The inverted-T bridge system is a rapid bridge construction technique that consists of precast inverted-T girders placed adjacent to one another and covered with a cast-in-place deck. This system was first implemented in the U.S. by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). This research focuses on improving the constructability of the Mn/DOT system while maintaining the system's structural performance characteristics. To accomplish this goal, five sub-assemblage specimens were cast and tested in the structures laboratory at Virginia Tech. These tests focused on identifying an improved precast girder geometry and transverse sub-assemblage connection for this system. From this study it was found that all of the proposed specimens behaved adequately at service load and strength. From these results, it is recommended to further evaluate a specimen with a tapered profile and no physical connection between precast girders for use in a Virginia Department of Transportation bridge near Richmond, VA. / Master of Science

This thesis is a study in the application of kinematics coupled with elastic body mechanics. Most studies in kinematics assume all mechanism links to be inelastic. Furthermore, the methods of kinematic synthesis have generally been developed to meet requirements of displacement, velocity and acceleration. The work presented in this thesis differs in two important aspects. First, one grounded link of a four-bar linkage is replaced by a cantilevered beam in flexure to produce a force generating mechanism. Second, the synthesis method presented here allows the generation of these mechanisms in closed form for prescribed force generation. A compound archery bow that incorporates four-bar linkages has been developed as an example. This design relies on the non-linear mechanical advantage of the four-bar linkage and the bow mechanics to provide a resistance curve that is more compatible with the human strength curve. In addition, by modifying the bow kinematics, more potential energy can be stored, and thus potentially more kinetic energy can be transferred to the arrow than with previous bows. / Master of Science

In designing devices to produce straight-line motion, the designer has a fundamental choice between selecting sliding devices or selecting pinned linkages. Although they are more complex to design and implement, linkages will often prove a less expensive, more efficient, and generally more satisfactory option than simple sliders. The objective of this thesis is to provide a tool to the designer that serves as an aid in making intelligent decisions in the selection of four-bar linkage type straight-line-mechanisms. This thesis provides research into the selection, evaluation, and implementation of existing straight-line mechanism designs. Twenty-two straight-line mechanisms are compared for both compactness and fidelity of the straight-line path. Also, figures showing position, velocity, and acceleration of each a included. The functional product of to this work is a software program called Straight-line. Straight-line gives the designer a graphical environment from which a wide variety of straight-line mechanisms can be quickly analyzed and evaluated. The software also provides a new type-synthesis technique that allows the designer to generate a straight-line-mechanism by graphically inputting a desired path. / Master of Science

Architecture and music share intrinsic meanings generated by a constant stream of metaphors which are forms of poetic transformations. This thesis sought to challenge the present way an architect-musician makes drawings through the exploration of multimedia possibilities at hand. The drawings are composed using Macromedia Flash MX. OPEN HOMEPAGE.EXE To download flash player, click here: <a href="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"> Download flash Player</a> / Master of Architecture

Yes / Finite element (FE) analysis of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforced concrete beams cast in U-shaped ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) permanent formworks is presented in this paper. Concrete damage plasticity (CDP) and FRP brittle damage models were used to simulate the damage behavior of concrete and FRP bars. The results of FE simulation are in good agreement with the experimental results. Furthermore, parametric studies were conducted to investigate the effect of concrete and UHPC strengths, yield strength of steel bars, elastic modulus of FRP bars, ultimate tensile strength of FRP bars, types of UHPC normal strength concrete (NSC) interface and thickness of UHPC under different reinforcement conditions. Flexural performances, in terms of cracking, yield, ultimate loads and corresponding deflections, failure mode, energy dissipation and ductility, were investigated. Traction-separation model was used to describe the bonding degradation and the maximum slip of two types of bonding interfaces (smooth surface and medium-rough surface). Both flexural capacity and resistance to deformation of composite beams are significantly improved by the utilization of hybrid FRP/steel reinforcement. The UHPC formwork can also delay the occurrence and development of cracks. By appropriately increasing the strength of UHPC or elastic modulus of FRP bar, the flexural capacity of composite beams is effectively improved. It is expected that the results presented in this paper can guide the design and construction of U-shaped UHPC permanent formwork-concrete composite beams reinforced with FRP bars.

The split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) continues to be one of the most common methods of testing materials at medium rates of strain. Elevated rates of strain, such as those found in impact and explosive applications, have been shown to induce phenomena such as strain hardening and phase transitions that can significantly affect the strength of most materials [14]. Due to its relative simplicity and robustness, the SHPB remains one of the preferred platforms for evaluating mechanical properties of materials at rates of strain up to approximately 104 in/in-s (s-1). At the Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD), research has been conducted in which a semiconductor laser diode has been used to measure the radial strain of a plastically deforming cylindrical test specimen in the SHPB. The SHPB consists of two long, slender cylindrical bars, denoted input and output bars, that "sandwich" a cylindrical test specimen. Utilizing a high-pressure gas gun, a third cylindrical steel bar, known as the striker bar, is fired at the input bar, causing a compressive stress wave to travel through the input bar to the input bar - test specimen interface. At this interface, a portion of the stress wave propagates through the test specimen while the remainder of the pulse reflects back through the input bar as a tensile stress wave. The non-reflected portion of the stress pulse transmits through the test specimen and into the output bar causing the specimen to deform both elastically and plastically. Strain gages mounted to the input and output pressure bars measure both the incident, transmitted and reflected pulses. Specimen stress can be calculated using the transmitted strain signal while specimen strain and strain rate can be computed using the reflected strain pulse. In order to measure the specimen strain directly, a 670-nm wavelength semiconductor laser diode was affixed to the SHPB such that a vertical line of light approximately 250 micrometer (µm) wide was generated across the diameter of the test specimen. A collector lens located aft of the specimen was positioned to collate the light not occluded by the diameter of the specimen and refocus the light to be collected by a 25 MHz photodetector. Thus, changes in specimen diameter due to the impact event would result in more light being occluded by the specimen and less spectral energy being collected by the photodetector. The light collected by the photodetector is then converted to a voltage output before being recorded by a digital storage oscilloscope. With a known voltage-to-diameter calibration relationship, medium strain rate compressive tests were conducted to compare the optically measured strain results with the data gathered with the existing strain gages. It was found that the optical measurement system provided increased bandwidth and greater resolution than the conventional strain gage instrumentation while generating strain and strain rate results within 6.7% of corresponding strain gage data. This increased bandwidth and resolution allows the identification of both the elastic and plastic behavior of the specimen. In addition, the loading and unloading of the specimen can be clearly seen in the optical strain signal. These phenomena are evident in the peak diameter and strain achieved by the specimen, data not previously available with strain gage instrumentation. The plastic modulus, the theoretical relationship between the stress and strain in the plastic regime, also exhibits a significant increase in magnitude due to this ability to measure peak rather than average strain. Finally, by ridding the experiment of the input bar strain gage, input bar dispersion and the electrical and mechanical errors associated with the input bar strain gage were nullified. These conclusions will be validated through the presentation of several sets of experimental data correlated to data gathered previously. / Master of Science

Sitting in a pub in Dublin, I tried to understand the architectural qualities of my so-called watering hole. The stylish wood and spatial divisions were pleasant but were not the full reasons behind why I loved being apart of the place. I started to think why architecture is not valued through our sensibilities? Or a better question, how can architecture be valued through our sensibilities? Our emotions are developed through our experiences. The movement through the pub, my actions within the space, and the senses being formed from my surroundings helped my understanding of why I enjoyed the pub. There was a function, a process, and an interpretation of senses. Our senses are developed from our immediate environments. We know ourselves in relation to other things. We know how certain things make us feel. Things have histories and we evaluate these things in relation to our own timeline. When these relationships and feelings meet we understand our surroundings through placement. Here is where we dwell in a place. Place is the building, within the building, and around the building. Place and dwelling are more cognitive than physically inhabiting within a location. Our understanding of how we love a building starts with place. How do you design a place? How do things and people belong to these places? Can a bar and brewery become one of these things on the banks of the Potomac in Old Town Alexandria? And, will it make a new and better place? Will it be loved? / Master of Architecture

No / River morphological processes are among the most complex and least understood phenomenon in nature. Recent research indicates that the braiding of marine waterways of the estuary zone occurs at an aspect ratio similar to the alluvial braided river. The instability of complex sporadic fluvial processes at river-sea interface is responsible for bar formation in alluvial as well as in marine waterbodies Due to the lack of knowledge of flow characteristics around bar, the flow structure around the sand bar is analyzed. The bursting events play the crucial role in understanding the fluvial characteristics in the vicinity of submerged structure. The study of bursting events around the mid-channel bar is only done by the present author. The effect of submergence ratio on the turbulence behavior in the proximity of bar is analyzed in this study. The flow turbulence generated by the mid-channel bar is also analyzed in detail. The extreme turbulent burst is segregated from low intensity turbulent events by using the hole size concept. The effect of hole size on the parameter Dominance Function is analysed which is not yet studied by any researcher for mid-channel bar. The Momentum Dominance Function (MDF) parameter increases with increase in the Hole Size. This indicates that the magnitude of upward flux increases with increase in the hole size. The effect of bar height on the turbulent burst which is not yet studied by any researchers is analyzed in the present research. The joint probability distribution of bursting events is modeled using the Gram-Charlier bivariate joint probability function. The joint probability distribution gives the details of probabilistic structure of flow in the vicinity of bar. The effect of bar is predominant only in the lower flow layer. The joint probability distribution graph becomes more eccentric toward the dominant quadrants with increase in the submergence ratio. This indicates that the probability of dominant events further increases with increase in the submergence ratio.

Yes / This paper investigates the bond performance of recycled coarse aggregate (RCA) concrete with un-corroded/corroded reinforcing steel bars, with the main parameters being RCA content, corrosion level, bar diameter and embedment length. For this purpose, 60 pull-out specimens containing different percentages of RCA (i.e. 0%, 25%, 50% and 100%) and steel bars of two diameters (12 and 20 mm) and different embedment lengths were tested. In order to establish various levels of corrosion, specimens were exposed to an electrochemical corrosion for 2, 5, 10 and 15 days. The bond strength between RAC concrete and un-corroded/corroded steel are compared to current codes and equations proposed by other researchers. Experimental results showed that larger corrosion rate of steel bars was observed with the increase of the replacement level of RCA due to its high porosity and water absorption. The use of RCA had a slight influence on bond strength for un-corroded specimens compared to that obtained from conventional concrete. Furthermore, the bond strength of RCA concrete was strongly affected by corrosion products; bond strength slightly enhanced for up to about 2% corrosion rate, and then significantly decreased as the corrosion time further increased, similar to that of conventional concrete. However, the rate of bond degradation between RCA concrete and corroded steel bars was much faster than that observed in corroded conventional concrete.

Yes / In this study, bond properties of glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) bars embedded in high-strength concrete (HSC) were experimentally investigated using a pull-out test. The experimental program consisted of testing 84 pull-out specimens prepared according to ACI 440.3R-12 standard. The testing of the specimens was carried out considering bar diameter (9.5, 12.7 and 15.9 mm), embedment length (2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 times bar diameter) and surface configuration (helical wrapping with slight sand coating (HW-SC) and sand coating (SC)) as the main parameters. Twelve pull-out specimens reinforced with 16 mm steel bar were also tested for comparison purposes. Most of the specimens failed by a pull-out mode. Visual inspection of the tested specimens reinforced with GFRP (HW-SC) bars showed that the pull-out failure was due to the damage of outer bar surface, whilst the detachment of the sand coating was responsible for the bond failure of GFRP (SC) reinforced specimens. The bond stress – slip behaviour of GFRP (HW-SC) bars is different from that of GFRP (SC) bars and it was also found that GFRP (SC) bars gave a better bond performance than GFRP (HW-SC) bars. It was observed that the reduction rate of bond strength of both GFRP types with increasing the bar diameter and the embedment length was reduced in the case of high-strength concrete. Bond strength predictions obtained from ACI-440.1R, CSAeS806, CSA-S6 and JSCE design codes were compared with the experimental results. Overall, all design guidelines were conservative in predicting bond strength of both GFRP bars in HSC and ACI predictions were closer to the tested results than other codes.