Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Evaluating The Ability Of Swell Prediction Models To Predict The Swell Behavior Of Excessively High Plastic Soils, Bhaskar Chittoori, Mir Md. Tamim, Amit Gajurel, Deb Mishra

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Lightly loaded structures underneath expansive soils encounter severe damage due to the swell/shrink nature of expansive soils resulting from moisture variations. Billions of dollars are spent every year to repair the damages caused by these soils in the U.S. and worldwide. Designing structures to accommodate the swelling strains is a major challenge as predicting the swelling potential of these soils accurately is not easy. A wide variety of swell prediction models have been introduced by various researchers to predict the behavior of these often-problematic expansive soils. These models include various properties of soils such as, plasticity characteristics, compaction conditions, consolidation …

Geotechnical Evaluations Of A Tailings Dam For Use By A Molybdenum And Copper Mine Project In Southern Idaho, Thomas Robbins, Bhaskar C.S. Chittoori

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A proposed mining project in Boise County, Idaho for the extraction of copper, molybdenum, and silver deposits, required investigations into a possible tailings dam construction that will be built using the processed material from the mine. The mine is located southwest of Lowman Idaho, northeast of Pioneerville Idaho, and directly north of Jackson Peak Mountain. The total area for the proposed project is approximately 12 square kilometers and the estimated material to be excavated is about 1.99 billion cubic meters (BCM) (USDA 2013). Typical investigations into the construction of a tailings dam consist of identifying the types of ore contained …

Geopolymerization Of Coal Ash To Produce Cementless Binders, Hamid Akbari, Robert Mensah-Biney, Jonathan Simms

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

The main objective of this study was to evaluate geopolymer concrete made from coal combustion by-products, disposed of in landfills, as a potential substitute for the ordinary Portland cement (OPC), which is responsible for 5-8% of the total CO2 emissions in the world. In this study, a coal fly ash sample from the Carolinas was used in a chemical process known as geopolymerization to produce a “geopolymer” binder. The developed geopolymer binder could competently substitute the OPC binder in regular concrete applications. An experimental design program was conducted to optimize parameters of the geopolymerization affecting the strength of the final …

Groundwater Monitoring And Data Analysis Under The Coal Combustion Residuals Rule, Bruce Hensel

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

No abstract provided.

Ponded And Landfilled Fly Ash As A Source Of Rare Earth Elements From A Kentucky Power Plant, James C. Hower, John G. Groppo, Kevin R. Henke, Uschi M. Graham, Madison M. Hood, Prakash Joshi, Dorin V. Preda

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Twenty samples, with one composite sample built out of the 20 individual samples, of ponded ash were collected at a Kentucky power plant. The coal feed throughout the history of the power plant was central eastern Kentucky low- to moderate-S high volatile A bituminous coal. The pond was in the process of being excavated, with the ash moved to a landfill on another company property. In spite of the long history of the pond and the expected variation in coal supply, and perhaps because of the mixing due to the excavation, there is little variation in ash-basis rare earth elements …

Rare Earth Element Distribution In Fly Ash Derived From The Fire Clay Coal, Kentucky, Madison M. Hood, Ross K. Taggart, Ryan C. Smith, Heileen Hsu-Kim, Kevin R. Henke, Uschi Graham, John G. Groppo, Jason M. Unrine, James C. Hower

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

Fly ash was collected from individual mechanical and electrostatic precipitator (ESP) hoppers at a 130-MW pulverized-coal utility unit burning a southeastern Kentucky moderate- to high-S Pennsylvanian Fire Clay coal. The fly ash particle size is generally similar within each row of the mechanical and ESP hoppers, with the mean particle diameter decreasing from >36 μmin the mechanical hoppers to 6 μm in the last ESP row. Rare earth element (REE)–bearing phases occur within fine minerals and, possibly, as part of the fly ash glass phase. Transmission electron microscopy was used to identify Y-Ce-Nd-La–bearing regions within a glassy matrix. Y- and …

The Relative Impact Framework For Evaluating Coal Combustion Residual Surface Impoundment Closure Options: Applications And Lessons Learned, Ari S. Lewis, Andrew B. Bittner

Coal Combustion and Gasification Products Journal Archive

In response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new rule regarding the disposal of coal combustion residuals (CCRs), many utilities need to re-examine their waste disposal practices and make decisions regarding if and how unlined surface impoundments (SIs) should be closed. The two primary options for closing SIs are in-place closure, with capping and engineering controls, and excavation of the CCR for transport to and re-disposal in a lined landfill. To help inform closure option decisions, we supported the Electric Power Research Institute’s development of a practical, science-based decision framework that comprehensively evaluates the potential impacts to human health and …

Restrained Shrinkage Of Fly Ash Based Geopolymer Concrete And Analysis Of Long Term Shrinkage Prediction Models, Md R. Islam, Mahbub K. Ahmed, Hosney Ara Begum, Erez N. Allouche

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

The research presented in this manuscript describes the procedure to quantify the restrained shrinkage of geopolymer concrete (GPC) using ring specimen. Massive concrete structures are susceptible to shrinkage and thermal cracking. This cracking can increase the concrete permeability and decrease the strength and design life. This test is comprised of evaluating geopolymer concrete of six different mix designs including different activator solution to fly ash ratio and subjected to both restrained and free shrinkage. Test results obtained from this experimental setup was plotted along with the available empirical equation to observe the shrinkage strain of GPC and a model was …

Workshop Synthesis: Measuring Attitudes And Perceptions In Quantitative Surveys, Kelly Clifton, Juan Antonio Carrasco

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This workshop engaged participants in discussion about issues in incorporating qualitative information, namely attitudes, perceptions, and other psychological-social factors into transport research and analysis. There are many challenges to collecting this information from respondents. This synthesis summarizes the workshop presentations and discussion where participants identified the various types of information desired, reviewed the current challenges in conducting this type of data collection, made recommendations for practice, and outlined an agenda for future research.

Development Of Self-Sensing Carbon Nanotube-Based Composites For Civil Infrastructure Applications, Thomas Schumacher, Erik T. Thostenson

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Presented at the 5th International Symposium on Sensor Science (I3S 2017), Barcelona, Spain, 27–29 September 2017.

Worldwide, civil infrastructure systems are aging and deteriorating due to maintenance neglect, increasing traffic, and an environment that is becoming increasingly more severe. In particular, bridges play a critical role in the transportation network. With limited monies available for maintenance and repair, a need exists for effective yet inexpensive solutions to strengthen and monitor bridges. This presentation provides an overview of the development of carbon nanotube (CNT)-based composites, which offer a means to strengthen and monitor a deteriorated bridge member simultaneously. CNT sensors are …

Differences Of Cycling Experiences And Perceptions Between E-Bike And Bicycle Users In The United States, Ziwen Ling, Christopher R. Cherry, John Macarthur, Jonathan X. Weinert

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

E-bikes are bicycles that provide pedal-assistance to aid people in cycling. Because of the potential of promoting sustainable transportation, more attention has been focused on the e-bike market. This paper investigates the differences of the cycling experience and perceptions between e-bike and conventional bicycle users, using samples drawn from independent bicycle dealer customers. A total of 806 respondents in the United States took the on-line survey, including 363 e-bike-owning respondents. The results show that e-bikes play a more important role in utilitarian travel, such as commuting and running errands, compared to a conventional bicycle. Conventional bicycle-owning respondents use their bicycles …

Development Of A Novel Kalman Filter Bank Predictor To Optimally Schedule The Renewable Energy Contribution Within A Micro-Grid, Conor Lynch

Theses

This PhD thesis presents a novel Kalman Filter Bank (KFB) methodology. The novel KFB is applied to predict and optimally schedule the operation of micro-grid energy resources with a public fixed-grid connection and an auxiliary battery storage backup facility. This methodology relies on a sliding single time step forecast projection to accurately acquire the anticipated schedule for a range of time dependent parameters, stochastic by nature, that have inherent embedded cyclical patterns. The innovative feature here consists of a novel bank of hourly adjacent Kalman Filter estimators, which operate in synchronism, for accurate parameter prediction over a selected time horizon. …

Identification, Calculation And Warning Of Horizontal Curves For Low-Volume Two-Lane Roadways Using Smartphone Sensors, Shaohu Zhang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Smartphones and other portable personal devices that integrate global positioning systems, Bluetooth Low Energy, and advanced computing technologies have become more accessible due to affordable prices, product innovation, and people’s desire to be connected. As more people own these devices, there are greater opportunities for data acquisition in Intelligent Transportation Systems, and for vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. Horizontal curves are a common factor in the number of observed roadway crashes. Identifying locations and geometric characteristics of the horizontal curves plays a critical role in crash prediction and prevention, and timely curve warnings save lives. However, most states in the US face a …

Impact Of Subsurface Drainage On Water Yield For Typical Soil And Weather In Eastern South Dakota, Govinda Karki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Subsurface drainage in agricultural land changes the field water balance by providing an alternate pathway for subsurface water. Determining the effects of subsurface drainage on downstream hydrology requires quantifying the components of the water balance. A number of studies have looked at the hydrological impacts of subsurface drainage. However, the effects are complex and difficult to generalize. The complex interaction involves the interrelation among variables such as soil type and properties, climate (rainfall and evapotranspiration), and drainage design configuration (drainage intensity and drainage coefficient), which all are local in nature. Additionally, most studies have been conducted in humid climates, whereas …

Monopile Foundation Offshore Wind Turbine Simulation And Retrofitting, William A. Schaffer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Offshore wind turbines (OWT) provide a renewable source of energy with great proximity to many large cities. This has caused a major increase in OWT development and implementation, primarily in Europe, but spreading throughout the world. There are a multitude of different foundation options, each with their own benefits. The most common types are: monopile, jacket, TLP, Semi-Submersible, and SPAR. The monopile foundation OWT has been proven to be the most economic selection for water depths up to approximately 25m. This thesis has analyzed strictly monopile foundations due to their previous success and popularity. Three different chapters have been created …

Rehabilitation Of Longitudinal Joints In Double-Tee Girder Bridges, Lucas Michael Bohn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prefabricated bridge elements have become an essential part of accelerated bridge construction (ABC), which is an emerging technology to expedite bridge construction. Among several bridge girder types, precast double-tee girders are common on county bridges in South Dakota because of the ease of construction, the reduced construction time, and the potentially lower overall cost. However, the longitudinal joints of these bridges are rapidly deteriorating with many needing replacement before the expected 75- year service life. Research was conducted at South Dakota State University (SDSU) to develop, construct, and evaluate the performance of rehabilitation methods on this type of bridge. Current …

An Investigation Of The Hydraulics In A Prototype Pool-And-Chute, Vortex Weir Fishway For Anadromous Fish Passage., Brendan Foster

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This thesis presents the hydraulic characteristics and simulated passage efficiency of a hybrid pool-and-chute, vortex weir fishway designed by Michael Love & Associates. A physical 1:15 scale model was constructed and evaluated at an 8% slope over three prototype flow rates representing high and medium fish passage flows. The highest velocities and turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) values were concentrated along the fishway centerline at the high and medium flow rate and the pool sides showed lower velocities and TKE. Large eddies spin laterally and longitudinally throughout each pool. The velocity vector directions at the lowest flow rate measured differed from …

Final Group Project - Optimal Route Finding, Jason Biesinger, Levi Burr, Tyson Terry

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Emergency response teams are always preparing rescue plans and protocols so they may respond quickly to various incidents. Fire trucks and ambulances need to arrive at the scene of the incident rapidly to mitigate injury, and avoid more damage to property in the case of a fire (Kolesar et al. 1973). Holidays are times of high incidence, and officials always plan for potential risks that surround large events. The network analysis toolbox can be used to find and map out the quickest route from a variety of locations. The network analysis toolset in ArcMap makes it possible for us to …

Laboratory Exercise - Ideal Stargazing Locations Background, Michael Adamson, Brandon Walker, Nicholas Smith

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

Astrophotography is a specialized type of photography for recording photos of astronomical objects, celestial events, and large areas of the night sky. Astronomical photography employs long exposures so film or digital imaging devices can accumulate light photons over long periods of time. Urban areas produce light pollution so equipment and observatories doing astronomical imaging are often located in remote areas to allow long exposures without the film or detectors being swamped with stray light. Astrophotography is a popular hobby among photographers and amateur astronomers. Images of the night sky can be obtained with some of the most basic film and …

Laboratory Exercise: Calculating Hobble Creek 100 Year Flow Using Arcmap, Micklane Farmer, Saul Ramirez, Riley Vane

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is used extensively in watershed analysis. In previous labs, students have determined a watershed from DEM data. Calculating flow can be very useful in many engineering aspects. With the correct data, GIS can be used to develop a hydrologic model to calculate the flow from a watershed. The purpose of this lab is to develop a model to calculate the flow for the Hobble Creek 100 year event.

Final Laboratory Exercise - Amazon Hq2 Site Selection, Jared Lillywhite, Travis Mcstraw, Marco Rosas Rodriguez

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is often used by major corporations around the world to help manage processes such as shipping, inventory, sales, and expansion. GIS is specifically used in expansion to help determine suitable site locations for new stores, Headquarters, warehouses and other assets to a given corporation. This exercise is based on a real case study. On September 12th, 2017 Amazon announced that it would be opening up a second headquarters that would be equal in operation and size to its Seattle Headquarters. The company is currently taking proposals from different cities, however they are trying to determine which U.S. cities would …

Laboratory Exercise - Nfl Team Placement, Alex Barrow, Tavin Griffeth, Isaac Gomez

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS is used by corporations and groups internationally to manage aspects of their business such as shipping, inventory, sales, marketing, facilities, and expansion plans. When dealing with expansion in particular, GIS is used to determine the most appropriate placement of a new store or location.

This laboratory exercise assumes that the National Football League is interested in creating a new team. This new team will be placed in the continental US. For the analysis that you will do, a number of data layers will be required, weather found at the references online sources or created manually. Once the data layers …

Laboratory Exercise - Calculating The Volume Of Material Displaced By Mount St. Helens Eruption Of 1980, Donald Anderson, Alex Fisher, Ken Lippold

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

There are several active volcanoes in the state of Washington. On May 18, 1980, one of these volcanoes, Mount St. Helens, erupted. On March 1, 1980, the University of Washington set up a seismograph in the area to monitor the volcano’s activity. On March 20, a minor earthquake was recorded under Mount St. Helens and the entire area was put on alert. Thanks to this warning, the locals were able to evacuate before the mountain erupted. Before fully erupting, some steam and ash was seen billowing out of the top, and on May 18, the volcano was ready to blow. …

Laboratory Exercise - Temple-View Least- Cost Mountain Bike Trail, Brad Wells, Jacob Wilcock

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) has created several guidelines that are used when locating and building new mountain bike trails. A GIS is can be used to generate possible locations for mountain bike trails while following guidelines given by the IMBA. These guidelines include maximum allowable slopes, avoiding fall lines, avoiding flat areas, and seeking areas that include control points such as viewpoints, water, or other attractions. One way to determine the most appropriate placement of a mountain bike trail is to create and run a model in ArcMap that has the necessary input parameters defined within the model. …

Laboratory Exercise – Possible Zara Locations In Utah, Garlick Alyssa, Whitney Robison, Olivia Sorenson

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

GIS ModelBuilder can be used well for site selection. For this exercise, we will build a model that will automate the process of creating a map for the best locations in Utah to open a new Zara store. The principles presented here can easily be extrapolated to another state, country, or dataset to automate the process of site selection for retail stores.

Laboratory Exercise – Saratoga Springs Temple Site Locator, Jordi Berrett, Josh Gibbons, Tyler Mickelson

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

On April 2, 2017, President Thomas S. Monson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) announced that the LDS Church would build a temple in Saratoga Springs, Utah. The temple will be the eighteenth LDS temple built in Utah and the fifth in Utah County. It is anticipated that the temple will serve church members in Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Lehi, and other surrounding areas. The LDS Church carefully chooses optimal sites for their temples. LDS temples tend to be view-able from the surrounding area, usual. Temples are also usually near major highways and in areas that …

Zombie Shelter Location, Shanna Carroll, Tyler Lindsay, Hannah Rasmussen

Engineering Applications of GIS - Laboratory Exercises

One common use of GIS is determining ideal locations for projects. This is because GIS makes it very easy to combine and analyze spatial data in a customized way. In this exercise, assume that there has been a recent zombie outbreak in Utah, USA. To determine the ideal hideout location, data that indicates a safe location must be acquired and combined with geography that is conducive to wilderness survival. Once the data is gathered, spatial analysis using GIS overlay tools must be conducted to determine the ideal location for an anti-zombie hideaway hut. In this exercise, multiple tools will be …

The Environmental Impacts Of Alternative Food Waste Treatment Technologies In The U.S., Krista L. Thyberg, David J. Tonjes

Technology & Society Faculty Publications

A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted to determine the environmental impacts of several waste treatment scenarios for a suburban New York (U.S.) municipality. The study goal was to determine if separate food waste recovery and management was environmentally sounder than waste-to-energy incineration (the baseline case). Three alternatives, enclosed tunnel composting, enclosed windrow composting, and anaerobic digestion with subsequent enclosed windrow composting of residuals, were examined considering the entire residual waste stream (not just separated food wastes). Impact categories assessed were climate change, environmental eutrophication and acidification, resource depletion, and stratospheric ozone depletion. A normalized, aggregated impact assessment was created …

Development Of Novel Electrocoagulation Reactor (Ecr) For Turbidity Removal And Decolorization From Textile Industry Wastewater, Penghour Hong

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

High concentration of dyes together with turbidity were frequently found in the effluents of textile industry wastewater, which are the toxic substances. To remove these contaminants, the combination between electrocoagulation process (EC) and separation has been proposed in this study. The objective of this present work is to design and evaluate the new electrocoagulation reactor (ECR) for treating dye and turbidity from synthetic textile wastewater. The optimization of electrode configuration and design parameter were examined with the batch column reactor for containing 4 liters of wastewater. The result showed that monopolar arrangement within the inner gap 1.5 cm and current …

Effect Of Operating Conditions And Ion Contaminations On Electro Coagulation And Oxidation Processes For Water Quality Improvement, Vouchlay Theng

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of ion contaminations and operating conditions on Electro Coagulation (EC) and Oxidation (EO) in turbidity and natural organic matter (NOM) removal. The experiments were conducted in 4 liters column. Ferrous and calcium were chosen as contaminated ions. The operating condition was varied in terms of initial pH and current density. 100 NTU turbidity and 70 mg/L NOM were synthesized from bentonite and humic acid (HA), respectively. The results showed that bipolar arrangement of electrodes with 2 cm gap was the optimal condition in terms of gas flow rate and electrode …