Civil Engineering Commons^™

Shm For Incipient Buckling Detection In Overloaded Structures Using Nonlinear System Identification Algorithms On Redundant Data Sets, Padmanabh Shridhar Desai

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Structural health monitoring (SHM) detects and characterizes damage to predict failure, but failures such as buckling, which are not predicated on traditional damage modalities, are harder to detect. Direct load measurements are costly and difficult to implement (especially for dead loads) as they require copious numbers of sensors, which must be installed before loading is present. Vibration-based detection is a good alternative because it can infer global structural characteristics with relatively few sensors. This dissertation presents an SHM approach for detecting incipient buckling in structures under excessive loads based on non-linear models fit from measurements of small lateral vibrations due …

Potential Of Stamp Sands As Cemented Tailings, Samuel Sukaria

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Worldwide mine tailings ponds and reservoirs occupy some 534 billion m³ of space with the volume expected to increase as economic demand for minerals increases over the next decades. These reservoirs produce adverse effects on local communities and ecosystems through structural failure resulting in mass flooding events, drainage of pollutants into water supply and emissions of airborne particulate matter. Methods developed to find use for tailings include extraction of residual minerals and aggregates in construction materials. The latter method has already been used in mining operations to stabilize mining reservoirs and stopes, and as placement for temporary road work …

Life Cycle Assessment And Life Cycle Cost Assessment Of A Floating Treatment Wetland In A Wastewater Lagoon Located In Copper Harbor, Michigan, Erin Browne

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A full-scale floating treatment wetland was implemented in a wastewater treatment lagoon in Copper Harbor, Michigan. Copper Harbor is a small, rural community located in a cold climate. Many studies have focused on the performance of floating treatment wetlands in mesocosm studies in warmer climates, but there is not a lot of research conducted on the feasibility and performance of full-scale floating treatment wetlands in wastewater lagoons, specifically in cold climates. The 2024 treatment season was the first season with the floating treatment wetland implemented in the wastewater lagoon. A preliminary assessment of the cost and environmental impacts of a …

Innovations In Balanced Mix Design: Establishing Gwp Thresholds For Various Nmas And Evaluating Superpave Vs. Bmd In High Content Rubber Asphalt, Kai Xin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Traditional volumetric asphalt mix design methods, such as Superpave, frequently struggle to address critical performance parameters, leading many agencies to seek more robust approaches. Balanced Mix Design (BMD) has emerged as a forward-looking alternative by directly measuring rutting and cracking resistance in the laboratory. In this study, BMD principles were applied to asphalt mixtures featuring three distinct NMAS mixes and two high content rubber mixes, introduced through both dry and semi-wet processes. Compared with conventional volumetric constraints, BMD provided greater flexibility in adjusting binder content and gradation to accommodate elevated crumb-rubber levels. The resulting mixtures satisfied both rutting and cracking …

Leveraging Product And Process Characteristics Across The Concrete Pavement Life Cycle To Integrate Global Warming Potential Into Project Procurement Processes, Michelle Annette Cooper

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The objective of this research is to support sustainable procurement of concrete pavements by linking materials-level global warming potential (GWP) to the project-level. Infrastructure owners require reliable environmental product declarations (EPDs) and methodologies for integrating GWP into the procurement process to ensure equitable decision-making. This work provides insights into current EPD reliability by assessing the sensitivity of concrete GWP to materials-level contributors to recommend a level of supply chain specificity needed to effectively communicate GWP. A benchmarking methodology was developed and implemented to establish reference values for procuring sustainable products. Having provided evidence towards EPD reliability, this work presents a …

Ansi Z97 Impact Testing Of Thin Glass, Justin P. Anthony

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

To determine whether thin glass constructions can pass Z97 impact test to qualify as safety glass an extensive protocol was performed. Constructions including monolithic, chemically strengthened, filmed, laminated, and triple pane insulated glass units comprised of thin glass ranging in thickness between 0.50 mm and 1.6mm were evaluated. Test results indicate annealed specimens, and laminated specimens performed similar to constructions with 3 mm and 6 mm glass. Specimens with 0.2 mm film consistently performed as safety glass for thicknesses between 0.7 mm and 1.6 mm and similar performance for specimens with 0.1 mm film with thickness of 1.1 mm and …

Geospatial Analysis For Urban Resilience: Green Space, Flood Susceptibility, And Wetland Restoration Potential, Jessica Lareaux

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Through the integration of high-resolution geospatial data, hydrologic modeling, and spatial statistics, this research addresses three interrelated topics that are critical to sustainable, equitable, and climate-resilient urban planning. The overall objective of this dissertation is to provide data-driven and machine learning-based geospatial analysis frameworks that enhance our understanding of environmental inequities, flood exposure, and the potential for wetland restoration, with a focus on urban contexts. The study presented in Chapter Two examines the distribution and accessibility of urban green spaces in Detroit, Michigan, using high-resolution geospatial data and geospatial analysis methods, including geographically weighted regression (GWR) and network-based analyses. This …

Estimating Unconfined Compressive Strength (Ucs) Of Rocks From Measurement While Drilling (Mwd) Data, Can Erdem

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Measurement-while-drilling (MWD) technology enables the real-time monitoring of drilling parameters during the drilling process. MWD data can provide valuable insight into the mechanical behavior of intact rocks and rock masses, which is essential for geotechnical applications such as foundation design and underground construction. The aim of this study is to correlate real-time drilling parameters, recorded using a laboratory-developed MWD system, with the unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of rocks. A custom laboratory MWD system was designed to simultaneously record four key drilling parameters: thrust (axial force, crowd), torque, penetration rate, and rotational speed. The custom-built MWD system was used to continuously …

Performance And Environmental Impact Of Waste Glass Asphalt In Cold Regions, Kai Xin

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The reuse of waste glass in asphalt mixtures has significant potential in sustainable pavement engineering, yet its performance under cold, freeze–thaw conditions remain underexplored. This dissertation presents a first-of-its-kind comprehensive evaluation of glass asphalt for cold regions, simultaneously assessing its low-temperature cracking resistance, moisture susceptibility, field performance, and life-cycle environmental impacts. A series of laboratory tests were performed on asphalt mixtures incorporating various proportions of crushed waste glass aggregate, including Disk-Shaped Compact Tension (DCT) and Indirect Tensile (IDT) tests for low-temperature fracture resistance, and Tensile Strength Ratio (TSR) and Hamburg Wheel Tracking (HWTT) tests for moisture damage and rutting susceptibility. …

Analysis Of Lava Flow Paths Using Remote Sensing And Geomorphological Techniques, Oluwatosin Oluyemisi Ayo

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Lava flows have severe impacts on the Earth’s surface, communities, and natural habitats. Accurate modeling of lava flow paths is crucial for volcanic hazard assessment and risk mitigation. This research integrated remote sensing, geographic information systems, geomorphological techniques, and hydrologic analysis to numerically determine the optimal ground sample distance (GSD) of digital elevation models (DEMs) for delineating lava flow paths. Two volcanic regions were analyzed: the Afar Region of Ethiopia (Alu, Dalaffilla, and Erta Ale volcanoes) and the Reykjanes Peninsula of Iceland (Fagradalsfjall volcano). Forward and backward modeling methods were used to simulate potential lava flow paths. Remote sensing data, …

Wet-Carbonation Of Rcas For Improved Carbonation Efficiency And Mechanical Properties Of Rca And Recycled Concrete, Zhao. Xiang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

RCA typically exhibits weak interfacial transition zones (ITZ), high porosity, and micro-cracks due to residual mortar layers, resulting in suboptimal performance when reused in structural applications. To address these challenges, this study developed a wet carbonation process using glycine acid as an inducer. Glycine acid, containing carboxyl and amino functional groups, forms stable complexes with Ca²⁺ ions in RCA, increasing calcium ion solubility and thereby accelerating carbonation. RCA samples underwent carbonation in a glycine acid solution, followed by characterization using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy to evaluate mineralogical transformations and microstructural enhancements. The carbonation process promoted the formation of …

Enhancing Resilience Of Critical Infrastructural Systems Against Severe Weather Conditions, Miaomiao Li

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

As climate change intensifies natural hazards and extreme weather events, critical infrastructure systems like power networks and pavements are increasingly vulnerable to damage. While significant progress has been made in studying individual hazards for specific systems, there remains a need for comprehensive frameworks addressing parametrized fragility for key components in critical infrastructure and their application in system risk and resilience evaluation. This dissertation investigates the failure mechanisms and fragility of power systems and pavements under extreme conditions, including winter storms, hurricanes, heatwaves, and flooding. Using structural analysis, numerical modeling, and statistical methods, this work evaluates system vulnerabilities, develops fragility models, …

Investigating Chloride Ingression In Concrete And Chloride-Induced Rebar Corrosion, Peifeng Su

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The durability of reinforced concrete (RC) structures in chloride-rich environments is compromised due to steel reinforcement corrosion. This dissertation investigates chloride-induced corrosion in concrete containing supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) and corrosion inhibitors through experimental and numerical methods.

First, the correlations between commonly used parameters and the chloride penetration resistance of concrete were investigated using matrix scatterplot analysis. Concrete samples with various binder types are tested. Results indicate that bulk resistivity is most related to chloride penetration resistance. The effect of SCMs on chloride binding was then studied, and an improved chloride profile prediction model was developed. The binding isotherm of …

Performance Evaluation Of Using Waste Glass Powder And Fly Ash In Alkali-Activated Slag Binder And Mortar Samples As Partial Precursors, Sunday A. Eniola

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The increasing environmental burden at landfills due to the disposal of waste glass has motivated the scientific community to find an alternative for its utilization. One of these promising routes is to use glass powder (GP) as precursor and waste glass sands as sand replacement in alkali-activated slag (AAS) mortar to reduce the setting time, shrinkage, and efflorescence characteristics for the field applications by comparing with class F fly ash (FFA). This study first experimentally investigates the setting behavior, shrinkage behavior and compressive strength, and efflorescence characteristics of AAS binder prepared with partially replaced glass powder and fly ash. The …

Maximum Likelihood Estimator Method To Estimate Flaw Parameters For Different Glass Types, Nabhajit Goswami

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Glass is commonly used in architectural applications, such as windows and in-fill panels and structural applications, such as beams and staircases. Despite the popularity of structural glass use in buildings, an engineering design standard to determine the required component or member strength for design loads does not exist. Glass is a brittle material that lacks a well-defined yield or ultimate stress, unlike ductile materials. The traditional engineering methods used to design a ductile material cannot be used to design a glass component. Glass fails in tension primarily due to the presence of microscopic flaws present on the surface that acts …

Salt Water Intrusion In Water Distribution Systems: Analysis, Solution, And Eco-Efficiency, Darud E Sheefa

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Since many water distribution systems (WDSs) experience saltwater intrusion, system behavior during saltwater intrusion is important. An alternative to the currently accepted WDS decontamination method of hydrant flushing is needed since during the current procedure all contaminated water is discharged to the surroundings which imposes environmental impacts. Hence, this research was conducted to study salt spread in different WDSs and to seek an alternative to hydrant flushing as a way of WDS decontamination. First, salt contamination was modelled in real water system models to document the salt spread. It was found that (1) if salt enters as a short pulse, …

Kinematics And Preliminary Fema P-695 Evaluation Of The Newz-Breakss Steel Boundary Frame With Buckling Restrained Brace Structural Fuses, Alexander M. Baker

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Buckling Restrained Braced Frames (BRBFs) have become a popular seismic force resisting system (SFRS) due to their high ductility and energy dissipation. However, BRBFs are also susceptible to large residual drifts, which can make repair difficult. Efforts to reduce the residual drift of BRBFs typically involve special self-centering braces, or by using a dual system in tandem with the BRBF. This study proposes an alternative approach, in which a self-centering steel rocking frame is used as the boundary frame for the BRBF. The proposed system, called the NewZ-BREAKSS Buckling Restrained Braced Frame (NZ-BRBF) utilizes the recently proposed NewZ-BREAKSS (NZ) boundary …

Local Watershed Analysis For Hubbell And Lake Linden, Michigan, Brittany Hubbard

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This report analyzes flood frequency risk, examines drainage, and delineates local level watershed characteristics for the Site located in western HUC 12-040201 030304 Torch Lake Subwatershed. Specifically, unnamed catchments in need of HUC-14 or HUC-16 local level delineation are evaluated to determine the effects of excess runoff on the cities of Hubbell and Lake Linden, Michigan. Further, this report aims to identify the location of known or suspected historical and current drainage infrastructure, and to prioritize locations for low-impact sustainable designs that reduce excess runoff and provide flood protection for these lakeshore communities.

Multi-Dimensional Modeling For Environmental Impact Assessment At Intersections Of The Food-Energy-Water Nexus, Jessica Daignault

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation uses multi-dimensional modeling for environmental impact assessment at intersections of the Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus, including life cycle assessment (LCA) modeling for quantification of environmental impacts due to household FEW consumption, a linear regression framework for quantification of water-use impacts of marginal electricity generation, and a multi-objective optimization model to assess monetization of water withdrawals for electricity generation and impacts to water stress due to electricity dispatch schemes. Chapter 2 of this dissertation summarizes the development of an LCA model that quantifies the direct and indirect environmental impacts of household FEW consumption. The model is executed through a novel …

Case Study Of Gravity-Fed Mountain Spring Tap System In Ha Leronti, Lesotho, Africa, Sarah Peterson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Water security has been declining rapidly in Lesotho, Africa in recent years. Lack of water has led to food insecurity, livestock deaths, and the spread of disease. Rural Basotho depend on rainfall to sustain their livelihoods; however, precipitation variability has recently increased due to climate change. For those who reside in the highlands of Lesotho, mountain springs can be a clean source of water. The tap system in the village of Ha Leronti relies on gravity to distribute water from two mountain springs to the ten village taps and nearby school campus. However, it is incapable of transporting the basic …

Micromechanical Prediction Model Of Viscoelastic Properties For Asphalt Mastic Based On Morphologically Representative Pattern Approach, Zhichen Wang, Naisheng Guo, Xu Yang, Shuang Wang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

This paper is devoted to the introduction of physicochemical, filler size, and distribution effect in micromechanical predictions of the overall viscoelastic properties of asphalt mastic. In order to account for the three effects, the morphologically representative pattern (MRP) approach was employed. The MRP model was improved due to the arduous practical use of equivalent modulus formula solution. Then, a homogeneous morphologically representative model (H-MRP) with the explicit solution was established based on the homogenization theory. Asphalt mastic is regarded as a composite material consisting of filler particles coated structural asphalt and free asphalt considering the physicochemical effect. An additional interphase …

Spread Of Emerging Contaminants In Water Distribution Systems, Danielle Pilarski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Emerging contaminants are a growing concern to humans and the environment. Studies have shown these contaminants are present in the environment through continuous release into surface waters from wastewater treatment effluent, manufacturing processes, and agricultural use. The effects of these contaminants have been observed in ecological studies, but they have not yet been well studied for long term exposure in humans. These emerging contaminants have also not been well studied to determine the rates at which they decay or how they move through distribution systems. This study aims to determine the importance of decay rate on concentration throughout a distribution …

Flood Inundation Mapping For Huron Creek, Houghton County, Michigan, Sarah Washko

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The 2018 Father’s Day Flood rattled the Houghton County, MI community. Thousands of dollars in damage to public and private property were incurred due to slope failure, scour and stagnant water. Though the flood was billed as a once-in-a-lifetime event, hazard mitigation planning has become essential, as extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent with a changing climate. While Federal Emergency Management Agency funding will provide detailed flood hazard maps in the future, mapping is expected to be several years out. To aid the City of Houghton community with immediate flood hazard mitigation planning, a hydraulic-based flood depth …

Mechanistic Insight Into The Degradation Of Nitrosamines Via Aqueous-Phase Uv Photolysis Or A Uv-Based Advanced Oxidation Process: Quantum Mechanical Calculations, Daisuke Minakata, Erica Coscarelli

Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Publications

Nitrosamines are a group of carcinogenic chemicals that are present in aquatic environments that result from byproducts of industrial processes and disinfection products. As indirect and direct potable reuse increase, the presence of trace nitrosamines presents challenges to water infrastructures that incorporate effluent from wastewater treatment. Ultraviolet (UV) photolysis or UV-based advanced oxidation processes that produce highly reactive hydroxyl radicals are promising technologies to remove nitrosamines from water. However, complex reaction mechanisms involving radicals limit our understandings of the elementary reaction pathways embedded in the overall reactions identified experimentally. In this study, we perform quantum mechanical calculations to identify the …

Understanding Large-Scale Natural Mine Water-Geologic Formation Systems For Geothermal Applications, Ting Bao

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Geothermal energy recovery from flooded mines has been gaining momentum worldwide. Numerous mines are flooded after their closure, either naturally or artificially, in which the water in the mines can be heated by the surrounding geologic formations due to geothermal gradients, leading to sizeable man-made reservoirs of warm water. Such mine water, therefore, can be treated as a renewable geothermal resource for heating/cooling buildings, which has the potential to benefit over millions of people in the United States and much more around the world. Though some real projects and/or installations launched worldwide for the use of flooded mines for geothermal …

Optimizing Chlorine Disinfection By Chlorine Injection Location And Pipe Diameter Selection In A Water Distribution System, Margaret Neff

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Due to a variety of factors chlorination is common water disinfectant for community-scale distribution systems. The town of Suyo, Peru was already equipped with a gravity fed water system and drip chlorinator which achieved 4-log inactivation of viruses throughout the town, however, it was not providing 3-log inactivation of giardia cysts at all points of the system.

This project used an EPANET model to determine and compare the potential benefits of changes which could be made to the pre-existing water system in Suyo.

The model was used to compare current operating conditions of the Suyo system, 1.5 mg/L chlorine addition …

Evaluation Of Driver Behavior At Highway-Railroad Grade Crossings Based On Environmental Conditions And Driver Demographics, Alawudin Salim

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Although the total number of highway-railroad grade crossing (HRGC) accidents has significantly decreased in recent decades, they remain as one of the highest causes of injuries and fatalities in rail transportation. It is known that driver behavior is the leading cause for accidents at HRGCs, but there is less understanding on the reason for these inappropriate behaviors. This research uses the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 Naturalistic Driving Study (SHRP 2 NDS) data and a behavior scoring methodology developed at Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech), to evaluate driver behavior when traversing HRGCs. More specifically, it uses a two-sample t-test to …

Viability Of Graywater Reuse In Lesotho’S Lowland Agricultural District, Ryan Wagner

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Water security has become a large issue with populations rising and weather patterns changing to drier and hotter conditions in southern Africa. Lesotho, a mountainous country landlocked by South Africa, is responsible for a large amount of the rainfall in southern Africa. As such, Lesotho provides water to South Africa in exchange for national economic growth. Lesotho, however, is also prone to droughts and with water reserves being sold to South Africa, water security has become a national issue. This study looked at Lesotho’s current water use habits and found that graywater reuse could lead to much more available water. …

Life Cycle Assessment (Lca) Of Ore Transportation Route Alternatives For Eagle Mine, Soumith Kumar Oduru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Transportation sector at large is a major consumer of fossil fuels and constitutes more than a quarter of the global greenhouse gas emissions. When making infrastructure route and mode choice decisions for new freight-oriented projects, it is important that environmental and emissions considerations are included as an integral part of the selection process. Emissions from freight transportation projects related to mining and natural resource industry are especially critical, as they involve high volumes and tonnages often in pristine environments. The most logical time for emissions analysis is during modal and route analysis that are often conducted in the planning stage …

Air Injection As A Scour Countermeasure At Bridge Piers, Ravi Teja Reddy Tippireddy

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Local scour is a major cause of concern for the stability of bridge piers and the safety of the public using the bridges. Structural countermeasures and flow-altering devices have been developed to deal with local scour. Many armoring structural countermeasures are very effective and efficient in clear water conditions but are susceptible to moving bed forms and leaching. The flow-altering devices are effective in both clear water conditions and moving bed forms, but are prone to clogging, less efficient in changing flow direction, etc. This study aims to reduce the local scour by injecting air in order to reduce the …