Adjacent box beam bridges are economical bridge systems for accelerated bridge construction. The box beams are constructed at precast plants and are traditionally connected by a shear key filled with grout. This system is ideal for short spans with low clearance restrictions. However, due to the grout deteriorating and debonding from the precast concrete in the shear key, reflective cracking propogates through the deck allowing water and chemicals to leak down into the joints. This can lead to the prestressing steel inside the precast member and the transverse tie steel corroding. This necessitates the bridge being rehabilitated or replaced which shortens the life-span of the bridge system and negates the economical value it had to begin with. This research project aimed to design a rehabilitation plan for an adjacent box beam bridge with deteriorated joints using Very High Performance Concrete (VHPC). VHPC was chosen as an economical alternative to the proprietary Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) and extensive material tests were performed. The results of the material testing of VHPC and grout revealed that VHPC had higher compressive and tensile strengths, a higher modulus of elasticity, gained strength faster, bonded better to precast concrete, was more durable over time, and shrank less than conventional grout. The results of this research project were applied to rehabilitate the Buffalo Branch Bridge and further testing will be completed to determine the effectiveness of the rehabilitation. / Master of Science

RF front-ends are nonlinear systems that have nonlinear frequency response and, hence, can impair receiver performance by harmful adjacent channel interference in non-intuitive ways. Next generation wireless networks will see unprecedented diversity across receiver and radio technologies accessing the same band of spectrum in spatio-temporal proximity. Ensuring adjacent channel co-existence is of prime importance for successful deployment and operations of next generation wireless networks. Vulnerabilities of receiver front-end can have a severe detrimental effect on network performance and spectrum co-existence. This dissertation addresses the technological challenges in understanding and accounting for receiver sensitivities in the design of next generation wireless networks. The dissertation has four major contributions. In the first contribution, we seek to understand how receiver nonlinearity impacts performance. We propose a computationally efficient framework to evaluate the adjacent channel interference in a given radio/spectrum environment. We develop novel tractable representation of receiver front-end nonlinearity to specify the adjacent channel signals that contribute to the interference at the desired channel and the total adjacent channel interference power at a given desired channel. In the second contribution, we seek to understand how the impact of receiver nonlinearity performance can be quantified. We quantify receiver performance in the presence of adjacent channel interference using information theoretic metrics. We evaluate the limits on achievable rate accounting for RF front-end nonlinearity and provide a framework to compare disparate receivers by forming generalized metrics. In the third contribution, we seek to understand how the impact of receiver nonlinearity can be managed at the network level. We develop novel and comprehensive wireless network management frameworks that account for the RF nonlinearity, impairments, and diversity of heterogeneous wireless devices. We further develop computationally efficient algorithms to optimize the proposed framework and examine network level performance. We demonstrate through extensive network simulations that the proposed receiver-centric frameworks provide substantially high spectrum efficiency gains over receiver-agnostic spectrum access in dense and diverse next generation wireless networks. In the fourth contribution, we seek to understand how scalable interference networks are with receiver nonlinearity. We propose practical achievable schemes for interference avoidance and assess the scalability of the next generation wireless networks with interference due to receiver nonlinearity. Further, we develop an algorithmic scheme to evaluate the upper bound on scalability of nonlinear interference networks. This provides valuable insights on scalability and schemes for nonlinear adjacent channel interference avoidance in next generation shared spectrum networks. / Ph. D. / There has been a dramatic increase in the demand for mobile data, since the introduction of smartphones. Over the air transmission of data utilizes a natural resource called radio frequency spectrum. The efficient utilization of the radio frequency spectrum and clever wireless network management is key for satisfying this demand. Besides improving the quality of wireless services, efficient spectrum utilization will also have profound economic benefits and spur growth. It has been shown that spectrum is most efficiently used when shared among various services rather than licensed to specific users and communication systems. This implies that next generation wireless networks will comprise of diverse types of wireless devices. Thus, network design and regulation should ensure their harmonious co-existence. However, the practicality of spectrum sharing technology and regulation is still in its infancy. In particular, the effect of radio receiver performance and vulnerabilities from signals in the spectral neighborhood on spectrum regulation and management is not well understood. A detailed study and analysis of this is of paramount importance spectrum sharing and regulation in next generation wireless networks. In this dissertation we develop the fundamentals, limitations, and management strategies on the impact of receiver performance on efficient spectrum access and co-existence. In addition, this key insights to maximize network efficiency in next generation wireless systems are presented. The outcome of this dissertation will aid in developing frameworks to increase social awareness about low-quality wireless devices and their implications on capacity. In summary, this dissertation provides a the necessary foundations to understand, design, and optimize the next generation wireless networks, which will have far reaching economic and social benefits.

El Método de los Momentos (MoM) ha sido ampliamente utilizado en las últimas décadas para la discretización y la solución de las formulaciones de ecuación integral que aparecen en muchos problemas electromagnéticos de antenas y dispersión. Las más utilizadas de dichas formulaciones son la Ecuación Integral de Campo Eléctrico (EFIE), la Ecuación Integral de Campo Magnético (MFIE) y la Ecuación Integral de Campo Combinada (CFIE), que no es más que una combinación lineal de las dos anteriores.Las formulaciones MFIE y CFIE son válidas únicamente para objetos cerrados y necesitan tratar la integración de núcleos con singularidades de orden superior al de la EFIE. La falta de técnicas eficientes y precisas para el cálculo de dichas integrales singulares a llevado a imprecisiones en los resultados. Consecuentemente, su uso se ha visto restringido a propósitos puramente académicos, incluso cuando tienen una velocidad de convergencia muy superior cuando son resuelto iterativamente, debido a su excelente número de condicionamiento.En general, la principal desventaja del MoM es el alto coste de su construcción, almacenamiento y solución teniendo en cuenta que es inevitablemente un sistema denso, que crece con el tamaño eléctrico del objeto a analizar. Por tanto, un gran número de métodos han sido desarrollados para su compresión y solución. Sin embargo, muchos de ellos son absolutamente dependientes del núcleo de la ecuación integral, necesitando de una reformulación completa para cada núcleo, en caso de que sea posible.Esta tesis presenta nuevos enfoques o métodos para acelerar y incrementar la precisión de ecuaciones integrales discretizadas con el Método de los Momentos (MoM) en electromagnetismo computacional.En primer lugar, un nuevo método iterativo rápido, el Multilevel Adaptive Cross Approximation (MLACA), ha sido desarrollado para acelerar la solución del sistema lineal del MoM. En la búsqueda por un esquema de propósito general, el MLACA es un método independiente del núcleo de la ecuación integral y es puramente algebraico. Mejora simultáneamente la eficiencia y la compresión con respecto a su versión mono-nivel, el ACA, ya existente. Por tanto, representa una excelente alternativa para la solución del sistema del MoM de problemas electromagnéticos de gran escala.En segundo lugar, el Direct Evaluation Method, que ha provado ser la referencia principal en términos de eficiencia y precisión, es extendido para superar el cálculo del desafío que suponen las integrales hiper-singulares 4-D que aparecen en la formulación de Ecuación Integral de Campo Magnético (MFIE) así como en la de Ecuación Integral de Campo Combinada (CFIE). La máxima precisión asequible -precisión de máquina se obtiene en un tiempo más que razonable, sobrepasando a cualquier otra técnica existente en la bibliografía.En tercer lugar, las integrales hiper-singulares mencionadas anteriormente se convierten en casi-singulares cuando los elementos discretizados están muy próximo pero sin llegar a tocarse. Se muestra como las reglas de integración tradicionales tampoco convergen adecuadamente en este caso y se propone una posible solución, basada en reglas de integración más sofisticadas, como la Double Exponential y la Gauss-Laguerre.Finalmente, un esfuerzo en facilitar el uso de cualquier programa de simulación de antenas basado en el MoM ha llevado al desarrollo de un modelo matemático general de un puerto de excitación en el espacio discretizado. Con este nuevo modelo, ya no es necesaria la adaptación de los lados del mallado al puerto en cuestión. / The Method of Moments (MoM) has been widely used during the last decades for the discretization and the solution of integral equation formulations appearing in several electromagnetic antenna and scattering problems. The most utilized of these formulations are the Electric Field Integral Equation (EFIE), the Magnetic Field Integral Equation (MFIE) and the Combined Field Integral Equation (CFIE), which is a linear combination of the other two. The MFIE and CFIE formulations are only valid for closed objects and need to deal with the integration of singular kernels with singularities of higher order than the EFIE. The lack of efficient and accurate techniques for the computation of these singular integrals has led to inaccuracies in the results. Consequently, their use has been mainly restricted to academic purposes, even having a much better convergence rate when solved iteratively, due to their excellent conditioning number. In general, the main drawback of the MoM is the costly construction, storage and solution considering the unavoidable dense linear system, which grows with the electrical size of the object to analyze. Consequently, a wide range of fast methods have been developed for its compression and solution. Most of them, though, are absolutely dependent on the kernel of the integral equation, claiming for a complete re-formulation, if possible, for each new kernel. This thesis dissertation presents new approaches to accelerate or increase the accuracy of integral equations discretized by the Method of Moments (MoM) in computational electromagnetics. Firstly, a novel fast iterative solver, the Multilevel Adaptive Cross Approximation (MLACA), has been developed for accelerating the solution of the MoM linear system. In the quest for a general-purpose scheme, the MLACA is a method independent of the kernel of the integral equation and is purely algebraic. It improves both efficiency and compression rate with respect to the previously existing single-level version, the ACA. Therefore, it represents an excellent alternative for the solution of the MoM system of large-scale electromagnetic problems. Secondly, the direct evaluation method, which has proved to be the main reference in terms of efficiency and accuracy, is extended to overcome the computation of the challenging 4-D hyper-singular integrals arising in the Magnetic Field Integral Equation (MFIE) and Combined Field Integral Equation (CFIE) formulations. The maximum affordable accuracy --machine precision-- is obtained in a more than reasonable computation time, surpassing any other existing technique in the literature. Thirdly, the aforementioned hyper-singular integrals become near-singular when the discretized elements are very closely placed but not touching. It is shown how traditional integration rules fail to converge also in this case, and a possible solution based on more sophisticated integration rules, like the Double Exponential and the Gauss-Laguerre, is proposed. Finally, an effort to facilitate the usability of any antenna simulation software based on the MoM has led to the development of a general mathematical model of an excitation port in the discretized space. With this new model, it is no longer necessary to adapt the mesh edges to the port.

ITC/USA 2009 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Fifth Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 26-29, 2009 / Riviera Hotel & Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper will provide recommended channel spacing requirements when the Tactical Targeting Network Technology (TTNT) System is utilized in conjunction with airborne telemetry systems at airborne test ranges. The recommendation will be in the form of an equation similar in form to the adjacent channel interference (ACI) equation currently in the Telemetry Standard IRIG-106. Test results will be presented to support this recommendation.

ITC/USA 2006 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Second Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 23-26, 2006 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / In this paper we describe a new method that is applicable to mitigating both multipath interference and adjacent channel interference (ACI) in aeronautical telemetry applications using ARTM Tier-1 waveforms. The proposed method uses a linear equalizer that is derived using Kalman filtering theory, which has been used for channel equalization for high-speed communication systems. We illustrate the proposed method with numerical examples obtained from simulations that show the bit error rate performance (BER) for different modulation schemes.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 20-23, 2003 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / This paper will present equations for calculating the minimum recommended frequency separation of two digital telemetry signals. The signals can be filtered continuous phase frequency shift keying (CPFSK), multi-h continuous phase modulation (CPM) [1], shaped offset quadrature phase shift keying-Telemetry Group (SOQPSK-TG, aka SOQPSK-A*) [2], or Feher’s patented quadrature phase shift keying FQPSK-B (or FQPSK-JR [3]). The equations are based on measured data in an adjacent channel interference (ACI) environment for filtered CPFSK (aka PCM/FM), multi-h CPM (or CPM for short), SOQPSK-TG, FQPSK-JR, and FQPSK-B. This paper is an extension of my 2001 and 2002 International Telemetering Conference papers on this topic [4, 5]. The quantity measured was bit error probability (BEP) versus frequency separation at a given signal energy per bit to noise power spectral density ratio (Eb/No). The interferers were CPFSK, CPM, SOQPSK-TG or FQPSK-B (-JR) signals. The results presented in this paper will be for a desired signal bit rate of 1 to 20 Mb/s, one interferer 20 dB larger than the desired signal (a few tests included two interferers), and various center frequency spacings, interfering signals, receivers, and demodulators. The overall ACI test effort has collected data sets at several bit rates and with one and two interferers. The results will be useful to system designers and range operators as they attempt to maximize the number of Mb/s that can be simultaneously transmitted with minimal interference in the telemetry bands.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 25-28, 1999 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Organizations such as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and various commercial entities use a wide range of spectral efficiency criteria in different broadcast and wireless system applications. These criteria and related specifications have significant differences. This paper briefly reviews some common adjacent channel interference (ACI) definitions as well as issues surrounding the definition of spectral efficiency. The impact of these parameters on system bit error rate (BER) performance and closely "packed" adjacent signals is described. ACI criteria and spectral efficiency definitions considered appropriate for existing telemetry applications and deployment of new generations of spectrally efficient systems are illustrated. Specific ACI and spectral efficiency performance requirements adopted by the Department of Defense (DoD) and Advanced Range Telemetry (ARTM) project are highlighted.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 21, 2002 / Town & Country Hotel and Conference Center, San Diego, California / This paper will present measured data in an adjacent channel interference (ACI) environment for filtered continuous phase frequency shift keying (CPFSK or FM), multi-h continuous phase modulation (multi-h CPM or CPM for short) [1] and Feher’s patented quadrature phase shift keying (FQPSK-B) [2]. This paper is an extension of my 2001 International Telemetering Conference paper on this topic [3]. The quantity measured was bit error probability (BEP) versus signal energy per bit to noise power spectral density ratio (E(b)/N(o)). The interferers were CPFSK, CPM, or FQPSK-B signals. The results presented in this paper will be for a desired signal bit rate of 5 Mb/s, one interferer 20 dB larger than desired signal (a few tests included two interferers), and various center frequency spacings, interfering signals, receivers, and demodulators. The overall ACI test effort will collect data sets at several bit rates and with one and two interferers. The results will be useful to system designers and range operators as they attempt to maximize the number of Mb/s that can be simultaneously transmitted with minimal interference in the telemetry bands.

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 22-25, 2001 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada / Multi-h CPM has been selected as the Tier II waveform for the Advanced Range Telemetry (ARTM) program, because it offers 50% better spectral efficiency than Feher-patented FQPSK, which is the Tier I waveform. Shaped Offset QPSK has been shown to be nearly identical in performance to Feher-patented FQPSK. Both the Tier I and Tier II waveforms must operate in the presence of adjacent channel interference in order to meet the range community's telemetry requirements. This paper presents an experimental characterization of SOQPSK and Multi-h CPM in the presence of adjacent channel interference, over a range of channel spacings and differential signal amplitudes. Quantitative results are presented which demonstrate the relative robustness of the ARTM Tier I and Tier II waveforms, with adjacent channel interference representative of a typical range environment.

Previous research on speakers' abilities to track non-adjacent dependencies (e.g., vowels or consonants that co-occur across syllables) in artificial grammar learning (AGL) tasks has shown that the acquisition of these patterns is extremely difficult (e.g. Newport&Aslin 2004; Gómez 2002; Bonatti, PenÞa, Nespor&Mehler 2005). One assumption made in this literature is that all speakers of all languages should be capable of tracking these patterns even when the native language of those speakers contains no such non-adjacent dependencies. This dissertation questions this assumption by testing whether native Khalkha Mongolian speakers attend to and track the frequency of vowel patterns and harmonic class size in their language. It also tests their ability to acquire non-adjacent vocalic dependencies in AGL tasks.Because Khalkha displays [ATR] vowel harmony (Svantesson, Tsendina, Karlsson&Franzén 2005) which restricts vowel co-occurrences, it was hypothesized that Khalkha speakers are biased towards attending to the frequency and form with which these vowel patterns occur. The results of three experiments indicated that Khalkha speakers both attend to and track the frequency with which vowel patterns occur. These results also indicate that Khalkha speakers build abstract categories based on the relative token numbers of [+ATR] and [-ATR]harmonic spans.Khalkha speakers were further tested in three experiments which focused on speakers' ability to acquire novel non-adjacent vocalic dependencies in AGL tasks. The results indicated that participants successfully acquired vocalic dependencies (both harmonic and disharmonic) in all three experiments. These results indicate that Khalkha speakers' attention is biased towards vowels, regardless of harmonic status of the item.Collectively, these results highlight the role of language-specific phonology in the ways that speakers abstract and utilize phonological information. The special status of harmonic vowel patterns and harmonic class size are new variables with which to conduct future research on vowel harmonic languages and with vowel harmonic language speakers. The effects of language-specific phonology on speech perception and lexical access must be considered a crucial aspect in future psycholinguistic research, particularly in regards to the aspects of language toward which speakers attend.