Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

The Heat Is On: The Capacities Required For The Establishment And Sustainability Of Community-Owned Renewable Energy District Heating Systems In Ireland, Gerard Doyle

Reports

International reviews of countries’ progress at tackling climate change show that Ireland is making small levels of progress on tackling issues associated with climate change. This paper will examine a theoretical framework, referred to as capacity analysis, to explain the capacities that need to be in place for the successful implementation of community-owned renewable energy district heating initiatives. The theoretical framework employed here is based on the ‘conceptual framework’ developed by Pringle which consists of four categories of capacity. The research methodology involves a case study with cases from Austria, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Wales and Scotland. The …

A Review Of 3d Gis For Use In Creating Virtual Historic Dublin, Alain Chenaux, Maurice Murphy, S. Pavia, S. Fai, T. Molnar, John Cahill, Shane Lenihan, A. Corns

Conference papers

This paper illustrates how BIM integration with GIS is approached as part of the workflow in creating Virtual Historic Dublin. A design for a WEB based interactive 3D model of historic buildings and centres in Dublin City (Virtual Historic Dublin City) paralleling smart city initiates is now under construction and led by the National Monuments at the Office of Public Works in Ireland. The aim is to facilitate the conservation and maintenance of historic infrastructure and fabric and the dissemination of knowledge for education and cultural tourism using an extensive Historic Building Information Model. Remote sensing data is now processed …

Chemically-Bonded Enamel-Coated Steel Pipelines For Corrosion Protection And Flow Efficiency, Liang Fan

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study is to explore and develop chemically-bonded enamel coating (200-300 um) on steel pipes, when subjected to soil and thermal environments, in order to improve the corrosion protection and safety of hazardous liquid and natural gas pipelines while reducing pressure loss. Out of five types of enamels and their various mixtures, Tomatec slurry and GP2118 powder were selected for steel pipeline applications. They were applied at approximately 810 °C to the inside surface of steel pipes in wet and electrostatic processes, respectively. The thickness and surface roughness of the enamel coating were measured using a gauge and an optical …

Detection And Elimination Of Rock Face Vegetation From Terrestrial Lidar Data Using The Virtual Articulating Conical Probe Algorithm, Kenneth John Boyko

Doctoral Dissertations

"A common use of terrestrial lidar is to conduct studies involving change detection of natural or engineered surfaces. Change detection involves many technical steps beyond the initial data acquisition: data structuring, registration, and elimination of data artifacts such as parallax errors, near-field obstructions, and vegetation. Of these, vegetation detection and elimination with terrestrial lidar scanning (TLS) presents a completely different set of issues when compared to vegetation elimination from aerial lidar scanning (ALS). With ALS, the ground footprint of the lidar laser beam is very large, and the data acquisition hardware supports multi-return waveforms. Also, the underlying surface topography is …

Development Of Lidar Assisted Terrestrial Radar Interferometry For Rock Deformation Monitoring, Ricardo Javier Romero Ramirez

Doctoral Dissertations

"Rock and soil slope movements cost millions of dollars annually. During the past few decades, engineers have relied on traditional methods to detect slope movements. These tools are valuable for small spatial areas but, may not be adequate or cost effective for large spatial areas. Remote sensing methods such as terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and terrestrial radar interferometry (TRI) provide excellent spatial coverage, and with adequate post-data-processing software, sub-millimetric scale deformation sensitivity can be achieved.

This work will present a comparative experimental study between TLS and TRI. The comparative experimental study will allow us to achieve the two main objectives …

Minimizing Trihalomethane Formation Through Source Water Monitoring And Optimizing Treatment Practices, Nashid Mirza

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Trihalomethanes, a family of halogenated disinfection byproducts, are prevalent in finished drinking water. According to USEPA’s Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rules (DBPRs), the regulatory standard of the total trihalomethanes (TTHMs) is 80 μg/L, and water treatment plant operators are required to closely monitor TTHMs in the finished water on a quarterly basis. Although total organic carbon (TOC) has been identified as a precursor for the TTHMs, knowledge gaps still exist in how specific water and treatment related factors (e.g., intake water quality, seasonal variation, contact time, and treatment train) affect TTHMs formation. Focusing on water treatment plants in southwestern Pennsylvania, …

A Bayesian Nonparametric Multiple Testing Procedure For Comparing Several Treatments Against A Control, Luis Gutiérrez, Andrés Barrientos, Jorge González, Daniel Taylor-Rodríguez

Mathematics and Statistics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We propose a Bayesian nonparametric strategy to test for differences between a control group and several treatment regimes. Most of the existing tests for this type of comparison are based on the differences between location parameters. In contrast, our approach identifies differences across the entire distribution, avoids strong modeling assumptions over the distributions for each treatment, and accounts for multiple testing through the prior distribution on the space of hypotheses. The proposal is compared to other commonly used hypothesis testing procedures under simulated scenarios. Two real applications are also analyzed with the proposed methodology.

Characterizing Accumulated Oxidation Pond Biosolids At The Arcata Wastewater Treatment Facility, Joshua M. Martinez

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Oxidation ponds (OPs) are a natural wastewater treatment system that have been used internationally for their low maintenance, cost, and technology characteristics. The City of Arcata has relied on the performance of their two-oxidation ponds for the past 50 years to meet National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) discharge permit requirements. However, during specific times of the year and after decades of operation and minimal maintenance, these oxidation ponds serve as a source of solids and nitrogen that create stress for downstream components of the system. As bio solids have accumulated, the hydraulics of the OPs have deteriorated and the …

Bending Response Of Timber Mortise And Tenon Joints Reinforced With Filler-Modules And Frp Gussets, Andrew Robert Pacifico

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In 2013, the California Bay Area (CBA) passed a set of ordinances to ensure that their 10,000 plus timber soft-story buildings were prepared for seismic events, through nondestructive evaluation methods. Many property owners are searching for an affordable retrofitting system that will also meet CBA’s new laws focusing on installations by the mandated deadlines in 2020. Over the past three to four decades, Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) composites have found their way into the civil infrastructure sector for rehabilitation. The objective of this study is to evaluate the bending behavior retrofitted mortise and tenon timber joints reinforced with engineered wood …

Field Performance And Rating Evaluation Of A Modular Press-Brake-Formed Steel Tub Girder With A Steel Sandwich Plate Deck, Nicole Marie Hegele Underwood

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) is a group of bridge and culvert industry leaders (including steel manufacturers, fabricators, service centers, coaters, researchers, and representatives of related associations and government organizations) who have joined together to provide educational information on the design and construction of short span steel bridges in installations up to 140 feet in length. The SSSBA technical working group has developed a shallow press-brake-formed tub girder, a trapezoidal cold bent girder, to address the demand in the short span steel bridge market for rapid infrastructure replacement solutions.

Following extensive experimental testing and design work at West …

Intrinsic Variations In Geometric Properties Of Nonlinear Equivalent Strut Models For Infill-Rc Frames, Bruna Kirch Nienkotter Rocha

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Reinforced concrete frames infilled with unreinforced masonry are commonly used in structures worldwide. The interaction between the frame and the infill panel is usually ignored in engineering practice, and the masonry infill is not considered as a structural element. However, observations made after the occurrence of strong earthquakes have shown that the bare frame and infill-frame behave differently when subjected to in-plane lateral loads. Extensive research has been conducted on the behaviour of infill-frames when laterally loaded. This research focuses on the analysis of infill-frames using the equivalent strut modelling method, whereby an infill-frame is simplified, and the infill panel …

Airfield Infrastructure Management Using Network-Level Optimization And Stochastic Duration Modeling, Mohamadhossein Noruzoliaee, Bo Zou

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper proposes a facility-specific modeling approach to plan maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) activities on a network of airport runway pavement facilities. The objective of the modeling approach is to minimize system M&R cost while recommending M&R activities for each runway pavement facility over a planning horizon. To do so, pavement condition forecast is derived from estimating stochastic duration models which capture the inherent uncertainty and dynamics in pavement deterioration and impacts of exogenous factors. Building on the pavement condition forecast, a network optimization-based M&R planning framework is developed which accounts for the interdependence of M&R activities among facilities as …

Review Of Water Allocation Models For West Virginia, Madison Lee Alexis Thompson

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Modeling river basins started gaining in popularity and usage in the western part of the United States in large part due to its extreme droughts. Planning is necessary to sustain the population, industries, and recreational water use year-round. Water allocation modeling is a tool used to aid in the issues that come from managing water resources. This work considers the continuous models that synthesized the hydrologic processes that occur and provides a simulation of past, current, or future conditions.

West Virginia, located on the eastern side of the United States, does not have an extreme drought problem as seen in …

Direct Determination Of The Dynamic Elastic Modulus And Poisson's Ratio Of Timoshenko Prisms And Rods, Guadalupe Leon

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

In this study, the exact solution of the Timoshenko beam vibration frequency equation under free-free boundary conditions was determined with an accurate shear shape factor. The exact solution was compared with a 3-D finite element calculation using ABAQUS program, and the difference between the exact solution and the 3-D FEM was within 0.15% for both the transverse and torsional modes. Furthermore, relationships between the resonance frequencies and Poisson’s ratio were proposed that can directly determine the elastic constants, unlike the equations provided by ASTM C215. The frequency ratio between the 1^st bending mode and the 1^st torsional mode, …

The Effects Of Silica On The Properties Of Vitreous Enamels, Signo Tadeu Dos Reis, Mike Koenigstein, Liang Fan, Genda Chen, Luka Pavic, Andrea Mogus-Milankovic

Materials Science and Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Ground coat enamels for low carbon steel that contain silica as a mill addition have been developed to study the changes of their properties. Acid-resistant commercial enamel where silica addition was varied from 0 to 10.0 wt % was used for this investigation. The effects of the addition on the corrosion resistance, thermal properties, electrical properties, and mechanical adherence of the enamel to low carbon steel were studied. The corrosion resistance of the steel enameled coupons was tested using a salt spray (fog) apparatus for time periods reaching 168 h at room temperature. It was found that, although the density …

Experimental Study Of Low Cycle Fatigue Properties For Epoxy Resins With Dibutyl Phthalate (Dbp), Zhi Wang, Jiajia Zhou, Lianjian Song, Long Li

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Publications

In order to improve the toughness of traditional epoxy resin, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) was introduced into the epoxy resin. The static mechanical performance of plasticized and unplasticized epoxy resin was evaluated. The test results showed that the DBP modified epoxy resin can obtain a higher toughness than conventional epoxy resin, but the elastic modulus and the tensile strength were slightly reduced. The low cycle fatigue test results indicated that the stress ratio and the stress level were two critical factors of fatigue life, which was increased with the growth of stress ratio. It was also found that the fatigue life …

Methods To Improve The Remediation Of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Pahs) In Aerobic And Anaerobic Environments, Brian Wartell

Dissertations

Oil spills occur regularly in terrestrial environments and crude oil can contain many compounds that are highly resistant to degradation. Among these compounds are high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) which are not only toxic but can also be carcinogenic and/or mutagenic. The first chapter of this dissertation includes an extensive review chapter on the variables affecting the anaerobic degradation of hydrocarbons, with a particular focus on PAHs. Electron acceptors, electron donors, temperature, salinity, pH all play key roles in determining the possibility effective of effective degradation occurring. Thus, by addressing solutions, such as biostimulation, improving environmental variables for …

Experimental And Numerical Characterization Of Multiphase Subsurface Oil Release, Feng Gao

Dissertations

Subsurface oil release is commonly encountered in the natural environment and engineering applications and has received the substantial attention of researchers after the disastrous Deepwater Horizon Blowout oil spill in 2009. The main focus on the present research is to systematically study the hydrodynamics of underwater oil jet under a variety of conditions, including the effect of dispersant and different gas to oil ratios (GOR) by using experimental measurement as well as a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) approach, from which the measured turbulent characteristics (e.g., velocity, turbulent kinetic energy, turbulence dissipation rate, etc.) of underwater oil jet are thoroughly examined …

17-06 Public Vs Private Transportation Network Accessibility And Maternal-Infant Health Outcomes Across The Urban-Rural Boundary In Kalamazoo County, Michigan, Kathleen Baker

Transportation Research Center Reports

This project is twofold. The first part of the project deals specifically with the benefits of multimodal transportation modeling to understand community structure of public health access in a community. Maternal risk and infant outcomes are examined in Kalamazoo County, MI with respect to transportation network accessibility by public transit and private vehicle across the urban-rural continuum. Infants born to mothers just outside the urban core had a higher rate of poor outcomes. Maternal risk factors, by contrast, were associated with the accessible rural areas – areas outside the city proper, but within 30 minutes by car to services. When …

17-05 Effects Of Safe Bicycle Passing Laws On Drivers' Behavior And Bicyclists' Safety, Ron Van Houten, Jun-Seok Oh, Valerian Kwigizile, Ahmad Feizi, Majid Mastali

Transportation Research Center Reports

This report identifies the effect of passing distance laws on drivers’ behaviors and bicyclist’s safety during an overtaking maneuver. Using an instrumented bicycle and driver survey, the study measured bicycle passing in a naturalistic field experiment using video recording, an ultrasonic distance measuring device, and a LiDAR. In order to evaluate the effect of passing distance laws, the study examined jurisdictions with a three-foot passing law, with a five-foot passing law, and without a passing law. The experiment required a bicyclist to ride the instrumented bicycle in two-lane and three-lane roads to capture the distance between the bicycle and the …

Costs And Benefits Of Flood Mitigation In Louisiana, Arash Taghi Nezhad Bilandi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Assessing the costs and benefits of hazard mitigation efforts is an essential component of disaster management, planning, and resilience assessment. These calculations are particularly important in locations vulnerable to multiple hazards with high frequencies, such as coastal Louisiana. This study aims to provide an improved understanding of the costs and benefits of flood mitigation efforts in Louisiana funded by federal government grants between 2005 and 2015. Project data provided by the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) were summarized and missing values were imputed using robust statistical approaches. Elevation project cost was investigated for prediction by statistical …

Laboratory Study On The Strength Behaviour Of Two Laterally Loaded Adobe Walls, Brad D. Weldon, Paola Bandini, Michael J. Mcginnis, Eduardo Dávila, Diego I. Garcia Vera

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Adobe is a traditional construction technique found in historic and new construction throughout the world, often in earthquake-prone regions. Adobe structures are particularly susceptible to seismic forces due to their substantial mass and low tensile capacity. In addition, adobe is affected negatively by moisture that may penetrate from the ground or through the plaster. This paper describes the preliminary findings of an experimental program to investigate the effect of higher water content in the lower part of the wall on the wall strength behaviour under lateral loading. Lateral load tests were conducted on two quarter-scale adobe walls, one in air-dry …

Determination Of The Carrying Capability Of The Basis Of The Support Of A Contact Network Of The Railways And Vertical Force, Acting On The Base, K.S. Lesov, A.Kh. Mavlyanov, U.E. Ergashev

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

The variant workings and calculations are executed on fixing of supports of contact trackage. Structural-technical decisions are Given on building of supports of contact network on earthen linen from sandy soils.

Model Of Search For The Placement Of Warehouses Of Tarnet-And-String Cargo Depending On The Cargo, Avaz Mirsultanovich Merganov

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

To determine the feasibility of warehouses for packaged goods, it is necessary to understand the main volumes of cargo traffic, as well as to determine the optimal placement of these objects. These questions are developed and solved in this study

The Principles Of Calculation Of Preliminary-Stressed Reinforced Concrete Elements Of A Tripping Structure Under Dispersed Arming, Ch.S. Raupov, E.T. Yahshiyev, A.B. Karimova

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

It is known that the basic principle of the use of reinforcement in the cross section of building structures is associated with ensuring their strength under the action of bending, tensile loads and impacts and the need to reinforce concrete elements that do not have sufficient structural strength for tension and bending. Depending on the purpose and features of the building structures, there are different types of reinforcement and ways to strengthen the elements.

Model Of Search For The Placement Of Warehouses Of Tarnet-And-String Cargo Depending On The Cargo, Avaz Mirsultanovich Merganov

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

To determine the feasibility of warehouses for packaged goods, it is necessary to understand the main volumes of cargo traffic, as well as to determine the optimal placement of these objects. These questions are developed and solved in this study

Ways Of Rational Enhancements Of Passage And Transportable Ability On Railways Jsc "Uty", S.K. Xudayberganov, A.A. Svetashev, Sh.Sh. Kayumov

Journal of Tashkent Institute of Railway Engineers

The constant increase in the number of passenger trains has led to the fact that the semi-automatic blocking does not cope with the timely passing trains through the section. This article discusses the carrying capacity of railway section "N-B". The reserve capacity of this section is practically absent, the removal rate of passenger trains increases, which negatively affects the work of the entire railway section. Disposable and required carrying debility is determined. The method of increasing the capacity is chosen for each line depending on the given dimensions of movement, local conditions and technical and economic efficiency of different options.

Laboratory Evaluation Of Recycled Crushed Glass Cullet For Use As An Aggregate In Beach Nourishment And Marsh Creation Projects In Southeastern Louisiana, John C. Wildman

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

To combat the rapid degradation of the Louisiana coast, the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority has planned strategic land building initiatives throughout the Louisiana Gulf coast, including beach nourishment and marsh creation projects. It is commonly agreed that the state lacks sufficient renewable sediment resources to maintain the planned CPRA land building program. However, Louisiana, the state that commonly ranks last in state recycling percentage, recycles an estimated 0.6% of the waste glass consumed in the state. Glass is predominantly silica sand. This thesis evaluates laboratory‑determined characteristics of recycled crushed glass cullet to assess its suitability as a renewable …

Dynamic Response Analysis Of Rutting Resistance Performance Of High Modulus Asphalt Concrete Pavement, Chundi Si, Enli Chen, Zhanping You, Riulan Tian, Ran Zhang, Junfeng Gao

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Publications

In order to systematically study the rutting resistance performance of High-Modulus Asphalt Concrete (HMAC) pavements, a finite element method model of HMAC pavement was established using ABAQUS software. Based on the viscoelasticity theory of asphalt, the stress and deformation distribution characteristics of HMAC pavement were studied and compared to conventional asphalt pavement under moving loads. Then, the pavement temperature field model was established to study the temperature variation and the thermal stress in HMAC pavement. Finally, under the condition of continuous temperature variation, the creep behavior and permanent deformation of HMAC pavement were investigated. The results showed that under the …

Preface: Earth Observation For Integrated Water And Basin Management: Challenges For Adaptation To A Changing Environment, María J. Polo, Maria P. González-Dugo, Christopher M.U. Neale

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Integrated river basin management involves a sound knowledge of water and land interactions, and impacts from and feedbacks to human activity. Remote sensing has been an efficient and increasingly promising means of gathering direct information of the Earth surface, as well as information on water and energy fluxes. The recent generation of high-resolution sensors offers a huge potential for monitoring, assessing, and modelling our changing environment in a context of uncertainty about how future climate conditions will affect the current water resource and basin management framework. Moreover, large amounts of data are now available posing a challenging opportunity to the …