Wheeled mobility devices (WhMD) pose unique safety risks to users while riding public transportation. Unsecured or improperly secured WhMDs create safety concerns for other transit riders and operators. Tests using accelerometers and visual observations were conducted to understand how WhMD orientation and securement in articulated buses, streetcars, and light rail...
A wave-by-wave forecasting system is desired for optimization of wave energy conversion devices and for improving safety of vessel-based marine operations. This study outlines the first validation attempts of a recently developed forecasting system called Wavecast. The forecasting approach uses X-Band marine radar images for data assimilation, then reconstructs and...
This study presents the theoretical background necessary to model the bearing capacity of shallow and deep foundations in partially saturated soils. The conventional bearing capacity equations for shallow and deep foundations and the 𝛽-method for deep foundation side resistance have been modified to include the effects of matric suction and...
Bridge inspections are vital for monitoring the health and serviceability of transportation infrastructure throughout the world. However, inspections can be logistically-challenging, expensive, and dangerous. For example, inspections may require climbing, as well as the use of scaffolding, ladders, rescue boats, bucket trucks, and/or under-bridge inspection vehicles. Small, multirotor unmanned aircraft...
Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. When constructing large concrete structures, concrete may have to be placed in multiple lifts. In these cases, fresh concrete is placed on hardened concrete. The interface that is formed between these two lifts of concrete is known as a...
Student engagement in a course plays a vital role in a student’s ability to process and construct knowledge. Student engagement research has investigated how students engage in and out of the classroom on a macro scale, through observation and survey data collection of large student populations, which lack focus on...
The objective of this study was to provide first order observations of bed level changes occurring in streambed simulated culverts throughout an annual period. To accomplish this, 30 culvert sites were selected in Oregon and Washington, and monitored over, at least, a 2 year period. Streambed scour and redeposition data...
High water temperatures in rivers have detrimental effects on riverine water quality and ecology. In this study, two river temperature models, within the agricultural watershed model Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), were investigated for their ability to simulate water temperatures accurately throughout the year. The original temperature model within...
This study uses an existing database of dynamic loading tests of driven piles installed in the Puget Sound Lowlands to improve the reliability of axial performance. First, the unit shaft resistances developed from stress wave signal matching to dynamic records of pile installation are used to develop an effective stress-based...
Aging and deficient infrastructure has become a major problem throughout the world. This is particularly evident in the case of reinforced concrete (RC) bridges. The cost of replacing these bridges is often prohibitive, thus engineers must find ways to strengthen them. Many older RC bridges predate the modern understanding of...
Large numbers of reinforced concrete (RC) bridges were built in the past that are now considered seismically deficient. The structural members most likely to be considered deficient are the supporting columns. Typical deficient columns contain inadequate transverse reinforcement and poorly detailed lap splice lengths above the foundation. Insufficient lap splice...
The Cascadia Subduction Zone has recently been identified as a source for an impending great earthquake. The potential of a large earthquake has created widespread interest into the resiliency of lifelines within the potentially affected areas. One critical lifeline is the electrical distribution and transmission systems which relies on legacy...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics cites construction as the most hazardous industry within the United States. The construction industry was responsible for 20% of all fatal occupational injuries in 2014. Approximately 20% of the construction injuries occur within Heavy Civil Engineering, in which there are 950,000 workers employed annually. This...
Damage estimates to the built environment from tsunamis are important for disaster mitigation, including planning emergency response and recovery. This dissertation evaluates the damage states of buildings in a small urban coastal city, Seaside, Oregon, from tsunami hazards generated by a Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) event. This study is separated...
This project determines the short term and long term effective stiffness values for Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) with a reinforced concrete topping. The reinforced concrete was attached to the CLT panels with interface connections, and different types of interface connections were tested. Throughout this project, there are 31 tests with...
Compacted aggregate trenches are a method of soil improvement that could be substituted for commonly used aggregate piers in certain geometrical arrangements of shallow foundations. However, this type of ground improvement has little research to support the understanding of their contribution to improved strength of an unimproved clay soil. This...
The Steel Plate Shear Wall (SPSW) system, is an innovative seismic lateral force resistant system, which has experienced increased use over the last three decades. The SPSW system is composed of boundary elements which anchor web plates that develop diagonal tension fields. A number of SPSW buildings have been built...
A significant number of historically existing wetlands that naturally stored rainwater and attenuated flood peaks have now been drained and employed as new farming areas. Beyond the water quality and flow problem, this has resulted in loss of natural habitats of diverse ecological species. Restoring wetlands have hence been proposed...
Optimization of reservoir operation is involves various competing objectives for a scarce resource (water). To find the optimal operation of reservoirs, it is essential to consider multiple objectives simultaneously. There are various sources of uncertainty associated with the reservoir operation problem that should be considered as well.
The overarching goal...
Over the past two decades, the Lean Construction academic and practicing engineering community has used lean practices and tools to help improve the performance of the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. Lean practices have led to improved competitiveness of construction companies that have adopted them, by focusing on ways...