Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Science Club, Danielle Gibson, Krista Andersen

Honors Program: Expanded Learning Clubs

Honors After School program for elementary age children to engage with scientific principles. Students performed hands-on experiments to explore various STEM fields. Each weekly lesson consisted of a different concept to be learned or explored by early elementary aged students.

Feasibility Study For A Continuous Mansfield Hollow State Park Multi-Use Path, Owen P. Spangler

Honors Scholar Theses

This report aims to design a pedestrian river crossing that connects the north and south ends of Mansfield Hollow State Park, utilizing both a new paved pathway and bridge construction. This report first uses GIS data to complete a feasibility study on pathway routing and cost. A preliminary route was selected based on grading and cost analysis. The requirements for constructing a multi-use pathway in the State of Connecticut were then explored, attempting to find a best-fit pathway alignment to accomplish that goal. Through a lengthy literature review, it was found that the pathway design would have to deviate from …

Effect Of Protective Cladding On The Fire Performance Of Vertically Loaded Cross-Laminated Timber (Clt) Wall Panels, Muhammad Yasir, Andrew Macilwraith, Conan O'Ceallaigh, Kieran Ruane

Publications

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a sustainable engineered wood product which is utilised in modern multi-storey timber buildings. The fire behaviour of timber structures is often a concern due to their combustible nature. In this paper, experimental fire testing of CLT panels made of Irish spruce was performed. This series of tests consisted of four vertically loaded CLT wall panels which were tested under Standard fire curves in the Structural Laboratory of Munster Technological University, Cork (MTU). To improve the fire performance of CLT panels, different types of protective claddings were used. The effectiveness of each system of protection has been …

Removal Of Radionuclides Using Capacitive Deionization, Yusik Won

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Severe nuclear accidents, including the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, can lead to the discharge of large amounts of radionuclides into aquatic environments. Some radionuclides such as ¹³⁷Cs and ⁹⁰Sr have long half-lives and can remain in the environment for a long period of time. These radionuclides can be detrimental to humans and the environments because they can cause human and environmental exposure to ionizing radiation and because they can be bioaccumulated and biomagnified. Therefore, in case of a severe accident and a radioactive spill, it is important to quickly clean up and treat radioactively contaminated water to …

Potential Bioavailability Of Representative Pyrogenic Organic Matter Compounds In Comparison To Natural Dissolved Organic Matter Pools, Emily B. Graham, Hyun-Seob Song, Samantha Grieger, Vanessa A. Garayburu-Caruso, James C. Stegen, Kevin D. Bladon, Allison N. Myers-Pigg

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Pyrogenic organic matter (PyOM) from wildfires impacts river corridors globally and is widely regarded as resistant to biological degradation. Though recent work suggests PyOM may be more bioavailable than historically perceived, estimating bioavailability across its chemical spectrum remains elusive. To address this knowledge gap, we assessed potential bioavailability of representative PyOM compounds relative to ubiquitous dissolved organic matter (DOM) with a substrate-explicit model. The range of potential bioavailability of PyOM was greater than natural DOM; however, the predicted thermodynamics, metabolic rates, and carbon use efficiencies (CUEs) overlapped significantly between all OM pools. Compound type (e.g., natural versus PyOM) had approximately …

Identify The Micro-Parameters For Optimized Discrete Element Models Of Granular Materials In Two Dimensions Using Hexagonal Close-Packed Structures, Xiaodong Zhou, Dongzhao Jin, Dongdong Ge, Siyu Chen, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The widely used simple cubic-centered (SCC) model structure has limitations in handling diagonal loading and accurately representing Poisson’s ratio. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a set of modeling procedures for granular material discrete element models (DEM) with high efficiency, low cost, reliable accuracy, and wide application. The new modeling procedures use coarse aggregate templates from an aggregate database to improve simulation accuracy and use geometry information from the random generation method to create virtual specimens. The hexagonal close-packed (HCP) structure, which has advantages in simulating shear failure and Poisson’s ratio, was employed instead of the SCC …

Improving Intersection Safety With Geographically-Targeted Crash Prediction Models In Utah, Atul Subedi

Student Research Symposium

This project aims to improve intersection safety in Utah by developing geographically-targeted crash prediction models. The lack of research investigating active mode crashes at signalized intersections in different geographical regions calls for this study. The objective of this research is to understand the factors associated with the frequency of active mode crashes at signalized intersections. Exposure variables such as AADT, pedestrian and bicycle volumes, and intersection-level variables such as crossing distance, speed limit, and presence of street lights were analyzed using a negative binomial regression model.

Electric School Buses: Optimal Routing & Partial Charging, Megh Kc

Student Research Symposium

The transportation industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The carbon footprint of diesel school buses in the United States is being overlooked despite their significant portion as public transportation. Sense of an urgent need for school bus electrification raises the importance of the effective and efficient operation of school electric buses. However, capital investment, battery range anxiety, charging strategy, and riding time remain significant obstacles to implementing this solution.To address these issues, we have developed a mathematical optimization model that considers the practical constraints of school bus operation and employs a weighted multi-objective function. The model is …

A High-Strength Precipitation Hardened Cobalt-Free High-Entropy Alloy, Matthew Luebbe, Jiaqi Duan, Fan Zhang, Jonathan Poplawsky, Hans Pommeranke, Maalavan Arivu, Andrew Hoffman, Mario Buchely, Haiming Wen

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Recent studies on precipitation-hardened high-entropy alloys (HEAs) demonstrate their high strength and thermal stability, making them promising materials for high-temperature structural applications such as nuclear reactors. However, many existing HEAs contain cobalt (Co), which is unsuitable for nuclear applications because of the long-term activation issue of Co. Co is also expensive and considered a critical material for other applications. Therefore, it is desired to exclude Co from the composition. a Co-free (Fe0.3Ni0.3Mn0.3Cr0.1)88Ti4Al8 HEA was developed and studied in this work. in contrast to previous Co-free HEAs, this alloy is close to Equi atomic in its composition and promises a more …

Quantifying And Managing Anthropogenic And Drought Influences On Instream Temperatures, Abbygael Johnson

Student Research Symposium

The western US is currently experiencing effects of one of the worst droughts in 1200 years. These effects are evident in our rivers, as shown by broad scale reductions in baseflow. This lack of runoff combined with growing demands has resulted in the overallocation of the water contained within our rivers and reservoirs. Water temperature is the key factor in many biological, chemical, and physical processes, making it critical to the health of ecosystems . River temperatures are a function of many factors including weather and tree canopy, but also instream flow volumes and water residence time. When instream flows …

Calibration And Use Of S3f Sensor For Normal And Shear Stress Measurements In Soil, Hussein Alqrinawi

LSU Master's Theses

Innovative sensors can provide new capabilities to monitor and understand the behavior of soil, rock, and geo-structures and help geotechnical engineers make informed decisions about the construction and maintenance of geo-structures. This study introduced, calibrated, and validated one such sensor, the Surface Stress Sensitive Film (S3F) point sensor, for both normal and shear stress measurements in soil along the soil-structure interface. The measurements of S3F sensor rely on the deformation of an elastic film that is monitored by a floating element embedded in the elastic film. This sensor provides measurements of the 3D deformation of the film which are converted …

Fatigue Behavior And Calculation Methods Of High Strength Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beam, Zhiqiang Gu, Hu Feng, Danying Gao, Jun Zhao, Congjie Wei, Chenglin Wu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Adding Steel Fibers into Concrete Was Considered as One of the Most Effective Ways to Restrain the Crack Development and Improve the Stiffness for Reinforced Concrete (RC) Structures. to Explore the Reinforcement Mechanism of Steel Fibers on the Fatigue Behavior of High-Strength RC Beam, Eight High-Strength Steel Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HSSFRC) Beams Subjected to Fatigue Loading Were Tested in This Study. the Main Design Parameters Considered in This Work Were Stress Level and Steel Fiber Content. the Failure Mode, Crack Patterns, Fatigue Life, Crack Width, and Stiffness Degradation of HSSFRC Beams under Fatigue Loading Were Discussed. the Results Showed that …

Numerical Investigations Of Gfrc Beams Strengthened In Shear With Innovative Techniques, Marwa H. Bondok, Gamal I. Khaleel, Ahmed S. Debaiky, Mohamed H. Makhlouf

Mansoura Engineering Journal

This paper discusses the Finite Element analysis (FE) conducted to predict the behavior of Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) beams without shear reinforcement (stirrups) and strengthen them with proposed techniques to increase their shear strength. for this study, A total of eighteen (18) (120 * 300 * 2200 mm) specimens were modeled using Ansys™ mechanical. The main variables were the percentage of discrete glass fiber in the concrete (0.0, 0.6, and 1.2%), the type of main reinforcing bars (steel or GFRP), the shear strengthening material (GFRP or steel) links, the strengthening systems (side near-surface mounted (SNSM) bars, externally bonded (EB) …

System Dynamics And Topsis Models For Sustainable Building Materials Selection Considering Life Cycle Assessment, Shimaa Elshoubaky, Emad Elbeltagi, Mohammed Abd Elrahman, Islam Elmasoudi

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Construction industry is the most contributor to the environmental impacts. Achieving sustainability in construction is complicated, but one of the most optimal strategies is selecting sustainable building materials.

The major goal of this study is to present a new idea for choosing sustainable building materials (SBMs) by simulating sustainability parameters' behaviour. This research proposes a System Dynamics (SD) model along with the TOPSIS method based on the dynamic interactions among a number of sustainable criteria to help decision makers in sustainable building materials selection. The sustainable criteria that form system boundary are determined from previous studies and experts′ opinions. The …

Examining The Impact Of Different Street Lighting Schemes On Traffic Safety And Drivers’ Behaviors At Unsignalized Intersections, Hisham Mohamed Abdu Kunnah

LSU Master's Theses

Lack of visibility is one of the main challenges that significantly impact drivers’ ability to safely perform driving tasks at night especially at unsignalized intersections. Several prior studies indicated that lighting enhances nighttime traffic safety. Nevertheless, lighting is not mandatory at unsignalized intersections in many states including Louisiana. This study aimed to investigate if lack of lighting is a contributing factor that affects traffic safety at unsignalized intersections in Louisiana. In addition, this study strived to identify current lighting policies adopted by other states, examine if there are any low-cost countermeasures implemented by other states to improve nighttime visibility, and …

Numerical Flume For Wave Dissipation By Mangrove Prop Roots, Rebecca L. Schurr

LSU Master's Theses

Mangroves provide shorelines with many beneficial engineering services, including shoreline stabilization, wave attenuation, and damage mitigation during tsunami or tropical cyclone events. This research focuses on wave attenuation rates and drag coefficients, and how they are affected by mangrove prop roots. Previous lab research using a physical wave flume has quantified wave height decay and drag coefficients for synthetic mangrove forests and confirmed that attenuation does indeed increase as mangrove forest density increases. This research will use a 3D numerical flume model developed in Proteus, a Python package, to simulate prior physical model experiments. This work will attempt to validate …

A Review On The Application Of 3d Printing Technology In Pavement Maintenance, Fangyuan Gong, Xuejiao Cheng, Qinghua Wang, Yi Chen, Zhanping You, Yu Liu

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

To examine the application and significance of 3D printing technology in pavement maintenance engineering, a review of the current developments in principles, types, materials, and equipment for 3D printing was conducted. A comparison and analysis of traditional methods and 3D printing for asphalt pavement maintenance led to an investigation of 3D asphalt printing technologies and equipment. As a result, the following suggestions and conclusions are proposed: 3D printing technology can increase the level of automation and standardization of pavement maintenance engineering, leading to effective improvements in worker safety, climate adaptability, repair accuracy, etc. For on-site repair of cracks and minor …

Assessing The Ability Of Arduino-Based Sensor Systems To Monitor Changes In Water Quality, Josiah Hacker

Honors College Theses

Access to safe water is vital to public health. While developed countries like the United States are recognized as having reliable and safe water, many small water utilities struggle with supplying consistent water quality. Technicians of these utilities will periodically test water samples from the influent and throughout the distribution system. However, this laborious and costly process does not capture sudden changes in influent water quality due to environmental conditions or pipes breaking in the distribution system. Here I show how an Arduino-based sensor can be used as a real-time, low-cost monitor of water quality parameters. Specifically, I developed a …

The Influence Of The Addition Of Recycled Asphalt Shingles On The Compressive Strength Of Concrete, William E. Webb

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) as an additive on the compressive strength of concrete. This was accomplished by designing a concrete mix and creating 4” by 8” cylindrical test specimens containing 0, 5, 10, and 15 percent RAS by weight. The compressive strength was measured through axial loading until failure utilizing a compression testing apparatus. With these results, a relationship between the content of RAS and compressive strength was able to be developed, giving insight as to how RAS could be used in concrete mixes in the future. This study …

Filter-Based Air Sampler Capable Of Integration Into Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Robert M. Eninger, Stepanie A. Ohms, Jeremy M. Slagley

AFIT Patents

A filter-based air sampler, more specifically a filter-based air sampler capable of integration into small unmanned aerial systems is disclosed. The filter-based air sampler may include a filter assembly which has as its component parts: an open faced air intake component, a filter, and a filter support that has a central supporting grid. The filter assembly may joined to the housing of a fan, such as a centrifugal fan, with the supporting grid of the filter support being disposed over the air inlet of the fan.

Overview Of The Application Of Remote Sensing In Effective Monitoring Of Water Quality Parameters, Godson Ebenezer Adjovu, Haroon Stephen, David James, Sajjad Ahmad

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

This study provides an overview of the techniques, shortcomings, and strengths of remote sensing (RS) applications in the effective retrieval and monitoring of water quality parameters (WQPs) such as chlorophyll-a concentration, turbidity, total suspended solids, colored dissolved organic matter, total dissolved solids among others. To be effectively retrieved by RS, these WQPs are categorized as optically active or inactive based on their influence on the optical characteristics measured by RS sensors. RS applications offer the opportunity for decisionmakers to quantify and monitor WQPs on a spatiotemporal scale effectively. The use of RS for water quality monitoring has been explored in …

Persistence Of Dna From Biocontained Genetically Engineered Microbes, Wentao Dai

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The utilization of genetically engineered microbes in environmental systems requires effective biocontainment mechanisms to ensure their safe operation. CRISPR-based kill switches are a promising solution, inducing cell death through site-specific DNA cleavage under specific environmental conditions. In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of CRISPR-based kill switches on the abundance and persistence of bacterial DNA. Our results revealed that while CRISPR-based kill switches were capable of achieving high reductions in viable Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN); the DNA largely remained intact. This was observed in two strains of EcN: one enabled with multi-locus genome cleavage, and the other …

Applicability Of A Flood Forecasting System For Nebraska Watersheds, Sinan Rasiya Koya, Nicolas Velasquez Giron, Marcela Rojas, Ricardo Mantilla, Kirk Harvey, Daniel Ceynar, Felipe Quintero, Witold F. Krajewski, Tirthankar Roy

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Accurate and timely flood prediction can reduce the risk of flooding, bolster preparedness, and help build resilience. In this study, we have developed a flood forecasting system prototype and checked its potential for carrying out operational flood forecasting in the state of Nebraska. This system builds upon some of the core components of the Iowa Flood Information System (IFIS), which is a state-of-the-art platform widely recognized around the world. We implemented our platform on a pilot basin in Nebraska (Elkhorn River basin) by installing eight stream sensors and setting up the hydrologic model component of IFIS, i.e., the Hillslope Link …

Beirut Arab University - Faculty Of Engineering - Newsletter Issue 0, Faculty Of Engineering, Beirut Arab University

Engineering Newsletters

No abstract provided.

A Comprehensive Study On Non-Proprietary Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Containing Supplementary Cementitious Materials, Seyedsaleh Mousavinezhad, Gregory J. Gonzales, William K. Toledo, Judith M. Garcia, Craig M. Newston, Srinivas Allena

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a novel cement-based material with exceptional mechanical and durability properties. Silica fume, the primary supplementary cementitious material (SCM) in UHPC, is expensive in North America, so it is often substituted with inexpensive class F fly ash. However, future availability of fly ash is uncertain as the energy industry moves toward renewable energy, which creates an urgent need to find cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives to fly ash. This study investigated replacing cement, fly ash, and silica fume in UHPC mixtures with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS), metakaolin, and a natural pozzolan (pumicite). To identify acceptable …

Performance Assessment Of Bioasphalt Mixtures Containing Guayule Resin As An Innovative Biobased Asphalt Alternative, Ahmed Hemida, Magdy Abdelrahman

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Guayule resin was investigated through mixture to assess its role in the field performance. For performance comparisons, conventional asphalt, neat guayule, asphalt-rubber-guayule, and guayule-rubber binders were implied. Field-simulated lab mixtures were made to investigate the major distresses. Modified Lottman, rut, semicircular bending, and disk-shaped compact tension tests were used to assess stripping, rutting, fatigue, and thermal cracking resistances. Stripping and rutting susceptibilities were also assessed by Hamburg wheel-tracking test. The outcomes disclosed that when the modified Lottman test was used, guayule containing a 7% air content was more susceptible to stripping than that containing a 3.5% air content, resulting in …

Pedestrian Bridge For Discovery & Innovation, Matthew Hale, Dylan Stegman, Jake Porter

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

A new pedestrian bridge was designed adjacent to the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose spanning across the Guadalupe River in the Downtown San Jose area. This design includes structural, geotechnical, and construction components. The architectural aspects of the bridge include two intertwined mass timber arches, galvanized steel cables, and a deck consisting of wide flange I-beams and a proprietary structural glass deck system. These features allow the bridge to seamlessly integrate into the surrounding environment as well as expose structural components of a pedestrian bridge that would otherwise be covered by a traditional bridge deck. All disciplinary components of …

New Braunfels Stormwater Park, Glen Falconio, Judah Foster, Teagan Moore

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Comal County, located in a region in Texas inundated by a high frequency of floods, has faced over $272 million in flood damages to properties and crops. The largest urban area in the county, New Braunfels has made efforts to increase the quantity of flood mitigation practices in the city through weir construction, stormwater runoff control requirements, and new drainage proposals. Still, there are older parts of the city lacking stormwater management projects. A stormwater park serving the region along the Dry Comal Creek has been conceptualized to manage stormwater, increase water quality in the creek, and provide recreational value …

Finn Hall Community Spaces Redesign, Kaan Euchukanonchai, Kevin Liang, Niko Lopez

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Carbon emissions negatively impact the environment through climate change, air pollution, and rising sea levels, among many other factors. One large contributor to carbon emissions is industrialization, more specifically, the building sector. Based on Architecture 2030, a non-governmental organization whose primary mission is to build an environment free from carbon emissions, building operations and the construction industry contribute to 40% of carbon emissions (Architecture 2030). As more buildings are being constructed, the need for reducing carbon emissions increases. This senior design project looked at Finn Residence Hall, a dormitory on the premises of Santa Clara University. The current design of …

Highway 17 Wildlife Crossing, Taryn Chisholm, Seema Singh, Justin Uyeno

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Highway 17 is an essential corridor for people to commute between the Bay Area and the Santa Cruz regions, but this highway also creates a barrier between wildlife territories, fragmenting their habitats and stranding animal populations on either side. The lack of crossing infrastructure along Highway 17 forces wildlife to attempt to cross the highway into oncoming traffic, causing wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) which endangers the lives of motorists and animals alike. In order to address this problem, the team designed a precast, concrete culvert crossing underneath Highway 17 to provide a safer passageway to increase habitat connectivity as well as …