Compaction of soil is essential in the construction of highways, airports, buildings, and bridges. Typically compaction is controlled by measuring the dry density and the water content of the compacted soil and checking that target values have been achieved. There is a current trend towards measuring the soil modulus instead or in addition to density. The reasons are that the density measurements are made using nuclear density meter, an undesirable tool in today??s political environment and that pavement design uses moduli as an input parameter. Although there are many apparatus available to measure soil modulus in the field such as Falling Weight Deflectometer, Dynamic Cone Penetrometer and Seismic Pavement Analyzer, a light weight and easy to use device which can measure the soil modulus fast and accurately is in great need. Briaud Compaction Device (BCD) is a portable device which can measure a soil modulus in several seconds. The principle of the BCD is to use the bending of a plate resting on the ground surface as an indicator of the modulus of the soil below. Numerical simulations show that within a certain range, the soil modulus is simply related to the plate bending. Strain gauges are glued on the top of the plate of BCD and a double half Wheatstone bridge is used to measure the strain. BCD tests were done in parallel with plate tests of the same size. A good correlation was found between the ratio of the plate pressure over the bending strain measured with a BCD and the reload soil modulus obtained from the plate test. This correlation can be incorporated into the BCD processor to display the soil modulus directly. To transit from dry density based compaction control to modulus based compaction control, BCD tests were also performed in the laboratory on top of a soil sample compacted inside the Proctor mold followed by plate tests. That way, a soil modulus versus water content curve is developed which parallels the approach for the dry density versus water content. The soil modulus versus water content curve can be used to provide the target values for compaction control in the field.

The effect of local defect on thin film mechanical properties is studied in this thesis. The molecular dynamics (MD) is employed to simulate and analyze the relation between intermolecular strength and deformation in the nanoindentation test. The variation of hardness and elastic modulus are simulated from the load-displacement response and the projected area of contact at the maximum load. In this study, Tersoff potential function is employed to describe the molecular behavior of nano-scale carbon and silicon films. The MD models of the diamond indenter and film are applied in the simulation. Due to the hardness different, the diamond indenter can be assumed rigid when silicon thin film was test. However, the indenter¡¦s wear and compressive effects can not be ignored when diamond film were studied under nanoindentation simulation. The indentation parameter in the simulation includes substrate size, indentation velocity, peak hold time, system temperature, indentation depth, local void size, void position and vacancy rate. The results show that the hardness and elastic modulus of thin film may decrease significantly with considering the existence of local defect. The results also elucidated that the elastic modulus and hardness for perfect lattice structure thin films should be the upper bond value of the real bulk material.

Typical material used by the Tennessee Department of Transportation for highway bases was evaluated for application to the new Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide. Two types of granular Tennessee highway base material were mixed with different stabilizers and tested in the lab according to AASHTO T-307 99 (2003). Unconfined Compressive Strength and California Bearing Ratio tests were also done in an effort to correlate these results with resilient modulus. Three different combinations of base and stabilizer were tested and modeling coefficients were produced. Base structural layer coefficients were generated and compared to coefficients currently in use by TDOT.

On-chip characterization devices have been used to extract the Young’s modulus, average stress and stress gradient of polysilicon doped with phosphorus using thermal diffusion. Devices for extracting the Young’s modulus, average stress and stress gradients have been designed to work within the range of expected material property values. A customized fabrication process was developed and the devices were fabricated. Static and resonant tests were performed using clamped-clamped and cantilever beams in order to extract material properties. The experimental setup and detailed experimental results and analysis are outlined within. Several doping concentrations have been studied and it has been concluded that the Young’s modulus of polysilicon doped for 2 hours increases by approximately 50GPa and the average stress of polysilicon doped for 2.5 hours becomes more tensile by approximately 63 MPa. It has also been found that short doping times can introduce a large enough stress gradient to create a concave up curvature in free-standing structures. This work was performed in order to determine the usability of doping as a means to increase the sensitivity of temperature and pressure sensors for harsh environments. It has been concluded that doping is a promising technique and is worth studying further for this purpose.

No description available.

Wood stiffness or modulus of elasticity (MOE) is one of the most important wood properties for solid timber applications, and as such, the efficacy of wood use, especially for structural timber is strongly related to MOE. MOE in Pinus radiata is highly variable and poorly understood. In this study, the effect of initial stand spacing and breed on outerwood MOE and the vertical distribution of MOE of Pinus radiata was assessed. Understanding positive or negative influences of growth caused by initial stand spacing and genetic material on MOE is appealing because it could enable us to better comprehend how forest growers could adapt silvicultural operations to the demands of wood processing. Physical characteristics of different breeds and propagation methods of Pinus radiata were assessed at a variety of initial stand spacings. Stem diameter, crown height, stem slenderness and branch size were all heavily influenced by stand spacing. Breed had a marginally significant influence on diameter and stem slenderness. Internode length was not affected by stand spacing, but showed sizeable differences, especially between the long internode 870 breed and the remaining growth and form (GF) breeds. Outerwood MOE was significantly (P<0.0001) influenced by stand spacing and breed, but not their interaction (P>0.05). MOE scaled positively with stand spacing. MOE increased by 39% from 5.4 GPa at 209 stems ha-1 to 7.5 GPa at 2551 stems ha-1. The majority of this increase (33%) occurred between 209 and 835 stems ha-1. Physiologically aged cuttings of greater maturation status exhibited greater MOE, with the three-year-old cuttings being stiffer than the one-year-old cuttings, seedlings from the 870, 268 and 850 series, by 15, 17, 22 and 27%, respectively. Stem slenderness exhibited the strongest significant (P<0.0001) relationship with MOE (r2=0.49), followed by green crown height (r2=0.46) and diameter (r2=0.44). Stem slenderness and green crown height had a direct influence on MOE that explained 53% of the variance in MOE. MOE was also significantly (P<0.0001) influenced by spacing and breed when using the resonance technique to assess whole stem MOE. The vertical distribution of MOE showed that the lowest portion of the stem (bolt 1) was approximately 30% less stiff than bolts 2 and 3. After the greatest MOE value had been obtained at bolt 3, MOE gently declined to the top of the measured stem. Variation of MOE within trees was significant (58%) at the high stockings of 1457 and 2551 stems ha-1, but somewhat lower (36%) at the lower stockings. The 870 breed was approximately 8% and 16% stiffer than the 268 and 850 breeding series respectively, across all stockings, with the three-year-old cuttings being 7% stiffer than the one-year-old cuttings. At stockings of 481 stems ha-1 and less, the proportional height at which MOE was greatest within a tree was between 25% and 50% of stem height. At stockings above 481 stems ha-1 the proportional height at which maximum MOE was obtained was between 15% and 40% of stem height. Bolt slenderness was found to be the most significant factor impacting on MOE of the bolt. Regression of critical buckling height against diameter at ground level yielded a scaling exponent of 0.55, which was lower than the scaling exponent of 0.67 predicted with constant density-specific stiffness. There was a tendency for some bolts with lower mean diameter to display significantly higher safety margins than bolts with higher mean diameter, suggesting that the largest bolts, which occur at the base of tree, are the point of most likely critical failure.

In 2013 the European journal of wood and wood products published an article regarding a new method to predict strength in structural timber (Olsson et al 2013). By determining the fibres orientation on all four surfaces of each board in sample of timber using a high resolution scanner the authors were able to achieve a coefficient of determination, R2, as high as 0.71 between bending strength and a new indicating property (IP). For the same sample of timber Olsson et al (2013) determined the R2 by axial dynamic excitation as 0.59. However, all boards used in their investigation were planed before scanning. This study examines if a high resolution scanner could be used to determine the fibre orientation on the surfaces of sawn timber boards of Norway spruce. Both band sawn surfaces and circular sawn surfaces were examined. The procedure in this investigation is described as follows. Firstly, both the band sawn and the circular sawn boards were scanned by a WoodEye® scanner and together with dimensions, weight and the first longitudinal resonance frequency, a modulus of elasticity (MOE) profile was calculated for each board. The MOE profiles were calculated according to Olsson et al (2013) i.e. by a transformation matrix based upon the fibres orientation and a compliance matrix based on material parameters for Norway spruce. Secondly, the corresponding MOE profiles were then determined after the boards had been planed. As a result two MOE profiles were determined for each board. An indicating property (IP) was defined as the lowest value along each MOE profile. To compare the results a regression analysis was performed in which the IPs defined before planing worked as predictor variable and IPs defined after planing worked as response variable. The band sawn band boards yielded an R2 = 0.94 and the circular sawn boards an R2 = 0.93. Further the standard error of estimate was SEE = 829.1 MPa and SEE = 640.9 MPa respectively. As a last step in this investigation the SEE values achieved in this study where implemented on to the sample Olsson et al (2013) used in their investigation.

In 2007, the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) was successfully approved as the new American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) pavement design standard (Von Quintus et al., 2007). Calibration and validation of the MEPDG is currently in progress in several provinces across Canada. The MEPDG will be used as the standard pavement design methodology for the foreseeable future (Tighe, 2013). This new pavement design process requires several parameters specific to local conditions of the design location. In order to perform an accurate analysis, a database of parameters including those specific to local materials, climate and traffic are required to calibrate the models in the MEPDG. In 1989, the Canadian Strategic Highway Research Program (C-SHRP) launched a national full scale field experiment known as the Canadian Long-Term Pavement Performance (C-LTPP) program. Between the years, 1989 and 1992, a total of 24 test sites were constructed within all ten provinces. Each test site contained multiple monitored sections for a total of 65 sections. Each of these sites received rehabilitation treatments of various thicknesses of asphalt overlays. The C-LTPP program attempted to design and build the test sections across Canada so as to cover the widest range of experimental factors such as traffic loading, environmental region, and subgrade type. With planned strategic pavement data collection cycles, it would then be possible to compare results obtained at different test sites (i.e. across traffic levels, environmental zones, soil types) across the country. The United States Long-Term Pavement Performance (US-LTPP) database is serving as a critical tool in implementing the new design guide. The MEPDG was delivered with the prediction models calibrated to average national conditions. For the guide to be an effective resource for individual agencies, the national models need to be evaluated against local and regional performance. The results of these evaluations are being used to determine if local calibration is required. It is expected that provincial agencies across Canada will use both C-LTPP and US-LTPP test sites for these evaluations. In addition, C-LTPP and US-LTPP sites provide typical values for many of the MEPDG inputs (C-SHRP, 2000). The scope of this thesis is to examine the existing data in the C-LTPP database and assess its relevance to Canadian MEPDG calibration. Specifically, the thesis examines the dynamic modulus parameter (|E*|) and how it can be computed using existing C-LTPP data and an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model developed under a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) study (FHWA, 2011). The dynamic modulus is an essential property that defines the stiffness characteristics of a Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) mixture as a function of both its temperature and rate of loading. |E*| is also a primary material property input required for a Level 1 analysis in the MEPDG. In order to perform a Level 1 MEPDG analysis, detailed local material, environmental and traffic parameters are required for the pavement section being analyzed. Additionally, it can be used in various pavement response models based on visco-elasticity. The dynamic modulus values predicted using both Level 2 and Level 3 viscosity-based ANN models in the ANNACAP software showed a good correlation to the measured dynamic modulus values for two C-LTPP test sections and supplementary Ontario mixes. These findings support previous research findings done during the development of the ANN models. The viscosity-based prediction model requires the least amount data in order to run a prediction. A Level 2 analysis requires mix volumetric data as well as viscosity testing and a Level 3 analysis only requires the PG grade of the binder used in the HMA. The ANN models can be used as an alternative to the MEPDG default predictions (Level 3 analysis) and to develop the master curves and determine the parameters needed for a Level 1 MEPDG analysis. In summary, Both the Level 2 and Level 3 viscosity-based model results demonstrated strong correlations to measured values indicating that either would be a suitable alternative to dynamic modulus laboratory testing. The new MEPDG design methodology is the future of pavement design and research in North America. Current MEPDG analysis practices across the country use default inputs for the dynamic modulus. However, dynamic modulus laboratory characterization of asphalt mixes across Canada is time consuming and not very cost-effective. This thesis has shown that Level 2 and Level 3 viscosity-based ANN predictions can be used in order to perform a Level 1 MEPDG analysis. Further development and use of ANN models in dynamic modulus prediction has the potential to provide many benefits.

abstract: Oxidative aging is an important factor in the long term performance of asphalt pavements. Oxidation and the associated stiffening can lead to cracking, which in turn can lead to the functional and structural failure of the pavement system. Therefore, a greater understanding of the nature of oxidative aging in asphalt pavements can potentially be of great importance in estimating the performance of a pavement before it is constructed. Of particular interest are the effects of aging on asphalt rubber pavements, due to the fact that, as a newer technology, few asphalt rubber pavement sections have been evaluated for their full service life. This study endeavors to shed some light on this topic. This study includes three experimental programs on the aging of asphalt rubber binders and mixtures. The first phase addresses aging in asphalt rubber binders and their virgin bases. The binders were subjected to various aging conditions and then tested for viscosity. The change in viscosity was analyzed and it was found that asphalt rubber binders exhibited less long term aging. The second phase looks at aging in a laboratory environment, including both a comparison of accelerated oxidative aging techniques and aging effects that occur during long term storage. Dynamic modulus was used as a tool to assess the aging of the tested materials. It was found that aging materials in a compacted state is ideal, while aging in a loose state is unrealistic. Results not only showed a clear distinction in aged versus unaged material but also showed that the effects of aging on AR mixes is highly dependant on temperature; lower temperatures induce relatively minor stiffening while higher temperatures promote much more significant aging effects. The third experimental program is a field study that builds upon a previous study of pavement test sections. Field pavement samples were taken and tested after being in service for 7 years and tested for dynamic modulus and beam fatigue. As with the laboratory aging, the dynamic modulus samples show less stiffening at low temperatures and more at higher temperatures. Beam fatigue testing showed not only stiffening but also a brittle behavior. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering 2010

Este trabalho apresenta os resultados alcançados em uma pesquisa experimental que objetivou estudar misturas asfálticas com módulos de resiliência elevados (EME), para emprego em camadas estruturais de pavimentos. As misturas EME são solução muito utilizada para pavimentos com elevado volume de tráfego, especialmente na França, por serem muito resistentes às deformações permanentes apresentando bom comportamento à fadiga. Foram caracterizados os ligantes asfálticos utilizados e as misturas projetadas. Para caracterização e verificação de desempenho, realizaram-se os ensaios da Metodologia Marshall, ensaios de resistência à tração, módulo de resiliência à compressão diâmetral, fadiga à tensão controlada, resistência ao dano por umidade induzida (Método Lottman Modificado), perda de massa por desgaste (Cântabro) e deformação permanente (creep dinâmico e simulador tipo LCPC). As misturas asfálticas projetadas apresentaram melhor desempenho mecânico em comparação com uma mistura de comparação formulada com ligante convencional (CAP 50/70). Foi construída uma pista experimental com o objetivo de verificar aspectos executivos e monitorar o desempenho da estrutura submetida a ensaios acelerados. Os danos causados pelas solicitações impostas pelo simulador de tráfego UFRGS-DAER/RS foram monitorados através de medidas de deflexões e afundamentos nas trilhas de roda e da inspeção visual para verificar a ocorrência de trincamento superficial. O carregamento aplicado superou os 200 mil ciclos, com cargas de eixo de 100 e 120 kN. O ATR médio observado no final do experimento totalizou 6 mm. Não foi observado trincamento na superfície do pavimento. A partir dos resultados obtidos é possível concluir que o emprego de misturas asfálticas de módulo elevado em camadas estruturais de pavimentos permitirá a construção de estruturas de melhor qualidade técnica, podendo contribuir para o aumento da vida útil das rodovias. / This work presents an experimental study that searched to study high modulus asphalt mixtures (EME) for structural layers of pavements. The EME is a well-known solution for high volume roads, especially in France, presenting better results in terms of rutting and fatigue cracking than conventional mixtures. Asphalt binders and designed mixtures were characterized. To evaluate the laboratorial mixes performance, Marshall Methodology, tensile strength, resilient modulus, fatigue (controlled stress mode), stripping (Modified Lottman test), weight loss (Cantabro Methodology) and permanent deformation (dynamic creep and LCPC simulator) were carried out. The results showed that the EME mixtures present better mechanical behavior than conventional asphalt mixture. An experimental section was built to verify the construction features and to monitor the progressive degradation produced by a linear traffic simulator. For the accompaniment of the degradation were monitored the pavement deflections, rutting and cracking. 200.000 load cycles were applied with axle loads of 100 and 120 kN.The rut depth in the end of experiment totalized 6 mm. Fatigue cracking was not observed in the pavement surface. The study results show that the use of EME mixtures in structural layers of pavements will allow the construction of structures with remarkably good technical quality, contributing to increase pavement life.