Civil Engineering Commons^™

Numerical Simulation Of The Overlay Tester, Andrea Gutierrez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The Overlay Tester (OT) is a relatively new testing procedure that characterizes the cracking resistance of hot mix asphalt (HMA) by evaluating the number of cycles to failure of an HMA specimen. The lack of repeatability and high variability of the results have been a concern to transportation agencies. A careful experimental review of the OT test protocol reveals the complex stress and strain distributions that should be understood in order to improve the certainty associated with the test.

The objective of this Thesis is to present the numerical modeling of the OT test through finite element analysis (FEA). When …

Transportation Network Resilience: Evaluation Of Performance Measures, Jessica L. Miramontes

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The resilience of an urban transportation network is its ability to adapt, absorb, anticipate, and rapidly recover from a disruptive event causing link closures, node closures, and reduced capacity, while providing an acceptable level of service. Several researchers, have performed studies of Transportation Network Resilience (TNR). However, there has not been a clear definition of how to measure or quantify TNR. The objective of this research is to define, quantify and compare the consistency of different measures of TNR and make recommendations to engineers and decision makers. In this research seven proposed parameters have been defined as candidate measures of …

National Evaluation For Development And Exploration Potential Of Mineral Commodities In Produced Waters, Stephanie Ray

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The U.S. Geological Survey recently updated a geochemical database consisting of data for approximately 160,000 produced waters samples, primarily from petroleum and geothermal reservoirs. Using major and trace elements from conventional and unconventional well types from the database, this Thesis provides a comprehensive, national evaluation for mineral commodity potential in produced waters. Produced waters contain virtually every naturally occurring element and can range in salinity to several times that of seawater. Despite the typical outlook to view produced waters as a waste, they have potential for natural resource development.

This Thesis provides, for each mineral commodity found in the produced …

Ontology-Driven Integration Of Data For Freight Performance Measures, Eduardo J. Torres

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Transportation performance measures are defined as quantitative and qualitative indicators that rely on data or information to explain mobility, congestion, safety, environmental and other factors. Though performance measures have been used for freeways and other highways, not many have been specified and applied to the freight transportation system. Recently, freight performance measures have been recommended by Federal Highway Administration to quantify the operating efficiency of the freight transportation system on existing infrastructures. This research seeks to expand this concept and to develop a comprehensive freight performance measurement framework. The expanded framework recommended in this Thesis consists of four criteria: safety, …

A Discretionary Lane Changing Decision Model Based On Fuzzy Inference System, Esmaeil Balal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A lane changing event involves up to five vehicles: the subject vehicle, preceding and following vehicles in the original lane, and the preceding and following vehicles in the target lane. Understanding the behavior of the subject vehicle with respect to the surrounding vehicles is fundamental to the study of the safety of a lane change maneuver and for the modeling of lane changing behavior. First, the statistical properties of 10 lane changing parameters were defined and studied using the Next Generation SIMulation (NGSIM) vehicle trajectory data collected at the I-80 Freeway in Emeryville, California, and then tested with data collected …

Case Studies In Implementing Intelligent Compaction In Construction Of Earthwork, Jorge Alberto Beltran

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The nuclear density gauge (NDG) is the current tool for field compaction quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) for soil and base layers in the state of Texas. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) uses this nondestructive testing (NDT) device to determine the compacted density and moisture content of earthwork and unbound aggregates. However, to provide the missing link between design and quality management parameters, an alternative stiffness-based approach would be more desirable. Intelligent Compaction (IC) is defined as continuous assessment of mechanistic soil properties (stiffness, modulus) through roller parameters (frequency, amplitude and speed) integrated with global positioning system …

Influence Of The Stress Path, Moisture, And Fine Content On Permanent Deformation Of Geomaterials, Uriel Brian Arteaga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Permanent deformation within the unbound granular is a predominant feature that results in the degradation and loss of serviceability to the pavement structure as the passage of traffic wheel loads accumulate. Proper characterization of the multi-layer structures is necessary to improve the rutting performance by mechanistically identifying the factors that contribute to the progression of plastic deformations. A consequence of ignoring these features results in the underestimation of the rutting potential, which amounts to premature failure. Current rutting models fail to incorporate factors such as moisture state, gradation, and stress-paths which are paramount to proper characterization of base and sub-base …

A Decision Making Approach For Selection Of Sustainable Pavements In Texas By Integrating Life Cycle Cost Analysis (Lcca), Life Cycle Assessment (Lca) Of Environmental And Social Impacts, Sundeep Inti

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

A sustainable pavement can be defined as the one that minimally impacts future economic opportunities, social conditions, human health, and the environment and still fulfills the engineering objectives. Although a pavement as outlined above is not yet entirely feasible, continual effort from every stakeholder with a vision of achieving sustainable development is essential for the future of society. In this study, one such effort was initiated by proposing a framework for selection of pavement design based on sustainable development.

The concept of sustainability is widely believed to be founded on three criteria: economic, environmental, and social standards. Since the purpose …

Human Health Risks From Tap Water Chlorine Disinfection Byproducts: An Ohio Study, Leann L. Brown

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The use of chlorine in the disinfection process for drinking water has resulted in the creation of disinfection byproducts in the potable water. These carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBP’s) pose a risk to consumers. Traveling through the water distribution system, stagnation of water in plumbing pipes, and the heating of the water in a hot water tank are all responsible for increasing the concentration of DBP’s. In this report, the existing concentrations of trihalomethanes (THM’s) and haloacetic acids (HAA’s) were gathered from the consumer confidence reports (CCR’s) of eight water treatment plants in five Ohio cities. These values were given assumed …

Rate Of Pedestrian Signal Phase Actuation As A Proxy Measurement Of Pedestrian Demand, Christopher M. Day, Hiromal Premachandra, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Use Of High Resolution Signal Controller Data To Identify Red Light Running, Steven M. Lavrenz, Christopher M. Day, Jay Grossman, Rick Freije, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Extending Link Pivot Offset Optimization To Arterials With Single Controller Diverging Diamond Interchange, Christopher M. Day, Steven M. Lavrenz, Amanda L. Stevens, R Eric Miller, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Real-Time Probe Data Dashboards For Interstate Performance Monitoring During Winter Weather And Incidents, Margaret Mcnamara, Howell Li, Stephen Remias, Deborah Horton, Ed Cox, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Opportunities For Detector-Free Signal Offset Optimization With Limited Connected Vehicle Market Penetration: A Proof-Of-Concept Study, Christopher M. Day, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Scaling Detailed High-Resolution Data Split Performance Measures To Statewide System Level Management, Howell Li, Christopher M. Day, James R. Sturdevant, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Scalable Methods For Monitoring Limited Access Roadways Using Crowd-Sourced Probe Data, Howell Li, Stephen M. Remias, Aaron Taylor, Darcy M. Bullock

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Field-Scale Testing And Numerical Investigation Of Soil-Boulder Interaction Under Vehicular Impact Using Fem And Coupled Fem-Sph Formulations, Lynsey Reese, Tong Qiu, Daniel Linzell, Zoltan Rado

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

A computational approach that couples the Finite Element Method and the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method may be advantageous for simulating the response of complex, physical systems involving large deformations. However, comparisons of this modeling technique against field-scale test data are remarkably sparse in literature. This study presents three field-scale tests involving vehicular impact into three landscape vehicular anti-ram barriers. Each barrier consisted of a single boulder embedded in compacted American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials soil and physical testing resulted in one of the following outcomes: minimal boulder/soil movement (Test 1), moderate boulder/soil movement (Test 2), and severe …

Cargo Shipping Demand Modeling, Infrastructure Mapping, And Emission Impacts Of Selected U.S. Ports, Robert Coffman Richardson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research included shipping demand modeling, infrastructure asset mapping, and impacts of carbon dioxide (co2) emission. The current volume of imports and exports was reviefor U.S. ports in the east coast, gulf coast, and west coast regions. The import and export of goods is a major part of the U.S. economy, and the volume of cargo handled by U.S. ports is expected to increase in the future as population increases. The major motivation for this thesis was the need for U.S. ports to make plans now to accommodate this expected growth in volume. Ports distribute commodities throughout the U.S., and …

Development Of A Dynamic Coupled Hydro-Geomechanical Code And Its Application To Induced Seismicity, Md Mamun Miah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Strength And Thermal Properties Of Engineered Cementitious Materials, Hannah Maxwell

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Corrosion Protection Systems In Offshore Structures, Hristo Ivanov

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Corrosion plays a pivotal role in the engineering world. Engineers of all disciplines must consider the dangers that this phenomenon can incur. Interestingly, corrosion mitigation is not a topic that is addressed in most academic curricula. The goal of this paper is to give engineering students a brief introduction into corrosion and some of the prevention techniques commonly used today.

The design of a corrosion protection system for offshore structures is discussed in order to illustrate how these techniques can be utilized even in the most extreme environments. First, the driving force behind corrosion is examined, introducing the basic mechanics …

Estimation Of Submarine Groundwater Discharge Into The Indian River Lagoon, Ashok Pandit, N. Ali, H. Heck, K. Mamoua

Mechanical and Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

A calibrated and validated finite difference numerical model was used to estimate the spatial and temporal distribution of the Meteoric Groundwater Discharge (MGWD) and Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) into a coasted estuary known as the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) at two transects. Specifically, this paper describes the methodology used to determine: a) the quantity of MGWD originating from the mainland and the barrier island, b) the spatial distribution of the SGD into the IRL, c) the groundwater salinity and hydraulic head distribution below the IRL, and d) the regional flow directions of the MGWD and the Oceanic Groundwater Discharge (OGWD) …

Bs News January/February

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Characterization Of Human-Induced Vibrations, Benjamin Thomas Davis

Theses and Dissertations

In the US alone, 20% of citizens will be over the age of 65 by the year 2030, and the largest challenge facing this growing demographic is not a new disease but a simple motion - the fall. These events are the premier cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries. In fact, a fall is so common that every 17 seconds an older adult is treated for fall-related injuries, and every 30 minutes, an older adult dies from fall complications. Research has shown a positive outcome of a fall event is largely dependent on the immediate response (<30 minutes) and rescue of the person.

This work explores …

Addressing The Impact Of Gavins Point Dam On The Lowermost~1400 Kilometers Of The Missouri River, Gregory Leaphart

Theses and Dissertations

The Missouri River originates in the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and joins the Mississippi River near St. Louis, Missouri. Beginning in the early 1900s, engineering efforts, such as dam construction, channel narrowing, and river alignment, were performed for flood control, navigational purposes, to use of water for agricultural and industrial needs, to produce hydroelectric power and the impounded lakes for recreation. These projects permanently altered the flow and sediment transport regimes in the river and the exchange of sediment with the surrounding floodplain. We focus on the long term effects of dam construction and channel narrowing on approximately the …

Modeling Embankment Breach Due To Overtopping, Ali Asghari Tabrizi

Theses and Dissertations

Despite numerous embankment failures around the world, in-depth assessments as well as reliable, comprehensive sets of data of such failures are limited. Detailed understanding of the earthen embankment failure process and the dominant parameters affecting the failure are needed to predict and model the breach process precisely. Therefore, a series of laboratory experiments on embankment (i.e., dam and levee) overtopping as well as erodibility measurements using the Submerged Jet test are conducted. Also, to study the influence of different model parameters (e.g., turbulence model, bedload formula), one of the dam embankment experiments is simulated. The main goal of this research …

Expedient Airfield Runway Repair Using Folded Fiberglass Mat, Christopher Y. Tuan, Willaim C. Dass

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

For expedient airfield runway repair, the US Air Force has developed a folded fiberglass mat to cover craters repaired with a well-compacted granular base material. The objective of this study was to evaluate the adequacy of using polymer plugs to anchor the mat to a repaired asphalt pavement for heavy aircraft operations. The effort consisted of materials testing, field experiments and analytical modeling. An 89,800-kg (198,000-pound) load cart having the footprint of a single C-5 main gear was pulled on a mat with wheels locked to simulate full braking forces. Anchor bushings were instrumented to measure anchor loads. A simplified …

Do Characteristics Of Walkable Environments Support Bicycling? Toward A Definition Of Bicycle-Supported Development, Christopher D. Muhs, Kelly Clifton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Does walkability equate with bikeability? Through a comprehensive review of studies of the built environment and bicycling, including mode choice, route choice, safety, and urban design literature, this paper addresses this question. Previous work has raised the issue that the two modes are functionally different, despite them often being combined into a nonmotorized category, and has highlighted research challenges. Existing studies of bikeability have largely focused on infrastructure. This paper contributes to the literature on bicycling and the built environment by providing a thorough review of past research with a focus on the relationships between land use, urban form, and …

Discrepancy Analysis Between Close-Range Photogrammetry And Terrestrial Lidar, Sam R. Newsome Jr

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

This study presents a comparison of building measurements performed on 3D models generated by two different approaches. In one approach, the models were produced via close-range photogrammetry. Such models are based on still-frame photographs that are, post-processed with commercially available photogrammetric software. In the second approach, 3D point-cloud models were generated via laser scanning. For this purpose, three case studies were conducted. The first was a simple one story structure, the second was a multi-story Maya ruin, and the third was an earth filled terrace. Several benchmarks within a closed traverse were established to serve as standard georeference points for …

Experimental Study Of Sinkhole Failure Related To Groundwater Level Drops, Mohamed Alrowaimi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sinkholes are natural geohazard phenomena that cause damage to property and may lead to loss of life. They can also cause added pollution to the aquifer by draining unfiltered water from streams, wetland, and lakes into the aquifer. Sinkholes occur in a very distinctive karst geology where carbonate, limestone, dolomite, or gypsum, are encountered as the bedrock that can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. Sinkholes can occur gradually or suddenly with catastrophic impact depending on the geology and hydrology of the area. Predicting the formation and the collapse of a sinkhole based on the current ground investigation …