Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Analysis Of Traffic Crash Data In Kentucky (2008-2012), Eric R. Green, Kenneth R. Agent, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report documents an analysis of traffic crash data in Kentucky for the years of 200 8 through 201 2 . A primary objective of this study was to determine average crash statistics for Kentucky highways. Average and critical numbers and rates of crashes were calculated for various types of highways in rural and urban areas. These data can be used in Kentucky’s procedure to identify locations that have abnormal rates or numbers of crashes.

The other primary objective of this study was to provide data that can be used in the preparation of the problem identification portion of Kentucky’s …

Optimization Of Path Based Sensor Spacing On A Freeway Segment For Travel Time Prediction During Incidents, Patricia Kathleen Dijoseph

Dissertations

Congestion on freeways is increasing and a key source of it is non-recurring incidents. Accurate vehicle travel time predictions are needed during these incidents in order for roadway users to make informed trip decisions. Path based sensors are becoming a leading technology in gathering real-time travel time data. The data is used to make travel time predictions that are then provided through various means, such as dynamic message signs, to roadway users. These types of sensor are located at stationary points along a roadway and collect individual vehicle travel time data from vehicles as they drive pass the sensors.

The …

A Framework For Guiding Transportation Improvements To Support Desired Land Use, Jiruttichut Leoviriyakit

Dissertations

There is a growing recognition that transportation and land use policies cannot succeed independently of one another. The interactions between them must be understood, analyzed, and accounted for in order for land use and transportation plans and policies to be effective and successful. A methodological framework is presented that can help urban planners determine what outcomes can be expected in terms of change in land use patterns within the targeted communities and within the county should a transportation project be undertaken.

The framework is based on an interaction between travel demand model TRANSIMS and land use model TELUM that enables …

Stabilization Of Base And Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement For Cold Regions, Bryan Wilson, Dr. W. Spencer Guthrie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The access road to a coal mine facility was determined to have failed by BYU researchers after a field investigation in 2008. The road surface was heavily degraded by severe transverse, longitudinal, and fatigue cracking. Deep depressions coincided with the transverse cracks causing extremely poor ride quality. Subsurface testing revealed the base and subgrade to be very low quality with unusually high moisture contents and low dry densities.

The Effects Of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement On The Frost Susceptibility Of Soil, Josiah Winkelman, Dr. Spencer Guthrie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Our roadways and pavements are an essential part of our daily lives. Quality road systems have raised the quality of life from the days of the Romans until this very day. Roads are vital parts of shipping, thereby providing us goods and services, of the military, thereby providing us protection, and of general transportation, thereby providing us with opportunities to expand both physically and mentally. Due to the importance of our roads and highways, it is very critical that our roads are kept in good functional condition. The pavement that makes our roads is the key to keeping them usable.

An Experiment In Sustainability: The Olympic Transportation Plan Of Beijing, China, Gregory Macfarlane, Dr. G Grant Schultz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper reports on transportation planning and engineering research sponsored by the Office of Research and Creative Activities (ORCA) at Brigham Young University (BYU). The subject of this research is the Transportation Plan for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, specifically the sustainable development strategies employed in this plan. Using foreign investment and expertise, Beijing used the Olympics to meet its current transportation needs as well as prepare for future economic expansion.

Chinese Transportation Contacts, Seth M. Law, Dr. Grant Schultz

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the past couple of years the dean of the school of engineering and technology has shown increased interest in global involvement for students. He wants us to gain a better edge in an increasingly global world. About a year and a half ago, Dean Parkinson (dean of the college of engineering) gave a college lecture on that subject. At the time I had recently returned from my mission, and it sparked particular interest in me. My family and I enjoy traveling, and world cultures have always been interesting to me. The dean of my college was now exhorting me …

Rooftop Pv Impacts On Fossil Fuel Electricity Generation And Co2 Emissions In The Pacific Northwest, Daniel Albert Weiland

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis estimates the impacts of rooftop photovoltaic (PV) capacity on electricity generation and CO2 emissions in America's Pacific Northwest. The region's demand for electricity is increasing at the same time that it is attempting to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The electricity generated by rooftop PV capacity is expected to displace electricity from fossil fueled electricity generators and reduce CO2 emissions, but when and how much? And how can this region maximize and focus the impacts of additional rooftop PV capacity on CO2 emissions? To answer these questions, an hourly urban rooftop PV generation profile for 2009 was created …

Numerical Simulation Of Vortex-Induced Vibration Of Two Circular Cylinders Of Different Diameters At Low Reynolds Number, Ming Zhao, Guirong Yan

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Two-Degree-Of-Freedom Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) of Two Rigidly Coupled Circular Cylinders of Different Diameters at a Low Reynolds Number of 250 is Investigated Numerically. While the Diameter Ratio and the Mass Ratio Are Kept Constant, the Study is Focused on the Effect of the Position Angle of the Small Cylinder on the Lock-In Regime of the VIV. Simulations Are Carried Out for Position Angles Α of the Small Cylinder Ranging from 0° to 180° with an Interval of 22.5° and the Reduced Velocities Ranging from 1 to 15 with an Increment of 1. in Order to Find the Effect of the …

Civil Engineering And Construction News, Georgia Southern University

Civil Engineering & Construction: News & Publications (2011-2022)

• Civil Engineering Senior Selected to Participate in Prestigious Undergraduate Transportation Scholars Program (UGTSP)

Research On Safety Supervision Of Tianjin Nanjiang Port Liquefied Natural Gas Floating Storage And Regasification Unit, Yong Xie

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Maritime Safety Supervision And Control Of Lng Vessels In China During The Marine Transportation Process, Yali Sun

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

A Study On Appraisal Of Government Performance In Zhuhai Marine Pollution Prevention Management, Dan Jiao

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Maritime Environmental Influence Of Large-Scale Tanker On The Water Area Of Tianjin Port, Hanhui Guo

Maritime Safety & Environment Management Dissertations (Dalian)

No abstract provided.

Microcracking Of Cement-Treated Bases, Charles Hope, Dr. Spencer Guthrie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study was funded in the spring of 2009 and commenced immediately afterward. The scope of the project included researching the effectiveness of microcracking of cement-treated bases (CTBs) in construction of asphalt-surfaced pavements. Microcracking is a method of reducing the amount of “block cracking” or “shrinkage cracking” that typically propagates up through the asphalt layer overlying a CTB layer. Microcracking involves making several passes over a newly constructed CTB with a heavy roller to induce a network of hairline cracks throughout the layer. Identifying equipment that can be used to determine how many passes are adequate was the focus of …

Instrumentation Of Rebar For Use In The Structural Analysis Of A Culvert And Data Reduction For A Pile Study, Paul W. Richards, Dr. Kyle M. Rollins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Pheonix Gunite is an engineering firm responsible for the ongoing construction of several culverts (underground tunnels) in the Las Vegas area. These reinforced culverts serve a variety of purposes including pedestrian walkways and water transportation. My proposed project was to instrument the rebar going into one of these culverts and then obtain stress data while the completed culvert experienced a loading sequence. I then intended to reduce the data and use it to aid in optimizing the design of future culverts.

Barrette Foundations, Richard Christensen, Dr. Richard Balling

Journal of Undergraduate Research

During the past 60 years, ever since the discovery of mass produced steel, the world has used this steel to produce buildings that touch the sky. These skyscrapers have become a point of competition and interest throughout the world. Each country tries to outdo the next in building height and beauty.

Directional Phytoscreening: Contaminant Gradients In Trees For Plume Delineation, Matt A. Limmer, Mikhil K. Shetty, Samantha Markus, Ryan Kroeker, Beth L. Parker, Camilo Martinez, Joel Gerard Burken

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Tree Sampling Methods Have Been Used in Phytoscreening Applications to Delineate Contaminated Soil and Groundwater, Augmenting Traditional Investigative Methods that Are Time-Consuming, Resource-Intensive, Invasive, and Costly. in the Past Decade, Contaminant Concentrations in Tree Tissues Have Been Shown to Reflect the Extent and Intensity of Subsurface Contamination. This Paper Investigates a New Phytoscreening Tool: Directional Tree Coring, a Concept Originating from Field Data that Indicated Azimuthal Concentrations in Tree Trunks Reflected the Concentration Gradients in the Groundwater Around the Tree.To Experimentally Test This Hypothesis, Large Diameter Trees Were Subjected to Subsurface Contaminant Concentration Gradients in a Greenhouse Study. These Trees …

Incorporating Chemical Activity And Relative Humidity Effects In Regional Air Quality Modeling Of Organic Aerosol Formation, Marguerite Colasurdo Marks

Dissertations and Theses

Atmospheric particulate matter is known to have significant effects on human health, visibility, and global climate. The magnitudes of these effects, however, depend in complex ways on chemical composition, relative humidity, temperature, phase state, and other parameters. Current regional air quality models such as CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality model) ignore many of these considerations, and consider that the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) can be calculated by assuming thermodynamic ideality in the organic particulate matter (OPM) phase as well as negligible uptake of water into the OPM phase. Theoretical predictions and model simulations considering non-ideality and water uptake …

Climate Change Impacts On Streamflow And Subbasin- Scale Hydrology In The Upper Colorado River Basin, Darren L. Ficklin, Edwin P. Maurer, Iris T. Stewert

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

In the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB), the principal source of water in the southwestern U.S., demand exceeds supply in most years, and will likely continue to rise. While General Circulation Models (GCMs) project surface temperature warming by 3.5 to 5.6uC for the area, precipitation projections are variable, with no wetter or drier consensus. We assess the impacts of projected 21st century climatic changes on subbasins in the UCRB using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, for all hydrologic components (snowmelt, evapotranspiration, surface runoff, subsurface runoff, and streamflow), and for 16 GCMs under the A2 emission scenario. Over the GCM …

Gloria Slope Approach - Monitoring Plant Community Changes In Mountain Ecosystems, Jarle I. Holten, Sverre Lundemo, Ph.D.

Guest Lectures

The research described in this presentation is part of the Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments (GLORIA) whose purpose is to establish and maintain a global, long-term observation network in alpine environments.

Despite changes in mountaintop-vegetation due to recent climate change being observed throughout the world, trends are not consistent. Moreover, as plant communities can be impacted by several different factors, it is important to be able to separate what is due to climate change and what is due to e.g. changes in grazing pressure (see additional file below).

Rectangular Carbon Fiber Isotruss Reinforcement In Concrete Beams, David Jarvis, Dr. David Jensen, Dr. Fernando Fonseca

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The objective of this research was to determine the flexural strength of concrete beams reinforced by the rectangular carbon fiber IsoTruss. The rectangular IsoTruss is a threedimensional composite grid structure patented by Brigham Young University. It is a modification of the regular IsoTruss that is also being researched at Brigham Young University.

Internal Cleave And Fill: A Method For Internal Refinement Of All-Hexahedral Swept Meshes, Michael Borden, Dr. Steven E. Benzley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) is an important design tool for scientists and engineers. Before the analysis can begin, a continuous domain must be subdivided into small elements (i.e., finite elements). The process of subdividing a continuous domain is called meshing. There is currently significant research being devoted to the generation of such meshes. Tetrahedral meshes are well developed and have been incorporated in numerous software packages. Hexahedral meshes provide some advantages over tetrahedral meshes but are currently more restrictive in the geometrical shapes they can fill.[1]

Evaluating Satellite Products For Precipitation Estimation In Mountain Regions: A Case Study For Nepal, Nir Y. Krakauer, Soni M. Pradhanang, Tarendra Lakhankar, Ajay K. Jha

Publications and Research

Precipitation in mountain regions is often highly variable and poorly observed, limiting abilities to manage water resource challenges. Here, we evaluate remote sensing and ground station-based gridded precipitation products over Nepal against weather station precipitation observations on a monthly timescale. We find that the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) 3B-43 precipitation product exhibits little mean bias and reasonable skill in giving precipitation over Nepal. Compared to station observations, the TRMM precipitation product showed an overall Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.49, which is similar to the skill of the gridded station-based product Asian Precipitation-Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation of Water …

Identification Of Pipelines From The Secondary Reflect Wave Travel Time Of Ground-Penetrating Radar Waves, Kun-Fa Lee, Tan-K Wang1, Yu-Ming Kang, Cheng-Sung Wang, Kuo-An Lin

Journal of Marine Science and Technology–Taiwan

When using ground-penetrating radar to identify underground pipelines of similar dielectric constants (i.e. PE and PVC), misidentification is quite common. In this study, we apply reflected travel time of radar waves into the PE- and PVC- dielectric constants and the differentiation becomes possible. We have conducted the experiments using the nonmetal PE- and PVC- pipelines as well as the heavy metal (iron) pipelines in a water environment. Based on a travel- time calculation, the dielectric constants of non-metal pipelines with similar composition (PE ＝ 2.3 and PVC ＝ 3.0) were quite close. The error between the experimental and theoretical values …

Dynamic Properties Of Fine-Grained Soils Engineered With A Controlled Organic Phase, B. Bate, H. Choo, S. E. Burns

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Soils with high organic content are frequently encountered beneath earthquake sensitive infrastructure, such as bridges or levees. Historically, the dynamic properties of these organically rich soils have been difficult to predict due to the heterogeneity of the natural organic matter that is found in natural soils, even though their response to dynamic loading remains critical to assessing the ongoing stability of the infrastructure. In this study, an experimental investigation was performed on a montmorillonite soil that was modified with a controlled organic phase. Quaternary ammonium cations were exchanged onto the soil particle surfaces through cation exchange with the clay's naturally …

Social Capital And Walkability As Social Aspects Of Sustainability, Shannon H. Rogers, Kevin H. Gardner, Cynthia H. Carlson

Civil & Environmental Engineering

The concepts of sustainability and sustainable development are frequently described as having three main components, sometimes referred to as the three pillars or the triple bottom line: environmental, economic, and social. Because of an historical focus in the sustainability field on correcting environmental problems, much consideration has been given to environmental issues, especially how they interface with economic ones. Frequently mentioned but rarely examined, the social aspects of sustainability have been considered the weakest and least described pillar. After a brief review of existing concepts and theories, this paper uses a case study approach to examine the third pillar more …

Effect Of Variability In Concrete Cover On Concrete Bridge Deck Service Life, Jeffrey Hoki, Dr. W. Spencer Guthrie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Before reliable data could be gathered, proper procedures for using a covermeter needed to be established. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) does not currently have a standard for testing rebar cover depth by means of an electromagnetic covermeter. Therefore, the only protocol for testing available to the tester originates from the manufacturer of each individual covermeter. This research focused on the development of a standardized protocol for covermeter testing to be used within the Long Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) program. The Standardization of covermeter usage will increase the reliability of results gathered from all teams within the …

Establishment Of Life Reduction Factors For Microsurfacing, Bryan Wilson, Dr. W Spencer Guthrie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Since the majority of the pavement network in the United States is already constructed1, most of the attention has turned toward maintaining and reconstructing existing roads. Through routine maintenance of the wearing surface, the life of a pavement is greatly extended and long-term costs greatly reduced. Pavement maintenance treatments range from quick and inexpensive crack-sealing to more intensive surface milling followed by a costly asphalt overlay. One treatment recently put to mainstream use in Utah is microsurfacing. Microsurfacing is often described as the most durable and stable of the available slurry seals. Like other slurries it protects against water ingress, …

Consequences Of Electromagnetic Stimulation On Hydraulic Conductivity Of Soils, A. Farid, S. Azad, J. Browning, Elisa H. Barney Smith

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Hydraulic conductivity is a measure of the rate at which water flows through porous media. Because of the dipole properties of water molecules, any electric field can affect hydraulic conductivity. In this study, the effect of radio-frequency (RF) waves on hydraulic conductivity is investigated. This is important both for the geophysical measurement of hydraulic conductivity as well as remediation using electromagnetic waves. Bentonite clay and sandy samples are tested in rigid-wall, cylindrical permeameters and stimulated using a CPVC-cased monopole antenna vertically centered in the permeameters. The permeameters are encased within RF cavities constructed of aluminum mesh in order to prevent …