Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Developing More Efficient Mechanically Stabilized Earth (Mse) Wall Reinforcements, Matthew J. Rahmeyer

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The most common shape for metallic reinforcement in Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls is a rectangular strip. The amount of force required to pull the reinforcement out of the wall versus how much steel is required is well balanced.

This study shows that a metal round bar can be altered, either by bending into various geometries or welding into crossbars, and provide similar and sometimes higher resistance to pullout than the rectangular strip. This was achieved while reducing the weight per foot of reinforcement of steel required and providing cost saving benefits.

The Influence Of Sediment Characteristics On The Fate Of Steroidogenic Compounds In Aquatic Systems And The Effects On Progesterone Bioavailability In A Target Organism, Jodi L. Sangster

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

There is growing concern about the biologic effects stemming from steroids in impacted waterways. In aquatic systems, interaction between steroids and sediment influence both contaminant fate as well as subsequent bioavailability to aquatic organisms. The focus of this dissertation research was to gain a better understanding of steroid behavior in aquatic systems based on the physiochemical properties of sediment and to use this knowledge to better understand the biological effects stemming from sediment-associated progesterone exposure. Two natural aquatic sediments, a sand and a silty loam, were selected to represent marked differences in sediments properties. Initially, sorption of 17β-estradiol, estrone, progesterone, …

Microbial Degradation Of Sulfonamide Antibiotics, Rachel Levine

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Certain microbes can transform antibiotics in the environment. However, little is known about the identity of these microbes and their antibiotic biotransformation processes. The objectives of this study were to (1) isolate bacterial strains capable of transforming antibiotics, (2) determine the biotransformation kinetics of antibiotics, (3) characterize the effects of background carbons on the biotransformation kinetics, and (4) identify biotransformation products under various environmental conditions. Sulfadiazine (SDZ) was used as the model antibiotic in this study due to its frequent occurrence in livestock wastes. Surface soil from a cattle feedlot was collected to enrich potential SDZ degrading bacteria. A mixed …

Volume-Change Restraining Effects In Continuous Precast/Prestressed Bridge Girders, Athul Alex

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

A variety of design and construction practices are feasible when building precast concrete continuous bridges with long spans. Precast, prestressed concrete continuous bridges have been implemented by countries around the world. Although these bridges have been in service for many years, there has been limited verification of the ability of connection to provide the predicted continuity. Subsequently many states in the United States design the girders as simple spans for both dead and live loads without considering any moments developed by the connection. The effect of thermal expansion and contraction is hardly considered in the analysis, even though it is …

Performance Assessment Of Deteriorated And Retrofitted Steel Hp Piles, Steven T. Stauffer

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Deterioration of aging bridges can be attributed to an assortment of mechanisms throughout the structure, with remediation policies also varying. This study focused on assessing the validity of the Nebraska Department of Roads’ (NDOR) reinforced concrete encasement retrofit for corroded steel HP piles. Experiments were designed and conducted to test the capacity of the NDOR retrofit and evaluate failure limit states. Two pile locations were considered: abutment and pile bent. For each location there was a non-deteriorated, deteriorated, and retrofitted case. These cases represented the pile at key stages during its life. NDOR’s concrete encasement retrofit provided the required stability …

Lateral Resistance Of H-Piles And Square Piles Behind An Mse Wall With Ribbed Strip And Welded Wire Reinforcements, Andrew I. Luna

Theses and Dissertations

Bridges often use pile foundations behind MSE walls to help resist lateral loading from seismic and thermal expansion and contraction loads. Overdesign of pile spacing and sizes occur owing to a lack of design code guidance for piles behind an MSE wall. However, space constraints necessitate the installation of piles near the wall. Full scale lateral load tests were conducted on piles behind an MSE wall. This study involves the testing of four HP12X74 H-piles and four HSS12X12X5/16 square piles. The H-piles were tested with ribbed strip soil reinforcement at a wall height of 15 feet, and the square piles …

Recycling Ceramic Waste Powder And Its Usage As An Alternative Ingredient In Concrete, Dima Mamoun Kanaan

Theses

Green environment is a challenging concern to accomplish in today’s world. This could be accomplished through an effective and beneficial recycling system through reusing solid waste materials. The study and exploration of alternative ingredients for concrete-making industry started more than five decades ago. Concrete that contains solid waste is referred to as “Green” concrete. Ceramic tiles are widely used in most structures; its production creates waste powder. Using ceramic waste powder (CWP) as an ingredient to partially replace cement in concrete will have a positive and progressive environmental impact in addition will help reserve natural resources. In this study, CWP …

Advanced Gis: Smart Transportation, Christopher Bone, Ken Kato, Jacob Bartruff, Marc Schlossberg

TREC Final Reports

As sensors have become cheaper and more common, they have found an increasingly important role in transportation. However, curriculum to prepare students who will be working with these technologies as developers and planners has not developed at the same rate. The goal of this project was to develop a college course focused around sensors and smart transportation to be offered to undergrad and graduate students at the University of Oregon. The class focused on the practical application and the theoretical consequences of these developments. The class was offered in the spring term of 2015 to a group of undergraduate and …

Multimodal Transportation Planning Curriculum For Urban Planning Programs, Kristine M. Williams, Tia Claridge, Alexandria Carroll

TREC Final Reports

Integrated multimodal transportation and land use planning is critical to advancing mode choice, public health and safety, and livability objectives. Communities across the U.S. are seeking to redefine their planning process accordingly. In response, university graduate urban planning and engineering programs are beginning to address multimodal planning and sustainable transportation, but most do not yet offer a robust curriculum on these topics. To help address this need, the University of South Florida (USF), Center for Urban Transportation Research (CUTR) developed a curriculum for a course on multimodal transportation planning and its role in advancing livability and related objectives. The course …

Achieving Uniform Flow Distribution In Compact Irrigation Splitter Boxes With High Flow Rates, Joshua Ryan Hogge

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In many irrigation systems and networks, there are multiple water users and shareholders who take their water from different locations along a single canal or pipeline. Often, irrigation splitter boxes are used to divert water to multiple shareholders from a single location. The splitter boxes, which can be small and compact, are generally installed at different locations along a piped irrigation supply line. The purpose of a splitter box is to split a specific amount of water so that each user receives their allotted portion, regardless of the flow rate in the system.

Each splitter box usually includes two compartments, …

Accumulation And Release Of Trace Inorganic Contaminants From Biofilm Matrices Produced And Challenged Under Drinking Water Distribution System Conditions, William W. Kent

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Drinking water distribution systems (DWDS) are used to transport drinking water from the place of treatment to your home. DWDS are made of many types of pipe materials and have the potential to accumulate materials such as iron and manganese oxides and biofilms that serve as reservoirs for toxic trace inorganic contaminants (TICs) such as thallium, arsenic, and lead. These materials can be stable, but changes in water quality or a physical disturbance such as road construction or water use changes may result in a TIC release, causing water quality degradation. This study used glass columns filled with glass beads …

Anaerobic Hydrogen And Methane Production From Dairy Processing Waste: Experiment And Modeling, Jianming Zhong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dairy processing waste (DPW) is the waste produced from manufacturing dairy products: cheese, yogurt, ice cream, milk, butter, etc. DPW is high in chemical oxygen demand (COD) due to its lactose, fat and protein content, and therefore needs to be appropriately treated. An investigation was conducted to produce energy (hydrogen and methane) from DPW by anaerobic digestion. This project developed an effective engineering method for stable methane production from DPW without adding pH control chemicals. This study also explored the optimal operational condition for hydrogen production from DPW. We further built a mathematical model to help us monitor and predict …

Quantifying The Removal Of Trichloroethylene Via Phytoremediation At Hill Air Force Base, Utah Operational Unit 2 Using Recent And Historical Data, J. Oliver Diamond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a carcinogenic, chlorinated volatile organic compound that was commonly used as a degreasing solvent for aircraft maintenance at many US Air Force bases. Past improper disposal of TCE has resulted in contaminated groundwater plumes surrounding many of these facilities. Phytoremediation, defined as the use of plants and their associated microorganisms to stabilize or remove contamination, has been implemented as part of a TCE groundwater cleanup effort at Travis Air Force base near Sacramento, CA and is being considered as a remediation option at other bases. Volatilization of TCE from leaves and the surface of the soil near …

Traffic Sign Management: Data Integration And Analysis Methods For Mobile Lidar And Digital Photolog Big Data, Majid Khalilikhah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Traffic signs often convey critical information to drivers. However, traffic signs are only effective when clearly visible and legible. This study aims to determine the effects of various damage and deterioration forms on sign retroreflectivity, identify the most important factors affecting traffic sign visual condition, predict traffic sign vandalism that obstructs critical messages to drivers, and identify important environmental factors contributing to the temporary obstruction of the sign messages. To do so, two data sets are used. A sample data of over 1,700 signs was manually collected in the field, and the background retroreflectivity of each sign was measured using …

The Effects Of Meter Orientation Downstream Of A Short Radius Elbow On Electromagnetic Flow Meters, Jared C. Justensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Electromagnetic flowmeters (known as magnetic flow meters) are a widely used type of flowmeter. The accuracy of magnetic flow meters are a function of several factors, not the least of which is the flow condition inside the pipe. It has been shown that disturbances in the velocity profile affects the accuracy of a magnetic flow meter (Luntta, 1998). Accordingly, manufacturers of magnetic flow meters give installation guidelines. These guidelines help prevent the user from installing the meter in a pipe configuration that is likely to cause the meter to produce inaccurate results. Although most manufacturers provide recommendations about the amount …

Developing A Method For Quantifying Nitrogen Transformation Rates Using In Situ Benthic Chambers Dosed With Isotopically Labeled Nitrate, Chelsea A. Stewardson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nitrogen, a nutrient required for biological growth, is a common water quality parameter of concern as too much nitrogen can cause a strain on aquatic environments and even death of plants and animals. One way high levels of nitrogen are introduced into aquatic systems is by anthropogenic sources such as effluent from water reclamation facilities. A method was designed to observe the fate of nitrogen and measure the rates of its transformation into different nitrogen species within a stream receiving the effluent from the Silver Creek Water Reclamation Facility in Park City, Utah.

Sealed chambers were designed and installed along …

Application Of Computational Fluid Dynamics In Flow Measurement And Meter Design, Zachary B. Sharp

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Flow measurement has been an important part of society for hundreds of years. For this reason there are many methods to measure flow rates both in open channel scenarios like irrigation canals and also in closed conduits like pipelines that supply water for human use. This research focused on Venturi flow meters which have been used to measure flow since the 1890’s. The object of this research was to use computational fluid dynamics and laboratory data to provide industry with applicable answers to some under researched areas in flow measurement. The areas chosen for this research include areas requested by …

The Application Of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle To Precision Agriculture: Chlorophyll, Nitrogen, And Evapotranspiration Estimation, Manal Elarab

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Precision agriculture (PA) is an integration of a set of technologies aiming to improve productivity and profitability while sustaining the quality of the surrounding environment. It is a process that vastly relies on high-resolution information to enable greater precision in the management of inputs to production. This dissertation explores the usage of multispectral high resolution aerial imagery acquired by an unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platform to estimate three fundamental crop parameters (plant chlorophyll, leaf nitrogen and crop water demand). The UAS acquired imagery in the visual, near infrared and thermal infrared spectra with a resolution of less than a meter …

Micro-Ct Inspection Of Impact Damage In Carbon/Epoxy Rods, Lindsey Charlene Cahoon

Theses and Dissertations

Various configurations of unidirectional carbon/epoxy composite rods were impacted radially, inspected using micro-CT scanning equipment, and tested in axial compression to measure the residual strength after impact. This data was used to correlate the relationship between impact energy, residual strength, and the peak crack area and total crack volume along the length of the specimens. These specimens represent local members of open three-dimensional composite lattice structures (e.g., based on isogrid or IsoTruss® geometries) that are continuously fabricated using advanced three-dimensional braiding techniques. The specimens were radially impacted with 2.5 J (1.9 ft-lbs), 5.0 J (3.7 ft-lbs), 7.5 J (5.6 ft-lbs), …

Computing Research In Academia: Classifications, Keywords, Perceptions, And Connections, Sung Han Kim

Theses and Dissertations

The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) recognizes five computing disciplines: Computer Science (CS), Computer Engineering (CE), Information Technology (IT), Information Systems (IS), and Software Engineering (SE). Founded in 1947 the ACM is the world's largest society for computing educators, researchers, and professionals. While Computer Science has been a degree program since 1962, the other four are relatively new. This research focuses on understanding the graduate research in four of the five ACM disciplines (CS, CE, IT, and IS) using a large body of thesis and dissertation metadata. SE is not found in the metadata and graduate work in SE is …

Roadway Safety Analysis Methodology, Samuel Thomas Mineer

Theses and Dissertations

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Traffic and Safety Division continues to advance the safety of the state roadway network through network screening and decision making tools. In an effort to aid UDOT in meeting this goal, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Brigham Young University (BYU) has worked with the Statistics Department in developing analysis tools for highway safety, specifically the Utah Crash Prediction Model (UCPM) and the Utah Crash Severity Model (UCSM). Additional tools and methodologies, such as the "Hot Spot Identification and Analysis," have been created to summarize the roadway characteristics, crash data, and possible …

Implementation Of Bim In The Municipal Plan Review Process, Liz Shantalle Ricardo Belliard

Theses and Dissertations

Obtaining a building permit is an important step for any construction project. Whether it is for a new construction or a remodel job, the process involves a plan review performed by building officials. The purpose of this research was to explore ways in which Building Information Modeling (BIM) could be used to aid code officials during the plan review process. The objectives of the study were to determine if the level of detail in BIM was complete enough to allow a plan review to be perform accurately, to identify the extent to which architects are comfortable with using their models …

Ozonation In Water Reuse: Formation And Mitigation Of N-~Nitrosodimethylamine, Erica J. Marti

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a substantial concern for drinking water and water reuse. NDMA, a probable human carcinogen, is formed when water is disinfected with chloramines and ozone. This research focused on three issues regarding NDMA formation and mitigation. The first issue involved understanding the compounds (i.e., precursors) present in water and wastewater that react with ozone to form NDMA. Model precursors were identified and molar yields for NDMA formation were determined. The model precursors form high amounts of NDMA with ozone, but form very little NDMA with chloramines, which means there are two distinct groups of NDMA precursors: …

Causes Of Change Orders And Its Impact On Road Maintenance Contracts, Kabindra Kumar Shrestha

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Change orders (CO) commonly generate cost-growth, schedule-growth or both, in construction as well as in maintenance contracts. Literature reviews revealed that the causes and impact of CO on new construction contracts had been comprehensively studied, but the causes and impact of CO in maintenance contracts remained neglected. This study collected CO data on road maintenance contracts to determine the amount of CO and the most frequent and high-risk road maintenance activities that had CO. A Delphi study was conducted with 33 maintenance engineers from the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to identify causes of CO and its impact on cost …

Analyzing Irrigation District Water Productivity By Benchmarking Current Operations Using Remote Sensing And Simulation Of Alternative Water Delivery Scenarios, Jonna D. Van Opstal

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The competition for fresh water is vastly increasing particularly in semi-arid areas. Agricultural irrigation areas are urged to decrease their water use, being the largest consumer of fresh water in these areas. Improvements in irrigation management aim at increasing crop production whilst maintaining or decreasing water use. The analysis of water productivity at the irrigation district scale is challenging due to spatial heterogeneity between fields and temporal variability between growing seasons.

This dissertation makes use of satellite-based remote sensing imagery and an irrigation system simulation model to determine the water management at different spatial scales from field scale to the …

Anaerobic Digestion Process Stability And The Extension Of The Adm1 For Municipal Sludge Co-Digested With Bakery Waste, Morris Elya Demitry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The anaerobic digestion process is used to treat and convert waste organic matter to biogas (principally methane and carbon dioxide) through biological, chemical and physical reactions. The biogas can be used as a source of energy recovery. In order to increase the biogas production rate, two different kinds of waste (municipal wastewater treatment sludge and bakery waste) were mixed together to enhance the anaerobic process and increase the biogas production in pilot scale reactors. The process succeeded in increasing biogas production and at the same time kept the process of treatment effective when high rates of organics were fed to …

A Risk-Based Assessment Of Agricultural Water Scarcity Under Climate Change In A Semi-Arid And Snowmelt-Dominated River Basin, Hossam Moursi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water shortage is a crucial concern in the semi-arid areas that have relatively low precipitation. Given the current situation in semi-arid areas where the water supply
already does not meet the water demand, climate change is one of the important factors that is expected to exacerbate the water shortage problem and make the situation even worse in the future. There are many indicators that prove climate change is happening, like the increasing land temperature, sea level rise and decreasing snow cover. Therefore, studying climate change impacts is a vital issue, especially its impacts on water resources systems.

In this research, …

Laboratory Modeling Of Piping Initiation Behavior Through Constricted Outlet, Ibrahim Ahmed Abdelmotelb Ibrahim

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Backward erosion piping is a type of internal erosion. It occurs beneath water structures as a result of seepage force. It needs two conditions to take place; 1) sufficient hydraulic head to drive the seepage force, and 2) cohesive layer overlies the sand layer and this will lead to concentration of flow. Many researches were done in the past in an attempt to predict the critical gradient. But it was just taking into account the buoyant unit weight which found in recent research that piping can occur at much lower values than was predicted. And other researches were too conservative …

Partially Closed Valve Effects On Electromagnetic Flow Meter Accuracy, Jordan Clark Jarrett

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As the need to manage water resources increases, the ability to accurately measure use becomes crucial. In industry, measurement inaccuracies can cost either the
supplier or consumer large amounts of money or even result in a depleted resource. Generally, flow meters need a flow profile to be fully developed so to optimize
measurement accuracy.

In order to produce accurate measurements, most flow meters require a straight section of pipe immediately upstream of the meter. The straight pipe helps to develop the flow profile and produces flow conditions that are as ideal as possible. In many field installations, space restrictions lead …

An Analysis Of Airborne Data Collection Methods For Updating Highway Feature Inventory, Yi He

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Highway inventory plays an important role in highway management. Governments and agencies have been employing different kinds of methodologies for highway inventory. Existing methodologies include field inventory, photo/video log, integrated global positioning system (GPS)/ global information system (GIS) mapping, aerial/satellite photography, terrestrial light detection and ranging (LiDAR), mobile LiDAR, and airborne LiDAR. Each has advantages and disadvantages as well as limitations in collecting road inventory data. This paper mainly focused on the application of airborne data collection method.

Four highway sections in Utah were mapped in this experiment: one section on Interstate 84 (I-84), two sections on Interstate 15 (I-15 …