Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Construction Panel Discussion At Arroyo Grande High School, Grace I. Devaney

Construction Management

Grace Devaney conducted a panel presentation and discussion on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at Arroyo Grande High School for 2 architecture and engineering class periods with 5 guest speakers. The guest speakers were asked various questions about their respective careers and organizations, during which students could ask questions if something mentioned sparked curiosity. Each class was provided with flyers, made by Grace Devaney, which included the guest speaker’s names and professions, a QR code to the ACE mentorship program website, and an email followed with a survey to gauge student feedback. The purpose of this project was to expose high …

Leaning Pine Arboretum Gazebo- Phase 1: Preconstruction, Layout, Material Procurement, Hunter Froud, Aleena Panchal

Construction Management

This essay outlines the thorough preconstruction procedure that went into building a pavilion in the university's Leaning Pine Arboretum. Every step that our team took, from the preliminary surveying phase to the foundation laying prior to frame, is painstakingly planned and carried out. The main objective is to create a dynamic area that effortlessly combines education and recreation; it should be both a lively meeting place and a haven for students to study under cover. The team took a calculated risk to make sure our pre-construction phase was successful. This included carrying out thorough quantity takeoffs, keeping lines of communication …

Tmha Parking Lot Project, Steven Hickman, Jack Gugale

Construction Management

The Transitional Mental Health Association (TMHA) parking lot project in Edna, California, aimed to construct a 4,400 SF decomposed granite (DG) parking lot for the TMHA’s Youth Treatment Program (YTP). TMHA’s YTP involves giving children in a transitional housing state a safe and welcoming place to live while addressing the problem of unhoused children in San Luis Obispo County. This initiative involved extensive grading, forming, surveying, and installing the necessary infrastructure to ensure both functional and aesthetic improvements for the facility. The project was meticulously planned and executed during the Spring, 2024 quarter, with a budget of approximately $4,285. The …

Fabrication Of A Low-Cost Drum Seeder For Paddy, Muhammad Rashed Al Mamun, Md Rejaul Karim, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Md Janibul Alam Soeb, Md Imranul Alam

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Rice is a staple food crop. Bangladesh produces it extensively which raised the nation into the fourth-largest rice-grower in the world. Transplanting or direct seeding is a major task in rice cultivation where the manual transplanting method requires a huge labor cost which is beyond control in a peak season. Although mechanical rice transplanters become popularization land preparation and seedling rising as a pre transplanting task is costly and labor-intensive. On the other hand, manual broadcasting and machine seeding direct method still exist due to the above method’s problem. Considering spacing accuracies for intercultural operation, drum seeders are an easy …

Liquefaction Case Histories From Oceano, California During The 2003 San Simeon Earthquake, Hayden Brake

Master's Theses

On December 22nd, 2003, the Mw=6.5 San Simeon earthquake occurred 12 kilometers east of San Simeon, California, causing damage to buildings, roads, and other infrastructure throughout the central coast. The community of Oceano, 80 kilometers southeast of the epicenter, experienced damage to foundations, roads, and utilities due to liquefaction and lateral spreading. The unique geologic environment in Oceano caused a local amplification of ground motions, liquefaction, and lateral spreading. This study entailed developing ten liquefaction case histories from Oceano during the 2003 San Simeon earthquake. Four of the ten case histories are liquefaction cases and six are non-liquefaction cases, with …

Communication Challenges And Lessons Learned For An International Research And Development Project, Ryan Fehrenbach

Construction Management

This paper discusses the importance of communication for an International Research and Development project given the timeline it takes to accomplish. With a Cal Poly team of 5 students, 2 professors as advisors, an off-campus external advisor, and the Moringa Connect team in Ghana, many forms of communication were utilized and documented throughout the duration of the project. For a project of this magnitude, it was crucial to establish clear forms of communication from the first discussions of the project for both the internal Cal Poly team and the external team in Ghana. Implementing shared documents such as a deliverable …

Skip The Grid: Pv System Installations In The Navajo Nation, Samuel Varney

Construction Management

The Skip the Grid initiative is a collaborative effort between interdisciplinary California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo students, SOLV Energy, and the non-profit organization Heart of America aiming to strengthen the quality of life for Navajo Nation families. Many of the Navajo Nation’s residents are not connected to the power grid and don’t have access to sustainable alternatives, and this project aims to combat this by installing photovoltaic energy panel systems with lights and a battery storage system in their homes. With the help and guidance of the Consolidated School District near Farmington New Mexico, the project team was …

Design, Estimate, And Cut-Sheet Of Playhouse For Girls Build Summer Academy, Miles Paul Miller

Construction Management

This Project-Based-Project was inspired by the Girls Build Summer Academy which is run by Professor Stacy Kolegraff. The camp is a week-long and the group of girls will construct a playhouse from scratch. The camp is to immerse young girls into the construction industry. This senior project is composed of 3 different components which include the Design, Estimate, and Cut-sheet of the playhouse. The project did not have any type of needed funding. This project is aimed to create an in-depth but intuitive set of plans and directions to create the playhouse for the girls. This project’s goal is to …

Heavy Civil Estimating Utilizing Hcss Heavybid, Quintan Matthew Davis

Construction Management

The estimate process is an essential aspect of the construction industry. Understanding how bids are formed and being able to create one for yourself is critical in being able to really understand cost breakdown of a construction process. This paper will focus around the process in creating a presentation for Cal Poly students, breaking down HCSS HeavyBid and its functions. This project was created to address this idea of attempting to teach HeavyBid to Cal Poly future young engineers. This was particularly important because young students learn how to be a great young engineer in the construction field, however not …

Sustainable And Cost-Effective Work Zone Scheduling On Two-Lane Highways With Managed Lanes, Ahmed Z. Edrees

Dissertations

Roadway maintenance projects greatly influence the roadway capacity, resulting in potential traffic disturbances captured by delays. Additionally, costs associated with these projects tend to be exorbitantly extensive. Most agencies and planners try to find a solution that minimizes roadway maintenance costs, traffic delays, crash risks, and environmental impact.

Work zones on two-way two-lane roadway typically avoids high-demand periods. Lane-closure scenario is commonly used and converts the open lane into a phantom intersection, alternating two-direction movements on one lane with the help of a flagger or a temporary signal. Alternatively, using shoulders as temporarily managed lanes allows for simultaneous two-way movements …

A Molecular Dynamics Study On The Destruction Mechanism Of Per And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Due To Ultrasound Technology, Bruno Bezerra De Souza

Dissertations

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of stable synthetic chemicals that are highly persistent and harmful pollutants to the environment and human health. PFAS have caused a strong public and regulatory response due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment and toxicity to humans. The application of ultrasound is one of the most effective treatment technologies for the mineralization of PFAS in contaminated water. However, this technology is treated as a black box causing the inability to be optimized. Therefore, there is a pressing need to investigate the intricate dynamics of PFAS degradation under ultrasound to unlock its …

Microplastic Abundance And Removal In Stormwater Using Green Infrastructure, Meghana Parameswarappa Jayalakshmamma

Dissertations

Microplastics (MPs) are increasingly recognized as a pervasive environmental contaminant, conveying other contaminants, accumulating in aquatic organisms, and posing ecological risks. The existing research has primarily focused on MPs in wastewater treatment plant effluents in surface waters. However, the role of stormwater systems in MP transport has been less explored. Given the rise in MPs from urban sources, stormwater runoff from urban areas may serve as a critical conduit for transporting land-based MPs into aquatic environments. Green infrastructures (GIs) have been recognized for mitigating flooding and improving water quality from minor storms by trapping stormwater pollutants. Yet, the capability of …

Development Of Super Hydrophobic Membranes And Their Applications, Sumona Paul

Dissertations

Effective liquid phase separation is vital across industries, especially in aviation, chemicals, fuels, and textiles. Membrane technology offers advantages over traditional methods like distillation, with low energy consumption and protection for heat-sensitive molecules. Membrane performance is assessed based on factors such as materials, surface modification, and interactions. This research targets superhydrophobic membranes for liquid-liquid filtration and antiwetting omniphobic membranes for membrane distillation, focusing on properties like contact angle and thermal resistance.

This study presents a highly hydrophobic membrane achieved by immobilizing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) onto a PTFE microfiltration membrane. It's designed for dewatering organic-water mixtures with trace water content via …

Machine Learning Based Analysis Of Civil Infrastructure In The Presence Of Sparse Data, Megan Butcher

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The high computational cost of estimating engineering demand parameters (EDPs) via finite element (FE) models, which incorporate uncertainties in earthquake events and material properties, limits the application of the Performance-Based Earthquake Engineering (PBEE) framework. Previous efforts to replace FE models with surrogate models have typically focused only on building parameters, necessitating re-training for new, unseen earthquakes. This paper introduces a machine learning-based surrogate model framework that addresses both earthquake and material parameter uncertainties to predict responses for unseen seismic events. Earthquakes are characterized by their projections on an orthonormal basis, computed using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) of a representative ground …

Effect Of Antioxidant Additives And Recycling Agents On Performance Of Asphalt Binders And Mixtures, Phase I, Nitish R. Bastola, Mahdieh Khedmati, Hamzeh Haghshenas, Jamilla Teixeira

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in asphalt mixtures has notably increased in recent times. Nevertheless, the inherent stiff and aged characteristics of RAP materials have consistently raised concerns regarding cracking performance. The use of recycling agents (RAs) has gained popularity in recent years since they can effectively modify the engineering properties of the aged asphalt binder. Besides that, the combination of RA with antioxidant (AO) additives has shown promise in enhancing the long-term performance of RAP mixtures. This research aims to investigate the effect of various RAs and one AO additive on performance of asphalt binders and high-RAP …

Development Of The Nebraska Department Of Transportation Winter Severity Index – Phase Ii, Mark Anderson, Curtis L. Walker, Thomas Kauzlarich

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

For the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), the Nebraska Winter Severity Index (NEWINS) provided an independent framework to calculate a winter season’s severity by categorizing individual winter storms. However, one of the greatest limitations of NEWINS is that it is not predictive. Thus, this study builds on the previously developed NEWINS by creating a predictive winter storm severity index known as NEWINS-Predictive (NEWINS-P). The quantitative precipitation forecast, snow accumulation, ice accumulation, and surface wind speed parameters from the National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) are used to develop the five components composing the NEWINS-P framework. These components consist of snow severity …

Final Report - A Field Deployable Wall-Climbing Robot For Bridge Inspection Using Vision And Impact Sounding Techniques, Jizhong Xiao, Ejup Hoxha, David Kirakosian

Project AS-6

This project developed two wall-climbing robots and two omni-directional ground robots for automated data collection on both horizontal and vertical surfaces of concrete structures. These robots are equipped with non-destructive evaluation (NDE) sensors, including ground penetrating radar (GPR), impact sounding (IS) and impact echo (IE) devices. Utilizing a vision-based positioning system powered by simultaneous localization and mapping (V-SLAM), the robots tag NDE data with real-time pose information, significantly accelerating the data collection process and enhancing the accuracy of defect mapping. While effective at detecting shallow defects, impact sounding is highly sensitive to ambient noise and unsuitable for identifying deeper flaws. …

Investigation Of Piezocone Dissipation Test Interpretation In Clay Accounting For Vertical And Horizontal Porewater Pressure Dissipation With A Large Deformation Axisymmetric Penetration Model, Diane Moug, Andrew Huffman, Jason T. Dejong

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The piezocone (CPTu) dissipation test is used to characterize how the applied load from the penetrating cone is distributed between the soil and pore fluid during both penetrometer advancement and when penetration is paused. The coefficient of consolidation is often estimated from CPTu dissipation tests by interpreting the rate of excess porewater pressure (∆u) decay to static conditions during a pause in cone penetration. Most CPTu dissipation test interpretation methods are based on Terzaghi consolidation theory for ∆u dissipation at the cone shoulder (u₂ position) or cone face (u₁ position) and assume that radial ∆u dissipation dominates the …

Pltl Develops Scholars For Majors In The Built-Environment​, Shpat Halili, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

The National Science Foundation S-STEM program at NYC College of Technology (City Tech), Developing an Ecosystem of STEM success for Built Environment Scholars (Award Number 2150432), focuses on supporting and developing scholars in the majors relating to the Built Environment. The proposed project includes the expansion of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) at City Tech. The PLTL model creates a supportive learning environment and supplements the faculty-centered classroom with student-led and student-oriented workshops. At City Tech, existing workshops provide curricular support in statics and mathematics. The PLTL program benefits promising first-year STEM students, and the S-STEM program utilizes the PLTL model …

Combustion-Induced Endothermic Process In Carbon Dots Synthesized On Magnetite Nanoparticle Substrate, Khalid Zouhri, Luke J. Snyder, Michael Mcfarland, Parker O. Laubie, K. A. Shiral Fernando, Christopher E. Bunker

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Carbon dots are synthesized alone and in the presence of commercial magnetite nanoparticles using a simple hydrothermal reaction. The spectroscopic and structural characteristics of CDot and CDot–magnetite materials are presented and their behaviors under combustion conditions are studied. A careful examination of their combustion behaviors reveals interesting results for the CDot–magnetite material: it undergoes early catalytic combustion at ~200°C and a strong endothermic process that quenches combustion. By investigating the physical mixtures of pre-formed CDots and magnetite and the starting material ascorbic acid and magnetite, it is determined that the strong endothermic behavior requires intimate interactions between the carbon source …

Modeling And Forecasting Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms (Cyanohabs) In Lake Pontchartrain, Shekhar Mahat

LSU Master's Theses

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) frequently occur in coastal waters worldwide, adversely affecting economies, human health, aquatic ecosystems, and recreational activities. Lake Pontchartrain, an oligohaline estuary, experienced frequent HABs from 2018 to 2023. While NOAA’s NCCOS and USEPA’s CyAN currently monitor cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) in coastal, freshwater, and riverine systems, there is a notable lack of systems monitoring phycocyanin concentrations in the lake. This thesis utilizes satellite remote sensing environmental stressors to model and predict CyanoHABs in Lake Pontchartrain using machine learning techniques. A key focus of this study is assessing the forecasting capabilities of the random forest method …

Revealing Long Vehicle Dynamics: A Comprehensive Journey From Visualization Tools For Heavy Vehicles To Conversion Factors And Public Transit Performance Analysis, Eren Yuksel

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing fascination with Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) technology, particularly in the realm of data collection and traffic management. Thanks to the possibilities unlocked by ITS and CAV technology, traffic data collection now serves a diverse array of safety and mobility applications, delivering real-time or near-real-time information for both road users and transportation professionals.

The integration of ITS and CAV technology is crucial for the creation of safer, more reliable, and sustainable transportation environments. As traffic-related data collection, analysis, and visualization form essential components of this …

Synthesis Of Geopolymer Using Coal Fly Ash And Corn Stover, Anu Paneru

Master's Theses

The development of each nation is dependent on its infrastructure, and nations are competing with others in infrastructure, especially in the construction of roadways, since they play a vital role in the economic and social development of the nation. The conventional materials used for road construction are cement and asphalt, which pose significant environmental challenges. This thesis explores the potential of fly ash (FA) and corn stover (CS) in synthesizing geopolymer, as an alternative material for the construction of roads. The study examines the impact of FA and CS percentages and the particle sizes of CS on the compressive strength, …

Performance Of Co2-Cured Alkali-Activated Blast-Furnace Slag Incorporating Magnesium Oxide, Yubin Jun, Seong Ho Han, Jae Hong Kim

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study investigated characteristics of alkali-activated slags incorporating magnesium oxide (MgO) subjected to CO₂ curing. The samples were prepared by adding 2%, 5%, and 10% MgO to the total binder mass. The mixture was activated with potassium hydroxide (KOH) and cured in a CO₂ incubator for 3 days. The compressive strength of the MgO-incorporated CO₂-cured alkali-activated slag was higher than that of the conventional alkali-activated slag at all ages up to 28 days. No reduction in the strength was observed over time. The enhanced strength was independent of MgO content. Combined X-ray diffraction with thermogravimetric analysis …

Pet And Polyolefin Plastics Supply Chains In Michigan: Present And Future Systems Analysis Of Environmental And Socio-Economic Impacts, Utkarsh S. Chaudhari, Kamand Sedaghatnia, Barbara K. Reck, Kate Maguire, Anne T. Johnson, David Watkins, Robert M. Handler, Tasmin Hossain, Damon S. Hartley, Vicki S. Thompson, Alejandra Peralta, Jenny L. Apriesnig, David Shonnard

Michigan Tech Publications

Many actions are underway at global, national, and local levels to increase plastics circularity. However, studies evaluating the environmental and socio-economic impacts of such a transition are lacking at regional levels in the United States. In this work, the existing polyethylene terephthalate and polyolefin plastics supply chains in Michigan were compared to a potential future (‘NextCycle’) scenario that looks at increasing Michigan’s overall recycling rate to 45%. Material flow analysis data was combined with environmental and socio-economic metrics to evaluate the sustainability of these supply chains for the modeled scenarios. Overall, the NextCycle scenario for these supply chains achieved a …

Estimation Of Useful-Stage Energy Returns On Investment For Fossil Fuels And Implications For Renewable Energy Systems, Emmanuel Aramendia, Paul E. Brockway, Peter G. Taylor, Jonathan B. Norman, Matthew K. Heun, Zeke Marshal;

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

The net energy implications of the energy transition have so far been analysed at best at the final energy stage. Here we argue that expanding the analysis to the useful stage is crucial. We estimate fossil fuelsʼ useful-stage energy returns on investment (EROIs) over the period 1971–2020, globally and nationally, and disaggregate EROIs by end use. We find that fossil fuelsʼ useful-stage EROIs (~3.5:1) are considerably lower than at the final stage (~8.5:1), due to low final-to-useful efficiencies. Further, we estimate the final-stage EROI for which electricity-yielding renewable energy would deliver the same net useful energy as fossil fuels (EROI …

Structural Fiber Mesh Reinforcement Of A Polymeric Heart Valve: Improving Valve Durability And Leaflet Closure Effectiveness, Peter J. Choi, Hugo Zazueta, John A. Acevedo, Philip Park

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Objective: Bioprosthetic valves using either porcine or bovine pericardium have been widely used for transcatheter heart valve replacements. However, producing bioprosthetic valves is not a sustainable solution. Acquiring animal tissue is often not readily available and costly and requires time-consuming modifications. Moreover, its primary tissue failure requires reoperation after roughly 15 years. The suggested replacement of porcine and bovine leaflets with biocompatible polymers appears to be an attractive alternative to bioprosthetic valves. In this study, engineered fiber-reinforced polymers were developed, which are less degenerative and offer greater hemocompatibility in relation to mechanical valves.
Methods: Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer reduces calcification significantly …

Investigating Small Drinking Water System Technical Capacity To Treat For Pfas, Chloe J. Yoder, Kaycie Lane

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) presents technical challenges in small systems where advanced drinking water treatment implementation is difficult. Publicly available data were used to examine technical treatment capacity for PFAS in the US, using Nebraska as a pilot. Of 1312 PWSs in Nebraska, 441 have technologies capable of removing PFAS from drinking water. Reverse osmosis was the most common treatment technology in Nebraska with 277 total systems using this technology with, 194 PWSs with RO serving populations of <= 100 people. Fifty-two PWSs had granular activated carbon, 47 had ion exchange and 62 had ultraviolet, with UV being primarily used for disinfection. We found PWSs had different technology deployment methods, several systems had “significant deficiencies” reported in management and operation evaluations, and age and previous water quality violations were not correlated to treatment evaluations. The developed methodology models utilizing publicly available data for contaminants across the US.

Approach Guardrail Transition Retrofit To Existing Buttresses & Bridge Rails, Scott Rosenbaugh, Robert W. Bielenberg, Chen Fang, Ronald K. Faller, Cody S. Stolle

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) frequently applies roadway overlays to the surface of bridges to extend the bridge’s lifespan. To minimize repair costs, NDOT does not desire to replace or alter any bridge rails with adequate structural capacity and height. Bridge rails installed to NCHRP Report 350 or MASH standards are likely to remain in place, though their effective heights would be reduced by the overlay. This creates a problem of attaching new, 31-in. tall approach guardrail transitions (AGTs) to existing concrete bridge rails and buttressess (after an overlay) that were not designed for such connections and the resulting …

Advancing Simultaneous Extraction And Sequential Single-Particle Icp-Ms Analysis For Metallic Nanoparticle Mixtures In Plant Tissues, Lei Xu, Xingmao Ma, John Yang, Joel G. Burken, Paul Ki-Souk Nam, Honglan Shi, Hu Yang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Engineered Nanoparticles (ENPs) Have Been Increasingly Used in Agricultural Operations, leading to an Urgent Need for Robust Methods to Analyze Co-Occurring ENPs in Plant Tissues. in Response, This Study Advanced the Simultaneous Extraction of Coexisting Silver, Cerium Oxide, and Copper Oxide ENPs in Lettuce Shoots and Roots using Macerozyme R-10 and Analyzed Them by Single-Particle Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Additionally, the Standard Stock Suspensions of the ENPs Were Stabilized with Citrate, and the Long-Term Stability (Up to 5 Months) Was Examined for the First Time. the Method Performance Results Displayed Satisfactory Accuracies and Precisions and Achieved Low Particle Concentration …