Civil Engineering Commons^™

Building Services Engineering May/June 2023

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Analyzing The Effects Of Rejuvenators In Balanced Mix Design With High Percentages Of Recycled Asphalt Pavement, Amanda Jo Mullins

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Interest in sustainable practices have increased in several industries, including civil engineering pavement materials. The incorporation of Recycled Asphalt Pavement (RAP) into new pavement mix design is a popular method of application for sustainable practice and is accompanied by numerous economic and environmental benefits. There is significant interest in using large amounts of this RAP material in pavement design to maximize the benefits, but several problems arise when utilizing “high” amounts of this material (more than 25% RAP replacement) due to aged and oxidized binder that negatively impacts the properties. The use of rejuvenators (RAs) and Balanced Mix Design (BMD) …

Understanding The Bond Strength Of Bcsa Cement Repair Concrete To Portland Cement Concrete, Brenden Simmons

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Concrete structures deteriorate over time, and there is an increasing demand for quick repair solutions. Belitic calcium sulfoaluminate (BCSA) cement, a type of rapid setting cement, is thought to be a more sustainable and convenient alternative to portland cement in repair concrete applications. Indicated by the name, rapid setting concrete can set up quicker than traditional portland cement concrete. Because of this, there has been a lot of research about the properties of rapid setting concrete mixes. One of the most popular topics is the strength of the concrete itself. However, there is a need for more research to understand …

Impacts Of Diagonal Crosswalk Misuse, Elizabeth Francis

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A diagonal crosswalk paired with an all-red phase traffic signal is an effective approach to manage intersections with high pedestrian volume. This allows pedestrians to cross both north-south and east-west bound roads at the same time. However, ineffective diagonal crosswalk marking, and lack of signs reduces the use of diagonal crosswalks which in turn results in jaywalking, often in unsafe capacities. The objective of this study is to determine the impacts of pedestrian-caused delay and safety impacts due to the misuse of a diagonal crosswalk. To better understand the impacts, a camera-based data collection was conducted during a four-hour period …

Development Of A Unified Personal And Commercial Residential Hurricane Vulnerability Model Including Sensitivity And Uncertainty Studies, Roberto Vicente Silva De Abreu

Theses and Dissertations

As the population and properties in the state of Florida increase, there is an increase in hurricane losses. Hurricane winds and debris can impact the exterior components of a building envelope. The envelope breaches and defects of these components provide a pathway to hurricane wind-driven rain into the building, which causes interior and contents damage. Loss models, such as the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model (FPHLM), estimate hurricane insured losses for portfolios of buildings. The vulnerability component of the FPHLM has a personal residential module (PR), for single family homes, and a commercial residential module (CR-LR), for apartment buildings. They …

Rattus Norvegicus As A Biological Detector Of Clandestine Remains And The Use Of Ultrasonic Vocalizations As A Locating Mechanism, Gabrielle M. Johnston

Master's Theses

In investigations, locating missing persons and clandestine remains are imperative. One way that first responder and police agencies can search for the remains is by using cadaver dogs as biological detectors. Cadaver dogs are typically used due to their olfactory sensitivity and ability to detect low concentrations of volatile organic compounds produced by biological remains. Cadaver dogs are typically chosen for their stamina, agility, and olfactory sensitivity. However, what is not taken into account often is the size of the animal and the expense of maintaining and training the animal. Cadaver dogs are typically large breeds that cannot fit in …

Using Metal-Organic Frameworks (Mofs) In Producing Self-Curing Concrete, Lama Fathi Allan

Theses

Curing of concrete is the presence of adequate moisture content in concrete throughout its early stages to produce the desired properties, as it is significant in improving the concrete microstructure and pore structure and hence in developing its performance and durability. However, good curing is not always practical in several cases, such as in hot weather regions and areas of water inadequacy. For that reason, the need to develop self-curing concrete attracted several researchers. The use of self-curing agents minimizes the water evaporation from concrete and consequently increases its water retention capacity compared to conventional concrete. This thesis is concerned …

Force Coefficients And Wind Loads For Wide Flange Section And Retrofitted Pipe Racks, Sovanroth Ou

All Theses

While relatively rare, the failures of steel structures occasionally occur due to extreme wind events such as hurricanes and tornadoes. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) provides well-defined guidelines for determining wind loads for regular buildings; nonetheless, the actual wind loads for complex open-frame steel structures are not as clearly understood by practicing engineers. Pipe bridges and pipe racks are open-frame structures, commonly used in many petrochemical plants. Over the years, additional pipes are often added to existing pipe racks or pipe bridges to accommodate changes in the operation needs of the petrochemical plant. The objectives of this study …

Upgrading The Performance Of Steel Beams Using Fastened Advanced Composite Materials, Omnia Ragab Abouelhamd

Dissertations

Bonding Fiber-Reinforced Polymers (FRP) is commonly used to enhance the structural performance of existing steel beams; however, the brittle failure at the adhesive risks the effectiveness of the bonded system. Fastening FRP is recently proposed to avoid the brittle failure of the adhesive. Promising outcomes of few studies on fastened FRPsteel system provoked the interest to investigate the effects of various fastening parameters on the performance of fastened FRP-steel beams.

This study investigates, experimentally and numerically, the impact of various fastening parameters on the performance of fastened FRP-steel beams. The proposed method involves fastening carbon-glass hybrid FRP (HFRP) strips to …

Reducing Infiltration And Inflow In Small Collection Systems: Environmental, Economic, And Other Impacts, Andrew Hansen

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

Wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) and the collection systems (CSs) which feed them provide essential services to society by collecting sewage (aka wastewater), biologically treating it, and minimizing risks to human health as well as the impact of waste on the environment. However, as collection systems age, increasing infiltration and inflow (I/I) from groundwater and stormwater can negatively affect the system. I/I is often mitigated to reduce flow and eliminate other negative impacts to the system.

Ten total case studies, seven mechanical water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) and three lagoon facilities, were examined for the environmental, economic, and other impacts/benefits from …

Sustainable Revitalization Of Asphalt Pavements: An In-Depth Analysis Of Enhancing The Performance Of Asphalt Binder Through The Application Of Rheological And Molecular Dynamics Simulation Techniques, Muhammad Ahmad

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

Vegetable-based oils such as corn and soybean oil have triglycerides and fatty acids that allow them to be considered sustainable and effective recycling agents (RAs) for aged asphalt binder. However, there are concerns about their effect on the recycled asphalt binder's long-term performance, moisture damage resistance, and self-healing characteristics restoration. In this study, crude corn oil (CO) and crude soybean oil (SO) were used as RAs to restore the performance of a reclaimed asphalt binder (RAB) extracted from reclaimed asphalt pavement. The binder extracted from RAB was modified with a neat binder PG64-28 and RAs to restore the high-end performance …

Assessing The Performance Of High-Rap Mixtures Incorporating Crude Vegetable Oils And An Antioxidant From Mechanical, Environmental, And Economic Perspectives, Nitish R. Bastola

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

Utilization of mixtures with high amounts of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) in the pavement industry is limited because of the adverse effects of aged materials in recycled asphalt materials. To date, numerous approaches have been used to reduce the adversity of RAP in mixtures. One such approach is the use of recycling agents (RAs) from various sources, such as petroleum and bio-oil. However, the current need is to maximize the use of RAP by adopting a sustainable source of RAs. Therefore, this study uses two RAs based on vegetable oils (crude soybean oil and crude corn oil) with high-RAP mixtures …

Machine-Learning-Based Model For Hurricane Storm Surge Forecasting In The Lower Laguna Madre, Cesar E. Davila Hernandez, Jungseok Ho, Dong-Chul Kim, Abdoul Oubeidillah

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

During every Atlantic hurricane season, storms represent a constant risk to Texan coastal communities and other communities along the Atlantic coast of the United States. A storm surge refers to the abnormal rise of sea water level due to hurricanes and storms; traditionally, hurricane storm surge predictions are generated using complex numerical models that require high amounts of computing power to be run, which grow proportionally with the extent of the area covered by the model. In this work, a machine-learning-based storm surge forecasting model for the Lower Laguna Madre is implemented. The model considers gridded forecasted weather data on …

Service-Learning For Infrastructure Improvements In Herald Square - Accuracy, Gabriela Funes, Tanvir Ahmed, Annie Benson, William A. Loyed

Eagle Showcase: Excellence in Service-Learning (Archived)

Generation of Terrestrial LiDAR model to assist in the design of public infrastructure.

Service-Learning Modeling For Infrastructure Improvements In Herald Square, Shane M. Henry, Hayden A. Holder, Joel Juarez, Teresa M. Macias, Zenan C. Merritt, Luke H. Ward, Aniya A. Williams

Eagle Showcase: Excellence in Service-Learning (Archived)

Use of terrestrial LiDAR scanner in Service-Learning project to assist the design of public infrastructure.

Investigating The Severity And Rate Of Occurrence Of Motorcycle Crashes Across Different Land Uses In Georgia, Robert Edwards

Symposium of Student Scholars

In 2020, motorcycle crashes reached their highest number of fatalities nationally since 1975, when 5,579 motorcyclists were killed. Georgia, in recent years, has seen an increase in the number of fatal multi-vehicle crashes involving motorcycles. This would be indicative of the general trend and nothing more if the number of motorcycle crashes reported outside of urban populations did not increase—despite lockdown measures—by 1.7% in 2020. In this investigation, employing a thorough examination of the Georgia Department of Transportation’s Crash Data (GDOT) compiled from the last ten years and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) compiled from the last five years, …

Behavior Analysis Of Cement Concrete With Combination Of Waste Rubber And Glass, Abdulaziz Alebra

Symposium of Student Scholars

Glass and Rubber waste materials are valuable materials to use rather than throw which we have more than enough to use and recycle. Recycled glass and rubber materials can reduce and help major climate issues in our times based on the statistics reducing glass can bring down air pollution by 20% and also reduce water pollution by 50% as well as can reduce the use of landfill space. A laboratory study will be launched, and tests will be conducted following the ASTM standards, ASTM C143 for a concrete slump, and ASTM C31 for making and curing concrete specimens. Samples of …

Evaluation Of The Effect Of Mls Density Level Data On Dem, Essam Ghanem, Mostafa Rabah, Fekry Ashraf

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Mobile laser scanning (MLS) systems are quickly establishing themselves as the primary source of high-quality digital elevation models (DEM). Data density is the key element that determine the quality of DEMs. Moreover, point density acts a vital role in MLS operation planning and MLS project's cost. This study's goal was to evaluate the impact of point density from MLS on creating DEMs and the accuracy of computed volume in different interpolation methods. The finding demonstrated that the DEM's quality and the volume are more impacted by density level and interpolation method. Interpolation methods are affected by point density. There is …

The Predicting And Modelling Of Commonly Used Structural Steels Under Cyclic Loading, Adam Maroni

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Three Minute Thesis

Laboratory Evaluation Of The Geotechnical Properties Of Biochar-Amended Clay, Brett Natelborg

Senior Honors Theses

The upkeep and rehabilitation of infrastructure damage related to the shrinking and swelling of expansive soils have cost the United States billions of dollars. Biochar, an innovative and eco-friendly additive proven to improve soil permeability, nutrient retention, and mechanical properties, is investigated as an additive to Mississippi chalk. The index properties of the chalk were determined and used to characterize its nature. The geotechnical engineering properties of the chalk amended with 6% and 12% biochar were evaluated via the Proctor compaction, compression, and direct shear tests. Results were analyzed to make comparative remarks on how the behavior of the chalk …

Machine Learning Technique For Damage Detection Of Rails On Steel Railroad Bridges Subjected To Moving Train Load, Md Masnun Rahman, Mohsen Amjadian, Mahesh Pokhrel, Constantine Tarawneh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Rail is one of the key elements of the railway system, and its role is to transmit the wheel load to the track bed and guide the train cars along the track. Rail is susceptible to rolling contact fatigue and wear due to being repeatedly subjected to the moving load of the train. This can eventually result in broken-rail damage and train derailment, which if happens on a railroad bridge, it can severely damage the bridge, such as the structural failure of the Tempe Town Lake steel railroad bridge in July 2020 that costed $11 million to repair. Therefore, early …

Veterans Memorial Park In Colon, Mi, Madelyn Landry

Honors Theses

Located in St. Joseph County, MI, the Village of Colon offers a charming small-town feel and a close connection with nature. For this project, our team will be working to create a new design for a small community park located in the downtown area of Colon along the shores of Palmer Lake. The American Legion is seeking to re-imagine the park into a Veterans memorial to celebrate the service of village residents who have served in the armed forces. Elements requested to be incorporated into the memorial include granite stonework with etched displays, flags for each branch of the military, …

Calibration And Use Of S3f Sensor For Normal And Shear Stress Measurements In Soil, Hussein Alqrinawi

LSU Master's Theses

Innovative sensors can provide new capabilities to monitor and understand the behavior of soil, rock, and geo-structures and help geotechnical engineers make informed decisions about the construction and maintenance of geo-structures. This study introduced, calibrated, and validated one such sensor, the Surface Stress Sensitive Film (S3F) point sensor, for both normal and shear stress measurements in soil along the soil-structure interface. The measurements of S3F sensor rely on the deformation of an elastic film that is monitored by a floating element embedded in the elastic film. This sensor provides measurements of the 3D deformation of the film which are converted …

Numerical Investigations Of Gfrc Beams Strengthened In Shear With Innovative Techniques, Marwa H. Bondok, Gamal I. Khaleel, Ahmed S. Debaiky, Mohamed H. Makhlouf

Mansoura Engineering Journal

This paper discusses the Finite Element analysis (FE) conducted to predict the behavior of Glass Fiber Reinforced Concrete (GFRC) beams without shear reinforcement (stirrups) and strengthen them with proposed techniques to increase their shear strength. for this study, A total of eighteen (18) (120 * 300 * 2200 mm) specimens were modeled using Ansys™ mechanical. The main variables were the percentage of discrete glass fiber in the concrete (0.0, 0.6, and 1.2%), the type of main reinforcing bars (steel or GFRP), the shear strengthening material (GFRP or steel) links, the strengthening systems (side near-surface mounted (SNSM) bars, externally bonded (EB) …

System Dynamics And Topsis Models For Sustainable Building Materials Selection Considering Life Cycle Assessment, Shimaa Elshoubaky, Emad Elbeltagi, Mohammed Abd Elrahman, Islam Elmasoudi

Mansoura Engineering Journal

Construction industry is the most contributor to the environmental impacts. Achieving sustainability in construction is complicated, but one of the most optimal strategies is selecting sustainable building materials.

The major goal of this study is to present a new idea for choosing sustainable building materials (SBMs) by simulating sustainability parameters' behaviour. This research proposes a System Dynamics (SD) model along with the TOPSIS method based on the dynamic interactions among a number of sustainable criteria to help decision makers in sustainable building materials selection. The sustainable criteria that form system boundary are determined from previous studies and experts′ opinions. The …

Examining The Impact Of Different Street Lighting Schemes On Traffic Safety And Drivers’ Behaviors At Unsignalized Intersections, Hisham Mohamed Abdu Kunnah

LSU Master's Theses

Lack of visibility is one of the main challenges that significantly impact drivers’ ability to safely perform driving tasks at night especially at unsignalized intersections. Several prior studies indicated that lighting enhances nighttime traffic safety. Nevertheless, lighting is not mandatory at unsignalized intersections in many states including Louisiana. This study aimed to investigate if lack of lighting is a contributing factor that affects traffic safety at unsignalized intersections in Louisiana. In addition, this study strived to identify current lighting policies adopted by other states, examine if there are any low-cost countermeasures implemented by other states to improve nighttime visibility, and …

Assessing The Ability Of Arduino-Based Sensor Systems To Monitor Changes In Water Quality, Josiah Hacker

Honors College Theses

Access to safe water is vital to public health. While developed countries like the United States are recognized as having reliable and safe water, many small water utilities struggle with supplying consistent water quality. Technicians of these utilities will periodically test water samples from the influent and throughout the distribution system. However, this laborious and costly process does not capture sudden changes in influent water quality due to environmental conditions or pipes breaking in the distribution system. Here I show how an Arduino-based sensor can be used as a real-time, low-cost monitor of water quality parameters. Specifically, I developed a …

The Influence Of The Addition Of Recycled Asphalt Shingles On The Compressive Strength Of Concrete, William E. Webb

Honors College Theses

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of recycled asphalt shingles (RAS) as an additive on the compressive strength of concrete. This was accomplished by designing a concrete mix and creating 4” by 8” cylindrical test specimens containing 0, 5, 10, and 15 percent RAS by weight. The compressive strength was measured through axial loading until failure utilizing a compression testing apparatus. With these results, a relationship between the content of RAS and compressive strength was able to be developed, giving insight as to how RAS could be used in concrete mixes in the future. This study …

Component Testing And Characterization Of An Innovative Pressurized Sand Damper For The Response Modification Of Structures, Konstantinos Kalfas

Civil and Environmental Engineering Theses and Dissertations

This study is partly motivated by the need to develop sustainable energy dissipation devices that do not suffer from oil leakage due to failure of their end seals and from displacement limitations; and partly from the need to develop a robust damper that consists only of traditional civil engineering materials (sand and steel) in association with the use of post-tensioned steel rods with which practitioner civil engineers are familiar. Past failures of fluid dampers are both disruptive and costly, therefore not in-line with the current design paradigm of sustainable engineering, where the design and construction of structural systems shall meet …

Vibration Control Of A Two-Story Base-Isolated Building Using A New Tuned Mass Multi-Sliding Friction Damper, Mohsen Amjadian, Syed Muhammad Bilal Haider

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper studies the use of a new Tuned Mass Multi-Sliding Friction Damper (TMMSFD) to increase the damping capacity of seismic isolators installed on a two-story base-isolated building to limit their lateral deformations. The proposed TMMSFD consists of a set of several masses that are laterally attached to the superstructure floor through linear springs. These masses are placed on top of each other one by one and are allowed to slide with respect to each other during the earthquake. The bottom mass that carries the weight of upper masses is in contact with the superstructure floor. The damping of system …