Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Mix Design Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Leonardo T. Souza, Yong-Rak Kim

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Aggregate Angularity On Mix Design Characteristics And Pavement Performance, Yong-Rak Kim, Leonardo T. Souza

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This research targeted two primary purposes: to estimate current aggregate angularity test methods and to evaluate current aggregate angularity requirements in the Nebraska asphalt mixture/pavement specification. To meet the first research objective, various aggregate angularity tests were estimated with the same sets of aggregates and were compared by investigating their characteristics on testing repeatability, cost, testing time, workability, and sensitivity of test results. For the second objective, the effect of aggregate angularity on mixture performance was investigated by conducting laboratory performance tests (the uniaxial static creep test and the indirect tensile fracture energy test) of five mixes designed with different …

Extraction And Characterization Of Lipids From Microalgae Grown On Municipal Wastewater, Matthew W. Hutton

Master's Theses

Based on results of its Aquatic Species Program (1978-1996), which sought to develop algae-to-liquid fuel technology, the U.S. Department of Energy has suggested that algal wastewater treatment may be incorporated into biodiesel production schemes to reduce the operating costs of both processes. the purpose of the current research was to evaluate the triglycerides produced by wastewater-grown algae for their suitability as a fuel feedstock and to investigate the effectiveness of several solvent mixtures and extraction procedures at recovering lipids from fresh algae. The research involved two separate experiments. The first determined the quantity and quality of lipids produced over the …

Material Sustainability, Jessica Meadows, Natasha Morris

Architectural Engineering

This paper addresses the sustainability of the materials used to construct buildings today. Timber, concrete and steel are analyzed for carbon output, cost, and recyclable-ability.

Implementation Of Erosion Control Warranty Specification, Bob G. Mccullouch, Kok Kuan Ng

JTRP Technical Reports

One of the main issues in a warranty specification for erosion control items is how to evaluate performance objectively. This project developed a methodology that uses digital images to measure compliance with defined vegetation cover requirements. It is designed essentially for areas where vegetation (grass) is selected as the erosion control measure. The research was a technical approach to examine the feasibility of using digital photographic analysis. It does not address all issues related to field conditions and as such would require review by interested parties to be complete. For example, how often should sample pictures to taken. Should a …

2009 Indiana County Highway Department Wage And Salary Survey, Indiana Ltap

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

Included in this publication are wage and salary figures for the major salaried and hourly county highway positions in Indiana. In addition, the numbers of employees working under each job title are tabulated, and the ratio of total number of employees per mile of county road is displayed. The following series of tables are divided into four categories: administration, maintenance and repair, general and undistributed, and cumulative bridge. The appendix presents the recommended methods for calculating the labor burden for both salaried and hourly employees. Also included are generalized worksheets, which may be copied and used to calculate labor burden …

Risk Management And Assessment Of Upgrading And Standardizing Guardrail, Karen Zhu, Shuo Li

JTRP Technical Reports

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) has installed guardrail systems on interstate highways and other highways in accordance with a variety of standards throughout the years. Traffic volume has increased and the posted speeds have been raised on most INDOT’s interstate highways. Consequently, the characteristics of run-off-the-road (ROR) crashes may have changed. In the meantime, material prices have increased considerably and the guardrail maintenance and crash repair costs have increased accordingly. There is no doubt all these changes will not only greatly affect the ROR crash prediction, but also greatly affect the guardrail benefit/cost analysis. This study examined the current …

Bs News

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Parshall Flume Staff Gauge Location And Entrance Wingwall Discharge Calibration Corrections, Bryan J. Heiner

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Utah Water Research Laboratory, in conjunction with the State of Utah, initiated a study to determine the accuracy of a wide variety of flow measurement devices in Utah. The project selected 70 sites with flow measurement devices throughout the state. During the assessment each device had its physical condition and flow measurement accuracy documented.

Although a wide variety of flow measurement devices were tested, the majority were Parshall flumes. Many of the assessed Parshall flumes were not measuring flow to the specified ±5 percent design accuracy. Problems in flow measurement were due to issues with the staff gauge location …

Quantifying Surface Water And Groundwater Interactions In A High-Gradient Mountain Stream For Solute Transport, Noah M. Schmadel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A study reach in a mountain stream highly influenced by groundwater was selected to test common data collection strategies used to characterize and quantify groundwater exchange processes necessary to predict solute transport. The data types collected include: high frequency discharge estimates with the use of rating curves, dilution gauging techniques with instantaneous tracer experiments, groundwater table and stream water surface elevations, vertical head gradients, and hydraulic conductivity estimates. The first two data types were categorized as stream gauging and the remaining three data types as site characterization. The stream gauging data were used to quantify net changes in stream discharge …

Identifying And Comparing Key Process Attributes For Sustainable Building Delivery In India And The U.S., Prashanth Palanisamy

All Theses

India is a rapidly developing nation with the associated brisk pace of construction. More sustainable building practices for construction in India would have social, environmental, and economic benefits. However, the key process attributes for successfully planning, designing, and constructing sustainable buildings in India are largely undefined. Other projects in India would benefit from a rigorous identification of these key process attributes which could help leapfrogging the sustainable building delivery in India to the best available practices.
Sustainable buildings require different delivery processes than traditional buildings; this can lead to process wastes due to unfamiliarity or incompatibility of the processes. These …

Comparing Problem-Based Learning And Lecture As Methods To Teach Whole-Systems Design To Engineering Students, Michael Dukes

All Theses

The objective of this research is to compare problem-based learning and lecture as methods to teach whole-systems design to engineering students. A case study, Appendix A, exemplifying successful whole-systems design was developed and written by the author in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Institute. Concepts to be tested were then determined, and a questionnaire was developed to test students' preconceptions. A control group of students was taught using traditional lecture methods, and a sample group of students was taught using problem-based learning methods. After several weeks, the students were given the same questionnaire as prior to the instruction, and the …

Evaluation Of An Online Intelligent Transportation System (Its) Asset Management System, Tahera Anjuman

All Theses

Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) enhances the performance of modern transportation systems by improving the reliability of travel times and reducing the risk of collisions and injuries. Recently, many public agencies have expressed a need for an ITS asset management system that will effectively and efficiently meet their requirements of managing associated resources, which often includes technologically sophisticated devices, computer hardware and software, and communications infrastructure. To address this need, the author evaluated different asset management systems for their potential efficacy to support public agencies requirements for an ITS asset management system. These requirements were identified through a nationwide survey of …

Biological Treatment To Remove Color And Toxicity Of Effluent From The Manufacturing Of Navipol Yellow Gr, Larry French

All Theses

Navipol Yellow GR is an organic solvent azo dye manufactured by Sunbelt Corp. in Rock Hill, SC. The effluent generated from the manufacturing of this dye is highly colored, toxic, and contains trace solvents consisting of mixed xylene isomers and ethyl benzene. Traditional wastewater treatment systems are unable to remove the color and toxicity from the effluent. This study investigated using a sequential anaerobic / aerobic treatment system to decrease color and toxicity of the dye effluent. The anaerobic phase used bacteria cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecalis, or Enterobacter aerogenes to decrease the color of the dye. …

Probabilistic Remediation Evaluation Model For Chlorinated Solvents Considering Uncertainty, Hailian Liang

All Dissertations

The complex processes and expensive costs of source and plume remediation of dense, non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) complicate the decision-making process for site remediation. Selection of remediation alternatives has been a big challenge due to the lack of tools that simultaneously evaluate the effectiveness of source and plume remediation and access the uncertainties in all major parameters. In this research, a new probabilistic remediation model, Probabilistic Remediation Evaluation Model for Chlorinated solvents sites (PREMChlor), has been developed. This is achieved through linking the analytical model REMChlor to a Monte Carlo modeling simulation package GoldSim via a FORTRAN Dynamic Link Library …

Investigating The Factors That Influence Injury Severity During Large Truck Crashes, Irina Olegovna Hoag

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Large trucks and passenger cars share the transportation infrastructure. The diversity of mass, size and maneuverability of vehicles on roads makes truck involved collisions very dangerous and causes injury and fatality of drivers and passengers. Considering that large trucks are usually traveling for a long distance and cross country, Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) collected data to analyze and predict injury or fatality from a set of predictor (independent) variables. Data were collected at 24 sites in 17 States and 2,284 vehicles were involved in crashes and have up to 1,000 variables for each crash. Sixty-nine percent of these …

An Assessment Of Indoor Infiltration Parameters For Black Carbon From Residential Wood Combustion And The Spectral Dependence Of Light Absorption For Organic Carbon, Christopher John Malejan

Master's Theses

Black carbon, a proxy for woodsmoke was measured indoors and outdoors for an occupied residence in Cambria, CA during the winter months of 2009. The purpose was to investigate the infiltration parameters: air exchange rate, deposition rate, and penetration factor. The second part of this study investigated the light absorption properties of organic carbon from residential wood combustion, the dominant fraction of woodsmoke.

To assess woodsmoke variation, a study conducted parallel to the one presented in this thesis (Ward, 2009), a grid array of personal emission monitors (PEMS) and aethalometers were placed in a small area, approximately one square kilometer, …

Design And Performance Of Load Bearing Shear Walls Made From Composite Rice Straw Blocks, Kevin Robert Camann

Master's Theses

Although rice straw and other grains have been used in building since pre-history, in the past two decades, there has been a move to utilize this rapidly renewable, locally available, agricultural byproduct as part of the sustainable construction movement. Up to this point, this has been done by simply stacking up the full straw bales. Stak Block, invented by Oryzatech, Inc., is a modular, interlocking block made of a composite of rice straw and binding agent that serves as an evolution in straw construction. This study investigates the feasibility of using these Stak Blocks as a structural system. The report …

Climate Change Impacts On Water Resources Of The Upper Blue Nile River Basin, Ethiopia, U. Kim, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi, V. U. Smakhtin

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Climate change affects water resources availability of international river basins that are vulnerable to runoff variability of upstream countries especially with increasing water demands. The upper Blue Nile River Basin is a good example because its downstream countries, Sudan and Egypt, depend solely on Nile waters for their economic development. In this study, the impacts of climate change on both hydrology and water resources operations were analyzed using the outcomes of six different general circulation models (GCMs) for the 2050s. The outcomes of these six GCMs were weighted to provide average future changes. Hydrologic sensitivity, flow statistics, a drought index, …

Live Load Models For Long Span Bridges, Marta Lutomirska

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In the doctoral dissertation a live load model for long span structures was derived. The live load model is valid for spans between 600 ft and 5000 ft and it is intended to reflect current traffic patterns, quantities of trucks and their weights. The live load models available were developed for short and medium span bridges. Those models were not appropriate for long span bridges due to different types of structure and critical traffic patterns. Live load on long spans depends on traffic mix. One heavily overloaded truck does not have significant influence. Moreover, the continuous increase in the number …

Relative Performance Comparison And Loss Estimation Of Seismically Isolated And Fixed-Based Buildings Using Pbee Approach, Prayag J. Sayani

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Current design codes generally use an equivalent linear approach for preliminary design of a seismic isolation system. The equivalent linear approach is based on effective parameters, rather than physical parameters of the system, and may not accurately account for the nonlinearity of the isolation system. The second chapter evaluates an alternative normalized strength characterization against the equivalent linear characterization. Following considerations for evaluation are included: (1) ability to effectively account for variations in ground motion intensity, (2) ability to effectively describe the energy dissipation capacity of the isolation system, and (3) conducive to developing design equations that can be implemented …

Live-Load Test And Computer Modeling Of A Pre-Cast Concrete Deck, Steel Girder Bridge, And A Cast-In-Place Concrete Box Girder Bridge, Leonardo A. Pockels

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The scheduled replacement of the 8^th North Bridge, in Salt Lake City, UT, presented a unique opportunity to test a pre-cast concrete deck, steel girder bridge. A live-load test was performed under the directions of Bridge Diagnostic Inc (BDI) and Utah State University. Six different load paths were chosen to be tested. The recorded data was used to calibrate a finite-element model of this superstructure, which was created using solid, shell, and frame elements. A comparison between the measured and finite-element response was performed and it was determined that the finite-element model replicated the measured results within 3.5% of …

Removal And Utilization Of Wastewater Nutrients For Algae Biomass And Biofuels, Erick W. Griffiths

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Logan City Environmental Department operates a facility that consists of 460 acres of fairly shallow lagoons (~ 5'deep) for biological wastewater treatment that meets targets for primary and secondary treatments (solids, biological oxygen demand (BOD), and pathogen removal). Significant natural algal growth occurs in these lagoons, which improves BOD removal through oxygenation and also facilitates N removal through volatilization as ammonia under high pH conditions created by algal growth. Phosphorus, however, is non-volatile and stays in the water and likely cycles in and out of algal cells as they grow and die in the lagoons. In the near future, …

Factors Affecting Air Entrainment Of Hydraulic Jumps Within Closed Conduits, Joshua D. Mortensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

While there has been a great deal of research on air entrainment at hydraulic jumps within closed conduits, very little of the research has specifically addressed size and temperature scale effects. Influences from jump location and changing length characteristics on air entrainment have also received little attention from past research. To determine the significance of size-scale effects of air entrained by hydraulic jumps in closed conduits, air flow measurements were taken in four different-sized circular pipe models with similar Froude numbers. Each of the pipe models sloped downward and created identical flow conditions that differed only in size. Additionally, specific …

The Formation And Control Of Iodinated Trihalomethanes In Drinking Water Treatment, Darryl Jones

All Theses

Ever since toxic disinfection by-products (DBPs) were discovered in the 1970s drinking water utilities have had to continue to develop treatment strategies to reduce the acute health risk from infectious pathogens in water, and at the same time limit the formation of disinfection by-products. The recent two stage (1998, 2006) D/DBP rule enacted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which sets limits of 80 µg/L for trihalomethanes (THMs) and 60 µg/L for haloacetic acids (HAAs) will likely put more pressure on utilities in the future to decrease their chorine contact time and follow that with ammonia addition to form monochloramine …

Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration (Vii) Enabled Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (Phevs) For Traffic And Energy Management, Xueying Kang

All Theses

Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) program (also known as IntelliDrive) has proven the potential to improve transportation conditions by enabling the communication between vehicles and infrastructure, which provides a wide range of applications in transportation safety and mobility. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) that utilize both electrical and gasoline energy are a commercially viable technology with potential to contribute to both sustainable development and environmental conservation through increased fuel economy and reduced emissions. Considering positive potentials of PHEVs and VII in ITS, a framework that integrates PHEVs with VII technology was created in this research utilizing vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications for …

East Bay Energy Consortium Technical Committee Meeting Minutes, November 30, 2009, East Bay Energy Consortium

East Bay Energy Consortium Meeting Minutes

No abstract provided.

Performance Of A Full-Scale Lateral Foundation With Fine And Coarse Gravel Backfills Subjected To Static, Cyclic, And Dynamic Lateral Loads, Joshua M. Pruett

Theses and Dissertations

Full-scale lateral load tests were performed on a pile cap with five backfill conditions: no backfill, densely compacted fine gravel, loosely compacted fine gravel, densely compacted coarse gravel, and loosely compacted coarse gravel. Static loads, applied by hydraulic load actuators, were followed by low-frequency, actuator-driven cyclic loads as well as higher frequency dynamic loads from an eccentric mass shaker. Passive resistance from the backfill significantly increased the lateral capacity of the pile cap. Densely compacted backfill materials contributed about 70% of the total system resistance, whereas loosely compacted backfill materials contributed about 40%. The mobilized passive resistance occurred at displacement-to-height …

A Study Of Electricians' Preferences Of Pvc And Alternative Conduit Materials In The State Of Utah, Robert Andrus

Theses and Dissertations

Polyvinyl Chloride, commonly known as PVC is a common and effective construction material. PVC is also one of the most common types of plastic. In 2008, global production and consumption of PVC was approximately 34.5 million tons. The construction industry is responsible for about 70% of the world's consumption of PVC. The largest construction use of PVC is for pipe and conduit. Modern construction, especially structures built for data services depend heavily upon PVC conduit for underground pathways to distribute electricity and data. PVC is also at the center of a fierce effort by environmental groups who would like to …

Impact Of Large Gravity Loads On Buckling Restrained Braced Frame Performance, Mark Thurgood Matthews

Theses and Dissertations

The Buckling Restrained Braced Frame (BRBF) is used in steel structures as a lateral load resisting system for seismic events. In typical design procedure the impact of gravity loads acting on BRBFs is neglected and the beams and columns of the structure are designed to resist all gravity loads. In actuality BRBFs are supporting portions of gravity loads acting on the structure which may be changing the overall performance of BRBFs. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of large gravity loads on BRBF performance. This is done using finite element analysis to test two different structures …