Civil Engineering Commons^™

Avoiding Water Bankruptcy In The Drought-Troubled Southwest: What The Us And Iran Can Learn From Each Other, Mojtaba Sadegh, Ali Mirchi, Amir Aghakouchak, Kaveh Madani

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The 2021 water year ends on Sept. 30, and it was another hot, dry year in the western U.S., with almost the entire region in drought. Reservoirs vital for farms, communities and hydropower have fallen to dangerous lows.

The biggest blow came in August, when the U.S. government issued its first ever water shortage declaration for the Colorado River, triggering water use restrictions.

In response, farmers and cities across the Southwest are now finding new, often unsustainable ways to meet their future water needs. Las Vegas opened a lower-elevation tunnel to Lake Mead, a Colorado River reservoir where water levels …

Investigation Of Distracted Driving Events In New Jersey, Ahmed Sajid Hasan

Theses and Dissertations

Every year, thousands of people die in the United States due to crashes involving distracted driving, with this cause contributing to 25% of all fatal traffic crashes in New Jersey in particular. Over the past several years, various techniques (e.g., surveys, crash reports, videos, and simulations) were developed and implemented by the transportation safety community to identify and evaluate distracted driving events. However, these methods collect cross-sectional data on individual subjects and do not provide the actual number of distractions on the road. To fill this gap, this study collected longitudinal data on distracted driving events in the state of …

Undrained Cyclic Loading Of Low Plasticity Silty Soils In The Pacific Northwest Using Laboratory And Field Cyclic Shear Testing, Angelica Melissa Preciado Reyes

Dissertations and Theses

The cyclic behavior of a fine-grained low plasticity silty soil (plasticity index of approximately 15) at a site in Portland, Oregon, is characterized using a field and laboratory cyclic shear test program. The field cyclic tests were performed using the NHERI@UTexas large mobile shakers T-Rex and Rattler. The laboratory tests were performed using resonant column torsional shear and cyclic direct simple shear devices. This testing program's results were used to evaluate the soil's potential to develop excess pore water pressure with cyclic shear strains ranging from 0.00001% to 3%. The laboratory cyclic test results are compared against field cyclic test …

Development Of A New Electro-Osmotic Consolidation Apparatus, Yenni Mariana Ramírez-Mazo, Juan Pablo Osorio, Sergio Agudelo

Conference papers

Electro-osmotic consolidation is a ground improvement technique in which a DC voltage is applied to the soil via electrodes, in order to drain the water contained in the pores increasing the effective stress, and thus improving the geotechnical properties of the soil. The technique increases the shear strength, reduces the compressibility, and changes the chemical composition of the saturated soft clayey and silty soils to which it can be applied. Electro-osmotic consolidation has been successfully applied in different projects worldwide. This paper presents the development of a new electro-osmotic consolidation apparatus built at Universidad de Antioquia. Tests were carried on …

Geological Origin As An Input Variable In Reliability-Based Designs: For An Accurate Exploration In Geotechnical Engineering, Juan Camilo Viviescas, Juan Pablo Osorio

Conference papers

Soil is one of the most difficult materials to characterize realistically, which partly explains the uncertainty between the designs and the geostructures real behavior. Different recommendations have arisen with respect to carrying out field investigations in order to reduce the uncertainties inherent to the soil. However, the field exploration and the implementation of sophisticated geotechnical models have proven to be insufficient to mitigate the geotechnical uncertainty. Therefore, Reliability-Based Designs (RBD) emerge as a decision-making tool through the definition of the probability of failure in conjunction with the typical Factors of Safety. RBD requires a previous understanding of the most appropriate …

3d Printed Concrete & Polymer Concrete For Infrastructure Applications, Daniel Heras Murcia

Civil Engineering ETDs

Additive manufacturing technology has been established as one of the fastest-growing building technologies worldwide. Three-dimensional concrete printing (3DCP) has developed an increasing interest in the last decade due to its prospects as a transformative technology for industries such as the concrete precast. Besides the improvements in automation technologies in construction, traditional construction has faced considerable challenges: high accident rates, labor dependency, significant potential for automation, and high costs associated with the use of traditional formwork. In this context, three-dimensional concrete, also referred to as physical prototyping, is a novel construction technique in which the concrete is extruded layer-to-layer. 3DCP is …

Energy Dissipation Using Negative Stiffness Shells, Mohamed Elgawady, Yasser Darwish

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

A negative stiffness shell has a convex first position, but can transition or snap to a concave second position under a force applied to the exterior surface of the shell in the convex first position. During the transition, the shell exhibits negative stiffness that permits a large amount of energy to be absorbed. The negative stiffness shell can withstand a high initial force threshold prior to transitioning. In the second, concave position the shell can still resist force. Moreover, it is possible for the shell to revert back to the first, convex position with minimal plastic deformation for subsequent use. …

An Exploration Of Lean And Bim Synergies With A Focus On Smes In Construction, Barry Mcauley, Marina Andreou, Alan V. Hore, Avril Behan

Conference papers

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) account for 99.7% of the Irish Construction Industry and contribute to 68% of all employment in the sector. These organisations now find themselves facing the challenge of returning to productive business post the Covid 19 shutdown. More than ever, SMEs must modernise and adapt their business models to embrace new ways of working, such as Lean Construction and Building Information Modelling (BIM), in the absence of clear business incentives. It has proved difficult to persuade SMEs to change their ways of working due to limited finances, internal resources and above all, the cultural shift required …

Arise (Certcoin)- Inspiring Demand For Sustainable Energy Skills, Barry Mcauley, Paul Mccormack, Andrew Hamilton, Eduardo Rebelo

Conference papers

The European AEC Sector now faces impending challenges over the next decade concerning escalating climate targets. To reach these targets, it vital that the green economy deliver a better-skilled workforce and develops new competencies and methods of working. Training in the domain of digital construction technologies and processes, such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), are now seen as essential upskilling vehicles that must be embraced if the sector is to transition towards a greener agenda. To assist in meeting these training needs a selection of partners from the BIM EPA will partake in the Horizon 2020 ARISE project, aiming to …

Engineered Cementitious Composite For Pavement Applications: Materials Development And Design Framework, Hassan Noorvand

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECCs) are a novel class of high-performance fiber-reinforced cementitious composites characterized by their high tensile strain capacity. While ECCs have been presented as a promising material alternative for the construction of durable pavements and overlays, the cost of these materials is a major drawback, which limits their widespread implementation. More importantly, performance prediction models for ECC pavements existing in the literature are incomplete as the effect of ECC plasticity has not been considered in the integration of finite element (FE) analysis and beam flexural fatigue experimental test results. Moreover, the existing ECC pavements performance prediction models are …

Characterization Of Foamed Warm-Mix Asphalt For Workability And Moisture Damage, Biswajit Kumar Bairgi

Civil Engineering ETDs

Warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology reduces the high mixing and compaction temperatures of conventional hot mix asphalt (HMA) by approximately 10 ^°C to 40 ^°C. In WMA technology, instead of increasing the binder-aggregate temperature, the volume of asphalt is increased by injecting water into hot asphalt at high air pressure. The amount of water injected in the binder is typically determined by a trial and error process and is termed as foaming water content (FWC). Once the FWC is in contact with the hot asphalt binder, it turns into vapor with a rapid volume expansion due …

How The Pavement's Lifetime Depends On The Stress Level: An Explanation Of The Empirical Formula, Edgar Daniel Rodriguez Velasquez, Vladik Kreinovich, Olga Kosheleva, Hoang Phuong Nguyen

Departmental Technical Reports (CS)

We show that natural invariance ideas explain the empirical dependence on the pavement's lifetime on the stress level.

Electrochemical Technologies For Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Mitigation In Drinking Water And Water Treatment Residuals, Donald R. Ryan, Brooke K. Mayer, Claire K. Baldus, Sean T. Mcbeath, Yin Wang, Patrick J. Mcnamara

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Water treatment technologies are needed that can convert per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) into inorganic products (e.g., CO₂, F⁻) that are less toxic than parent PFAS compounds. Research on electrochemical treatment processes such as electrocoagulation and electrooxidation has demonstrated proof-of-concept PFAS removal and destruction. However, research has primarily been conducted in laboratory matrices that are electrochemically favorable (e.g., high initial PFAS concentration [μg/L–mg/L], high conductivity, and absence of oxidant scavengers). Electrochemical treatment is also a promising technology for treating PFAS in water treatment residuals from nondestructive technologies (e.g., ion exchange, nanofiltration, and reverse osmosis). Future electrochemical …

Development Of A Pavement Evaluation Tool Using Aerial Imagery And Deep Learning, Yuhan Jiang, Sisi Han, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents the research results of using Google Earth imagery for visual condition surveying of highway pavement in the United States. A screenshot tool is developed to automatically track the highway for collecting end-to-end images and Global Position System (GPS). A highway segmentation tool based on a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) is developed to segment the collected highway images into the predefined object categories, where the cracks are identified and labeled in each small patch of the overlapping assembled label-image prediction. Then, the longitudinal cracks and transverse cracks are detected using the x-gradient and y-gradient from the Sobel …

Conversion Of Soluble Recalcitrant Phosphorus To Recoverable Orthophosphate Form Using Uv/H2O2, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, Eileen Kennedy, Caitlin Graeber, Synthia P. Mallick, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Soluble non-reactive phosphorus (sNRP), such as inorganic polyphosphates and organic P, is not effectively removed by conventional physicochemical processes. This can impede water resource reclamation facilities’ ability to meet stringent total P regulations. This study investigated a UV/H₂O₂ advanced oxidation process (AOP) for converting sNRP to the more readily removable/recoverable soluble reactive P (sRP), or orthophosphate, form. Synthetic water spiked with four sNRP compounds (beta-glycerol phosphate, phytic acid, triphosphate, and hexa-meta phosphate) at varying H₂O₂ concentration, UV fluence, pH, and temperature was initially tested. These compounds represent simple, complex, organic, and inorganic forms of …

Electro-Oxidation To Convert Dissolved Organic Nitrogen And Soluble Non-Reactive Phosphorus To More Readily Removable And Recoverable Forms, Synthia P. Mallick, Donald R. Ryan, Kaushik Venkiteshwaran, Patrick J. Mcnamara, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Conventional wastewater treatment processes cannot effectively remove dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and soluble non-reactive phosphorus (sNRP), which can pose regulatory compliance challenges for total nitrogen and total phosphorus discharges. Moreover, DON and sNRP are not easily recoverable for beneficial reuse as part of the waste to resource paradigm. Conversion of DON and sNRP to more readily removable dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and soluble reactive phosphorus (sRP), respectively, will help meet stringent nutrient limits and facilitate nutrient recovery. In this study, electro-oxidation (EO) was evaluated for conversion of four DON compounds to DIN and five sNRP compounds to sRP. EO was …

Low–High Orthoimage Pairs-Based 3d Reconstruction For Elevation Determination Using Drone, Yuhan Jiang, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents a 3D reconstruction method for fast elevation determination on construction sites. The proposed method is intended to automatically and accurately determine construction site elevations using drone-based, low–high orthoimage pairs. This method requires fewer images than other methods for covering a large target area of a construction site. An up–forward–down path was designed to capture approximately -scale images at different altitudes over target stations. A pixel grid matching and elevation determination algorithm was developed to automatically match images in dense pixel grid-style via self-adaptive patch feature descriptors, and simultaneously determine elevations based on a virtual elevation model. The …

Building Services Engineering September/October 2021

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Fiber Optic-Based Thermal Integrity Profiling Of Drilled Shaft: Inverse Modeling For Spiral Fiber Deployment Strategy, Wen Deng, Ruoyu Zhong, Haiying Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The current state of practice to interpret the thermal integrity profiling (TIP) data of drilled shaft is the so-called effective radius method. It uses the concrete pouring log and average temperature to construct a relationship between temperature distribution and effective radius that can be used to reconstruct a drilled shaft model. While this effective radius method is computationally inexpensive and has good operationality, it is not good at predicting the dimensions and shape of shaft defects. Upgrading the sensor used in conventional TIP from thermocouples/thermal wires to fiber optic sensors, the spatial resolution of the measured temperature will be enhanced. …

Environmental Assessment Of The Impact Of Land-Based Discharges On Marine Water And Sediment Quality In Dubai, Uae, Ayman Fathy Halawa

Theses

The current seawater and Creek – Canal waterway in the Emirate of Dubai, UAE, is under tremendous pressure because of continuous urban water discharges from land-based sources. Therefore, the impact of urban water discharges on marine water and sediment quality in the Emirate requires a thorough assessment. The main objective of this study is to assess the impacts of effluent discharges on the quality of water and sediment in the open sea and Dubai Creek. The land-based sources include the power and desalination plants, industrial sector, sewage treatment plant, and stormwater runoff. To achieve the stated objective, relevant data on …

Sustainable Building Materials Of The Future: Architectural Forms And Structural Design, Sean Sadler, Moritz Meditz

Symposium of Student Scholars

This research investigates the use of non-rigid formwork and the techniques aiming to create more efficient concrete forms. During casting, concrete takes the shape of its formwork; traditionally, these formworks are made of rigid materials like steel or wood. The results are prismatic members, which are not optimized for material usage but only for simplicity in construction. Most of the research in the area focuses on improving the constituent materials, while the formworks have remained unchanged throughout the years. By using the approach described in this study, optimized shapes are achieved. These geometries can save up to 30% of the …

Using Comprehensive Finite Element Analysis To Simulate A Special Connection In Post-Tensioned Concrete, Joshuah Leljedal

Symposium of Student Scholars

Finite element analysis (FEA) uses differential equations to determine a computer-based solution that explains interactive behaviors within models of complex structural and mechanical systems, subjected to various loading and environmental conditions. Those systems are partitioned into finite elements consisting of a linear mesh with nodes at each end point, and FEA determines relationships, such as force-displacement, between each of the finite elements. This apportioned model allows systems to be evaluated under multiple loading scenarios. Computer-based FEA offers significant benefits that reduce cost and the time required to perform alternative analysis for complex structural systems. In this research project, a comprehensive …

A Special Slab-Wall Connection In Post-Tensioned Concrete, Mohammad Jonaidi

Symposium of Student Scholars

Post tensioned concrete is a widely used method in the construction of the slab of high-rise buildings, podium (transferred) slab of wood-framed structures, bridges and so on. The effects of slab shortening due to concrete shrinkage and post-tensioning compression should be considered in the design of the structure. Various connections, between slab and wall, are used in the industry. However, the behavior of a special connection which consists of steel reinforcement dowels wrapped with compressible material has not been investigated. This research study investigates a case that requires a permanent slip detail in which the dowel between the shear wall …

Shale Softening Based On Pore Network And Laboratory Investigations, Di Zhang

Dissertations

This dissertation consists of two major parts: Firstly, experimental investigation of four major shale softening mechanisms and quantifications of structural parameters. Secondly, numerical simulations of nano-scale flow behaviors using the previous experiments determined parameters based on modified pore network modeling.

Hydraulic fracturing is widely applied to economical gas production from shale reservoirs. Still, the gradual swelling of the clay micro/nano-pores due to retained fluid from hydraulic fracturing causes a gradual reduction of gas production. Four different gas-bearing shale samples are investigated to quantify the expected shale swelling due to hydraulic fracturing. These shale samples are subject to heated deionized (DI) …

Assessment Of Key Imperatives For Enhancing Precast Adoptability In Egypt, Mostafa Sameh

Theses and Dissertations

Precast Concrete’s modular application concept is a major construction method that has been used historically seen in various shapes, forms, and with a wide range of constituents. Examples include Ancient Egypt and China among several impressive structures in old civilizations. The major advantages of precast concrete lie in its adaptability, resilience, and versatility which makes precast concrete one of the most agile building materials. Precast concrete as we know it today has been introduced to our markets over the past several decades. Having similar advantages to that of old precast building methods, the road has been paved for wider use …

Travel Demand Forecasting To Predict Parking Behavior At University Campuses: A Case Study At The University Of Texas At Tyler, Sohil Paudel

Civil Engineering Theses

With limited capacity, space, and funds to expand parking facilities, there is a dire need to better understand parking behavior at university campuses so that universities can better utilize the limited resources available. One methodology, travel demand forecasting, could be used to predict parking demand at a university campus. For this study, the University of Texas at Tyler campus was used as a case study. Each parking lot on campus was assigned to one parking zone based on the nearest classroom building. Next, pneumatic tube counters were used to collect the number of originating and departing vehicles from each zone. …

Digital Construction And Bim Research In Ireland 2016-2020, Barry Mcauley, Roger P. West, Alan V. Hore

Conference papers

As the construction industry opens up post pandemic, new and significant challenges will demand considerable expertise, not least in financial viability, solving the housing crisis and facing the very significant climate change pressures to make the industry less wasteful and less carbon intensive. This presents an excellent opportunity to further inculcate aspects of lean construction, particularly BIM into many aspects of construction not traditionally associated with digital construction, provided the necessary expertise is available and known to exist. Following a well-received recent conference paper summarising BIM-related research published by academics in Ireland’s higher education institutions in 2020, this paper will …

E-Scooter Safety And How To Improve It, Eric Valentino

altREU Projects

In the last few years, electronic scooters have taken over cities as a means of personal transportation. Between 2017 and 2019 alone, over 30 million trips were recorded across over 100 cities in the US. These scooters pose a safety risk, as 20 in 100,000 trips will result in injury of the rider. On top of this, scooters can cause damage to property, injury pedestrians and motor vehicle drivers, as well as obstruct important infrastructure such as wheelchair ramps. For these reasons, it is important to develop an understanding of the factors that contribute to e-scooter related injuries in order …

Enhanced Flexible Pavement Performance Using Treated Compared To Untreated Aggregate Bases: A Comparative Case Study In The Southern United States, Mena L. Souliman, Hemant Gc, Zabi Mohammed

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

One of the important aspects of highway design is aggregates. Aggregates strength and consistency has an effect on pavement structure's overall performance. The consistency of the base material near the site of the construction doesn't always match the requirements of pavement construction and carrying quality aggregate raises the cost of construction. Stabilizing agents such as asphalt cement, lime, fly ash were used to improve the strength of these materials in order to make greater use of locally available materials. Layer materials present in the pavements and the structure of them influence pavement performance. The compressive strain and the tensile strain …

Kinetic Modeling Study Of Laminar Burning Velocity Of Gasoline–Ethanol–Methanol Blends At Elevated Temperature And Pressure, Ahmad Syihan Auzani, Cahyo Setyo Wibowo, Riesta Anggarani, Yulianto Sulistyo Nugroho, Bambang Sugiarto

Makara Journal of Technology

Gasoline–ethanol–methanol (GEM) blends have been considered to replace pure gasoline as spark ignition engine fuel. Their physical and chemical properties and performance and emission measurements from real engines have been reported previously. However, a fundamental study that can explain the unique results of GEM compared with those of pure gasoline is lacking. This study aims to compare the laminar burning velocity of GEM blends at different mixtures, equivalence ratios, temperatures, and pressures with that of pure gasoline. A laminar flame propagation model and reaction mechanisms from the literature were were for a numerical simulation. In this study, the chemical components …