Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Effect Of Fiber Reinforced Polymer Tubes Filled With Recycled Materials And Concrete On Structural Capacity Of Pile Foundations, Visar Farhangi, Moses Karakouzian

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

This paper deals with analyzing the structural responses of glass-fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) tubes filled with recycled and concrete material for developing composite piles, as an alternative to traditional steel reinforced piles in bridge foundations. The full-scale GFRP composite piles included three structural layers, using a fiber-oriented material that was inclined longitudinally. Almost 60% of the fibers were orientated at 35° from the longitudinal direction of the pile and the rest 40 percent were oriented at 86° from the horizontal axis. The segment between the inner and outer layers was inclined 3° from the hoop direction in the tube. The behavior …

Residual Strength Of Franciscan-Derived Clay, Yingyi Xu

Master's Theses

In February of 2017 after a period of heavy rainfall, a slope destabilized behind Fremont Hall on the campus of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The geology of this slope stability failure is the Franciscan Complex. The Franciscan Complex, when weathered in place, results in clay soil that makes up the typical soil mantle on the hills throughout the region. Peak strength is the typical parameter tested to assess the strength of the soil. For the Franciscan-derived clay, the residual strength is the focus of this study to understand slope failure since the clay is the weakest portion of the …

Analyzing Cost Effectiveness Of Photovoltaic Pavements, Ian N. Parks

Theses and Dissertations

The United States Air Force (USAF) is the largest consumer of energy within the Department of Defense (DoD). As such, the USAF is continually looking for ways to reduce consumption, as well improving network resiliency and assuring supply. One potential method for addressing these items is focusing on applications of renewable energy. A specific application of renewable energy that could greatly benefit the USAF if viable would be photovoltaic (PV) pavements. PV pavements would be able to capitalize upon the large swathes of pavements on Air Force (AF) installations, while not being hampered by other concerns such as clear zones …

Analysis Of Construction Management At Risk Projects For Unites States Air Force Applicability, Danielle K. Tabb

Theses and Dissertations

Construction management at risk is a project delivery method that sees widespread use in the private and public non-federal construction sectors. There is interest in the federal government of using a project delivery method such as construction management at risk. However, guiding regulations prohibit the federal government from using it as it is utilized in the private sector. This research analyzes private sector use of construction management at risk through a literature review and Delphi Panel, in order to determine its effects on project performance. The Delphi Panel consisted of two rounds of questions; the experts were selected through a …

Examining Healthy Community Design Characteristics And Its Influence On Physical Health, Alvin T. Yip

Theses and Dissertations

Current trends in obesity rates associated with the community layout constitutes research towards understanding the interaction between the two in order to improve the public's physical health. Successes in healthy community planning studies for the public can be harnessed and implemented within the microcosm of military bases to yield similar results. Four factors were recognized through an in-depth academic literature review that showed positive influence on physical health and physical activity. They are access to green space, highly connected pedestrian and bicycle networks, access to public transportation, and integrated mixed land use. The four healthy planning strategies formed the necessary …

Mixed Culture Polyhydroxyalkanaotes (Pha) Production Using Crude Glycerol As Carbon Source, Mohamad Fauzi Ainil Hawa

Student Works (2020-2029)

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) is a biopolymer that has the prospect of becoming a preferred renewable and environmentally friendly resource with various applications including in manufacturing and medicine. Intensive studies have been carried out to find the most practical and economical method for PHA production because current commercial production of PHA is stringent and extremely costly. The aim of this study is to enrich PHA-accumulators with high PHA production capabilities by evaluating the stability of the enrichment process and by observing the effect of organic loading rate (OLR) on the production potential. In this study, PHA-accumulators were cultivated using activated sludge with …

Identifying And Positively Addressing Real And Perceived Barriers To Inclusion In Construction, Lisa Breitenfield

The Professional Constructor

The construction industry is facing difficulties in recruiting and training new skilled workers. My essay will identify some methods companies and the AGC can use to attract new employees. Some potential solutions involve encouraging schools to expose students to the construction industry, recognizing and assisting working parents with childcare issues, companies offering employees personalized career advancement schedules, and recruiting students focused on the arts and history for detail oriented roles in the industry. The Associated General Contractors can help by advising individual companies on attracting employees and facilitate greater mentorship programs between companies and educational institutions.

Current State Of The Employee Assessment Process In The Construction Industry For Southeast United States, Dhaval Gajjar, Shima Clarke, Cayla Anderson

The Professional Constructor

The employee assessment process (EAP) is a formal evaluation system used by an employer to evaluate employee’s performance and behavior within a company. The objective of this paper is to determine the current state of the most common used practices for EAP in the construction industry; specifically in Southeast United States. Existing literature was reviewed to understand the historical context and the current documentation of existing EAP processes in other industries and within the construction industry. Literature revealed that there is no formal standardized process documented for EAP practice within the United States construction industry. Based on the literature findings …

State Department Of Transportation Suas Program Development And Operational Deployment, Dennis Bausman, Joseph Burgett, Ajay Jadhav, Scott Shaffer, Eric Stuckey

The Professional Constructor

Over the past several years small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) have gained popularity in the private sector. Recent studies have shown an increasing interest from state DOTs in the U.S. for the use of drone technology. However, most of the studies did not fully investigate the depth of program integration or application. This study combines the findings of recent studies to identify state DOTs with the most extensive sUAS operational experience. The drone champions for the six states identified, were interviewed to gain substantive insight regarding program initiation and organization, the spectrum of agency use, perceived benefits, and the DOT’s …

Increasing Diversity And Inclusion Through Mentoring Underrepresented Groups, Corban Williams

The Professional Constructor

The Construction Industry historically has struggled to gain traction with underrepresented groups, such as women, African-Americans, and the Hispanic/ Latinx community. To combat this, industry-wide action is necessary to increase diversity and inclusion. Underrepresented communities have misconceptions about the construction industry including a lack of knowledge about the wide range of possible careers. By the AGC establishing a mentoring program with career goals and psychological attributes for grades 6-12 and college students, a positive dialog about the industry would be established. Visibility and promotion of the program would encourage students of underrepresented communities to consider a career in the construction …

Perspectives On Diversity And Inclusion In Construction, Anna A. Pasha

The Professional Constructor

The construction industry is rapidly growing and contractors are optimistic about the immediate and long-term growth of the industry. As demand increases, the construction industry faces a projected labor shortage crisis. As the construction industry grows, it must rise to meet the challenge of solving this labor shortage by diversifying and widening its labor pool and strategically attracting new talent. This essay offers a detailed solution that includes a redefinition of approaches to diversity, ideas for short-term policies and creative long-term policies, and a lasting vision for the industry that will guide us to continue growing progressively and avoiding crises …

Examining The Pre-Construction Professional: Career Evolution, Responsibilities And Skilles, Aaron D. Sauer, Hariharan Naganathan, Kevin M. Hubbard

The Professional Constructor

The construction industry is constantly evolving to meet the needs of clients in light of significant technological and regulatory change. The Pre-Construction Professional is one example of a new career path that has emerged in response to changing market conditions. This study investigated the Pre-Construction Professional in an effort to define when the career path emerged and why it was needed. The researchers also sought to describe the role of the Pre-Construction Professional and document their requisite knowledge and skills. The research design was based on extensive interviews with working Pre-Construction Professionals and supported by available literature. The findings of …

Assessing The Equity Gap In Construction Education, Jared M. Burgoon, John Killingsworth, Jonathan W. Elliott, Molly M. Weisshaar

The Professional Constructor

There is a documented demand for an educated construction management workforce. To help meet this demand, construction education programs at numerous post-secondary institutions have established objectives and goals to recruit, train, and graduate high-quality students; and, many of these programs are charged with providing educational opportunities to students who have been traditionally underserved in higher education (e.g., female, minority, first generation students, etc.). This study compared the enrollment and retention rates, interdepartmental migration patterns, and student satisfaction and graduation success outcomes of undergraduate students enrolled in a CM program at a public university as a means of identifying trends and …

Methods To Increase Algae Biomass Productivity In Raceway Pond Monocultures, Ryan S. Anderson

Master's Theses

The economics of algae biofuels and bioproducts would be improved by increased biomass productivity. Two studies on this potential are described in this thesis – one on a locally isolated filamentous yellow-green alga and the other on a planktonic strain genetically improved via selective enrichment.

Polycultures have been viewed as productive, stable, and, in some cases, harvestable by natural bioflocculation. Local native strains might have higher productivity than culture collection strains because they are already adapted to local outdoor conditions. In this study, the filamentous yellow-green alga Tribonema minus was isolated from a local volunteer polyculture. Its productivity as a …

Crime And Harassment On Public Transportation: A Survey Of Sjsu Students Set In International Context, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, Cristina Tortora, Yajing Hu

Mineta Transportation Institute

Communities around the world are gradually becoming aware that transit riders, and especially women, are often victims of a wide range of offenses of a sexual nature that happen on buses and trains, and at bus stops and train stations. Better understanding the extent and nature of sexual harassment on transit is a critical issue for transit operators and society at large. If fear of sexual crime limits if and how people ride transit, the result is reduced mobility for certain segments of the population, as well as lost ridership for transit agencies.

For this study, we surveyed 891 students …

Developing A Computer Vision-Based Decision Support System For Intersection Safety Monitoring And Assessment Of Vulnerable Road Users, Arash Jahangiri, Anagha Katthe, Aryan Sohrabi, Xiaobai Liu, Shashank Pulagam, Vahid Balali, Sahar Ghanipoor Machiani

Mineta Transportation Institute

Vision-based trajectory analysis of road users enables identification of near-crash situations and proactive safety monitoring. The two most widely used sur-rogate safety measures (SSMs), time-to-collision (TTC) and post-encroachment time (PET)—and a recent variant form of TTC, relative time-to-collision (RTTC)—were investigated using real-world video data collected at ten signalized intersections in the city of San Diego, California. The performance of these SSMs was compared for the purpose of evaluating pedestrian and bicyclist safety. Prediction of potential trajectory intersection points was performed to calculate TTC for every interacting object, and the average of TTC for every two objects in critical situations was …

Development Of A Quality Control Method And Guidelines For Hot Mix Asphalt Using Recycled Concrete Aggregate, Xiaojun Li, Dingxin Cheng, Kun Zhang, Kanwar M. S. Jakhar, Uday V. Pericherla

Mineta Transportation Institute

Each year, about 122 million tons of aggregates, a major structural component of pavement, are used in asphaltic mixtures in pavement construction. At the same time, aging U.S. infrastructure produces around 200 million tons of demolition waste each year, half of which is concrete debris. Therefore, introducing recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as hot mix asphalt (HMA) aggregate could not only relieve the disposal pressure but also result in considerable reductions in cost, energy usage, and greenhouse gas emissions in the paving industry. A limited number of studies regarding the use of RCA to substitute virgin aggregate in HMA (RCA-HMA) exist. …

Architecture And Trilogy Of (Law, Theory And Hypothesis), Ahmed Hashim Hameed

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The general cognitive expositions had focused on the study of the general knowledge frameworks of the field of architecture, with both concepts that influencing and influenced by them, which used to contain them without referring to their intellectual origins in order to understand their general effect and their role in the cognitive enrichment to the architectural field. This, in return, showed the importance of direction to study the role, influence and effect of trilogy (Law, theory and hypothesis) in the field of architecture, according to their general reality knowledge and their specific theoretical and intellectual characteristics. This research deals with …

The Impact Of Spatial Location Of Functions To Identify Architectural Forms As A Landmark (Case Study - Contemporary Islamic Architecture -), Ibtisam Abdulelah Mohammed Al Khafaji, Maha Haki Ismaeil

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

This research discusses the impact of spatial location of functions inside architectural form to enhance visual legibility and how it can improve the possibilities of identifying them as a landmark. The absence of a clear conceptual frame which can be used to describe this impact forms the basic research problem. The objective aim of the research is to clarify and describe this impact. To achieve this objective aim, an analytical process was used. We supposed that spatial location of functions enhances visual legibility of forms, then improves our possibility of identifying them as a landmark. For applying the conceptual frame, …

Effect Of Loading Level Of Hybrid Reinforced Concrete Deep Beams Under Repeated Loading, Sawsan Akram Hassan, Ghsoon Ali Faroun

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

This research is devoted to investigating the experimental and theoretical behavior of hybrid deep beams under monotonic and repeated two-point loading. The dimensions and the flexural reinforcement of the deep beams were kept constant. In this work, the idea of a hybrid beam is completely different. Two types of concrete were used but not in the cross-section. The first type, which is fiberous concrete (FC), was used in casting beam sides (shear spans), while the second type was conventional concrete (CC) which was used in the middle portion of the beam (between two shear spans). This was done to strengthen …

Reverse Osmosis Method For Sulphate Re-Moval From Treated Wastewater Of Al-Doura Refinery, Rana Mohammed Rasheed

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The treated wastewater by the industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) commonly named (INGECO) in Al-Doura refinery suffers from highly sulfate concentrations that exceed the EPA specified limits of 250 mg/L. Therefore, laboratory water quality historical data have been reviewed and analyzed to determine the annual rate, maximum, and peak sulfate concentrations that were found to be 360 mg/L, 425 mg/L, and 550 mg/L, respectively. Through field inspection aimed at specifying the reasons for the high sulfate concentrations in the wastewater of most refinery process units, it was found that the maximum required sulfate remaining concentration should not exceed 10 mg/L …

Comparison Between Regular And Irregular Configuration In Earthquake Resistant Design, Ali Nur-Aldeen Azeez, Ali Mohsen Jaafer Al-Khafaji

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

Earthquake-resistant design is one of the greatest challenges that must be considered by the Architect because it is a serious natural disaster that affects the stability and durability of the building. Due to the connection between the seismic behavior of buildings with its formal configuration and the differences in seismic resistance between regular and irregular buildings, the research problem presented as the confusion of seismic behavior of irregular buildings and their difference from the regular buildings when earthquakes occur. The aim of the research is to clarify the differences between regular and irregular configurations, also clarifying the design considerations in …

Pedestrian Movement Within Residential Areas, Abd Alali Hamza Mohamed

Al-Esraa University College Journal for Engineering Sciences

The network of transport within residential areas, especially within residential neighborhoods, consists mainly of roads designed to provide relative safety for road users and to prioritize solutions that enhance safety. It is believed that the pedestrian movement network should be separated from the car movement network, with a focus on road design, pedestrian paths, and the types of vehicles used in these areas to ensure safety. This research explores the solutions developed in the planning of roads and walkways in traditional housing schemes within the urban fabric of old cities. It examines the approaches and conclusions of modern models of …

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 …