Civil Engineering Commons^™

Use Of Wicking Geotextile To Dehydrate Road Embankments, Chuang Lin

Doctoral Dissertations

“Excess water within a pavement structure is the major cause of pavement deteriorations. A roadway is often constructed with soils compacted at the optimum water contents to achieve the best performance. After construction, the soil water content variation is controlled by the ambient environment. The base course aggregate is very sensitive to water content variations. Unfortunately, conventional drainage system can only drain gravity water, but not capillary water, and it cannot work under unsaturated conditions. Consequently, no matter how well the road is constructed, the water content is expected to increase with time and the excess water will inevitably accelerate …

Rheological Properties Of Warm Mix Asphalt Binders And Warm Mix Asphalt Binders Containing Polyphosphoric Acid, Jun Liu, Kezhen Yan, Jenny Liu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the laboratory investigation of properties of warm mix asphalt (WMA) binders and WMA binders containing polyphosphoric acid (PPA).Two types of warm mix additives were used to produce the WMA binders. Superpave tests were carried out on original and short-term aged binders through the rotational viscometer, the dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), and the bending beam rheometer (BBR). The results indicated that the WMA binders with different warm mix additives showed different viscosity values, however, the addition of PPA remarkably increased the viscosity values of these two kinds of WMA binders used, in the present study, to a similar …

Optical-Fiber-Based Smart Concrete Thermal Integrity Profiling: An Example Of Concrete Shaft, Ruoyu Zhong, Ruichang Guo, Wen Deng

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Concrete is currently the most widely used construction material in the world. The integrity of concrete during the pouring process could greatly affect its engineering performance. Taking advantage of heat production during the concrete curing process, we propose an optical-fiber-based thermal integrity profiling (TIP) method which can provide a comprehensive and accurate evaluation of the integrity of concrete immediately after its pouring. In this paper, we use concrete shaft as an example to conduct TIP by using the optical fiber as a temperature sensor which can obtain high spatial resolution temperature data. Our method is compared with current thermal infrared …

Resilient Civil Infrastructure Under Dynamic Loadings, Xing Ma, Nawawi Chouw, Mohamed Elgawady, Songye Zhu

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A resilient infrastructural system is an important component of a modern city. The main principles are safety, sustainability, functionality, maintainability, and fast recoverability following natural and/or man-made hazards. This special issue addresses new research developments in resilient infrastructural systems under dynamic loadings, for example, wind, traffic, tsunamis, and earthquakes.

Electro-Kinetic Remediation Processes -- A Brief Overview And Selected Applications, Chandra Mouli Tummala, Sanjay Tewari

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

In this growing world the need for in-situ remediation has grown importance for various reasons. In-situ remediation is the application of remediation in the subsurface – as compared to ex-situ remediation, which applies to media readily accessible above ground and many times involves excavation and disruption of the soil. In-situ remediation may be applied in the unsaturated/vadoze zone or in saturated soils and groundwater. Anthropogenic activities (municipal and industrial) have resulted in contamination in subsurface soil/water environment. There are several in-situ remediation methods for example bio-remediation, thermal desorption, soil vapor extraction, and soil flushing just to name a few.

The …

Spatial Delineation Of Corrosion Zones For Metal Culverts Based On Coastal Louisiana Soil Characteristics, Sanjay Tewari, Francis Manning

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Corrosion of metal pipes used as culverts is a problem that affect many agencies directly involved in designing and maintaining these culverts. The corrosive environment of soil types found in a region could vary in a significant way (mildly corrosive to extremely corrosive) based on soil characteristics. Environmental conditions such as high water table, acidity and presence of various salts could make a soil corrosive to metal pipes. In this article, authors have applied a methodology of processing readily available soil data such as spatial distribution of soil types and soil characteristics (e.g. pH and conductivity) in delineating spatial corrosion …

Long-Term Behavior Of Fiber Reinforced Polymer (Frp) Confined Concrete Cylinders Subjected To Severe Weather And Seawater Solution Conditions, Song Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study presents an experimental investigation on durability of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) confined concrete cylinders subjected to various environmental conditions. Two types of cylinders were tested in this experiment: concrete-filled FRP tube (CFFT) and hollow-core FRP-concrete-steel (HC-FCS), with FRP tubes having two different constitutive resin components: polyester and epoxy. The specimens were subjected to three different environmental conditions: combined freeze/thaw, wet/dry and heating/cooling cycles with options of continuous water immersion and sustained axial load in an environmental chamber, UV exposure in an UV chamber, and seawater immersion in water tanks with sustained axial load. Mechanical and material characterization tests were …

A Rupture Limit Equation For Pre-Loaded Composite Plates, William P. Schonberg

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites offer inherent advantages over traditional metallic materials in a number of different ways; however, these materials are also highly susceptible to impact damage. In this paper, we explore the response of FRP (fiber reinforced polymer) composites under impact conditions that could result in their rupture or catastrophic failure. The work performed was aimed at developing a general, data-driven equation for initially-stressed, flat, composite plates that would differentiate between impact conditions that would result in only a hole or crack and those which would cause catastrophic plate failure or rupture. If this equation were to be subsequently shown …

Dragline Excavation Simulation, Real-Time Terrain Recognition And Object Detection, Godfred Somua-Gyimah

Doctoral Dissertations

"The contribution of coal to global energy is expected to remain above 30% through 2030. Draglines are the preferred excavation equipment in most surface coal mines. Recently, studies toward dragline excavation efficiency have focused on two specific areas. The first area is dragline bucket studies, where the goal is to develop new designs which perform better than conventional buckets. Drawbacks in the current approach include operator inconsistencies and the inability to physically test every proposed design. Previous simulation models used Distinct Element Methods (DEM) but they over-predict excavation forces by 300% to 500%. In this study, a DEM-based simulation model …

Numerical And Experimental Analysis Of Local Buckling Of Axially Loaded Steel Tubes Confined By Concrete And Frp, Nicholas Colbert

Masters Theses

“The hollow core Fiber-Reinforced-Polymer (FRP) concrete circular-steel (HC-FCS) column consists of an outer circular fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tube, an inner thin-walled circular steel tube concentrically aligned, and a concrete shell between them. Research has been performed on the performance of the member as a whole, but to date, there has been no investigation into the behavior of the steel tube confined in the column. 17 small-scale columns were tested under axisymmetric axial compressions applied directly to the steel tube under displacement control. The conducted parametric study examined the effects of diameter-to-thickness (D/t) ratio, concrete unconfined compressive strength, FRP thickness, …

Thermal Curing Efficiency Of Geopolymer Mortars, Simon Peter Sargon

Masters Theses

”Missouri is the fourth largest coal consumer in the U.S. with coal-fired power plants generate 81.3% of the electricity in the state which generate about 2.7 million tons of coal combustion residuals (CCRs) annually. The CCR, including fly ash, disposal issue is not limited to Missouri, rather it is a national issue with CCRs being the second largest waste stream in the U.S. Ninety million tons of fly ash are stored in landfills and ash ponds annually. Hence, using this waste product effectively is necessary. One of the emerging applications of fly ash is to use it as binder in …

Field Implementation Of Cement-Based Composite Strengthening Technologies, Michael Andrew Janke

Masters Theses

"With infrastructure continuing to age, technologies are being developed to strengthen structures as a more sustainable option than replacement. The use of fiber-reinforced cementitious matrix (FRCM) strengthening systems is a promising new technology for adding flexural and shear capacity to existing reinforced concrete members. While cement based systems with carbon, PBO, and steel have all been implemented in a lab setting, there is not research data available for installation in the field. FRCM composites have advantages over more widely used fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composites such as heat resistance and compatibility with concrete substrate. FRP systems have previously been field …

Compressive Behavior Of Masonry Columns Confined With Steel Reinforced Grout (Srg) Composite, Sarah Elizabeth Jemison

Masters Theses

"In this study, a new type of composite comprised of steel fiber cords embedded in a natural hydraulic lime mortar matrix, known as steel reinforced grout (SRG), is explored for the use in confinement of masonry columns. An experimental study was carried out to understand the behavior of solid clay brick masonry columns confined by SRG jackets. Twenty-four confined and seven unconfined columns with a square cross-section were tested to failure under a monotonic concentric compressive load. Test parameters considered were the column corner condition, number of fiber jacket layers, and number of fiber overlapping faces. SRG confinement improved the …

Enhancing The Crumb Rubber Modified Asphalt's Storage Stability Through The Control Of Its Internal Network Structure, Mohyeldin Ragab, Magdy Abdelrahman

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The current research investigated the effect of the internal network structure developed in the crumb rubber modified asphalt (CRMA) on its storage stability. The authors investigated the influence of asphalt-crumb rubber modifier (CRM) interaction parameters (interaction time, interaction speed, and interaction temperature) on the development of the internal network structure in CRMA. The authors found that the existence of three dimensional (3D) network structures in the CRMA enhanced its storage stability. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy was utilized to determine the nature of CRM components responsible for the development of 3D network structure in the liquid phase of CRMA. This …

Multi-Scale Investigation Of Microstructure, Fiber-Matrix Bond, And Mechanical Properties Of Ultra-High Performance Concrete, Zemei Wu

Doctoral Dissertations

"The main objective of this study is to provide new insights into enhancing fiber-matrix bond and mechanical properties of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC). Three main strategies were investigated: 1) use of supplementary cementitious materials; 2) use of nano-particles; and 3) use of deformed fibers. A multi-scale investigation involving the evaluation of non-fibrous UHPC mortar phase (matrix), fiber-matrix interface phase, and then UHPC composite material was undertaken to determine microstructural characteristics, fiber bond to matrix, and key mechanical properties of the UHPC matrix and UHPC. Test results indicate that the incorporation of 10%-20% silica fume effectively improved the fiber-matrix bond and …

Sensitivity Of Rheological Properties Of Cement Paste With Scc Consistency, Azadehalsadat A. Asghari

Doctoral Dissertations

"Robustness, which is defined as the capacity of a mixture to tolerate small variations in constituent elements, mixing parameters or temperature that are inevitable with production at any significant scale, is a key property to expand the practical implementation of self-consolidating concrete (SCC). At the first step, the effect of different amount of water, amount of superplastizer, mixing time, mixing speed and the addition time of superplastizer on the rheological properties of cement pastes with SCC consistency, has been evaluated. Two different SCC mix design concepts, the powder-type and VMA-type were selected for this research. The results show that the …

Bio-Inspired Geomaterial Improvement And Development Of Innovative Characterization Methods, Junnan Cao

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study experimentally investigated the bio-inspired improvement on geomaterials, including enzyme induced calcite precipitation (EICP) and biopolymers. This study also developed several innovative characterization tools to advance the state-of-the-art testing techniques, including SIP-BE column, rotational sedimental panel, and backpressure saturated constant hydraulic gradient break through column. Firstly, EICP test was performed on Ottawa 50-70 sand in a newly developed SIP-BE column. Nondestructive techniques -- spectral induced polarization (SIP) and bender element were used to monitor the precipitation process and shear wave velocities (V_s). SIP, V_s, and SEM results all suggest contact cementation as the preferential precipitation …

Shear Performance And Behavior Of Long Carbon Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Benjamin Paul Gliha

Doctoral Dissertations

”In this study, a laboratory testing program was developed to investigate the shear performance of fiber reinforced concrete beams. Long carbon fibers, to be included with a traditional fresh concrete mix, were developed and their shear performance was evaluated and compared to the performance and behavior of unreinforced concrete, traditionally reinforced concrete, and fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) with other fiber types.

The experimental program consisted of 30 large-scale beams tested for shear performance under monotonic loading. In addition to the large-scale beams, small-scale specimens were constructed of the same materials to correlate large-scale performances to ASTM C1609 testing and to …

Quantitative Phase-Field Modeling Of Crack Propagation In Multi-Phase Materials, Arezoo Emdadi

Doctoral Dissertations

”Research presented in this dissertation is focused on developing and validating a computational framework for study of crack propagation in polycrystalline composite ceramics capable of designing micro-architectures of phases to improve fracture toughness and damage tolerance of ZrB₂-based ultra-high temperature ceramics (UHTCs). A quantitative phase-field model based on the regularized formulation of Griffith’s theory is presented for crack propagation in homogenous and heterogeneous brittle materials. This model utilizes correction parameters in the total free energy functional and mechanical equilibrium equation within the crack diffusive area to ensure that the maximum stress in front of the crack tip is …

Dynamic Mechanical Properties And Microstructure Of Graphene Oxide Nanosheets Reinforced Cement Composites, Wujian Long, Jingjie Wei, Hongyan Ma, Feng Xing

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents an experimental investigation on the effect of uniformly dispersed graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets on dynamic mechanical properties of cement based composites prepared with recycled fine aggregate (RFA). Three different amounts of GO, 0.05%, 0.10%, and 0.20% in mass of cement, were used in the experiments. The visual inspections of GO nanosheets were also carried out after ultrasonication by transmission electron microscope (TEM) atomic force microscope (AFM), and Raman to characterize the dispersion effect of graphite oxide. Dynamic mechanical analyzer test showed that the maximum increased amount of loss factor and storage modulus, energy absorption was 125%, 53%, …

Hollow-Core Frp-Concrete-Steel Bridge Columns Under Torsional Loading, Sujith Anumolu, Omar I. Abdelkarim, Mohanad M. Abdulazeez, Ahmed Gheni, Mohamed Elgawady

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This paper presents the behavior of hollow-core fiber-reinforced polymer-concrete-steel (HC-FCS) columns under cyclic torsional loading combined with constant axial load. The HC-FCS consists of an outer fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner steel tube, with a concrete shell sandwiched between the two tubes. The FRP tube was stopped at the surface of the footing, and provided confinement to the concrete shell from the outer direction. The steel tube was embedded into the footing to a length of 1.8 times the diameter of the steel tube. The longitudinal and transversal reinforcements of the column were provided by the steel tube …

Corrosion Map For Metal Pipes In Coastal Louisiana, Sanjay Tewari

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Transportation agencies often allow metal pipes as an option for cross drains under/along roads and highways. Metal culverts can corrode over time at various rates based on their environmental conditions (e.g., corrosive nature of coastal soils, high water table, and saltwater intrusion).

This project was focused on applying available soil data, such as spatial distribution of soil types and soil characteristics (e.g., pH and conductivity), towards creating a Geographic Information System (GIS) based map to identify corrosion zones in coastal Louisiana. The effect of the soil characteristics (pH and conductivity) was incorporated in to the published corrosion models for calculating …

Extending Time Series Forecasting Methods Using Functional Principal Components Analysis, Isaac Michael Wagner-Muns

Masters Theses

"Traffic volume forecasts are used by many transportation analysis and management systems to better characterize and react to fluctuating traffic patterns. Most current forecasting methods do not take advantage of the underlying functional characteristics of the time series to make predictions. This paper presents a methodology that uses Functional Principal Components Analysis (FPCA) to create smooth and differentiable daily traffic forecasts. The methodology is validated with a data set of 1,813 days of 15 minute aggregated traffic volume time series. Both the FPCA based forecasts and the associated prediction intervals outperform traditional Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) based methods"--Abstract, …

Design And Performance Of Cost-Effective Ultra High Performance Concrete For Bridge Deck Overlays, Mahdi Valipour

Doctoral Dissertations

"The main objective of this research is to develop a cost-effective ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) for bonded bridge deck overlays. The high durability and mechanical properties of such repair material can offer shorter traffic closures and prolong the service life of the pavement. The UHPC was optimized using supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), proper combinations of sands, and adequate selection of fiber types and contents. Packing density studies included paste, sand, and fiber combinations. The robustness of optimized UHPC mixtures to variations of mixing and curing temperatures was examined. The efficiency of various shrinkage mitigation approaches in reducing autogenous and drying …

Remote Sensing And Localization Of Smart Rocks With Orientation-Controlled Magnets For Real-Time Monitoring Of Bridge Scour And Riprap Effectiveness, Yan Tang

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study aims to develop and implement a novel smart rock technology for real-time monitoring of the maximum scour depth and the effectiveness of riprap mitigation measures. A smart rock is one or more stacked magnets encased in concrete that can automatically roll to the deepest point of a scour hole around a bridge pier and provide its location through remote measurement over time. Once integrated into a riprap measure, the smart rock moves together with natural rocks and is thus a potential indicator of the effectiveness of the riprap measure. Therefore, the localization and movement of smart rocks were …

Durability Behavior Of Fiber Reinforced Polymer And Steel Reinforced Polymer For Infrastructure Applications, Wei Wang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Crack development in reinforced concrete (RC) structures is common in elements such as bridge decks. However, these cracks can impose significant problems over time, because they allow chlorides from deicing chemicals to infiltrate concrete which will then corrode steel bars as RC structures are exposed to harsh weather. In the last decade, composite reinforcement systems are internally or externally applied to concrete structures instead of traditional steel reinforcing bars, or to strengthen concrete elements in flexure and shear. However, studies regarding the long-term durability performance of composite reinforcement systems is limited. Therefore, in order to popularize the application of these …

Long-Period Fiber Grating Corrosion Sensors For Life-Cycle Monitoring And Assessment Of Reinforced Concrete Structures, Yizheng Chen

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study aims to: (1) explore, develop, calibrate and validate Fe-C coated, long period fiber grating (LPFG) sensors for short-term mass loss measurement of the Fe-C coating; (2) develop, calibrate, and validate steel tube-encapsulated, fiber optic probes and LPFG sensors for long-term mass loss detection of the steel tube; (3) correlate the corrosion process of packaging metal materials with that of steel bars in direct contact with the packaged probe or sensor except for a thin insulation tape; and (4) apply both types of corrosion sensors into reinforced concrete (RC) structures for reinforcing bar corrosion monitoring and structural condition assessment. …

Novel Applications Of Pulse Pre-Pump Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis For Behavior Evaluation Of Structures Under Thermal And Mechanical Loading, Yi Bao

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study aims to: (1) develop an analytical model for the strain transfer effect of distributed fiber optic sensors in a uniform or non-uniform stress field; (2) develop a measurement approach to monitor strains in concrete and detect damage (e.g. crack and delamination) in bonded and unbonded concrete overlays; (3) characterize the strain and temperature sensitivities of distributed fiber optic sensors at elevated temperatures; (4) develop a thermal annealing approach to enhance the thermal stability and temperature sensitivity of the distributed sensors; and (5) apply the distributed sensors to assess structural behaviors of concrete and steel structures exposed to fire. …

Characterization And Performance Of Eco And Crack-Free High-Performance Concrete For Sustainable Infrastructure, Iman Mehdipour

Doctoral Dissertations

"The main objective of this study is to develop, characterize, and validate the performance of a new class of environmentally friendly, economical, and crack-free high-performance concrete referred to as Eco and crack-free HPC that is proportioned with high content of recycle materials. Two classes of Eco-HPC are designed for: (I) pavement (Eco-Pave-Crete); and (II) bridge infrastructure (Eco-Bridge-Crete). Eco-HPC mixtures were designed to have relatively low binder content up to 350 kg/m³ and develop high resistance to shrinkage and superior durability. A stepwise mixture design methodology was proposed to: (i) optimize binder system and aggregate skeleton to optimize packing density …

High-Volume Recycled Materials For Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure, Seyedhamed Sadati

Doctoral Dissertations

"The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using high performance concrete made with high-volume of recycled materials in transportation infrastructure. The main focus was to develop mixtures for rigid pavement construction. A variety of fine and coarse recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) were investigated. The feasibility of replacing 50% of Portland cement with industrial by-products and supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) was also evaluated. Experimental program was conducted to quantify the effect of concrete mixture design and RCA characteristics on mechanical properties, drying shrinkage, cracking potential, and durability of concrete. The development of a database and analysis using …