Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Sustainable Agriculture: Integration Of Aquaponics At Punta Leona Hotel And Club In Costa Rica, Cailin Sierra Dyer, Paris Riley Smith

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Sustainable agriculture is becoming an increasingly important method of food production. As human populations continue to grow, attendant food demand has been increasingly met via agribusiness, including monoculture crop production and factory farming. As is well documented, the rise of agribusiness has led to resource degradation and declining stocks on which “sustainable agriculture” relies. This paper describes a local attempt to re-establish “sustainable agriculture” through the development of an aquaculture system that mimics a naturally occurring cycle that integrates fish and plants. The system was constructed over a three-week period in Punta Leona, Costa Rica. First, the ground was cleared …

Analysis Of The Contribution Of Transportation And Land Use To Citizen Perceptions Of Livability, Rebecca Lewis

PSU Transportation Seminars

What is livability? How does the built environment influence resident perceptions of livability? Although livability is a broadly used term and a key goal in land use and transportation plans at the state level, it is unclear whether residents think their neighborhoods are livable and what contributes to their perception of livability. The purpose of the project was to understand how Oregonians, in neighborhoods of varying densities and within Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), perceive livability at the nexus of transportation and land use. We sought to understand how residents define and perceive livability in three different MPOs in the state: …

Utah Salt Storage Facilities Guidelines And Best Management Practices, Weston Bellon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

An environmental analysis was conducted at the Utah Water Research Laboratory of samples gathered from Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) salt storage facilities retention ponds across the state. The analysis indicated high levels of TSS largely made up of minerals directly associated with the deicing solution currently used by UDOT in roadway applications. As a companion to that analysis, best management practices have been identified and compiled to provide a resource for the proper management of salt storage facilities in the state of Utah. Topics included as best management practices include locating new storage facilities, proper salt storage, proper salt …

Solar And Rain Catching Canopy. Urban Oasis, Afolabi Ibitoye, Langston Clark, Elena Zimareva, Evan Banks, Alexander Aptekar

Publications and Research

The Urban Oasis is designed to work within existing “pocket parks” in New York City as a combined rainwater collector, personal electronics charging station and resting designation for New Yorkers. Intended to not only lessen the demand on the city power grid by using renewable energy to charge devices, the urban oasis is also intended to mitigate grey water overfill in New York’s combined sewer system and, in general, serve as a model for responsible environmental stewardship in urban areas.

The important technical aspects of the canopy specifically analyzed were:

a) how much rainwater could the canopy be expected to …

U.S. Agro-Climate In 20th Century: Growing Degree Days, First And Last Frost, Growing Season Length, And Impacts On Crop Yields, Meetpal Singh Kukal, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Significant air temperature changes have occurred globally during the 20th century, which are spatially variable to a considerable degree and these changes can have substantial implications in agroecosystem productivity. The agroclimate indicators that are responsible in these contexts are first fall frost (FFF), last spring frost (LSF), climatological growing season (CGS) length, and heat accumulation (growing degree days, GDD). We explore spatial and temporal trends associated with these indices across the continental U.S. (CONUS) during 1900–2014 using datasets collected at 1218 sites. On average, FFF has been occurring later (by 5.4 days century⁻¹), and LSF has been occurring …

Bond-Type Cfrp Anchorage System For Prestressed Concrete Applications, Yasir Saeed, Franz Rad, Salam Al-Obaidi

Student Research Symposium

High tensile strength, adjustable and high modulus of elasticity, high strength-to-weight ratio, and non-corrosiveness are great features which have made Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) very attractive to engineers. Prestressed concrete applications require high strength prestressing material that could apply and maintain effective compressive force to concrete members. Although FRPs, especially Carbon FRP (CFRP), have the desired strength, no efficient system for its anchorage to concrete has been devised yet. This paper presents an experimental evaluation on new bond-type CFRP anchors. A total of eleven samples were prepared and tested. The CFRP rods were 0.375 in. and 0.50 in. diameter. The …

Coastal Bridges Subjected To Waves: Analysis And Quantification Of Forces, Alaa Waleed Hameed, Thomas Schumacher

Student Research Symposium

Coastal bridges can be exposed to significant wave forces during hurricane events. This research is studying the parameters that govern the structural response through data analysis of a large experimental data set. This data set was generated by testing a heavily-instrumented 1:5-scale bridge superstructure model, which was modeled after the I-10 Bridge over the Escambia Bay, under various wave conditions and water levels in a large wave flume. A unique aspect of the model is that the flexibility of the substructure can be adjusted to represent different types of bridge support systems. This poster discusses the first part of the …

Discussing The “Positive Utilities” Of Autonomous Vehicles: Will Travellers Really Use Their Time Productively?, Patrick A. Singleton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are expected to reshape travel behaviour and demand in part by enabling productive uses of travel time—a primary component of the “positive utility of travel” concept—thus reducing subjective values of travel time savings (VOT). Many studies from industry and academia have assumed significant increases in travel time use and reductions in VOT for AVs. In this position paper, I argue that AVs’ VOT impacts may be more modest than anticipated and derive from a different source. Vehicle designs and operations may limit activity engagement during travel, with AV users feeling more like car passengers than train riders. …

An Engineer’S Rules For Running A Business, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Peter Ho sold everything he had to make his business a success; 10 rules guide his thinking

On a lobby wall of Singapore engineering firm HOPE Technik are 10 company rules that set the organisational tone. Co-founder and CEO Peter Ho describes them as “very personal”, none perhaps more so than the first two:

1. It is a passion and a career, not a job.

2. We are engineering commandos. Small in number, strong in force.

Flexural Rigidity Evaluation Of Seismic Performance Of Hollow-Core Composite Bridge Columns, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper investigates experimentally the seismic behavior of two hollow-core fiber-reinforced polymer-concrete-steel HC-FCS columns under cyclic loading as a cantilever. The typical precast HC-FCS member consists of a concrete wall sandwiched between an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner steel tube. The FRP tube provides continuous confinement for the concrete wall along the height of the column. Five large-scale HC-FCS columns were investigated during this study to estimate the effective flexural (which is an important factor to define the buckling capacity and deflection of such columns) and the effective structural stiffness of the composite columns. These columns have …

Effects Of Tension On Resonant Frequencies Of Strings, Blake Burnett

Senior Theses

This project tests and explores resonance of strings. Since all materials and mechanisms are affected by vibrations, it is important to know the frequencies at which resonance occurs. To explore this subject, strings were used as a model material to test the effect tension has on resonance. The fundamental frequencies and the corresponding modes of resonance were used to analyze the data. The results of this experiment show that increasing tension on a string increases its resonance frequency. Understanding the physics behind resonance frequency allows systems to be designed to take advantage of resonance properties, or to avoid resonance where …

Creativity As A Graduate Attribute, Caitriona Quinn

Other resources

This position paper examines the value, delivery and assessment of creativity as a graduate attribute in civil engineering. Creativity is an essential skill for modern civil engineering graduates to allow them to respond to the variety of challenges within the industry. In addition, the need for creativity within their work is both directly and indirectly referenced within accreditation requirements from engineering professional bodies. How to deliver on creativity as a learning outcome requires time and space within the timetable, a difficult challenge in the technical content heavy subjects the make up civil engineering programmes. Added to this are the difficulties …

Evaluation Of A Substitute Structure Method To Estimate Seismic Displacement Demand In Piers And Wharves, Rakesh K. Goel

Civil and Environmental Engineering

This paper compares seismic displacement from the MOTEMS and the ASCE/COPRI 61-14 substitute structure method (SSM) with results from the nonlinear response history analysis (NLRHA). It is found that the SSM is biased toward overpredicting displacement demand for short-period systems and under-predicting displacement demand for long-period systems. The overprediction was found to be excessive for very-short period systems (i.e., systems with periods shorter than the period at which the design spectrum transitions from linearly increasing spectral acceleration to constant spectral acceleration). It is recommended that the SSM not be used for such systems. It is also recommended that the SSM …

Mitigating The Structural Vibrations Of Wind Turbines Using Tuned Liquid Column Damper Considering Soil-Structure Interaction, Tadhg Buckley, Phoebe Watson, Paul Cahill, Vesna Jaksic, Vikram Pakrashi

Publications

This paper considers the potential of using a Tuned Liquid Column Damper (TLCD) to reduce structural vibrations of a wind turbine tower. The effect of TLCD on wind turbine towers, including the soil-structure interactions for a monopile foundation was modelled theoretically and scaled laboratory experiments were carried out to validate these results. The tower of the turbine is represented as a Euler beam with a set of springs at the boundary to simulate the soil-structure interaction. TLCD design was carried out using such a model and the reduction in tower vibrations due to the deployment of TLCD was then examined …

Liquefaction-Induced Dragload And/Or Downdrag On Deep Foundations Within The New Madrid Seismic Zone, Ishimwe Elvis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deep foundation elements are typically used to transfer structural loads for multi-story buildings and large-span bridges to a competent soil layer when 1) the soil close to the ground surface has no sufficient bearing capacity, and when 2) liquefiable soils are encountered. The majority of the bridges constructed within seismic zones rely upon the stability of earthen embankments and deep foundation that are installed above or within liquefiable soil deposits. Despite large factor of safety values or different load and resistance factors being used to adequately design deep foundations within seismic areas, soil liquefaction may cause extensive damage to the …

The Intrinsic Properties Of Reconstituted Soils, Nabeel Shaker Mahmood

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Reconstituted specimens are often utilized to characterize engineering properties of cohesive soils. A series of undrained triaxial tests were conducted on reconstituted soil specimens to evaluate 1) the influence of stress path, 2) the intrinsic shear strength behavior, and 3) the small-strain characteristics. The stress path tests were conducted on kaolinite specimens reconstituted from slurries with water content values of one and one-half times the liquid limit of the soil (1.5LL). To evaluate the intrinsic undrained shear strength and the intrinsic small-strain properties, the triaxial tests were performed on kaolinite and illite specimens that were reconstituted at two levels of …

Adam J. Liska: Curriculum Vitae, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

Associate Professor, George Dempster Smith Chair of Industrial Ecology, Departments of Biological Systems Engineering and Agronomy & Horticulture, University of Nebraska-Lincoln 236 L.W. Chase Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0726, Ph: (402) 472-8744, e-mail: [email protected]

Ph.D. 2003 Biology (magna cum laude), Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology & Genetics, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany

An Investigation Of Water Pipeline Renewal Practices, Abbas Abed Salman

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Globally, the use of trenchless technologies is gradually increasing due to the growing need to replace and renew aging utility infrastructure and the need for more flexible solutions for the installation of new pipes. In the United States of America, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2017 assessed that America’s infrastructure is close to failing. It faces an annual shortfall of at least $11 billion to replace the aging facilities that are near the end of their useful lives. In this research, surveys and interviews of professionals working in trenchless technologies for the North American Society for Trenchless …

Determination Of Root Length Of Evapotranspiration Cover Using Electrical Resistivity Imaging Technique, Fouzia Hossain Oyshi

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Evapotranspiration (ET) covers are receiving an increasing amount of attention for use at waste disposal sites. Instead of using barrier layers like conventional covers, percolation in ET cover system is minimized by water balance components which store the water prior to its transpiration through vegetation or evaporation from the soil surface. Vegetation for an ET cover must be suitable for its particular locality and have well-developed root systems, since they promote transpiration and contribute to the long-term performance of the cover. They pull water out of the cover soil and release it into the environment, thereby decreasing the percolation of …

Concrete Breakout Strength Of Post-Installed Anchors Within Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Travis Michael Pechacek

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

This study investigates the effects of Polypropylene fibers on the concrete breakout of post-installed screw anchor bolts. Concrete anchors were installed within concrete specimens of differing amounts of Polypropylene fibers. Four differing mixtures were produced using, 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5% fibers by volume of the mixture. Their physical properties were calculated through testing at the Civil Engineering Laboratory Building (CELB). In total, 16 cylindrical specimens, 4” in diameter and 8” in height, and 6 beam specimens, 6”x6”x20” were produced and tested. After 28 days of curing, the specimens were tested for their compressive and tensile strengths, as well as …

Evaluation Of The Seasonal Variation In Hydraulic Conductivity For An Evapotranspiration Cover System, Lucas Hoyos Cadavid

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The purpose of landfill cover systems is to minimize, and if possible prevent the interaction of the environment with the buried waste mass. In this effort, one of the most prevalent parameters to control is the percolation of rainfall through the cover system into the waste mass. In addition to this, if the cover system utilizes an evapotranspiration or water balance cover, understanding this parameter becomes especially important. This type of system relies on the ability of the soil to retain moisture and the natural process through which vegetation transports water from its roots to the atmosphere. Consequently, the percolation …

Impacts Of Geotechnical Aspects In Tunneling Design And Construction, Mohammad Haadi Sadaghiani

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

In tunneling project, different type of methods is conducted to do the project. Knowing geotechnical aspects of tunnel project is unavoidable and crucial in early stage of project especially before contract to have efficient and more accurate design and prevent cost overruns, reduce bid price and reduce project risks. However, all that geotechnical information should be based on standard guidelines such as Geotechnical Baseline Report (GBR) to help owner how to provide those geotechnical data in bid contract and use it as a guideline in contract to prevent future claim or disputes. The main objective of this thesis is about …

Effect Of Fine Grained Soil In The Strength Of Cement Treated Flex-Base Materials, Sita Timsina

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The recycled materials such as, Recycled Crushed Concrete Aggregates (RCCA) and Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) treated with cement has been widely used as the alternative granular base in pavement construction in different states in USA due to the depletion of natural resources of virgin aggregates. While a number of factors drive the use of these recycled materials, the two primary factors are economic savings and environmental benefits. In the flexible pavement systems, the base layer contributes to the structural capacity of the pavement systems, so, the quality performance of this layer is essential. However, presence of fine particles in the …

Diagnosis And Quantification Of Post-Disaster Construction Material Cost Fluctuations, Niloufar Khodahemmati

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

The post-disaster survival of cities and communities depend on their capabilities to rapidly reconstruct damages. Temporary increase in construction costs following natural disasters, also known as “demand surge,” impedes the rapid post-disaster reconstruction process. The existing methods for quantifying the post-disaster construction cost escalations do not consider seasonal patterns and inflation of costs under normal condition. Therefore, it is not clear whether the quantified construction cost increases are due to a disaster or merely associated with seasonal patterns and inflation. The objective of this study is to (1) create an approach to statistically quantify the post-disaster construction material cost fluctuations …

Evaluation Of Beams And Columns Strengthening With Pre-Saturated And Regular Cfrp, Preeti Pandey

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Structural members such as columns and beams are often subjected to reduced capacity due to errors in design or construction or often due to deterioration with time. The effect of reduction in capacity due to environmental and loading conditions are often the causes for deterioration or complete failure of structures. The main objective of this study is to deliver the effect of using Pre-Saturated Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) over regular CFRP Laminates, as an external strengthening material for strength and confinement of these deteriorated structures. The hypothesis was the use of Pre-Saturated CFRP over conventional regular CFRP Wet layup …

Qualitative Evaluation Of Cfrp-Concrete Bond Using Non-Destructive And Destructive Testing Methods, Ankita Anil Lad

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer) laminates have been used as externally bonded reinforcements for retrofitting and structural strengthening of concrete structures. The adequacy of the CFRP bonding highly depends on the bond integrity between the concrete and CFRP laminates. Considering the reliability of this bonding technique, premature debonding of laminates from the concrete substrate is a major concern. The bond performance may be influenced directly by various parameters; some of the parameters like surface wetness, surface preparation, presence of voids in concrete substrate and overhead versus on the top installation of CFRP laminate have been discussed in this study. During …

Sustainable Waste Management Through Operating Landfill As Biocell, Naima Rahman

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Solid waste is being generated at a record pace, and disposal of it requires advanced waste management services at a reasonable cost. Landfilling is the most suitable waste disposal and management technique currently available, and it is being used throughout the world. It is, however, the largest anthropogenic source of atmospheric methane, and it requires a lot of space. The primary objective of this study was to investigate an alternative sustainable solution to waste management by operating landfills as biocells. Biocells are cost effective, produce methane more rapidly, and accelerate space recovery. A laboratory scale study was conducted to investigate …

Identification Of Phase-Based Key Performance Factors And Their Best Practices In Construction Projects, Mohammadreza Habibi

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Delay and cost overrun in construction projects are two widespread problems arousing practitioners’ and scholars’ concerns as poor time and cost performance lead construction projects to failure. It is estimated that more than half of the construction industry’s projects encounter significant cost overruns and major delays, resulting in the industry having a tarnished reputation. Despite the attempts of numerous researchers to identify key performance factors, their results have been inconsistent. Most of the literature has focused solely on the construction phase budget and time overruns; the engineering/design and procurement phase costs and schedule performances have been rarely studied. Therefore, the …

Remaining Useful Life Prediction Of Water Pipes Using Artificial Neural Network And Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System Models, Razieh Tavakoli

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

The U.S. water distribution system contains thousands of miles of pipes with differing materials, sizes, and ages. These pipes experience physical, environmental, structural and operational parameters that cause corrosion and eventually lead to their failures. The Remaining Useful Life (RUL) is the estimated time before a pipe will experience a failure mode specifically a pipe break. Pipe failure means collapse and deterioration of water pipes overtime. Pipe deterioration results in increased break rates, reduced hydraulic capacity, and detrimental impacts on water quality. Therefore, it is crucial to perform accurate models that can forecast deterioration rates along with estimates of remaining …

Comparison Of Ground Movements During Trenchless Technology Operations For Pipe And Box Installations By Numerical Analysis, Taha Ashoori

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Trenchless Technologies (TTs) are alternatives or methods of choice for the construction and renewal of buried pipe or box with little or no surface disruption. Specifically, TTs are used when other traditional methods, such as cut-and-cover methods are not physically possible. Other reasons for TT methods to be increasingly adopted by owners, engineers, and contractors are their low environmental impacts and, based on the project and the site conditions, lower costs per foot of installed pipe, making these technologies much more efficient and versatile with final results within a shorter time span. Trenchless technology methods are divided into two main …