Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Risk Assessment Of Concrete Gravity Dams Under Earthquake Loads, Ufuk Sen

LSU Master's Theses

Dams are important structures to supply water for irrigation or drinking, to control flood, and to generate electricity. In seismic regions, the structural safety of concrete gravity dams is important due to the high potential of life and economic loss if they fail. Therefore, the seismic analysis of existing dams in seismically active regions is very crucial to predict responses of dams to ground motions. In this thesis, earthquake response of concrete gravity dams is investigated using the finite element (FE) method. The selected dam is the Pine Flat Dam which is located in the Central Valley of Fresno County, …

Study On Components Determination And Performance Evaluation Of Ls Pre-Maintenance Agent, Yuxiang Tian, Biao Ma, Ke Tian, Ning Li, Xueyan Zhou

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Adequate maintenance and taking active preventive measures can effectively prevent the early disease of asphalt pavements before significant damage occurs. By developing a light screening preventive maintenance agent (LS pre-maintenance agent) for strong ultraviolet (UV) radiation areas, based on the asphalt aging and regeneration mechanism, we analyzed the function and basic components and determined the optimum components ratio based on the best proportion of penetrant and solvent oil for solubility. The optimum ratio for quick-drying and long-term storage ability is the mass ratio of rock asphalt, reducing agent, penetrant, and solvent oil, which is 30:20:20:30. The light-shield agent is 5% …

Ltpp Data Analysis: Factors Affecting Pavement Roughness For The State Of California, Pedro Zavanga, Alisha Khanal, Mena I. Souliman

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The contributions of pavement structure and features, rehabilitation techniques, climatic conditions, traffic levels, layer materials and properties, pavement distress, and other factors causing changes in pavement smoothness are not well documented. As a result, it becomes difficult to select the appropriate pavement structure, design features and rehabilitation strategies to ensure pavement smoothness. This study focuses on analysing the available LTPP data for asphalt pavements in California by investigating the correlation between the pavement roughness and the effect of pavement temperature, precipitation, fatigue, age of pavement, rutting, and the average annual daily truck traffic. IRI has been identified as the factor …

Assessing Subjectivity In Environmental Sensor Data Post Processing Via A Controlled Experiment, Amber Spackman Jones, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, David P. Eiriksson

Publications

Collection of high resolution, in situ data using environmental sensors is common in hydrology and other environmental science domains. Sensors are subject to drift, fouling, and other factors that can affect the quality of the measurements and their subsequent use for scientific analyses. The process by which sensor data are reviewed to verify validity often requires making edits in post processing to generate approved datasets. This quality control process involves decisions by technicians, data managers, or data users on how to handle problematic data. In this study, an experiment was designed and conducted where multiple participants performed quality control post …

A Survey Of Ride-Hailing Passengers, Steven Gehrke

PSU Transportation Seminars

In less than a decade, the ride-hailing industry, led by Uber and Lyft, has dramatically transformed the way we travel in our metro regions. Rider adoption of these on-demand mobility services has proceeded much quicker than our understanding of their impacts to our urban transportation systems. Planning for this transformation in personal mobility, which will have unintended consequences, has been made more difficult by the scarcity in meaningful data made available by these ride-hailing companies. Public agencies responsible for managing congestion and transit services are hindered in their ability to successfully plan for the integration of this emergent travel mode …

An Evaluation Of Pit Latrines And User Perception Of Excrement In Ngäbe Communities In Panama, James A. Libby

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At the end of the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) period in 2015, 2.3 billion people, 31% of the global population, still did not have access to even basic sanitation services. Of these people, 892 million still practice open defecation, and 856 million people use unimproved facilities such as pit latrines without a slab or platform or hanging latrines or bucket latrines (JMP 2017). Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 6.2 now aims to achieve adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and sets the ambitious target of eradicating open defecation by 2030. While the number of people open defecating was …

Stretchable Methyl Ammonium Lead Iodide Perovskite Solar Cells For Photovoltaic And Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting, William Tait

University Scholar Projects

The goal of this work was to fabricate an inverse planar perovskite solar cell (PSC) that was stretchable in one dimension and completely solution-processible. Perovskites are a material that have attracted much attention in recent years due to their appealing characteristics, such as being photovoltaic and piezoelectric. PSCs have been the focus of many studies in the solar cell area, as they are solution-processible and have shown high efficiencies relative to the amount of time they have been studied. Fabricating a PSC on a stretchable substrate would be beneficial, as a bendable, stretchable PSC would likely have more applications than …

Analyzing A Small-Scale, Constructed Wetland For Stormwater Treatment, Juliann Apple, Pascal Schlee

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Research Publications

Stormwater treatment by means of constructed wetlands has the ability to effectively remove pollutants such as total suspended solids, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia. Utilizing two small, lab-scale constructed wetlands, one free water flow system and one subsurface flow system, our research team analyzed the levels of these pollutants at different locations in the wetland. Our team of two Civil and Environmental Engineering undergraduate students tested a variety of different water samples including tap water, stormwater, and a high nitrate solution. A consistent decrease in nitrate and nitrite was observed throughout the systems. While there was not an overall decrease in …

Characteristics Of Moduli Decay For The Asphalt Mixture Under Different Loading Conditions, Songtao Lv, Xiyan Fan, Chengdong Xia, Jianlong Zheng, Dong Chen, Lingyun You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

In order to explore the moduli decay patterns of asphalt mixtures under different loading conditions, the nonlinear fatigue damage model was implemented in order to simulate the moduli decay patterns. Then, the direct tensile, indirect tensile, and uniaxial compression fatigue tests were employed under four kinds of stress levels with four parallel tests. The specimens of AC-13C Styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS) modified mixtures were manufactured. Based on the test results, the decay patterns of the moduli during fatigue tests under different stress states were revealed, and the parameters of the damage model under different test conditions were obtained. By changing the values …

Bridge Inspection: Human Performance, Unmanned Aerial Systems And Automation, Sattar Dorafshan, Marc Maguire

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have become of considerable private and commercial interest for a variety of jobs and entertainment in the past 10 years. This paper is a literature review of the state of practice for the United States bridge inspection programs and outlines how automated and unmanned bridge inspections can be made suitable for present and future needs. At its best, current technology limits UAS use to an assistive tool for the inspector to perform a bridge inspection faster, safer, and without traffic closure. The major challenges for UASs are satisfying restrictive Federal Aviation Administration regulations, control issues in …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Long Term Bathymetry Changes In The Lower Mississippi River Due To Variability In Hydrograph And Variable Diversion Schemes, Nina J. Reins

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research is part of an ongoing effort to improve predictions for bathymetric and morphological changes in the Lower Mississippi River. The utilized model is a subset of a previously calibrated Delft3D model. This shorter model has reduced computational time, and can be deployed for analysis focused on the area between Belle Chasse and HOP, which is the domain of the model. Simulation runs conducted under this study vary from 12 years to 48 years, utilizing a developed 12-year variable hydrograph.

The comparison of variable annual hydrograph and repeated representative annual (uniform) hydrograph input data on bathymetric changes indicated that …

Sdnet2018: A Concrete Crack Image Dataset For Machine Learning Applications, Marc Maguire, Sattar Dorafshan, Robert J. Thomas

Browse all Datasets

SDNET2018 is an annotated image dataset for training, validation, and benchmarking of artificial intelligence based crack detection algorithms for concrete. SDNET2018 contains over 56,000 images of cracked and non-cracked concrete bridge decks, walls, and pavements. The dataset includes cracks as narrow as 0.06 mm and as wide as 25 mm. The dataset also includes images with a variety of obstructions, including shadows, surface roughness, scaling, edges, holes, and background debris. SDNET2018 will be useful for the continued development of concrete crack detection algorithms based on deep learning convolutional neural networks, which are a subject of continued research in the field …

Planning Of Fast-Charging Stations For A Battery Electric Bus System Under Energy Consumption Uncertainty, Richard T. Lyons, Ziqi Song, Yi He

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Battery-powered electric buses are gaining popularity as an energy-efficient and emission-free alternative for bus fleets. However, battery electric buses continue to struggle with concerns related to their limited driving range and time-consuming recharging processes. Fast-charging technology, which utilizes dwelling time at bus stops or terminals to recharge buses in operation employing high power, can raise battery electric buses to the same level of capability as their diesel counterparts in terms of driving range and operating time. To develop an economical and effective battery electric bus system using fastcharging technology, fast-charging stations must be strategically deployed. Moreover, due to the instability …

Coupling Of Geochemical Reactions And Geophysical Properties Of Clay Minerals In Energy-Related Subsurface Engineered Systems, Lijie Zhang

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Engineered subsurface operations, such as geologic CO2 sequestration (GCS) and CO2-enhanced unconventional oil/gas recovery, are promising strategies to mitigate global warming and meet energy demands. At subsurface sites, CO2-saturated brine–mineral interactions can be affected by aqueous species, either naturally existing or injected, and the interactions may further affect the geophysical properties of rocks and minerals, such as their porosity, permeability, and wettability. Such geophysical properties can control the sealing integrity of the caprock layer, which is essential to safe and efficient long-term CO2 storage. Moreover, the flow and transport of fluids at subsurface sites are also influenced by the geophysical …

Static And Dynamic Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment Of Potable Reuse Paradigms, Erfaneh Amoueyan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In recent years, potable reuse applications have become more common due to population growth and increased water demand, especially in communities with limited or variable water resources. However, there are concerns about potential exposure to pathogens and chemical compounds in treated wastewater. Therefore, advanced wastewater treatment processes are of paramount importance in any potable reuse system. The overall aim of this study was to develop and implement static and dynamic QMRAs to compare public health risk in various potable reuse scenarios. Cryptosporidium, norovirus, adenovirus, and Salmonella were chosen as the target pathogens. The research evaluated the performance of full advanced …

The Impact Of Waters Of Low Quality On Soiling Removal From Photovoltaic Panels, Alisson Luiz Boeing

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Soiling, bird droppings, or the accumulation of dust on the surface of photovoltaic cells, can significantly reduce the solar energy absorption and produce power losses. In solar plants where soiling is a problem, solar facilities use demineralized or distilled water for washing the panels to avoid mineral scale deposits that might interfere with solar irradiance absorption. However, in arid and dusty environments, water is normally scarce. For cleaning solar panels, the use of low quality water in lieu of the industry-standard demineralized water could conserve fresh water. The objectives of this research were as follows: evaluate the impacts of low …

Water-Energy Nexus Approaches For Solar Development And Water Treatment In The Southwestern United States, Syeda Saria Bukhary

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Water is crucial for energy production and conversion, and energy is crucial for various water related processes including water conveyance, treatment and distribution. Sustainability of water and energy are inextricably linked with each other. Over-utilization/ degradation of these resources may occur due to limited availability of water under the changing climate scenario, growing population, and increasing pollution due to the burning of fossil fuels. The goal of the current research was to study the water-energy nexus of the Southwestern U.S. and develop approaches for solar development and treatment of drinking water. To achieve the overall objective, the work was divided …

Evaluating The Feasibility And Sustainability Of Direct Potable Reuse In Las Vegas, Nv, Cory Dow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Community water sources are becoming more and more strained due to several factors including severe drought, population growth, urbanization, and climate change. This has spurred several water agencies to evaluate alternative water supply options to extend their resources. One potential alternative is potable reuse. Potable reuse comes in two forms: indirect potable reuse (IPR) and direct potable reuse (DPR). IPR is the advanced treatment of wastewater effluent before discharging into an environmental buffer that is a drinking water supply such as a lake, river, or groundwater aquifer before extraction and use. DPR is the advanced treatment of wastewater effluent that …

Preliminary Investigation Of Tensile Strength And Impact Characterization Of Cementitious Composite Incorporating Carbon Nanotubes, Robabeh Jazaei

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Cement has been largely used in the construction industry, specifically as a matrix for concrete. Recently, a new generation of cement-based composite that greatly increases mechanical properties is replacing conventional concrete. With periodic advances in the field, researchers considered particles with high-aspect ratios such as Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) to reinforce cement matrices. Although there is not much literature to draw upon in research, some research on improving the tensile strength of cementitious composite incorporating with CNTs does exist. However, there had been no evidence of investigation into impact strength until this study.

Most papers presented examined the effect of multi-walled …

Effect Of Driver, Vehicle, And Road Related Factors On Crashes At Intersections And Non-Intersections: A Naturalistic Driving Study, Grace Naa Ashley

LSU Master's Theses

Traffic accidents in the U.S. have declined over the last two decades but continue to cost the country billions of U.S. dollars each year. Intersection accidents alone account for 23% of the 32,675 deaths that occurred by motor vehicle crashes in 2014. In light of this, the first part of this study sought to identify driver behavior and secondary tasks that influenced the occurrence of a crashes at controlled, uncontrolled and non-intersections with multiple logistic regression. The second part of the study used decision tree which applied machine learning algorithms to identify significant factors that influenced the occurrence of crashes …

Fundamental Studies Of Solid-Fuel Combustion Using A Two-Stage Flat-Flame Burner, Adewale Ayodeji Adeosun

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Innovative coal technologies are essential for addressing concerns about air pollution and global climate change. A key pathway to advancing these technologies is through developing a thorough understanding of the fundamental physical and chemical processes that occur during coal combustion. Ignition influences many aspects of coal combustion, including flame stability, submicron aerosol evolution, and char burnout. As important as ignition and these associated processes are, they are challenging to study because they depend on many factors, such as the combustion environment, particle size, and particle-particle interactions.

While there have been many studies of coal ignition, none have studied the process …

N-Nitrosodimethylamine Formation And Mitigation In Potable Reuse Treatment Trains Employing Ozone Nd Biofiltration, Fernanda Bacaro

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Potable reuse has been growing as a strategy to augment water supplies, especially in highly populated and water-scarce regions. Ozone and chloramines have emerged as important disinfectants and oxidants in potable reuse applications, but reactions with wastewater-derived constituents can lead to the formation of potentially carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs). One DBP that has received considerable attention is the nitrogenous DBP N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). NDMA is a potential human carcinogen and mutagen at trace concentrations — even at the sub-ng/L level. Several studies have reported successful attenuation of NDMA in biofiltration systems at wastewater treatment plants, but the associated mechanisms and design …

Making Strides: State Of The Practice Of Pedestrian Forecasting In Regional Travel Models, Patrick A. Singleton, Joseph C. Totten, Jaime P. Orrego-Oñate, Robert J. Schneider, Kelly J. Clifton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Much has changed in the 30 years since non-motorized modes were first included in regional travel demand models. As interest in understanding behavioral influences on walking and policies requiring estimates of walking activity increase, it is important to consider how pedestrian travel is modeled at a regional level. This paper evaluates the state of the practice of modeling walk trips among the largest 48 metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and assesses changes made over the last 5 years. By reviewing model documentation and responses to a survey of MPO modelers, this paper summarizes current practices, describes six pedestrian modeling frameworks, and …

Study Of Building Vibrations Caused By Machinery, Bipesh Shrestha

Civil Engineering ETDs

ABSTRACT

This thesis studies the vibration of structures caused by machinery. Machines exhibit unique vibrational characteristics. This thesis focuses on detection of these unique vibrational characteristics through the study of structural vibration caused by machines. The study extends from simple laboratory structures to a real existing building called the Ford Utility Building. The vibrational readings on the roof of the Ford Utility Building are studied to capture signals that can be attributed to machines running inside the building. This thesis supports the research in remote detection and identification of concealed machinery through SAR vibrometry.

A study of human perception of …

Achieving Public Health And Climate Change Goals: What Do We Need To Know About The Transportation System?, Mohammad Tayarani

Civil Engineering ETDs

The overall aim of this dissertation is evaluating what new knowledge can be gained about the environmental and public health outcomes of regional transportation planning strategies by implementing a suite of more spatially and temporally detailed transportation and air quality models. This new knowledge can be used to better understand the potential health effects of emissions exposure while also guiding the development of new transportation and land-use plans, and related policies that have the potential to achieve large reductions in pollution exposure and green house gas emissions at local and regional level.

Driver Responses To Graphic-Aided Portable Changeable Message Signs In Highway Work Zones, Yilei Huang, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Portable changeable message signs (PCMSs) have been employed in highway work zones as temporary traffic control devices. Various studies showed that adding graphics to PCMS messages can provide advantages to traditional text messages, such as increasing legibility and improving the understanding of elderly drivers. This article synthesizes the findings of a two-phase research project aimed to investigate driver responses to graphic-aided PCMSs. Different text and graphic-aided PCMSs representing roadwork and flagger were set up in the upstream of highway work zones, and speed data of more than 2,700 vehicles were collected with a series of five speed sensors to determine …

Growth Of An Algae Polyculture And Dunaliella Tertiolecta In Oilfield Produced Water At A Range Of Salinities And Nutrient Concentrations For Biofuels Production., Thomas C. Hopkins

Civil Engineering ETDs

Growth of algae in saline produced waters (wastewater) from oil and gas production is of interest for potential production of algal biofuels, wastewater treatment and potential reuse or disposal. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of salt concentrations and nitrogen source (ammonia or nitrate) and concentration on algal growth, lipid production, and nutrient removal to help determine suitability for growth on saline produced waters. Dunaliella tertiolecta (a marine algae) and a polyculture (previously discovered growing in PW) were grown on produced water with a range of salinities and varying nitrogen source and concentration, in a series …

Probability Distributions In The Glass Failure Prediction Model, Samir Blanchet, H. Scott Norville, Stephen Morse

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Glass, a brittle material, fractures under tensile stress acting over a time duration. Lateral loads, such as wind, acting on a simply supported rectangular glass lite, put one surface of the lite primarily into tension. ASTM E 1300 defines load resistance of glass as the uniform lateral loading acting over a duration of 3 seconds that is associated with a probability of breakage of 8 lites per 1000 at the first occurrence of the loading. To determine load resistance, the underlying window glass failure prediction model facilitates determination of a probability distribution of 3 second equivalent failure loads, P3. The …

City Of Tyler Hub-And-Spoke Bicycle Lane Network, Pedro A. Zavagna

Civil Engineering Theses

The purpose of this study is to showcase the up-to-date development of a Bicycle Lane Engineered Scoring System (BLESS) that will be utilized to map and identify the optimum feasible locations for bicycle lanes. The project was initiated for the City of Tyler, Texas where a Hub-and-Spoke bicycle lane will be designed around the city utilizing the BLESS. The design process is comprised of attentive planning, progressive development and a collective effort by the transportation engineering research team at the University of Texas at Tyler to design an exceptional bicycle lane network. The BLESS consisted of traffic analysis, lane configuration, …