Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Low-Grade Kaolin Clay Natural Resource For Use As A Supplementary Cementitious Material In Structural Concrete Elements, Brandon X. Lorentz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

At the turn of the century, low-grade kaolin clay (LGK) was presented as a widely available and potential natural resource of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) for producing high performance concretes. In using LGK as an SCM, clinker production is reduced, aiding environmental concerns with associated CO2 emissions. These types of clays have very heterogeneous mineralogy and microstructural characteristics, causing unique influences on concrete structural and flow performance, although these influences are not well understood. This research studies LGK natural to the state of Florida and assesses their potential use as high performance SCM.

Ten kaolin clays were obtained through a …

Surface Reservoirs Dominate Dynamic Gas-Surface Partitioning Of Many Indoor Air Constituents, Chen Wang, Douglas B. Collins, Caleb Arata, Allen H. Goldstein, James M. Mattila, Delphine K. Farmer, Laura Ampollini, Peter F. Decarlo, Atila Novoselac, Marina E. Vance, William W. Nazaroff, Jonathan P.D. Abbatt

Faculty Journal Articles

Human health is affected by indoor air quality. One distinctive aspect of the indoor environment is its very large surface area that acts as a poorly characterized sink and source of gas-phase chemicals. In this work, air-surface interactions of 19 common indoor air contaminants with diverse properties and sources were monitored in a house using fast-response, on-line mass spectrometric and spectroscopic methods. Enhanced-ventilation experiments demonstrate that most of the contaminants reside in the surface reservoirs and not, as expected, in the gas phase. They participate in rapid air-surface partitioning that is much faster than air exchange. Phase distribution calculations are …

Relationship Between Sunspot Numbers And Mean Annual Precipitation: Application Of Cross-Wavelet Transform—A Case Study, Mohammad Nazari-Sharabian, Moses Karakouzian

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Observations show that the Sun, which is the primary source of energy for the Earth’s climate system, is a variable star. In order to understand the influence of solar variability on the Earth’s climate, knowledge of solar variability and solar–terrestrial interactions is required. Knowledge of the Sun’s cyclic behavior can be used for future prediction purposes on Earth. In this study, the possible connection between sunspot numbers (SSN) as a proxy for the 11-year solar cycle and mean annual precipitation (MAP) in Iran were investigated, with the motivation of contributing to the controversial issue of the relationship between SSN and …

Gas-Diffusivity Based Characterization Of Aggregated Agricultural Soils, J.R.R.N. Jayarathne, T.K.K. Chamindu Deepagoda, Timothy J. Clough, M.C.M. Nasvi, Steve Thomas, Bo Elberling, Kathleen Smits

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications - Archive

Grazed pastures and cultivated fields are significant sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, in particular N2O emissions derived from fertilizer deposition and animal excreta. Net surface emissions rely on subsurface gas transfer controlled mainly by diffusion, expressed as the soil-gas diffusivity (Dp/Do). The value of Dp/Do is a function of soil air-filled porosity (e) and gaseous phase tortuosity (T), both of which vary with soil physical properties including soil texture and structure. Agricultural soils are often structurally aggregated and characterized by two distinct regions (inter- and intra-aggregated pores), however, such soils are subjected to frequent compaction and tillage resulting in …

Wireless Underground Communications In Sewer And Stormwater Overflow Monitoring: Radio Waves Through Soil And Asphalt Medium, Usman Raza, Abdul Salam

Faculty Publications

Storm drains and sanitary sewers are prone to backups and overflows due to extra amount wastewater entering the pipes. To prevent that, it is imperative to efficiently monitor the urban underground infrastructure. The combination of sensors system and wireless underground communication system can be used to realize urban underground IoT applications, e.g., storm water and wastewater overflow monitoring systems. The aim of this article is to establish a feasibility of the use of wireless underground communications techniques, and wave propagation through the subsurface soil and asphalt layers, in an underground pavement system for storm water and sewer overflow monitoring application. …

Probabilistic Hazard Assessment Of Contaminated Sediment In Rivers, Shahab Aldin Shojaeezadeh, Mohammad Reza Nikoo, Ali Mirchi, Iman Mallakpour, Amir Aghakouchak, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose a probabilistic framework rooted in multivariate and copula theory to assess heavy metal hazard associated with contaminated sediment in freshwater rivers that provide crucial ecosystem services such as municipal water source, eco-tourism, and agricultural irrigation. Exploiting the dependence structure between suspended sediment concentration (SSC) and different heavy metals, we estimate the hazard probability associated with each heavy metal at different SSC levels. We derive these relationships for warm (spring-summer) and cold (fall-winter) seasons, as well as stormflow condition, to unpack their nonlinear associations under different environmental conditions. To demonstrate its efficacy, we apply our proposed generic framework to …

Understanding Rural Water Services As A Complex System: An Assessment Of Key Factors As Potential Leverage Points For Improved Service Sustainability, Nicholas Valcourt, Jeffrey P. Walters, Amy Javernick-Will, Karl Linden, Betelhem Hailegiorgis

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

Rural water supply services worldwide consistently fail to deliver full public health impacts as intended due to a low service sustainability. This failure is increasingly attributed to weak local systems composed of social, financial and environmental factors. Current approaches in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector for understanding and improving these systems typically focus on the strength and capacity of these factors, but not the interactions between them. We contend that these approaches overlook the inherent complexity and context-specific nature of each local system. To assess this complexity, we conducted four participatory factor mapping workshops with local stakeholders across …

Resilience To Flooding And Fluvial Erosion In A Changing Climate, Robert C. Barr, Siavash Beik

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Introduction To Hydrologic Modeling Using Wintr-20, Thomas T. Burke, Luke J. Sherry

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Iowa Watershed Approach, Kate Giannini

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Updated Bulletin 70 Rainfall, Christopher B. Burke

Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Conference Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Removal Of Estrogenic Compounds From Water Via Energy Efficient Sequential Electrocoagulation-Electrooxidation, Emily K. Maher, Kassidy N. O'Malley, Michael Dollhopf, Brooke K. Mayer, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The purpose of this study was to investigate energy reduction using electrocoagulation (EC) followed by electrooxidation (EO) targeting initial removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) during EC and subsequent removal of estrogenic compounds in EO. EC offers benefits over conventional coagulation such as in situ generation of coagulant but is not practical for removing estrogenic compounds. Advanced oxidation processes, including EO, can effectively remove micropollutants such as estrogenic compounds but are hindered by the presence of bulk organic matter. This study investigated four estrogenic compounds from the U.S. EPA's Contaminant Candidate List: estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethynylestradiol …

Risk And Cost Assessment Of Nitrate Contamination In Domestic Wells, Pongpun Juntakut, Erin M.K. Haacker, Daniel D. Snow, Chittaranjan Ray

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

This study combines empirical predictive and economics models to estimate the cost of remediation for domestic wells exceeding suggested treatment thresholds for nitrates. A multiple logistic regression model predicted the probability of well contamination by nitrate, and a life cycle costing methodology was used to estimate costs of nitrate contamination in groundwater in two areas of Nebraska. In south-central Nebraska, 37% of wells were estimated to be at risk of exceeding a threshold of 7.5 mg/L as N, and 17% were at risk of exceeding 10 mg/L as N, the legal limit for human consumption in the United States. In …

Construction Labor Productivity Modeling And Use Of Neural Networks: A Bibliometric Survey, Shalaka Hire, Sayali Sandbhor

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Productivity of a project has a major impact on its cost and profitability. In spite of construction being labor intensive field with labor cost adding up to 30% to 50% of overall project cost, the productivity of labor is one of the least studied areas in the construction industry. It requires to be given due attention to the issues affecting labor productivity and design solution using soft computing techniques to improve the overall performance of the industry. This research paper aims to conduct a bibliographic survey of the literature available in the domain of Labor Productivity (LP) as well as …

A Universal Model Of Unsaturated Hydraulic Conductivity With Complementary Adsorptive And Diffusive Process Components, Arash Modaresi Rad, Bijan Ghahraman, Abolfazl Mosaedi, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Accurate estimation of unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (HC) is one of the most challenging problems in soil science. Here, we propose a novel approach to model HC using percolation theory. Transient behavior of water transport phenomena at low moisture contents requires additional physical process representation, beside capillary conductivity, to ensure accurate prediction of unsaturated HC. We augment the capillary model from percolation theory with two additional components, namely, (1) film flow, which is the product of volumetric flow rate per perimeter by specific perimeter of solid particles, and (2) isothermal vapor HC, derived from the Fick's law of vapor diffusion and …

Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers And Scientists Association (Oceesa) Report, Regular Issue, February 2020, Yung-Tse Hung, Wen-Chi Ku, Lawrence K. Wang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This OCEESA report, which is regular issue of OCEESA Journal (Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and Scientists Association Journal). This report is OCEESA report number: OCEESA/JL-2020/3701, February 2020, ISSN 1072 -7248. This report is also OCEESA Journal, Volume 37, Number 1, February 2020. Yung-Tse Hung, Permanent Executive Director, OCEESA, is editor of this report. This issue includes: (A) 10 OCEESA Best Papers (B) 6 OCEESA Papers; 21.Zhang-Zhi Charlie Huang 黄长志 , Implementing Compensation System for Environmental Damages: Challenges and Solutions, 22. Hanlu Yan, Kaimin Shih施凱閔 , Quantitative X-Ray Diffraction for Characterizing P Recovery Products from Wastewater, 23. Kaimin Shih 施凱閔 , …

Sea Level, Tidal, And River Flow Trends In The Lower Columbia River Estuary, 1853-Present, Stefan Talke, Andrew Mahedy, David A. Jay, Patrick Lau, Conrad Hilley, Amanda Hudson

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Few tidal records are available pre-1900 for the Pacific Ocean. We improve data coverage by recovering historical tabulations and digitizing analog tide rolls from Astoria, Oregon for 1853-1876. Nearly 13,500 overlapping images of tides from 1855-1870 were digitized at a 6 minute resolution using a line-finding algorithm. Available hourly and high/low tabulations were also digitized, as were nearby hourly records from 1933-1943. Uncertainty was assessed by evaluating manual staff measurements, historical documents, and leveling surveys. Results suggest that uncertainty in mean sea level varies from ± 0.07m (early 1850s) to ± 0.03m (1867-1876) and is driven primarily by datum and …

Iron-Electrocoagulation As A Disinfection Byproduct Control Strategy For Drinking Water Treatment, Donald R. Ryan, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Disinfection byproducts (DBPs) result from reactions between oxidizing disinfectants, e.g., free chlorine, and DBP precursors such as natural organic matter (NOM). Electrocoagulation (EC) has potential as an effective DBP precursor removal strategy for decentralized water treatment and small drinking water utilities as it features similar removal trends compared to conventional coagulation, without alkalinity consumption, while also generating coagulant in situ by anodic dissolution of iron electrodes. However, studies assessing DBP formation in drinking water following EC treatment are lacking. This research evaluated EC as a DBP precursor removal strategy by quantifying reductions in total trihalomethane (TTHM) formation potential as …

Dislocation-Oxide Interaction In Y2o3 Embedded Fe: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation Study, M. Mustafa Azeem, Qingyu Wang, Zhongyu Li, Yue Zhang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Oxide dispersed strengthened (ODS) steel is an important candidate for Gen-IV reactors. Oxide embedded in Fe can help to trap irradiation defects and enhances the strength of steel. It was observed in this study that the size of oxide has a profound impact on the depinning mechanism. For smaller sizes, the oxide acts as a void; thus, letting the dislocation bypass without any shear. On the other hand, oxides larger than 2 nm generate new dislocation segments around themselves. The depinning is similar to that of Orowan mechanism and the strengthening effect is likely to be greater for larger oxides. …

Improving Construction Work Zone Safety Using Technology: A Systematic Review Of Applicable Technologies, Chukwuma Nnaji, John Gambatese, Hyun Woo Lee, Fan Zhang

Faculty Publications

© 2019 The Authors Once considered conventional, the construction industry is gradually increasing its reliance on innovations such as the application of technologies in safety management. Given the growing literature on technology applications in safety management and the varying opinions on the utility of applied technologies, a systematic review that streamlines findings from past studies is indispensable to construction stakeholders. Although a number of review studies are available in the building construction sector, the level of fragmentation and uniqueness within the construction industry necessitates a review study specifically targeting the heavy civil sector. In response, the present study applies a …

Unh Stormwater Center Bioretention Isr Detail, Unh Stormwater Center

UNH Stormwater Center

The University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center (UNHSC) has developed a detail template of an innovative hybrid bioretention with an internal storage reservoir (ISR) for use by municipalities and others to address stormwater runoff and achieve pollutant load reductions.

Assessment Of Smc Frames Under Different Column Removal Scenarios, Mina Maxi, Mariam Ehab

Civil Engineering

Throughout the past decades, failure of structures threatening the lives of humans had been popular whether through structure failure due to human error such as Hyatt Regency walkway collapse, 1981, terrorist attacks on the American embassy attack in Nairobi, Kenya 1998 and the famous 9/11 attacks in 2001 and many more. As a result of these incidents, The Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) was developed concerning the progressive collapse issues by analyzing different types of structures under column loss and studying the overall structural behavior. However, the (UFC) didn’t scope on the local behavior of the structural components and its connection …

Assessment Of Smc Frames Under Different Column Removal Scenarios, Mariam Ehab, Mina Malak

Civil Engineering

Throughout the past decades, failure of structures threatening the lives of humans had been popular whether through structure failure due to human error such as Hyatt Regency walkway collapse, 1981, terrorist attacks on the American embassy attack in Nairobi, Kenya 1998 and the famous 9/11 attacks in 2001 and many more. As a result of these incidents, The Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) was developed concerning the progressive collapse issues by analyzing different types of structures under column loss and studying the overall structural behavior. However, the (UFC) didn’t scope on the local behavior of the structural components and its connection …

Benzalkonium Chloride Alters Phenotypic And Genotypic Antibiotic Resistance Profiles In A Source Water Used For Drinking Water Treatment, Katherine R. Harrison, Anthony D. Kappell, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Antibiotic resistance is a major public health concern. Triclosan is an antimicrobial compound with direct links to antibiotic resistance that was widely used in soaps in the U.S. until its ban by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Benzalkonium chloride (BAC), a quaternary ammonium compound, has widely replaced triclosan in soaps marketed as an antibacterial. BAC has been detected in surface waters and its presence will likely increase following increased use in soap products. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of BAC on relative abundance of antibiotic resistance in a bacterial community from a surface water …

The Bridge Newsletter Spring 2020, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

The Bridge Newsletter

-Studying fabrics, materials for facemasks
-New Missouri construction consortium
-Showalter honored by AGC
-New transportation center

Analysis And Assessment Of The Reimbursement Rates And Mechanisms For Kentucky’S Publicly Funded Ferries, P. Gayle Marks, Bryan Gibson, Andrew Martin, Steven Douglas Kreis

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) reimburses publicly operated ferries, including when they cease operations due to severe weather or unforeseen events. Reimbursement procedures are not codified in law and are largely based on historical practice. To determine how the Cabinet should handle reimbursement, funding, oversight of ferry services moving forward, the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) reviewed practices adopted by 10 other states and conducted a detailed analysis of Kentucky’s current approach. Of the states KTC examined, only Tennessee reimburses ferry operations for closures (at 50 percent of the normal hourly rate for a period up to 48 hours). Half of …

Integration Of Sodium Hypochlorite Pretreatment With Co-Immobilized Microalgae/Bacteria Treatment Of Meat Processing Wastewater, Xinjuan Hu, Yulie Meneses, Ashraf Aly Hassan

Department of Food Science and Technology: Faculty Publications

Wastewater with 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.0 mg/L free chlorine was biologically treated using co-immobilized microalgae/ bacteria. In contrast, non-pretreated wastewater was treated with beads (control) and blank beads (blank) under the same operating condition. Results showed that NaClO pretreatment removed 8–33% total nitrogen (TN), 31–45% true color and 0.7–2.5 log CFU/mL aerobic-bacteria. At the end of treatment, maximum algal biomass (2,027 dry weight mg/L) was achieved with 0.2 mg/L free chlorine. Bacterial growth in wastewater was decreased by NaClO pretreatment before reaching 7.2–7.7 log CFU/mL on the fifth day. Beads with microorganisms (control) removed 15% more chemical-oxygen-demand (COD), 16% more …

Performance Evaluation Of Lightweight Normal And Geopolymer Foamed Concrete Using Palm Oil Fuel Ash As Partial Replacement Of Binder, M .E. Alnahhal Ahmed

Student Works (2020-2029)

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) have a detrimental effect on the environment and this had led many researchers to search for other alternatives in the form of sustainable cementitious materials. The depletion of natural resources and dumping the industrial by-products and waste materials are serious concern to our environment. This research focusses on the performance of using a palm oil industrial by-product, namely, palm oil fuel ash (POFA), as a partial replacement for OPC and fly ash (FA) in lightweight normal foamed concrete and lightweight geopolymer foamed concrete, respectively. Thus, using 10, 20, and 30% POFA …

Challenges Of International Development Projects In Yemen: Perspective Of Public Work Project, Mohammed Lashuel Hassan Mohammed

Student Works (2020-2029)

International development projects are public projects that are created to support the economy and people’s life needs, mostly these types of projects target developing countries. These types of projects face challenges more than other projects due to many reasons. Accordingly, this research aims to explore the challenges that face international development projects in Yemen and conducted by the Public Work Project and highlight the most significant issues that face ID project as well to overcome these challenges. This research adopted the qualitative method by conducting ten semi-structured interviews with the PWP team and others stakeholders. The interview technique was selected …

Reducing Nox Emissions Of Cargo Handling Equipment (Che) With Humid Air Systems, Hamid Rahai, Jeremy Bonifacio

Mineta Transportation Institute

The authors designed and tested a humid air system (HAS) for reducing NOx emissions of an LPG-powered forklift. The HAS uses distilled water and heat from the exhaust to generate steam that is injected into the intake air of the engine to increase humidity and thus achieve NOx reduction. Field tests with HAS have shown 2.2 ppm of NOx reduction with each percent increase in humidity of the intake air. A provisional patent based on the developed system has been filed.