Civil Engineering Commons^™

Turnover Intentions: A Quantitative Analysis Of Comments From Air Force Civil Engineering Company Grade Officers, Tj E. Gabrielson

Theses and Dissertations

Voluntary turnover is a concern for the military and many other organizations from a financial and performance standpoint. This study applied grounded theory to code and network comments provided by CE officers in 2010. The results of this study found the most influential construct that predicts turnover intentions to be the relationship of OPSTEMPO influencing interrole conflict. This conflict is increased by the workload at home station due to under manning within CE. OPSTEMPO is an important aspect of a military member's decision to stay or leave the service because it was found to interact with a multitude of other …

An Analysis Of Turnover Intentions: A Reexamination Of Air Force Civil Engineering Company Grade Officers, Joshua D. Connell

Theses and Dissertations

A potential retention problem is facing company grade officers (CGOs) in the Air Force Civil Engineer (CE) career field. This is due to the stress caused by a demanding workload experienced during a prolonged period of conflict (Iraq and Afghanistan), which is compounded by a reduction in force. The possibility of reduced retention is thus a concern for CE leadership. Based on past research, and the prior study conducted by Riddel (2010), a new model of turnover intentions was developed. The new model expands on Riddel's simplified model of turnover and attempts to focus on key factors that may help …

Rainwater Harvesting Storage Methods And Self Supply In Uganda, Jonathan Peter Blanchard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Self supply is an emerging approach to water supply which focuses on fostering household investment in incremental improvements to their water sources. When successful, it can lower costs and increase sustainability by offering users a larger share

of ownership in their own supply, and harnessing the already existing strengths of a community rather than trying to impose an external perspective. In addition to well upgrading and source protection, one of the key self supply areas is rainwater harvesting.

Uganda has a diverse selection of rainwater storage options, but many of them are scattered and disparate.

The objective of this study …

Willingness-To-Pay For Maintenance And Improvements To Existing Sanitation Infrastructure: Assessing Community-Led Total Sanitation In Mopti, Mali, Justin Vern Meeks

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, much focus has been put on the sustainability of water and sanitation development projects. Experts in this field have found that many of the projects of the past have failed to achieve sustainability because of a lack of demand for water and sanitation interventions at a grassroots level. For years projects looked to create this demand through various subsidy schemes, with the "software" of behavior change and education taking a backseat to the "hardware" of infrastructure provision. Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) is a fairly new way of looking at the issues of increasing basic sanitation coverage, promoting …

Maintenance Operations Degradation Of Airfield Pavement Markings, John C. Jaszkowiak

Theses and Dissertations

Pavement markings are an essential element in the navigational aids subsystem for any airfield. Most airfields still use waterborne paint as the primary marking material, although there are other materials in use on roadways that airfield managers could use to save time and money. An airfield experiences a host of maintenance operations that cause degradation of the pavement markings. Of particular concern are rubber removal operations, sweeping operations, and snowplowing operations. This research focuses on chemical rubber removal operations and sweeping operations. The study evaluates waterborne paint markings and thermoplastic marking strips to determine if these marking materials perform differently …

Beneficial Reuse Of Corrugated Paperboard In Civil Engineering Applications, Gregory M. Stone

Master's Theses

Abstract

Beneficial Reuse of Corrugated Paperboard in Civil Engineering Applications

Gregory Michael Stone

An investigation was conducted to explore the potential for reuse of corrugated paperboard. Corrugated paperboard represents a large fraction of the municipal solid waste generated and discarded in the United States. Alternative applications for reuse can provide a significant benefit by reducing the volume of waste being disposed and by reducing the use of raw materials. Four civil engineering applications were examined for potential beneficial reuse of corrugated paperboard: slurry trench construction, vertical drilling, directional drilling, and controlled low strength materials (CLSM).

For the purpose of this …

Quantifying The Life Cycle Benefits Of Performance-Based Design In Sustainable Design, David Isaac Carmona

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Quantifying the Life Cycle Benefits of Performance-Based Design in Sustainable Design

David Carmona

For this thesis, a method is developed and tested for use with performance based design to quantify the sustainable and financial benefits of designing buildings to a structural performance level higher than Life-Safety. This paper starts to answer the question, “which would be a better investment: build structures to a performance level of Immediate Occupancy (IO) with the likelihood of less damage and downtime after an earthquake or continue to build to the building code’s implied minimum performance level of Life-Safety (LS)?”

An ASCE 7-05 designed …

Theory For Dynamic Longitudinal Dispersion In Fractures And Rivers With Poiseuille Flow, Lichun Wang, M. Bayani Cardenas, Wen Deng, Philip C. Bennett

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

We present a theory for dynamic longitudinal dispersion coefficient (D) for transport by Poiseuille flow, the foundation for models of many natural systems, such as in fractures or rivers. Our theory describes the mixing and spreading process from molecular diffusion, through anomalous transport, and until Taylor dispersion. D is a sixth order function of fracture aperture (b) or river width (W). The time (T) and length (L) scales that separate preasymptotic and asymptotic dispersive transport behavior are T = b²/(4D _m), where D_m is the molecular diffusion …

Real-Time Change And Damage Detection Of Landslides And Other Earth Movements Threatening Public Infrastructure, Michael J. Olsen, Shawn Butcher, Evon P. Silvia

TREC Final Reports

Geologic hazards such as coastal erosion, landslides, seismic loading, etc. constantly threaten public highway construction and maintenance. Repeat surveys using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS, ground-based LiDAR) enable rapid 3D data acquisition to map, see, analyze, and understand the processes generating such problems. Previously, change detection and analysis between scan surveys was conducted during post-processing upon return to the office, instead of while collecting data in the field. Change detection in the field improves the effectiveness and efficiency of the field investigation. We have developed a new algorithm that quickly geo-references scans upon field acquisition and simultaneously performs change detection by …

Bs News March/April

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Strength And Fatigue Of Three Glass Fiber Reinforced Composite Bridge Decks With Mechanical Deck To Stringer Connections, Andrew Gleason, Peter Dusicka

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Replacement of the steel grating deck on the lift span of the Morrison Bridge in Portland, OR, will utilize glass fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) panels to address ongoing maintenance issues of the deteriorated existing deck, improve driver safety and introduce bridge water runoff treatment. This report outlines the testing methods and results of an experimental program aimed primarily at evaluating a new open cell deck. While most FRP panels are connected via shear studs that are grouted within isolated pockets, the panels in this case were bolted directly to the steel stringers. Two different FRP deck options were evaluated for …

Micromechanical Study Of Two-Phase Flow During Air Sparging, Shengyan Gao

Dissertations

Air sparging (AS) is an in-situ soil/groundwater remediation technology, which involves the injection of pressurized air/oxygen through an air sparging well below the region of contamination. The efficiency of the in-situ sparging system is mainly controlled by the extent of contact between injected air and contaminated soil and pore fluid. Hence, characterizing the mechanisms governing movement of air through saturated porous media is therefore critical to the design of an effective cleanup treatment. However, in spite of the success of air sparging as a remediation technique for the clean-up of contaminated soils, to date, the fundamental mechanisms or the physics …

Development Of Gis Database For Hayward Fault, Olugbope Maku

Theses

Earthquake activity and its attendant effects on the earth surface have been a major concern for some time now, especially considering their negative effects in loss of human life, property damage including the emotional impact on witnesses. This study focuses on the Hayward Fault, located in the heart of population center in Contra Costa County of the San Francisco Bay Area, California.

Geographical Information System (GIS) has proved to be a valuable tool in recent years in the study and analysis of earthquakes to complement emergency response efforts. GIS has been adapted to estimate the impact of the geologic hazards …

Modeling Groundwater Levels On The Calera Aquifer Region In Central Mexico Using Modflow, Jairo E. Hernández, Prasanna H. Gowda, Terry A. Howell, Jean L. Steiner, Francisco Mojarro, Ernesto P. Núñez, José R. Avila

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A conceptual model for the Calera Aquifer has been created to represent the aquifer system beneath the Calera Aquifer Region (CAR) in the State of Zacatecas, Mexico. The CAR area was uniformly partitioned into a 500 X 500 m grid generating a high resolution model that represented the natural boundaries of the aquifer. A computer model was calibrated and validated to verify output from the model corresponding to situations that matched the historical aquifer performance. Predicted groundwater levels were compared with measured data collected from nine observation wells between 1954 and 2004 to evaluate model performance. The main objective of …

Lynches Lane Reed & Willow Bed Facility Final Report South Dubin County Council, Liam Mccarton, Sean O'Hogain, Don Mcdonald, Anna Reid

Reports

This final report will present results from a two year study to monitor the performance of a hybrid reed willow bed facility at Lynches Lane, in the administrative area of South Dublin County Council (SDCC). Design specifications for the facility are presented. Monitoring results for a two year period including influent and effluent parameters, rainfall, potential evapotranspiration, and soil classification are also presented and discussed. During the two year monitoring period the system achieved a zero discharge. This report will discuss the potential application of similar systems within South Dublin County Council administrative area. This is in the context of …

Sampling Bias In Evaluating The Probability Of Seismically Induced Soil Liquefaction With Spt & Cpt Case Histories, Abhishek Jain

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

Several deterministic and probabilistic methods are used to evaluate the probability of seismically induced liquefaction of a soil. The probabilistic models usually possess some uncertainty in that model and uncertainties in the parameters used to develop that model. These model uncertainties vary from one statistical model to another. Most of the model uncertainties are epistemic, and can be addressed through appropriate knowledge of the statistical model. One such epistemic model uncertainty in evaluating liquefaction potential using a probabilistic model such as logistic regression is sampling bias. Sampling bias is the difference between the class distribution in the sample used for …

Development Of System Reliability Models For Railway Bridges, Andrzej S. Nowak Ph.D., Anna Maria Rakoczy Ph.D.

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Performance of the railway transportation network depends on the reliability of railway bridges, which can be affected by various forms of deterioration and extreme environmental conditions. More than half of the railway bridges in US were built before 1950 and many show signs of distress. There is a need for efficient methods to evaluate the safety reserve in the railway bridges by identification of the most sensitive parts of the bridge. An accurate estimation of remaining fatigue life of a structural component is very important in prioritizing bridge rehabilitation and replacement. However, existing procedures to evaluate the fatigue behavior of …

Effects Of Geometric Design Features On Truck Crashes On Limited-Access Highways, Sundanda Dissanayake Ph.D., P.E., Niranga Amarasingha M.S.

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Freight can be transported between most points in the country quite efficiently using trucks. However, involvement of large trucks in crashes can cause much damage and serious injuries, due to their large sizes and heavy weights. Large truck crashes occurring on limited-access highways may be more severe than crashes occurring on other roadways due to high speed limits, and traffic- and geometric-related characteristics. The purpose of this study is to describe the relationships between large truck crash probability, and traffic and geometric characteristics. Crash data from 2005 to 2010 were obtained from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), which included …

Use Of High-Volume Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (Rap) For Asphalt Pavement Rehabilitation Due To Increased Highway Truck Traffic From Freight Transportation, Mustaque Hossain, Haritha Y. Musty, Nasim Sabahfer

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

A recent rise in asphalt binder prices has led state agencies and contractors to use higher quantities of Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP). Besides being economic, sustainable, and environmentally friendly, RAP can be replaced for a portion of aggregates in Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) where quality aggregates are scarce. In this project, the effect of increasing RAP percentage and using fractionated RAP (FRAP) in HMA mixture on moisture resistance, rutting, and fatigue cracking were evaluated. Mixtures with five different RAP and FRAP contents (20%, 30%, and 40% RAP, and 30% and 40% FRAP) were studied. The Hamburg Wheel Tracking Device (HWTD) …

Led Traffic Signal Replacement Schedules: Facilitating Smooth Freight Flows, Suzanna Long Ph.D., Ruwen Qin Ph.D., Abhijit Gosavi Ph.D., C. H. Wu Ph.D, Tom Ryan P.E., Casey Noll

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This research details a field study of LED traffic signals in Missouri and develops a replacement schedule based on key findings. Rates of degradation were statistically analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Results of this research will provide a methodology for engineering managers in state departments of transportation and local communities in identifying best practices and replacement standards for LED traffic signal technology. These findings will facilitate smooth freight flows through the use of more efficient technologies

The U.S.-Canada Border Effect: Smaller Than Previously Thought And Becoming Smaller, Miwa Matsuo D.Des., Hirokazu Ishise Ph.D.

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

We revisit the effect of the U.S.-Canada national border on trade, considering to what extent the border reduces trade when observable economic factors are controlled. A reexamination of the data yields estimates of the border effect that are 50% higher than previously expected (Feenstra, 2004); however, the nonlinearity of the estimation and distance measure reduce the effect by 65%. We therefore conclude that the border effect in 1993 had a factor of 4.10. This figure is 15% lower than the effect proposed by previous research. We also calculate the border effect for subsequent years and find that this effect steadily …

Monitoring The Effects Of Knickpoint Erosion On Bridge Pier And Abutment Structural Damage Due To Scour, Thanos Papanicolaou Ph.D., David M. Admiraal, Christopher Wilson Ph.D., University Of Iowa

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The goal of this study was to conduct a field-oriented evaluation, coupled with advanced laboratory techniques, of channel degradation in a stream of the Deep Loess Region of western Iowa, namely Mud Creek. The Midwestern United States is an ideal place for such a study considering that ~$1 Billion of infrastructure and farmland has been lost recently to channel degradation. A common form of channel degradation in this region is associated with the formation of knickpoints, which naturally manifest as short waterfalls within the channel that migrate upstream. As flow plunges over a knickpoint face, scouring of the downstream bed …

Feasibility Of Using Cellular Telephone Data To Determine The Truckshed Of Intermodal Facilities, Steven D. Schrock, Thomas Mulinazzi, Ming-Heng Wang

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

In order to determine the feasibility of using cellular telephone location data in deriving the geographic extent (truckshed) from intermodal facilities, this study was conducted to determine the feasibility analysis in three aspects: technology, penetration analysis and truck tracking methodology. A preliminary test was also conducted to demonstrate the cell phone tracking and traveling characteristics identification process using Washington, D.C. metropolitan area data provided by AirSage, Inc. The preliminary feasibility analysis found that cell phone locations could be located within an average of 100 meters or less of their actual position, which is feasible to use for a long haul …

Investigation Of Factors Associated With Truck Crash Severity In Nebraska, Aemal Khattak, Zheng Luo M.S, Mia Gao

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The severity of truck crashes is a concern in the state of Nebraska. This study was undertaken to investigate factors associated with truck crash severity. A two-year dataset obtained from the Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) was analyzed to determine those factors. Results indicated that the involvement of alcohol was associated with more severe injuries in truck crashes on Nebraska highways. Crashes involving farm equipment were more injurious than other truck crashes. Dawn and dusk were critical periods associated with more severe truck crashes. Further, the absence of medians contributed to truck crash severity. Crashes on adverse pavement conditions such …

Impact Of Truck Loading On Design And Analysis Of Asphaltic Pavement Structures- Phase Iii, Yong-Rak Kim, Hoki Ban, Soohyok Im

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This study investigated the impact of the realistic constitutive material behavior of asphalt layer (both nonlinear inelastic and fracture) for the prediction of pavement performance. To this end, this study utilized a cohesive zone model to consider the fracture behavior of asphalt mixtures at an intermediate temperature condition. The semi-circular bend (SCB) fracture test was conducted to characterize the fracture properties of asphalt mixtures. Fracture properties were then used to simulate mechanical responses of pavement structures. In addition, Schapery’s nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive model was implemented into the commercial finite element software ABAQUS via a user defined subroutine (user material, or …

Impact Of Lifetime On U.S. Residential Building Lca Results, Can B. Aktas, M. M. Bilec

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Purpose: Many life cycle assessment (LCA) studies do not adequately address the actual lifetime of buildings and building products, but rather assume a typical value. The goal of this study was to determine the impact of lifetime on residential building LCA results. Including accurate lifetime data into LCA allows a better understanding of a product’s environmental impact that would ultimately enhance the accuracy of LCA results.

Methods This study focuses on refining the U.S. residential building lifetime, as well as lifetime of interior renovation products that are commonly used as interior finishes in homes, to improve LCA results. Residential building …

Structural Behavior And Design Of Barrier-Overhang Connection In Concrete Bridge Superstructures Using Aashto Lrfd Method, Byungik Chang, Kamal Mirtalaei, Seungyeol Lee, Kenneth Leitch

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

The U.S. Departments of Transportation adopted the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications during the year 2007, which is mandated by AASHTO and FHWA. The application of LRFD specification initiated numerous research works in this field. This investigation addresses the LRFD and Standard design methodologies of concrete deck slab, deck overhang, barrier and combined barrier-bridge overhang. The purpose of this study is to propose a simplified manual design approach for the barrier-deck overhang in concrete bridges. For concrete deck slab overhang and barrier, application of National Cooperative Highway Research Program crash test is reviewed. The failure mechanism, design philosophy and load …

Optimization Of Post-Tensioned Box Girder Bridges With Special Reference To Use Of High-Strength Concrete Using Aashto Lrfd Method, Byungik Chang, Kamal Mirtalaei, Seungyeol Lee, Kenneth Leitch

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

With the Federal Highway Administration-mandated implementation of the LRFD specifications, many state departments of transportation (DOTs) have already started implementing LRFD specifications as developed by the AASHTO. Many aspects of the LRFD specifications are being investigated by DOTs and researchers in order for seamless implementation for design and analysis purposes. This paper presents the investigation on several design aspects of post-tensioned box girder bridges designed by LRFD Specifications using conventional or High-Strength Concrete (HSC). A computer spreadsheet application was specifically developed for this investigation. It is capable of analysis, design, and cost evaluation of the superstructure for a cast-in-place post-tensioned …

Assessment Of Student Outcomes Using Industry-Academia Assessment Teams, James Hanson Civil Engineering, M. Robinson, K. Sutterer, T. Chow, M. Reeves, A. Twarek

Faculty Publications - Civil Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Cell Phone Network Data In Traffic Data Collection And Long-Haul Truckshed (Geographic Extent) Tracking, Ming-Heng Wang, Steven D. Schrock, Nate Vander Broek, Thomas Mulinazzi

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

This study analyzed the potential of cell phone positioning techniques in freight truck data collection and long-haul truckshed (geographic extent) tracking. Freight truck identification and tracking algorithms were developed by means of cell phone network data and the established freight truck analysis GIS, to recognize freight trucks and determine their geographic extent (trucksheds). A case study was conducted to illustrate the truckshed tracking process and verify the tracking results from the cell phone network. Cell phones leaving from the test logistics distribution center were tracked and classified based on the developed tracking algorithms. The case study also demonstrated the processes …