Barrett

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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The effect of UV-treated plastic reinforcement in cement-based materials

Description
The preceding paper analyzes the effects of UV radiation in plastic reinforcement and its effects on the fracture properties of cement-based materials. Three point tests were performed on notched beams, which called for the consideration of the Type II Size Effect. A comparison of the ductility of beams with and…

The preceding paper analyzes the effects of UV radiation in plastic reinforcement and its effects on the fracture properties of cement-based materials. Three point tests were performed on notched beams, which called for the consideration of the Type II Size Effect. A comparison of the ductility of beams with and without polyethylene plastic powder reinforcement was done through the calculation of the fracture parameters Gf and cf, which represent the initial fracture energy and the characteristic length respectively. Although there was an observed increase in ductile behavior and properties in beams with polyethylene reinforcement, there did not seem to be a significant effect caused by the UV radiation. The hydrophilicity of the polyethylene powder was successfully increased through UV radiation and validated through water retention tests, which showed that the UV-treated polyethylene was retaining more water than the non-treated polyethylene, yet there was no extra increase in ductility of the cement beams compared to using non-treated polyethylene. The Type II Size Effect analysis was performed and compared to the stress analysis results of the experiment. For future research, it is recommended that a higher volume of polyethylene per 1000 grams of cement powder be used, as well as increasing the strength of the UV chamber to achieve a larger increase in the hydrophilicity of the polyethylene. Also, perhaps using more precise equipment to cut the notches in the beams would be helpful in ensuring that all specimens are identical and there is no error in notch depth caused by inaccurate use of the hacksaw or radial saw. Further experiments will be conducted.
ContributorsMardambek, Karim (Author) / Hoover, Christian (Thesis director) / Kazembeyki, Maryam (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
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Modernizing Structural Analysis and Design Education

Description
As structural engineers in practice continue to improve their methods and advance their analysis and design techniques through the use of new technology, how should structural engineering education programs evolve as well to match the increasing complexity of the industry? This thesis serves to analyze the many differing opinions and…

As structural engineers in practice continue to improve their methods and advance their analysis and design techniques through the use of new technology, how should structural engineering education programs evolve as well to match the increasing complexity of the industry? This thesis serves to analyze the many differing opinions and techniques on modernizing structural engineering education programs through a literature review on the content put out by active structural engineering education reform committees, articles and publications by well-known educators and practitioners, and a series of interviews conducted with key individuals specifically for this project. According to the opinions analyzed in this paper, structural engineering education should be a 5-year program that ends with a master’s degree, so that students obtain enough necessary knowledge to begin their positions as structural engineers. Firms would rather continue the education of new-hires themselves after this time than to wait and pay more for students to finish longer graduate-type programs. Computer programs should be implemented further into education programs, and would be most productive not as a replacement to hand-calculation methods, but as a supplement. Students should be tasked with writing codes, so that they are required to implement these calculations into computer programs themselves, and use classical methods to verify their answers. In this way, engineering programs will be creating critical thinkers who can adapt to any new structural analysis and design programs, and not just be training students on current programs that will become obsolete with time. It is the responsibility of educators to educate current staff on how to implement these coding methods seamlessly into education as a supplement to hand calculation methods. Students will be able to learn what is behind commercial coding software, develop their hand-calculation skills through code verification, and focus more on the ever-important modeling and interpretation phases of problem solving. Practitioners will have the responsibility of not expecting students to graduate with knowledge of specific software programs, but instead recruiting students who showcase critical thinking skills and understand the backbone of these programs. They will continue the education of recent graduates themselves, providing them with real-world experience that they cannot receive in school while training them to use company-specific analysis and design software.
ContributorsMaurer, Cole Chaon (Author) / Hjelmstad, Keith (Thesis director) / Chatziefstratiou, Efthalia (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05

Using Recycled Ceramics to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of Concrete

Description

This thesis investigates the feasibility of using recycled ceramics as the aggregate in concrete, as an alternative to natural rock aggregates. The study evaluates the mechanical properties of concrete made with recycled ceramics and compares them with those of traditional concrete. The research involved laboratory experiments to determine compressive strength…

This thesis investigates the feasibility of using recycled ceramics as the aggregate in concrete, as an alternative to natural rock aggregates. The study evaluates the mechanical properties of concrete made with recycled ceramics and compares them with those of traditional concrete. The research involved laboratory experiments to determine compressive strength and displacement. The results show that the concrete made with recycled ceramics exhibited higher compressive strength and lower maximum displacement than traditional concrete, which means it acted more brittle. However, when the recycled ceramics were used to replace only 50% of the rock aggregate, the compressive strength decreased while the maximum displacement stayed the same, though the study concludes that a larger sample size is needed for more reliable results. Based on the findings, the thesis concludes that while the use of recycled ceramics in concrete may not be suitable for structural concrete, it could still have potential as a sustainable building material in non-structural applications.
ContributorsLong, Mason (Author) / Hoover, Christian (Thesis director) / Pazhankave, Silpa (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor)
Created2023-05