Civil Engineering Commons^™

Performance Based Design And Machine Learning In Structural Fire Engineering: A Case For Masonry, Deanna Craig

All Theses

The volatile and extreme nature of fire makes structural fire engineering unique in that the load actions dictating design are intense but not geographically or seasonally bound. Simply, fire can break out anywhere, at any time, and for any number of reasons. Despite the apparent need, fire design of structures still relies on expensive fire tests, complex finite element simulations, and outdated procedures with little room for innovation. This thesis will make a case for adopting the principles of performance-based design and machine learning in structural fire engineering to simplify the process and promote the consideration of fire in all …

Finite Element Approach On Minimization Of Cracks At I-Girder Ends Induced By Prestress, Sangit Rauniyar

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Prestressed I-girders are one of the very commonly and widely used girders for bridges. It is produced at precast plant and transported to bridge site. To produce a prestressed I-girder, strands are first pulled and concrete is poured in I-girder’s formwork. Once the concrete reaches a desired strength, strands are released which induce prestress in I-girder. There are mainly two types of design for I-girders-one that requires debonding of strands at the end of I-girders and another that requires harping of strands at the end of I-girders. The debonding and harping of strands are done to reduce tension at the …

Improving The Analysis And Prediction Of Coastal Flooding During Hurricane Landfalls Through Coupled And Integrated Modeling, Md Arifur Rahman

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT: As the intensity and frequency of landfalling tropical storms are likely on the rise in a warming climate, coastal communities are increasingly being exposed to flooding caused by storm surges compounded by heavy rainfall. Prediction and reanalysis of storm surges, especially compound flooding, rely on wind and pressure fields either from parametric tropical cyclone wind models or numerical weather model reanalysis. Both are subject to significant errors during landfall. Besides, land surface attributes and different storm structures influence the intensity and location of compound flooding in coastal areas. Therefore, this dissertation aims to improve the analysis and prediction of …

Performance Evaluation Of Recycled Plastic Pins In Two Layers To Stabilize Deep Slope Failures, Sachini Madanayake

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

Slope failures are a common occurrence in highway embankments throughout Texas due to the presence of high plastic clays with expansive behavior. Although shallow slope failures are prevalent, slope failures extending deeper into the slope occur due to the development of micro and macro cracks. The cracks facilitate the infiltration of rainwater deeper into the slope over time. Slope failures incur thousands of dollars’ worth of repairs every year for transportation departments across the country. Recycled Plastic Pins (RPP) have been identified as an effective, cost efficient, and sustainable solution to stabilize shallow failures. The resistance of RPP is mobilized …

Influence Of Climate And Droughts On Visibility Degradation In Saudi Arabia, Saleh Alhathloul

All Dissertations

The spatial and temporal distribution of temperature and precipitation determines the availability of water resources for ecosystems. The hydrological cycle can be disrupted by differences in meteorological variables and the random nature of water demand. Horizontal visibility degradation is an indicator of the changes in local meteorological variables, rainfall deficits, and drought conditions. Long-term analysis of meteorological variables and visibility records helps understand the causes of visibility degradation. The first objective of this dissertation is to investigate the long-term variability of horizontal visibility along with metrological variables based on annual and seasonal time scales over Saudi Arabia. The second objective …

The Living Breakwaters Pdr Efforts Econcrete Resource Analysis, Guianina Ferrari, Shervon Stephens, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy impacted 443,000 people and caused nearly $19 billion (about $58 per person in the US) worth of damage within New York City. As part of the New York City infrastructure reparation plan, the Living Breakwaters project in Tottenville addressed coastal resilience, allocating $100M of public funds to a series of artificial breakwaters by the southwest coast of Staten Island. Each breakwater is constructed and designed to mitigate water flow in storm events. ECOncrete, a primary element of the breakwater, is a specialty cast cementitious product that is marine organism-friendly that encourages biocalcification and photosynthesis. …

Measuring Acoustic Nonlinearity Of Elastic Materials Using Thermal Modulation Of Ultrasonic Waves, Bibo Zhong

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nonlinear acoustic techniques have been used to determine the nonlinear properties of materials. Existing methods either require complex equipment to measure absolute nonlinear coefficients or can only be used on laboratory-sized specimens. A recently developed thermal modulation method addresses the limitations of existing methods, but further theoretical analysis and validation are required.

In this dissertation, theoretical analyses were first conducted to study the mechanically and thermally induced acoustoelastic effect. Beginning with the wave equation, the relationship of the ultrasonic wave velocity with respect to mechanical strain and the thermal strain was derived in detail. These analyses provided theoretical support for …

The Rise Of Terrorism In Africa And What It Means For U.S. Policymakers, Bridget Mary Hughes

Master's Theses

This thesis utilizes three case studies to measure the rise of terrorism in Africa. This qualitative data leads the reader to one ultimate question: what does the rise in terrorism in Africa mean for the United States (U.S.) and U.S. policymakers, National Security academia, students in National Security, if anything at all? The answer is: if civilian and military compounds are being targeted by these violent extremists, as these three case studies demonstrate, it is my recommendation that U.S. policymakers cease sending troops to the African theater and, instead, allocate funding to the citizens and nonprofits of the countries whom …

Evaluation Of Relationship Between Sulfate Content And Electrical Resistivity, Zobair Ahmed

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Texas soils typically have sulfate content due to certain geologic formation types. Soil sulfate needs to be identified and quantified to minimize damage to infrastructure caused by sulfate-induced heave. Electrical Resistivity Imaging can identify the presence of sulfate content in the soil. Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) is a non-destructive and fast way of obtaining continuous soil substructure profiles. Moisture fluctuations and soil heterogeneities can be found using an ERI approach. As a result, ERI is growing in popularity as a tool in geotechnical engineering, yet at the moment, it only offers qualitative data. It can be challenging to determine quantitative …

Effects Of Particle Size And Replacement Proportion Of Post-Consumer Glass In Concrete, Negasi Gebremichael

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Concrete, next to water, is the most used material (Gagg, 2014), which consumes natural or manufactured aggregates and resource-intensive cement. Concrete is also a more wasteful construction material than timber and steel. Depleting the natural resource due to aggregate extraction and the environmental unfriendliness of cement production have left the construction industry with no choice. Reducing waste, reusing, or recycling can help conserve natural resources. In this regard, the construction industry constantly seeks full or partial replacement of concrete aggregates and cement with recycled material. Glass is a candidate for replacing the three major components: cement, fine aggregate, and coarse …

Development And Application Of A Safety Index For Transit Stops: A Case Study From Las Vegas, Nevada, Rithesh Shivuni

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research developed a methodology to evaluate safety proximate to transit stops through a Safety Index, identified key factors associated with fatal crashes proximate to bus transit stops, and illustrated the applications of these using a case study based on the Las Vegas metropolitan area in Nevada, USA. The methodology is based on motor vehicle crashes that involve pedestrians recorded in the proximity of transit stops, and the severity of the crash outcomes. It focused on crashes which involved pedestrians that occurred within walking distances of individual transit stops. The severity of the crash outcomes was classified based on the …

Erosion And Resuspension Of Cohesive Sediments In Coastal Louisiana, Laith Qasem Shamaileh

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The research presented in this study is motivated by the need to improve the predictions of cohesive sediment erosion and subsequent transport. In addition, the knowledge of the geotechnical engineering soil properties related to the erosion of sediments in coastal Louisiana has broad implications as these properties are used in transport models guiding the current restoration efforts. The erosion measuring device used in the study is the Cheng-Han Tasi and Wilbert Lick Shaker. Previous studies have been conducted before using the Shaker, but challenges with the calibration of the shear stress hampered the resuspension results produced by the Shaker. Therefore, …

Numerical Simulation Of Hydrodynamic Forces On Riverine And Coastal Bridges Subjected To Extreme Weather Events, Fahad Pervaiz

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

ABSTRACT: Recent bridge failures due to hurricane-generated storm surges and riverine flood events have highlighted the vulnerability of bridge infrastructure to extreme hydrodynamic loading. In addition to posing an immediate risk to human life, bridge failures can hinder evacuation planning and emergency response efforts. Changes in flood frequency and intensity due to climate change and urbanization may alter the hydrodynamic conditions along urban streams, further stressing bridge infrastructure designed based on historical flow conditions. As a result, quantifying the structural response and stability of bridges under current and future hydrodynamic conditions is crucial to improving transportation safety and efficiency. This …

Microplastic Risk Characterization Of Plastic Road, Md Shams Razi Shopnil

Civil Engineering Dissertations - Archive

In recent past, the act of waste recycling has been diversified in manifolds across the world leading to evolution of newer recycling technique and fresh recycled product. Albeit plastic is one of those waste materials which is getting extremely difficult to get substantially recycled because of its record-breaking production, consumption, and its wide range of variations in properties ultimately leading to substandard recycling status of plastics globally. This seemingly poor status of waste plastics recycling against the gargantuan amount of fresh plastic products being added to consumer stream gives rise to a menacing one directional problem: Plastic Pollution, which is …

Reuse Of Recycled Plastic For Subgrade Treatment, Jerin Tasnim

Civil Engineering Theses - Archive

Disposal of solid waste becomes a global issue due to it contains a large amount of non- degradable polymers and may lead to many environmental issues. With the scarcity of space for landfilling and due to ever increasing cost, finding ways to handle these wastes without endangering the environment is crucial. One of these methods is to use plastic wastes as one of the pavement materials. In this study, a new method of subgrade soil stabilization of pavement is proposed where soil will be stabilized by mixing only plastic with soil for the treatment of subgrade. In order to demonstrate …

Development Of An Excel Model To Evaluate The Stability Of Slopes, Bradley Davis

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This objective of this study is to determine a method or tool for taking given slope stability parameters and quickly and effectively determining the factor of safety against sliding of fully softened slopes. This study evaluates the effects of soil and geometric parameters of common slopes, and models these properties in a hypothetical model. The methodology is based on a parametric analysis using the Spencer’s Method of Slices limit equilibrium analysis used in the computer program Slide2. A parametric analysis is performed to determine which soil and/or geometric properties have a high influence on slope stability. The parametric analysis is …

Scan4façade: Automated As-Is Façade Modeling Of Historic High-Rise Buildings Using Drones And Ai, Yuhan Jiang, Sisi Han, Yong Bai

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

This paper presents an automated as-is façade modeling method for existing and historic high-rise buildings, named Scan4Façade. To begin with, a camera drone with a spiral path is employed to capture building exterior images, and photogrammetry is used to conduct three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and create mesh models for the scanned building façades. High-resolution façade orthoimages are then generated from mesh models and pixelwise segmented by an artificial intelligence (AI) model named U-net. A combined data augmentation strategy, including random flipping, rotation, resizing, perspective transformation, and color adjustment, is proposed for model training with a limited number of labels. As …

Effectiveness Of Suspended Lead Dampers In Steel Buildings Under Localized Lateral Impact And Vertical Pulsating Load, Herish Abdullah Hussein

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Presented herein is a study of the effectiveness of suspended lead dampers for use in steel buildings under a localized impact load and a vertical pulsating load. A series of lead spheres mounted on a string are suspended inside the building columns or damping panels to absorb the energy of vibration through a collision between the lead dampers and internal surfaces of the members. Experiments are conducted on a three-story steel building model and a cantilever member with suspended lead dampers and subjected to localized impact loading. The cantilever under impact load is analyzed with a partial differential equation of …

Identifying Particulate Matter Spatial Variation In The El Paso Del Norte Region Using Land-Use Regression Modeling And Data Obtained From A Network Of Low-Cost Sensors, Leonardo Demetrio Vazquez-Raygoza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The emergence and rise in popularity of low-cost sensors for atmospheric observation aresetting a new precedent in identifying emission hotspots and providing high-resolution spatial and temporal data. Furthermore, low-cost sensors are becoming popular among institutions and the public, allowing community scientists to become more involved in air quality monitoring. However, concerns about the accuracy and precision of low-cost sensors have been questioned. Most recent research has focused on the utility of real-time monitoring and calibration requirements for these sensors. A low-cost monitoring project has deployed sensors in the El Paso del Norte region in low and high annual average daily …

Continuous Moisture Measurement During Pavement Foundation Construction: Laboratory Measurements, Isaac Esteban Zuniga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Moisture content directly affects all properties of subgrade materials. A rapid, continuous, and accurate technique to determine moisture content during subgrade construction is the next step needed to improve the mechanistic-based quality of pavement foundations. In this study, six geomaterials were compacted to standard/modified proctor specifications and subjected to laboratory measurements to study the variations in their electromagnetic and electric properties with moisture content. The relationships between the seismic modulus, unconfined compressive strength, lightweight deflectometer, and moisture content for the same geomaterials were also established. Large-scale replicate specimens were also compacted and subjected to numerous measurements. The dielectric constant measured …

The Price Of Longevity - Empirical Evidence From Road Pavements, Hanna Kemaw

Lyles School of Civil Engineering Graduate Student Reports

The vast network of county, city and town roads, represent a big part of public assets in most states and often account for a significant share of the public spending on roads. This spending on local road infrastructure help to build, operate, and preserve such infrastructure and therefore provide critical accessibility and mobility to the residents of counties, towns and cities. With the ever-growing volumes of personal and commercial traffic at local roads, the task of maintaining satisfactory levels of service at local roads has become more challenging, and this issue is exacerbated by limited resources, asset aging, and increasing …

Flexural Testing Of Precast Reinforced Concrete Bridge Slabs, Evaluation Of Deterioration And Strengthening Applications, Alyssa Leaman

All Theses

This thesis investigates the strength of flat precast concrete slabs that were taken from decommissioned South Carolina bridges. The specimens tested spanned 14 ft (4.3 m) or 15 ft (4.6 m), were 5 ft (1.5 m) or 5.5 ft (1.7 m) wide, and 8.25 in (210 mm) thick. In South Carolina, there are approximately 3000 similar bridges that use these slab members. Testing was conducted to determine the flexural capacity of “typical” slabs and the residual strength of slabs having visible deterioration of both the rebar and the concrete. For the slabs that were load rated below the new standards, …

Flexural Bond Strength Of Masonry Assemblies With Lightweight Grout, Benjamin L. Hiner

All Theses

Lightweight grout has many potential benefits in masonry construction, including minimizing mass, improving thermal performance, and potentially reducing shrinkage cracking via internal curing. However, insufficient testing of masonry assemblies with lightweight grout has been conducted to suggest appropriate design modification factors akin to the lambda factor in ACI 318-19. The objective of this paper is to study the tensile bond behavior of masonry assemblies grouted with lightweight grout and to suggest appropriate equations for predicting design capacity. A moment couple test is designed specifically for grouted masonry assemblies and has additional capacity compared to the traditional ASTM 1072 bond wrench …

Use Of Harsh-Braking Data From Connected Vehicles As A Surrogate Safety Measure, Nathaniel Patrick Edelmann

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Traffic safety may be analyzed with the use of surrogate safety measures, measures of safety that do not incorporate collision data but rather rely on the concept of traffic conflicts. Use of these measures provides several benefits over use of more traditional analysis methods with historical crash data. Surrogate measures eliminate the need to wait for crashes to occur to conduct a safety analysis. The amount of time required for enough crash data to accumulate can be significant, delaying safety analyses. Similarly, these measures allow for safety analysis to be conducted prior to crashes occurring, potentially calling attention to hazardous …

Identification Of Factors Contributing To Traffic Crashes By Analysis Of Text Narratives, Cristian D. Arteaga-Sanchez

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The fatalities, injuries, and property damage that result from traffic crashes impose a significant burden on society. Current research and practice in traffic safety rely on analysis of quantitative data from crash reports to understand crash severity contributors and develop countermeasures. Despite advances from this effort, quantitative crash data suffers from drawbacks, such as the limited ability to capture all the information relevant to the crashes and the potential errors introduced during data collection. Crash narratives can help address these limitations, as they contain detailed descriptions of the context and sequence of events of the crash. However, the unstructured nature …

Application Of Experimentally Calibrated Numerical Models For Prediction Of Composite Masonry Prism Strength, James Bristow

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The composite masonry prism test is a common laboratory test to determine the compressive strength of a set of masonry prisms (f’mt) to verify that the composite masonry prism assembly, and more importantly, the constituent materials, are providing adequate strength. While constructing masonry structures, the subcontractors, designers, and inspectors rarely provide continuous supervision or inspection of the construction process. Accordingly, verification of grout mix design, mixed proportions, proper installation of blocks, placement of mortar, dimensions of joints, etc. are more traditionally performed on a periodic basis instead. However, through the use and review of the composite masonry prism test results, …

Automated Approach For The Enhancement Of Scaffolding Structure Monitoring With Strain Sensor Data, Sayan Sakhakarmi

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Construction researchers have made a significant effort to improve the safety of scaffolding structures, as a large proportion of workers are involved in construction activities requiring scaffolds. However, most past studies focused on design and planning aspects of scaffolds. While limited studies investigated scaffolding safety during construction, they are limited to simple cases only with limited failure modes and simple scaffolds. In response to this limitation, this study aims to develop an automated scaffold monitoring approach capable of monitoring large scaffolds. Accordingly, this study developed an automated scaffold safety monitoring framework that leverages sensor data collected from a scaffold, scaffold …

Active Rheological And Stiffening Control Of Cementitious Systems For Additive Manufacturing, Abdul Basit Peerzada

All Dissertations

Technological advancements and automation in the last two decades have made additive manufacturing of cementitious systems a reality. Among all the additive manufacturing techniques used for cementitious materials, layer-by-layer extrusion-based printing is the most used technique. For a layer-by-layer printing process, the requirements of cementitious materials vary from those of a conventional construction process. Typically, the cementitious materials are pumped to a print head using a positive-displacement pump. The pumpability of the cementitious material for a specific pumping system depends on its rheological properties. For effective pumping, the yield stress and plastic viscosity of a cementitious system should be low. …

Empirical Fragility Functions And Numerical Parametric Study For Buckling Of Steel Grain Bins Under High Wind Loads, Andrew Ruder

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

While rural infrastructure is critical to the agricultural industry, it has been historically more susceptible to damage and slower to recover following natural disasters than its urban and suburban counterparts. This has been made evident most recently by the events of the August 10, 2020, derecho in which rural regions in Iowa were among the hardest hit areas with sustained windspeeds exceeding 120 mph. Among the most frequently damaged structures in this event were corrugated steel grain bins, which farmers and co-ops use to dry and store certain commodities. Unlike most other critical structures, steel grain bins are not designed …

Evaluation Of Swelling Pressure And Shear Strength Of Inorganic Microfiber-Reinforced Bentonite For The Engineered Barrier System, Jose Maria Ferdinand Victoria Calaunan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nowadays, the permanent disposal of high-level radioactive waste materials has been a primary concern in several countries. The deep geological repository, being the preferred disposal method across the globe, utilizes a network of engineered barriers to prevent the radioactive material from spreading throughout the facility and harming the natural environment. Part of this engineered barrier system (EBS) is the buffer material, which essential function is holding the radioactive waste-containing canister in place. However, the potential generation of desiccation cracks in this buffer material is imminent due to the heat emitted from the radioactive waste. Knowing the capability of inorganic fibers …