Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Numerical Simulation Of Losses In Four-Way Pipe Junctions, Simon Barth

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

To design pipelines, engineers need to know how much energy the fluid in the pipe has at different locations in the pipe network. The energy the fluid has comes in the form of pressure, velocity, and elevation. As fluid travels through a pipe, it loses energy for many different reasons. Some of those reasons include friction between the fluid and the pipe wall, shear forces within the fluid, changes in flow direction, changes in elevation, or various pipe fittings like elbows, tee’s, valves, reducers, and expanders. Many of the causes of energy loss are well researched. One cause of energy …

Analysis And Uncertainty Reduction Through Data Augmentation In Hurricane Risk Modeling In The State Of Florida, Daphne Raquel Otarola Farah

Theses and Dissertations

The Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model (FPHLM) and the Florida Public Flood Loss Model (FPFLM) project insurance losses due to hurricane events in the State of Florida from hurricane induced wind, rain, and flood. This hurricane catastrophe model estimates annual average loss costs, as well as mean loss levels for scenario events, for personal and commercial residential portfolios, including building structure, content, appurtenant, and additional living expenses. Insurance companies use these hurricane risk models in Florida, and in particular the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) mandates that the FPHLM be used for the stress test, that verifies the actuarial …

Surface Modified Polypropylene Membranes For Treating Hydraulic Fracturing Produced Waters By Membrane Distillation, Tharaka Hawpe Gamage

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Membrane distillation is an emerging technology for treating hydraulic fracturing flowback and produced waters. Suppression of membrane fouling by inorganic and polar and non-polar organic compounds is a challenge. Here polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate, polyacrylic acid, polvinylallyl imidazolium bromide and polyvinylhexyl imidazolium bromide chains have been grafted from the membrane surface. Fouling is initially due to adsorption of organic compounds followed by scale formation. When challenged with produced water, membranes modified with polvinylallyl imidazolium bromide chains provided the greatest resistance to fouling. For EC pretreated produced water and synthetic produced water that contained mainly inorganic species, the flux decline was much less.

Improving Logistics Efficiency Through Collaborative Truck Routing, Patrick Dougherty

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The logistics industry is among the world’s largest and most essential. Specifically, trucking is a massive component of the modern logistics system. In 2012, truck transportation carried 68% of all freight tonnage in the U.S. However, trucking currently faces significant problems with efficiency and sustainability. Of all miles driven by trucks yearly in the U.S., 25% are driven with empty loads and 36% are driven with underutilized loads. In addition to this economic inefficiency, the industry faces social and environmental challenges. Driver turnover rates are near 100%, and trucking accounts for a significant level of greenhouse gas emissions. One potential …

Performance Of Ultrasound-Assisted Forward Osmosis Membrane Process In Desalination Of Seawater, Bara Awwad Al-Sakaji

Theses

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of using ultrasound on water flux through forward osmosis membrane when applied for seawater desalination. A synthetically prepared solution simulating seawater characteristics was used. Parameters considered in the investigation included membrane cross-flow velocity (0.25 and 1.0 cm/s), flow configuration (co-current versus counter-current), direction of ultrasound waves relative to the membrane side (active layer versus support layer), and type of draw solution (NaCl versus MgCl₂). Furthermore, a two-level factorial design was considered in the analysis of the results obtained from the experimental work. This study revealed that applying a …

Impact Of Antecedent Wetness And Rainfall Spatial Variability On Design Floods, Rachael Nicole Mcmahon

Theses and Dissertations

In the absence of long hydrologic records, water engineering design application rely primarily on the concept of design storms and subsequently design floods. However, despite the long-lasting use of these approaches there are several aspects that merit careful consideration and possibly revision. Representation of spatial variability of rainfall extremes in design storms has relied primarily on the use of area reduction factors that while useful, they do not represent realistic patterns of flood inducing storms. Furthermore, the impact of antecedent wetness on the transformation of design storms to design floods is often neglected. In this work we carry out a …

Semi-Annual Progress Report #8, Missouri University Of Science And Technology. Inspire - University Transportation Center

Semi-Annual Progress Reports

No abstract provided.

Going Green: A Comparative Analysis Of Green Urbanism In Paris And Shanghai, Jeanne Torp

Honors Theses

As climate change becomes more pressing with each day and as we scramble to slow down the challenges it poses, adapting the means of operation within our cities will become an invaluable tool for reducing humanity’s carbon footprint. This paper seeks to study the ways in which green infrastructure in global cities can be used to do just that—adapting to and mitigating the effects of challenges resulting from climate change. In order to provide a broad overview of the effectiveness of such green infrastructure systems across the globe, this research will focus on two cities that vary greatly in their …

Encoding Time-Series Ground Motions As Images For Convolutional Neural Networks-Based Seismic Damage Evaluation, Xinzhe Yuan, Dustin Tanksley, Pu Jiao, Liujun Li, Genda Chen, Donald C. Wunsch

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Traditional methods for seismic damage evaluation require manual extractions of intensity measures (IMs) to properly represent the record-to-record variation of ground motions. Contemporary methods such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for time series classification and seismic damage evaluation face a challenge in training due to a huge task of ground-motion image encoding. Presently, no consensus has been reached on the understanding of the most suitable encoding technique and image size (width × height × channel) for CNN-based seismic damage evaluation. In this study, we propose and develop a new image encoding technique based on time-series segmentation (TS) to transform acceleration …

Credibility And Divination In The Age Of Reason, Jessi Schoolcraft

Undergraduate Research Conference at Missouri S&T

Credibility is vital for comprehending the world around us. This is as true today as it was in the 18th century when Diderot and d'Alembert were producing France's first Encyclopédie. Translating articles from this body of knowledge provides insight into public perceptions of credibility. Designed to collect and share knowledge, the Encyclopédie required extensive collaboration among experts and editors. Article topics ranged from philosophy to the arts to physical science. What made these articles credible? Was it the oversight of well-known editors, the use of already verified sources, or the seal of approval from the State? Or was it a …

Compound Extremes Drive The Western Oregon Wildfires Of September 2020, John T. Abatzoglou, David E. Rupp, Larry W. O'Neill, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Several very large high‐impact fires burned nearly 4,000 km² of mesic forests in western Oregon during September 7–9, 2020. While infrequent, very large high‐severity fires have occurred historically in western Oregon, the extreme nature of this event warrants analyses of climate and meteorological drivers. A strong blocking pattern led to an intrusion of dry air and strong downslope east winds in the Oregon Cascades following a warm‐dry 60‐day period that promoted widespread fuel flammability. Viewed independently, both the downslope east winds and fuel dryness were extreme, but not unprecedented. However, the concurrence of these drivers resulted in compound extremes …

Measuring Pedestrian Level Of Stress In Urban Environments: Naturalistic Walking Pilot Study, Seth Lajeunesse, Paul Ryus, Wesley Kumfer, Sirisha Kothuri, Krista Nordback

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Walking is the most basic and sustainable mode of transportation, and many jurisdictions would like to see increased walking rates as a way of reducing congestion and emission levels and improving public health. In the United States, walking trips account for 10.5% of all trips undertaken. To increase this rate, additional research on what makes people feel more comfortable while walking is needed. Research on pedestrian quality of service (QOS) has sought to quantify the performance of the pedestrian facilities from a pedestrian’s perspective. However, the impact of pedestrian safety countermeasures on pedestrian QOS for roadway crossings is largely unknown. …

Sustainable Water Treatment Systems: A Direct Potable Proposal, Kayla Alsup, Kayla E. Alsup

Honors College Theses

A common need among all people is water—we cannot survive without it. And yet, all around the world, achieving a high quality of drinking water is a constant struggle. This water crisis is brought on by many different factors. Some are natural, such as droughts and flooding, but as the effects of climate change continue to reveal themselves, some areas are becoming drier, while other areas are experiencing less predictable and harsher weather patterns.

Our current approach towards water is not sustainable, and we are starting to see that in both under-developed and developed countries alike. Indiscriminate use of water …

Enercon Station Vacuum Pump Replacement, Clint Hembree, Jared D'Amico, Connor Moore, Paul Jeffrey Fontenot, Sydnee Castello, J.J. Clements

Senior Design Project For Engineers

This details the progress of the ENERCON pump replacement project as completed by the Kennesaw State University interdisciplinary senior design group. This project is a two-semester capstone effort for the engineering program at Southern Polytechnic School of Engineering, overseen by Dr. McFall during Fall 2020 and Dr. Khalid during Spring 2021 semesters. The 2020-2021 KSU Interdisciplinary Senior Design team was tasked with completing an Engineering Change Package (ECP) for existing vacuum pumps at ENERCON Station. The mechanical, electrical, and civil students worked together, performing evaluations on existing plant systems to ensure the plant could support the new vacuum pumps. By …

A Magneto-Mechanical Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Designed To Scavenge Ac Magnetic Field From Thermal Power Plant With Power-Line Cables, Quan Wang, Kyung-Bum Kim, Sang-Bum Woo, Yooseob Song, Tae-Hyun Sang

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Piezoelectric energy harvesters have attracted much attention because they are crucial in portable industrial applications. Here, we report on a high-power device based on a magneto-mechanical piezoelectric energy harvester to scavenge the AC magnetic field from a power-line cable for industrial applications. The electrical output performance of the harvester (×4 layers) reached an output voltage of 60.8 V_max, an output power of 215 mW_max (98 mW_rms), and a power density of 94.5 mW_max/cm³ (43.5 mW_rms/cm³) at an impedance matching of 5 kΩ under a magnetic field of 80 …

A Novel Jumbo Phage Phima05 Inhibits Harmful Microcystis Sp., Ampapan Naknaen, Oramas Suttinun, Komwit Surachat, Eakalak Khan, Rattanaruji Pomwised

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Microcystis poses a concern because of its potential contribution to eutrophication and production of microcystins (MCs). Phage treatment has been proposed as a novel biocontrol method for Microcystis. Here, we isolated a lytic cyanophage named PhiMa05 with high efficiency against MCs-producing Microcystis strains. Its burst size was large, with approximately 127 phage particles/infected cell, a short latent period (1 day), and high stability to broad salinity, pH and temperature ranges. The PhiMa05 structure was composed of an icosahedral capsid (100 nm) and tail (120 nm), suggesting that the PhiMa05 belongs to the Myoviridae family. PhiMa05 inhibited both planktonic and aggregated …

Medical Service Facility Site Development, Sabrina Carvajal

Honors Theses

This report provides a clear description of a site development design project for a future medical service facility. The site is approximately 46,818 square feet and is located at 203 E. Centre Avenue Portage, Michigan 49002 United States. This is in a high traffic area that is surrounded by different public and academic institutions including Portage Central High School and Portage Public Library. The commercial buildings surrounding this area are Comerica Bank, Dairy Queen and a new Senior Center currently under construction. Our team is proposing two different site-layout options for the future development of this building. This medical service …

Nze Residential Test Facility Analysis Throughout Summer/Winter Peak Months For Thermal Comfort Prediction, Yearim Yang

Honors College Theses

The present study evaluates the thermal comfort in the east bedroom of the Net-Zero Energy Residential Test Facility (NZERTF) in a mixed-humid climate. This unit was constructed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for scholars to analyze its energy performance and indoor environmental quality. The thermal comfort is investigated in a designated bedroom space by analyzing 27 dry-bulb temperature, 4 airspeed, 6 globe temperature, and 6 relative humidity sensors in a 3x3x3 array and a center sensor stand during two opposite seasonal months (July and December). The conventionally ducted heat pump, small duct high velocity, and heat recovery …

Cold In-Place Recycling Asphalt Mixtures: Laboratory Performance And Preliminary M-E Design Analysis, Dongzhao Jin, Dongdong Ge, Siyu Chen, Tiankai Che, Hongfu Liu, Lance Malburg, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

Cold in-place recycling (CIR) asphalt mixtures are an attractive eco-friendly method for rehabilitating asphalt pavement. However, the on-site CIR asphalt mixture generally has a high air void because of the moisture content during construction, and the moisture susceptibility is vital for estimating the road service life. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to characterize the effect of moisture on the high-temperature and low-temperature performance of a CIR asphalt mixture to predict CIR pavement distress based on a mechanistic–empirical (M-E) pavement de-sign. Moisture conditioning was simulated by the moisture-induced stress tester (MIST). The moisture susceptibility performance of the CIR …

Fatal Crashes At Highway Rail Grade Crossings: A U.S. Based Study, Subasish Das, Xiaoqiang Kong, Steven M. Lavrenz, Lingtao Wu, Mohammad Jalayer

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering Departmental Research

Crashes at highway rail grade crossings (HRGCs) are often involved with fatalities due to the momentum of a train. This study collected nine years (2010–2018) of fatal HRGC crashes from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) to perform the analysis. The Taxicab Correspondence Analysis (TCA) was applied to this dataset. This method identified several patterns that trigger HRGC-related fatal crashes. The findings indicate that fatal crashes involving multiple fatalities are often highly associated with alcohol-influenced drivers, poor lighting conditions, and inclement weather. The fatal crash that occurs during the daylight with the uninfluenced driver is less likely to involve more …

Abrasion Resistance Of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete For Railway Sleepers, Ariful Hasnat, Nader Ghafoori

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

This study aimed to determine the abrasion resistance of ultra-high-performance concretes (UHPCs) for railway sleepers. Test samples were made with different cementitious material combinations and varying steel fiber contents and shapes, using conventional fine aggregate. A total of 25 UHPCs and two high-strength concretes (HSCs) were selected to evaluate their depth of wear and bulk properties. The results of the coefficient of variation (CV), relative gain in abrasion, and abrasion index of the studied UHPCs were also obtained and discussed. Furthermore, a comparison was made on the resistance to wear of the selected UHPCs with those of the HSCs typically …

A Methodology For Estimating Capacity And Passenger Car Equivalents For Connected And Automated Vehicles Traveling On Freeways, Antonio Hurtado Beltran

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Recently, there has been a significant amount of research related to heavy trucks operating as connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). In order to understand the potential impact on the freeway system of CAV technologies, analyses should be conducted using the standard US methodological framework. In the current version of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM-6), equal-capacity passenger car equivalencies (EC-PCEs) are used to account for the effect of heavy trucks on capacity and quality of service analyses. It is argued in this dissertation the HCM-6 EC-PCE methodology for basic freeway and multilane highway segments can be used to explore a wide …

Removal Of Carbamazepine Onto Modified Zeolitic Tuff In Different Water Matrices: Batch And Continuous Flow Experiments, Othman A. Al-Mashaqbeh, Diya A. Alsafadi, Layal Z. Alsalhi, Shannon L. Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Carbamazepine (CBZ) is the most frequently detected pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments effluent by wastewater treatment plants. Batch and column experiments were conducted to evaluate the removal of CBZ from ultra-pure water and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent using raw zeolitic tuff (RZT) and surfactant modified zeolite (SMZ). Point zero net charge (pHpzc), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) were investigated for adsorbents to evaluate the physiochemical changes resulted from the modification process using Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br). XRD and FTIR showed that the surfactant modification of RZT has created an amorphous surface with new alkyl …

Effect Of Humic Acid On Co2-Wettability In Sandstone Formation, Mujahid Ali, Faisal Ur Rahman Awan, Muhammad Ali, Ahmed Al-Yaseri, Muhammad Arif, Mónica Sánchez-Román, Alireza Keshavarz, Stefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Hypothesis: Millions of tons of CO2 are stored in CO2 geological storage (CGS) formations (depleted oil reservoirs and deep saline aquifers) every year. These CGS formations naturally contain small concentrations of water-soluble organic components in particular humic acid (HA), which may drastically affect the rock wettability - a significant factor determining storage capacities and containment security. Hence, it is essential to characterise the effect of humic acid concentration on CO2-wettability and its associated impact on storage capacity.

Experimental: To achieve this, we measured advancing and receding contact angles at reservoir conditions using the pendant drop tilted plate method for various …

Nighttime Pedestrian Fatalities Across The United States And Their Relationship With Built Environment And Socioeconomic Factors: Gis-Based Analysis And Assessment, Amir Tarighi

Civil Engineering ETDs

Fatalities from motor vehicle collisions are the fifth leading cause of years of lost life worldwide (Foreman et al., 2018) and are a great concern for all communities. This road safety crisis has been especially pronounced for U.S. pedestrians over the last decade. National records show that between 2010 and 2019, pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. increased 44% while all other traffic fatalities increased only 4% and more than fifty percent of pedestrian fatalities occurred in dark lighting conditions. This study analyzed the relationship between pedestrian fatality locations at night and five demographic characteristics of those locations including population density, …

Development Of A Low-Cost Efficient Wireless Intelligent Sensor For Strain (Lewis-S) And Applications In Measuring Nonlinear Dynamics, Eric Robbins

Civil Engineering ETDs

Nonlinearities exist in all real-life systems and can be caused by behaviors such as large deformations, yielding, contact, etc. which can result in phenomena not found in linear testing. Considering nonlinear behavior in dynamic analyses can be beneficial to increase model predictability and can accurately characterize system responses. Generally, accelerometers are commonly used in linear and nonlinear vibration testing to obtain the acceleration response of a system. However, some systems may render the use of accelerometers problematic, or accelerometers may introduce limitations to measurement capabilities such that it can be beneficial to obtain experimental data using different sensors. In the …

3d Model Of Existing Conditions For The Creek On The Blue Mile Project, H M Imran Kays, Usman Ibrahim, Charles Crowner

Eagle Showcase: Excellence in Service-Learning (Archived)

2021 Eagle Showcase Excellence in Service-Learning

Modeling Bus Bunching And Anti-Bunching Control Accounting For Signal Control And Passenger Swapping Behavior, Qi Xin, Rui Fu, Shaowei Yu, Satish V. Ukkusuri, Rui Jiang

Journal of Public Transportation

The conventional bus propagation process has two main shortcomings: one is bus bunching, the other is extra energy consumption by idling at signalized intersection and unexpected speed variation along the route. To overcome these problems simultaneously, an extended bus propagation model and an anti-bunching control are proposed. To extend the time-based bus propagation model, we employ finite state machine and intelligent driver model to establish a spatial-temporal based bus propagation model accounting for bus dynamic motion and passenger swapping behavior between bunching buses. To mitigate bus bunching and improve bus fuel economy in a cyber-traffic environment, an anticipated average speed …

Establishment Of Regional Phytoremediation Buffer Systems For Ecological Restoration In The Great Lakes Basin, Usa. Ii. New Clones Show Exceptional Promise, Andrej Pilipović, Ronald S. Zalesny, Elizabeth R. Rogers, Bernard G. Mcmahon, Neil D. Nelson, Joel Gerard Burken, Richard A. Hallett, Chung Ho Lin

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Poplar tree improvement strategies are needed to enhance ecosystem services’ provisioning and achieve phytoremediation objectives. We evaluated the establishment potential of new poplar clones developed at the University of Minnesota Duluth, Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) from sixteen phytoremediation buffer systems (phyto buffers) (buffer groups: 2017 × 6; 2018 × 5; 2019 × 5) throughout the Lake Superior and Lake Michigan watersheds. We divided clones into Experimental (testing stage genotypes) and Common (commercial and/or research genotypes) clone groups and compared them with each other and each NRRI clone (NRRI group) at the phyto buffers. We tested for differences in clone …

Editorial: Forest Management Alters Forest Water Use And Drought Vulnerability, Christina Tague, Matthew D. Hurteau, Anthony J. Parolari

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This collection of papers provides new insights into how forest management, forest water use and droughts are interrelated. The collection considers both ecohydrologic impacts of changes in forest density (through thinning or fire) and impacts that could occur via species management.