Civil Engineering Commons^™

Performance Analysis And Modelling Of Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermal Solar Panels, Nicole C. Annis

Doctoral Dissertations

A photovoltaic-thermal (PVT) panel was constructed, tested, and modelled using both MATLAB and TRNSYS. During the experimental testing, which took place on the Missouri University of Science and Technology campus in Rolla, Missouri; two identical PVT panels were tested alongside two PV panels to gather an electrical baseline for comparison. Approximately 69 days’ worth of data were of data were collected during the summer of 2014. The PV electrical, PVT electrical, PVT thermal and PVT combined (electrical and thermal) efficiencies were 3.5-5.6%, 3.4-5.4%, 20.9-11.6%, and 24.3-17.0%, respectively.

A MATLAB program was developed using existing equations for one-dimensional, quasi-steady model of …

Shape Based Classification And Functional Forecast Of Traffic Flow Profiles, Wasim Kayani

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation proposes a methodology for traffic flow pattern analysis, its validation, and forecasting. The shape of the daily traffic flows are directly related to the commuter’s traffic behavior which merit analysis based on their shape characteristics. As a departure from the traditional approaches, this research proposed a methodology based on shape for traffic flow analysis. Specifically, Granulometric Size Distributions (GSDs) were used to achieve classification of daily traffic flow patterns. A mathematical morphology method was used that allows the clustering of shapes. The proposed methodology leads to discovery of interesting daily traffic phenomena such as five normal daily traffic …

Development, Testing, And Analytical Modeling Of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bridge Deck Panels, Hesham R. Tuwair

Doctoral Dissertations

A fiber-reinforced, polyurethane foam core was developed, tested, and evaluated as a possible replacement for the costly honeycomb core that is currently used to manufacture fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) bridge deck panels. Replacing these panels would reduce both initial production costs and construction times while also enhancing structural performance. Experimental, numerical, and analytical investigations were each conducted. Three different polyurethane foam (PU) configurations were used for the inner core during the study’s first phase. These configurations consisted of a high-density PU foam (Type 1), a gridwork of thin, interconnecting, glass fiber/resin webs that formed a bidirectional gridwork in-filled with a low-density …

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Image Collection And Computer Vision Image Processing For Surveying And Mapping That Meets Professional Needs, James Preston Peterson Ii

Doctoral Dissertations

"Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are rapidly blurring the lines between traditional and close range photogrammetry, and between surveying and photogrammetry. UAS are providing an economic platform for performing aerial surveying on small projects. The focus of this research was to describe traditional photogrammetric imagery and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) geospatial products, describe close range photogrammetry (CRP), introduce UAS and computer vision (CV), and investigate whether industry mapping standards for accuracy can be met using UAS collection and CV processing. A 120-acre site was selected and 97 aerial targets were surveyed for evaluation purposes. Four UAS flights of varying heights …

Mechanical Characteristics Of Organically Modified Fly Ash-Kaolinite Mixtures, Xin Kang

Doctoral Dissertations

"Fly ash is a hazardous waste material to the environment. Beneficial reuse of fly ash, however, brings economic and environmental benefits, i.e., decreases the cost of disposal, reduces greenhouse gas emission, and improves mechanical properties of construction materials. Due to the lack of pozzolanic properties, the reuse rate of Class F fly ash in geotechnical engineering is relatively low (ACAA 2013). In order to promote the effectiveness and sustainability of high volume reuse of class F fly ash in geotechnical engineering, biopolymers (Chitosan, and Xanthan gum) and synthetic polymers (Polyethylene Oxide, PEO) were used instead of the traditional stabilizers to …

Behavior Of Hollow-Core Fiber Reinforced Polymer-Concrete-Steel Bridge Columns Under Extreme Loading, Omar I. Abdelkarim

Doctoral Dissertations

"This study introduces an investigation of the behavior of innovative, resilient, and quickly-constructed hollow-core fiber reinforced polymer-concrete-steel (HC-FCS) bridge columns under extreme loading. The HC-FCS column consists of a concrete wall sandwiched between an outer fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) tube and an inner steel tube. The steel tube was embedded into a reinforced concrete footing with an embedded length of 1.6-1.8 times the diameter of the steel tube. The FRP tube only confined the concrete wall and truncated at the top of the footing level. The hollow steel tube was the only reinforcement for shear and flexure inside the HC-FCS …

Laboratory Evaluation Of Organic Soil Mixing, Spencer Dean Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organic soils present a difficult challenge for roadway designers and construction due to the high compressibility of the soil structure, the often associated high water table, and the high moisture content. For other soft or loose soils (inorganic soils), stabilization via cement or similar binders (a method called soil mixing) has proven to be an effective solution. To this end, the Federal Highway Administration has published a comprehensive design manual for these techniques. Organic soils, however, are not addressed therein to a level of confidence for design, as organic soils do not follow the trends of inorganic soils. This has …

The Simulation & Evaluation Of Surge Hazard Using A Response Surface Method In The New York Bight, Michael H. Bredesen

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Atmospheric features, such as tropical cyclones, act as a driving mechanism for many of the major hazards affecting coastal areas around the world. Accurate and efficient quantification of tropical cyclone surge hazard is essential to the development of resilient coastal communities, particularly given continued sea level trend concerns. Recent major tropical cyclones that have impacted the northeastern portion of the United States have resulted in devastating flooding in New York City, the most densely populated city in the US. As a part of national effort to re-evaluate coastal inundation hazards, the Federal Emergency Management Agency used the Joint Probability Method …

Numerical Modeling And Analysis Of Tidal Variance And Marsh Productivity In The Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Florida, Amanda S. Tritinger

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Long term sustainability in salt marsh and mangroves is dependent on dominant species, such as Spartina alterniflora, to capture organic and inorganic sediment. The research analyzes that sustainability. This work demonstrates the prediction of hydrodynamics and biomass density of salt marsh to provide useful information for the planning and mitigation of sea-level rise impacts on marsh sustainability in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR), Florida. An advanced circulation code was applied to simulate hydrodynamics (i.e., shallow water equations) in the GTMNERR. The model used a set of parameters and conditions based on the GTMNERR domain to predict …

Bottom Friction Assessment For Hydrodynamic Currents In The Lower St. Johns River, Henok Kefelegn Demissie

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A preexisting version of the 2D finite-element hydrodynamic model (code) ADCIRC was modified to enable assimilation of velocity data for calculation of longwave hydrodynamics of the lower St. Johns River. The data assimilation also enables model calibration and parameter estimation of directionally variant Manning’s n value using an anisotropic formulation of bottom roughness. This modified version of the ADCIRC code differs from the original ADCIRC model, as it introduces a module to provide evaluation of directional Manning’s roughness coefficient using observed velocity data for ebb and flood flow durations. The vector-based directional Manning’s n value is found by comparing the …

Comparison Of Hydrologic Model Performance Statistics Using Thiessen Polygon Rain Gauge And Nexrad Precipitation Input Methods At Different Watershed Spatial Scales And Rainfall Return Frequencies, Amanda E. Tancreto

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As hydrological computer modeling software continues to increase in complexity, the need for further understanding of the value of different model input datasets becomes apparent. Frequently used precipitation model input include rain gauge data and next-generation radar–based (NEXRAD) rainfall data. Rain gauge data are usually interpolated across a model domain using various methods including the Thiessen Polygon methodology, which may be data-sparse in some areas and overly data-dense in others. However, rain gauge data are generally very easy to use in hydrologic model development, often requiring little to no data processing. NEXRAD data have the potential to improve hydrologic runoff …

Effect Of Lateral Stiffness On Bridge Deck Performance, Andrea Del Pilar Toro

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of the empirical deck design method has increased its acceptance due to the economic advantages that it presents when compared to its counterpart, the traditional method. This can be attributed to the fact that the empirical method provides an appropriate design where the deck withstands stress not only due to the steel reinforcement but to an implicit arching membrane stress set-up as an effect of the lateral restraint surrounding the deck slab known as Compressive Membrane Action (CMA).

It has been proved through research that most design codes underestimate the strength of laterally restrained slabs. However, there is …

The Development Of A Hydrodynamics-Based Storm Severity Index, Gabriel Francis Todaro

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A hydrodynamic-based storm severity scale that ranks the damage potential of a storm at a given coastal area is developed. Seventeen tropical and extratropical storm events at 113 different locations on the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico are examined in order to create and verify a Storm Severity Index Model (SSIM). The results from the SSIM are then used to create a location-based storm severity scale titled the Twenty-Four Point Storm Severity Scale. The Twenty-Four Point Scale is based on three subsets of factors. The first is the energy flux above the normal mean high water line that …

Drilled Shaft Skin Resistance Design In The Cooper Marl, William J. Gieser

Theses and Dissertations

As drilled shafts have become a more popular foundation type in the Charleston, South Carolina area, there has been an ongoing goal of optimizing drilled shaft design while maintaining the structural integrity of the foundation. In the Charleston area, the primary bearing stratum for deep foundations is the Cooper Marl, a calcareous Oligocene formation. Research performed from 2002 to 2004 on load test data from drilled shafts constructed in the Cooper Marl and soil properties from three test sites for the Cooper River Bridge explored the relationship between the measured skin resistance and geotechnical properties. In the 15 years since …

Effect Of Dosage Of Non-Chloride Accelerator Versus Chloride Accelerator On The Cracking Potential Of Concrete Repair Slabs, Thomas F. Meagher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Due to strict placement time and strength constraints during the construction of concrete pavement repair slabs, accelerators must be incorporated into the mixture design. Since the most common accelerator, calcium chloride, promotes corrosion of concrete reinforcement, a calcium nitrate-based accelerator was studied as an alternative. To replicate mixtures used in the field, commercial accelerators commonly used in concrete pavement repair slabs were used in the current study. Crack risk of different mixtures was assessed using modeling and cracking frame testing. HIPERPAV modeling was conducted using several measured mixture properties; namely, concrete mechanical properties, strength-based and heat of hydration-based activation energies, …

Dynamic Behavior Of Operational Wind Turbines Considering Aerodynamic And Seismic Load Interaction, Mohammad-Amin Asareh

Doctoral Dissertations

"With the advancements in the wind energy production industry, the demand for a cost effective and safe design of wind turbine structures is growing rapidly. The wide deployment of wind turbines in locations with high seismic hazard has lead engineers to take into account a more comprehensive seismic design of such structures. In response to the need for a computational tool that can perform coupled simulations of wind and seismic loads, a seismic module has been developed for the publicly available National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) code, FAST, at the first step of this research. This achievement allows engineers working …