Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

An Investigation Of Project Delivery Methods Relating To Repetitive Commercial Construction, Donald A. Patterson

Theses and Dissertations

The Design/Bid/Build (DBB) delivery method has historically been the most popular and the most effective means of determining the least cost for building a project based upon a set of construction documents. In recent years, however, other project delivery methods, including but limited to Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC) and Design/Build (DB), have slowly taken a share of the construction market away from the DBB delivery method. The choice of delivery method that will produce the best value for an owner in the measurements of efficiency in quality, cost, and timeliness depends upon the type of project and the business culture …

Investigation Of Compaction Characteristics Of Subbase Material Using The Superpave Gyratory Compactor, Craig Kumpel

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to complete an in-depth analysis of data from both the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) full-scale testing and Superpave Gyratory Compactor testing to determine if the SGC is a valuable tool for the prediction of airport pavement performance and design. The practicality of the SGC was based on extensive laboratory and field testing of three unbound materials including P-154, P-209, and DGA, which are the subbase and base materials used by the FAA at the National Airport Pavement Test Facility (NAPTF). During the past construction cycles at the NAPTF, it has been found that the …

Interpolating Beach Profile Data Using Linear And Non-Linear Functions, Lance Calloway Croft

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Beach and nearshore surveys are conducted in a variety of ways, the most commonly used being the level-and-transit method; because it is inexpensive, time conducive and highly accurate. Specifically, beach surveys are conducted to better understand cross-shore, long-shore sediment transport processes, as well as to quantify volume changes, which are used to evaluate beach performance. In this study, a section of the beach on Sand Key, FL was surveyed using rod-and-transit. In addition to the commonly used linear data analysis, a non-linear analysis was conducted using NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines).

Survey data was collected within a short time window …

Improving Functionality And Sustainability Of Commercial Insulation: Experimental Study, Heat Transfer Modeling, Environmental Assessment, Celine Manoosingh

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

he Department of Energy names executing and integrating high-performance sustainable design and green building best practices a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan goal under the Executive Order 13514 (U.S DOE, 2009). As sustainability becomes a primary

goal for engineers, a decision making framework is needed to guide their choice of materials and processes; and then to carry out the evaluation of their chosen design. Sustainable design process, and the products developed through its application, work concurrently with functionality and sustainability evaluation methodologies to cultivate a continuous loop of design, implementation, assessment and improvement. In this context, an alternative insulation prototype exploring …

Creating Total Value Engineering Through Combining Design For Manufacturing And Design For Six Sigma Constructs, David Ryan Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

The modern manufacturing world has been driven to compete in a more international and interconnected system. This has led to increased focus upon frameworks and architectures to guarantee quality, high market acceptance, and reduce cost. Modern manufacturing design processes evolved largely from Henry Ford at Ford Motor Company, and Alfred Sloan at General Motors. Their structures embody two different focuses on quality and value engineering which have influenced many recent design frameworks. In the 1970s a heavy emphasis was placed upon Design for Manufacturing, which uses group technology, commonality of processes, and continual focus to reduce part count. Some companies …

Forecasting Corrosion Of Steel In Concrete Introducing Chloride Threshold Dependence On Steel Potential, Andrea Nathalie Sanchez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Corrosion initiates in reinforced concrete structures exposed to marine environments when the chloride ion concentration at the surface of an embedded steel reinforcing bar exceeds the chloride corrosion threshold (CT) value. The value of CT is generally assumed to have a conservative fixed value ranging from 0.2% to - 0.5 % of chloride ions by weight of cement. However, extensive experimental investigations confirmed that CT is not a fixed value and that the value of CT depends on many variables. Among those, the potential of passive steel embedded in concrete is a key influential factor on the value of CT …

A Model For Analyzing Heating And Cooling Demand For Atria Between Tall Buildings, Samuel David Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

The heating and air-conditioning energy demand of skyscrapers with atria between buildings is explored. Radiation, conduction, convection, and ventilation were evaluated to determine annual heating and cooling energy demands for a 100-building city located in Provo, Utah. Spreadsheets models were developed and calibrated with a computational fluid dynamics model. Three spreadsheet model cases were examined: a baseline no-atrium case, a conditioned atrium case, and an unconditioned atrium case. The energy demands and atrium temperatures were compared between the different cases. The research concludes that atria can be used between buildings to reduce the heating and cooling energy demands. The exposed …

Comparison Of Different Approaches To Estimating Budgets For Kuhn-Tucker Demand Systems: Applications For Individuals' Time-Use Analysis And Households' Vehicle Ownership And Utilization Analysis, Bertho Augustin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis compares different approaches to estimating budgets for Kuhn-Tucker (KT) demand systems, more specifically for the multiple discrete-continuous extreme value (MDCEV) model. The approaches tested include: (1) The log-linear regression approach (2) The stochastic frontier regression approach, and (3) arbitrarily assumed budgets that are not necessarily modeled as a function of decision maker characteristics and choice-environment characteristics.

The log-linear regression approach has been used in the literature to model the observed total expenditure as way of estimating budgets for the MDCEV models. This approach allows the total expenditure to depend on the characteristics of the choice-maker and the choice …

Deriving Statewide Freight Truck Flows From Global Positioning System (Gps) Data, Akbar Bakhshi Zanjani

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An accelerated growth in the volume of freight shipped on Florida's highways has led to a significant increase in truck traffic, influencing traffic operations, safety, and the state of repair of highway infrastructure. Traffic congestion in turn has impeded the speed and reliability of freight movement on the highway system. Appropriate planning and decision making processes are necessary to address these issues. However, a main challenge in establishing such processes is the lack of adequate data on statewide freight movements. As traditional data sources on freight movement are either inadequate or no longer available, new sources of data must be …

Evaluation And Modeling Of Internal Water Storage Zone Performance In Denitrifying Bioretention Systems, Thomas Joseph Lynn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate (NO3) loadings from stormwater runoff promote eutrophication in surface waters. Low Impact Development (LID) is a type of best management practice aimed at restoring the hydrologic function of watersheds and removing contaminants before they are discharged into ground and surface waters. Also known as rain gardens, a bioretention system is a LID technology that is capable of increasing infliltration, reducing runoff rates and removing pollutants. They can be planted with visually appealing vegetation, which plays a role in nutrient uptake. A modified bioretention system incorporates a submerged internal water storage zone (IWSZ) that includes an electron donor to support …

Juvenile Green Sturgeon (Acipenser Medirostris) And White Sturgeon (Acipenser Transmontanus) Behavior Near Water-Diversion Fish Screens: Experiments In A Laboratory Swimming Fume, Jamilynn B. Poletto, Dennis E. Cocherell, Natalie Ho, Joseph J. Cech Jr., A. Peter Klimley, Nann A. Fangue

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Water diversions that extract fresh water for urban, industrial, and agricultural uses, as well as export to southern California, are prevalent throughout the Sacramento–San Joaquin watershed. Many water diversions are fitted with fish-exclusion screens designed to prevent fish from entrainment (i.e., being drawn in). The impact of fish screens on the behavior of migrating juvenile fishes remains largely unknown, especially for threatened species such as sturgeon. We placed individual juvenile green (Acipenser medirostris) or white (Acipenser transmontanus) sturgeon in a laboratory swimming flume in the presence of standard fish screens (2 mm bar spacing) at two …

An Enhanced Archive Facilitating Climate Impacts And Adaptation Analysis, Edwin P. Maurer, Levi Brekke, Tom Pruitt, Bridget Thrasher, J. Long, Philip B. Duffy, Michael D. Dettinger, Daniel R. Cayan, James W. Arnold

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

We describe the expansion of a publicly available archive of downscaled climate and hydrology projections for the United States. Those studying or planning to adapt to future climate impacts demand downscaled climate model output for local or regional use. The archive we describe attempts to fulfill this need by providing data in several formats, selectable to meet user needs. Our archive has served as a resource for climate impacts modelers, water managers, educators, and others. Over 1,400 individuals have transferred more than 50 TB of data from the archive. In response to user demands, the archive has expanded from monthly …

Sustainable Development Of Biogas Resources In East Africa Using Transdisciplinary Design Models, Christopher M. Limiac

Open Access Theses

Installation of anaerobic digestion systems in urban developing communities has the potential to address multiple problems related to energy and sanitation in a combined systems approach. Anaerobic digesters are used to generate a relatively clean and rich source of energy in the form of biogas to address energy poverty issues. The design resources available for anaerobic digestion projects must be improved to provide greater technical support and project transparency. In order to develop holistic solutions to grand challenges like energy poverty, engineers must be prepared to operate with the complexities of diverse environments. Globalization and the improvement of transdisciplinary project …

Cypress Construction Inc.: Scheduling And Estimating Quandaries For Small Scale Residential Builds, Thamar Alsayyar

Master of Technology Management Plan II Graduate Projects

This study evaluates the particular scheduling and estimating challenges faced by Cypress Construction Incorporated, a small, privately owned residential construction company based in Baltimore, Maryland. The study, via the usage of primary data collection in the form of personal interviews and site observations, determines the nature of the scheduling and estimating functions conducted by Cypress Construction Inc.’s owner This data is then analyzed to ascertain why the scheduling and estimating functions of Cypress Construction Inc. are unique to the firm and are in need of amelioration. Furthermore, the study includes a literature review to compare the experiences of Cypress Construction …

Failure Mechanisms And Key Parameters Of Frp Debonding From Cracked Concrete Beams, Tayyebeh Mohammadi

Dissertations (1934 -)

Intermediate crack (IC) induced debonding failure of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP)-strengthened reinforced concrete beams starts at the tip of flexural/shear cracks within the shear span and propagates towards the FRP plate termination. In this study, experimental and numerical programs are performed to characterize and predict the failure mechanisms of IC debonding failure, and identify the key parameters affecting such failure. It is found that the bond-slip relation obtained from the pullout test does not represent the bond-slip relation of the FRP/concrete interface in the FRP-strengthened concrete beams, and it cannot be directly used for predicting the load capacity of the …

A Fesability Analysis Of A Novel Constructed Wetland Design Tool For Arusha, Tanzania, Michael R. Sheehan

Open Access Theses

While water is a resource necessary for all life, in Tanzania alone over 20 million people who live in rural areas have no access to improved water sources. Water stress is a major concern in rural Tanzania, where annual potential evaporation can outpace precipitation by hundreds of mm per year. There is a significant need for improved access to water sources for Tanzanians living in rural regions of Arusha. To improve access to water, both water quantity and quality need to be addressed in a treatment system. Various water collection and treatment systems were compared and contrasted through the lens …

Hydrologic Impacts Due To Land Cover Change In The Yellowwood Lake Watershed, Emily Maria Stewart

Open Access Theses

The Yellowwood Lake watershed in Southern Indiana has experienced land cover change due to forest harvest throughout the last century. A group of local stakeholders have identified sedimentation into the lake and surface erosion as major concerns for the watershed. The main objective of this study is to better understand how forest harvest methods applied within the watershed effect hydrologic and soil erosion processes. Such knowledge is required to develop a more comprehensive plan to protect the watershed. ^ The Distributed Hydrology-Soil-Vegetation Model (DHSVM) was used for this analysis. This is a physically based, distributed hydrology model that simulates the …

In-Plane Lateral Load Capacities Of Vertically Oriented Interlocking Timber Panels, Brandon T. Decker

Theses and Dissertations

The Vertically Oriented Interlocking Timber (VOIT) panel is a new solid wood panel similar to Interlocking Cross Laminated Timber (ICLT) and the more commonly known Cross Laminated Timber (CLT). Like ICLT, VOIT panels use timber connections instead of the adhesives or metal fasteners common to CLT. The difference of VOIT is the orientation of the layers. Where CLT and ICLT panels alternate the orientation of each layer, VOIT panels orient all the layers in the same direction. The vertically oriented layers are then attached to one another by smaller horizontal dovetail members.Two types of VOIT panels were provided to be …

Combining Site Specific Data With Geospatial Analysis To Identify Variable Rate Irrigation Opportunities In Irrigated Agricultural Fields., K. A. Miller, T. H. Lo, J. D. Luck, D. M. Heeren

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Increasing demand for improving irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) across irrigated croplands has producers looking for new opportunities to conserve water and maintain their crop production levels. Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) technology may provide opportunities to enhance IWUE, but as with site-specific crop management of other crop inputs, all fields may not benefit from an approach which utilizes VRI. To consider the potential benefits of VRI, it will be necessary to examine multiple site-specific spatial data layers (e.g., crop yield, soil type/texture, and terrain) as well as the current conditions within a field using geospatial analysis techniques.

The goal of …

A Framework Of Effective Debris Management For A Resilient Community, Jooho Kim

Open Access Theses

Natural disasters have an enormous physical impact on communities and generate a huge volume of debris. The amount of debris is almost five to ten times higher than the annual solid waste volume in a community, and slow debris removal can hinder both emergency response and proceeding with the tasks of recovery. The cost of debris management also can reach more than 27% of the total disaster recovery costs. Therefore, debris management teams have considerable challenges in removing disaster debris. ^ This thesis introduces a framework for an effective debris management plan based on the interrelationship between critical infrastructure systems …

Big Data Analytics With Nyc Taxicab Data, Xinwu Qian

Open Access Theses

In recent years, the fast development of pervasive computing technologies gives us access to a variety of big data sources, such as mobile phone users, bank note movements and twitter posts etc. It provides unprecedented opportunities to conduct urban studies and contributes to the sustainable and efficient development of large cities. While big data is an invaluable treasure, our knowledge is limited due to lack of appropriate tools to analyze the data. Hence, this thesis is mainly focused on demonstrating how taxicab data can be used to study urban travel patterns and explore useful insights.

Development, Numerical Demonstration And Experimental Verification Of A Method For Model Updating Of Boundary Conditions, Christian Eduardo Silva Salazar

Open Access Theses

The study of vibrations in beams has been largely addressed by authors and researchers. However, relatively few researchers have considered the case of unknown boundary conditions, as usually it is reasonable to assume the classical cases such as simply supported, clamped or free. Indeed, there are a wide variety of boundary-condition configurations, each one representing a whole different problem with its own modal characteristics. ^ A method for updating experimental beam models to specifically address the issue of unknown boundary conditions is proposed. This methodology takes advantage of vector comparison techniques such as the modal assurance criterion and the dot …

Tracking Dynamic Construction Objects ---A Key Node Modeling Approach Using Color-Depth Cameras, Chenxi Yuan

Open Access Theses

A construction site presents a dynamic scenario. Locations of multiple objects are continuously changing and a lot of objects enter and exit the site in high frequencies. Meanwhile a construction activity consists of a large amount of stochastic operations, many uncertainties occur when making decisions. Believing that detecting, locating and tracking dynamic construction objects in real time improve construction productivity and enhance construction safety, a large number of studies have applied a variety of sensing technologies to construction sites. Hybrid image-point cloud sensing technologies, such as color-depth cameras, have a great potential in achieving real time object recognition and tracking …

Systematic Analysis Of Drainage Events In Free Draining And Managed Subsurface Drainage Systems, Guy Bou Lahdou

Open Access Theses

Understanding the hydrologic controls that regulate outflow from free and managed subsurface drainage systems during drainage events can offer improved insight on the overall functioning and effectiveness of the systems so that they can be better managed or retrofitted to increase their environmental benefits. This study used drainage, precipitation, water table, and soil moisture data from a monitoring site located in east central Indiana to investigate the event hydrology of 22 drainage events in free and managed subsurface drainage systems. Relationships between event drainage volume, drain flow hydrograph metrics, column soil moisture, water table depth, and precipitation characteristics were explored …

Quality Assurance And Quality Control Correlations For The Dynamic Cone Penetrometer, Eshan Ganju

Open Access Theses

The Dynamic Cone Penetrometer (DCP) is a device that is used for the estimation of in situ compaction quality of constructed subgrades and embankments. It is a relatively inexpensive, light-weight and easy to use device that measures the dynamic penetration resistance of the compacted soil, from which an estimate of soil strength and stiffness characteristics can be made. Owing to its ease of use, many DOTs in the U.S. have employed the DCP in their compaction quality control procedures, and over the past few decades, extensive research has been carried out on the development of correlations between the results of …

Evaluation Of Asphalt Pavement Interface, Hyung Jun Ahn

Open Access Theses

This paper presents the development process of modified pull-off test for measurement of in-situ pavement interface bonding strength. The modified test method was validated using two case studies (i.e., delaminated vs. non-delaminated pavements on I-65 and intelligent compacted vs. non-intelligent compacted pavements on US-52) and used for developing a correlation model for estimating a probability of delamination failure at a given pull-off bonding strength. In addition, methodologies for probabilistic interpretations with pull-off test results were explored.

The results demonstrated that the modified pull-off test showed its applicability in measurement of interface bonding condition with both weak and strong conditions. Additionally, …

Scour In Regions Of Flow Separation With Free-Surface Effects, John Frederick Newton

Open Access Dissertations

Downstream of essentially all overflow and drop structures two distinct flow regimes are possible, one associated with a plunging flow, the other dominated by a flow that rides along the surface. Predicting the flow regime is important because diving-jet scouring rates are substantially faster than surface flow scouring rates, and diving-jet scour holes form nearer to the structure. A bi-stable region exists in which either flow is possible with the same upstream and downstream flow conditions. Bi-stable regime boundaries were delineated for a wide variety of fixed bed structures, based on both new experiments and reanalysis of others' experiments with …

Damping Of Seismic Vibrations Of A 3d Asymmetrical Building Model With Multiple Tmd’S, Jean-Paul Pinelli, Kai Chen, Hector Gutierrez, Rasvan Rusovici

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

In this paper, the authors investigate the control of the seismic response of a three dimensional asymmetrical tier-building model, with a combination of three tuned mass dampers (TMD) located on the upper floor of the building. The 3D frame model represents a 3-story steel building designed for the SAC project in Los Angeles, California. All the dynamic analyses of the 3D structure are performed in ANSYS. The frequencies of the three TMD's and excitations are tuned to the appropriate fundamental frequencies of the model. The optimal number and location of the TMD's on the top floor are investigated, to reduce …

Evaluation Of The Epa Swmm Model To Simulate Low Impact Development Features In An Urban Stormwater Environment, Holly Ann Carpenter

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

This research thesis explores the use of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Stormwater Water Management Model (SWMM) to model an urban watershed with a developed stormwater management system and test the SWMM model's ability to simulate Low Impact Development (LID) features by proposing typical LID features that can be retrofitted to the developed study area. The SWMM model is established with an existing survey of the study area's stormwater management system, and due to the lack of field data for the study area, the model developed in this research thesis is calibrated with the consideration of a published stormwater model …

Feasibility Of Mainstream Nitrite Oxidizing Bacteria Out-Selection And Anammox Polishing For Enhanced Nitrogen Removal, Pusker Raj Regmi

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Short-cut nitrogen removal avoids nitrite oxidation to nitrate by nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) and allows a) reduction of formed nitrite to nitrogen gas via heterotrophic denitrification and/or b) oxidation of remaining ammonia with formed nitrite to nitrogen gas via anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox). The precondition for achieving shortcut nitrogen removal is suppression of NOB, which is favored by warm and high ammonia strength conditions found in internally generated ammonia-rich waste streams through anaerobic digestion of waste solids referred to as sidestreams or reject water. The discovery of anammox bacteria in the mid-1990s, which are capable of transforming NH₄+ …