Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Aerosol Characterizaton In El Paso-Juarez Airshed Using Optical Methods, Angel E. Esparza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The assessment and characterization of atmospheric aerosols and their optical properties are of great significance for several applications such as air pollution studies, atmospheric visibility, remote sensing of the atmosphere, and impacts on climate change. Decades ago, the interest in atmospheric aerosols was primarily for visibility impairment problems; however, recently interest has intensified with efforts to quantify the optical properties of aerosols, especially because of the uncertainties surrounding the role of aerosols in climate change. The main objective of the optical characterization of aerosols is to understand their properties. These properties are determined by the aerosols' chemical composition, size, shape …

Evaluation And Recommendation Of Mix Design For Emulsion Stabilized Bases, Samuel Franco

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Asphalt emulsion has been used for base material stabilization in a few TxDOT districts. Results from these practices were quite different. The initial performance of two projects on US287 constructed around 2000 in the Amarillo District has been found to be satisfactory. However, the Yoakum District has reported problems with asphalt emulsion for base work in a project on FM 237. The preliminary conclusion from these trials has been that asphalt emulsion may not perform well in the high humidity/high rainfall areas like east Texas. On the other hand, using calcium-based additives to stabilize base courses in road construction has …

Variation Of Number And Mass Concentration Of Particulate Matter At The International Bridge Of The Americas In El Paso, Texas, Veronica Guerrero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Particle mass and number concentration measurements during different seasonal periods were conducted to study the effects caused by both privately own vehicles (POV) and commercial operated vehicles at the International Bridge of the Americas (BOTA), El Paso, Texas. There were two monitoring sites: UTEP air quality mobile monitoring site at the El Paso Water Utility (EPWU) located at the Chamizal National Memorial Park (CNMP) near the bridge. At this location measurements of traffic counts, size distribution, particle number and mass concentration PM"₁₀" (EP"₁₀"; El Paso PM"₁₀") and PM"_2.5" (EP"_2.5"; El …

Study Of Probabilistic Approach For Structural Health Assessment Of Aerospace Structures, Jose Antonio Garcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Current practical approaches used in structural health assessment programs of aerospace structures involve performing a fracture mechanics analysis to verify the safe life of structural components. The analysis typically makes several conservative assumptions implemented by NASA fracture control standard practices for critical structural components. This well-established paradigm for fracture control follows a deterministic approach and, in some cases, the calculations may produce overly conservative remaining life estimates.

This thesis describes the results of a study to approach the health assessment challenge of several critical components using probabilistic methods. The probabilistic analysis takes the current deterministic model and identifies variables that …

Determination Of Critical Parameters For Solar Probe Plus Shielding, Sergio Rafael Mendez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A methodology to determine critical design parameters such as critical "design" particle size, and critical "design" impact speed for the shielding of the Solar Probe Plus spacecraft was developed in this thesis. Several critical components and surfaces of the spacecraft such as the Solar Array North, the Thermal Protection System, and the ISIS Instruments were analyzed in this study. The methodology determines the critical "design" particle size based on the required reliability or probability of no impact. Current NASA methods do not provide means to calculate critical "design" impact speeds for missions such as Solar Probe Plus, where the distributions …

Methodology To Convert A Transportation Planning Origin-Destination Matrix Into A Microscopic Traffic Simulation Origin-Destination Matrix, Jose Osiris Vidana-Bencomo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Microscopic traffic simulation (MTS) is a cost-effective approach for the evaluation of traffic conditions in urban highways networks. In MTS models, traffic demand that is entered into the network is specified by one or several Origin-Destination (O-D) matrices. A major challenge in the application of MTS for large urban networks is the specification of the O-D matrices. This dissertation proposes a methodology that may be used to transform a O-D matrix from a transportation planning model (which is based on Traffic Analysis Zone, or TAZ, and is readily available) into a O-D matrix for a MTS model (which is traffic …

A Framework For Strategic Sustainable Supply Chain Design, Abril Paola Vazquez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Sustainable supply chain management has raised interest considerably in recent years; due to environmental concerns from society as well industries. There is a high interest in the industries to solve this problem but many of the frameworks are directed to specific situation or structure. A strategic sustainable supply chain design framework is presented with the purpose of providing many companies, including small and big industries, the means to maintain an eco-friendly operation. These include; industry plants, distribution centers, and retailers.

Analysis Of Indoor And Outdoor Particulate Matter At Various Residences In The El Paso Region, Joseph Christopher Pinon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This thesis is a presentation of particulate matter data collected from February 2007 to June 2008. Personal environment monitors (PEM), which measured 7-day PM2.5 concentrations, had been deployed at 14 homes during the 2007 year and deployed in 16 different homes during the 2008 sampling year. Within each sampling year, sampling occurred for two one-week (7-day) periods during each season. In addition to PEM sampling, a tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) continuous sampler had been deployed in both indoors and outdoors at one pre-selected household per week. Gravimetric, chemical, and black carbon analysis had been performed on the PEM PM2.5 …

Residential Recycling Study, Richard Adams

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to gain baseline performance figures and statistics for El Paso's curbside recycling program. With these baseline statistics the effectiveness of changes for promotion and outreach can be evaluated once implemented. In addition, operational changes such as to every other week recycling collection rather then every week or a "pay as you throw" system could be evaluated.

Evaluation Of Nondestructive Technologies To Assess Presence And Extent Of Delamination Of Hot Mix Asphalt Airfield Pavements, Manuel Celaya

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Sufficient bonding between the hot mix asphalt layers is essential to ensure the desired structural capacity of a pavement. Delamination or debonding problems are particularly more severe on airfield pavements, due to higher traffic loads applied by aircrafts. Further progression of delamination may result in stripping of the lower layers due to the intrusion of moisture or may develop other dangerous distresses such as foreign object debris. The existing nondestructive testing procedures and equipment that have the potential to address the problem were identified and their effectiveness and potential for success were evaluated. The Ground Penetrating Radar, Falling Weight Deflectometer, …

Impact Of Truck Suspension And Road Roughness On Loads Exerted To Pavements, Shahram Misaghi Bonabi

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A software package, called IntPave, an Integrated Pavement Damage Analyzer, was developed at the Center of Transportation Infrastructure Systems at The University of Texas at El Paso with the capacity to calculate the pavement distress for flexible pavements under any type of traffic load, and to make a comparison of the level of distress caused by a standard and a non-standard, assuming statically exerted loading. However, what has been lacking is a tool to measure the dynamic impact on the pavement due to vehicle-road interaction. In this report, the interaction of truck suspension systems with the roughness of the road …

Assessment Of Intra-Urban Traffic-Related Air Pollution On Asthmatic Children's Exposure At Schools In The Paso Del Norte Region, Amit Ugamraj Raysoni

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Traffic-related air pollution can be a major public health concern in any urban area. This problem is compounded in the Paso del Norte region that has experienced rapid economic growth, and a substantial number of people living in close vicinity of major roadways. The desert surroundings, arid weather, frequent temperature inversions, heavy border traffic at the international ports of entry between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez, and poorly maintained vehicle fleet further exacerbates this problem. A growing body of air quality and epidemiologic research has discerned the linkage between traffic emissions and respiratory disorders.

Initial health investigations in the Paso …

Asphaltene As Light Harvesting Material In Dye Sensitized Solar Cell, Rajab Emhemed Abujnah

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation characterizes the first asphaltene DSSC (dye-sensitized solar cell), in which light to electricity conversion efficiency has improved from 0 % to 1.8 %. Four natural organic asphaltene factions, namely, un-fractionated asphaltene, Fr. 1 Asphaltene, Fr.2 asphaltene, Fr.3 and Fr.4 were extracted and tested for various solar cell parameters of TiO2 based dye-sensitized solar cell DSSC. DSSCs were fabricated using the four individual asphaltene dyes. The photovoltaic performance of the cells was examined by determining the various parameters such as open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, fill factor, and series resistance. The overall energy conversion efficiency was also measured to correlate …

Adaptation Of Low Impact Design To The Desert Southwest, Abubaker Ali Alamailes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A low Impact Development (LID) practices were used to design an Integrated Management Practices (IMP) system for a residential lot .The design was adapted to the Desert Southwest region based on twenty years of climate data including precipitation and temperature for three representative cities: El Paso, TX, Albuquerque, NM, and Phoenix, AZ. In order to capture stormwater runoff close to its source and to provide as much stored water as possible for plants, LID practices including bioretention cells and vegetated swales were applied throughout the lawn. The purpose of the design is to maintain the pre-development hydrologic characteristics of the …

Monitoring And Improving The Effectiveness Of Quality Control And Quality Assurance In Road Construction At Al-Ain Municipality, Mohammed Muftah Sultan Al Aryani

Theses

A good roads network has an important bearing on the economic growth of the country. Construction of quality roads, which is considered a primary objective of any highway agencies and contractors, requires concerted efforts on many fronts. Over the past several years, agencies have been working with the construction industry to implement Quality Assurance/Quality Control activities (QA/QC) in an effort to improve the quality of highway construction. They are used as a mean to describe the materials, workmanship, and other general requirements for the project that the highway agencies expect from the contractors. Good specifications should be easy to understand …

Two-Dimensional Numerical Modeling Of A Proposed Freshwater Diversion From The Bonnet Carre Spillway To The Labranche Wetlands, Josef Patrick Hoffmann

LSU Master's Theses

Engineered modifications to the lower Mississippi River within the past century have limited the magnitude and frequency of flood events in wetlands along the Louisiana coast. Without this natural delivery of freshwater, sediment, and nutrients, the ecological health of these wetlands are now degrading. A recent study within the Bonnet Carre Spillway has revealed that the 7,623 acres of floodway between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain is one of the few areas in Louisiana that is actively accreting land as a result of pulsed sediment-laden freshwater input during high discharge events in the Mississippi River. On the other hand, …

Handbook For Temporary Traffic Control - Construction, Maintenance, And Utility Operations, Indiana Ltap

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Publications

This handbook gives the basic principles and provides examples for the design, application, installation, and maintenance of the various types of traffic control devices used in temporary traffic control or for incident management. The guidelines presented are in accordance with the standards provided within the Indiana Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (IMUTCD). This handbook is based upon one created by the Ohio Department of Transportation, Guidelines for Traffic Control in Work Zones. Indiana LTAP expresses thanks to ODOT for their permission to reprint this material.

Sustainable Design Optimization Of Rural Houses In North China, Mingliang Li

Purdue Polytechnic Masters Theses

With the rapid economic development of China, the living standards in rural areas have been experiencing improvement over the past two decades. One important aspect of the improved living standards is housing, which has been transformed from traditional adobe or stone structures into modern brick and concrete ones. In the meantime, active heating and cooling systems are gradually being incorporated and residents are requiring more comfortable indoor air temperatures during cold winters and hot summers. However, most rural houses have no insulation in their exterior walls and roofs. The question is whether or not it is economically viable to build …

Improving Safety And Mobility At High-Speed Intersections With Innovations In Sensor Technology, Anuj Sharma, Darcy M. Bullock, Senem Velipasalar, Mauricio Casares, Jacob Schmitz, Nathaniel P. Burnett

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

A series of innovations has been made in the vehicle sensors field. Technologies such as IntelliDrive and radar-based smart sensors make it pos­sible to track each vehicle in proximity to an intersection. However, current technologies have limitations, such as lack of robustness, accuracy, or level of penetration. This paper assumes an accurate wide-area detector (WAD), which might be soon available, and highlights the potential benefits that might be derived in safety and efficiency of oper­ations at high-speed intersections from the deployment of the WAD. Two critical areas in which wide-area detection can lead to significant improvements are discussed: (a) location …

Analysis Of Turbulent Hydraulic Jump Over A Transitional Rough Bed Of A Rectangular Channel: Universal Relations, Noor Afzal, A. Bushra, Abu Seena

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

The streamwise flow structure of a turbulent hydraulic jump over a rough bed rectangular channel has been investigated. The flow is divided into inner and outer layers, where upstream supercritical flow changes to downstream subcritical flow. The analysis is based on depth averaged Reynolds momentum equations. The molecular viscosity on the rough bed imposes the no slip boundary condition, but close to the wall the turbulent process in inner layer provides certain matching conditions with the outer layer, where molecular viscosity has no dominant role. It is shown that the bed roughness in the inner layer has a passive role …

Experimental Damage Diagnosis Of A Model Three-Story Spatial Frame, Samantha Sabatino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Structural damage can be induced by a variety of events from short-term abnormal stresses to long-term natural aging. Detection of changes in a structure's ability to withstand subsequent loads can aid decisions on safety, repair, rehabilitation, and demolition. Dynamic property shifts can show internal cracks and minor damage before propagation or failure occurs, but only if a proper indicator is selected. In order to evaluate potential damage indices, a three-story metal frame building was constructed. Using Star Modal software, dynamic structural properties were obtained from modal decomposition on experimental tap test responses. The natural frequencies and mode shapes of the …

Column Capacity Evaluation For Low-Rise Moment Frame Steel Buildings In Mississippi Subject To Wind And Seismic Hazards, Yihong Shi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For the design of steel frame structures, AISC outlines approaches of second-order analysis. In this study, two of these approaches are considered: Amplified First-Order Analysis Method and Direct Analysis Method. The methods were studied using SAP2000. Amplification of moments in a two-story plane frame subject to a wind load case is computed using both methods and shown to be of comparable magnitude for small deformations. ASCE/SEI 7 and IBC provisions were used to develop lateral design load conditions for the frames. In this study, a hypothetical building was assumed to be constructed in four different locations (Southaven, Batesville, Jackson and …

Improved Joining Method For Segmental Prestressed Structures, Ralph Warren Jensen

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the need for more robust and materially efficient structures, specifically structures that absorb higher levels of energy, can self-erect and which have variable reaction capabilities. These structures can take much higher levels of strain and loading compared to current technologies in reinforced concrete and carbon fiber composites. These structures are made using a novel method of joining segmental elements. A great advantage with this segmental structural system is it's survivability under overloaded conditions. During an impact, or concentrated pressure load, the structure will wrap around the impact zone thereby widely distributing the contact stresses. This function or …

Analysis Of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds In Wastewater Treatment Plants: A Perspective Of Trans-Boundary Waterborne Pollution, Roberto De La Torre

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Recent decades have brought an increasing concern of potential adverse human and ecological health effects resulting from Endocrine Disruptor Compounds (EDCs). In particular from new emerging compounds such as natural estrogens (e.g., 17©¬-estradiol, estrone), synthetic estrogens (e.g., 17Â¥á-ethynylestradiol), bisphenol A (BPA), nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOS), and nonylphenol (NP). These chemicals which are also known as organic wastewater contaminants are released directly to the environment after passing through wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), which often are not designed to remove them from the effluent. The occurrence of the aforementioned compounds in surface water is becoming of increasing concern worldwide, and has led to …

Development Of A New Mix Design Method And Specification Requirements For Asphalt Treated Bases, Hector Antonio Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Asphalt stabilized bases in Texas are usually designed and constructed as per Item 292, "Asphalt Treatment (Plant Mixed)," of the 2004 Standard Specification book. This specification is a hybrid of base and hot mix asphalt concrete procedures and requirements, which are sometimes incompatible. In addition, this Item uses a specific Texas Gyratory compactor that is not readily available to all districts. Some districts have started using test method Tex-204-F, Part III, `Mix Design for Large Stone Mixtures Using the Superpave Gyratory Compactor." However, this procedure was originally developed to design Type A and Type B hot mix at 96% density …

Bs News January/February

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Strength And Erodability Of South Carolina Soils For Embankment Construction, Ke Zhou

Theses and Dissertations

When a particular soil from a borrow pit is being used to construct a road embankment, it is important that the strength and erodibility characteristics are known to ensure the embankment has sufficient load capacity and is resistant to erosion by rain or flooding. To evaluate the borrow pit material’s strength and erodibility characteristics, forty five-gallon buckets of soils were collected from fourteen borrow pits in South Carolina. Three buckets were collected at three different locations within each pit.

Fifteen sets of direct shear tests were performed on the selected fifteen buckets of soils. There are six buckets of soils …

A Building Lca Case Study Using Autodesk Ecotect And Bim Model, Endong Wang, Zhigang Shen, Charles Barryman

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

The main objective of this study is to evaluate the potential of utilizing building information model (BIM) to perform whole building Life Cycle Analysis (LCA). The research question addressed was how life cycle performance of a building was affected quantitatively by design configurations. Life cycle energy consumption and CO₂ emission of a university building in the Midwest was calculated using Autodesk® Ecotect and BIM model. The study compared life cycle performance, i.e., CO₂ emissions and energy consumptions, among different design configurations, as well as their distributions in the stages of the building’s life time. Sensitivity analysis was performed …

Missouri River Recovery Program Emergent Sandbar Habitat Annual Adaptive Management Report, Year 1, 2010)

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

This Adaptive Management (AM) Report for Emergent Sandbar Habitat (ESH) represents the first complete iteration within the draft AM strategy being implemented for the interior least terns (Sternula antillarum) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) within the Missouri River Mainstem System based on the 2003 Amended Biological Opinion (BiOp). Please refer to the ESH AM Strategy - Appendix H of the Draft ESH Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) – and the Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP) AM Process Framework for detailed background information on the overall scope and approach of this effort. Also note that as more …

Missouri River Recovery Program: Adaptive Management Process Framework, Joe Bonneau, Tim Fleeger, Craig Flemming, Carol Hale, Mike Anderson, Kate Buenau, Tim L. Hiller, Doug Latka, Ron Thom, Drew Tyre, Steve Fischer, Casey Kruse, Brad Thompson

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

The purpose of this Adaptive Management (AM) Process Framework is to describe the AM process for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP) and explain how AM principles will be used in the MRRP to reduce uncertainty and ensure that Program objectives are achieved over time. The AM Process Framework is intended to be broad so that it can be applied to all aspects of the MRRP and be understood by a diverse audience of managers, federal and state agencies, scientists, engineers, the Missouri River Recovery Implementation Committee (MRRIC), stakeholders, Tribes, and the public.