Accuracy requirements for positioning a vessel in the near shore
area have increased in recent years. To meet these requirements
several electronic positioning systems have been developed. One
such system is the Cubic Autotape Model DM-40. The Autotape is a
circular positioning system which utilizes the phase comparison
between transmitted...
The lower Willamette River, located between river mile 4.0
and 26.5, is the most seriously polluted section of the Willamette
River Basin.
Low dissolved oxygen concentrations of 2.0 to 3.0 mg/1 are
observed annually in this section of the river due to the pollutional
loads discharged into it. Waste discharges...
This thesis provides a comparison of advanced econometric frameworks to account for unobserved factors in crash reported data (also referred to as unobserved heterogeneity) while identifying contributing factors by roadway classification for heavy vehicle injury severity and crash rates. The presented thesis provides two manuscripts that expand the literature regarding...
The capabilities of the coagulation-filtration process for virus
removal were evaluated by constructing and operating a one step,
2 gpm coagulation-filtration pilot plant. Multi-media filters were
used without pre-coagulation and sedimentation. A T2 bacteriophage
was used as the indicator organism. The plant was operated under
a variety of conditions in...
For wood beams, it is often assumed that the neutral axis is located at the centroid of the
beam. The neutral axis of isotropic, homogeneous materials is located at the centroid of the
material, but wood is neither isotropic nor homogeneous. The varying grain patterns and
knots located throughout wood...
The implementation and construction of Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) walls has undergone substantial expansions in recent years, owing to its relatively low cost, ease of construction, and high efficiency compared to conventional retaining methods. As a result, MSE walls are being constructed to greater heights with complex features (e.g. multiple...
A Geyser in a stormwater (SW) and combined sewer system (CSS) is an oscillatory and violent release of a mixture of air and water through vertical shafts. Violent geysers are highly destructive. In the case of combined sewer systems, many municipalities operate their systems at a fraction of their maximum...
The work of engineering education researchers has resulted in the development of research-based instructional strategies (RBISs) aimed at providing educators with means to increase student learning. Research has shown that there is a disconnect between the development of RBISs and their use by educators. Means to make new practices more...
Public housing (PH) provides a substantial portion of the housing in both developed and less developed countries, and the demand for it is increasing. The PH projects, however, are facing many challenges that are affecting their performance and cause their failures. The United States has demolished large portions of their...
Social scientists have studied people's responses to disasters for many decades, and behavioral commonalities and variations are summarized in different mental schemes/models in disaster studies. Integrating those findings from social science into evacuation simulation can improve simulation accuracy and eventually better support decision-making and disaster preparedness. However, this kind of...
During the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence (CES) in Christchurch, NZ, an estimated $15B in damages occurred due to liquefaction-induced phenomena, illustrating the importance of understanding site-specific responses to seismic ground motions, as well the importance of accurately predicting liquefaction severity. One potential method for improving the understanding of how a site...
Storage of water for water quality control is one of the alternative
means of achieving water quality objectives. Authorities in
the field of water quality management disagree regarding the use of
precious water for the dilution of wastes.
The costs of achieving water quality objectives by treatment
of wastes at...
The LRFR Manual, within commentary Article C6.4.4.2.3, contains provisions for development of site-specific live load factors. In Oregon, truck Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) data were used to develop live load factors for use on state-owned bridges. The factors were calibrated using the same statistical methods that were used in the original development...
Student engagement has been the focus of much engineering education research, in large part due to its ties to student learning. Widely considered to be a meta-construct, student engagement is often broken down into behavioral, emotional, and cognitive components. Reasons for ongoing research on student cognitive engagement are twofold: educators...
The failure of cutbanks is a major problem encountered by those
who construct low-cost roads in naturally forested residual soils.
Attempts have been made to lessen the severity of failures by classifying
certain soil areas as to their susceptibility to failure, in
addition to bringing past design experience into play...
This research focused on the enhanced reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) and its surrogate, trichlorofluoroethene (TCFE), using two bioremediation methods in anaerobic conditions. Two anaerobic bioremediation studies were conducted to investigate the effects of microbial communities in the presence of different electron acceptors and donors during anaerobic reductive dechlorination of...
Increasing load magnitudes and loss of reinforcing steel cross-sectional area from corrosion creates the potential for low-cycle fatigue (LCF) in conventionally reinforced concrete (CRC) bridge girders lightly reinforced for shear. LCF of reinforcing steel may be of particular concern. Little data are available for LCF of reinforcing steel without stress...
Large numbers of 1950's vintage conventionally reinforced concrete (CRC) bridges remain in-service in the national bridge inventory. Many of these bridges are lightly reinforced for shear. Evaluation of these bridges to prevent unnecessary and costly repairs requires refined analytical techniques. This dissertation presents finite element (FE) modeling and comparisons of...
Performance evaluation of conventionally reinforced concrete (CRC) bridge superstructure elements with diagonal cracks is of interest to the bridge engineering community. Standardized methods to predict service-level stress magnitudes in cracked bridge girders under combined bending and shear forces are not available. An analysis procedure was developed to determine the response...
Several dichotomous-response models of carcinogenesis are discussed and their implications for low-dose risk estimation are
examined. In addition, a pharmacokinetic model incorporating non-linear kinetics is studied and the results are investigated with
respect to multiple-pollutant exposures. None of these models appears to suggest the existence of "thresholds".
The analysis of...
Research was conducted to determine the applicability of using the theory of
regionalized variables or geostatistics in characterizing the spatial variability of reference
evapotranspiration (ETr) over various climatic regimes for the state of Oregon. The state was
divided into five climatic regions based on topographic features and local meteorological
conditions:...
An analysis method for moving loads computes the internal demand history in a structural member at integration points of force-based finite elements as opposed to the end forces of a refined displacement-based finite element mesh. The force-based formulation satisfies strong equilibrium of internal section forces with the element end forces...
Landslides are a pervasive hazard that can result in substantial damage to properties and loss of life throughout the world. To understand the nature and scope of the hazard, landslide hazard mapping has been an area of intense research by identifying areas most susceptible to landslides in order to mitigate...
Thermal cracking of asphalt concrete pavements is responsible for millions
of dollars in annual maintenance and rehabilitation costs in the United States and
Canada. Thermal cracking is typically associated with low temperatures in
northern climates and at high elevations. However, another form of thermal
cracking, known as thermal fatigue cracking,...
Oregon State University conducted a series of laboratory experiments to measure and quantify the near-field wave effects caused within arrays of Wave Energy Converters (WEC). As the waves and WECs interact, the WECs generate radiated waves; these effects vary with the location within the array. Analyzing the near-field waves will...
A commercially available, three-dimensional (3-D) finite-element (FE) analysis
program was used to model metal-plate-connected (MPC) joints in wooden trusses.
The model's features included consideration of material properties, teeth-to-grain-to-direction-
of-force orientation, and wood-to-wood contact. Non-linear spring elements,
placed on the wood surface between wood and plate, were used to represent wood-to-teeth...
A general analytical framework was established to investigate the scale-related variabilities in remote
sensing. The variabilities were studied first by investigating canopy structure, canopy interaction with
light, relation between spectral reflectance and plant phenological parameters. The variabilities
simulated by the plant model were compared with the actual spectral data acquired...
Regionalized variable analysis has been used to study
a number of meteorological and hydrological variables
including precipitation (Delhomme and Delfinier, 1973),
streamfiow (Villeneuve et al., 1979) and hydraulics of
groundwater aquifers (Gambolati and Volpi, 1979). In the
research work reported in this thesis, an attempt was
made to characterize the...
Vertical datum is a reference system used for specifying the elevation of specific points on or near the Earth. Precise and accurate definition and realization of vertical references are, therefore, crucial to ensure consistency between height measurements. The vertical datums can be divided into two categories: 1) vertical geodetic datums...
In coastal and ocean engineering, understanding the ocean environment and the forces from waves, tsunamis and waterborne debris on structures and floating bodies is an important aspect of designing safe and effective infrastructure. Understanding the impact of these forces on structures becomes an important question in the design process. Answering...
Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is a product development process that
assures the needs and desires of the customer are heard and heeded during the
design, development and production of a product. Though it has been used
successfully in other industries, only a few companies in the U. S. Engineering
and...
The development of technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), light detection and ranging (lidar), and sensor-based systems poses new opportunities for researchers to rethink how construction safety and health can be approached during the design, planning, and construction phases of a project. Nevertheless, the majority of the technology applications...
The Wiggins-Holmes extension of the generalized
Melnikov method (GMM) is applied to weakly damped
parametrically excited cross waves with surface tension in
a long rectangular wave channel in order to determine if
these cross waves are chaotic. The Lagrangian density
function for surface waves with surface tension is
simplified by...
Structurally efficient and cost-effective solutions are needed to extend the service-life of deficient and aging highway infrastructure around the world. One critical need is to increase the flexural strength of older reinforced concrete (RC) structures to carry heavier and more frequent loads. Titanium alloy bars (TiAB) offer a new opportunity...
In the first quarter of the twentieth century, iron was commonly used to provide tensile resistance for preservation and restoration of historical buildings. A major factor contributing to increasing the deterioration and degradation of historic structures is corrosion of ferrous materials. One approach to avoid long-term degradation of iron and...
This project utilized both shore-based and shipboard commercial marine radar technology to collect wave statistics. In the first application a shore-based system was installed at Yaquina Bay in Newport, Oregon in order to collect real-time wave information. This information was collected under the auspices of the Northwest Association of Networked...
Scour is the main cause of bridge failures in the United States. Bridge failures raise a hazard to the safety of the traveling public as well as the massive economic consequences due to the high cost of constructing a new or a replacement bridge. The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT)...
Walking is the single most universal mode of transportation in the world, but being a pedestrian exposes a traveler to high risk. Historically, pedestrians have consistently experienced disproportionately high rates of fatalities and severe injuries in traffic crashes. Research has probed into factors influencing pedestrian crash injury severity outcomes, but...
A method is described for determining the partition coefficient, K, for radon gas
distributed between an aqueous phase and an organic solvent. The method uses
sequential extractions of radon into equal volume aliquots of organic solvent. The
radon-laden organic liquid is then counted on a liquid scintillation analyzer with alpha-beta...
In the light of the changing climate, the importance of designing effective watershed management plans that are likely to be implemented is becoming ever more important. This research introduces a new concept, consensus, for incorporation into stakeholder-guided interactive optimization of watershed management plans. User preferences were mathematically simulated based upon...
The dissertation uses state-of-the-art structural engineering theories, in parallel with the modern and still-developing control theory of electrical engineering to mitigate the vibratory responses of a double-stayed bridge subjected to strong earthquake ground motions.
First, a nonlinear finite element model of the double-stayed bridge subjected to non-uniform (multi-support) earthquake excitations...
The goal of the first part of this project was to investigate the influence of aggregate source and entrained air on the transport properties of concrete. Currently, there are several ASTM standards available that provide systematic procedures to evaluate mass transport properties of concrete. ASTM C642-13 (ASTM 2013), often referred...
The first goal of this master’s thesis was to investigate the linkage between a non-destructive testing method, surface resistivity, and premature concrete deterioration brought on by chloride ingress and or freeze-thaw cycling. The experimental method for this project consists of taking surface resistivity measurements of reinforced concrete slabs after they...
The climate and geologic conditions of the Pacific Northwest leaves its roads highly susceptible to rockfall hazards. Rockfalls often occur on steep slopes that experience heavy rainfall, groundwater seepage, or strong shaking from earthquakes. The unpredictable nature of these events often creates substantial problems for communities, transportation infrastructure, and the...
The objective of this research was to determine the feasibility of using chitosan as a natural flocculant to control turbidity during in-stream construction work. A series of field tests in Oak Creek, Corvallis, OR were conducted in order to test the effectiveness for turbidity control and the environmental impacts of...
Transportation agencies continuously strive to improve driving quality and highway safety, which are both highly correlated with the level of smoothness of the road. The International Roughness Index (IRI) is a widely adopted, standardized metric calculated from longitudinal profile data collected on the road. Inertial profilers are devices mounted to...
Bicyclist safety at urban intersections is a critical element for encouraging an increase in bicycle commuting. With bicycle injury and fatality rates rising due to collisions with vehicles at signalized intersections, increasing the safety of riders continues to be an important consideration when promoting this mode of transportation. Previous research...
This thesis presents two conceptually linked papers outlining methodologies to improve community resilience. Both papers employ Seaside, Oregon as a testbed community and consider the seismic-tsunami hazard posed by the Cascadia Subduction Zone. The first paper presents a framework to deaggregate the results of a multi-hazard, multi-infrastructure, damage analysis by...
Corrosion of reinforcement is recognized as the predominant factor that limits the service life of reinforced concrete (RC) structures exposed to aggressive environments. This corrosion deterioration can lead to damage resulting in capacity loss or even failure. For structures exposed to coastal marine environments or deicing or anti-icing applications, this...
Concrete has been categorized as a key contributor of CO2 (carbon) emissions into the atmosphere. This is mostly associated with the production of ordinary portland cement (OPC). The concrete and cement industries are pursuing a path to reduce their carbon emissions generally in accordance with the climate change goals outlined...
Microbial-induced corrosion of concrete (MICC) is a multi-stage deterioration process caused by microbial activity in wastewater infrastructure. MICC is a worldwide issue due to the reduced service life of the wastewater infrastructure and the economic impact associated with increased maintenance and reconstruction costs. This thesis explores two critical aspect of...
In the residential sector, wood is the predominant construction material. In the commercial sector and in mid‐rise construction, the use of wood is limited because of a multitude of reasons, including building code restrictions, the perception of wood as a structural material, fire code requirements, and lack of knowledge and...
Bioretention facilities are emerging as a popular way to deal with stormwater runoff in urban environments and address its concerns. Real-time sensors installed in bioretention facilities aid in understanding the performance and feasibility of such facilities over time. A bioretention facility in Corvallis, Oregon was monitored for a study period...
Minimal research has focused on the social dimension of sustainability in the built environment especially as it relates to the construction workforce. As a result, there are few to no tools available to industry stakeholders to holistically assess and improve the social sustainability of the construction workforce. Given the high...
The Large Wave Flume at the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory houses a piston wavemaker with a built-in active absorption system designed by MTS Systems Corporation. The performance of the active absorption system has not been properly assessed yet. This thesis evaluates the performance of the MTS active absorption system...
Numerical models are effective tools for simulating complex physical processes such as hydrodynamic and water quality processes in aquatic systems. The accuracy of the model is dependent on multiple model parameters and variables that need to be calibrated and regularly updated to reproduce changing aquatic conditions accurately. Multi-sensor water temperature...
In the past ten years, renewed research interest has shown the benefits of internal curing by incorporating saturated lightweight fine aggregate (LWFA) in high performance concrete (HPC). As a result, the technology of internal curing has steadily progressed from laboratory studies to field applications. To determine the optimum LWFA content,...
Due to its availability, versatility, structural capability, and economic advantages, concrete is the most widely used material in building sewer networks and other wastewater structures such as treatment stations, wastewater digesters, septic tanks, pumping stations, hydraulic risers, utility risers and covers, etc. Concrete structures exposed to sewer environments can experience...
The continuous improvement of construction operations requires a systematic approach of monitoring and making appropriate control actions. However, the lack of real-time information hinders this workflow and eventually compromises timely and effective decision-making. Project managers spend a great deal of time and effort to solve problems emerging from lack of...
Modular construction is increasingly seen as an efficient construction method in terms of time, cost, and energy. The full realization of these advantages partly relies on the efficiency of the production process inside the modular factories, which currently rely on tedious manual monitoring methods or expensive automated techniques. As a...
Hydrazine based fuels are used by the Air Force for the Titan II
and Minuteman III missiles and the F-16 aircraft and by the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration for propulsion systems and the
Space Shuttle Program. These uses represent significant production,
transportation and storage of these fuels, and, as...
The formation of beach scarps is a challenging morphodynamic phenomenon that the coastal community has yet to capture in coastal change models. Understanding scarp formation is crucial to accurately predicting coastal erosion and vulnerability during extreme events, as models without parameters for scarp formation and development severely underpredict total erosion...
Shallow foundations are extensively used to support structures of all sizes and derive their support from near surface soils. Thus, they are typically embedded up to a few meters into the soil profile. Designers of shallow foundations are required to meet two limit states: overall failure of the soil beneath...
Pile caps are structural elements used to transmit loads from structural columns into pile groups. A pile cap is generally constructed of reinforced concrete and contains only minimal flexural reinforcing steel. Using modern design methods, the anchorage of the flexural steel may limit the design capacity of existing pile caps....
Research was conducted to study the behavior and
load carrying capacity of stump anchors. A field testing
program was undertaken to determine the response and
strength characteristics of second growth Douglas-fir
(Pseudotsuga menziesii) stumps ranging in diameter from
6 to 17 inches. Horizontal and vertical stump movements
due to an...
The goal of this study was to develop an understanding of the nature of surge wave loading on
wood framed residential structures for a variety of building configurations and test conditions.
The objectives of the study were: (1) to measure forces on a 1/6th scale wood framed
residential structure, (2)...
A single cell in a 12 cell bulkhead was instrumented to observe
its behavior and confirm design assumptions during construction.
Vibrating wire strain gages were employed to measure horizontal
strains in sheetpiling webs. These were converted to interlock
force at eight locations and three elevations around the cell. The
deformed...
This study includes an analytical solution to the wave-current
barrier interaction problem and large scale experiments to validate the
theory.
The boundary value problem is solved mathematically by characterizing
the flow field and barrier motion separately, then coupling
the relationships with the appropriate kinematic and dynamic boundary
conditions.
The flow...
Large-scale experiments on circular model cell bulkheads were
conducted to define the distribution of hoop stresses, deflections of
the cells, distortion of the cell fill, ultimate overturning resistance,
and the critical mode of failure. The embedment depth of the model
cells was varied to investigate the effect of embedment on...
The goal of this project is to contribute to the development of design values for cross-laminated timber (CLT) diaphragms in the seismic load-resisting system for buildings. Monotonic and cyclic tests to determine strength and stiffness characteristics of 2.44 m (8 ft) long shear connections with common self-tapping screws were performed....
This study consists of three parts: 1) Part A: Limiting Height Evaluation for
Composite Wall Tests, 2) Part B: Mid-Span Deflection Evaluation for Composite Wall
Tests, and 3) Part C: Nominal Axial Strength Evaluation for Wall-Braced Wall Stud
Columns.
The purpose of Part A is to develop experimentally-based limiting heights...
Open grid steel bridge decks have been in use for nearly a century. These open grid decks provide an economical and lightweight alternative to traditional reinforced concrete decks. As the transportation infrastructure continues to deteriorate, open grid decks can be used as a cost effective way to rehabilitate structurally deficient...
Fire following earthquake (FFE) events are cascading hazards that have caused great damage in the past and pose a continued threat to our communities. The increased risk for fire after a seismic event stems from potential damage to utilities such as gas or fuel pipelines, which can lead to ignition....
The behavior of a stream upon entering a field reservoir was
studied at various stages of stratification. The principal field techniques
included fluorometric and temperature surveys. General
relationships were obtained, between dimensional and locational characteristics
of the inflow current and the thermal structure of the
impoundment. As predicted by analytical...
Nearly all soils are comprised of mixtures of coarse and fine particles. Behavior under mechanical and thermal loading of soil is strongly influenced (and in some cases, governed) by the ratio of coarse to fine particles. A better understanding of the fundamental behavior of soil mixtures will provide insight to...
Laboratory scale microcosm studies were conducted using site specific groundwater and aquifer solids to assess the feasibility of stimulating indigenous microorganisms in-situ to biologically transform Trichloroethylene (TCE) and its lesser chlorinated daughter products dichloroethylene (DCE) and vinyl chloride (VC). Three different treatments were conducted to determine the best approach for...
Previous research has shown that traveling in a work zone involves a higher risk of crashing compared to normal (non-work zone) driving conditions. Research further suggests that the severity of work zone crashes is greater on average than non-work zone crashes. The period of time in which the traffic control...
A method of analysis of arbitrarily shaped prestressed concrete
members for biaxial bending is given. The stress-strain curve of
the concrete is represented by two parabolic segments, and the
effects of strain hardening of the steel are included in the analysis.
An iterative numerical procedure is used to solve for...
A study was conducted to determine the oxygen uptake rate of
resuspended estuarine bottom sediments and the biodegradability of
the organic matter released during resuspension.
Oxygen uptake was measured on a Gilson Differential Respirometer
and the percent biodegradability was calculated by determining
the soluble organic carbon on a Beckman Carbonaceous...
Chlorinated low molecular weight solvents have been discovered in a number of the nation's groundwater supplies. Remediation of these aquifers will require some form of treatment. Presently, the dominant treatment method is air stripping which results in transfer of the solvent from the aqueous phase into the atmosphere. Biodegradation is...
Mycobacterium vaccae JOB5 and Graphium sp. were studied to evaluate their ability to cometabolize methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and its metabolites after growth on two different alkanes, propane and iso-pentane. Both cultures were capable of cometabolizing MTBE and the metabolites, tert-butyl formate (TBF) and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA). MTBE, TBF, and...
Ex-situ bioremediation of saturated soil contaminated with pentachlorophenol and
2,3,5,6-TeCP is commonly accomplished by landfarming or by treatment in a bioreactor.
Treating saturated, low-permeability soils in bioreactors, without pre-treatment requires a
reactor capable of promoting anaerobic and/or aerobic removal of chlorophenols without
transferring these contaminants to the aqueous phase. A...
The blast technique has been used as an effective soil improvement method to compact loose coarse-granular soils since 1930s, and the use of the blast technique is extended as an application of in-situ liquefaction testing to investigate the performance of full scale foundations and countermeasures against liquefaction in recent decades....
A series of log storage experiments were conducted to determine
whether leachates derived from water storage of logs are acutely
toxic to fish. Log segments approximately 18 inches long and 16 inches
in diameter were stored in tanks and held submerged for a period of
7 days. The holding water...
The composite FRP rebars research at Oregon State University was initiated in
1993 principally to develop a non-metallic hollow reinforcement. It was recognized that
the tensile properties of such reinforcement are unquestionably superior to steel, but its
performance in concrete could be problematic. The bond between FRP rebars and
concrete...
Boulder transport models have been used to develop a historical record of hydrodynamic events. This is done by evaluating the size, location, and composition of boulders that have been removed from their region of formation. Boulder transport is difficult to predict, even under laboratory conditions.
Experiments were conducted to evaluate...
In the presence of strong winds, ocean surface waves dissipate significant amounts of energy by breaking. Here, breaking rates and wave-following turbulent dissipation rate measurements are compared with numerical WAVEWATCH III estimates of bulk energy dissipation. At high winds, the measurements suggest that turbulent dissipation becomes saturated, however the modeled...
The Pacific Northwest is at risk for significant seismic and tsunami events, which are capable of severely damaging lifeline transportation infrastructure, particularly bridges. As the bridges in the United States age and begin to show signs of fatigue, the risk for severe damage increases. Proper monitoring and inspection of bridges...
Bridge inspection is a critical task needed to monitor bridge quality and serviceability. In the U.S., 40% of bridges are more than 50 years old while most bridges are typically designed for a lifespan of 50 years. 9.1% of the 614,387 bridges across the U.S are considered structurally deficient. These...
The aim of this research is to understand and quantify the modeling differences between CSiBridge and OpenSees, and to determine sensitive model parameters. When designing bridges for the high seismic region of California, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) performs nonlinear time history analysis of their bridge models. For three-dimensional...
With the passage of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) it has become a civil
rights violation to deny access to persons with disabilities to public transportation. The
ADA requires transit agencies to provide accessible buses or equivalent services to
persons with mobility, sensory or cognitive impairments. This study examines...
The nonlinear dynamic analysis of cable and cable-large
body systems subject to both deterministic and non-deterministic
loading is presented in this study. Nonlinearities
occur due to large displacements, material nonlinearity,
lack of stiffness in compression, and the non-conservative
fluid loading.
A finite element model is used to model the cable...