Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 77). / The work is based on a design project: to connect the grid urban form, and its associated buildings, and their uses, to the larger Maine (natural) landscape, and its forms. These two contextual categories will strongly influence the evolution of the pier site design and ferry terminal design. This work investigates a possible design projection for a commuter ferry terminal and adjacent mixed-use commercial areas on a pier "finger" extension from the historic waterfront area in Portland, Maine. The thesis presents my attitude toward the assemblage of buildings and landscape forms. The assemblage process is the subject of this thesis; its evolution responds to the conditions and needs within the existing context, and is stated in the programmed requirements. The object of this thesis will be the collection of design process drawings. The focus of the thesis is a design exploration for the development of a ferry terminal, a "town room" at the water's edge that is simultaneously functioning as a transportation facility, and an aggregation of varied mixed uses for the public and private sectors. It responds and fits into the existing surrounding context. / by Eric Paul Schmidt. / M.Arch.

This thesis analyzes a series of stucco reliefs that decorate the piers of House D of the Palace of Palenque, a Classic Maya city in modern Chiapas, Mexico. Each of the five extant piers of House D depict pairs of individuals facing each other and engaged in what appears to be ritual performances associated with dance and sacrifice. I rely on an iconographic analysis of the reliefs of House D and on a reading of the architecture in relation to the surrounding built environment in order to reconstruct ancient patterns of viewership. I argue that the reliefs of House D of the Palace present a royal narrative where myth and history are fused, and that this combination is validated through ritual performance. The integration of mythical and historical narratives is transmitted through the ruler's enactment of past events that take place in a watery environment signifying the mythical origins of the city of Palenque. This performative narrative at the same time reproduces and perpetuates the actual ceremonies that took place in and around the building, specifically in the monumental stairway and in the ceremonial plaza that flank the building on its western margin. The dynastic messages embedded in the narrative of the piers, and its incorporation into the performances associated with the building, serve to promote the military accomplishments and the political legitimacy of a new ruling dynasty, initiated by the king of Palenque K'inich Janab Pakal, who is the main figure portrayed on the reliefs. / text

This dissertation focuses on Central Star Ferry Pier whose impending and actual demolition in 2006 provoked an unprecedented level of confrontation over historic conservation between the Hong Kong government and civil society groups. The confrontation continued in 2007 over the dismantling of Queen’s Pier, whose reassembly and relocation continue to be a subject of debate today. Case studies of these two piers describe their history, trace the conflicts over their fate within the broader controversy over harbour reclamation, place the disputes in social and political context, and analyse constructions of their cultural significance amid changing values. Particular attention is paid to definitions and redefinitions of the piers’ significance (or lack thereof) in relation to contemporary issues in Hong Kong society and governance, such as the formation of post-colonial identity and struggle for democratisation. This long-running drama in two acts not only underscored the neglect of built-heritage conservation in urban planning in Hong Kong, but also called into question its developmental model and consultative system. Its outcome was a paradigm shift in public understanding of and official approaches to urban conservation, better recognition of social value in heritage making and greater efforts to integrate it into the sustainable development of Hong Kong. / published_or_final_version / Conservation / Master / Master of Science in Conservation

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

No description available.

The mechanism of a conjugate addition of an alcohol to an alkynic acid ester using a phosphine catalyst was investigated using pressurized sample infusion electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (PSI-ESI-MS) and proton and phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. Since ESI-MS only detects charged species, and only the phosphonium intermediates and by-products were visible by ESI-MS, 1H NMR was used to track the disappearance of the starting alkyne and the appearance of the conjugate addition product over time. 31P NMR was used to quantify the ESI-MS results. By-product formation was shown to out-compete product formation upon fast addition of alkyne, but with dropwise addition of alkyne, product was shown to dominate. A detailed numerical model was developed using PowerSim software to test mechanistic hypotheses. The experimental results were shown to be consistent with the mechanism proposed by Inanaga, and the cycle was elaborated to account for by-product formation. Piers’catalyst, a ruthenium complex with a phosphonium-functionalized carbene ligand, is a fast-initiating living catalyst for a number of olefin metathesis reactions, including ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and cross metathesis (CM). Catalyst speciation was monitored in real-time for the ROMP of norbornene and the CM of 1-hexene using PSI-ESI-MS. The expected mass distribution of charged polymer-catalyst species were not observed, but merely catalyst and decomposition species were visible by ESI-MS. NMR and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were used to determine quantitatively the presence of polymer and the polydispersity index, respectively. The results suggest that while Piers’ catalyst is indeed fast-initiating, the propagation rate greatly outstrips the initiation rate. In a foray into the area of chemical education, a well-known pH-induced colour change exhibited by the anthocyanins in red cabbage was developed into a simple – and ingestible – classroom demonstration. / Graduate / 0485

ABSTRACT SCOUR AND SCOUR PROTECTION AT BRIDGE ABUTMENTS Kayat&uuml / rk, Serife Yurdag&uuml / l Ph. D., Department of Civil Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Mustafa G&ouml / g&uuml / S Co-Supervisor: Dr. Mehmet Ali K&ouml / kpinar January 2005, 213 pages Bridge failures are mainly caused by scouring the bed material around bridge foundations during flood. In this study, scour phenomenon around bridge abutments is experimentally studied. Effect of abutment size, location and size of the collars placed around the abutments, time evaluation of scour hole around the abutment, scour characteristics of abutment and pier interaction were experimentally investigated. Scour measurements were conducted in a rectangular channel of 30 m long and 1.5 m wide filled with erodable uniform sediment. In the first part of the study, in order to investigate the size effect of the abutment on the maximum scour depth, abutments of nine different sizes were tested for three different water depths. It was found that the length of the abutment is more important parameter than the width of it. Secondly, efficiency of various sizes of collars, which are used to reduce the local scour depth, located at different elevations around the abutments was determined. It was noticed that when the collar width was increased and placed at or below the bed level, the reduction in scour depth increases considerably. Some tests for partial-collar arrangements around the abutments were conducted and it was shown that instead of full-collar one can use partial-collar arrangements around the abutments to achieve the same efficiency as the full-collar. Time development of scour holes around the abutments with and without collar cases were recorded. It was observed considerable reductions in scour depths around the abutments can be obtained with collars compared to the cases in which there are no collars over the same time period. Finally, a series of experiments were carried out to investigate the interaction between bridge abutments and piers related to the local scour around them. Based on the experiments conducted with two different abutment lengths and pier diameters varying the lateral distances between them it was observed that scour depth reduction capacities of collars vary significantly while comparing a single abutment or pier.

Samples collected from 5 bridge sites from around the state of Georgia are analyzed to determine their erosion and rheologic behavior. Most sites were subject to large amounts of local scour due to flood events resulting from Tropical Storm Alberto in 1994. According to the Federal Highway Administration's Hydraulic Engineering Circular No. 18 by Richardson and Davis (2001), scouring of bridge foundations is the most common cause of bridge failure resulting from floods. The erosion rates of the soils are measured in a rectangular tilting flume capable of applying up to 21 Pa of shear stress at the bed. Samples from Shelby tubes are extruded into the flow from below the bed using a hydraulic piston. The displacement is measured as a function of time using a cable-pull potentiometer. The soils are also subject to extensive geotechnical analysis. Sieve and hydrometer analyses are performed to obtain the particle size distribution for each sample. Atterberg Limits and other standard geotechnical measures are also found. Additionally, insight into the shear strength and cohesive nature of the fine (<0.75 micrometers) particles is gained using a stress controlled rheometer to measure the rheological characteristics of the slurry. These results are used to improve and extend a relationship for the critical shear stress of soils developed in previous research that can be used in bridge scour prediction formulae as affected by soil parameters. In addition, the rheologic properties of the soil in terms of a dimensionless yield stress are related to the critical value of the Shields parameter for estimating critical shear stress for erosion.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-100).

Thesis--Paris, 1970. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 825-902) and index.