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2018

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Articles 151 - 180 of 1622

Full-Text Articles in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Improving Ductility Of Slender Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls With Frp Sheets And Splay Anchors, Luke M. Ostrom Dec 2018

Improving Ductility Of Slender Reinforced Concrete Shear Walls With Frp Sheets And Splay Anchors, Luke M. Ostrom

Architectural Engineering

The Sylmar earthquake of 1971 caused significant damage to slender, non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall buildings in California. A later survey by the Concrete Coalition in 2011, under the guidance of EERI members, indicated that there are over 3000 vulnerable concrete buildings in California [8]. This led to City of Los Angeles (LA) Ordinance 193893 enacted in 2015, which requires mandatory upgrades to these concrete buildings by 2035. Current practice to meet the requirements of this ordinance, with respect to RC wall buildings, involves adding new shear walls to the building plan or increasing the cross-sectional area of existing …

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Automation Of Post-Earthquake Civil Infrastructure Reconnaissance, Jack Bergquist Dec 2018

Automation Of Post-Earthquake Civil Infrastructure Reconnaissance, Jack Bergquist

Architectural Engineering

Traditionally post-earthquake structural engineering reconnaissance consists of a team of experts who are deployed to the field to record and capture earthquake damage data, which is later uploaded into online repositories. Despite many advances to these data archives in recent years, the entries in online repositories often have limited metadata which make it difficult and time consuming to extract specific damage evidence that can be used for meaningful analysis. This report outlines the author’s contributions to overcoming these challenges via the development of a neural network that automatically filters and classifies post-earthquake civil infrastructure damage data after a seismic event. …

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Epoxy Interlocking: A Novel Approach To Enhance Frp-To-Concrete Bond Behavior, Cheng Jiang, Baolin Wan, Yu-Fei Wu, John Omboko Dec 2018

Epoxy Interlocking: A Novel Approach To Enhance Frp-To-Concrete Bond Behavior, Cheng Jiang, Baolin Wan, Yu-Fei Wu, John Omboko

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents a novel approach which can enhance the interfacial bond behavior between fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite material and concrete. Epoxy ribs are formed by grooving on the concrete surface before epoxy is applied. The dowel action from the epoxy ribs leads to an “epoxy interlocking” effect. The mechanism of the proposed epoxy interlocking approach was analyzed in this paper from both adhesion and interlocking aspects. Furthermore, the partial interaction of the epoxy interlocking was quantified and calibrated by experimental results. The epoxy interlocking in the tested specimens led to an 88.8% increase in bond strength on average. …

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Impact Of Wide-Base Tires On Pavements: A National Study, Imad L. Al-Qadi, Jaime Hernandez, Angeli Gamez, Mojtaba Ziyadi, Osman Erman Gungor, Seunggu Kang Dec 2018

Impact Of Wide-Base Tires On Pavements: A National Study, Imad L. Al-Qadi, Jaime Hernandez, Angeli Gamez, Mojtaba Ziyadi, Osman Erman Gungor, Seunggu Kang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper summarizes a multi-year effort comparing the new-generation wide-base tires (NG-WBT) and dual-tire assembly from a holistic point of view. The tires were compared considering not only pavement damage but also environmental impact. Numerical modeling, prediction methods, experimental measurements, and life-cycle assessment were combined to provide recommendations about the use of NG-WBT. A finite element (FE) approach considering variables that are usually omitted in the conventional analysis of flexible pavement was used for modeling pavement structures combining layer thickness, material properties, tire load, tire-inflation pressure, and pavement type (interstate and low volume). A prediction tool, ICT-Wide, was developed based …

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Development Of Domain Analysis To Predict Multi-Axial Flexible Airfield Pavement Responses Due To Gear And Environmental Loadings, Angeli Gamez, Jaime Hernandez, Imad L. Al-Qadi Dec 2018

Development Of Domain Analysis To Predict Multi-Axial Flexible Airfield Pavement Responses Due To Gear And Environmental Loadings, Angeli Gamez, Jaime Hernandez, Imad L. Al-Qadi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Flexible pavement design procedures use maximum mechanistic strains to predict service life via empirical transfer functions. The conventional method of using predefined point locations for potential damage may not accurately represent realistic pavement scenarios. For instance, flexible airfield pavement analysis mainly considers the critical strain at the bottom of the asphalt concrete (AC), which may not characterize near-surface cracking potential. In lieu of point strains, domain analysis, a new method, accounts for the multi-axial behavior of pavements, as inherently excited by three-dimensional (3-D) and nonuniform aircraft tire–pavement contact stresses. Initially applied on highway pavements considering truck tire loading, this approach …

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Implementing Coordination Lab And Lesson Into Cm 413 - Job Site, Connor R. Westover Dec 2018

Implementing Coordination Lab And Lesson Into Cm 413 - Job Site, Connor R. Westover

Construction Management

Coordination can make or break a job. The act of coordination and the millions of pieces that go into a single project can directly affect both the schedule and budget of a construction project. Coordination is not a single part of the job, it is an on-going process that continuously involves all entities of the project. The importance of coordination and what it entails is not yet captured in the Cal Poly Construction Management curriculum. The purpose of this project would be to capture that importance and continue to build upon it to better prepare Cal Poly Builders for the …

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Relationship Between Compressive Strength Of Different Shape And Thickness Specimens Of Type S Mortar, Theodore James Moffett Dec 2018

Relationship Between Compressive Strength Of Different Shape And Thickness Specimens Of Type S Mortar, Theodore James Moffett

Theses and Dissertations

Mortar is the cementitious binding material placed between masonry blocks to create a composite system. The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM), along with other organizations, have established the testing of prismatic mortar specimens for evaluating mechanical properties, like compressive strength. Mortar joints, however, possess vastly different characteristics compared to prismatic specimens, especially in terms of geometry and water content. These differences prevent a direct comparison of compressive strength between prismatic specimens and actual mortar joints in the assembly. The objective of this study was to analyze Type S mortar joints, with particular emphasis on specimen shape and water …

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Experimental Evaluation Of Replaceable Shear Fuse Moment Connections, Shannon Shun Oh Dec 2018

Experimental Evaluation Of Replaceable Shear Fuse Moment Connections, Shannon Shun Oh

Theses and Dissertations

Steel special moment frames (SMFs) are known to be highly ductile seismic force- resisting systems. The performance of an SMF relies on the ability of the connections to accommodate large inelastic deformations. After the brittle failure of some steel moment frame connections during the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, experimental tests were used to investigate the ductility and strength of these connections. An experimental study was performed to investigate the seismic performance a new connection called the Replaceable Shear Fuse (RSF) connection. The RSF connection uses shear-yielding fuse plates to prevent beam and column yielding. A total of 7 test specimens with …

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Bridging The Gap: 3d Modeling To Hands On Learning, Tyler J. Hecht Dec 2018

Bridging The Gap: 3d Modeling To Hands On Learning, Tyler J. Hecht

Construction Management

This project is a rework of Cal Poly Construction Management Building Information Modeling class, Revit Activity. The goal of the assignment is to teach the fundamentals and concepts of Autodesk Revit, and the tools that can be used within the construction industry. The model itself is based upon a hands-on lab that the Commercial Construction class builds. The modeling exercise allows students to model several key elements of a building, following a construction sequence. Following the modeling, the students will be able to create sheets and create their own plan set that was modeled. On those plan sets they will …

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Hard Hat Safety By California Contractors, Jonathan G. Hernandez Dec 2018

Hard Hat Safety By California Contractors, Jonathan G. Hernandez

Construction Management

The hard hat is the quintessential item of PPE, and yet it often gets overlooked when ensuring safety standards are being met. We all expect our hard hat to protect us, but many never inspect it to ensure that it is properly fulfilling its purpose. This disregard to inspection and maintenance can lead to serious injury or death in the event of an accident. While organizations such as OSHA and the hard hat manufacturers themselves post information on this topic, it is unclear if this information is actually being received by the people involved in a construction project. This research …

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Improving Ductility Of Slender Reinforced Concrete, Luke M. Ostrom Dec 2018

Improving Ductility Of Slender Reinforced Concrete, Luke M. Ostrom

Construction Management

The Sylmar earthquake of 1971 caused significant damage to slender, non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall buildings in California. A later survey by the Concrete Coalition in 2011, under the guidance of members of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), indicated that there are over 3000 vulnerable concrete buildings in California [8]. This led to City of Los Angeles (LA) Ordinance 193893 enacted in 2015, which requires mandatory upgrades to these concrete buildings by 2035. Current practice to meet the requirements of this ordinance, with respect to RC wall buildings, involves adding new shear walls to the building plan or …

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Virtual Reality And Its Applications In The Mockup Process: A Case Study, David B. Friend Dec 2018

Virtual Reality And Its Applications In The Mockup Process: A Case Study, David B. Friend

Construction Management

Mockups are an important part of the construction process as they provide numerous benefits in both constructability review and aesthetic approval. Virtual Reality is an emerging technology that could prove to be a valuable addition to the mockup process. Many construction firms are attempting to incorporate virtual reality into any process they can --ranging from impressing owners in order to procure jobs to training employees so they can more adeptly adjust to field conditions. This paper will introduce virtual reality and some of its applications in the construction industry, specifically analyzing virtual reality and its applications in the mockup process …

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A Comparative Analysis Of Regional Productivity Trends, Michael P. Foley Dec 2018

A Comparative Analysis Of Regional Productivity Trends, Michael P. Foley

Construction Management

Throughout recent decades, the construction industry has suffered considerably from its inability to accurately target and measure key aspects of worker output that hinder productivity most. Much research has been conducted to analyze the factors contributing to labor productivity output at the work face, however, this dissertation is primarily focused on discovering key components of the building process that seem to hinder productivity from the perspective of the general contracting team. This paper’s literature review looks to address historical data relating to productivity difficulties specific to the construction industry, laborers’ productivity dilemma at the work face, and the resulting impact …

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Lean Construction Implementation: Case Study, Devin J. Merker Dec 2018

Lean Construction Implementation: Case Study, Devin J. Merker

Construction Management

Lean construction offers a collaborative approach to traditional construction practices and has the primary goal of increasing value to the client. With the proper use of lean construction tools on projects and the adoption of a lean culture, construction companies have recognized real benefits in terms of cost, productivity, and schedule while increasing customer satisfaction. The construction industry has been slow however in adopting the lean construction practices that have proven to be successful. The research in this study will familiarize the reader with the principles of lean construction, and address why the demand for lean construction is rising. In …

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A Study Of Career Path Interest Amongst Cm Students At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Travis J. Tollstrup Dec 2018

A Study Of Career Path Interest Amongst Cm Students At Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Travis J. Tollstrup

Construction Management

With the labor shortage being experienced in the modern construction industry, it is important that office and field management personnel stay balanced to support the gap in skilled labor. However, for the students of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, there is a trend that students are more interested in pursuing a career path in Office management, specifically that of a Project Manager. This paper determined the lack of interest in field management career path choice, specifically that of a Superintendent, by surveying the Junior and Senior students to gauge their career interests. It is concluded that there is indeed a …

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Osha-30 Lab Topics Course On Construction Safety And Hazard Identification, Patrick Garcia Dec 2018

Osha-30 Lab Topics Course On Construction Safety And Hazard Identification, Patrick Garcia

Construction Management

The end goal of this research-based project is to evaluate whether an OSHA-30 integrated lab course would be beneficial to Cal Poly’s Construction Management (CM) program and how it might also benefit the construction industry. The research conducted will be to interpret whether or not there is a need for this type of class to be included into the Construction Management Curriculum. Along with data research, two separate surveys were conducted, one survey taken by the Cal Poly Construction Management student population and the other survey taken by industry professionals. Additionally, a fellow Construction Management student, Mathew Bramlett, is working …

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Case Study: Environmental Requirements And Its Impacts Upon The Conservation Center For Wildlife Care, Chase Flemmer Dec 2018

Case Study: Environmental Requirements And Its Impacts Upon The Conservation Center For Wildlife Care, Chase Flemmer

Construction Management

As the population of California continues to grow, urban spaces are rapidly being developed into areas considered to be environmentally sensitive. In order to prevent extensive damage to our state’s delicate ecosystems, environmental regulations are often enforced by local organizations during the course of impactful operations such as construction projects. These regulations will often vary from one site to another, depending on a given site’s location and proximity to the environmentally sensitive areas. No two jobs will posses the exact same specifications for dealing with this aspect of construction, and as such some will require more intense regulations than others. …

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Solar Parking Lot Analysis: Smart Investment Or Waste Of Capital, Jared J. Davis Dec 2018

Solar Parking Lot Analysis: Smart Investment Or Waste Of Capital, Jared J. Davis

Construction Management

In the last couple decades solar panels have been developed into a sustainable and effective method for harnessing clean energy. Today, solar panels have been engineered into solar roadways. Solar roadways are structurally engineered solar panels which can be installed in the Earth, driven on, and can replace the need for traditional asphalt roads. These solar roadways also include built in LEDs which mimic road lines and light up wildlife crossing the road, making these road panels a very safe alternative to traditional asphalt roads. This senior project is an analysis of solar roadways and their capabilities when applied to …

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Meetings Critical To Construction Project Success And Best Practices: A Case Study, Ross L. Ludwig Dec 2018

Meetings Critical To Construction Project Success And Best Practices: A Case Study, Ross L. Ludwig

Construction Management

This project is a case study of specific meeting tactics that are being used by “Company X”, a large general contracting company. The case study was completed by conducting semi-structured interviews of “Company X” senior management personnel. The case study looked to discover which meetings were necessary to overall project success, as well as best practices for meetings in the construction industry. Communication effectiveness of the project team is essential to the overall project outcome. The project team is a group of people with diverse backgrounds. Understanding the dynamics of a group is necessary to producing a quality product. A …

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Scraper Productivity, Cost, And Size Selection Generator, Zachary C. Rege Dec 2018

Scraper Productivity, Cost, And Size Selection Generator, Zachary C. Rege

Construction Management

In the construction industry we are timelessly looking to increase productivity and find the most cost-efficient way to finish a given project. Like any other sector of the construction industry large earthmoving contractors looks to find the most advantageous way to move dirt and at the cheapest cost per cubic yard. To obtain this goal of calculating and imagining the best way to move dirt, I have created a prototype program that analyzes scraper productivity and cost comparisons through excel sheets. These excel sheets allow a contractor to enter information such as cycles times, load calculations, and costs to create …

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Unexpected Setbacks When Excavating - Using Gpr For Mitigating Risk: A Case Study, Sam Marcum Dec 2018

Unexpected Setbacks When Excavating - Using Gpr For Mitigating Risk: A Case Study, Sam Marcum

Construction Management

Whether constructing on undeveloped land or on an existing developed site, there is a risk of encountering unexpected objects when excavating. With today’s technology in Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), this risk can generally be mitigated. Using Whiting-Turner’s construction of Stanford University’s new ChEM-H & SNI Building as an example, this case study discusses the use of GPR for underground mapping, as well as various ways to implement GPR technology. The ChEM-H & SNI site had many underground utilities that required precise pot-holing to verify locations. Although pot-holing is widely used, it is a destructive method, it is time and labor …

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Meetings Critical To Construction Project Success And Best Practices: A Case Study, Ross Ludwig Dec 2018

Meetings Critical To Construction Project Success And Best Practices: A Case Study, Ross Ludwig

Construction Management

This project is a case study of specific meeting tactics that are being used by “Company X”, a large general contracting company. The case study was completed by conducting semi-structured interviews of “Company X” senior management personnel. The case study looked to discover which meetings were necessary to overall project success, as well as best practices for meetings in the construction industry. Communication effectiveness of the project team is essential to the overall project outcome. The project team is a group of people with diverse backgrounds. Understanding the dynamics of a group is necessary to producing a quality product. A …

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Case Study: Effect Of Rideshare And Autonomous Vehicles On Parking Requirements In The Bay Area, Ryan J. Macintosh Dec 2018

Case Study: Effect Of Rideshare And Autonomous Vehicles On Parking Requirements In The Bay Area, Ryan J. Macintosh

Construction Management

With our streets becoming over crowded with many different modes of transportation, parking has followed this trend and proven to be much more difficult for people. This has frustrated citizens and developers alike because there never seems to be enough parking when it’s needed and finding the space and resources necessary to provide sufficient amounts is becoming increasingly difficult. The objective of this report is to create more awareness of how rideshare and autonomous vehicles are affecting parking requirements imposed by cities. The world we live in can change very fast and in order to accommodate for these changes, we …

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Part-Time Internships With Local Construction Companies, Eddie T. Kennedy Dec 2018

Part-Time Internships With Local Construction Companies, Eddie T. Kennedy

Construction Management

Internships have proven to be beneficial for both the intern and the company. The Construction Management (CM) department has proven to be able to well connect students with the industry for summer internships and full-time jobs. Programs like info sessions, job fairs, and meet and greets have allowed the CM department to make this connection. However, partaking in a part-time internship while taking coursework has not been emphasized in the department. This paper will gauge student interest in obtaining a part-time internship for a local construction company in San Luis Obispo. Student responses to surveys showed a clear interest in …

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A Study Of Cal Poly Students' Preferred Career Path: A Focus On Alumni, Jesse D. Longchamps Dec 2018

A Study Of Cal Poly Students' Preferred Career Path: A Focus On Alumni, Jesse D. Longchamps

Construction Management

The construction industry is a fragile system with an intricate mix of field and office – labor and management. Theses two branches are critical to keeping any project running smoothly. However, the industry is noticeably changing and this fragile structure is deteriorating. Field positions are getting tougher and tougher to fill for most companies in the construction industry. Without skilled field employees, the companies are losing one of the two most important aspects of construction. Without field employees, office employees may be tasked with picking up additional duties beyond their expertise – further advancing their stress levels and sacrificing quality …

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Case Study: The Implementation Of Tool Box Talks At A Steel Subcontracting Shop, Joseph M. Freschet Dec 2018

Case Study: The Implementation Of Tool Box Talks At A Steel Subcontracting Shop, Joseph M. Freschet

Construction Management

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of implementing tool box talks at a small iron working shop. A case study of workers at Ironstone Metal Works, Inc. based out of San Carlos were given a series of tool box talks then evaluated on the effectiveness of the implementation of regular safety meetings. The impact focused on this paper will be the effectiveness of the implementation of regular safety training and how it relates to a safer work environment, reduced cost of workplace injuries, and workers knowledge of safe practices. An analysis of worker interviews and survey …

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A Comparative Analysis Of Regional Productivity Trends, Michael P. Foley Dec 2018

A Comparative Analysis Of Regional Productivity Trends, Michael P. Foley

Construction Management

Throughout recent decades, the construction industry has suffered considerably from its inability to accurately target and measure key aspects of worker output that hinder productivity most. Much research has been conducted to analyze the factors contributing to labor productivity output at the work face, however, this dissertation is primarily focused on discovering key components of the building process that seem to hinder productivity from the perspective of the general contracting team. This paper’s literature review looks to address historical data relating to productivity difficulties specific to the construction industry, laborers’ productivity dilemma at the work face, and the resulting impact …

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A Case Study: Farrell Drilled Displacement Column Ground Improvement, Cody T. Flechsig Dec 2018

A Case Study: Farrell Drilled Displacement Column Ground Improvement, Cody T. Flechsig

Construction Management

The objective of this study is to document the ground improvement techniques employed by Farrell Design-Build Inc. to allow for the construction of the Emeryville Public Market. The market is a Mixed use building, housing tenants, a ground floor grocery, and parking structure. By showing the effectiveness of this system, it is the hope that other industry professionals will be more capable to undertake and solve complex soil issues. Ground improvement is a technical, and necessary part of construction, allowing for vertical construction to begin. Farrell’s technology has the ability to transform industry standards, and create new methods of dealing …

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Unexpected Setbacks When Excavating – Using Gpr For Mitigating Risk: A Case Study, Samuel L. Marcum Dec 2018

Unexpected Setbacks When Excavating – Using Gpr For Mitigating Risk: A Case Study, Samuel L. Marcum

Construction Management

Whether constructing on undeveloped land or on an existing developed site, there is a risk of encountering unexpected objects when excavating. With today’s technology in Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), this risk can generally be mitigated. Using Whiting-Turner’s construction of Stanford University’s new ChEM-H & SNI Building as an example, this case study discusses the use of GPR for underground mapping, as well as various ways to implement GPR technology. The ChEM-H & SNI site had many underground utilities that required precise pot-holing to verify locations. Although pot-holing is widely used, it is a destructive method, it is time and labor …

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Abandoned Projects: The Economic Impact In San Luis Obispo, Andrew Steven Horton Dec 2018

Abandoned Projects: The Economic Impact In San Luis Obispo, Andrew Steven Horton

Construction Management

San Luis Obispo is in the midst of a housing crisis. This small college town cannot keep pace with the growing number of students and residents. The problem is that there are very few new housing options being developed. Other than the new freshman dorms, the housing market in San Luis Obispo has been stagnant for years. The housing market cannot afford inefficiency and waste, but there are still many abandoned construction sites around the city. These sites are not only eye sores and safety hazards, but they are wasted opportunities. They cost the city millions of dollars every year. …

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