Geotechnical Engineering Commons^™

Controlling Relative Humidity Using Glycerin, Juan Martinez

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A series of tests were conducted to control relative humidity (RH) using a bubbler system that contained a series of glass jars and glass vials filled with different concentrations of glycerin. The relative humidity within the glass jars was measured. The total time interval for each laboratory test was 48 hours. During the first 24 hours a pump was used to bubble air through the glycerin solution. During the second 24 hours, the pump was turned off, and the RH within the system was monitored within the closed system. Target RH measurements from 100% to a 0% were obtained. The …

Electroósmosis: Un Método Para Mejorar El Suelo, Yenni Mariana Ramírez Mazo, Juan Pablo Osorio, Sergio Agudelo Florez

Articles

El suelo, ese que pisamos, recorremos, sobre el que construimos nuestras casas, escuelas, calles… ese en el que nos dicen que pongamos los pies cuando estamos algo distraídos, es más que simplemente tierra.

Prediction And Rehabilitation Of Highway Embankment Slope Failures In Changing Climate, Navid Jafari, Anand Puppala

Publications

Highway slopes constructed with clayey soil are prone to desiccation cracks due to wetting and drying weather cycle, which allows greater moisture infiltration into the embankment from precipitation. Fissures formed due to extended wetting and drying cycles allow water to seep deeper into the soil than surficial wetting and increase the water content. This increases the moisture content in the soil and results in reduction in shear strength to the fully softened strength. On the other hand, development of desiccation cracks and reduction of the soil matric suction ultimately result in higher hydraulic conductivity value which causes development of higher …

Development Of Environmentally-Friendly Stabilization Methods For Transportation Infrastructure Based On Geopolymers, Miladin Radovic, Anand Puppala

Publications

Geopolymers (GPs) have received much attention as an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to conventional chemical additives, since they can be processed at room temperatures from aqueous solutions by utilizing waste materials (e.g. fly ash) or abundant natural sources (e.g. clay). A collaborative research study is carried out by teams from Texas A&M University (TAMU) and University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) to investigate the effectiveness of GPs for stabilizing base and subgrade materials by considering the strength and shrink-swell characteristics. Two types of clay, obtained from the North Dallas area, were mixed with a potassium-based GP synthesized from metakaolin and …

Physical Modeling Of Flow Nets In Groundwater And Determination Of Hydraulic Conductivity, Hannah Nicholas, Moses Karakouzian

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

The goal of this study is to physically model the paths that water particles take through soil, and estimate hydraulic conductivity for several soil configurations. Water paths, or flow lines, are shown by injecting dye into sand contained in a rectangular acrylic glass tank with a vertical barrier in the center; water is poured on one side of the tank and a pump is used to maintain constant head loss. If flow lines are formed, a flow net is to be drawn using photos of the tank and hydraulic conductivity is to be calculated.

This project consists of four phases: …

Coir Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Jose De La Serna, Moses Karakouzian

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

This poster exhibits the testing and research done on general Portland Cement Concrete with the addition of coir (coconut) fibers as reinforcement. Using the fundamental constituents of cement (water, cement, fine and coarse aggregate) and processed coir fiber, concrete specimens were batched to test for compressive and flexural strengths (per appropriate ASTM standards). Cylindrical and rectangular beam specimens were subjected to loadings until failure occurred. The capacity and modes of failures of the specimens were observed. It was determined that:

• The addition of processed coir fibers decreases the overall strength of general Portland Cement Concrete. • The tested concrete’s …

Evaluation Of Undrained Shear Strength And Soil Classification From Cone Penetration Test, Md Imran Hossain

LSU Master's Theses

The in-situ cone and piezocone penetration tests (CPT, PCPT) has been widely used by the geotechnical engineering community for subsurface soil characterization and classification, and for the evaluation of many engineering soil properties, such as undrained shear strength (s_u), unit weight (γ), constrained modulus (M), coefficient of consolidation (c_v), and stress history (OCR). The objective of this research study was to estimate the undrained shear strength of clayey soil using CPT/PCPT data in addition to some soil boring log data. At the same time, soil classification charts/methods based …

Modeling And Simulation Of Damage In The Brazilian Indirect Tension Test Using The Finite-Discrete Element Method, Jeremiah C. Leyba

Civil Engineering ETDs

The Brazilian indirect tension test is used to investigate possible correlations between progressive damage and associated permeability changes. The test offers ease of replicability with a damage behavior known to lead to fracture openings as a tool for interpreting the indirect tensile strength of concrete and rocks. This behavior can lend insight into the nature of tensile damage and fracture progression in association with changes in permeability. The nature of these brittle materials is known to exhibit rapid failures in the Brazilian indirect tension test and require a method to retard the progression of damage for the possibility of acquiring …

Evaluation Of Site Variability And Its Application In Design, Abu Hakim Muhammad Hasan Faisal

LSU Master's Theses

Geotechnical characterization has an important role in engineering geology as well as in implementation of any project. There are several variables and uncertainties involved in characterizing a project site. Four different sources of uncertainties represent the characterization of geotechnical variability, which include spatial variability, measurement error, statistical error and model bias. Spatial variability is expressed in terms of the mean, variance, and scale of fluctuation. Several statistical techniques such as the Gauge R & R, which includes X-Bar/R and ANOVA, and the Second Moment can be applied to compute site variability in terms of the coefficient of variations. Measurement error …

Understanding Asphalt Concrete Aging Using Nanoindentation, Hasan M. Faisal

Civil Engineering ETDs

Asphalt concrete (AC) is created by mixing liquid asphalt binder with solid aggregates. When asphalt binder is mixed with aggregates, it creates a thin film (about 7-16 microns thick) around the aggregate surface. Fine aggregate (smaller than 0.075 mm size) get entrapped within the binder film or mixed with the binder, and create a phase called mastic. Both asphalt film and mastic play significant roles in aging of asphalt pavement. To this day, tests were performed mainly on the bulk liquid asphalt, but not on the film or mastic. In this study, for the first time, nanoindentation tests were done …

My Catalyst, Gabrielle Gambino Lyon

Celebration of Learning

Over the course of my internship and shadow program with Pepper Lawson Construction and Ziegler Cooper Architects, I was able to explore the various career paths involved in the design, construction, and civil engineering fields. My work on the construction site of a high-rise apartment building located in the heart of Houston, TX allowed me first-hand experience working and learning alongside project engineers, contractors, building developers, and the construction team.

This project was the perfect confluence of my main areas of interest: structural, mechanical, civil, and environmental engineering, as well as architecture. My daily work consisted of on-site walk throughs, …

Analysis Of Drought Using Meteorological And Microwave Remote Sensed Data: A Case Of Wami Watershed, Tanzania, Deogratias Mulungu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Agricultural sector is important for the economy of Tanzania, but in recent years there is decline in its growth and performance because of persistent droughts. An in-depth study of droughts was conducted on Wami watershed through rainfall and satellite microwave remote sensing data leading for estimates of meteorological droughts and soil moisture based droughts, respectively. Rainfall data during 1973-2008 was used to obtain Drought Severity Index (DSI) and active imaging microwave radar data during 1997-2009 from ESA’s SAR missions of ENVISAT and ERS was used to obtain soil moisture anomalies (SMA). Soil map was used to explain discrepancies in droughts …

Lateral Behavior Comparison Of Driven And Screw Piles In Stiff Clay, Sophie Moore

Architectural Engineering

This study is concerned with the comparison of driven and screw piles when exposed to lateral forces and the effects of gapping on stiffness and displacement. Stiffness contributions were determined from force-displacement profiles, gap depth formation curves, strain profiles, bending moment profiles, and P-Y curves. Driven piles were found to be about twice as stiff as screw piles at lower displacements. At larger displacements, the stiffness of the two pile types start to converge. When the piles are in full contact with the soil, stiffness contribution is derived from both the soil and the pile. When gapping is exhibited, the …

Liquefaction-Induced Dragload And/Or Downdrag On Deep Foundations Within The New Madrid Seismic Zone, Ishimwe Elvis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Deep foundation elements are typically used to transfer structural loads for multi-story buildings and large-span bridges to a competent soil layer when 1) the soil close to the ground surface has no sufficient bearing capacity, and when 2) liquefiable soils are encountered. The majority of the bridges constructed within seismic zones rely upon the stability of earthen embankments and deep foundation that are installed above or within liquefiable soil deposits. Despite large factor of safety values or different load and resistance factors being used to adequately design deep foundations within seismic areas, soil liquefaction may cause extensive damage to the …

Development Of A Hydraulic Conductivity Placement Window Using Centrifuge Techniques, Greg Thomas

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A centrifuge soil testing device, currently operated by researchers at the University of Arkansas, was used to develop a technique to determine a hydraulic conductivity placement window. The purpose of this research was to develop a placement window by means of a centrifuge instead of by means of a panel board. Soil specimens were created at standard PRcotor energy and at 50 percent of Standard Proctor energy at -3 percent of optimum, -1.5 percent of optimum, two specimens at optimum, +1.5 percent of optimum, and +3 percent of optimum water content. Values of hydraulic conductivity for the respective specimens were …

Introduction To Infrastructure - The Influence Of Natural Disasters On Infrastructure, Tri Tam Nguyen, Sean M. Raday, Daniel Leverick

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

In this paper, three major hurricanes in 2017 were examined to determine the damage these hurricanes have done to the infrastructure. Infrastructure has an important role in the nation’s sustained economic development. Infrastructure consists of two main types which are “hard” infrastructure and “soft” infrastructure. Hard infrastructure is the physical networks which include transportation, power, etc. while soft infrastructure is institutions and human capital. Inadequate and inefficient performance of “hard” or “soft” infrastructure would prevent economy from achieving full growth. In the past decades, a significant increase in the number of natural disasters has had great impact on infrastructure systems. …

Hawai'i Wildlife Fund V. County Of Maui, Lowell J. Chandler

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, the Ninth Circuit held that the plain language of the Clean Water Act provides jurisdiction over indirect discharges of pollutants from a point source into groundwater that is shown to be connected to navigable waters. The court found that studies confirmed pollutants entering the Pacific Ocean were fairly traceable to the County of Maui’s sewage disposal wells. In affirming the district court’s ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that Maui County violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into a navigable water without the required permit. The court also concluded the …

Spot-R By Triax, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Triax’s Spot-r system was developed to tackle the construction industry’s unique safety and productivity challenges, stemming from a demonstrated lack of total jobsite visibility and automatically collected, easily accessible field data. Spot-r by Triax combines a proprietary mesh network with sensor technology to record and transmit previously unattainable workforce and equipment location, activity and safety data within a defined area – all in real-time.

The Spot-r network is installed around the site and operates in a 900 MHz network, with a subset using a cellular connection to forward Spot-r sensor data to Triax’s custom, cloud dashboard. In the hazardous construction …

Purdue’S Biowall, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Mechanical ventilation, energy recovery ventilation, and infiltration (air that leaks into a building) are commonly used to introduce fresh air. These are all valid approaches, but a living plant-based filter is an innovative complement to these traditional technologies. A Biowall has the potential to improve indoor air quality while reducing the quantity of air needed for ventilation, creating the potential for energy savings. Figure 1 shows a Biowall prototype being evaluated in the ReNEWW House, a research home located near the Purdue University campus (http://www.renewwhouse.com/).

Mdp (Machine Drive Power) Intelligent Compaction Technology, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

Caterpillar developed MDP (Machine Drive Power) technology to fill this gap. Rather than an accelerometer and vibratory drum, it uses the principle of rolling resistance to provide indications of soil stiffness. This allows it to perform more reliably on cohesive and granular soils with less variability than accelerometer systems. It also means that the technology can be used on both vibratory and static drum compactors, which are often used on larger sites. While the technology is quite useful on its own, it is even better as a complementary technology to the existing accelerometer-based systems. Contractors who use vibratory soil compactors …

Where There Is No Engineer Chapter 06, Liam Mccarton, Sean O'Hogain

Books/Book Chapters

This chapter summarises the learning outcomes from the design program.

Performance Of The Grout Curtain At The Kentucky River Lock And Dam No. 8, Robert C. Hatton

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

Karst bedrock conditions and deterioration of the lock and dam structures have resulted in significant leakage through, underneath, and around Lock and Dam No. 8 on the Kentucky River. During severe droughts, the water surface in Pool No. 8 has been observed to drop below the crest of the dam, resulting in water supply shortages and water quality issues for surrounding communities reliant on the pool. Presently, the primary purpose of Lock and Dam No. 8 is water supply. Pool No. 8 is currently where the cities of Nicholasville (Jessamine County, KY) and Lancaster (Garrard County, KY) draw their water. …

Direct Measurement Of Crosstie-Ballast Interface Pressures Using Granular Material Pressure Cells, Travis James Watts

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

The magnitudes and relative pressure distributions transmitted to the crosstie-ballast interface of railroad track significantly influences the subsequent behavior and performance of the overall track structure. If the track structure is not properly designed to distribute the heavy-axle loads of freight cars and locomotives, deficiencies and inherent failures of the crossties, ballast, or underlying support layers can occur, requiring substantial and frequent maintenance activities to achieve requisite track geometrical standards. Incorporating an understanding of the pressure distribution at the crosstie-ballast interface, appropriate designs can be applied to adequately provide a high performing and long-lasting railroad track. Although this can be …

Effects Of Gradation And Moisture Content On Resistivity Of Mechanically Stabilized Earth Wall Backfill Materials, Jose Luis Arciniega

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The service life of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls depends on the corrosion rate of the metallic reinforcement used in their construction. The resistivity of the backfill aggregates needs to be measured accurately in order to estimate realistically the corrosion rate of the reinforcement. Resistivity testing is usually performed using the traditional soil box on the portion of the aggregates that passes a No. 10 or No. 8 sieve to either select or reject the backfill. For a more reasonable characterization of the corrosivity of coarse backfills, it is desirable to use their actual gradations. To that end, several resistivity …

Back Calculation Of Intelligent Compaction Data For Mechanical Properties Of Soil System, Afshin Gholamy

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

For national economy, it is very important to have a reliable infrastructure. Because of this, all over the world, new roads are constantly being built and old roads are being maintained and, if necessary, expanded and/or repaired. Building a good quality road is very expensive, it costs several million dollars per kilometer. It is therefore crucial to make sure that the newly built and newly repaired roads are sufficiently stiff - so that they can withstand the predicted volume of traffic for a sufficient number of years. Current methods of estimating the stiffness are time-consuming and labor-consuming. The most accurate …

Geospatial Relationship Of Intelligent Compaction Measurement Values With In-Situ Testing For Quality Assessment Of Geomaterials, Luis Alberto Lemus

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The implementation of Intelligent Compaction (IC) in the construction of transportation infrastructure as a tool for quality control of compacted geomaterials has attracted the attention of a number of highway agencies. Compaction quality has been conventionally assessed using density, and to a less extent, modulus-based spot measurements at selected locations along the roadway section. While spot measurements do not provide a thorough rendition of the level of compaction of the roadway, IC technology is effective in meeting full coverage requirements. IC roller measurements are accelerometer-based measurements recording machine-ground interaction assumed to be indicative of the stiffness of the compacted geomaterial. …

Evaluation Of Recycled Gypsum Application Dosages To Enhance The Water Infiltration Rate At Water Retention Ponds, Jorge Luis Navarrete

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The retention ponds play central role for efficient collection, removal, and drainage of rainfall runoff from surrounding streets to minimize flooding and damage. However, low percolating retention ponds may result in an extended ponding of water, abundance bacteria accumulations, mosquito breeding, environmental hazards, among others. The presence of clayey soils and soil sodicity reduces infiltration rates of retention ponds. To enhance the infiltration rate of ponds, it is proposed to use recycled gypsum (RG), as a soil amendment in retention ponds consisting of clayey soils to enhance low infiltration rates.

To evaluate the influence of RG in clayey soils as …

Soil Improvement Using Microbial Induced Calcite Precipitation And Surfactant Induced Soil Strengthening, Matthew P. Davies

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Microbially induced calcite precipitation (MICP) has been used for a number of years as a technique for the improvement of various geological materials. MICP has been used in a limited capacity in organic rich soils with varying degrees of success. Investigators hypothesized that microbially-induced cementation could be improved in organic soils by using a surfactant. Varying amounts of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS) were added to soils of varying organic content and a mixing procedure was used to treat these soils via MICP. Treated specimens were tested for unconfined compressive strength (UCS). Results appeared to show direct relationships between SDS content …

Potential Replacement Of The Us Navy's Rapid Penetration Test With The Method Of Multichannel Analysis Of Surface Waves, William Fletcher

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The United States Navy (USN) currently utilizes a Rapid Penetration Test (RPT) on both land and in water as the means to determine whether sufficient soil bearing capacity exists for piles in axial compression, prior to construction of the Elevated Causeway System (Modular) [ELCAS(M)] pile-supported pier system. The USN desires a replacement for the RPT because of issues with the method incorrectly classifying soils as well as the need to have a less labor-and-equipment-intensive method for geotechnical investigation.

The Multichannel Analysis of Surface Waves (MASW) method is selected herein as the potential replacement for the RPT. The MASW method is …

Development Of Forward And Inversion Schemes For Cross-Borehole Ground Penetrating Radar, Donald Jones

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tomography is an imaging technique to develop a representation of the internal features of material using a penetrating wave, such as an electromagnetic wave. The calculation method used is an example of an inverse problem, which is a system where the input and the output are known but the internal parameters are not. These parameters can be estimated by understanding the responses of a penetrating wave as it passes through the unknown media. A forward problem is just the opposite; the internal structure and input penetrating wave is known and the output is determined. For both forward and inverse problems, …