Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
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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This dissertation details an attempt to experimentally evaluate the Giroud et al. (1995) concentration factors for geomembranes loaded in tension perpendicular to a seam by laboratory measurement. Field observations of the performance of geomembrane liner systems indicates that tears occur at average strains well below the yield criteria. These observations have been attributed, in part, to localized strain concentrations in the geomembrane loaded in tension in a direction perpendicular to the seam. Giroud et al. (1995) has presented theoretical strain concentration factors for geomembrane seams loaded in tension when the seam is perpendicular to the applied tensile strain. However, these factors have never been verified. This dissertation was prepared in fulfillment of the requirements for graduation from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. The work described herein was sponsored by the National Science Foundation as a part of a larger research project entitled "NEESR: Performance Based Design of Geomembrane Liner Systems Subject to Extreme Loading." The work is motivated by geomembrane tears observed at the Chiquita Canyon landfill following the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Numerical analysis of the strains in the Chiquita Canyon landfill liner induced by the earthquake indicated that the tensile strains, were well below the yield strain of the geomembrane material. In order to explain why the membrane did fail, strain concentration factors due to bending at seams perpendicular to the load in the model proposed by Giroud et al. (1995) had to be applied to the geomembrane (Arab, 2011). Due to the localized nature of seam strain concentrations, digital image correlation (DIC) was used. The high resolution attained with DIC had a sufficient resolution to capture the localized strain concentrations. High density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane samples prepared by a leading geomembrane manufacturer were used in the testing described herein. The samples included both extrusion fillet and dual hot wedge fusion seams. The samples were loaded in tension in a standard triaxial test apparatus. to the seams in the samples including both extrusion fillet and dual hot wedge seams. DIC was used to capture the deformation field and strain fields were subsequently created by computer analysis.
ContributorsAndresen, Jake Austin (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis director) / Gutierrez, Angel (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Building construction, design and maintenance is a sector of engineering where improved efficiency will have immense impacts on resource consumption and environmental health. This research closely examines the Leadership in Environment and Energy Design (LEED) rating system and the International Green Construction Code (IgCC). The IgCC is a model code, written with the same structure as many building codes. It is a standard that can be enforced if a city's government decides to adopt it. When IgCC is enforced, the buildings either meet all of the requirements set forth in the document or it fails to meet the code standards. The LEED Rating System, on the other hand, is not a building code. LEED certified buildings are built according to the standards of their local jurisdiction and in addition to that, building owners can chose to pursue a LEED certification. This is a rating system that awards points based on the sustainable measures achieved by a building. A comparison of these green building systems highlights their accomplishments in terms of reduced electricity usage, usage of low-impact materials, indoor environmental quality and other innovative features. It was determined that in general IgCC is more holistic, stringent approach to green building. At the same time the LEED rating system a wider variety of green building options. In addition, building data from LEED certified buildings was complied and analyzed to understand important trends. Both of these methods are progressing towards low-impact, efficient infrastructure and a side-by-side comparison, as done in this research, shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of each method, allowing for future improvements.
ContributorsCampbell, Kaleigh Ruth (Author) / Chong, Oswald (Thesis director) / Parrish, Kristen (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In developed countries, municipalities deliver drinking water to constituents through water distribution systems. These transport water from a treatment plant to homes, restaurants, and any other site of end use. Proper water distribution system infrastructure functionality is a critical concern to city planners and managers because component failures within these systems restrict or prevent the ability to deliver water. The reduced capacity to deliver water forces the health and well being of all citizens into jeopardy. The breakdown of a component can even spark the failure of several more components, causing a sequence of cascading failures with catastrophic consequences. To make matters worse, some forms of component failures are unpredictable and it is impossible to foresee every possible failure that could occur. In order to prevent cataclysmic losses that are experienced during system failures, the development of resilient water distribution infrastructure is vital. A resilient water distribution system possesses an adaptive capacity to mitigate the loss of service resulting from component failures. Traditionally, infrastructure resilience research has been retrospective in nature, analyzing the infrastructure system after it suffered a failure event. However, this research project takes water distribution resilience research in a new direction. The research identifies the Sensing Anticipating, Adaptation, and Learning processes that are inherent in the current operations of each component in the water distribution system (pumps, pipes, valves, tanks, nodes). Additional SAAL processes have been recommended for the components that lack adaptive management in current practice. This workis unique in that it applies resilience theory to water distribution systems in an anticipatory manner. This anticipatory application of resilience will provide operators with actionable process for them to implement during failure situations. In this setting, resilience is applied to existing systems for noticeable improvements in operation during failure situations.
ContributorsRodriguez, Jordan Robert (Author) / Seager, Thomas (Thesis director) / Eisenberg, Daniel (Committee member) / Bondank, Emily (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This thesis describes the conduct and interpretation of large scale direct shear testing of municipal solid waste (MSW) which was recently conducted at Arizona State University under the guidance of Dr. Edward Kavazanjian Jr. This research was performed to establish the shear strength parameters for MSW of a particular landfill in the eastern United States. As part of this research, the unit weight of the material of interest was recorded to help establish if the properties of the waste tested in this project were consistent with the properties of MSW reported in the technical literature.
The paper begins with an overview of scholarly articles on shear strength and unit weight of MSW. This overview summarizes trends found in other MSW investigations. The findings described in these articles served as a basis to determine if the direct shear test results in this investigation complied with typical values reported in other MSW investigations.
A majority of this thesis is dedicated to describing testing protocol, nuances of experimental execution, and test results of the direct shear tests. This culminates in an analysis of the shear strength parameters and consolidated unit weight exhibited by the MSW tested herein. Throughout the testing displacement range of 3.5 inches, none of the MSW specimens achieved a peak shear stress. Consequently, the test results were analyzed at displacements of 1.7 inches, 2.1 inches, and 2.4 inches during the tests to develop Mohr-Coulomb envelopes for each specified displacement. All three envelopes indicated that the cohesion of the material was effectively 0 psf). The interpreted angles of internal friction were of 30.6°, 33.7°, and 36.0° for the displacements of 1.7, 2.1, and 2.4 inches, respectively. These values correlate well with values from previous investigations, indicating that from a shear strength basis the waste tested in this project was typical of MSW from other landfills. Analysis of the consolidated unit weight of the MSW specimens also suggests the MSW was similar to in-situ MSW which was placed in a landfill with low levels of compaction and small amounts of cover soil.
The paper begins with an overview of scholarly articles on shear strength and unit weight of MSW. This overview summarizes trends found in other MSW investigations. The findings described in these articles served as a basis to determine if the direct shear test results in this investigation complied with typical values reported in other MSW investigations.
A majority of this thesis is dedicated to describing testing protocol, nuances of experimental execution, and test results of the direct shear tests. This culminates in an analysis of the shear strength parameters and consolidated unit weight exhibited by the MSW tested herein. Throughout the testing displacement range of 3.5 inches, none of the MSW specimens achieved a peak shear stress. Consequently, the test results were analyzed at displacements of 1.7 inches, 2.1 inches, and 2.4 inches during the tests to develop Mohr-Coulomb envelopes for each specified displacement. All three envelopes indicated that the cohesion of the material was effectively 0 psf). The interpreted angles of internal friction were of 30.6°, 33.7°, and 36.0° for the displacements of 1.7, 2.1, and 2.4 inches, respectively. These values correlate well with values from previous investigations, indicating that from a shear strength basis the waste tested in this project was typical of MSW from other landfills. Analysis of the consolidated unit weight of the MSW specimens also suggests the MSW was similar to in-situ MSW which was placed in a landfill with low levels of compaction and small amounts of cover soil.
ContributorsCuret, Dylan Shea (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis director) / Houston, Sandra (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In recent history, the world has been inspired to respond to the challenges faced by communities with ‘help’. This help has been administered with moderate success through community engagement strategies traditionally centered on social services provided through non-profit agencies. Social entrepreneurship has emerged in response to the lack of progress made in solving local and global issues with new innovations that have the potential to change the status quo and eliminate the problems for future generations. In social entrepreneurship, concerned individuals saw an opportunity to truly change the world. Higher education leaders have embraced social entrepreneurship, positioning university students as a driving force behind ideating creative and innovative solutions that can be implemented in communities to overcome a vast array of challenges from poverty to environmental sustainability. Despite the efforts of university staff and faculty, many student changemakers struggle to successfully implement their ideas and measure their impact. Factors such as how well the student understands the issue and community in addition to the extent to which the student is experienced in ideation, creative-problem solving, and implementation of projects contribute to the success or failure of a student social effort. Inspired by their experiences serving as director of Changemaker Central, the authors sought to understand the process of preparing students to be agents of change in the community. Having observed the variance in success among aspiring changemakers at Arizona State University (ASU), the researchers studied how to best support students in preparation for a high-impact career. The research analyzed students’ experiences in two of ASU’s social change programs, Changemaker Challenge (CC) and University Service-Learning (USL) and found a need for more cohesion between two programs and their represented methodologies in addition to a need for in-depth analysis on the student journey.
ContributorsMicevic, Vid (Co-author) / Fitzgerald, Kaitlyn (Co-author) / Henderson, Mark (Thesis director) / Smith, Jacqueline (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The goal of this project was to develop criteria to signify when a soil specimen is just on the verge of failure when tested in a consolidated-drained triaxial test. By identifying the imminent failure of the specimen, a multi-stage triaxial test can be automated, allowing for soil strength properties to be determined from a single specimen. The purpose of identification of imminent failure of the specimen is for purposes of development of automated multi-stage test operation of a single specimen for determination of soil properties. Currently, shear strength parameters for a soil could either be calculated from at least three separate triaxial tests or a multi-stage test where each stage would end based on the operator's judgement. By developing generalized criteria that would signify failure, and therefore the need to move on to the next stage of a multi-state test, a computer program could be used to automatically end one loading stage and begin the next. This automation would allow for a wider use of multi-stage tests, which are faster and therefore less expensive to run than three standard triaxial tests. Triaxial tests were performed on loose and dense sand specimens. During standard testing, the loose sand had a friction angle of 29.61o and the dense sand had a friction angle of 38.63o. Using a zero tangent modulus as the stage-end criteria, the loose sand had a friction angle of 27.69o and the dense sand had a friction angle of 37.03o. Using the maximum volumetric strain as the stage-end criteria, the loose sand had a friction angle of 25.16o. The multi-stage shear strength parameters were reasonable compared to the single-stage test parameters, if slightly conservative. This suggests that computer automation of multi-stage triaxial tests will produce results that can be used in analysis and design by geotechnical engineers. However, more research will be required to confirm this initial assumptions for a wider range of sand gradations as well as for other soil types and testing conditions.
ContributorsPhillips, Zachary Ryan (Author) / Houston, Sandra (Thesis director) / Lawrence, Christopher (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Concrete stands at the forefront of the construction industry as one of the most useful building materials. Economic and efficient improvements in concrete strengthening and manufacturing are widely sought to continuously improve the performance of the material. Fiber reinforcement is a significant technique in strengthening precast concrete, but manufacturing limitations are common which has led to reliance on steel reinforcement. Two-dimensional textile reinforcement has emerged as a strong and efficient alternative to both fiber and steel reinforced concrete with pultrusion manufacturing shown as one of the most effective methods of precasting concrete. The intention of this thesis project is to detail the components, functions, and outcomes shown in the development of an automated pultrusion system for manufacturing textile reinforced concrete (TRC). Using a preexisting, manual pultrusion system and current-day manufacturing techniques as a basis, the automated pultrusion system was designed as a series of five stations that centered on textile impregnation, system driving, and final pressing. The system was then constructed in the Arizona State University Structures Lab over the course of the spring and summer of 2015. After fabricating each station, a computer VI was coded in LabVIEW software to automatically drive the system. Upon completing construction of the system, plate and angled structural sections were then manufactured to verify the adequacy of the technique. Pultruded TRC plates were tested in tension and flexure while full-scale structural sections were tested in tension and compression. Ultimately, the automated pultrusion system was successful in establishing an efficient and consistent manufacturing process for continuous TRC sections.
ContributorsBauchmoyer, Jacob Macgregor (Author) / Mobasher, Barzin (Thesis director) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Recurring incidents between pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles at the intersection of Rural Road and Spence Avenue led to a team of students conducting their own investigation into the current conditions and analyzing a handful of alternatives. An extension of an industry-standard technique was used to build a control case which alternatives would be compared to. Four alternatives were identified, and the two that could be modeled in simulation software were both found to be technically feasible in the preliminary analysis.
ContributorsFellows, Christopher Lee (Author) / Lou, Yingyan (Thesis director) / Zhou, Xuesong (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The storm events of summer 2014 proved to be some of the highest on record for Maricopa County. Flash flooding has been an ongoing issue within Arizona during the monsoon season due to the remnants of hurricanes that result in short, high intensity storms. The proximity of these intense storm events and their corresponding flooding structures is imperative in reducing the impact of these events on the community. The analysis of the maximum precipitation events for Tempe, Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Goodyear, Peoria, Avondale and Glendale during the summer of 2014 proved that there were many events that had a calculated recurrence of 100 years or greater. The storm event with the most precipitation events with a recurrence of 100 years or greater was September 8, 2014. This storm event also produced a streamflow response that had the highest recorded streamflow at gages near the events with a 100 year recurrence. These intervals represent a larger amount of rain during a precipitation event and this correlation suggests that short burst of extreme weather was not a trend in this data. Rather, high storm events occurred over the span of 24 hours. The most frequent response of the stream gage to this rain event was a streamflow event that has a recurrence of 2-5 years. This suggests that the channels and flooding structures used to contain the rain events were effective in reducing the amount of water and therefore effectively managing the flooding response. An analysis of newspaper commentary and an interview with a representative from the Flood Control District of Maricopa County (FCDMC) indicated that there is a disconnect between public perception and the structure of FCDMC. Through this analysis a better understanding of the FCDMC as well as the impact of severe storm events in Maricopa County was found.
ContributorsBrancati, Olivia Anne (Author) / Vivoni, Enrique (Thesis director) / White, Dave (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This thesis explores a method of how political information could be distributed to the public and asks the question, what is the best way to provide voters with all of the information they need to cast an informed vote? It involved the creation of a website, www.azleglive.info, which republishes state legislative data in interactive and visually condensed formats and asked users to compare it to the existing Arizona State Legislature website on the metrics of depth of information, usability, and clarity. It also asked what resources users would utilize in order to cast a vote in the next election. Ultimately, the majority of users determined that the new website added needed usability and clarity to available legislative information, but that both websites would be useful when voting. In conclusion, the responsibility of disseminating useful information to voters is most likely to be effective when distributed among a variety of sources.
ContributorsJosephson, Zachary (Co-author) / Umaretiya, Amy (Co-author) / Jones, Ruth (Thesis director) / Woodall, Gina (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05