Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Coupling Hec-Ras And Hec-Hms In Precipitation Runoff Modelling And Evaluating Flood Plain Inundation Map, Balbhadra Thakur, Ranjan Parajuli, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad, Ritu Gupta

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The climate change and land use change have raised the challenges associated with increased runoff and flood management. The risks associated with flooding have been increasing with development in flood plain and changing climate resulting in increase in inundation of flood plain. The current study will help to evaluate the extent of flood plain in the study area – copper slough watershed (CSW) in Champaign, Illinois; utilizing the known precipitation and land use. The study of CSW is taken into account, as this is the largest watershed of Champaign City and had undergone major land use change increasing the flooding …

A Conceptualized Groundwater Flow Model Development For Integration With Surface Hydrology Model, Chao Chen, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

A groundwater system model was developed and calibrated in the study area of Lehman Creek watershed, eastern Nevada. The model development aims for integrating the surface hydrologic model - precipitation runoff modeling system (PRMS) model - with the three-dimensional (3D) finite-difference model MODFLOW. A two-layer groundwater model was developed with spatial discretization of 100 x 100 m grid. The water balance was estimated with inflows of gravity drainage and initial streamflow estimated from a calibrated PRMS model, and with outflows of spring discharges, boundary fluxes, and stream base flow. A steady-state model calibration was performed to estimate the hydraulic properties. …

2d Unsteady Routing And Flood Inundation Mapping For Lower Region Of Brazos River Watershed, Manahari Bhandari, Narayan Nyaupane, Shekhar Raj Mote, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Present study uses two dimensional flow routing capabilities of hydrologic engineering center's river analysis system (HEC-RAS) for flood inundation mapping in lower region of Brazo River watershed subjected to frequent flooding. For analysis, river reach length of 20 km located at Richmond, Texas, was considered. Detailed underlying terrain information available from digital elevation model of 1/9-arc second resolution was used to generate the two-dimensional (2D) flow area and flow geometrics. Streamflow data available from gauging station USGS08114000 was used for the full unsteady flow hydraulic modeling along the reach. Developed hydraulic model was then calibrated based on the manning's roughness …

Ice-Cover And Jamming Effects On Inline Structures And Upstream Water Levels, Addison Jobe, Swastik Bhandari, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

River ice cover is a reoccurring phenomenon in the Northern United States every year. Sheets and layers of ice result in a rise of water surface elevation and may lead to ice jams in a river. This research explains the modeling of a river reach through Northern Illinois containing a structural weir and how the water profile is effected during ice cover and ice jam events. The Hydraulic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System was used in conjunction with Esri ArcMap software to model a portion of the river for analysis. The study area of the Rock River flowing through Oregon, …

Multi-Scale Correlation Analyses Between California Streamflow And Enso/Pdo, Kazi Ali Tamaddun, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) are two of the most important climate indices that influence the western U.S. hydrology significantly. This study evaluated how these two indices have influenced California streamflow over the years and determined their correlation at multiple time-scales. Data were obtained from 14 unimpaired streamflow stations of California for a study period of 63 years (i.e., 1951 to 2013). The concept of continuous wavelet transform was applied to observe the variance in each time-series at multiple time-scale bands over the years. The correlation was found to be higher in the latter half …

Precipitation And Indian Ocean Climate Variability-Acase Study On Pakistan, Kazi Ali Tamaddun, Ajay Kalra, Waqas Ahmed, Ghulam Hussain Dars, Steve Burian, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The study evaluated the relationship between two climate variability indicators – sea- surface temperature (SST) and 500-mbar geopotential height (HGT/Z500) – and the monsoonal precipitation pattern of Pakistan. Data from 30 precipitation gauges were obtained and were analyzed over a period of 35 years from 1980 to 2014. Singular-valued decomposition (SVD) technique was used to determine the association of previous year’s SST and HGT with the current year’s monsoonal precipitation. The results indicated that the association of SST and HGT with precipitation varied depending on the lead-times selected. Multiple regions of the North Indian Ocean were identified that showed significant …

Response Of Climate Change On Urban Watersheds: A Case Study For Las Vegas, Nv, Narayan Nyaupane, Ranjeet Thakali, Ajay Kalra, Lorenzo Mastino, Marco Velotta, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The current research is a partnering effort between Southern Illinois University Carbondale and City of Las Vegas to assess the vulnerability to drought, extreme heat, and extreme precipitation. This study focuses on precipitation and usesdifferent climate scenarios from the high-resolution North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) climate model data to evaluate the existing stormwater infrastructure of the Gowan watershed in the Las Vegas valley. Six NARCCAP modelsconsidered in the study have shown the Gamma distribution as the best fitted from Kolmogorov Smirnov best fit test. Delta change method is adopted to quantify the effect of climate change on …

Flood Risk Assessment Using The Updated Fema Floodplain Standard In The Ellicott City, Maryland, United States, Ranjeet Thakali, Ranjit Bhandari, Giles-Arnaud Arif-Deen Kandissounon, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Every Year, flooding causes a calamitous impact on the people, economy, and environment all over the world. In recent years, the flood-related damages have been increasing in the United States regardless of several investments in the flood control measures. Floodplain mapping is an important tool for management that aids in the planning of infrastructures within the floodplain zone. With the magnifying effects of climate change on the hydrological cycle the study of floodplain is becoming a key tool in the water management. Federal Emergency Management Agency has recently updated their floodplain standard as per the presidential executive order 2015 on …

Using Wavelet To Analyze Periodicities In Hydrologic Variables, Balbhadra Thakur, Pratik Pathak, Ajay Kalra, Sajjad Ahmad, Miguel Bernardez

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

The trend and shift in the seasonal temperature, precipitation and streamflow time series across the Midwest have been analyzed, for the period 1960-2013, using the statistical analyses (Mann- Kendall test with and without considering short term persistence (MK2 and MK1, respectively) and Pettitt test). The paper also utilizes a relatively new approach, wavelet analysis, for testing the existence of trend and shift in the time series. The method has the ability to decompose a time series in to lower (trend) and higher frequency components (noise). Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) has been employed in the present study with an aim to …

Streamflow Pattern Variations Resulting From Future Climate Change In Middle Tianshan Mountains Region In China, Feiyun Zhang, Lanhai Li, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

In arid and semi-arid regions of North West china, glacier-melt, seasonal snowmelt and rainfall are the primary sources of flow in the rivers that originate from alpine areas. Spring and summer peak flow resulting from snowmelt and rainfall, respectively, are the main characteristics of streamflow pattern. Because of the damages caused by the spring and summer peak flow, a better understanding of the streamflow pattern variation under future climate warming is crucial. To analyze the variation of streamflow pattern under climate warming, the Kaidu River and the Manasi River watersheds in northern and southern slopes of Middle Tianshan Mountains, located …

Schedule And Cost Performance Analysis And Prediction In Louisiana Dotd, Mahmoud Hamide

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Many construction projects in the United States are facing the risk of cost overrun and schedule delays. This is also happening here in the State of Louisiana. When these things happen, it causes cost overrun which can then be passed on to the tax payers and may also cause the state to take on less projects than they normal. Many researchers have studied the reasons behind both the cost overrun and the delays resulting in private firms, developing project management tools and best practices to prevent this risk. In this research, I aim to study the historical trend in 2912 …

A Time-Series Forecasting Model For Windhoek Rainfall, Namibia, Godfrey T. Pazvakawambwa

Andrews Research Conference

The objective of the study was to use time series forecasting techniques to model Windhoek rainfall based on secondary monthly data from 1891 to 2011. Descriptive summary statistics in the form of measures of centrality and dispersion, time series plots, and autocorrelation functions were generated using R time series statistical software. The Box Jenkin’s ARIMA modelling procedure (model identification, model estimation, model validation) was used to determine the best models for the data. Model diagnostics based on residual analysis were performed to assess the adequacy of the identified models. The final model was then used to forecast monthly rainfall for …

Evaluating The Impacts Of Farmers’ Behaviors On A Hypothetical Agricultural Water Market Based On Double Auction, Erhu Du, Ximing Cai, Barbara Minsker

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Agricultural water markets are considered effective instruments to mitigate the impacts of water scarcity and to increase crop production. However, previous studies have limited understanding of how farmers’ behaviors affect the performance of water markets. This study develops an agent-based model to explicitly incorporate farmers’ behaviors, namely irrigation behavior (represented by farmers’ sensitivity to soil water deficit k) and bidding behavior (represented by farmers’ rent seeking l and learning rate b), in a hypothetical water market based on a double auction. The model is applied to the Guadalupe River Basin in Texas to simulate a hypothetical agricultural water market under …

2017 Spring Engr333 Project Final Report (Section A), Devin Auld, Scott Bokach, Joshua Bronner, Alex Meador, Ryan Hoek, Robert Lanser, Matthew Lenko, Elliot Slenk, Brendan Biesboer, Kyle Mailhot, Nate Zylstra, Jonah Engel, Rich Floro, Björn Krebs, Ethan Postmus, Cameron Bell, Caleb Bieske, Chris Griffin, Bernice Portugal, Ryan Beezhold, Dillon Carhuff, Ian Mcclaskie, Jared Vanderklay, Rounak Chatterjee, Toby Dalla Santa, Jenny Haney, Joel Hoskins, Caleb Senyshyn

ENGR 333

The objective of ENGR-333-A was to develop a well-defined, bottom-up energy demand model for the energy consumption of the dormitories on Calvin College’s campus for each year of the past decade within an accuracy of ± 2%.

2017 Spring Engr333 Project Final Report (Section B), Daniel Dick, Nathan Swaim, Jonathan Sager, Ellen Reidy, Jordan Swets, Joel Van Dyke, Connor Macdonald, Josiah Markvluwer, Justin Rohlicek, John Lee, Zach Mouw, Daniel Wharton, Sam Hanover, Jay Noyola, Adam Christenson, Scott Stamper, Aaron Tucker, Bethany Waanders, Joel Schaefer, Maddie Collins, Matthew Cok, Philip Kim, Steve Vanden Berg

ENGR 333

The Physical Education Complex is located in the North-end of Calvin College’s campus, and supports many athletic, academic, event and recreational functions. Due to its heavy use, the complex contributes 20% of the College’s electricity consumption. Monetarily, this equated to electricity costs of about $385,000 last year. With these financial implications, the College is searching for ways to reduce the cost. While there is little to no room for electricity cost rate reductions, there is opportunity for improvement through the implementation of more efficient components. However, the sources of electricity demand are largely unknown. Our objective is to develop a …

Evaluation Of Floorpan Tearing And Cable Splices For Cable Barrier Systems, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, Jason A. Hartwell, Robert W. Bielenberg, Ronald K. Faller, James C. Holloway, Karla A. Lechtenberg

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This research effort consisted of two objectives related to components of a prototype cable barrier system. The first objective was to mitigate the potential for vehicle floorpan tearing by modifying the cable guardrail posts. A bogie vehicle was equipped with a simulated floorpan designed to replicate the height, thickness, and strength of the floorpan of a Kia Rio vehicle. Baseline testing demonstrated that the top of the Midwest Weak Post (MWP) would contact, and crease the simulated floorpan, which matched the damage observed in actual full-scale vehicle crash tests. Once the test setup provided the desired results, various post configurations …

Geogrid-Reinforcement’S Zone Of Influence, Shaun Hilton, W. Spencer Guthrie

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Geogrid is a polypropylene material manufactured with approximately 1-in. wide openings, called apertures. A triaxial geogrid configuration is illustrated in Figure 1. Geogrid reinforcement is typically positioned beneath and/or within an aggregate base layer in a pavement structure and is designed to prevent lateral spreading of the individual aggregate particles comprising that layer. Thus, inter-particle friction can be increased among the individual aggregate particles located above and potentially below the geogrid. When this occurs, the result is an increase in the stiffness of the aggregate base layer that leads to a greater load-carrying capacity of the pavement.

Sub 2 Nm Particle Characterization In Systems With Aerosol Formation And Growth, Yang Wang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Aerosol science and technology enable continual advances in material synthesis and atmospheric pollutant control. Among these advances, one important frontier is characterizing the initial stages of particle formation by real time measurement of particles below 2 nm in size. Sub 2 nm particles play important roles by acting as seeds for particle growth, ultimately determining the final properties of the generated particles. Tailoring nanoparticle properties requires a thorough understanding and precise control of the particle formation processes, which in turn requires characterizing nanoparticle formation from the initial stages. The knowledge on particle formation in early stages can also be applied …

The Effect Of Diffusive Transport On Mineral Carbonation In Geologic Carbon Sequestration, Wei Xiong

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Geologic carbon sequestration (GCS) is an effective method to mitigate environmental problems due to excessive anthropogenic CO2 emissions. It involves injecting supercritical CO2 into deep geologic formations in which CO2 will ultimately be converted to solid carbonate minerals. Basalt is a promising host rock that is rich in the divalent cations Ca, Mg and Fe that are important for mineral trapping of CO2. Fractures and pores in basalt reservoirs provide substantial surface area for geochemical reactions during carbon sequestration. The transport in fractures and pores is controlled by diffusion. The coupling of diffusive transport and geochemical reactions leads to carbonate …

An Investigation Of Geography And Climate Induced Distresses Patterns On Airfield Pavements At Us Air Force Installations, L K. Sahagun, M Karakouzian, A Paz-Cruz, H De La Fuente Mella

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

This study investigated climate induced distresses patterns on airfield pavements at US Air Force installations. A literature review and surveys of Pavement Condition Index indicated that the predominant factor contributing to the development of pavement distress was climate. Results suggested that, within each type of pavement distress, a geographic pattern exists which is strongly correlated to conventional US climate zones. The US Air Force Roll-Up Database, housing over 50,000 records of pavement distress data, was distilled using a process designed to combine similar distresses while accounting for age and size of samples. The process reduced the data to a format …

Network Congestion Effect Of E-Hailing Transportation Services, Xuegang Ban

PSU Transportation Seminars

E-hailing plays a key role in emerging transportation services such as ridesourcing, ridesharing and taxis, among others. This seminar will present a general economic model to analyze the congestion effect of e-hailing services in a transportation network.

The model can help analyze customers’ choices of different modes, based on their value of time and the charging schemes of different services, as well as the overall impact of the services to network level congestion.

Pavement Surface Distress Detection, Assessment, And Modeling Using Geospatial Techniques, Su Zhang

Civil Engineering ETDs

Roadway pavement surface distress information is essential for effective pavement asset management, and subsequently, transportation agencies at all levels dedicate a large amount of time and money to routinely collect data on pavement surface distress conditions as the core of their asset management programs. These data are used by these agencies to make maintenance and repair decisions. Current methods for pavement surface distress evaluation are time-consuming and expensive. Geospatial technologies provide new methods for evaluating pavement surface distress condition that can supplement or substitute for currently-adopted evaluation methods. However, few previous studies have explored the utility of geospatial technologies for …

Supraspinatus Tendon Micromorphology In Individuals With Subacromial Pain Syndrome, Federico Pozzi, Amee L. Seitz, Hillary A. Plummer, Kira Chow, Gregory R. Bashford, Lori A. Michener

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Study Design: Cross-sectional cohort. Introduction: Tendon collagen organization can be estimated by peak spatial frequency radius (PSFR) on ultrasound images. Characterizing PSFR can define the contribution of collagen disruption to shoulder symptoms.

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this was to characterize the (1) supraspinatus tendon PSFR in participants with sub acromial pain syndrome (SPS) and healthy controls; (2) PSFR between participants grouped on a tendon visual quality score; and (3) relationship between PSFR with patient-reported pain, function, and shoulder strength.

Methods: Participants with SPS (n ¼ 20) and age, sex, and arm-dominance matched healthy controls (n ¼ 20) …

Fe Analysis Of Alternative Thermal Breaks For Steel Buildings, Salih Q. Mahmood

Student Research Symposium

“Thermal bridge” is a term used for structural or non-structural elements that have higher heat transfer than any other elements or spots in the building envelope, reducing the efficiency of the building thermal insulation. About 20% of the heat occurs via such thermal bridges. Thermal insulations (thermal breaks) are used within a steel connection to mitigate the effect of thermal bridges. In this research, connections with steel fillers studied by Dusicka (2007) were simulated using the finite element (FE) program ABAQUS. The results from the FE model were validated with those from the experimental work done by Dusicka (2007) and …

Monitoring Of Applied Stress In Concrete Using Ultrasonic Full-Waveform Comparison Techniques, Ali Hafiz

Student Research Symposium

Ultrasonic testing is a non-destructive approach commonly used to evaluate concrete structures. A challenge with concrete is that it is heterogeneous, which causes multiple wave scattering resulting in longer and more complex wave paths. The recorded ultrasonic waveform can be divided into two portions: the coherent (or early) and the diffuse (or Coda) portion. While conventional methods only use the coherent portion, e.g. the first wave arrival to determine the wave velocity, we are interested in the entire waveform, i.e. until the wave amplitude is completely dampened out. The objective of this study was to determine what portion of the …

2017 Spring Engr333 Seminar Presentation, Jonah Engel, Rich Floro, Björn Krebs, Ethan Postmus, Brendan Biesboer, Kyle Mailhot, Nate Zylstra, Ryan Beezhold, Dillon Carhuff, Ian Mcclaskie, Jared Vanderklay, Rounak Chatterjee, Toby Dalla Santa, Jennifer Haney, Joel Hoskins, Caleb Senyshyn, Alex Meador, Scott Bokach, Devin Auld, Joshua Bronner, Elliot Slenk, Matthew Lenko, Robert Lanser, Ryan Hoek, Cameron Bell, Caleb Bieske, Chris Griffin, Bernice Portugal, Sam Hanover, Dan Wharton, Jay Noyola, Zachary Mouw, John Lee, Daniel Dick, Jonathan Sager, Nathan Swaim, Ellen Reidy, Jordan Swets, Joel Van Dyke, Connor Macdonald, Josiah Markvluwer, Justin Rohlicek, Adam Christensen, Scott Stamper, Aaron Tucker, Bethany Waanders, Joel Schaefer, Maddie Collins, Matthew Cok, Philip Kim, Steve Vanden Berg

ENGR 333

File for student presentation, given by students in the Spring 2017 class of ENGR333.

Mash Test No. 3-10 Of A Non-Proprietary, High-Tension Cable Median Barrier For Use In 6h:1v V-Ditch (Test No. Mwp-8), Dylan T. Meyer, Karla A. Lechtenberg, Ronald K. Faller, Robert W. Bielenberg, Scott K. Rosenbaugh, John D. Reid

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The Midwest States Pooled Fund Program has been developing a prototype design for a non-proprietary, high-tension cable median barrier for use in a 6H:1V V-ditch. This system incorporates four evenly spaced cables, Midwest Weak Posts (MWP) spaced at 8 to 16 ft (2.4-4.9 m) intervals, and a bolted, tabbed bracket to attach three or four cables to the sides of each post. According to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) testing matrix for cable barriers installed within a 6H:1V median V-ditch, a series of eight full-scale tests are required to evaluate the safety performance of a system. A ninth …

Evaluating The Effect Of Temporary Casing On Drilled Shaft Rock Socket Capacity, Daniel J. Hagerman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect on side shear resistance in limestone when temporary casing is used. Due to testing in actual limestone being an unrealistic goal, simulated limestone mixes were prepared and cast into 6 – 42 in. diameter beds. Limestone throughout Florida can be quite varied (e.g. 50-5000 psi) but where stronger limestone is not likely to be penetrated by casing installation. Therefore, target unconfined compressive strengths of the study specimens ranged between 60 psi to 850 psi.

A simulated limestone material was developed based on over 200 cylinders cast for unconfined compression testing …

Behavior-Based Freight Modeling At Metro, Chris Johnson, Bud Reiff

PSU Transportation Seminars

Chris Johnson and Bud Reiff will present on a behavior-based freight model being used at Oregon Metro. This model will replace Metro’s current truck model with a hybrid freight model that both represents multi-modal freight flows through elements of national and regional supply chains and simulates the movement of individual trucks and shipments on local networks. Model estimation and calibration will also require collection of behavioral data from shippers and receivers representing a wide range of industries, common and contract freight carriers, business that operate non-freight commercial vehicles, warehouse managers, and logistics agents.

Key project objectives:

• Develop tools to enable …

Children's Law Center Site Redevelopment, Caroline Olivia Haggard, Javonte Isaac, Joshua Joslin, E'Lexus Nelson, Ana Vieira, Adrien Williams, David Zalla

Senior Theses

Soda City Engineering and Consulting was contracted by the USC School of Law to redevelop the Children’s Law Center site in Columbia, SC. Currently, the site does not comply with current standards and specifications. The objective of this project is to completely redevelop the site with a new annex building and ensuring everything is up to code, while still allowing the historic structure to maintain its use throughout construction.