Purpose: This project compares two foundation insulation materials: cellular plastic and cellular glass. Currently, cellular plastic is the most used material for foundation insulation. While cellular glass is not widely utilized. Its disadvantage lies in its higher cost, which makes contractors prefer the cheaper alternative, cellular plastic. Cellular glass exhibits exceptional properties, including its notable attributes of high load-bearing capacity and superior moisture resistance. The aim of this study is to demonstrate how material savings can be achieved by using cellular glass instead of cellular plastic in the load-bearing parts of the foundation. In addition to cost savings, the study also includes the analysis of carbon dioxide emissions during the production of these materials and specific heat losses through the material. Method: To facilitate understanding of the study, two different buildings were visualized: a two-story building and a seven-story building. The choice of different building sizes aimed to investigate how different loads on foundation insulation affect insulation material costs, carbon dioxide emissions, and the heating requirements of the buildings. Revit and AutoCAD were used for modelling and visualization. Flixo and manual calculations were employed for energy calculations, while manual calculations were used for structural calculations. One Click LCA Software was used to determine the carbon dioxide emissions for the different foundation insulation scenarios. Results: The study suggests that for buildings with lighter loads, cellular plastic is a cost-effective choice, while a hybrid insulation approach combining cellular glass and cellular plastic is the best option considering environmental factors. However, for buildings with higher loads, cellular glass outperforms cellular plastic both in terms of economics and the environment. Nonetheless, a combination of cellular glass and cellular plastic remains the most favourable choice among the three scenarios, as energy losses are approximately the same due to the similar thermal conductivity values of these materials. Conclusion: Hybrid insulation proves to be the most advantageous option in terms of both the environment and economics for both types of buildings studied: the two-story residential building and the seven-story residential building. By using cellular glass F for the load-bearing structures and cellular plastic EPS S60 for the ground slab, effective insulation is achieved. The use of cellular glass F results in material savings, such as cellular plastic XPS 700, which has half the load-bearing capacity of cellular glass F. Additionally, reducing the use of extra concrete for load-bearing foundation constructions decreases the load on the foundation insulation material.

The main goal of this research is to quantitatively assess the resilience and vulnerability of geotechnical infrastructure to extreme events under a changing climate. In the first part, pertinent facts and statistics regarding California’s extreme drought and current status of its levees are presented. Weakening processes such as soil strength reduction, soil desiccation cracking, land subsidence and surface erosion, and oxidation of soil organic carbon are comprehensively evaluated to illustrate the devastating impacts that the California drought can have on earthen structures. In the second part, rainfall-triggered slope instabilities are analyzed using extreme precipitation estimates, derived using the historical stationary and a proposed future nonstationary approach. The extremes are integrated into a series of fully coupled 2D finite element simulations. The final part of this study investigates the impact of simultaneous variations in soil moisture and temperature changes in the California region on soil strength through a proposed thermo-hydro-mechanical framework.

The durability of concrete is of major concern in all types of concrete structures where the combined effect of exposure conditions and the type and quality of the concrete material usually determines the rate of degradation. Furthermore, there are synergy effects between different deterioration mechanisms, which means that the combined rate of degradation is higher than the sum of the individual rates of each mechanism. Therefore, to accurately predict the residual service life of existing structures or when designing new structures, it is essential to consider all these aspects. This means that various chemical and physical processes, as well as how these interact, must be taken into account in models aiming to be used for service life predictions. This thesis presents the first part of a research project with the aim to investigate common deterioration mechanisms of concrete in hydraulic structures, and to improve the knowledge how these and other related phenomena can be described using mathematical models. The objective is also to study how different mechanisms interact and to find suitable approaches to account for these interactions in the models. To this end, a literature survey on commonly detected damage in hydraulic structures is presented. In addition, it also addresses in what types of and where in hydraulic structures the various damage types are usually observed. The mathematical models presented in this part of the project are focused on long-term water absorption in air-entrained concrete as well as on freezing of partially saturated air-entrained concrete. Both models are based on a multiphase description of concrete and poromechanics to describe the coupled hygro-thermo-mechanical behaviour. The thesis also presents some of the basic concepts of multiphase modelling of porous media, including discretization of the models using the finite element method (FEM). Furthermore, it covers the simplifications that are usually introduced in the general macroscopic balance equations for mass, energy and linear momentum when modelling cement-based materials. To verify the developed models and to show their capabilities, simulation results are compared with experimental data, in situ measurements and other simulations from the literature. The results indicate that both models perform well and can be used to predict long-term moisture conditions in hydraulic structures as well as freezing-induced strains in partially saturated air-entrained concrete, respectively. Even though no interactions with other deterioration mechanisms are included in the models, the development and use of these have given insights to which parameters that are important to consider in such extensions. Furthermore, based on the insights gained, the complexity of describing the full interactions between several mechanisms in mathematical models is also discussed. It is concluded that models aiming to be used for service life predictions of hydraulic structures in day-to-day engineering work need to be simplified. However, the type of advanced models presented in this thesis can serve as a basis to study which aspects and parameters that are essential to consider in simplified prediction models. / Beständigheten hos betong är av avgörande betydelse i alla typer av betongkonstruktioner där den kombinerade effekten av exponeringsförhållanden samt typ och kvalitet på betongmaterialet vanligtvis avgör nedbrytningshastigheten. Dessutom finns synergieffekter mellan olika nedbrytningsmekanismer som innebär att den kombinerade nedbrytningshastigheten är större än summan av de enskilda nedbrytningshastigheterna. För att noggrant kunna prediktera den återstående livislängden hos befintliga konstruktioner eller vid design av nya konstruktioner är det därför viktigt att ta hänsyn till samtliga av dessa aspekter. Detta innebär att olika kemiska och fysikaliska processer, samt hur dessa interagerar med varandra, måste tas i beaktande i modeller som avses användas för livslängdsbedömningar. Den här licentiatuppsatsen presenterar den första delen av ett forskningsprojekt där målet är att studera vanligt förekommande nedbrytningsmekanismer i vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner och att öka kunskapen om hur dessa och andra relaterade fenomen kan beskrivas med matematiska modeller. Målet är också att studera hur olika nedbrytningsmekanismer samverkar och att hitta lämpliga tillvägagångssätt att ta hänsyn till dessa interaktioner i modellerna. För detta ändamål presenteras en litteraturstudie avseende vanligt förekommande skador i vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner. Dessutom behandlar denna i vilka typer av vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner och var i dessa som de olika typerna av skador vanligtvis observeras. De matematiska modeller som presenteras i denna del av projektet är inriktade på långtidsabsorption av vatten i lufttillsatt betong samt på frysning i delvis vattenmättad lufttillsatt betong. Båda modellerna är baserade på en multifasbeskrivning av betong samt poromekanik för att beskriva det kopplade hydro-termo-mekaniska beteendet. Uppsatsen presenterar också några av de grundläggande koncepten gällande multifasmodellering av porösa material, inklusive diskretisering av modellerna genom användning av finita elementmetoden (FEM). Dessutom beskrivs de förenklingar som vanligtvis införs i de generella makroskopiska balansekvationerna för massa, energi och rörelsemängd då cementbaserade material modelleras. Simuleringsresultat från de utvecklade modellerna jämförs med försöksdata, fältmätningar samt andra simuleringsresultat från litteraturen för att verifiera modellerna samt visa hur de beter sig. Resultaten visar att båda modellerna ger tillfredställande resultat och kan användas för att uppskatta de långsiktiga fuktförhållandena i vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner samt frysinducerade töjningar i delvis vattenmättad lufttillsatt betong. Även om inga interaktioner mellan andra nedbrytningsmekanismer inkluderades i modellerna, så har utvecklingen samt användandet av dessa gett insikter gällande vilka parametrar som är viktiga att beakta i sådana vidareutvecklingar. Baserat på dessa insikter diskuteras också komplexiteten i att beskriva interaktionen mellan flertalet mekanismer i matematiska modeller. Det konstateras också att modeller som avses användas i dagligt ingenjörsarbete för livstidsbedömningar av vattenbyggnadskonstruktioner behöver förenklas. Däremot kan den typ av avancerade modeller som presenteras i denna uppsats användas som en grund för att studera vilka aspekter och parametrar som är viktiga att beakta i förenklade modeller. / <p>QC 20180403</p>

A three-dimensional computational tool was developed that simulates the heat and mass transfer interaction in a soil-root-stem system (SRSS) for a tree in a seasonally varying deciduous forest. The development of the SRSS model involved the modification and coupling of existing heat and mass transport tools to reproduce the three-dimensional diurnal internal and external temperatures, internal fluid distribution, and heat flow in the soil, roots, and stems. The model also required the development of a parallel Monte-Carlo algorithm to simulate the solar and environmental radiation regime consisting of sky and forest radiative effects surrounding the tree. The SRSS was tested, component-wise verified, and quantitatively compared with published observations. The SRSS was applied to simulate a tree in a dense temperate hardwood forest that included the calculations of surface heat flux and comparisons between cases with fluid flow transport and periods of zero flow. Results from the winter simulations indicate that the primary influence of temperature in the trunk is solar radiation and radiative energy from the soil and surrounding trees. Results from the summer simulation differed with previous results, indicating that sap flow in the trunk altered the internal temperature change with secondary effects attributed to the radiative energy from the soil and surrounding trees. Summer simulation results also showed that with sap flow, as the soil around the roots become unsaturated, the flow path for the roots will be changed to areas where the soil is still saturated with a corresponding increase in fluid velocity.

Inspired by the trend of automated homes, this thesis examines the possibility of designing a cheap and autonomous robot that will water plants effectively at home. Many existing solutions are cumbersome and not sufficiently effective, often due to flexibility and risk of over watering. Therefore this thesis examines a wheel based approach. In order to achieve the best possible results, the soil water content was measured, as opposed to a time-based approach where the user sets a timer to decide how often the plants are watered. This thesis also examines the advantages, and disadvantages of a capacitive moisture sensor versus a resistive moisture sensor, as well as effects of depth of penetration for the sensors. Controlled using an Arduino Uno, the robot was programmed to follow a line with IR-sensors, drive using differential steering, and had the ability to drive in reverse. It was able to identify a pot, read the moisture level of the soil, water it, and continue the loop. However, it was not completely autonomous as it is incapable of refilling the water tank – or recharging the batteries. It was stated that the resistive sensor was most suited to be used in the robot due to the relatively reliable results at increased depth. The results at deeper penetration were expected, as the moisture increased with depth when not recently irrigated. The capacitive sensor showed somewhat ambiguous results. The results showed higher water content deeper into the soil, compared to recently irrigated soils. / Inspirerade av trenden om automatiserade hem grundar sig detta arbete i möjligheten att skapa en billig och självgående robot som effektivt vattnar plantor i hemmet. Då många nuvarande lösningar är besvärliga och inte tillräckligt effektiva har detta kandidatarbete undersökt ett tillvägagångssätt som innefattar en robot byggd på en plattform med hjul. För att uppnå en effektiv bevattning grundar sig processen i fuktighetsnivån hos jorden plantorna sitter i, istället för en annars vanlig tidsbaserad bevattningsprocess. Därmed undersöker arbetet även fördelar och nackdelar med resistiva och kapacitiva jordfuktighetssensorer. Rapporten undersöker och redogör hur påverkan av djupet sensorn penetrerar jorden påverkar datan om jordens fuktighet. Kontrollerad av en Arduino Uno följde roboten en utsatt linje med hjälp av IR-sensorer och en motordrivare som implementerade både differentialstyrning och möjligheten att köra motorer i motsatt riktning. Den slutgiltiga roboten kunde med hjälp av ultraljudssensorer upptäcka en kruka, läsa av fuktighetsnivån i jorden, vattna och sedan fortsätta slingan. Däremot var den inte helt självkörande då den saknade förmågan att fylla på vattentanken och ladda sina batterier själv. Det konstaterades att den resistiva sensorn var bäst lämpad, tack vare dess tillförlitliga mätningar vid varierande djup. Den resistiva sensorns utslag vid djupare mätningar var förväntade, då den torra jorden ökade i fuktighet och den nyligen bevattnade jorden visade fortsatt fuktigt. Däremot visade den kapacitiva sensorn något tvetydiga resultat vid djupa mätningar, då de torra krukorna framstod som fuktigare än de nyligen bevattnade.

Arkitektfirman Kolman X Boye Architects har fått uppdraget att upprätta bygglovshandlingar för ett äldreboende. Det är ännu ej bestämt i detalj hur byggnaden skall uppföras men beställaren önskar att byggnaden uppförs i träbyggnadsteknik. Äldreboendet projekteras för 54 stycken lägenheter fördelat på sex stycken våningsplan och en total bruttoarea på strax under 6000m2. Ingen lika hög träbyggnad med denna verksamhetsklass avseende brand har tidigare uppförts i Sverige. Vår uppgift och utmaning i detta arbete har varit att reda ut problematiken kring projekteringen av exteriöra detaljer för höga hus i trä. Utifrån kända problem avseende brand, akustik och fukt har sedan ett antal detaljer som påverkar det estetiska uttrycket projekterats. Detaljlösningarna för bland annat terrassbjälklag, fasadsystem och balkonger har projekterats. Målsättningen var att tillåta trä att synas i arkitekturen så långt detta har varit möjligt med hänsyn till gällande krav och föreskrifter. Våra projekterade förslag till detaljlösningar visar på möjligheten att låta trä vara en synlig del i arkitekturen även för en byggnad av denna volym och brandteknisk verksamhetsklass. Vårt arbete visar också hur kända problem med brand, akustik samt fukt i samband med träbyggnadsteknik kan undvikas. Våra förslag på detaljer kan ligga till grund för vidare projektering och upprättande av bygghandlingar för detta äldreboende i Norsborg. / Architect firm Kolman X Boye Architects has been commissioned to execute permit documents for a senior housing. It has not yet been determined in detail how the building will be built, but client wants the building to be constructed in timber engineering . The senior housing is projected to accommodate 54 apartments spread over six floors and a total floor space of just under 6000m2. No equally high wooden building with this fire classification has previously been constructed in Sweden. Our task and challenge of this work has been to explain the known problems with exterior design of details in tall timber buildings. Based on the known issues regarding fire safety, acoustics and moisture have a number of details that affect the aesthetic expression been projected. Detailed solutions including terrace floor, facade systems and balconies have been projected. The goal was to allow wood to be seen in the architecture as far as this has been possible with regard to local rules and regulations. Our projected draft detailed solutions demonstrate the ability for wood to be a visible part of the architecture even for a building of this volume and fire activity class. Our work also shows how the known problems with fire, acoustic and moisture associated with wood construction can be avoided. Our proposals in detail solutions can form the basis for further planning and preparation of construction documents for this senior housing in Norsborg.

Manufacturers of saw chains continuously strive to increase the performance of their products by reducing cutting times and minimising the energy consumption required for cutting. However, the evaluation process through testing is problematic as several uncontrollable factors impact the results. A large source of uncontrollable factors is the material used as a workpiece. Historically, wood has been used as a workpiece material since it is often what the end user will use it for. As a natural material, each stem contains a unique structure and can have a high variation in mechanical properties. Consequently, the analysis of older cutting efficiency is problematic since the result is linked to the specific stem being sawn, which is destroyed during the testing process. The current work aims to improve the repeatability of these tests by increasing the understanding of which material characteristics and material properties impact the variance during cutting efficiency measurements. An experiment was performed using pine as a workpiece material. It was found that the wood structure, density and hardness or moisture content could explain approximately 80% of the variation in the final tests. A more homogeneous material polyethylene was used to explore if a decrease in variation within these factors resulted in lower variance between cutting efficiency results. The variance between results was found to be lowest in pine when knots were excluded. The variance in polyethylene was slightly higher but showed promising evidence for being a suitable alternative material for long-term testing.

[pt] Geralmente, o ambiente marinho é o ambiente natural mais agressivo para tubulações metálicas, promovendo corrosão, levando a falhas catastróficas. O método de reparo tradicional metálico soldado é um método de reparo inconveniente e custoso para a indústria. Compósitos poliméricos (FRP) são um material com potencial para reparo devido a sua alta razão resistência/peso e alta resistência à corrosão e degradação ambiental. Porém, os compósitos poliméricos também são suscetíveis a degradação severa quando expostos a condições ambientais agressivas, incluindo absorção de água, temperatura, UV e pressão. Para um melhor entendimento do mecanismo de degradação, amostras de compósito de matriz polimérica reforçado por fibras de vidro e resina epóxi pura foram fabricados e analisados em função do tempo e temperatura de envelhecimento em uma atmosfera salina. Além disso, um grupo de compósitos tiveram suas bordas cobertas com resina epóxi para similar práticas reais comuns no campo, denominado coated FRP. Uma resina epóxi DGEBA bicomponente e um tecido bidirecional de fibras de vidro foram usados como matriz e reforço, respectivamente. O tecido de fibra de vidro detém de uma razão de fibras longitudinais por transversais de 2:1. Os materiais foram sujeitos a envelhecimento de névoa salina em três câmaras à 35, 55 e 70 Celsius por aproximadamente 15171 horas. A concentração de sal na solução usada foi 5.0 por cento por massa. As amostras foram periodicamente retiradas das câmaras de envelhecimento para terem seus ganhos de massa mensurados pelo método gravitacional. Suas mudanças dimensionais também foram capturadas para avaliação do comportamento de inchamento dos materiais. Análises térmicas com DSC e DMTA foram feitas para avaliar o grau de cura dos materiais poliméricos e os efeitos da temperatura na pós-cura do material. Análises químicas com testes FTIR foram feitas para investigar a ocorrência de processos de pós-cura, hidrólise e termo-oxidação durante o envelhecimento. Amostras de compósito para testes destrutivos de flexão e resistência ao cisalhamento (ILSS) foram testados periodicamente para terem suas degradações monitoradas com o tempo. Testes de Excitação por Impulso (IET) e Colorímetro foram realizados como testes não-destrutivos (NDT) complementares. A primeira parte deste trabalho foca na avaliação do comportamento de absorção de umidade nos compósitos e resina epóxi pura. A relação entre a capacidade de absorção de umidade dos materiais, considerando a fração volumétrica de fibras, foi investigada. Além disso, modelos de absorção não-Fickianos também foram aplicados aos dados experimentais do FRP e resina epóxi para considerar desvios do modelo Fickiano padrão. Com isso, relaxações poliméricas e interações polímero-água, assim como mudanças na rede polimérica induzidas por umidade e temperatura, foram investigados. Uma modificação ao modelo não-Fickiano de Berens-Hopfenberg (BH) foi proposta para incluir os efeitos de pós-cura na absorção de umidade; tal modificação aplicada a pós-cura não foi encontrada na literatura. Na segunda parte deste trabalho, o comportamento de inchamento da resina epóxi pura e compósitos revestidos e não-revestidos foi avaliado e correlacionado com a absorção de umidade. A ortotropia do compósito ficou evidente, visto que o material apresentou maior capacidade de inchamento na direção da espessura. Um modelo do tipo Fickiano foi implementado ao inchamento na espessura com o intuito de investigar deformação de inchamento de saturação e a frente de inchamento. A terceira parte deste trabalho foca nos testes destrutivos e na avaliação dos efeitos hidrotérmicos na degradação do material. A temperatura se mostrou um fator acelerador para degradação de propriedade. Além disso, uma metodologia para estimar a curva de serviço de sistemas de reparo e extrapolá-la para temperaturas mais baixas foi elaborada. Metodologias de extrapolação de propriedades para exposição hidrotérmica de longa duração não foram encontradas na literature. Parâmetros como platô de retenção de propriedade e taxa de degradação foram estimados para temperatura ambiente. Curvas de Arrhenius também foram plotadas para avaliar o tempo requerido para alcançar os níveis de retenção em cada temperatura testada. Por fim, duas técnicas não-destrutivas foram utilizadas no FRP e resina epóxi pura como testes complementares como forma de validar os resultados encontrados em outras técnicas. A Técnica de Excitação por Impulso (IET) foi realizada para obter o módulo de Young e boa correlação foi obtida entre o teste IET e o ensaio destrutivo de flexão. Através dos testes colorimétricos, os efeitos de umidade e temperatura foram visíveis, já que a mudança de cor da resina foi mais forte para tempos longos e temperaturas mais altas. / [en] Generally, the marine environment is the most aggressive natural environment for metallic pipelines, promoting corrosion, leading to catastrophic failures. The traditional welded metallic repairs are high-cost and inconvenient repair methods for the industry. Polymeric composites (FRP) are a potential repair material due to their high resistance/weight ratio and high resistance to corrosion and environmental degradation. However, polymeric composites are also susceptible to severe degradation when exposed to harsh environment conditions, including water absorption, temperature, UV and pressure. To better understand the degradation mechanism, glass-fiber reinforced polymer matrix composite (GFRP) and neat epoxy samples were fabricated and analyzed as a function of aging time and temperature in a saline atmosphere. In addition, a group of composites had their exposed edges coated with epoxy resin to simulate common real-life practices in the field, namely coated FRP. A two-component DGEBA epoxy resin and a bidirectional glass-fiber woven fabric were used as matrix and reinforcement, respectively. The fiberglass fabric had a longitudinal to transverse fiber ratio of 2:1. The materials were subjected to salt spray aging in three chambers at 35, 55 and 70 Celsius for approximately 15171 hours. The salt concentration in the solution used was 5.0 per cent by weight. Samples were periodically removed from the chambers to have their mass gain measured by the gravitational method. Their dimensional changes were also measured to evaluate the swelling behavior of the materials. Thermal analyses with DSC and DMTA were performed to evaluate the curing degree of the polymeric materials tested and the effects of temperature on the material’s post-curing. Chemical analyses with FTIR tests were performed to investigate the occurrence of post-curing, hydrolysis and thermo-oxidation processes during aging. Composite samples for bending and interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) destructive tests were periodically tested to have their degradation monitored over time. Impulse Excitation Technique and colorimetry tests were also performed as complementary non-destructive tests (NDT). The first part of this work focuses on the assessment of the moisture absorption behavior of both composite and neat epoxy resin. The relationship between the moisture gain capacity of the materials, considering the fiber volume fraction, was investigated. Besides, non-Fickian absorption models were also applied to the experimental data of FRP and neat epoxy resin to account for deviations from the standard Fickian model. Then, polymeric relaxations and polymer-water interactions, as well as network changes induced by moisture and temperature, were investigated. A modification to the Berens-Hopfenberg (BH) non-Fickian model was proposed to account for post-curing effects on the moisture absorption; such modification applied for post-curing was not found in literature. In the second part of this work, the swelling behavior of neat epoxy resin, uncoated and coated composites was evaluated and correlated with moisture absorption. The orthotropy of the composite was evident, since this material showed greater swelling capacity in the thickness direction. A Fickian-like model was implemented to the thickness swelling to investigate swelling strain saturation and swelling front. The third part of this work focuses on the destructive tests and evaluation of the hygrothermal effects on the material degradation. Temperature proved to be an accelerating factor for property degradation. In addition, a methodology to estimate the service-life curve of the repair systems and extrapolate it to lower temperatures was elaborated. The methodology of property extrapolation for long-term hygrothermal exposure in salt spray environments could not be found in literature. Parameters like property retention plateau and degradation rate were estimated for room temperature (25°C). Arrhenius curves were also plotted to evaluate the time required to reach the properties’ retention levels for each temperature. Finally, two non-destructive techniques were performed on the uncoated FRP and on neat epoxy resin as complementary tests in order to validate the results found in other techniques. The Impulse Excitation Technique (IET) was performed to evaluate the Young modulus and good correlation was found between IET and destructive bending tests. From the colorimetry tests, the effects of moisture and temperature were visible, as the resin s color change was stronger at longer aging time and higher temperatures.

Prestressed concrete is a popular construction material for highway bridges. A variety of girder span values, cross-sectional shapes, and prestressing strand layouts has been used in bridges across the United States. A major concern for such bridges is the possibility of corrosion damage in the prestressing strands or reinforcing bars, which is commonly caused by the use of deicing salts on the deck or saltwater spray in coastal regions. The present study aims at establishing analytical tools for the accurate simulation of chloride ingress, corrosion and mechanical damage (cracking) in the concrete, and for the evaluation of the impact of corrosion on the flexural and shear strength of bridge girders. First, an efficient and accurate analytical scheme is formulated to enable the calculation of the load-carrying capacity of corrosion-damaged girders. The analyses rely on two types of models, namely, beam models and nonlinear truss models. The latter are deemed necessary to obtain reliable estimates of the shear capacity, as beam models are not well-tailored for capturing shear failures. A procedure to account for the reduction in area and deformability of corroded strands, based on visually observed corrosion damage, is proposed and implemented. The models are calibrated and validated with the results of experimental tests on prestressed girders which exhibited varying levels of corrosion damage. Further analyses allow the comparison of the capacity of corrosion-damaged girders to that of their undamaged counterparts. The accuracy of a simplified procedure, using equations in the AASHTO code to determine the flexural and shear capacity of the damaged girders, is also determined. Subsequently, a computation scheme was proposed to describe the intrusion of chloride ions in prestressed bridge girder sections. The approach accounts for multiple, coupled processes, i.e., heat transfer, moisture transport, and chloride advective and diffusive transport. The constitutive models for moisture and chloride transport rely on previous pertinent work, with several necessary enhancements. The modeling scheme is calibrated with data from previous experimental tests on concrete cylindrical and prismatic specimens. The calibrated models are then validated using data from chloride titration tests conducted on girders removed from two bridges in Virginia after 34 and 49 years of service. The results indicate that the proposed framework can accurately reproduce the experimentally measured chloride content. The modeling approach also allows the evaluation of the accuracy of simplified, design-oriented tools for estimating the evolution of chloride content with time. The multi-physics simulation scheme is further refined to account for the corrosion-induced mechanical damage (cracking), by incorporating a phenomenological description of the electrochemical reaction kinetics, generation of expansive corrosion products, and subsequent development of tensile stresses and cracking in the surrounding concrete. The impact of cracking on the chloride and moisture transport mechanisms is also taken into account. The last part of this dissertation pursues the quantification of the uncertainty governing the chloride ingress in bridge girders, through the use of a stochastic collocation approach. The focus is on understanding how the inherent uncertainty in the value of input parameters (e.g., material transport parameters, ambient conditions etc.) is propagated, leading to uncertainty in the evolution of chloride content and the expected corrosion initiation time for a given bridge. / Doctor of Philosophy / Prestressed concrete is widely utilized in the construction of highway bridges in the United States. A significant concern arises regarding potential corrosion damage in the prestressing strands or reinforcing bars, which is commonly attributed to the application of deicing salts on the deck or exposure to saltwater spray in coastal regions. This study aims to develop analytical tools that can accurately simulate the intrusion of corrosive agents (namely chloride ions), and subsequent damage (cracking) in concrete. Furthermore, the research seeks to assess the impact of corrosion on the bearing capacity of bridge girders. Two different classes of analytical approaches are pursued. The first class employs purely mechanical (stress/deformation) models for capturing the strength, deformability and failure modes of girders with visual corrosion damage. These models rely on two approaches to capture the flexural and shear capacity of specimens, namely, beam-based models and truss-based models. The impact of corrosion is established through appropriate modification of the model parameters, based on the extent of visually observed corrosion damage. The analytical approaches are validated through a series of experimental tests previously conducted on corrosion-damaged girders. The second class of analytical approaches employs multi-physics models, to describe the mechanisms leading to corrosion-induced damage. The models account for heat transfer, moisture transport, and chloride transport in prestressed beam sections. Model parameters are calibrated with experimental tests in literature. The computational scheme is used to quantitatively describe the chloride ingress on bridge girders decommissioned from two different bridges in Virginia, after 34 and 49 years of service. The analysis results are found capable of capturing the actual chloride content at various depths from the exposure surface, as determined by chloride titration tests. The temporal evolution of chloride on the surface of prestressing strands indicates that corrosion has been taking place over a period of time for the two bridges. The multi-physics simulation approach is further enhanced to account for the corrosion-induced mechanical damage (cracking), by explicitly incorporating a description of the reaction kinetics, generation of expansive corrosion products and subsequent development of cracking in the surrounding concrete. The last part of this dissertation pursues the quantification of the uncertainty in the expected service life of prestressed concrete bridge structures. Given the inherent uncertainty to key values of model parameters, a parametric study is employed to investigate the propagation of uncertainty to the time history of chloride content at particular locations of the section and the probability of corrosion initiation at specific age values.

<p>Multiple Signals of Opportunity (multi-SoOp) across different frequencies and polarizations</p> <p>offer a potential breakthrough for remote sensing of root-zone soil moisture (RZSM). Deeper penetration depths of existing communication transmissions in the frequency ranges of 137–138, 240–270, and 360–380 MHz enable the estimation of RZSM by complementing global navigation satellite system reflectometry (GNSS-R) in L-band. The small form factor of the multi-SoOp observatory allows for high spatiotemporal coverage of RSZM by a satellite constellation in a cost-effective manner. This study aims to develop models and tools to define mission requirements for various system parameters that affect observation accuracy and coverage, for the advancement of spaceborne multi-SoOp remote sensing. These parameters include frequency and polarization combinations, observation error, inter-frequency temporal coincidence, and configuration of the satellite constellation. We present the development of a retrieval algorithm and the sensitivity analysis of retrieval accuracy. The retrieval algorithm was evaluated using synthetic observations generated from multiyear time series of in-situ soil moisture (SM) and satellite-based vegetation data. The combined use of both high and low frequencies improves retrieval accuracy by limiting uncertainties from vegetation and surface SM and providing sensitivity to deeper layers. A bivariate model, derived from the sensitivity analysis, facilitates error prediction for future science missions. We introduce a framework for tradespace exploration of the multi-SoOp satellite constellation. A constellation design study indicates that a Walker constellation comprising 24 satellites with 3 orbital planes at 500 km and 50° inclination optimizes the coverage and mission cost under mission requirements. A tower-based field experiment validated the performance of a prototype antenna for multi-SoOp using the interference pattern technique. More field experiments with improved instruments are required to further advance the multi-SoOp technique.</p>