Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation During Pregnancy, And In Adult Nulliparous Mice, Delays The Subsequent Development Of Dmba-Induced Mammary Tumors, Tao Wang, Heather M. Gavin, Volker M. Arlt, B. Paige Lawrence, Suzanne E. Fenton, Daniel Medina, Beth A. Vorderstrasse

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the prototypic ligand for the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), promotes tumor formation in some model systems. However, with regard to breast cancer, epidemiological and animal studies are inconclusive as to whether exposure increases tumor incidence or may instead be protective. We have previously reported that mice exposed to TCDD during pregnancy have impaired differentiation of mammary tissue, including decreased branching and poor development of lobuloalveolar structures. Because normal pregnancy-induced mammary differentiation may protect against subsequent neoplastic transformation, we hypothesized that TCDD-treated mice would be more susceptible to chemical carcinogenesis after parturition. To test this, mice were …

Emergy As A Life Cycle Impact Assessment Indicator A Gold Mining Case Study, Wesley W. Ingwesen

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Founded in thermodynamics and systems ecology, emergy evaluation is a method to associate a product with its dependencies on all upstream environmental and resource flows using a common unit of energy. Emergy is thus proposed as an indicator of aggregate resource use for life cycle assessment (LCA). An LCA of gold mining, based on an original life cycle inventory of a large gold mine in Peru, is used to demonstrate how emergy can be incorporated as an impact indicator into a process-based LCA model. The results demonstrate the usefulness of emergy in the LCA context. The adaptation of emergy evaluation, …

Evolution Of Natural History Information In The 21st Century – Developing An Integrated Framework For Biological And Geographical Data, Deborah A. Reusser, Henry Lee Ii

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Threats to marine and estuarine species operate over many spatial scales, from nutrient enrichment at the watershed/estuarine scale to invasive species and climate change at regional and global scales. To help address research questions across these scales, we provide here a standardized framework for a biogeographical information system containing queriable biological data that allows extraction of information on multiple species, across a variety of spatial scales based on species distributions, natural history attributes and habitat requirements. As scientists shift from research on localized impacts on individual species to regional and global scale threats, macroecological approaches of studying multiple species over …

Effects Of Biologically-Active Chemical Mixtures On Fish In A Wastewater-Impacted Urban Stream, Larry B. Barber, Gregory K. Brown, Todd G. Nettesheim, Elizabeth W. Murphy, Stephen E. Bartell, Heiko L. Schoenfuss

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Publications

Stream flow in urban aquatic ecosystems often is maintained by water-reclamation plant (WRP) effluents that contain mixtures of natural and anthropogenic chemicals that persist through the treatment processes. In effluent-impacted streams, aquatic organisms such as fish are continuously exposed to biologically-active chemicals throughout their life cycles. The North Shore Channel of the Chicago River (Chicago, Illinois) is part of an urban ecosystem in which >80% of the annual flow consists of effluent from the North Side WRP. In this study, multiple samplings of the effluent and stream water were conducted and fish (largemouth bass and carp) were collected on 2 …

Investigating Rfid For Linear Asset Management, Judy A. Perkins Ph.D., P.E., Erick C. Jones Ph.D., P.E., Cssbb, Judith L. Mwakalonge Ph.D., E.I.T

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

A linear asset is defined as an asset whose length plays a critical role in its maintenance. Examples of such assets include roads, pipelines, and railroad tracks. Major features of a roadway asset include traffic lights, number of lanes, speed limits, guardrails, and highway billboards. Linear assets, along with their features, are hard to physically access; therefore, previously captured inventory information files may be inaccurate. To address this problem, some of the transportation agencies are investigating technologies that will assist in solving this asset inventory problem. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a technology that uses communication via radio waves to …

Improving The Freight Transportation Roadway System During Snow Events: A Performance Evaluation Of Deicing Chemicals, Christopher Y. Tuan, Barbara M. Gerbino-Bevins

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The ability of state DOTs to adequately clear roadways during winter weather conditions is critical for a safe and effective freight transportation system. Variables affecting winter maintenance operations include the type of precipitation, air and pavement temperature, traffic, wind, time of day, day of week, and maintenance equipment. The main objective of this study is to identify the best practices for normal deicing operations, based on the performance rating of deicing chemicals. Optimum deicer/brine ratios and the associated application rates will be determined for various weather conditions. The best practices will ensure effective deicing operation and economical use of deicing …

Impact Of Large 0.7 Inch Strand On Nu-I Girders, Maher K. Tadros Ph.D., P.E., George Morcous Ph.D.

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The NU I-Girder series uses a unique cross-section and high-strength concrete to achieve longer spans. The objective of this project was to develop the quality control and design criteria required to introduce 0.7 inch strands at 2 in. spacing in NU I-Girders. Compared to 0.5 inch strands, only 1/2 of the total number of strands would be needed. This would result in immediate labor savings in precast concrete product costs. More importantly, having the ability to introduce almost twice the prestressing force, compared to 0.5 inch strands, and 135% of the prestressing force, compared to 0.6 inch strands, could result …

A Framework For The Nationwide Multimode Transportation Demand Analysis, Hojong Baik Ph.D., Yuepeng Cui, Tao Li

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This study attempts to analyze the impact of traffic on the US highway system considering both passenger vehicles and trucks. For the analysis, a pseudo-dynamic traffic assignment model is proposed to estimate the time-dependent link flow from the intercity travelers on the network covering the continental U.S. A two-stage simulation scheme was designed to separate the intercity and non-intercity travelers involved in the link flow. The fuel consumption and emissions from the intercity travelers are estimated based on data in Mobile, the emission model developed by EPA. The suggested methodology could be adopted in further deployment of a nationwide transportation …

2011 Nebraska Water Monitoring Programs Report, Marty Link

Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality: Reports

The Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality (NDEQ) is charged with monitoring, assessing, and to the extent possible, managing the state’s water resources. The purpose of this work is to protect and maintain good quality water and encourage or execute activities to improve poor water quality. Monitoring is done on the over 18,000 miles of flowing rivers and streams, our greater than 280,000 acres of surface water in lakes and reservoirs, and the vast storage of groundwater in Nebraska’s aquifers.

Structural Capacity Of Steel Tubular Cast-In-Place Piling , Kevin A. Mears

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

Steel tubular cast-in-place pilings are used throughout the country for many different project types. These piles are a closed-end pipe with varying wall thicknesses and outer diameters, that are driven to depth and then the core is filled with concrete. These piles are typically used for smaller bridges, or secondary structures. Mostly the piling is designed based on a resistance based method which is a function of the soil properties of which the pile is driven through, however there is a structural capacity of these members that is considered to be the upper bound on the loading of the member. …

Numerical Study On The Curling And Warping Of Hardened Rigid Pavement Slabs, Qin Yinghong

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

In-service hardened concrete pavement suffers from environmental loadings caused by curling and warping of the slab. Traditionally, these loadings are computed on the basis of treating the slab as an elastic material, and of evaluating separately the curling and warping components. This dissertation simulates temperature distribution and moisture distribution through the slabs by use of a developed numerical model that couples the heat transfer and moisture transport. The computation of environmental loadings treats the slab as an elastic-viscous material, which considers the relaxation behavior and Pickett effect of the concrete.

The heat transfer model considers the impacts of solar radiation, …

Transit System Evaluation Process: From Planning To Realization, K Bartman, Jennifer Ogle, Mashrur Chowdhury, Anne Dunning

Publications

Many frameworks exist to help transit agencies plan, operate, and monitor the performance of transit in rural and urban communities. No framework integrates these three critical business practices into one coherent and flexible framework useful to rural and small-sized cities. The primary objective of this research was to integrate planning, operations, and performance measurement activities into a framework designed to evaluate transit in the context of overall mobility. By combining planning, evaluation, and performance monitoring processes, a succinct framework useful to transit agencies and planners was created. In addition to city entities, colleges and universities operating or contracting transit systems …

Effects Of Nitrogen Deposition And Empirical Nitrogen Critical Loads For Ecoregions Of The United States, Linda H. Pardo, Mike E. Fenn, Christine L. Goodale, Linda. H. Geiser, Charles T. Driscoll, Edith B. Allen, Jill S. Baron, Roland Bobbink, Williams D. Bowman, Christopher M. Clark, Bridget Emmett, Frank S. Gilliam, Tara L. Greaver, Sharon J. Hall, Erik A. Lilleskov, Lingli Liu, Jason A. Lynch, Knute J. Nadelhoffer, Steven S. Perakis, Molly J. Robin-Abbott, John L. Stoddard, Kathleen C. Weathers, Robin L. Dennis

Civil and Environmental Engineering - All Scholarship

Human activity in the last century has led to a significant increase in nitrogen (N) emissions and atmospheric deposition. This N deposition has reached a level that has caused or is likely to cause alterations to the structure and function of many ecosystems across the United States. One approach for quantifying the deposition of pollution that would be harmful to ecosystems is the determination of critical loads. A critical load is defined as the input of a pollutant below which no detrimental ecological effects occur over the long-term according to present knowledge.

The objectives of this project were to synthesize …

Evaluating Beat Structure And Truck Allocation For The Tarrant County Courtesy Patrol, Farzad Daneshgar

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Non-recurring congestion poses a significant concern to urban freeway drivers. Effective incident management relies on many tools to lessen the overall impact of crashes, road debris, and stalled/disabled vehicles. While many of the tools are based in a region's traffic management center, many urban areas have adopted freeway service patrol (FSP) programs that patrol the freeway network searching for incidents, providing aid to motorists, and assisting with incident management and clearance. While FSP operations can be assessed in terms of response and clearance times, FSP management must consider the beat structure and fleet allocation. This investigation considers response time and …

Characterization And Evaluation Of Gas Generation Potential Of Municipal Solid Waste From A Closed Section Of A Landfill, Sonia Samir

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

At present, there are more than 40 closed municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills around DFW and North Texas. A closed landfill might have potential benefits for gas recovery and utilization due to the presence of organic components in the MSW. The decomposition of organic components of MSW produces gas. The decomposition process after landfill closure may continue for 20 to 100 years depending on the operational practice of the landfill. However, to evaluate the methane potential of a closed landfill it is important to have the understanding of the characteristics of the existing or decomposed landfill wastes. The current study …

The Last Planner System For Realiable Project Delivery, Alok Patel

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The Last Planner System is a production planning system designed to produce predictable work flow and rapid learning in programming, design, construction and commissioning of projects. The Last Planner System (LPS) is developed by Glenn Ballard and Greg Howell as a production planning and control system to assist in smoothing variations in construction work flow, developing planning foresight, and reducing uncertainty in construction operations. The LPS challenges the old practices of developing schedules and pushing them from top management down to frontline people to execute. It advocates collaborative planning, performing collaborative constraint analysis, and learning from planning failures. The LPS …

Determination Of Geotechnical Properties Of Clayey Soil From Resistivity Imaging (Ri), Golam Kibria

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The use of resistivity imaging (RI) in the subsurface investigation has increased in recent years. RI is a non destructive method and provides a continuous image of the subsurface. Based on the electrical conduction phenomenon of soil, spatial and temporal moisture variation and he-terogeneity of subsurface can be evaluated from RI. However, only qualitative evaluation of sub-surface can be obtained from RI. The correlation between RI results and geotechnical engineering properties of soils has become an important issue for rigorous use of this method in site in-vestigation. The current study attempts to develop the relationship and correlations between geo-technical parameters …

Comparison Of Dust Generation From Open Cut And Trenchless Technology Methods For Utility Construction, Sahajanand Madhusudan Kamat

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Construction industry has changed many aspects of human life and is still evolving at a rapid pace. New and better technologies which are environmentally friendly and safe are being introduced in this industry. But with the passage of time, this industry has got riddled with loss of human life and quality due to various scenarios. One of the major contributors to such conditions is dust generated on a construction site. The amount of dust a worker inhales during his whole career is very dangerous. This research has found out that using trenchless technology, this exposure to dust can be reduced …

The Effect Of Fiber Corrosion On Shear Capacity Of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams And An Initial Investigation On Alkali-Silica Reaction In Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Regina Nyambura Waweru

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The first part of this research aims to investigate the effect of fiber corrosion on the shear capacity of Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete beams. It will also strive to determine at what reduction in minimum diameter of the fiber does the effect of corrosion become most severe on the shear capacity of the beam. Four simply-supported beams with a shear span to depth ratio of 3.3 were subjected to a monotonically increasing load. The targeted concrete compressive strength for all beams was 6000 psi. This however differed from the measured strength due to a number of factors as will be …

Development Of A True-Cost Concept For Renewal Of Municipal Underground Pipeline Systems, Dennis Abraham

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Asset management principles for underground pipeline infrastructure (UPI) are used by municipalities for efficient delivery of water, wastewater, and storm sewers. Due to budget constraints and limited resources, municipalities need to improve their operations, utilizing an optimum cost to provide their asset management services. Life cycle costs (LCC) include the total cost of facility ownership taking into account all capital costs, operation and maintenance costs, and renewing or disposing costs. Asset management costs include the maintenance and renewal portion of LCC. The main objective of this research is to develop asset management strategies with consideration of all the cost factors …

Local Calibration Of Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide For North Eastern United States, Shariq A. Momin

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) developed under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) 1-37A project is based on mechanistic-empirical analysis of the pavement structure to predict the performance of the pavement under different sets of conditions (traffic, structure and environment). MEPDG takes into account the advanced modeling concepts and pavement performance models in performing the analysis and design of pavement. The mechanistic part of the design concept relies on the application of engineering mechanics to calculate stresses, strains and deformations in the pavement structure induced by the vehicle loads. The empirical part of the concept is based on …

Fluorinated And Fluorocarbon Coating Of Tio₂ By Pulsed Plasma Processing: Improved Photocatalytic Oxidation Of Gaseous M-Xylene And Mercury, Sulak Sumitsawan

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is a preferred catalyst for photocatalytic oxidation of many air pollutants. In an effort to enhance its photocatalytic activity, TiO₂ was modified by pulsed plasma treatment. In this work, TiO₂ nanoparticles, coated on a glass plate, were treated with a plasma discharge of hexafluoropropylene oxide (HFPO) gas. By appropriate adjustment of discharge conditions, it was discovered that the TiO₂ particles can be either directly fluorinated (Ti-F) or coated with thin perfluorocarbon films (C-F). Specifically, under relatively high power input, the plasma deposition process favored direct surface fluorination. The extent of Ti-F formation increased with increasing power input. …

Effectiveness Of Public Private Partnership For Infrastructure Projects, Pius Francis Kwaku Agyemang

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Public Private Partnership (PPP) has over the years proven to be a good procurement method for Infrastructure projects. The partnership combines the efficiency, expertise, and innovation etc. of the private sector as well as appropriate risk allocation between both public and private sectors. The method also provides an alternate avenue for capital needed for engineering projects. The financing options provided through PPP makes the method increasingly popular due to the current global financial crisis. The method is employed in both developed and developing countries. The United States of America has been using the method since the 1980's. Most governments currently …

Unsaturated Soil Behavior Under Large Deformations Using A Fully Servo/Suction-Controlled Ring Shear Apparatus, Claudia Liliana Velosa Gamboa

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In recent years, the key hypotheses of most elasto-plastic constitutive frameworks postulated for unsaturated soils have been validated via suction-controlled oedometer, triaxial, and direct shear testing. These techniques, however, allow for the application of loads along limited modes and levels of soil deformation. Today, it is well known that most geotechnical infrastructure resting on unsaturated ground involves a wide range of deformations. Calculation of foundation settlement, for instance, requires a good estimation of soil stiffness at relatively small strains. Analysis of slopes, embankments, and soil bearing capacity, on the other hand, requires an adequate estimation of shear strength, from peak …

Web-Based Tidal Toolbox Of Astronomic Tidal Data For The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Esturaries Sic] And Continental Shelf Of The South Atlantic Bight, Alfredo Ruiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A high-resolution astronomic tidal model has been developed that includes detailed inshore regions of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway and associated estuaries along the South Atlantic Bight. The unique nature of the model’s development ensures that the tidal hydrodynamic interaction between the shelf and estuaries is fully described. Harmonic analysis of the model output results in a database of tidal information that extends from a semi-circular arc (radius ~750 km) enclosing the South Atlantic Bight from the North Carolina coast to the Florida Keys, onto the continental shelf and into the full estuarine system. The need for tidal boundary conditions (elevation …

A Web-Based Learning Module For Teaching Gis Within The Context Of Environmental Engineering, Sirjana Dahal, Richard H. Hall, Glenn Morrison, Seth Paul Lamble, Ronaldo Luna

Business and Information Technology Faculty Research & Creative Works

There is a Growing Need for Teaching Geographical Information Systems (GIS) in Engineering Disciplines, Such as Environmental. However, There Has Been Limited Focus on GIS in Undergraduate Programs, Since It's Difficult to Fit a GIS Class into the Large Number of Class Requirements Already Included in Engineering Curricula. the Purpose of This Research is the Evaluation of Web-Based Learning Module Created by a Multidisciplinary Team at a Midwestern Technological Research University, Which Allows Instructors to Integrate GIS Instruction into Existing Courses. This Module is One Part of a Large-Scale National Science Foundation Funded Project in Which GIS Modules Are Being …

Evaluation Of Structural Monitoring Methods For Large Diameter Water Transmission Pipelines, Moksha Kizhakke Covilakam

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The water transmission lines span thousands of miles and form a significant part of the underground infrastructure of United States. The condition of water pipelines deteriorates with time and becomes more vulnerable to catastrophic failures and often results in costly replacement measures. With the advancement of technology, several new techniques have been developed for the condition assessment of water pipelines. However, no unified standards are followed for the selection of these technologies. Moreover, the current decision making methodology followed by water pipeline operators is usually based on individual experience and project requirements and resources. This research presents a comprehensive overview …

Shear Behavior Of Steel Fiber Reinforced Prestressed Concrete Beams Without Shear Reinforcement, Jae-Sung Cho

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The ACI 318-08 building code allows to use the steel fiber reinforcement as alternative shear reinforcement with satisfying certain criteria when a beam is required minimum shear reinforcement. However, this provision applies to a nonprestressed and prestressed concrete beam such that it could be conservative since the shear strength of prestressed concrete beam is generally enhanced due to the prestressing force. This is due partially to the fact that the provision has been accepted based on researches, mostly conducted in nonprestressed concrete beam. Most of experiments conducted for prestressed concrete beam in small scale tests, with a height of specimens …

Evaluation Of Resistivity Imaging (Ri) Method For Determining Unknown Deep Foundation Depth, Mohammad Sadik Khan

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

There are approximately 580,000 highway bridges in the National Bridge inventory and 104,000 of these bridges are estimated to have unknown foundations type and/or depth. Determining unknown foundation length and type of bridge foundation is becoming an important issue for State DOTs to ensure the safety of the bridge. There are several methods available to determine unknown foundation depth based on specific site conditions and type of foundation to be tested. Resistivity Imaging (RI) is a non destructive method to investigate the subsurface condition. The objective of current study was to determine unknown bridge foundation depth of three bridges at …

Carbon Footprint Analysis Of A Large Diameter Water Transmission Pipeline Installation, Lalit Chilana

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The term pipeline refers to a long line of connected segments of pipe, with pumps, valves, control devices, and other equipment or facilities needed for operating the system. Water transmission pipelines are generally large diameter (more than 12 in.) pipes which transport the water from one place to another. Installation of these pipes is a complex process due to variability of ground conditions over long distance installations. Sometimes, it is difficult to relate pipelines to the environment because of the out of sight nature. But it follows a close relationship with our environment due to various energy consuming activities involved …