Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of Sustainable And Environmentally Friendly Stabilization Of Cohesionless Sandy Soil For Transportation Infrastructure, Miladin Radovic, Anand Puppala, Surya Sarat Chandra Congress, Jungyeon Jang, Oscar Huang

Publications

Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) is generally used to stabilize cohesionless sandy soils that are often found in coastal areas. Due to its high carbon footprint, many studies are being conducted to identify a suitable green alternative for stabilizing cohesionless soils. Previous studies have shown that partially replacing OPC with waste materials such as nano-silica and coal waste reduces the overall carbon footprint without significantly impacting the performance. Geopolymer (GP) received a lot of attention in the past few decades owing to its similar properties to that of OPC yet with a lower carbon footprint. This study investigated the feasibility of …

An Automated System For Inspecting Rock Faces And Detecting Potential Rock Falls Using Machine Learning, John Stormont, Fernando Moreu, Amir Bagherieh, Roya Nasimi, Solomon Atcitty

Publications

Rockfall is a hazard in mountainous areas threatening infrastructure and human lives. Rockfall hazards are often mitigated by manual inspections using pry bars. The inspector must access the rock face, hit the rock surface, detect, and remove the loose rocks. This method is very labor demanding, unsafe, and challenging. This research presents a method that automatize the inspection of rock blocks that are prone to rockfall events. A robot is developed to replace the manual hammer tap process and collect the sound data remotely; subsequently, the sound signal is used to identify different types of the discontinuity in rocks in …

Resource Guide For State Dot’S Maintenance Equipment Fleet Management Decisions, Yongwei Shan, Samir Ahmed, Lei Qiao

Publications

This research created a guide for state Departments of Transportation fleet management on utilizing equipment fleet management system data to make informed fleet management decisions. The research team took the historical equipment fleet data from the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and developed workflows, algorithms, and examples to demonstrate the use of historical equipment data for equipment decisions. Specifically, the research team demonstrated 1) the use of life cycle analysis and dynamic programming models for equipment replacement decisions; 2) developed algorithms to calculate equipment rental rates that can be used by the Department to forecast and allocate equipment operational budget among …

Preventing Struck-By Hazards: Defying Risk-Habituation Via Virtual Accident Simulation, Changbum Ahn

Publications

Repeated exposure to struck-by hazards in road work zones generates workers’ habituation to risks related to those hazards, a key contributor to accidents in road work zones. Thus, analyzing the development of risk habituation and providing proper intervention are crucial to preventing accidents in road work zones. In this context, this study employs a virtual reality (VR) environment as a behavioral intervention tool to investigate its effect on mitigating a decline in workers’ vigilance with habituation to hazards in workplaces. A virtual environment that simulates a road maintenance task was developed and used to repeatedly expose subjects to struck-by hazards …

Bridge Cracks Monitoring: Detection, Measurement, And Comparison Using Augmented Reality, Fernando Moreu, Kaveh Malek

Publications

Crack occurrence and propagation are among critical factors that affect the performance and lifespan of civil infrastructures such as bridges. Consequently, numerous crack detection and measurement methods have been proposed and developed in the recent decades in the areas of Structural Health Monitoring and non-destructive testing. Many novel technologies have emerged with the potential to overcome the limitations of the presented techniques of crack detection and characterization. Crack detection and characterization method used in this research lies in supplementing human visual inspection capabilities in a systematic manner through an appropriate level of automation. The Augmented Reality (AR) tool developed in …

Maintenance And Restriping Strategies For Pavement Markings On Asphalt Pavements In Louisiana, Momen R. Mousa, Marwa Hassan

Publications

In Louisiana, most districts restripe their roadways using waterborne paints every other year; this strategy is questionable in terms of efficiency and economy. Meanwhile, previous studies showed substantial variability in the paint service life throughout the United States ranging between 0.25 and 6.2 years. Shortcomings in modeling the retroreflectivity of waterborne paints appear to significantly contribute to these variations as several studies predicted these values using degradation curves with a coefficient of determination (R2) as low as 0.1. Therefore, the objective of this study was to (i) develop new cost-effective restriping strategies using 4-inch (15-mil thickness) and 6-inch (25-mil thickness) …

Determination Of The Optimal Parameters For Self-Healing Efficiency Of Encapsulated Bacteria In Concrete Simulated Subtropical Climate, Momen R. Mousa, Marwa Hassan, Gabriel Andres Arce Amador, Ricardo Hungria, Andrea Gavilanes, Omar Kamal

Publications

Concrete is a remarkable construction material. However, its low tensile strength makes it prone to cracking, which negatively affects its durability. To address this issue, bacterial concrete has been implemented as a self-healing alternative due to its capability to seal microcracks through microbial-induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICCP). In this study, a bacterial strain (i.e, Bacillus Pseudiformus) was encapsulated through three different methods: encapsulation through hydrogel beads, vacuum impregnation on lightweight aggregates, and attachment to cellulose nanocrystals. Furthermore, three precursor types were used, magnesium acetate, calcium lactate, and sodium lactate were implemented. Compressive strength tests and flexural strength tests were performed …

Development Of A Multi-Level Dynamic Model To Measure The Resilience Level Of Transportation Infrastructure Networks, Sharareh Kermanshachi, Jianling Li, Thahomina Jahan Nipa

Publications

The recent increase in disasters is making the largest critical infrastructure system namely the transportation infrastructure system susceptible to unexpected damage. Discontinuation of services provided by transportation infrastructures will create significant societal, economic, and collateral damages. Therefore, this study aims to identify dimensions to measure the resilience of the transportation infrastructures. This study also aims to develop a model to measure the resilience of the transportation infrastructures resilience. To fulfill the aims of this study, a questionnaire was developed which was supported by a comprehensive literature review. 92 valid responses were received and analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. Statistically significant variables …

An Open Source Cyberinfrastructure For Collecting, Processing, Storing And Accessing High Temporal Resolution Residential Water Use Data, Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco, Joseph C. Brewer, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Juan Caraballo

Publications

Collecting and managing high temporal resolution residential water use data is challenging due to cost and technical requirements associated with the volume and velocity of data collected. We developed an open-source, modular, generalized architecture called Cyberinfrastructure for Intelligent Water Supply (CIWS) to automate the process from data collection to analysis and presentation of high temporal residential water use data. A prototype implementation was built using existing open-source technologies, including smart meters, databases, and services. Two case studies were selected to test functionalities of CIWS, including push and pull data models within single family and multi-unit residential contexts, respectively. CIWS was …

Safety Of Vulnerable Road Users (Vru's) In Light-Rail Transit (Lrt) Environment, Samir Ahmed, Rifat Bulut

Publications

Light-rail transit (LRT), which includes modern streetcars, trolleys, and heritage trolleys, is one of the fastest growing modes of public transportation in the United States. To reduce the cost and complexity of construction, most LRT systems have their tracks placed on city streets, in medians, or in separate at-grade rights-of-way with at-grade crossings. Operating light-rail vehicles (LRVs) along these alignments introduces new conflicts and increases the risk of collisions with vulnerable road users (VRUs) including pedestrians, bicyclists, and electric scooter riders. This study has two main objectives: (1) to review and evaluate the existing body of knowledge and the state …

Cross Domain Iw Threats To Sof Maritime Missions: Implications For U.S. Sof, Gary C. Kessler, Diane M. Zorri

Publications

As cyber vulnerabilities proliferate with the expansion of connected devices, wherein security is often forsaken for ease of use, Special Operations Forces (SOF) cannot escape the obvious, massive risk that they are assuming by incorporating emerging technologies into their toolkits. This is especially true in the maritime sector where SOF operates nearshore in littoral zones. As SOF—in support to the U.S. Navy— increasingly operate in these contested maritime environments, they will gradually encounter more hostile actors looking to exploit digital vulnerabilities. As such, this monograph comes at a perfect time as the world becomes more interconnected but also more vulnerable.

Analysis, Modeling, And Simulation (Ams) Case Studies Of Connected And Automated Vehicle (Cav) Implementations Specific To The South Central Region, Christopher Melson, Jiaqi Ma

Publications

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) offer potentially transformative and far-reaching impacts to the transportation system. However, realized benefits will be directly tied to how well agencies prepare for these technologies. This report documents efforts that support CAV preparatory actions in Louisiana and includes: (1) conducting a stakeholder survey to inform engagement activities to develop strategic partnerships in CAV deployment and (2) conducting crash analyses for deployment scenarios of CAV-based queue warning systems (QWSs).

An electronic survey was developed and disseminated to 273 Louisiana organizations. The purpose of the survey was to engage these organizations under the context of CAV planning …

An Overview On Deficit And Requirements Of The Irish National Soil Phosphorus Balance, Ciarán O'Donnell, Aoife Egan, Joseph R. Harrington, Denise Barnett, Patrick Forrestal, Niamh Power

Publications

Phosphorus (P) is an essential life-supporting nutrient for which there is no substitute. Modern farming practice and food production are supported by the application of mineral P fertiliser derived from finite mined phosphate rock. The European Union does not have indigenous mineral phosphate reserves, which poses a significant issue to food security. This research paper assesses the potential of indigenous recycled P sources to replace imported P fertiliser within the Republic of Ireland. The research is undertaken at NUTS 3 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units) regional level, the nutrient soil P requirement is established, and the extent to which the …

Investigating The Impacts Of Crash Prediction Models On Quantifying Safety Effectiveness Of Adaptive Signal Control Systems, Weimin Jin, Mashrur Chowdhury, Sakib Mahmud Khan, Patrick Gerard

Publications

Introduction: Adaptive Signal Control System (ASCS) can improve both operational and safety benefits at signalized corridors. Methods: This paper develops a series of models accounting for model forms and possible predictors and implements these models in Empirical Bayes (EB) and Fully Bayesian (FB) frameworks for ASCS safety evaluation studies. Different models are validated in terms of the ability to reduce the potential bias and variance of prediction and improve the safety effectiveness estimation accuracy using real-world crash data from non-ASCS sites. This paper then develops the safety effectiveness of ASCS at six different corridors with a total of 65 signalized …

Adaptive Signal System Safety Impacts Final Report, Mashrur Chowdhury, Weiman Jin, M. Sabbir Salek, Sakib Mahmud Khan, Katherine Brunk, Patrick Gerard, Nathan Huynh, Mohammad Torkjazi

Publications

The research team conducted a literature review and a nation-wide survey at the beginning of the research. The literature review revealed that Adaptive Signal Control System (ASCS) was effective in reducing crashes in some studies, while in other studies, the crash reduction due to ASCS was not statistically significant. Twenty-eight states participated in the nation-wide survey and helped the research team identify corridor characteristics, such as the design speed and Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) of an ASCS corridor, which would allow for the best operational and safety outcomes. Then, to determine the safety effects of ASCS, the research team …

An Investigation Of The Potential Adoption Of Anaerobic Digestion For Energy Production In Irish Farms, Niamh Power, Sean O'Connor, Ehiaze Ehimen, Suresh C. Pillai, Gary A. Lyons, John Bartlett

Publications

Anaerobic digestion (AD) has been recognised as an effective means of simultaneously producing energy while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Despite having a large agriculture sector, Ireland has experienced little uptake of the technology, ranking 20th within the EU-28. It is, therefore, necessary to understand the general opinions, willingness to adopt, and perceived obstacles of potential adopters of the technology. As likely primary users of this technology, a survey of Irish cattle farmers was conducted to assess the potential of on-farm AD for energy production in Ireland. The study seeks to understand farmers’ motivations, perceived barriers, and preferred business model. …

Theoretical Framework To Assess Green Roof Performance In Mitigating Urban Flooding As A Potential Nature-Based Solution, Arunima Sakar Basu, Francesco Pila, Srikanta Sannigrahi, Rémi Gengembre, Bidroha Basu

Publications

Increases in extreme hydro-meteorological events due to climate change and decreases in soil permeability and infiltration due to urbanization have increased the risk of flooding, particularly in cities. The limitation of the expansion of conventional drainage systems to manage excess stormwater leads to the application of nature-based solutions (NBS) to control flooding. This study explores potential of green roof NBS for rainfall-fed flood reduction, which can utilize existing roof space for deployment. A detailed literature survey using systematic literature-search procedures was conducted to investigate the performance of extensive/intensive green roofs in runoff reduction using monitoring/modeling approaches. Since limited studies have …

A Methodology For Assessing And Monitoring Risk In The Industrial Wastewater Sector, Anna Trubetskaya, William Horan, Paul Conheady, Ken Stockil, Shane Merritt, Sean Moore

Publications

The concept of sustainable risk assessment in industrial wastewater treatment is vital to determine the causes and consequences of plant failure. The potential wastewater-related risks that could hamper the operation of the entire manufacturing facility are currently inadequately defined and under researched. This work proposes a framework that includes the comparison of literature and experimental data to quantify the impact of the significant process parameters on the critical process outputs. From the business perspective, managing and minimising risks will be possible when the number of impact parameters is low and the relationships between different parameters are clearly understood. The results …

Development Of A Self-Powered Weigh-In-Motion System, Athanassios Papagiannakis, Sarah Ahmed, Samer Dessouky, Reza Khalili, Gopal Vishwakarma

Publications

This report describes the development of a novel weigh-in-motion (WIM) system that utilizes piezoelectric elements for sensing load and powering an ultra-low power microcontroller unit (MCU) that serves as its data acquisition system. A system of 4 piezoelectric (PZT) stacks serves as the energy harvester, while load sensing is done via a set of 4 PZT elements connected in parallel. Two alternative MCUs were considered, with various data handling capabilities and power consumption requirements. These MCUs have very short “wake-up” times allowing vehicle sensing without the need for inductive loops commonly used in conventional WIM systems. Special electric circuits were …

Rails To Resilience: Evaluating New Orleans And Baton Rouge Rail Terminals And Transit Links, Tara M. Tolford, James Amdal, Guang Tian, Alahna Moore, Marin Tockman

Publications

This study evaluates the multimodal linkages to and opportunities for proposed terminal sites for a potential future passenger rail connection between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana. The project included a comprehensive analysis of recent planning processes and documents and distribution of a statewide survey aimed at understanding ridership potential (including non-work trips) and the needs of likely users, the results of which were modeled to illuminate key considerations for service design and station area planning. This study finds a strong foundation for, and support of, the proposed rail service, but distinct deficiencies in the current multimodal transportation environment connecting …

Engineered Geopolymer Composites (Egcs) For Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure, Gabriel Arce, Marwa Hassan, Miladin Radovic, Svetlana Sukhishvili, Ruwa Abufarsakh, Oscar Huang, Sang Zhen, Mauricio Cornejo, Haci Baykara

Publications

The objective of this study was to develop novel Engineered Geopolymer Composite (EGC) materials implementing locally available ingredients to produce practical and cost-effective EGCs for repair and new construction of transportation infrastructure in the region. To this end, geopolymers (GPs) were synthesized by alkali activation of metakaolin (MK) or a combination of metakaolin and fly ash (MKFA) as GP precursors. MK-GPs were activated using sodium silicate and potassium silicate solutions prepared by dissolving silica fume (SiO₂) and KOH or NaOH in deionized water. MKFA-GPs replaced silica fume using fly ash and were activated using only KOH solution. GP …

Evaluation Of Asphalt Mixtures’ Resistance To Cement-Treated Base (Ctb) Reflective Cracking In The Laboratory, Husam Sadek, Marwa Hassan, Charles Berryman, Mohammad Hossain, Ipshit Idris

Publications

The primary objective of this project is to propose a laboratory setup to test and evaluate an asphalt mixture layer on top of a simulated Cement-Treated Base (CTB) layer against reflective cracking. An in-depth literature review on the experimental studies that were conducted throughout the world to investigate the resistance of asphalt mixtures to reflective cracking was conducted. Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) Overlay Tester (OT) was found to be the most appropriate equipment to study thermally-induced reflective cracking in the laboratory, and thereby was selected to be modified and used to assess the performance of asphalt mixtures on top of …

Bridge Deck Inspection Using Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Based Airborne Imaging Techniques, Su Zhang, Shirley Baros, Susan Bogus

Publications

As one of critical components of a transportation infrastructure system, bridges are very important to a country’s economy because they provide passage over physical obstacles to substantially reduce travel time and travel cost. Similar to other types of transportation infrastructure, bridges deteriorate over time. Therefore, bridges should be routinely inspected to ensure their serviceability, capacity, and safety under current traffic. Subsequently, transportation agencies at all levels (e.g., federal, state, local, and tribal) dedicate large amounts of time and money to routinely monitor and inspect bridge conditions as part of their infrastructure asset management programs. These transportation agencies use the collected …

Evaluation Of Bagasse Ash As Cement And Sand Replacement For The Production Of Engineered Cementitious Composites (Ecc), Gabriel Arce, Marwa Hassan, Sujata Subedi, Ana Rivas, Samantha Hidalgo, Hugo Eguez

Publications

The objective of this study was to develop novel Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) materials implementing sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA). To this end, the effects on the mechanical and physical properties of ECC materials of: (1) Louisiana raw SCBA (RBA) as a partial and complete replacement of sand (i.e., class S mixtures); (2) Louisiana post-processed SCBA (PBA) as a partial replacement of cement (i.e., class C mixtures); and (3) Ecuador raw SCBA (EBA) as a partial and complete replacement of sand (i.e., class S-E mixtures) were studied. Sand replacement levels with RBA and EBA evaluated were 25, 50, 75, and 100% …

Corrosion Management System Of Regional Reinforced Concrete (Rc) Bridges, Homero Castaneda, Ayman Okeil

Publications

Civil infrastructure assets, including buildings, transportation networks, energy grids and networks, and water-sewer systems, are critical functional components of day-to-day life activity in a modern society. The durability and reliability of these civil infrastructures are largely affected by corrosion-induced structural deterioration. In addition to continual use and increasing traffic demands, natural environmental conditions set degradation due to corrosion damage as a critical condition to durable and reliable infrastructures. Therefore, in order to improve the durability of the bridge infrastructures affected by corrosion in the most efficient manor, we propose a procedure/methodology to manage integrity of corroding RC bridges which is …

Enhancing The Performance Of Asphalt Mixtures Containing High Rap Content With The Use Of Different Wma Technologies, Husam Sadek, Marwa Hassan, Charles Berryman, Mohammad Hossain, Farah Zaremotekhases

Publications

The production of Warm-mix asphalt mixtures in conjunction with reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) has received considerable interest in recent years for economic and environmental reasons. The primary objective of this project is to enhance the performance of asphalt mixtures containing RAP in Region 6 using different WMA technologies. In this project, the effect of utilizing 0%, 25%, and 35% RAP contents on the performance of different WMA mixtures against rutting, moisture damage, and fatigue cracking are evaluated. The effects of the WMA technologies on the rutting performance of the asphalt mixtures and recovered binders were investigated using loaded wheel tracker …

Development Of A Low Power, Low Cost Rural Railway Intersection Smart Detection And Warning System, Sara Ahmed, Samer Dessouky, Raymond Downing

Publications

This project explores a different approach to provide preemptive warning for train detection at grade-crossings to increase safety and reduce motor vehicle congestion. The development of a novel, low cost, low power, and off rail right-of-way (ROW) detection and warning system will be presented. A background of track circuits, which is the rail industries standard for train detection, will also be provided to highlight the benefits and challenges of the rail industry installing a system at every grade-crossings that lack any type of active warning. The benefits of using thermal imaging instead of traditional video for computer vision will also …

Case Study: Unsaturated Embankment Failure On Soft Soils, Ghada Ellithy, Timothy D. Stark

Publications

This paper describes the application of unsaturated soil mechanics to an interstate connecting-ramp embankment that failed during construction. Specifically, matric suction is incorporated into the calculation of the tension crack (TC) depth induced by desiccation and strain incompatibility and the contribution of matric suction to embankment shear strength. The results are compared with field observations to assess the viability of unsaturated soil mechanics in modeling compacted embankments in stability analyses. Results from this study suggest that using unsaturated shear strength parameters while introducing a TC in the compacted fill yields a reasonable inverse analysis of this interstate embankment. This may …

Life Cycle Environmental Impact Of Houston Metro System – Evaluation Of Electric Alternatives, Raghava R. Kommalapati Ph.D, Hongbo Du Ph.D, Doeun Choe Ph.D

Publications

In the Greater Houston Area, mobile sources (on-and off-road vehicles) contribute the largest share of nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions and second-highest share of volatile organic (VOC) emissions. The Houston METRO system is a key element in Houston's infrastructure that can be expanded to lower emissions of criteria air pollutants (CAPs) and greenhouse gases (GHGs) and improve regional air quality. Currently, there is no comparative study for relative emissions and environmental impacts between passenger automobiles and METRO routes in Houston. Our research addressed this critical gap and developed environmental life cycle assessment for conventional diesel buses, diesel hybrid buses, and alternative …

Analysis Of The Causes Of Workforce Shortages: Create Guidelines For Education And Workforce Development In Transportation To Generate Future Careers For The Navajo Nation, Gholam Ehteshami

Publications

Activities were dedicated to the collections, summarizations and categorizing more research articles related to the analysis of the sources of workforce deficiencies. The focus was on the technical and educational solution methods and strategies, guideline relevant to the workforce development. The times also were committed to the development of educational modules related to carrier’s opportunities in the transport industry into a couple of courses. Several NTU STEM students were interviewed, selected and introduced for the summer research internships in transportation areas to LSU Tran SET center. Outreach activities conducted with the community and some of the high school professionals related …