Advances in sensor technology and computer science in the last three decades have boosted the importance of system identification and vibration-based structural health monitoring (SHM) in civil infrastructure safety and integrity assessment. On the other hand, practical and financial issues in system instrumentation, maintenance, and operation have remained as fundamental problems obstructing the widespread use of SHM applications. For this reason, to reduce system costs and improve practicality as well as sustainability, researchers have been working on emerging methods such as wireless, distributed, mobile, remote, smart, multisensory, and heterogeneous sensing systems. Smartphones with built-in batteries, processor units, and a variety of sensors, have stood as a promising hardware and software environment that can be used as SHM components. Communication capabilities with the web, enable them to compose a smart and participatory sensor network of outnumbered individuals. Besides, crowdsourcing power offered by citizens, sets a decentralized and self-governing SHM framework which can even be pertained by very limited equipment and labor resources. Yet, citizen engagement in an SHM framework brings numerous challenges as well as opportunities. In a citizen-induced SHM scenario, the system administrators have limited or no control over the sensor instrumentation and the operation schedule, and the acquired data is subjected change depending on the measurement conditions. The citizen-induced errors can stem from spatial, temporal, and directional uncertainties since the sensor configuration relies on smartphone users’ decisions and actions. Moreover, the sensor-structure coupling may be unavailable where the smartphone is carried by the user, and as a consequence, the vibration features measured by smartphones can be modified due to the human biomechanical system. In addition, in contrast with the conventional high fidelity sensors, smartphone sensors are of limited quality and are subjected to high noise levels. This dissertation utilizes multisensory smartphone features to solve citizen-induced uncertainties and develops a smartphone-based SHM methodology which enables a cyber-physical system through mobile crowdsourcing. Using smartphone computational and communicational power, combined with a variety of embedded sensors such as accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer and camera, spatiotemporal and biomechanical citizen-induced uncertainties can be eliminated from the crowdsourced smartphone data, and eventually, structural vibrations collected from numerous buildings and bridges can be collected on a single cloud server. Therefore, unlike the conventional platforms designed and implemented for a particular structure, citizen-engaged and smartphone-based SHM can serve as intelligent, scalable, fully autonomous, cost-free, and durable cyber-physical systems drastically changing the forthcoming trends in civil infrastructure monitoring. In this dissertation, iOS is used as the application development platform to produce a smartphone-based SHM prototype, namely Citizen Sensors for SHM. In addition, a web-based software is developed and cloud services are implemented to connect individual smartphones to an administrator base and automate data submission and processing procedure accordingly. Finally, solutions to citizen-induced problems are provided through numerous laboratory and field test applications to prove the feasibility of smartphone-based SHM with real life examples. Through collaborative use of the software, principles and methodologies presented in this dissertation, smartphones can be the core component of futuristic smart, resilient, and sustainable city and infrastructure systems. And this study lays down an innovative and integrated foundation empowering citizens to achieve these goals.

Computer vision sensing techniques enable easy-to-install and remote non-contact monitoring of structures and have great potentials in field applications. This study will develop/implement novel computer vision techniques for two sensing systems for monitoring different aspects of infrastructures in challenging field conditions. The dissertation is therefore composed of two parts: robust measurement of global multi-point structural displacements, and accurate and robust monitoring of local surface displacements/strains. Computer vision based displacement measurement has become popular in the recent decade. The first part presents InnoVision, a vision sensing system developed to address a number of challenging problems associated with applying vision sensors to the measurement of multi-point structural displacement in field conditions that are rarely comprehensively studied in the literature. The challenging problems include tracking low-contrast natural targets on the structural surface, insufficient resolution for long distance measurement, inevitable camera vibration, and image distortion due to heat haze in hot weather. Several techniques are developed in InnoVision to tackle these challenges. Laboratory and field tests are conducted to evaluate the performance of these techniques. In the second part, another vision sensing system SurfaceVision is developed for accurate and robust monitoring two-dimensional (2D) structural surface displacements/strains. Important structures, such as nuclear power plants, need the continuous inspection of surface conditions. As an alternative to the human inspection, conventional digital-image-correlation (DIC) based methods have been applied to surfaces painted with speckle patterns in a controlled environment. However, it is highly challenging for DIC methods to accurately measure displacement on natural concrete surfaces in outdoor conditions with changing illumination and weather conditions. Additionally, common surface displacement measurement is based on segmenting the surface image into small subsets and tracking each subset individually through template matching, the surface displacement thus obtained has obvious discontinuity and low spatial resolution. Therefore, for applicability in the outdoor environment, SurfaceVision is proposed for accurate and robust monitoring of surface displacements/strains. Advanced computer vision techniques are developed/implemented to enable surface displacement measurement with high continuity, spatial resolution, accuracy, and robustness. An intuitive strain calculation method is also developed for converting surface displacements into surface strains. A numerical simulation is formulated based on four-point bending tests to validate the accuracy and robustness of SurfaceVision in surface displacements. Four-point bending experiments using reinforced concrete specimens are conducted to demonstrate the performance of SurfaceVision under different cases of optical noises and its effectiveness in predicting crack formations.

The western and northern parts of South Florida have shallow layers of organic and plastic soils under existing roads. These roads often exhibit large amount of cracking and distortion in a short period of time. Traditional repairs are often not practical due to high costs and extended construction time. In an effort to develop rehabilitation strategies that could be strictly applied to the surface layer, a pilot test site was selected along the alignment of SR 15/US 98 in northwest Palm Beach County, where severe pavement distresses were observed due to the presence of thick organic layers. PaveTrac MT-1, GlasGrid 8501, PetroGrid 4582, and ARMI were used as promising asphalt reinforcing products in 24 experimental pavement sections, including 8 control sections without any reinforcement. A comprehensive field testing and monitoring program involving FWD, rut and ride quality measurements was conducted at the preconstruction, 6-month post-construction, and 18-month post-construction stages. Due to large variability in the sub-surface conditions, a statistics-based data analysis protocol was developed for performance evaluation and relative comparisons of the test sections and, in turn, reinforcing products. Post construction data from both 6 months and 18 months demonstrated that stiffness of reinforced sections were significantly higher than the control sections. Procedures were developed to identify and statistically quantify the benefits derived from the reinforcements only, so that the relative performance of various products could be monitored over time. Based on the field testing data available to date, a framework was developed in this study for the prediction of pavement life, which is essential for conducting a detailed Life Cycle Analysis / by Alex Lima-Arie. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Ce mémoire porte sur l'élaboration et la caractérisation d'un matériau composite chitosane/phosphate de calcium destiné à une utilisation dans le domaine de la substitution osseuse. Le procédé d'atomisation-séchage a été choisi pour élaborer ce composite sous forme d'une poudre susceptible d'être transformée en revêtement ou objet 3D. Une étude préliminaire a permis d'appréhender les mécanismes de synthèse du phosphate de calcium, la phase minérale, par atomisation-séchage. Une suspension de particules d'hydroxyapatite stœchiométrique ou d'apatite biomimétique dispersées dans une solution acide mène systématiquement à l'apparition d'une phase amorphe. La proportion de cette phase amorphe dans la poudre atomisée-séchée est dépendante de la taille et de la cristallinité du matériau d'origine. L'atomisation séchage d'une solution acide contenant les ions précurseurs de calcium et phosphate mène à la formation d'une phase principalement amorphe. Cette poudre a pu être décrite à différentes échelles : à une échelle de l'ordre du nanomètre apparaissent des clusters, à une échelle de l'ordre de la centaine de nanomètres des agrégats sphériques de clusters organisés en chapelet tortueux et imbriqués sont identifiés et enfin à une échelle micrométrique des agglomérats de nanoparticules ont été mises en évidence. Le phosphate de calcium ainsi synthétisé possède un rapport molaire Ca/P proche de 1.3. Au-delà de ce rapport dans la solution à atomiser, de l'acétate de calcium (utilisé ici comme précurseur) recristallise dans la poudre. Pour élaborer la poudre composite, le polymère a été solubilisé et ajouté d'abord dans une suspension acide d'hydroxyapatite avant atomisation. Cette première stratégie mène à la formation d'un composite qui présente de fortes inhomogénéités de répartition des phases organiques et minérales. Pour limiter ce problème lié à la distribution de tailles de grains de la phase minérale, une seconde stratégie a été développée. Une solution de polymère contenant des précurseurs de phosphate de calcium a été préparée pour favoriser l'association à l'échelle nanométrique des deux phases. Après atomisation-séchage, un matériau composite présentant une très bonne dispersion de la phase minérale dans la matrice organique est synthétisé. La structuration de la phase minérale est modifiée par la présence du polymère. Cette modification se traduit par une diminution de la fraction volumique des clusters et, à l'échelle supérieure, la phase minérale n'est plus présente sous forme de chapelet mais en particules sphériques isolées. Par ailleurs, une interaction chimique est envisagée en raison des liaisons de type hydrogène, ioniques ou de coordinations possibles entre les deux phases. La présence du polymère inhibe également la formation de l'acétate de calcium cristallin en favorisant la formation d'un sel d'acétate de chitosane. Deux techniques de mises en forme ont été étudiées (MAPLE, pour l'élaboration de revêtements minces et l'impression 3D de pâte pour l'obtention d'objet massif) et ont permis de mettre en avant le potentiel de transformation de la poudre préparée par atomisation séchage. Les études biologiques faites sur le revêtement ont de plus permis de démontrer les propriétés antibactériennes du matériau utilisé. / This thesis deals with the development and characterization of a chitosan/calcium phosphate composite material for use in the field of bone substitution. The spray-drying method was chosen to develop this composite in the form of a powder that could be transformed into a coating or 3D object. A preliminary study made it possible to understand the mechanisms of synthesis of calcium phosphate, the mineral phase, by spray-drying. A suspension of stoichiometric hydroxyapatite particles or biomimetic apatite dispersed in an acidic solution systematically leads to the appearance of an amorphous phase. The proportion of this amorphous phase in the spray-dried powder is dependent on the size and crystallinity of the original material. The spray drying of an acidic solution containing the precursor ions of calcium and phosphate leads to the formation of a mainly amorphous phase. This powder could be described at different scales: on a scale of about one nanometer appear clusters, on a scale of about one hundred nanometers spherical aggregates of clusters organized into tortuous and nested chaplets are identified and finally on a micrometric scale, agglomerates of nanoparticles were highlighted. The calcium phosphate thus synthesized has a molar ratio Ca/P close to 1.3. Beyond this ratio in the solution to be atomized, calcium acetate (used here as a precursor) recrystallizes in the powder. To develop the composite powder, the polymer was solubilized and added first into an acid suspension of hydroxyapatite before atomization. This first strategy leads to the formation of a composite that has strong in homogeneities in the distribution of organic and inorganic phases. To limit this problem related to the grain size distribution of the mineral phase, a second strategy has been developed. A polymer solution containing calcium phosphate precursors has been prepared to promote nanoscale association of the two phases. After spray-drying, a composite material having a very good dispersion of the mineral phase in the organic matrix is synthesized. The structuring of the mineral phase is modified by the presence of the polymer. This modification results in a reduction of the volume fraction of the clusters and, on the larger scale, the mineral phase is no longer present in the form of a string but in isolated spherical particles. Moreover, a chemical interaction is envisaged because of the hydrogen, ionic or possible coordination bonds between the two phases. The presence of the polymer also inhibits the formation of crystalline calcium acetate by promoting the formation of a salt of chitosan acetate. Two shaping techniques were studied (MAPLE, for the elaboration of thin coatings and the 3D printing of dough for obtaining massive objects) and made it possible to highlight the transformation potential of the prepared powder by spray drying. The biological studies made on the coating have also demonstrated the antibacterial properties of the material used.

Seismic events around the globe directly affect all ranges of structures, from complex and expensive ‘skyscrapers’ to simple frame structures, the latter making up a higher proportion of the number of structures affected as they are a much more common type of structure. The impact of a seismic event can be devastating, especially if adequate predictions of their impact and imposed structural response are not made during the design stage of the structure. Knowing what response to expect allows the engineer to design the structure to survive an event and protect the occupants. The structural response to a seismic event is very complex and can be affected by a wide range of structural, geotechnical and environ parameters. While larger, expensive structures make use of expensive, time consuming, finite element analytical procedures to determine their response the cheaper, simpler, frame structures have to make do with existing, simplified, spectral method predictions. This research firstly involves finite element analysis of simple frame structures, considering different structural and geotechnical parameters which may influence the seismic response, namely the stiffness of the structural joints, the geometry of the structure (influencing the individual structural element flexibility) and the foundation conditions (fixed base or shallow foundations with soil structure interaction). A range of frames, of varying geometry, are considered which mobilise different amounts of inter-storey drift, local rotation and global rotation response. The influence of soil structure interaction (SSI) and frame rigidity (i.e. the properties of the joints) on the response behaviour is investigated. The finite element database is then used to validate improved methods for predicting the spectral response parameters, specifically the natural period and damping of equivalent single degree of freedom (SDOF) systems, which include the effects of frame rigidity, geometry and SSI. Dynamic centrifuge testing is also carried out in order to further validate the improved spectral model for the case of real soil with shear dependant stiffness. The physical model testing is also extended to consider how environs, such as other structures in close proximity, influence the response of a structure.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo discutir a evolução tectônica meso-cenozóica do Domo de Lages, SC, envolvendo análise das estruturas rúpteis que afetam as rochas da região, análise morfométrica e da rede de drenagem e aspectos geomorfológicos relevantes. O Domo de Lages, localizado na borda leste da Bacia do Paraná, na porção sul do estado de Santa Catarina, é caracterizado pela ocorrência de uma grande variedade de rochas alcalinas de idade neo-cretácea. Estas rochas afloram na forma de sills e diques e são intrusivas no pacote sedimentar da Bacia do Paraná, causando-lhe um soerguimento da ordem de centenas a milhares de metros. As rochas alcalinas foram afetadas por estruturas rúpteis, particularmente falhas transcorrentes e normais, denotando a presença de uma tectônica ativa durante o cenozóico. Para o entendimento do quadro evolutivo do domo, além da análise estrutural, foram elaborados diversos mapas morfométricos (hipsométrico, declividades, orientação de vertentes, superfícies de base, rugosidade, gradiente hidráulico e densidade de lineamentos e drenagens) derivados diretamente do Modelo Digital de Elevação, que por sua vez foi obtido pelo tratamento de dados SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) da Agência Espacial Americana (NASA). O trabalho foi complementado com a análise da rede de drenagem e de lineamentos extraídos de imagens, juntamente com a elaboração de perfis topográficos. Os resultados mostram tratar-se de uma estrutura dômica alongada com eixo maior orientado na direção NW-SE, marcada pelo alinhamento de intrusões alcalinas e basculamento dos acamamentos das rochas sedimentares que apresentam mergulho radial para fora da estrutura. A análise do relevo revelou a existência de uma superfície de aplainamento, hoje preservada na cota de 1200 m, que teria sido afetada por falhas normais de direções NW-SE e NE-SW. O modelo tectônico evolutivo elaborado para a região contempla a seguinte seqüência de eventos: atuação de esforços compressivos NE-SW no final do cretáceo, gerando falhas normais NE-SW, que afetam as rochas básicas da Formação Serra Geral e condicionam a colocação de diques alcalinos e a estruturação do domo; geração de falhas transcorrentes destrais que afetam todas as rochas da região, incluindo as rochas alcalinas, com binário orientado na direção NNE-SSW; configuração de uma superfície de aplainamento preservada na cota de 1200m, que perdurou, provavelmente, até o mioceno; distensão NE-SW e geração de falhas normais NW-SE que abatem e basculam a superfície aplainada e reorganizam a rede de drenagens; instalação de um provável evento distensivo NW-SE, responsável pela formação de falhas normais NE-SW, marcadas principalmente nos mapas morfométricos. / This study was focused on the meso-cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Domo de Lages region (south Santa Catarina State, Southern Brazil), through the analysis of brittle structures affecting sedimentary and igneous rocks, morphometric parameters, drainage network and main geomorphological features. Located in the border of the Paraná sedimentary basin, the Domo de Lages is characterized by a great variety of Late Cretacic alkaline rocks, which crops out as sills and dikes cutting the Paleozoic sedimentary rocks, and are associated with an uplift of hundreds to thousands of meters. These alkaline rocks are affected by brittle structures, mainly transcurrent and normal faults, indicative of Cenozoic active tectonics. In addition to the structural analysis, several morphometric maps were developed, as an aid to enlighten the evolutionary history of the region. Maps of hypsometry, slope, aspect, isobase surfaces, surface roughness, hydraulic gradient, lineament density and drainage density were derived from SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) Digital Elevation Models provided by NASA, and were complemented by topographic profiles, analysis of drainage network and lineament orientation. Results show that the dome has a elongated shape with major axis oriented NW-SE, defined by alignment of intrusive bodies and tilting of sedimentary rocks bedding planes, dipping radially outwards the center of the structure. Topographic analysis revealed the existence of a planation surface, preserved at 1200m a.s.l., wich would have been affected by NW-SE and NE-SW normal faults. A tectonic evolutionary model for the region was elaborated, according the following sequence of events: in the end of Cretaceous, a compressive NE stress generates NE-SW normal faults, which affect the basic rocks of Serra Geral Formation and controls the emplacement of alkaline dikes and the uplift of the domic structure; formation of transcurrent dextral faults affecting all rocks of the area, including the alkalines, with NNE-SSW oriented binary; development of a planation surface preserved at 1200m a.s.l. which remained probably until the Miocene; NE-SW extension, creating NW-SE normal faults that lowered and tilted the levelled surface and affected the drainage network; a last extensive NW-SE event probably happened, responsible for NE-SW normal faults seen mainly in the morphometric maps.

No description available.

Underground coal mine explosions pose a significant threat to infrastructure such as mine seals and refuge alternative chambers. After a mine seal failed in the Sago mine disaster, which took the life of 12 miners, design requirements were reexamined and improved. However, most research being completed on the analysis of mine structures during an explosive event focuses solely on peak pressure values, while ignoring the impact of pressure duration. This study investigates the impact pressure duration, waveform shape, and impulse have on structural displacement, while also exploring what pressures and duration can be expected during a mine explosion. Additionally, the use of high explosives to simulation conditions experienced during a mine explosion is examined. Results from this study are produced through experimental testing using a scaled shock tube and theoretical studies using finite element analysis.

In an attempt to achieve more efficient designs, the technological frontier is pushed further and further. Every year science probes for a better understanding of natural phenomena, discovering new and improved methods to perform the same task more efficiently and with better results. One of the new technologies is the nonlinear analysis of structural systems using inelastic post-buckling member performance. Inelastic post-buckling member performance is defined as the constitutive relationship between axial load and displacement after the ultimate member capacity has been exceeded. A nonlinear analysis is able to predict the failure behavior of a structural system under ultimate loads more accurately than the traditionally used linear elastic analysis. Consequently, designs can be improved and become more efficient, which reduces the realization cost of a project. An improved nonlinear analysis solution algorithm has been developed, that allows the analyst to perform a nonlinear analysis using post-buckling member performances faster than previously possible. Furthermore, the original post-buckling member performance database was expanded using results obtained from physical member compression tests. Based on the experimental results, new post-buckling member performance model curves were developed to be used together with the improved nonlinear solution algorithm. In addition, a program was developed that allows the analyst to perform a valid nonlinear analysis using a finite element program (LIMIT). The program combines a numerical pre-processor, and input and output data evaluation modules based on human expertise together with the LIMIT analysis package. Extensive on-line help facilities together with graphical pre- and post-processors were also integrated into the program. The resulting analysis package essentially combines all of the necessary components required to perform a nonlinear analysis using post-buckling member performances into one complete analysis package.

In the scope of this master thesis work, the proposed design for NetSat was analyzed for mission and system requirements with respect to structural and thermal limitations. Different load case scenarios for structural and thermal analysis were considered during the process which have been discussed. Based on results, the design is qualified and expected to satisfy all mission and system requirements with regards to structural and thermal limitations.