Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Risk Assessment Of Various Median Treatments Of Rural Interstates, Natalie M. Villwock, Nicolas Paul Blond, Andrzej P. Tarko

JTRP Technical Reports

This report presents results of a comprehensive study that evaluates the safety impacts of alternative median treatments on rural freeways. Extensive data were obtained from Indiana, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. The studied median treatments include AASHTO-recommended treatments: depressed medians, depressed medians with high and lowtensioned cable barriers, and flush medians with concrete barriers. Other treatments used in the freeway design were also studied: medians with berms, sloped medians, and depressed medians with berms. Negative binomial models were developed to predict the frequency of crashes in three categories: single vehicle (SV), multiple vehicles same …

Flexural Comparison Of The Aci 318-08 And Aashto Lrfd Structural Concrete Codes, Nathan Jeffrey Dorsey

Master's Theses

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Common Dredging Equipment Air Emissions , Mark J. Anderson P.E.

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

The purpose of this study is to provide a procedure to include emissions to the atmosphere resulting from the combustion of diesel fuel during dredging operations into the decision-making process of dredging equipment selection. The proposed procedure is demonstrated for typical dredging methods and data from the Illinois Waterway as performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District. The equipment included in this study is a 16-inch cutterhead pipeline dredge and a mechanical bucket dredge used during the 2005 dredging season on the Illinois Waterway.

Considerable effort has been put forth to identify and reduce environmental impacts …

Planning And Adaptation Measures For Urban Slum Communities In West Africa : Stochastic Rainfall Modeling Applied To Domestic Rainwater Harvesting And Climate Change Adaptation, Joshua R. Cowden

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Over half of the world’s population is living in urban settlements, and most urban growth is occurring in developing countries. These countries’ economies are often unable to accommodate these rural-urban immigrations, resulting in millions of people settling in insecure communities known as urban slums. Current efforts to prevent urban slums include UN-HABITAT strategies to upgrade slums and stimulate urban/regional development. Urban metabolism analysis, which studies material and energy flows/stocks through urban processes, help decision-makers better understand their urban system. Nine lessons from past urban metabolism studies are presented to assist in finding answers on how to best solve urban slum …

Feasibility Of Utilising Construction And Demolition Waste And Dredge Material As Landflll Liner, John David Riordan

Theses

Construction and demolition (C&D) waste and dredge material are significant bulk waste streams in the Republic of Ireland. This thesis examines the feasibility of combining these waste streams to produce a viable novel geotechnical clay liner for landfill.

This thesis includes a literature review and a detailed study of C&D waste, dredge material and landfill liners in Ireland. The research for this thesis includes a geotechnical laboratory test programme. Samples of C&D waste and dredge material were collected and tested to establish relevant characteristics. In addition, a senes of tests were commissioned on test samples to establish their chemical and …

A High-Resolution Storm Surge Model For The Pascagoula Region, Mississippi, Naeko Takahashi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The city of Pascagoula and its coastal areas along the United States Gulf Coast have experienced many catastrophic hurricanes and were devastated by high storm surges caused by Hurricane Katrina (August 23 to 30, 2005). The National Hurricane Center reported high water marks exceeding 6 meters near the port of Pascagoula with a near 10-meter high water mark recorded near the Hurricane Katrina landfall location in Waveland, MS. Although the Pascagoula River is located 105 km east of the landfall location of Hurricane Katrina, the area was devastated by storm surge-induced inundation because of its low elevation. Building on a …

Development And Validation Of A Dynamic Model Of The Maglev Transportation System At Old Dominion University, Ajinkya Deodhar, Sebastian Bawab, Aravind Hanasoge

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

A dynamic model of the vehicle/guideway coupled with a controller is developed for the maglev demonstration system currently being developed at ODU, using the MAthematical DYnamic MOdeling software - MADYMO. The fundamental characteristics of the vehicle and guideway are obtained from detailed finite element analyses using MSC-NASTRAN. As a result, the vehicle is modeled in MADYMO as a 21- degree-of-freedom spring-mass-damper system. A three span concrete guideway is modeled using 3D solid Hex8 elements. The air gap is modeled as a penetration of the magnets into the guideway. Decentralized colocated PD controllers are used for controlling the penetration of each …

Comparison Of Roadside Crash Injury Metrics Using Event Data Recorders, Doug Gabauer, Hampton C. Gabler

Faculty Journal Articles

The occupant impact velocity (OIV) and acceleration severity index (ASI) are competing measures of crash severity used to assess occupant injury risk in full-scale crash tests involving roadside safety hardware, e.g. guardrail. Delta-V, or the maximum change in vehicle velocity, is the traditional metric of crash severity for real world crashes. This study compares the ability of the OIV, ASI, and delta-V to discriminate between serious and non-serious occupant injury in real world frontal collisions. Vehicle kinematics data from event data recorders (EDRs) were matched with detailed occupant injury information for 180 real world crashes. Cumulative probability of injury risk …

Automating Material Delivery Records, Joo Hyoung (Jay) Lee, Bob Mccullouch

JTRP Technical Reports

This project investigated methods on automating field data collection of materials. The method chosen and investigated was bar codes. The automated process requires material suppliers to produce delivery forms that can be recorded and tracked using bar codes. The report describes a system configuration that shows a conceptual process to electronically transfer materials information between the material supplier, trucking company, INDOT personnel and contractor. Other activities reported include survey results from other state transportation agencies, material suppliers, and concrete paving companies. Also, investigated was how to interface with SiteManager software. Recommendations described hardware options for using bar codes and industry …

Estimation Of Earthquake Loss Due To Bridge Damage In The St. Louis Metropolitan Area. Ii: Indirect Losses, David Lee Enke, Chakkaphan Tirasirichai, Ronaldo Luna

Engineering Management and Systems Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

An approach to estimate the indirect economic loss due to damaged bridges within the highway system from an earthquake event is presented. The indirect cost considered refers to the increased highway transportation cost only. The study zone covers the St. Louis metropolitan area and its surrounding suburban regions. An earthquake scenario centered in St. Louis, with a magnitude 7.0 is used. The direct earthquake loss was primarily damage to bridges, which causes an increase in travel time and distance within the transportation network. This information is then used as input for the indirect loss model. The indirect loss is examined …

Exploring Stochastic Characteristics Of Freeway Traffic Breakdown And Recovery Conditions, Chaitanya Mamidala

LSU Master's Theses

In recent times, the term ‘congestion’ has gained a lot of attention due to its negative impact on the mobility and efficiency of transportation network. Congestion control and mitigation of its effects has become a prime concern to many transportation agencies. With breakthroughs in transportation technologies, effective management and utilization of existing infrastructure capacities has been possible. One of the key functions of technological advancements is the ability to understand the different characteristics of traffic that prevail on major freeways and arterials, and to model short-term predictions of traffic conditions with reasonable accuracy. Providing accurate, real-time information makes travelers aware …

Bridge Maintenance Survey For Indiana Counties, Indiana Ltap

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

The objective of this report is to summarize the current bridge maintenance practices of the different counties within Indiana. This information is intended to help others understand which maintenance practices seem to be working and what does not seem to work. Further, this report will be used to assess the need for specialized training and information courses to be offered through the Indiana LT AP office.

Of the all of the Indiana counties surveyed, a total of 50 responses were received. The data contained within this report is based upon the number of responses received.

The basic findings of this …

Hollo-Bolt®: Blind Connector For Structural Steelwork, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Structural steel connections for connecting to square, rectangular or circular structural tube or to conventional steel where access is available from one side only poses problems. A technology was needed which could provide a quicker and tidier installation than traditional methods such as welding, unsightly strapping or drilling and tapping holes. The invention of the Hollo-Bolt® provided such a solution.

Smartball™: Free Swimming Leak Detection System, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Leak detection systems measure ultrasonic noise, infrared temperature variances or electrical flux to detect leakage in structures like, pipes, tanks, geo-membrane retaining structures etc. SmartBall® is a free flowing leak detection system developed by Pure Technologies. It consists of a foam ball that has a smaller aluminum ball at its core. This aluminum core houses an ultrasonic device that sends ultrasonic signals and also collects the reflected sound waves.

Implementation Of Station Health Monitoring Procedures For Its Sensors, Volume 2: Implementation Report, Joseph M. Ernst, Darcy M. Bullock

JTRP Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Assimilating Remote Sensing-Based Et Into Swap Model For Improved Estimation Of Hydrological Predictions, Baburao Kamble, Ayse Kilic

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

An agro-hydrological simulation model is useful for agriculture monitoring and Remote Sensing provides useful information over large area. Combining both information by data assimilation is used in agro-hydrological modeling and predictions, where multiple remotely sensed data, ground measurement data and model forecast routinely combined in operational mapping procedures. Remote sensing cannot observe input parameters of agro-hydrological models directly. A method to estimate input parameters of such model from Remote Sensing using data assimilation has been proposed by Ines [2002] using the SWAP (Soil, Water, Atmosphere and Plant) model. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) loaded stochastic physically based soil-water-atmosphere-plant model (SWAP) was …

Durability And Retro-Reflectivity Of Pavement Markings (Synthesis Study), Yi Jiang

JTRP Technical Reports

Waterborne paints are used to paint pavement markings (edgelines and centerlines) to provide guidance for motorists. The painted markings need to be repainted periodically as their retro-reflectivity deteriorates. The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) repaints pavement markings at least annually. INDOT engineers would like to determine the feasibility of extending the time intervals of repainting pavement markings on at least some types of roadways. The purpose of this synthesis study is to accomplish the following: (1) to locate and assemble documented information on pavement marking durability; (2) to learn what criteria have been used in other states in measuring retro-reflectivity …

Deck Replacement - Use Of Extra Coating Thickness Epoxy-Coated Bars, J. A. Ramirez, Rachel Elizabeth Henkhaus

JTRP Technical Reports

The results of this study were implemented in the form of design recommendations for bond of epoxy-coated bars with thicker coatings up to 18 mils. The scope of the work included evaluation of AASHTO LRFD (2004) and ACI 318 design recommendedations for the development and splice length of extra epoxy-coating thinkness reinforcing bars in normal-weight concrete bridge decks and a proposed monitoring plan for a generic concrete bridge deck in Indiana where epoxy-coated bars with thicker coatings might be emeployed. The use of the current provisions for development and splice length of epoxy-coated bars in tension in both the AASHTO …

Acquisition And Analysis Of Earthwork Pay Quantity Verification Data, Sharvil Saurabh Shah, Makarand Hastak

JTRP Technical Reports

This research identifies technologies and methods that can be used by INDOT in earthwork data collection and earthwork quantity calculation process on large construction projects that could result in timely completion of the projects with less labor and resultant cost. In order to achieve the above stated objective, several tasks were performed, i.e., literature review, data collection, data analysis, and recommendations. INDOT engineers were interviewed to determine their current state of practice. Also, all the state DOTs, professional companies in Indiana and vendors of earthwork data collection equipment and software products were contacted through questionnaire surveys and personal interviews. Two …

Analysis Of Number And Mass Concentration Of Coarse And Fine, Nancy Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

There is currently much concern over particles suspended in the ambient air, their effects on people and the environment throughout the world. The suspended particles can cause adverse health effects, reduce visibility and over the course of time wear buildings. Primary air quality concerns are of particles, their effects and their key characteristics. Particle number concentration (NC) of traffic emissions is an important element of the study, specifically heavy duty diesel engine emissions. Particle number concentration is the number of particles of a specific size in a unit of air; in this study they are measured by the number of …

Guidelines For Using Local Material For Roadway Base And Subbase, Biraj Gautam

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Flexible base materials that meet TxDOT specifications are getting more difficult to purchase in many TxDOT Districts. As a result, higher quality materials have to be hauled long distances, sometimes from other States. This act would significantly increase the costs associated with the construction of roads and subsequent maintenance and rehabilitation of them. Lower quality (i.e., out-of-specification) materials are normally available. If through appropriate modifications of the materials (adjusting the gradation or/and stabilization) or structural design (specifying thicker layers of base and/or hot mix) the use of the local materials can be permitted, the construction can be accelerated and significant …

Allocating Emergency Response Vehicles To Cover Critical Infrastructures, Hao Lei

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Optimal deployment of limited emergency response service units in a metropolitan area is of interests to public agencies. The limited emergency units not only have to respond to the demand for service by residents and businesses, but also cover Critical Infrastructures (CIs). This Thesis formulates an improved optimization model to allocate different types of Emergency Response Service (ERS) units among their candidate base stations. The allocation of units must ensure maximum coverage to CIs, subject to the capacities of the base stations, service standard in terms of time to reach the CIs, and the availability of the ERS units (when …

Quality Evaluation Of Portland Cement Concrete At Early Age With Free-Free Resonant Column, Gilberto Wenglas

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

At early age, the behavior and mechanical properties of portland cement concrete changes rapidly with time due to hydration. The hydration process consists of a series of chemical reactions that accelerate nonlinearly with the rise in temperature. The hydration process consists of three stages: the dormant period, the setting time, and the hardening time. Timely opening of roads and resumption of constructions depend of the knowledge of these stages. The initial and final setting times are arbitrarily determined by a standard test (ASTM C 403). Although the setting time has been studied for many decades, the new technologies allow making …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Sorption-Induced Static Bending Of Microcantilevers Coated With Viscoelastic Material, Michael J. Wenzel, Fabien Josse, Stephen M. Heinrich, Edwin E. Yaz, P. G. Datskos

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Absorption of a chemical analyte into a polymercoating results in an expansion governed by the concentration and type of analyte that has diffused into the bulk of the coating. When the coating is attached to a microcantilever, this expansion results in bending of the device. Assuming that absorption (i.e., diffusion across the surface barrier into the bulk of the coating) is Fickian, with a rate of absorption that is proportional to the difference between the absorbed concentration and the equilibrium concentration, and the coating is elastic, the bending response of the coated device should exhibit a first-order behavior. However, for …

Missouri River Recovery Program Keeping Recovery On Track: Annual Report

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Each calendar year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers produces a report to document the progress of the Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP). The Annual Report describes the team’s success in meeting the requirements laid out in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2000 Biological Opinion, amended in 2003, on the Operation of the Missouri River Main Stem System, Operation and Maintenance of the Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project and Operation of the Kansas River Reservoir System.

This fact sheet will highlight MRRP efforts in 2008, including new projects, program successes and areas for improvement.

Missouri River Recovery Program: Emergent Sandbar Habitat Program

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

States, cities and individuals benefit greatly from a healthy and thriving Missouri River. Maintaining a healthy river, including protecting species that live along the river, is a top priority for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Congress.

The survival of the endangered least tern and threatened piping plover is crucial to maintaining a thriving ecosystem on the Missouri River. While both shorebirds nest elsewhere as well, the sandbars of the Missouri River and reservoir shorelines are important to their overall survival. In 2002, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated areas along much of the Missouri River …

Missouri River Recovery Program: Using The Best Available Science: Monitoring Program

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

There is a growing body of information surrounding the manner in which a healthy
river system, such as the Missouri River, functions naturally. As we work towards mitigation, recovery and ultimately restoration, an extensive science program has been implemented so that our actions can be assessed and adjusted as we move towards meeting Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP) goals.

Missouri River Recovery Program: Finding The Right Balance: Sediment Management

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The goal of the Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP) is to create a sustainable ecosystem for the river’s native species while protecting and maintaining the Corps’ congressionally-authorized project purposes. Many of the river’s uses – such as habitat, agriculture, municipal water use, flood protection, navigation and hydropower – can be threatened by imbalanced sediment distribution in sections of the Missouri River and its tributaries.

Missouri River Recovery Program: The Perils Of The Pallid Sturgeon

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The pallid sturgeon is native to the Yellowstone River, Missouri River, middle and lower Mississippi River, and the lower segments of their major tributaries. It is a bottom-dwelling fish that lives in large, turbid, freeflowing rivers. The pallid sturgeon has poor vision and relies on its highly sensitive barbels to locate food. Individuals can live up to 70 years, and females do not reproduce until they are 15 to 20 years old.

Historical records indicate that the pallid sturgeon was never a common species, but it has experienced significant declines in distribution and abundance over the last 75 years. During …