Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental Engineering

Research Project Abstracts: 2004 - 2005

Development of Permeable Reactive Barriers (PRBs) using Edible Oils
R.C. Borden
Dept. of Defense, SERDP
01/01 to 01/07
The overall objective of this proposal is to develop the information needed to reliably design, construct and evaluate edible oil barriers, including:

1.	Identify factors controlling the loss of permeability during oil injection.
2.	Identify factors controlling oil biodegradation rate in aquifer sediments.
3.	Use these results to develop improved procedures for distributing and immobilizing oils that:
	(a) do not cause an excessive decline in permeability; and
	(b) result in a slow, steady rate of in-situ oil decay.
4.	Use emulsion transport model to identify alternative barrier configurations and injection procedures to improve barrier performance and reduce costs.

Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage Using Emulsified Soybean Oil
R.C. Borden
United Soybean Board (through Smith, Bucklin & Associates, LLC)
08/05 to 07/07
The United Soybean Board will provide matching support for a NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NC DENR) project to evaluate the use of emulsified soybean oil for treatment of acid mine drainage at the Ore Knob Mine in Ashe County, NC.

NCSU/NC A & T Program for STEM Enrollment Enhancement
J.J. Ducoste (Co-PI) (Other PIs: John Fountain, MEAS; Carrie Thomas, MEAS, Robert Borden, CCE; David Haase, Physics; Christine Grant, CHE; Christopher Gould, Physics; Jesus Rodriguez, Math; and William Switzer, Chem)
National Science Foundation
01/03 to 12/05
North Carolina State University and North Carolina Agricultural and Technological State University are collaborating in developing a program designed to increase the number of graduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Specific program elements include a summer camp at NCSU for graduating high school students who have not selected their majors, summer bridge programs at both NCSU and NCA&T designed to prepare new STEM students for introductory college science and math courses, undergraduate research programs at both schools, tutoring and mentoring of STEM majors, and a faculty exchange program between the two campuses.

Jetting Techniques for Pile Installation and Environmental Impact Minimization
M.A.Gabr and R.C. Borden
NC Department of Transportation
07/02 to 07/04
The objective of this research is to characterize and define disturbance due to jetting installation method as manifested by zone of influence and volume of debris area. This disturbance will be defined as a function of jetting pressure, flow rate, and site conditions including soil types. Second, specifications will be developed with recommendations regarding jetting parameters to minimize disturbance as well as possible conjugate practice modification of the jetting procedure such as addition of vacuum and/or water extraction/ circulation techniques.

WIDE Implementation and Design Manual: Former Lockbourne AFB Columbus
M.A. Gabr
National Environmental Education and Training Center through West Virginia University
10/04 to 05/05
The overall objectives of this project is to resume liquid extraction through the existing Well Injection Depth Extraction (WIDE) groundwater system currently installed at Lockbourne Area of Concern 3 (AOC 3) for the removal of free product JP-4 jet fuel. In parallel, record operational / remediation data to support scale-up engineering design within the proposed phase time period. WIDE technology operational parameters will be documented and integrate into the Corps of Engineers and Department of Energy protocols for engineering design and process optimization data. This work will involve development of a formalized solution approach based on the engineering scale-up design.

Remote Observation and Control of a Shake Table Experiment
Abhinav Gupta, V.C. Matzen, and M.A. Gabr
NC State University, DELTA/ IDEAS Grant
07/03 to 06/05
This project supports tasks that are needed in addition to those being conducted in the development of a prototype for remote observation and control of a shake table experiment under an NSF sponsored project. These tasks are needed to integrate the prototype with the University computing network for incorporation in distance education courses. The tasks need to be implemented in a manner that would maintain real-time safety as well as security features built into the prototype. While the tasks being undertaken are specific to the shake table experiment, the outcome of this work can be extended to other experiments either directly or with only minor modifications.

Pile Bent Design Criteria
M.J. Kowalsky and M.A. Gabr
NC Department of Transportation
08/04 to 07/06
The objective of this study is to develop improved design criteria for pile bents. Specifically, the work will be focused on i) evaluating the impact of the pile cap rigidity to loads transferred to the piles within the bent, ii) Specifying appropriate k-factors for pile analysis under varying boundary condition appropriate the problem geometry and connection scenarios, and iii) Proposing appropriate point of fixity taking into account the presence of the soil around the pile above the specified point of fixity, iv) Proposing appropriate values for maximum lateral deflection for various boundary conditions and soil properties.

Internet-Enable Laboratory Experiences for Undergraduate Civil Engineering Students
V.C. Matzen, M.A. Gabr, and Abhinav Gupta
National Science Foundation
07/03 to 06/05
This study is aimed at adaptation of recent developments in information technology for incorporation of internet-enabled civil engineering laboratory experiments in undergraduate structures and geotechnical courses. Faculty and students will be able to remotely access, run, and control these experiments either independently or in a classroom setting. Such a capability would facilitate the offering of these courses via distance learning program to provide opportunities for "non-traditional" students (e.g., part-time student, working parent, and career-changing adult) seeking careers in Civil Engineering. Implementation of this work will lead to enhancing the quality of undergraduate Civil Engineering courses and making laboratory curriculum widely accessible.

Traffic Control Design for Portable Concrete Barriers
A. Mirmiran and S. Rahman
North Carolina Department of Transportation
07/04 to 06/05
This project will focus on developing design aids and charts for portable concrete barriers in the state of North Carolina. Safe back distance behind these free standing barriers will be evaluated using finite element and impact analysis software for different boundary conditions and traffic configurations. The findings will be incorporated into the state's traffic control manual.

Fuzzy Neural Network Models for Geotechnical Problems Encountered by NCDOT
S. Rahman
NC Department of Transportation
07/04 to 12/05
The main objective of the proposed research is to: (i) develop a general framework and a computational toolbox for development of fuzzy neural network models to geotechnical problems, and (ii) to develop fuzzy neural network model for a variety of geotechnical problems of interest to NCDOT: (a) hammer approval, and (b) settlement prediction.

Analysis of the Characteristics of Seismic Ground Motion and Site Response using Wavelets
S. Rahman
Unsponsored
01/03 to 07/05
In this study, wavelet analysis will be applied to some important aspects of geotechnical earthquake engineering. The main objective of the proposed study to develop an effective method of wavelet representation of earthquake motions, and to study the general characteristics of earthquake motions with a focus on their energy contents in time and frequency domains, and to develop stochastic analysis for nonlinear and nonstationary site response.