Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Effect Of Deposition From Static Rocket Test Fires On Corn And Alfalfa, Scout Mendenhall

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

A greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of deposition from static rocket test fires on corn and alfalfa. Seeds were germinated in a wide concentration range of depositional material, called test fire soil (TFS). Additionally, the impact of chloride and aluminum, two major components of test fire soil, on germination was also evaluated. Furthermore, plants were grown in packed columns and exposed to test fire soil, either in the root zone or on foliage. Tissue was weighed and analyzed to compare biomass production and plant composition.

Corn and alfalfa exposed to test fire soil in the root zone …

Low Carbon Materials Management: A Case Study For The Clemson University Net Zero Energy House Project, Kelly Kruzner

All Theses

Materials management in the construction process is a method of controlling resources for a project. This includes the materials selection process, purchasing process, delivery process, and waste management process, which all constitute the materials management plan for the project. While many research projects suggest efforts to reduce overall project cost by managing materials more efficiently, few focus on materials management from a sustainability perspective. In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published a report on Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead, which details the importance of sustainable materials management practices. This project directly addresses a need defined in the EPA’s …

Pozzolanic Properties Of Biomass Fly Ash, Robert Lowe

All Theses

As biomass power production becomes more main stream, problems with waste disposal arise. Coal fly ash, a by-product of coal power production, has beneficial strength and durability properties when used as a cement replacement material. This study examined strength and durability characteristics of mortar and concrete samples containing biomass fly ash obtained from Craven County Wood Energy in North Carolina and examined methods of processing the material to enhance its pozzolanic characteristics.
The chemical and mineralogical compositions of the ash were determined using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The compositions met the requirements …

Using Geographic Information Systems To Analyze Accessibility In The West Bank, Jacob Elliott

All Theses

With the recent failure of another highly publicized peace talks, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a polarizing and contentious geopolitical crisis. Following the Israeli victory in the Six Day War of 1967, the West Bank and its substantial Palestinian population have lived under Israeli occupation. In response to the First Palestinian Intifada (uprising), lasting from1987 to 1993, the Israeli military imposed varying degrees of regulations to limit Palestinian mobility within the West Bank. The mobility constraints, most notably in the form of checkpoints, roadblocks, and physical obstructions, dramatically increased in volume and scale during the Second Intifada from 2000 to 2005. …

An Environmental Consequence For Dublin Bay Of A Shift From Hydro-Carbon To Other Energy Production Methods, Zeinab Bedri, John O'Sullivan, Michael Bruen

Conference papers

The Liffey Estuary and Dublin Bay, Ireland are of a great recreational and conservational value. Until recently, the Electricity Supply Board (ESB) plant at Poolbeg, Dublin, abstracted dilution water from the estuary for cooling purposes and subsequently discharged this water back to the estuary at temperatures that were sometimes 7-9oC above ambient values. Prior to its discharge to the estuary, the ESB cooling water was mixed with the sewage effluent from Ringsend Treatment Works, creating a warmer and less-saline pollutant plume that remained buoyant on the water surface, adversely effecting water quality. The ESB plant has since closed as part …

Wim Data Collection And Analysis, Jerry G. Pigman, Clark Graves, David Q. Hunsucker, David Cain

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The objectives of this study were to review and analyze current procedures in order to implement a process for collecting and analyzing weigh-in-motion (WIM) data to insure an adequate and accurate representation of weights of vehicles using Kentucky’s roadways. A literature review of WIM data collection equipment, practices and procedures indicated that a range of options are available and used by other agencies. Piezoelectric cable detection systems were most frequently used and provided adequate accuracy, if attention is given to monitoring and calibration.

An overall assessment of Kentucky’s WIM data collection program resulted in recommendations for: 1) increased use of …

Multi-National River Basin Cooperation And Management Case Study: Senegal River Basin, Patricia Ayaa

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

With increasing populations, urbanization and thus increasing demand for water, conflict on International River basins has been increasing over the years which has necessitated formation of International River frameworks to devise means of cooperation among the countries sharing the river basins. The main modes of cooperation in international river basins include allocating the waters of the river to the sharing countries such that each country manages its own water resources, or treating the river basin as one system and jointly managing and sharing the costs and benefits from the various services or use-sectors of the river.

This research was aimed …

Procedures For Correcting Digital Camera Imagery Acquired By The Aggieair Remote Sensing Platform, Shannon R. Clemens

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Developments in sensor technologies have made consumer-grade digital cameras one of the more recent tools in remote sensing applications. Consumer-grade digital cameras have been the imaging sensor of choice by researchers due to their small size, light weight, limited power requirements, and their potential to store hundreds of images (Hardin 2011). Several studies have focused on the use of digital cameras and their efficacy in remote sensing applications. For satellite and airborne multispectral imaging systems, there is a well established radiometric processing approach. However, radiometric processing lines for digital cameras are currently being researched.

The goal of this report is …

Application Of Microbial Fuel Cells In A Forested Wetland, Jianing Dai

All Theses

ABSTRACT
Electricity can be generated from forest residues, especially the organic matter from litter fall, in freshwater forested wetland environments with a microbial fuel cell (MFC) system. Electricity generation efficiency was examined for cypress, tupelo, and pine litter extracts, using dual-chamber reactors. The maximum power density generated with cypress extracts was on the level of 320 mW/m2, higher than tupelo (230 mW/m2), and pine (210 mW/m2). The efficacy of cypress extracts was also higher than tupelo and
pine, demonstrating that organic matter from cypress litter is a preferred substrate for electricity generation with MFCs. Meanwhile, low aromaticity of the substrate …

Development And Calibration Of Central Pressure Filling Rate Models For Hurricane Simulation, Fangqian Liu

All Theses

This study presents the development of a new central pressure filling rate model to characterize the rate at which hurricanes or tropical storms decay after landfall. It has been shown that the post landfall decay rate of hurricanes is closely related to the time after landfall, the size of hurricane and proximity of the hurricane eye to the coastline. In addition, it has been observed that the decay rates of hurricanes are geographically dependent. Based on these observations, a set of simple empirical models expressed in
terms of exponential and linear equations are utilized to characterize the decay rate of …

Development Of A Rapid, Solvent Extraction Based Radioanalytical Technique For Monitoring Low-Level Actinide Concentrations In Water Supplies, Joseph Jablonski

All Theses

A rapid radiochemical method for the concentration and subsequent analysis of radionuclides from large volume aqueous samples has been developed by using solvent extraction (SX) followed by quantification via liquid scintillation counting (LSC). This was accomplished using simple radiochemical techniques that resulted in the ability to enact a 200x concentration factor and rapidly detect whether radionuclides are present in dilute aqueous samples. The proposed method has average Minimum Detectable Concentrations (MDC) for 238Pu and 233U of 3.5x10-2 Bq/L and 0.16 Bq/L, which equates to 2.3x10-16 and 2.0x10-12 mol/L, respectively. The MDC value for plutonium is an order of magnitude lower …

Curriculum Development For Recession Displaced Workers In Green Construction Industries, John Earl Killingsworth

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

More than 8 million U.S. jobs were lost during ‘The Great Recession’, pushing unemployment from 4.4% in 2007 to 10.2% in 2009. Nearly half of all job losses occurred among lower-skilled workers in construction and manufacturing industries. During this same period, however, jobs in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries grew an unprecedented 9%. As part of a $4.8M grant from the U.S. Department of Labor, the University of Nebraska began development of a workforce transition program to ‘retool’ recession displaced workers for career opportunities in new and emerging green industries. To date, the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) of …

Efficient Precast/Prestressed Floor System For Building Construction, Eliya E. A. Henin

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Precast floor systems provide a rapidly constructed solution to multi-story buildings that is economical, high quality, fire-resistant, and with excellent deflection and vibration characteristics. Conventional precast concrete floor system cannot compete with cast-in-place post tensioning flat slab floor systems when high span-to-depth ratio and flat soffit are required. This is due to the significant depth of standard precast beams, and use of column corbels and beam ledges. This research presents the development of a new precast concrete floor system that eliminates the limitations of conventional precast floor system and provides a competitive precast alternative to cast-in-place flat slab floor systems. …

Sediment Removal From The San Gabriel Mountains, Mary C. Ferguson

Pitzer Senior Theses

The issue of sediment removal from the San Gabriel Mountains has been a complex issue that has created problems with beach replenishment, habitat destruction and the need to spend millions of dollars at regular intervals to avoid safety hazards. Most recently 11 acres of riparian habitat, including 179 oaks and 70 sycamores, were removed for sediment placement. Other sites including Hahamongna Watershed Park and La Tuna Canyon also face a similar fate. This thesis questions: How did we get to this point of destroying habitat to dump sediment which is viewed as waste product? What are the barriers for creating …

Drop Weight Testing On Sandwich Panels With A Novel Thermoplastic Core Material, Christopher Y. Tuan

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

A series of drop weight tests were conducted to evaluate the dynamic flatwise compression strength and flexural strength of sandwich panels with a novel core structure. This sandwich core material, known as Norcore, consists of interconnected cells in a unique configuration of truncated pyramid with sloping cell walls. Core materials made of thermoplastic including virgin Lexan, polycarbonate, polycarbonate regrind, high impact polystyrene, and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene were tested. The test results showed that these sandwich panels have good strength as well as energy absorption capacities.

Discussion Of “Comparison Of Base Shears Estimated From Floor Accelerations And Column Shears”, Rakesh K. Goel

Civil and Environmental Engineering

In lieu of a provided abstract, the first paragraph is provided:

The author agrees with Dr. Pinho about difficulties associated with the use of different damping models in nonlinear dynamic analysis. However, the focus of the original manuscript was to illustrate the difference between base shear estimated from floor accelerations, denoted as inertial base shear, and base shear estimated from column shears, denoted as the structural base shear. The difference between the two base shears exists regardless of the damping model used in the nonlinear analysis. In order to illustrate this conclusion, the Los Angeles building of the original manuscript …

Identification Of Spatiotemporal Nutrient Patterns And Associated Ecohydrological Trends In The Tampa Bay Coastal Region, Brent Wimberly

HIM 1990-2015

Improvements for environmental monitoring and assessment were achieved to advance our understanding of sea-land interactions and nutrient cycling in a coastal bay.; The comprehensive assessment techniques for monitoring of water quality of a coastal bay can be diversified via an extensive investigation of the spatiotemporal nutrient patterns and the associated eco-hydrological trends in a coastal urban region. With this work, it is intended to thoroughly investigate the spatiotemporal nutrient patterns and associated eco-hydrological trends via a two part inquiry of the watershed and its adjacent coastal bay. The findings show that the onset of drought lags the crest of the …

Structural Performance Of Reinforced Concrete Flat Plat Buildings Subjected To Fire, Sara Jean George

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Reinforced concrete structures are typically considered to have inherent resistance to fire. However, several concrete structures around the world have experienced partial or total collapse under fire. Reinforced concrete flat-plate is a type of structural system widely used for office and residential buildings. Flat plate construction is prone to punching shear failure at slab-column connections which may lead to a catastrophic progressive collapse. The slabs of flat-plates generally have very thin concrete cover leaving steel reinforcement more sensitive to thermal loads. Little is known in the engineering community about the structural performance of flat-plate structures subjected to fire. Through a …

Relationships Between Runoff, Land Cover And Climate In The Semi-Arid Intermountain Region Of The Western U.S.A., Ibrahim Nourein Mohammed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Hydrologic science is broadly defined as the geoscience that describes and predicts the occurrence, circulation and distribution of the water of the earth and its atmosphere. The need to predict the effects of land cover and climate changes with their associated impacts on hydrology are among the pressing areas of research, especially within the western United States. The main objective of this dissertation is to provide a better knowledge of land use or land cover along with climate change impacts on streamflow generated from watersheds in the semi-arid intermountain region in and around Utah. This objective was addressed using analyses …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Three Utah Wastewater Treatment Facilities In Removing Pharmaceuticals And Personal Care Products, Oksana Roth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The occurrence of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in surface waters has become a growing concern within the last decade although the first mention of human PPCPs in the environment goes back to late 1970s. Pharmaceuticals include prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications, and veterinary drugs. Personal care products include products such as lotions, fragrances, and soaps. In addition to traditional personal care products, the term PPCPs has been adopted to represent a wide variety of chemicals used in consumer products including plasticizers and fire retardants. Wastewater effluents are thought to be the main source of PPCPs in surface waters since …

Finite Element Modeling Of Transverse Post-Tensioned Joints In Accelerated Bridge Construction (Abc) Full-Scale Precast Bridge Deck Panels, Sandeep Reddy Madireddy

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) techniques are popular among the department of transportations (DOTs). Innovative design and construction methods and high performance materials are used to reduce the typical bridge construction timeline without sacrificing bridge quality. The goal of accelerated bridge construction is to open a cost-effective, long-lasting bridge to traffic with increased safety and reduced traffic disruption in a shortened construction period. Accelerated bridge construction majorly uses steel-concrete composite bridges with full depth precast decks which has two types of connections, shear connection between steel girder and precast deck and transverse joint between precast panels. Longitudinal prestress is applied to …

Heterogeneous Water And Energy End-Uses And Implications For Residential Water And Energy Conservation And Management, Adel M. Abdallah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Indoor water-use consumes energy to heat hot water. Indoor water- and energy-use vary significantly among households due to variable household water-use behaviors and varying ages and efficiencies of water appliances. Also, the energy consumed to heat water varies among households and depends on water heater efficiency, heater thermostat setup, percentage of hot water in the final used water, and the cold water intake temperature. This research considers behavioral and technological variability in household water-and-energy-use to better understand water and energy linkages and help utilities target water and energy conservation actions to customer and appliances within their homes that the most …

Using Relevance Vector Machines Approach For Prediction Of Total Suspended Solids And Turbidity To Sustain Water Quality And Wildlife In Mud Lake, Hussein Aly Batt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The main objective of the research is the development of Multivariate Relevant Vector Machine (MVRVM) to predict suspended fine sediment, water quality constituents, and provide an understanding for the practical problem of determining the amount of data required for the MVRVM. MVRVM is a statistical learning algorithm that is based on Bayes theory. It has been widely used to predict patterns in hydrological systems and other fields. This research represents the first known attempt to use a MVRVM approach to predict transport of very fine sediment and water quality constituents in a complex natural system.

The results demonstrate the ability …

Integration Of Water-Column And Benthic Processes And Their Effect On Dissolved Oxygen Fluctuations In Small Northern Utah Streams, Ruba A. Mohamed

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important element for aquatic organisms as it is used for respiration by most organisms. Certain concentrations of DO are required in aquatic ecosystems depending on the type and needs of the aquatic organisms. In general, DO concentrations less than 5 mg/L stress many types of aquatic organisms including fishes. In order to maintain DO concentration above the stress level, respiration is one of the factors that should be maintained by controlling the excess growth of aquatic plants. Many factors cause the outbreak of plant growth, including abundance of nutrients and presence of sun light. In …

Identification Of Influential Climate Indicators, Prediction Of Long-Term Streamflow And Great Salt Lake Elevation Using Machine Learning Approach, Niroj K. Shrestha

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to meet rising water demand due to rapid population growth and changing climatic conditions around the world, and to reduce the impact of floods and draughts, a comprehensive water management and planning is necessary. Water resource management requires the prediction of streamflow under climatic variability, and variability of hydrologic quantities that changes in time and space. Prediction of streamflow using physically-based model are usually complex and typically requires detailed knowledge of physical processes. The availability of data is an important issue to justify the use of these models. Using a data-driven model that relies on the machine learning …

Traffic Operations Analysis Of Merging Strategies For Vehicles In An Automated Electric Transportation System, Derek Rulon Freckleton

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Automated electric transportation has the potential to revolutionize the way people move by providing unparalleled benefits to human health and safety, economic independence, and quality of life. It is a system where vehicles with no emissions control themselves as they cooperatively move people from point “A” to point “B.” Vehicle automation aims to eliminate human error from the task of driving, making the roads safer and leaving drivers able to perform other tasks as they desire while they travel. Also, through wireless in-motion electric power transfer, the gas tank may finally be completely excluded from vehicles without sacrificing freedoms in …

Improved Models Of Cable-To-Post Attachments For High-Tension Cable Barriers, Robert W. Bielenberg, Cody S. Stolle, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

No abstract provided.

Improved Models Of Cable-To-Post Attachments For High-Tension Cable Barriers, Robert W. Bielenberg, Cody S. Stolle, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Computer simulation models were developed to analyze and evaluate a new cable-to-post attachment for high-tension cable barriers. The models replicated the performance of a keyway bolt currently used in the design of a high-tension cable median barrier being developed at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility. Component tests of the keyway bolts were simulated and compared to the component test results. Accurate friction, fracture strain, and stress-strain material properties were determined for a solid element model of the keyway bolt by applying actual load curve measured from the test to a simulated pull cable. By simulating the material properties of the …

A Parametric Study Of Embankments On Clay Soils During Earthquake Shaking, Karla I. Reynoso

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study is a parametric evaluation of reduction in undrained shear strength of fine grained soils required to cause failure beneath embankments during earthquake loading. The evaluated parameters are: crust thickness, normalized undrained strength, maximum past pressure, and embankment height. Both finite element and limit equilibrium analyses were used to determine strength reductions that would lead to embankment failure. It was found that reductions of undrained strengths of 55% to 65% would lead to failure during earthquake loading.

The method proposed by Idriss and Boulanger was also used to predict strength reductions for each model over a range of earthquake …

Sudden Increase And Regrowth Of Fecal Coliforms And Escherichia Coli In Wastewater Biosolids After High Solids Centrifugation, Gordon G. Araujo

Master’s Theses

Treatment plants that operate either thermophilic or mesophilic anaerobic digesters with centrifugal dewatering processes have consistently observed densities of fecal coliform and Escherichia coli, both indicator bacteria, that decrease during digestion but then increase after dewatering and storage. The increases have been characterized as two separate phenomena to explain this observation: 1) “Sudden Increase,” or SI, which is defined as the increase that occurs immediately after dewatering and 2) “regrowth,” which is defined as an increase during storage of cake samples over a period of hours or days. The SI observation appears to be more prevalent with biosolids that are …