane On Mobilization Time During A Subsequent Hurricane, Vinayak V. Dixit, Anurag Pande, Essam Radwan, Mohamed Abdel-Aty

Civil and Environmental Engineering

It is not uncommon for a region to be affected by multiple hurricanes in a span of a few weeks. The behavior of the evacuees during a subsequent hurricane in the same season is affected by the damage to the infrastructure and to the vehicles and assets belonging to evacuees, as well as by the psychological impact of the preceding hurricane. One such behavioral aspect that affects traffic-loading rates during a hurricane is the evacuation delay or mobilization time. In this study, "mobilization time for an evacuee" is defined as the difference between the time at which the decision to …

The Viability Of Real-Time Prediction And Prevention Of Traffic Accidents, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Anurag Pande

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This paper addresses a novel idea of real-time traffic safety improvement on freeways. First by predicting traffic crashes on the freeway mainline using on-line loop detector data, then by proposing ITS remediation strategies to reduce the crash risk in real-time. The results of the predictive models were found to be consistent with the probable mechanisms of crashes under different flow regimes. Using micro-simulation software and the crash potential determined through the models developed in this research to associate traffic characteristics with the risk of a crash occurring, several mitigation strategies were attempted to improve safety in real-time. The before (pre-ITS) …

Characteristics Of Urban Arterial Crashes Relative To Proximity To Intersections And Injury Severity, Abhishek Das, Anurag Pande, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Joseph B. Santos

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Intersections of an urban arterial corridor may influence crashes that occur even beyond their physical area. This study examines the effect of the gradual change in the distance of intersection influence on crash characteristics that explain injury severity outcomes of arterial crashes. The approach adopted involves simultaneous estimation of two variables: an ordinal variable representing crash-injury severity and a binary variable representing crash location (intersection versus segment crashes). The dichotomy in crash location is based on the threshold distance of intersection influence. Five sets of bivariate simultaneous models were estimated by using five threshold distances of influence varying from 0 …

Discovering Indirect Associations In Crash Data Through Probe Attributes, Anurag Pande, Mohamed Abdel-Aty

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Association analysis is a popular data-mining technique for detecting dependencies in transaction databases. The algorithms for discovery of association rules attempt to find the products that tend to sell together. For this purpose, one can treat crashes as individual transactions and crash characteristics as the "products" part of that transaction to discover patterns of the crash characteristics that tend to coexist. The a priori algorithm to search for association rules employs the lower bound on intersection (i.e., joint) frequency of two crash characteristics to ensure that only significant patterns are discovered. Hence, remarkable associations relating crash characteristics that have joint …

Evaluation Of Current Nonlinear Static Procedures For Concrete Buildings Using Recorded Strong-Motion Data, Rakesh K. Goel, Charles Chadwell

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This study evaluates current Nonlinear Static Procedures (NSPs) specified in the FEMA356, ASCE-41, ATC-40, and FEMA-440 documents using strong-motion data from reinforced-concrete buildings. For this purpose, three-dimensional computer models of five reinforced concrete buildings – Imperial County Services Building, Sherman Oaks Commercial Building, North Hollywood Hotel, Watsonville Commercial Building, and Santa Barbara Office Building – are developed. When appropriate, springs at the building’s base are included to account for the soil-structure interaction effects. These buildings are selected because they were strongly shaken, several deformed beyond their linear-elastic range, during past earthquakes and their recorded motions are available. The recorded motions …

Evaluation Of Current Nonlinear Static Procedures For Concrete Buildings Using Recorded Strong-Motion Data, Rakesh K. Goel, Charles Chadwell

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This paper evaluates current Nonlinear Static Procedures (NSPs) specified in the FEMA- 356, ASCE-41, ATC-40, and FEMA-440 documents using strong-motion data from reinforcedconcrete buildings. For this purpose, peak roof (or target node) displacements estimated from the NSPs are compared with the value derived from recorded motions. It is shown that: (1) the NSPs either overestimate or underestimate the peak roof displacement for several of the buildings considered in this investigation; (2) the ASCE-41 Coefficient Method (CM), which is based on recent improvements to the FEMA-356 CM suggested in FEMA-440 document, does not necessarily provide better estimate of roof displacement; and …

Multiobjective Optimization For Optimal Design Of Urban Drainage Systems, Misgana K. Muleta, Paul F. Boulos

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Control of sewer overflows, the leading cause of water pollution in the nation’s water bodies, is vital to reducing risks to public health and protecting the environment. The most common solutions for mitigating sewer overflows include adding storage volume, increasing conduit capacity, expanding pumping capacity, and implementation of real time operational controls to more effectively utilize existing system storage. Obviously, comprehensive modeling and analysis of these sewer systems becomes necessary for developing sound cost-effective and reliable solutions for enhancing system integrity and performance to convey sewer flows without causing overflows. However, identification of the optimal remedial solution that effectively circumvents …

Diluent Hydrocarbon Biodegredation In Laboratory Microcosms Using Anoxic Eletctron Acceptors, Meghann Chell, Laleh Rastagarzadeh, Yarrow Nelson

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Abstract of Paper Presented at Conference.

On The Nature Of Over-Dispersion In Motor Vehicle Crash Prediction Models, Sudeshna Mitra, Simon Washington

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Statistical modeling of traffic crashes has been of interest to researchers for decades. Over the most recent decade many crash models have accounted for extra-variation in crash counts—variation over and above that accounted for by the Poisson density. The extra-variation – or dispersion – is theorized to capture unaccounted for variation in crashes across sites. The majority of studies have assumed fixed dispersion parameters in over-dispersed crash models—tantamount to assuming that unaccounted for variation is proportional to the expected crash count. Miaou and Lord [Miaou, S.P., Lord, D., 2003. Modeling traffic crash-flow relationships for intersections: dispersion parameter, functional form, and …

Chemical Composition Of Groundwater Hydrocarbon Mixtures Before And After Aerobic Biodegradation, Eileen Mick, Kevin Crossley, Yarrow Nelson

Civil and Environmental Engineering

No abstract provided.

Sensitivity Of A Distributed Watershed Simulation Model To Spatial Scale, Misgana K. Muleta, John W. Nicklow, Elias G. Bekele

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The results of distributed watershed models could be sensitive to spatial and temporal scales at which inputs and model parameters are aggregated. This paper reports findings of a detailed sensitivity analysis conducted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s distributed watershed simulation model, known as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The Big Creek Watershed, located in southern Illinois, is used for the study. The model is calibrated to improve accuracy of its streamflow and sediment concentration predictions using observed data at two locations in the study watershed. Streamflow and sediment concentrations that are simulated by the calibrated model at …

Estimating The Probability Of Failure And Associated Risk Of The California Bay Delta Levee System, Robb E.S. Moss, J. Michael Eller

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Recent events in New Orleans have shown the magnitude of life loss and property damage that can occur due to the failure of man-made levees. The California Bay Delta and Sacramento levee systems in California pose a similar or greater level of risk to life and property. In order to effectively mitigate the hazard associated with levee failure a systematic evaluation of risk must be carried out. This paper presents preliminary research into the risk associated with the California Bay Delta. A comprehensive list of failure modes for man-made levees is presented. Preliminary empirical data on the temporal frequency of …

Final Report: Production Of Biodiesel From Algae Applied To Agricultural Wastewater Treatment, Yarrow M. Nelson, Adam Feffer, Andrew Kean, Tryg Lundquist, Walter Mark, Linda Vanasupa, Sam Vigil, Ian Woertz

Civil and Environmental Engineering

No abstract provided.

Multiple-Model Framework For Assessment Of Real-Time Crash Risk, Anurag Pande

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This study is based on real-time models of risk assessment for rear-end and lane-change-related crashes on freeways. These models were developed in recent studies on the basis of historical crash data and corresponding traffic data collected through underground loop detectors on Interstate-4 in Orlando, Florida. In this study the potential of these models was explored for identification of crashes that were not part of the database used to develop the models. These crashes include single-vehicle crashes that might result from evasive actions taken by drivers to avoid vehicles in front (i.e., a rear-end crash) or in a neighboring lane (i.e., …

Crash Data Analysis: Collective Vs. Individual Crash Level Approach, Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Anurag Pande

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Introduction

Traffic safety literature has traditionally focused on identification of location profiles where “more crashes are likely to occur” over a period of time. The analysis involves estimation of crash frequency and/or rate (i.e., frequency normalized based on some measure of exposure) with geometric design features (e.g., number of lanes) and traffic characteristics (e.g., Average Annual Daily Traffic [AADT]) of the roadway location. In the recent past, a new category of traffic safety studies has emerged, which attempts to identify locations where a “crash is more likely to occur.” The distinction between the two groups of studies is that the …

Application Of Data Mining Techniques For Real-Time Crash Risk Assessment On Freeways, A. Pande, M. A. Abdel-Aty

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Data mining is the analysis of large "observational" datasets to find unsuspected relationships that might be useful to the data owner. It typically involves analysis where objectives of the mining exercise have no bearing on the data collection strategy. Freeway traffic surveillance data collected through underground loop detectors is one such "observational" database maintained for various ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) applications such as travel time prediction etc. In this research data mining process is used to relate this surrogate measure of traffic conditions with rear-end crash occurrence on freeways. Crash and dual loop detector data from 36.25-mile instrumented Interstate-4 corridor …

Assessment Of Freeway Traffic Parameters Leading To Lane-Change Related Collisions, Anurag Pande, Mohamed Abdel-Aty

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This study aims at ‘predicting’ the occurrence of lane-change related freeway crashes using the traffic surveillance data collected from a pair of dual loop detectors. The approach adopted here involves developing classification models using the historical crash data and corresponding information on real-time traffic parameters obtained from loop detectors. The historical crash and loop detector data to calibrate the neural network models (corresponding to crash and non-crash cases to set up a binary classification problem) were collected from the Interstate-4 corridor in Orlando (FL) metropolitan area. Through a careful examination of crash data, it was concluded that all sideswipe collisions …

Cpt-Based Probabilistic And Deterministic Assessment Of In Situ Seismic Soil Liquefaction Potential, Robb E.S. Moss, Raymond B. Seed, Robert E. Kayen, Jonathan P. Stewart, Armen Der Kiureghian, K. Onder Cetin

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This paper presents a complete methodology for both probabilistic and deterministic assessment of seismic soil liquefaction triggering potential based on the cone penetration test (CPT). A comprehensive worldwide set of CPT-based liquefaction field case histories were compiled and back analyzed, and the data then used to develop probabilistic triggering correlations. Issues investigated in this study include improved normalization of CPT resistance measurements for the influence of effective overburden stress, and adjustment to CPT tip resistance for the potential influence of "thin" liquefiable layers. The effects of soil type and soil character (i.e., "fines" adjustment) for the new correlations are based …

Investigation Of The Performance Of The New Orleans Flood Protection System In Hurricane Katrina On August 29, 2005: Volume 1, Raymond B. Seed, Robert G. Bea, Remon I. Abdelmalak, Adda G. Athanasopoulos, Gordon P. Boutwell, Jr., Jonathan D. Bray, Jean-Louis Briaud, Carmen Cheung, Diego Cobos-Roa, Julien Cohen-Waeber, Brian D. Collins, Luke Ehrensing, Dan A. Farber, W. Michael Hanneman, Leslie F. Harder, Kofi S. Inkabi, Anne M. Kammerer, Deniz Karadeniz, Robert E. Kayen, Robb E.S. Moss, Jennifer Nicks, Seshu Nimala, Juan M. Pestana, Jim Porter, Keunyong Rhee, Michael F. Riemer, Karlene Roberts, J. David Rogers, Rune Storesund, Anand V. Govindasamy, Xavier Vera-Grunauer, Joseph E. Wartman, Conor M. Watkins, Ed Wenk, Jr., Solomon C. Yim

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This report presents the results of an investigation of the performance of the New Orleans regional flood protection system during and after Hurricane Katrina, which struck the New Orleans region on August 29, 2005. This event resulted in the single most costly catastrophic failure of an engineered system in history. Current damage estimates at the time of this writing are on the order of $100 to $200 billion in the greater New Orleans area, and the official death count in New Orleans and southern Louisiana at the time of this writing stands at 1,293, with an additional 306 deaths in …

Investigation Of The Performance Of The New Orleans Flood Protection System In Hurricane Katrina On August 29, 2005: Volume 2, Raymond B. Seed, Robert G. Bea, Remon I. Abdelmalak, Adda G. Athanasopoulos, Gordon P. Boutwell, Jr., Jonathan D. Bray, Jean-Louis Briaud, Carmen Cheung, Diego Cobos-Roa, Julien Cohen-Waeber, Brian D. Collins, Luke Ehrensing, Dan A. Farber, W. Michael Hanneman, Leslie F. Harder, Kofi S. Inkabi, Anne M. Kammerer, Deniz Karadeniz, Robert E. Kayen, Robb E.S. Moss, Jennifer Nicks, Seshu Nimala, Juan M. Pestana, Jim Porter, Keunyong Rhee, Michael F. Riemer, Karlene Roberts, J. David Rogers, Rune Storesund, Anand V. Govindasamy, Xavier Vera-Grunauer, Joseph E. Wartman, Conor M. Watkins, Ed Wenk, Jr., Solomon C. Yim

Civil and Environmental Engineering

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Placement Conditions On Decomposition Of Municipal Solid Wastes In Cold Regions, James Hanson, Nazli Yeşiller, K. A. Howard, Wei-Lien Liu, S. P. Cooper

Civil and Environmental Engineering

The effects of placement practices on decomposition of wastes were investigated at Anchorage Regional Landfill (Anchorage, Alaska) since 2002. Temperatures and gas concentrations of wastes placed at various seasons were monitored. Wastes were placed at sub-freezing temperatures during cold seasons. Waste temperatures generally increased upon placement. High variation was observed in waste temperatures near the surface whereas steady temperatures were obtained at depth. High maximum stable temperatures resulted from warm placement conditions. Steady temperatures between approximately –1 to +35°C were observed. The central portion of a frozen waste band (with a total initial thickness of 7 m at placement, currently …

Recyclability Index For Automobiles, Alexander Tsuji, Yarrow Nelson, Andrew Kean, Samuel A. Vigil

Civil and Environmental Engineering

A rating system was developed to quantify the environmental impacts of light-duty motor vehicles at the end of their life-cycle based on recyclability, toxic material content and ultimate disposal. Each year, 10-11 million vehicles are retired from service in the United States. The vehicle material not recycled is called automotive shredder residue (ASR). About 4.5 to 5 million tons of ASR are disposed in U.S. solid waste landfills annually. The volume of this residue is likely to increase as vehicle manufacturers continue to use more plastics and composites in their designs to reduce weight and increase fuel efficiency. The rating …