Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Long Term Feasibility Of Inductive Power Transfer Systems Embedded In Concrete Pavement Panels, Nathan J. Raine

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Electric vehicles (EVs) have a variety of issues that prevent widespread acceptance. Range limitations, charging times, and lack of accessible locations are all viable concerns when considering the future of EVs. This research seeks to address lack of useable infrastructure and battery life by embedding wireless chargers directly into roadway concrete. These embedded chargers would make it possible to charge an EV while it is in transit, addressing many concerns associated with owning an EV.

Embedding a wireless charger, or Inductive Power Transfer System (IPTS), can cause premature failure in the concrete. To determine the long-term feasibility of the technology, …

Factors Affecting United States Geological Survey Irrigation Freshwater Withdrawal Estimates In Utah, J. Levi Manley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Utah is, on average, one of the driest states in the United States, second only to Nevada, and drier conditions are projected. Irrigation is the largest water user in the state, representing about 80% of the total freshwater withdrawn each year. Withdrawals are obtained from sources like reservoirs or streams, or underground water from wells and springs, and supplied for use. The United States Geological Survey, a reputable federal science agency, has provided irrigation freshwater withdrawal estimates every five years since 1950. Understanding what factors affect irrigation withdrawals can better inform water resource planning to reduce withdrawals and conserve surface …

Protecting Our Community From The Hidden Vulnerabilities Of Today’S Intelligent Transportation Systems, Shahab Tayeb

Mineta Transportation Institute

The ever-evolving technology interwoven into the transportation industry leaves it frequently at risk for cyber-attacks. This study analyzes the security of a common in-vehicle network, the Controller Area Network (CAN), standard in most vehicles being manufactured today. Like many other networks, CAN comes with inherent vulnerabilities that leave CAN implementations at risk of being targeted by cybercriminals. Such vulnerabilities range from eavesdropping, where the attacker can read the raw data traversing the vehicle, to spoofing, where the attacker can place fabricated traffic on the network. The research team initially performed a simulation of CAN traffic generation followed by hardware implementation …

Investigating The Resilience Of Accessibility To Emergency And Lifesaving Facilities Under Natural Hazards, Chih-Hao Wang, Na Chen

Mineta Transportation Institute

Studying accessibility, including the resilience of city transportation networks, is critical to understand how these networks influence individuals’ mobility and lives. This study developed an analytical research framework to examine the resilience of accessibility to emergency and lifesaving facilities under the threats of natural hazards such as earthquakes and wildfires. With a cumulative-opportunity approach, the authors measured accessibility by counting emergency and lifesaving facilities (including parks, schools, hospitals, roads, and fire stations) that can be reached by driving at the census tract level in San Fernando Valley, CA. With the calculated accessibility, the authors run simulations to collect data showing …

Analyzing Vulnerabilities In The Northwest Arkansas Highway Network Using Mathematical Optimization, Brandon Jerome

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The highway and bridge network is a critical infrastructure that allows for the free transportation of citizens and enables truck-borne freight transportation. Disruption of this system could be caused by a terrorist attack, natural disaster, growth of population, required repairs and upgrades, or collapse caused by old age or malfunction. In the event of a disruption cities and regions can experience increased traffic and supply chain shortages, thus causing cascading effects throughout surrounding areas. With this motivation, we develop a network interdiction optimization model to identify a limited subset of roads that, if disrupted, causes the greatest increase in the …

Detailing Of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Anchorage For Shear Strengthening, Paul Joseph Ryan

Theses and Dissertations

Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymers (CFRP) have increased in popularity in the repair and strengthening of reduced shear capacity of concrete bridges. Significant design challenges arise when using CFRP to repair or strengthen bridge girders as the top faces of girders are in contact with decking (i.e. the members cannot be fully wrapped). A full wrap laminates all faces with CFRP and ensures that the failure mode is governed by shear fracture combined with, or followed by, fracture of the CFRP. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Structural Design Manual permits three-sided wrapping schemes (i.e. U-wraps), but the CFRP must be …

Quantifying Responsiveness In The Vaccine Industry To Evaluate And Improve Pandemic Response, Connor Hill

Theses and Dissertations

In the wake of the pandemic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) we can look at many aspects of the global response, including social, scientific, and governmental. Current research in the areas of vaccine development and manufacturing find the process of developing a new vaccine takes an especially long time and is unresponsive. Understanding the factors that influence responsiveness can help organizations be better prepared to address the needs of society should another pandemic strike. Responsiveness can be linked to product, process, and volume. The vaccine development and manufacturing process historically takes years to reach distribution for public use. …

Semi-Annual Progress Report #10, Missouri University Of Science And Technology. Inspire - University Transportation Center

Semi-Annual Progress Reports

No abstract provided.

Mechanical Behavior Of Clay Soil Stabilized With Fly Ash And Bottom Ash, Soewignjo Agus Nugroho, Azra Zulnasari, Ferry Fatnanta, Andius Dasa Putra

Makara Journal of Technology

Soil is one of the most important aspects of an infrastructure given its functions of receiving and holding structural loads. However, not all soils have good physical and mechanical properties. To overcome those conditions, stabilization of the soil is practiced to meet the technical requirements. This study aims to determine the behavior of high plasticity clay stabilized with lime, fly ash, and bottom ash. These additives can be used as a stabilizing agent to increase soil strength. The percentage of additives varied from 5%–25% then mixed with clay and were tested through the (Unconfined Compression Strength (UCS) test. The UCS …

Enhancement Of Biogas Production Through Solid-State Anaerobic Co-Digestion Of Food Waste And Corn Cobs, Lukhi Mulia Shitophyta, Anisa Salsabila, Firanita Angraini Putri, Siti Jamilatun

Makara Journal of Technology

Although biogas has been primarily produced through liquid anaerobic digestion, this method leads to the floating and stratification of fibers and non-homogeneous mixing, which can reduce the biogas yield. Alternatively, biogas can be produced by the solid-state anaerobic digestion (SS-AD) of organic material with a high solid content, such as corn cobs. We investigated the co-digestion of food waste and corn cobs as a biomass feedstock for SS-AD in biogas production. We measured the effects of the total solid (TS) content, percentage of food waste, and reduction in volatile solids (VS), from which we determined its appropriate kinetic model. We …

Control Strategy For Solar Energy-Saving Lamps For Optimized Energy Utilization And Sustainability Of Operation Durability: Indonesia Case, Burhanuddin Halimi, Agus Purwadi, Nana Heryana

Makara Journal of Technology

To solve the electrification ratio issue, the Indonesian government has promoted the use of solar energy-saving lamps. This study proposes a control strategy that adopts current reference time-based profiling for solar energy-saving lamps. For optimal energy consumption, the current reference profile is determined according to users’ daily energy requirements. From the aspect of user comfort, a gradual step reference profile is also introduced to provide a subtle change in lighting intensity level. The proposed control strategy can minimize energy consumption and optimize the operation durability of the system. The concept is verified by simulating four scenarios, the results of which …

Structural Health Monitoring: From Virtual Shakers To Machine Learning, Ahsan Kareem

Abbett Distinguished Seminar Series

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a critical means of assessing the performance of aging civil infrastructure. Earlier studies used heavy dynamic shakers to assess the dynamics of structures, which are unwieldy and reliance has been shifted to ambient vibration of structures to extract dynamic features. This study introduces a “virtual shaker” concept that effectively replaces the physical shaker and provides all the desired features for SHM. Examples are provided along with an App that facilitates the use of this concept to identify dynamic features. A traditional structural health monitoring (SHM) operation requires a wired system, which is often termed “hub …

Regularized Inversion Of Aerosol Hygroscopic Growth Factor Probability Density Function: Application To Humidity-Controlled Fast Integrated Mobility Spectrometer Measurements, Jiaoshi Zhang, Yang Wang, Steven Spielman, Susanne Hering, Jian Wang

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Aerosol hygroscopic growth plays an important role in atmospheric particle chemistry and the effects of aerosol on radiation and hence climate. The hygroscopic growth is often characterized by a growth factor probability density function (GF-PDF), where the growth factor is defined as the ratio of the particle size at a specified relative humidity to its dry size. Parametric, least-squares methods are the most widely used algorithms for inverting the GF-PDF from measurements of the humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) and have been recently applied to the GF-PDF inversion from measurements of the humidity-controlled fast integrated mobility spectrometer (HFIMS). However, …

Machine Learning-Based Bridge Load Posting Prediction, Sai Naga Sasi Aditya Bandaru

LSU Master's Theses

1600 (12%) of Louisiana's 13,000 bridges that allow the passage of people, goods, and services are load posted, meaning they are deemed incapable of securely carrying all legal loads. A machine learning framework for estimating the number of load-posted bridges within a regional bridge portfolio would be extremely valuable in the future for allocating essential resources during long-term planning. A framework of this type is necessary since a significant proportion of the bridges are load posted. Furthermore, deterioration due to aging and future increases in legal loads can compound this situation. In this setting, there is a lack of data-driven …

Machine Learning-Based Bridge Load Posting Prediction, Sai Naga Sasi Aditya Bandaru

LSU Master's Theses

1600 (12%) of Louisiana's 13,000 bridges that allow the passage of people, goods, and services are load posted, meaning they are deemed incapable of securely carrying all legal loads. A machine learning framework for estimating the number of load-posted bridges within a regional bridge portfolio would be extremely valuable in the future for allocating essential resources during long-term planning. A framework of this type is necessary since a significant proportion of the bridges are load posted. Furthermore, deterioration due to aging and future increases in legal loads can compound this situation. In this setting, there is a lack of data-driven …

Powering A Sustainable Electric Vehicle Future, Harmony Ruth, Jordan Brickman

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Electric vehicle sales account for roughly 20% of total sales world wide and are projected to be 80% by 2050. China's electric vehicle market holds a 13.3% market share. China exported 550,000 electric vehicles in 2021. China represents a 54% share of the world's coal consumption as of 2020. Why study China on this issue? China is a major player in the World Economy.

Using Cost Simulation And Computer Vision To Inform Probabilistic Cost Estimates, Shu Jing Ding

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cost estimating is a critical task in the construction process. Building cost estimates using historical data from previously performed projects have long been recognized as one of the better methods to generate precise construction bids. However, the cost and productivity data are typically gathered at the summary level for cost-control purposes. The possible ranges of production rates and costs associated with the construction activities lack accuracy and comprehensiveness. In turn, the robustness of cost estimates is minimal. Thus, this study proposes exploring a range of cost and productivity data to better inform potential outcomes of cost estimates by using probabilistic …

Performance Of Concrete With Different Cement Finenesses And Nano-Activators, Brandon Faltin

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

The excessive shrinkage in modern concrete is the result of the construction industry in its quest to complete the job as soon as possible. In order to accomplish this, the fineness of cement was increased significantly in recent decades for a faster rate of strength gain. To combat the cement fineness and reverse the trend of shrinkage, the usage of coarse cements and nanoparticles should be strongly considered. The coarse cement is used to reduce the shrinkage of concrete, while the nanoparticle increases the early strength, alleviating the original concerns of reduced early strength when using coarse cement.

Work in …

A Hybrid Approach To Improve Flood Forecasting By Combining A Hydrodynamic Flow Model And Artificial Neural Networks, Li Li, Kyong Soo Jun

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate change is driving worsening flood events worldwide. In this study, a hybrid approach based on a combination of the optimization of a hydrodynamic model and an error correction modeling that exploit different aspects of the physical system is proposed to improve the forecasting accuracy of flood water levels. In the parameter optimization procedure for the hydrodynamic model, Manning’s roughness coefficients were estimated by considering their spatial distribution and temporal variation in unsteady flow conditions. In the following error correction procedure, the systematic errors of the optimized hydrodynamic model were captured by combining the input variable selection method using partial …

A Case Study Of Protecting Bridges Against Overheight Vehicles, Aly Mousaad Aly, Marc Hoffmann

Faculty Publications

Most transportation departments have recognized and developed procedures to address the ever-increasing weights of trucks traveling on bridges in service today. Transportation agencies also recognize the issues with overheight vehicles’ collisions with bridges, but few stakeholders have definitive countermeasures. Bridges are becoming more vulnerable to collisions from overheight vehicles. The exact response under lateral impact force is difficult to predict. In this paper, nonlinear impact analysis shows that the degree of deformation recorded through the modeling of the unprotected vehicle-girder model provides realistic results compared to the observation from the US-61 bridge overheight vehicle impact. The predicted displacements are 0.229 …

Estimation Of Methane Emissions From Beef Cattle Manure In Nebraska, Noe Hernandez

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

The emission of methane from livestock production contributes to climate change. Cattle manure accounts for one-third of the total methane emission over the lifecycle of beef and dairy production and represents an opportunity to lower the environmental footprint of the beef industry. While models have been developed to estimate methane emissions from manure under certain types of manure storage methods, there is a lack of a user-friendly interface that agricultural or environmental engineers can use to estimate the methane emission from manure for specific regions. Therefore, the goal of this study was to build an interface to estimate methane emissions …

Sub- And Near-Critical Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Animal Manures, Kyoung S. Ro, Michael A. Jackson, Ariel A. Szogi, David L. Compton, Bryan R. Moser, Nicole D. Berge

Faculty Publications

To produce hydrochar with less volatile matter (VM) and more fixed carbon (FC) to increase its stability, this study compared the hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of hen (HM) and swine (SM) manures at typical HTC sub-critical temperature of 210 °C and slightly super-critical temperature of 400 °C. Physico-chemical properties such as proximate analysis; ultimate analysis; Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area; higher heating value (HHV); chemical oxygen demand (COD); and inorganic nutrients of hydrochar, gaseous, and liquid products were determined. As expected, both VM and yield decreased with temperature. The heats of HTC reactions were estimated to be exothermic, ranging from −5.7 to …

Economic Feasibility Analysis Of Variable-Speed Pumps By Simulating 15 Multiple Water Distribution Systems, Conrad B. Truettner, Brian D. Barkdoll

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The UN Sustainability Goals address measures to reduce environmental pollution. Water distribution systems (WDSs) use electric energy, which pollutes the atmosphere through, at least partly, the burning of coal. This study simulates, through modeling, variable-speed pumps (VSPs) on 15 different real WDSs on the network solver EPANET and analyzes the payback period. An algorithm is introduced here to select the optimal pump speed pattern to save the most energy while satisfying the constrain of sufficient pressure at all times and all locations. It was found that five of the 15 systems operated unsuccessfully using a VSP, due to the VSP …

Robust Multi-Period Maximum Coverage Drone Facility Location Problem Considering Coverage Reliability, Darshan Rajesh Chauhan, Avinash Unnikrishnan, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Stephen D. Boyles

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study proposes a multi-period facility location formulation to maximize coverage while meeting a coverage reliability constraint. The coverage reliability constraint is a chance constraint limiting the probability of failure to maintain the desired service standard, commonly followed by emergency medical services and fire departments. Further, uncertainties in the failure probabilities are incorporated by utilizing robust optimization using polyhedral uncertainty sets, which results in a compact mixed-integer linear program. A case study in the Portland, OR metropolitan area is analyzed for employing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones to deliver defibrillators in the region to combat out-of-hospital cardiac arrests. In …

A Study On The Use Of An Energy-Regenerative Tuned Mass Damper For Vibration Control And Monitoring Of Base-Isolated Buildings, Mohsen Amjadian

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper studies the use of an energy-regenerative tuned mass damper (ER-TMD) to (a) passively control the displacement of superstructure of a two-degree-of-freedom base-isolated building model equipped with elastomeric rubber bearings and (b) simultaneously generate electric energy that can be used to power conventional sensors installed on the building to monitor its response during an earthquake. The proposed passive ER-TMD is composed of two parts: mechanical and electrical. The mechanical part consists of a moving mass (i.e., TMD mass) attached to the base floor through a linear spring-damper system, and the electrical part consists of two large permanent magnets, a …

Hydrodynamic Signatures Of Recreational Boat Wakes And Their Influence To Sediment Entrainment Along The Shoreline Of A Shallow Estuary, Kelly M. Kibler

Predicting Boat Wake Bank Erosion Risk

Wave energy from recreational boat wakes is associated with erosion and degradation of shoreline ecotones. However, wake effects are often assumed to be negligible when boating lanes are located far from shore. In this study, field experiments were conducted to characterize hydrodynamics of recreational boat wakes at the shoreline of a shallow estuary as offshore sailing-line distance varied from 50 to 200m. Results indicate that wake events were considerably more energetic than ambient conditions, with an average 20% increase in wave height, 190% increase in near-bed orbital velocity, and 110% increase in wave-induced shear stress. Wake events generated farther from …

Western Michigan University Main Campus Parking Garage, Brendan Graham

Honors Theses

Student parking when attending class seems to be an issue at most universities. At Western Michigan University, it is a particular issue near the Haworth College of Business and Rood Hall. Students regularly struggle to find parking spaces in a timely manner when attending class in this area. Parking in this area currently consists solely of asphalt parking lots. It was our goal to both increase parking capacity and green space in this area. We will do this by designing a multi-level parking garage that will provide a more efficient use of parking space. As you will see later on, …

Progression Of Marsh Edge Erosion: Quantification And Conceptualization Of Shoreline Mechanisms In Terrebonne Bay, La, Amina Meselhe

Honors Capstones

No abstract provided.

Analyzing Resource Allocation And Levelling In Construction Projects, Mohamed Eizeldin, Mohamed Hussein Hegazy, Ahmed Alhady, Shahir Ashraf

Civil Engineering

Project scheduling has been crucial in any construction project since applying poor scheduling may lead to cost overruns and delays. The most commonly used technique for scheduling is the critical path method (CPM). As CPM neglects the availability of resources and assumes only time as a constrain; therefore, the resource allocation problem (RAP) technique is introduced. RAP appears when the number of resources required exceeds the number of resources available. Moreover, as a result of solving the RAP, another problem will occur known as the resource leveling problem (RLP). RLP lead to lots of hiring and firing of laborers. Researchers …

Subdivision Site Design In Antwerp Township, Alec Denbraber

Honors Theses

Design and development of a subdivision on an empty plot of land off Red Arrow Highway in Antwerp Township, MI.