Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Stabilization Of Very Weak Subgrade Soil With Cementitious Stabilizers, Sanjay Kumar Dhakal

LSU Master's Theses

To evaluate the effect of high moisture content on the performance of weak subgrade soil and improve the engineering properties of weak subgrade soil through using cementitious materials, five different soils that represent range of subgrade soil in Louisiana (based on plasticity indices) were collected and considered in this research study. All tests on raw soils and treated/stabilized soils were performed on the soil laboratory at the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC). Ordinary Portland cement and hydrated lime were selected in this study to treat/stabilize the subgrade soils depending upon the soil type and plasticity index. The repeated load triaxial …

Microencapsulation Of Self-Healing Concrete Properties, James Gilford Iii

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT Recent studies in the literature have demonstrated the ability of self-healing processes to be effective in enhancing the overall life of concrete. The main goal of this project is to evaluate and to control specific parameters for the production of an effective self-healing matrix that can be utilized within the application of self-healing concrete. Therefore, the project objective is to synthesize microcapsules using dicyclopentadine and sodium silicate and to evaluate the effects of pH, temperature, and agitation rate on microcapsule morphology. The microcapsule diameter, yield analysis, and shell thickness were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. During the experimental analysis, …

Fundamental Characterization Of Asphalt Mixtures: Warm Mix Asphalt Technologies In Flexible Pavement Systems, Bhanu Vijay Vallabhu

LSU Master's Theses

Increasing concerns on environment and greenhouse effect, coupled with increased construction prices led to the development of new technologies by the Asphalt industry to produce Asphalt Concrete (AC) pavements. Extensive research is being done to evaluate the impact and performance of these new technologies. Warm Mix Asphalt (WMA) is one of these technologies that allow mixing, production, placing and compaction of asphalt mixes at significantly lower temperatures as compared to the traditional Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) practice. Lower temperatures result in reduced fuel usage, fume exhausts, greenhouse gas emissions, wear and tear at plants; while enhancing worker health and safety …

The Impact Of 5s On The Safety Climate Of Manufacturing Workers, Siddarth Srinivasan

LSU Master's Theses

The occupational injury rate in the manufacturing sector is higher than the average of all private industries, necessitating safety studies. Occupational safety can be measured through different approaches. Safety climate, a predictive measure of safety, studies the workers’ perceptions of safety of the workplace. This measure includes several dimensions of safety like management commitment, involvement and work place hazard evaluation and was chosen as a method of evaluation in this study. Even though occupational safety is an important concern, management often prioritizes reducing waste and cost. So, there is a necessity for some technique which reduces waste and simultaneously improves …

Impact Of Lean Production On Workers' Exposure To Risk In Modular Home Building Manufacturing, Joel James

LSU Master's Theses

The construction industry records the highest number of work-related injuries and fatalities in the United States according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workers’ exposure to risk may be affected by implementing Lean concepts. This study describes the effects on worker’s safety environment after a Kaizen event, a Lean tool, conducted in three workstations within a modular home manufacturer: base-framing, sheet-rock hanging, and painting. The effects of Lean on safety hazards at each of the three workstations were determined by conducting a Job Safety Analysis (JSA) before and after each Kaizen. Based on the JSAs a risk assessment tool (questionnaire) …

Evaluation Of Methods To Operate Gate Valves Using Elapsed Time, Rating Of Perceived Exertion, And Electromyography, Francis Williams Hutchinson

LSU Master's Theses

Hutchinson, Francis Williams, B.G.S., Louisiana State University, 1989 Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, Summer Commencement, 2012 Major: Industrial Engineering Evaluation Of Methods To Operate Gate Valves Using Elapsed Time, Rating Of Perceived Exertion, And Electromyography Thesis directed by Professor Fereydoun Aghazadeh, Ph.D., PE Pages in thesis, 86. Words in abstract, 253. ABSTRACT Industrial valve handwheels are in common use in many industries to block, allow, or regulate the flow of materials within a system. Significant numbers of musculoskeletal disorders have been attributed to turning valve handwheels. The torques encountered to “break” and/or turn these handwheels often exceeds 100 Nm …

Shear Strength Evaluation Of An Erosional Soil System At Fourchon Beach, Jacques Pierre Boudreaux

LSU Master's Theses

South Louisiana is vanishing. Subsidence due to relative sea level rise with erosion of weak wetland soils together produce devastating rates of land loss for this area. It is believed that high rates of erosion are due to weak strength properties of fine-grained sediments in the beaches, marshes, and other wetlands in coastal Louisiana. Wave action is known to initiate the movement of weak coastal soils in a manner that is related to the difference between the shear stresses applied by waves and the critical shear strength of erosional sediments. Direct shear tests were performed on samples obtained from the …

Effects Of Recycled Asphalt Shingle On The Rheological And Molecular Composition Properties Of Asphalt Cement, Saman Salari

LSU Master's Theses

Recycling of asphalt shingles in flexible pavements has received interests in recent years due to economic, environmental, and social reasons. The objective of this study is to introduce a new approach to recycle asphalt shingles in asphalt paving construction in which RAS is ground to ultra-fine sizes and blended with asphalt binder through a wet process. In this method, the ground recycled material is blended with the binder at high temperature prior to mixing with the aggregates. Two unmodified binders that are classified as PG64-22 and PG52-28 were blended with two contrasting sources of RAS, originating from tear-off and manufacturer …

Growth Rate And Productivity Of A Louisiana Native Microalgae/Cyanobacteria Co-Culture: Feasibility For Use In Industrial Biotechnology Applications, Athens Gomes Silaban

LSU Master's Theses

Interest in biofuels research has increased in the era of uncertainty of the current fossil fuel sustainability and global climate concerns. Microalgae offer advantages over terrestrial plants as a potential source of biomass-based fuel. In this study, a Louisiana native microalgae/cyanobacteria (Chlorella vulgaris/Leptolyngbya sp.) co-culture was examined to provide foundational information of its growth conditions. Batch studies were conducted to determine optimum nitrogen and irradiance level that yields maximum co-culture biomass growth and productivity under aerated and non-aerated conditions. The optimum nitrogen level was 2.94 mM N and the optimum initial scalar irradiance range was between 400 – 800 µmol …

Biodegradation And Distribution Of Crude Oil Sampled At Fourchon Beach, Kendall Ray Lemelle

LSU Master's Theses

This study was developed to determine the distribution and fate of crude oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig starting on April 24, 2010. Crude oil from this spill contaminated portions of Fourchon Beach, Louisiana which was the study site for this thesis. Understanding the fate processes that affect crude oil once it’s released is important because the compounds that comprise oil can be hazardous to humans and wildlife. Composite and small surface residual ball (SSRB) samples were collected from the supratidal zone of Fourchon Beach and analyzed for PAHs and alkanes. Alkane concentrations decreased significantly over time, while …

Laboratory Evaluation Of Geosynthetics To Stabilize/Reinforce The Subgrade/Base In Unpaved Roadways, Imran Akond

LSU Master's Theses

This research study evaluates the performance of geosynthetic material for subgrade stabilization and base reinforcement of unpaved test sections. For this purpose, extensive large-scale in-box static plate load tests were conducted on several unreinforced and geosynthetic reinforced, unpaved test sections. This research was conducted in Geotechnical Engineering Research Laboratory (GERL) at Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC). The in-box static plate load tests (ASTM D1196-93) were conducted to evaluate the performance and benefits of geosynthetic material for subgrade stabilization/base reinforcement. A total of forty-seven tests were performed in this regard. The quality control of the section was maintained using non-destructive in-situ …

An Intelligent Computational Approach To The Optimization Of Inventory Policies For Single Company, Qinglin Duan

LSU Master's Theses

This study develops and tests a computational approach for determining optimal inventory policies for single company. The computational approach generally comprises of two major components: a meta-heuristic optimizer and an event-driven inventory evaluation module. Meta-heuristic is a powerful search technique, under the intelligent computational paradigm. The approach is capable of determining optimal inventory policy under various demand patterns regardless their distribution for a variety of inventory items. Two prototypes of perishability are considered: (1) sudden deaths due to disasters and (2) outdating due to expirations. Since every theoretical model is specially designed for a certain type of inventory problem while …

Efficient Finite Element Modeling Of Reinforced Concrete Columns Confined With Fiber Reinforced Polymers, Dan Hu

LSU Master's Theses

Fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites have found extensive applications in the field of Civil Engineering due to their advantageous properties such as high strength-to-weight ratio and high corrosion resistance. This study presents a simple and efficient frame finite element (FE) able to accurately estimate the load-carrying capacity and ductility of reinforced concrete (RC) circular columns confined with externally bonded fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) plates and/or sheets. The proposed FE considers distributed plasticity with fiber-discretization of the cross-sections in the context of a force-based (FB) formulation. The element is able to model collapse due to concrete crushing, reinforcement steel yielding, and …

Bacterial Dehalogenation Of Mixtures Of 1,2-Dichloroethane, 1,2-Dichloropropane, And 1,1,2-Trichloroethane By Dehalogenimonas, Jacob Laddye Dillehay

LSU Master's Theses

The goal of the research presented here was to assess the ability of two bacterial strains, Dehalogenimonas lykanthroporepellens BL-DC-9T and Dehalogenimonas strain IP3-3, to reductively dehalogenate four contaminant mixtures comprised of combinations of the chlorinated solvents 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA), 1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP), and 1,1,2-trichloroethane (1,1,2-TCA). Both of these bacteria were first isolated from contaminated groundwater at the PetroProcessors of Louisiana, Inc. Superfund site located near Baton Rouge, LA and are of interest because of their novel abilities to transform halogenated alkanes. In previous work (Yan et al., 2009, Bowman et al., 2012), it was demonstrated that both strain IP3-3 and D. lykanthroporepellens …

Numerical Study Of Laterally Loaded Batter Pile Groups With The Application Of Anisotropic Modified Cam-Clay Model, Yida Zhang

LSU Master's Theses

This study presents a series of numerical studies of laterally loaded batter pile groups based on data of the full-scale lateral load test on M19 eastbound pier foundation of the new I-10 Twin Span Bridge, Louisiana. The numerical studies include several continuum-based 3D finite element analyses on batter/vertical pile/pile groups and a FB-MultiPier analysis of the pile foundation. The Anisotropic Modified Cam Clay Model, has been implemented into UMAT and applied for describing clay behavior in all FE models. The explicit substepping scheme with modified Euler algorithm is selected to implement the model in ABAQUS software. The resultant UMAT shows …

Frp Stiffener Efficiency Coefficient For Sbs Shear Strengthening Applications, Hamed Babaizadehroshanfekr

LSU Master's Theses

The use of composite materials such as Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) to strengthen concrete structures has surged during the past two decades as an alternative for conventional methods of structural strengthening and repair. FRP materials are light and relatively easy to install. They are noncorrosive, durable and less vulnerable to environmental conditions in comparison to other construction and retrofitting materials. The knowledge and applications of composites for strengthening steel structures are relatively smaller when compared to concrete strengthening applications. Strengthening-By-Stiffening (SBS) is a new strengthening alternative that was developed at Louisiana State University. SBS has proven to be a practical …

The Effects Of Lean Intervention (5s) On Perceived Musculoskeletal Workload And Perceived Hazardous Working Conditions In A Health Center Pharmacy, Jastinder Singh Dhindsa

LSU Master's Theses

The healthcare industry involves a significant level of health and safety risks in various work processes, and healthcare professionals are at risk for work-related musculoskeletal disorders and other health problems. In recent years, Lean has been introduced in healthcare with the goal of eliminating waste and improving efficiency. Lean is also believed to affect the health and safety of workers. The present research studies the effects of Lean (5S) implementation in an acute care pharmacy of a health center. A version of the Dutch Musculoskeletal Questionnaire (DMQ) was used to record the perceived musculoskeletal workload and perceived hazardous working conditions. …

Optimal Production And Delivery Scheduling Models For A Supply Chain System Of Deteriorating Items, Bingqing Wu

LSU Master's Theses

The market is varying from minute to minute nowadays. Increase cooperation and pursue the optimal interest of the integrated supply chain become a more effective way than act alone in the competition. In this research, an integrated inventory policy between singleproducer and multi-buyer is developed and two inventory models are built. The first model extends the research of Lin and Lin (2007) by changing the single-buyer system to the multibuyers one. Both backorder of buyers and deteriorating items of each party (producer’s level, buyers’ level, and during transport) are considered herein. The second model is based on the research of …

Determining The Performance Of Breakwaters During High Energy Events: A Case Study Of The Holly Beach Breakwater System, Andrew Keane Woodroof

LSU Master's Theses

Breakwaters have been constructed in many areas along Louisiana’s coastline to protect the shoreline from wave energy and erosion. During normal conditions, these breakwaters can typically be analyzed using traditional empirical methods for emergent breakwaters. However, Louisiana’s coastline is under constant threat from tropical storms and hurricanes, during which breakwaters can frequently become overtopped or submerged systems. Recent studies show that the type of shoreline response to a breakwater system may vary depending on the crest height of the breakwater in relation to the mean water level. Though emergent breakwaters typically induce sediment accretion along the shoreline, studies using laboratory …

The Use Of A Mixed Chlorella Cyanobacteria Culture As A Protein Source For Aquaculture, Marjan Sadat Mohtashamian

LSU Master's Theses

The increase in the global demand for fish feed in the last decades has resulted in the over exploitation of natural resources to produce more fishmeal supplies for aquaculture industry. The supply issues and high prices of fishmeal products have raised the incentives to seek for suitable alternatives to replace fishmeal protein. As a by-product of biofuel production process, residual microalgal biomass may be a low cost feed ingredient to the aquaculture diet. The potential of the use of a post lipid extraction Chlorella vulgaris/Leptolyngbya sp. Co-Culture (Louisiana co-culture) as a protein source in aquaculture feeds could help offset fishmeal. …

Factors Controlling Macondo Oil Biodegraqdation On A Rapidly Eroding Coastal Headlands Beach, Marilany G. Urbano

LSU Master's Theses

Fourchon Beach, located along the southeast Louisiana coast, was affected by the oil leaking from the British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon Oil rig explosion in 2010. The oil, labeled MC252 oil, came ashore in a stable emulsion form, contaminating the sand, salt pan, marsh and mangroves along the beach. A unique oil form, labeled SSRB (small surface residue ball) was formed from the MC252 oil and a combination of environmental factors. The SSRB is an aggregate of sand and emulsified oil, and forms a large portion of the oil still present on the supratidal zone of Fourchon Beach. SSRBs have not …

Evaluation Of Louisiana Asphalt Pavement Friction, Vivek Lal Das

LSU Master's Theses

This study aims to comprehensively investigate the effect of asphalt mix designs to address skid resistance. The current Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) specification for friction design considers only the friction rating of aggregate defined by the polished stone value (PSV) obtained by the British pendulum tester (BPT), which is associated with only the micro-texture of asphalt pavement surfaces. The objective of this study is to recommend an asphalt surface friction mix design guideline which is based on both micro- and macro-texture of the wearing course mix. The objective was achieved by evaluating four typical laboratory prepared Louisiana …

Analysis Of Major Hydrologic Events In Ascension Parish, La, Jessica Irene Mason

LSU Master's Theses

Ascension Parish is located in Southern Louisiana and is characterized by low slope and low elevation. This combination allows for much hydrologic storage during a flood event. Because Ascension Parish is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the United States, it is necessary to accurately predict the hydrologic and hydraulic properties of flow and accurately model them. Several processes within a hydrologic model greatly influence the output flow hydrographs so selecting correct methods and parameters is important. Transform methods describe how excess precipitation is transformed into runoff. There are several methods that can be used as a transform …

Using X-Ray Computed Tomography To Quantify Damage Of Hot-Mix Asphalt In The Dynamic Complex Modulus And Flow Number Tests, Hao Ying

LSU Master's Theses

The dynamic modulus test is conducted based on the assumption that no damage is induced during the testing process and that measurements are conducted within the linear viscoelastic region. In addition, significant damage is expected to occur during the flow number test process. While these assumptions are well-defined, the levels of damage taking place during these tests have not been quantified. The objectives of this study were to quantify the levels of damage in the dynamic complex modulus and flow number tests using x-ray computed tomography (CT) and to characterize the microstructural properties of asphalt mixtures under loading. Four Superpave …

Interfacial Shear Bond Strength Between Old And New Concrete, Zhifu Wan

LSU Master's Theses

The quality of the bonded concrete overlay depends on the bonding at the layer’s interface, which is affected by water to cement (w/c) ratio in new concrete, moisture condition of old concrete surface. The objective of this study is to quantify the interface shear bond strength affected by these variables. At the Phase I, twelve old concrete cubes with two different moisture conditions (air dry, saturated surface dry (SSD)) at the interface were chosen. Silica fume addition with two w/c ratios of 0.45 and 0.6 were used for new overlay concrete. It was found that silica fume significantly increased both …

The Effects Of Highway Environmental Conditions On Photocatalytic Pavement's Ability To Reduce Nitrogen Oxides, Heather Dylla

LSU Master's Theses

Nitrogen oxides (NOx) emitted from vehicle exhaust are associated with negative health impacts and are a precursor to ozone. Self-cleaning, air-purifying concrete pavement is a rapidly emerging technology that can degrade pollutants such as NOx through heterogeneous photocatalysis. Although this technology has the potential to support environmentally friendly road infrastructure, a number of design and operational parameters may affect its effectiveness and thus need to be evaluated. The goal of this study was to measure the NOx reduction efficiencies from photocatalytic pavements under various environmental conditions common to highways. To achieve this goal, the objectives were to: (a) evaluate the …

A Study On The First-Passage Reliability Problem And Its Application In Earthquake Engineering, Sara Ghazizadeh

LSU Master's Theses

The research presented in this thesis focuses on analytical approximations for the time-variant first-passage failure probability (FPFP) of linear elastic models of structural systems subjected to stochastic excitations. The FPFP is defined as the probability that a response quantity of an engineering system subjected to a dynamic stochastic loading outcrosses a specified threshold within a given exposure time. The FPFP is an important and useful quantity for many structural engineering applications. The classical first-passage reliability problem is studied for linear elastic single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) and multi-degrees-of-freedom (MDOF) systems subjected to stationary and nonstationary Gaussian excitations. The absolute and relative accuracy of …

Application Of Satellite Remote Sensing Imagery To Bridge Scour Evaluation, Xiaoyan Zhao

LSU Master's Theses

The overall goal of this research is to evaluate the applicability of the existing HEC-18 method to Louisiana bridges that are mostly situated on cohesive soils and hence to develop a more reliable design method for scour depth and scour rate prediction. Pier research in sandy soils and cohesive soils shows that the sandy soils are known to erode particle by particle, while cohesive soils usually erode in clumps rather than individual particles, which is caused by from the different bonding mechanisms between sandy soils and cohesive soils. Because the bonding in cohesive soils is so complex, the prediction of …

Integrating Demand And Traffic Simulation Modeling To Evaluate Adaptive Evacuation Plans, Thomas Jude Montz, Jr.

LSU Master's Theses

Significant efforts are currently being made by transportation officials to improve the planning and preparation of mass evacuations. The idea of adaptive evacuation plans is an avenue of research that could help improve future evacuation processes. Adaptive evacuation plans stem from the observation that different disaster threat scenarios require different evacuation responses. While adaptive evacuation planning can be generalized to any form of evacuation planning, this project focused on adaptive planning in the context of a hurricane evacuation.

This project was the first to adapt the demand models of Fu, et al, and Cheng, et al, into a regional-scale traffic …

Long-Term Continuity Moment Assessment In Prestressed Concrete Girder Bridges, Veeravenkata S Murthy Chebole

LSU Master's Theses

Use of new materials, developing new structural systems, and improving construction details while designing bridges with longer spans has been a continuous challenge for bridge engineers since early times. The study of precast/prestressed concrete (PC) bridges made continuous started in early 1960s is one of the most popular alternatives. Continuous structure improves riding comfort and durability of structure, reduction in structural depth, and reserve load capacity under overload conditions. This research presents the state-of-the-art tool for calculating restraint moments in PC continuous bridge girders. The scope of this study is limited to straight slab-on-girder bridges i.e. effects of horizontal curves …