Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Dynamic Baseline Schedule Updates Using Digital Twinning: A Case Study On Aluminum Formwork Construction, Ahmed Hamdi Sweilam

Theses and Dissertations

Repetitive high-rise construction using aluminum formwork couples consecutive floor cycles through a reused panel set and a floor-level inspection and pour barrier, so productivity loss compounds upward rather than being absorbed locally. The baseline schedule is nevertheless fixed before execution and is not revised as evidence of realized productivity accumulates. This thesis develops a simulation-based digital twin that updates the baseline from observed as-built durations and acts on its own forecast. A discrete-event simulation of a ten-story residential tower is built in AnyLogic® and verified analytically at 180.00 hours per floor. After each completed floor the twin infers activity productivity …

Simulation-Based Assessment Of Operational And Retrofit Solutions For Effluent Compliance Of A Capacity-Limited Oxidation Ditch Wwtp, Ahmed Sameh Harash

Theses and Dissertations

Oxidation-ditch wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across Egypt's Nile Delta are increasingly carrying hydraulic and organic loads beyond what they were designed for. This work can be considered pioneering as this work compared operational and structural retrofit alternatives for such a plant within a single verified simulation framework. The present study fills that gap by building a digital twin of the Qaha WWTP, a dual-train Carrousel oxidation ditch in Qalyubia Governorate, calibrated to a baseline flow of 7,420 m³/day in the SUMO24 platform (a third-generation, open-source wastewater treatment process simulation software) using the SUMO2c biokinetic model (a simplified variant of Activated …

Sustainable – Low-Cost - Upgrade Of Activated Sludge Process For Nitrogen And Phosphorus (N&P) Removal From Wastewater, Abanoub N. Basta

Theses and Dissertations

Many municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in developing countries were designed primarily for organic matter and suspended solids removal and therefore face increasing difficulty in meeting modern nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) discharge requirements. Conventional biological nutrient removal upgrades commonly require additional reactor volume, recirculation systems, aeration energy, and capital investment. Accordingly, sustainable retrofit strategies that improve nutrient removal within existing treatment footprints are increasingly needed, particularly in water-scarce and land-constrained regions.

This study investigated the integration of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) into the aeration stage of an activated sludge process as a hybrid nature-based enhancement for nitrogen and phosphorus …

A Comparative Study: Force Majeure And The Theory Of Unforeseen Circumstances Across Different Jurisdictions In The Middle East, Omar Hamed Sawan

Theses and Dissertations

The motivation behind this study stems from recent global disruption events that impact construction projects worldwide. These events vary across a wide spectrum, whether they are political events such as the Russo-Ukraine war or the war in the Middle East, economic events such as inflation or currency devaluations; or environmental events such as climate change and the emergence of public health crises like the Covid-19 pandemic. These series of events underscore the growing importance of understanding how the different legal frameworks address unforeseeable events in the construction industry. In this context, force majeure and the theory of unforeseen circumstances (also …

Enhancing Agricultural Sustainability Under Climate Change: A Multi-Scale Framework Integrating Climate Extremes, Resource Efficiency, And Data-Driven Modeling, Shahryar Fazli

Computational and Data Sciences (PhD) Dissertations

Agricultural systems are increasingly challenged by climate variability, where shifting temperature regimes, hydrological variability, and the rising frequency of compound and cascading extremes threaten global food security and resource sustainability. Addressing these challenges requires integrated frameworks that bridge biophysical monitoring, predictive modeling, and adaptive decision-making. This dissertation develops a data-driven, multi-scale framework to quantify and enhance agricultural resilience by integrating remote sensing, climate analytics, and machine learning across the United States, with a focus on California and the Western U.S.

First, hyperspectral and thermal remote sensing data from EMIT and OpenET are integrated to characterize crop nitrogen–water interactions and assess …

Scalable Quality Assessment Of Ground Motion Records Via Interpretable Deep Learning Architectures, Ali Montazeri Namin

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Earthquake engineers rely on accurate recordings of ground shaking to design safe and resilient buildings. However, sorting through thousands of these recordings to find the reliable ones and throwing out those ruined by sensor errors or background noise is traditionally done by hand. Because modern seismic networks collect massive amounts of earthquake data every day, this manual checking process is much too slow. To fix this, researchers are turning to artificial intelligence to automatically check the quality of these recordings.

While artificial intelligence offers a fast solution, there are limitations. These computer models can become massive and expensive to run, …

Reimagining Sustainable Sulfur Concrete: A Systematic Review Of Sulfur, Waste Integration, And Durability, Vasilia Al Khaldi, Abdel Hamid I. Mourad, Maisa Elgamal

All Works

Sulfur concrete (SC) - a thermoplastic, waterless composite in which molten sulfur-based binder replaces Portland cement - is attracting growing research attention as a sustainable construction alternative capable of superior performance in chemically aggressive environments. This systematic literature review synthesises evidence from 127 sources (2000–2025), examining three interlinked dimensions: (i) the role of waste and industrial by-product materials as aggregate and filler substitutes; (ii) the influence of aggregate type, morphology, and grading on mechanical and microstructural performance; and (iii) durability under acid, saline, and freeze-thaw exposures. A transparent, PRISMA-aligned screening and classification protocol - here used as a structured review …

Thermophysical Characteristics Evaluation Of Carbon And Metal Oxide-Based Hybrid Phase Change Materials For Thermal Energy Storage Applications, Utpol K. Paul, Md Shahriar Mohtasim, Md Golam Kibria, Barun K. Das

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Phase change materials (PCM) have limited practical applications due to their low heat conductivity. The main goal of this work is to improve the thermophysical properties of PCM by adding different compositions of hybrid carbon and metal oxide-based nanoparticles for incorporation into hybrid photovoltaic/thermal solar systems to accommodate the built environment and thermal energy storage as a building envelope for thermal comfort. Three types of nanoparticles have been selected including Graphene, Al2O3, and ZnO and synthesized samples with the combinations of 0.5 wt% Al2O3 + 2 wt% ZnO, 0.75 wt% Al2O3 + 2 wt% ZnO, 1 wt% Al2O3 + 2 …

Nanofluid-Assisted Enhanced Sealing Containment Of Caprocks For Efficient Geological Co2 Storage, Muhammad Ali, Nurudeen Yekeen, Mujahid Ali, Nilanjan Pal, Mohammed Al Kobaisi, Alireza Keshavarz, Hussein Hoteit

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Millions of tons of CO2 are stored annually in geological formations in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, relying on caprock as a seal to prevent CO2 leakage. The wettability of caprock is crucial for its effectiveness, and can be altered by organic acids present in the storage media. The present study investigates the impact of stearic acid on the CO2 wettability of shale, along with the potential of alumina nanofluids to reverse this effect. Using contact angle measurements, X-ray diffraction, and other analytical methods, the study reveals that stearic acid increases the CO2 wettability of shale, making it more …

A Consolidated Mössbauer Spectrum For Undisturbed Soils From Gusev Crater, Mars, Paulo De Souza

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Mossbauer analyses from MIMOS II data collected on Mars provided breakthrough insights into iron mineralogy of the planet’s surface. Resulting from limited measurement time, science operations were divided among multiple instruments, restricting the detection of minor Fe-bearing mineral phases (below 5% WSA). MIMOS II records Mössbauer spectra at 10 K intervals, and to enhance signal to noise ratios, spectra from different intervals were combined, when applicable. For instance, temperature variations between 190 K and 270 K in basaltic samples do not significantly impact the spectra, allowing data from all intervals to be integrated. By combining MIMOS II data from various …

Treatment Of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Bottom Ash Using Cement For Integrated Recovery Of Hydrogen And Production Of Supplementary Cementitious Material, Muhammad Haris Javed, Wenyu Liao, Fathma Zuhra, David Vollero, David Schmidenberg, Hongyan Ma

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash (MBA) represents both a disposal challenge and a potential resource for sustainable construction materials, including use as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM). However, the conventional use of MBA in cement-based materials is hindered by its high metallic aluminum content, which reacts in alkaline environments to release hydrogen gas and causes volumetric instability (e.g., expansion and cracking). This study investigates a cement-based alkali pretreatment method using diluted cement suspension to stabilize metallic aluminum and improve the compatibility of MBA as an SCM. Compared to conventional alkali solutions, the proposed approach avoids the direct use …

Experimental Study On The Behavior Of High-Strength Reinforced Concrete Beams With A Longitudinal Void, With And Without Micro Steel Fibers, At Different Shear Spans, Farah M. Hussein, Saif Altai, Shatha Alasadi, Ayoob A. Ibrahim, Arshad Nadhom Shubber

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

This study examines the impact of creating a longitudinal void in high-strength reinforced concrete (RC) beams to decrease concrete volume. Testing involved three groups: solid beams (SB), beams with a 75 mm void (VB), and beams with a void incorporating 1.2% micro-steel fibers (VBSF), across various shear spans (a/d) of 1.8, 2.7, and 3.6. Results indicated that increased a/d led to a 54.2% reduction in peak loads and a 119.2% increase in deflection for solid beams. The void negatively affected load-bearing at a/d = 1.8 with a 25% peak load reduction and brittle failure. At a/d = 2.7, effects were …

Harnessing Nigeria’S Aquaculture And Fisheries Component Of The Blue Economy, B. S. Awe, O. Adeoti

Blue Economy

Nigeria aims to diversify from carbon to blue economy. Target 7 of Goal 14 of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the creation of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, and the passage of the National Policy on Marine and Blue Economy (2025 -2034) in May 2025 are the three frameworks driving this ambition. However, water pollution and changes in climate are central to harnessing the aquaculture and fisheries component of the blue economy. With increasing waste disposal in waterways and waterbodies and decreasing river water flow due to changes in climate, these have implications for …

Safety And Resilience In Disaster Debris Removal And Clean-Up Operations: A Field And Training Guide For Resilience Workers In Disaster Debris Removal And Cleanup, Mohsen Shahandashti, Ph.D, P.E., Abhijit Roy, Ph.D, Zhe Yin, Ph.D, P.E., Pmp, Leed Ap, Antonio Balderrama, Ph.D, P.E., Sandesh Adhikari, Santosh Acharya

Mavs Open Press Open Educational Resources

A practical safety guide for the people who clear debris after disasters, and for the trainers who prepare them. Built for crews of every experience level--from seasoned operators to first-time volunteers--it teaches how to read a damaged site, recognize hidden and shifting hazards, work safely around heavy equipment and hazardous materials, and make sound decisions under pressure. Every chapter pairs clear guidance with a one-page field job aid, facilitator notes for trainers, and a real-world scenario, all grounded in OSHA, FEMA, EPA, and NIOSH guidance.

Safety and Resilience in Disaster Debris Removal and Clean-Up Operations Copyright © 2026 by Mohsen …

Common Ground Newsletter Fall 2026, Missouri University Of Science And Technology

Common Ground

- Q&A Experiences

- Shaping the next generation

- Chi Epsilon earns four awards

- Summer Camps

- Design Team Results

Spatial Markov Equilibrium Models For Taxi Services: Driver Decision, Search Friction, And Locational Pricing, Yanchao Liu

Industrial and Systems Engineering Faculty Research Publications

This paper develops a modeling framework for stochastic multi-agent systems and applies it to equilibrium and pricing analysis in urban taxi markets. Travel demand is represented as a trip network and embedded in a Markov chain that captures both locational and in transit taxi states, with transition dynamics reflecting trip durations, search frictions, spatial competition, and drivers’ perceptions of long-term value. The framework features a parametric Markov chain with endogenous transition probabilities and a behavioral model in which agents’ decisions depend on anticipated long-term rewards. We establish equilibrium existence and examine two locational pricing schemes that align individual incentives with …

Recent Advances In Bioethanol Production From Water Hyacinth: A Critical Review, Umuamina A. Matola, Mahir Mohammed Said, Olga-Ioanna Kalantzi, Abraham K. Temu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Water hyacinth (WH) is a highly invasive tropical aquatic weed with high holocellulose and low lignin content, making it a promising lignocellulosic feedstock for second-generation bioethanol production. Producing bioethanol from WH offers a sustainable approach to simultaneously managing invasive biomass and producing renewable energy. This review critically evaluates recent advancements in bioethanol production from WH by examining pretreatment, hydrolysis, and fermentation technologies reported between 2014 and 2024. A PRISMA-guided literature search was conducted using the Scopus and Web of Science databases, and fifty-nine original research articles were selected for analysis. The reviewed studies were comparatively assessed based on pretreatment strategies, …

Effect Of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash Incorporated With Limestone Calcined Clay Cement On Geotechnical Properties Of Swelling Soils Relevant To Road Applications, Horris K. Nangulama, Siya P. Rimoy, John E. Elvis

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This study aims to investigate the use and effect of sugarcane bagasse ash (BA) incorporated with limestone calcined clay cement (LC³) as a sustainable and cost-effective alternative for stabilizing swelling soils. Therefore, BA incorporating LC³ was added to black cotton soil (BCS), known for its high swelling potential. Series of laboratory tests including free swell index (FSI), compaction, California bearing ratio (CBR), and shear strength were conducted to evaluate the performance of BA incorporating LC³ binder-stabilized BCS. Additionally, microstructural analyses using pore size distribution (PSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed to …

Parametric Study On The Plastic Hinge Length Of Precast Concrete Columns With Grouted Sleeve Connections, Rizky Tri Amalia, Harun Alrasyid

Journal of Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies

The use of precast concrete structures with grouted sleeve (GS) connections has gained significant traction in the acceleration of bridge construction. The plastic hinge length (Lp) is a critical parameter for assessing the seismic performance and deformation capacity of such structural members. The previous study has proposed empirical equations for Lp in monolithic columns; however, a comprehensive understanding of the influential parameters on Lp in precast concrete columns with GS connections remains limited. This study presents a detailed parametric investigation to evaluate the effects of key design parameters on the plastic hinge length of a precast concrete columns with GS …

From Disaster To Resilience: Developing Smart Settlements In The Himalayas, Keshav Bhattarai, Ambika P. Adhikari

Himalayan Research Papers Archive

Nepal’s catastrophic 26 August 2026 Bhote Koshi–Trishuli flood should be understood not only as a humanitarian tragedy but also as a potentially major turning point in updating national settlement and reconstruction policy. Engineers and scientists have described the floods as a glacier–bedrock collapse that triggered an ice-rock avalanche and debris flow. As per the live updates on September 7, 2026, the total death toll was 1,355, and 4,996 people were missing (The Hindu, 2026). Indian and Nepali rescuers worked urgently to locate and rescue people buried under hydropower tunnels, buildings, mud, and landslide debris.

UN News reported on September 3, …