ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
Displaying 11 - 20 of 32
Description
The development of microsimulation approaches to urban systems modeling has occurred largely in three parallel streams of research, namely, land use, travel demand and traffic assignment. However, there are important dependencies and inter-relationships between the model systems which need to be accounted to accurately and comprehensively model the urban system. Location choices affect household activity-travel behavior, household activity-travel behavior affects network level of service (performance), and network level of service, in turn, affects land use and activity-travel behavior. The development of conceptual designs and operational frameworks that represent such complex inter-relationships in a consistent fashion across behavioral units, geographical entities, and temporal scales has proven to be a formidable challenge. In this research, an integrated microsimulation modeling framework called SimTRAVEL (Simulator of Transport, Routes, Activities, Vehicles, Emissions, and Land) that integrates the component model systems in a behaviorally consistent fashion, is presented. The model system is designed such that the activity-travel behavior model and the dynamic traffic assignment model are able to communicate with one another along continuous time with a view to simulate emergent activity-travel patterns in response to dynamically changing network conditions. The dissertation describes the operational framework, presents the modeling methodologies, and offers an extensive discussion on the advantages that such a framework may provide for analyzing the impacts of severe network disruptions on activity-travel choices. A prototype of the model system is developed and implemented for a portion of the Greater Phoenix metropolitan area in Arizona to demonstrate the capabilities of the model system.
ContributorsKonduri, Karthik Charan (Author) / Pendyala, Ram M. (Thesis advisor) / Ahn, Soyoung (Committee member) / Kuby, Michael (Committee member) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Pavement preservation is the practice of selecting and applying maintenance activities in order to extend pavement life, enhance performance, and ensure cost effectiveness. Pavement preservation methods should be applied before pavements display significant amounts of environmental distress. The long-term effectiveness of different pavement preservation techniques can be measured in terms of life extension, relative benefit, and benefit-cost ratio. Optimal timing of pavement preservation means that the given maintenance treatment is applied so that it will extend the life of the roadway for the longest possible period with the minimum cost. This document examines the effectiveness of chip seal treatment in four climatic zones in the United States. The Long-Term Pavement Performance database was used to extract roughness and traffic data, as well as the maintenance and rehabilitation histories of treated and untreated sections. The sections were categorized into smooth, medium, and rough pavements, based upon initial condition as indicated by the International Roughness Index. Pavement performance of treated and untreated sections was collectively modeled using exponential regression analysis. Effectiveness was evaluated in terms of life extension, relative benefit, and benefit-cost ratio. The results of the study verified the assumption that treated sections performed better than untreated sections. The results also showed that the life extension, relative benefit, and benefit cost ratio are highest for sections whose initial condition is smooth at the time of chip seal treatment. These same measures of effectiveness are lowest for pavements whose condition is rough at the time of treatment. Chip seal treatment effectiveness showed no correlation to climatic conditions or to traffic levels.
ContributorsDosa, Matild (Author) / Mamlouk, Michael S. (Thesis advisor) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Zapata, Claudia E (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The structural design of pavements in both highways and airfields becomes complex when one considers environmental effects and ground water table variation. Environmental effects have been incorporated on the new Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) but little has been done to incorporate environmental effects on airfield design. This work presents a developed code produced from this research study called ZAPRAM, which is a mechanistically based pavement model based upon Limiting Strain Criteria in airfield HMA pavement design procedures. ZAPRAM is capable of pavement and airfield design analyses considering environmental effects. The program has been coded in Visual Basic and implemented in an event-driven, user-friendly educational computer program, which runs in Excel environment. Several studies were conducted in order to insure the validity of the analysis as well as the efficiency of the software. The first study yielded the minimum threshold number of computational points the user should use at a specific depth within the pavement system. The second study was completed to verify the correction factor for the Odemark's transformed thickness equation. Default correction factors were included in the code base on a large comparative study between Odemark's and MLET. A third study was conducted to provide a comparison of flexible airfield pavement design thicknesses derived from three widely accepted design procedures used in practice today: the Asphalt Institute, Shell Oil, and the revised Corps of Engineering rutting failure criteria to calculate the thickness requirements necessary for a range of design input variables. The results of the comparative study showed that there is a significant difference between the pavement thicknesses obtained from the three design procedures, with the greatest deviation found between the Shell Oil approach and the other two criteria. Finally, a comprehensive sensitivity study of environmental site factors and the groundwater table depth upon flexible airfield pavement design and performance was completed. The study used the newly revised USACE failure criteria for subgrade shear deformation. The methodology utilized the same analytical methodology to achieve real time environmental effects upon unbound layer modulus, as that used in the new AASHTO MEPDG. The results of this effort showed, for the first time, the quantitative impact of the significant effects of the climatic conditions at the design site, coupled with the importance of the depth of the groundwater table, on the predicted design thicknesses. Significant cost savings appear to be quite reasonable by utilizing principles of unsaturated soil mechanics into the new airfield pavement design procedure found in program ZAPRAM.
ContributorsSalim, Ramadan A (Author) / Zapata, Claudia (Thesis advisor) / Witczak, Matthew (Thesis advisor) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
In the middle of the 20th century in the United States, transportation and infrastructure development became a priority on the national agenda, instigating the development of mathematical models that would predict transportation network performance. Approximately 40 years later, transportation planning models again became a national priority, this time instigating the development of highly disaggregate activity-based traffic models called microsimulations. These models predict the travel on a network at the level of the individual decision-maker, but do so with a large computational complexity and processing time requirement. The vast resources and steep learning curve required to integrate microsimulation models into the general transportation plan have deterred planning agencies from incorporating these tools. By researching the stochastic variability in the results of a microsimulation model with varying random number seeds, this paper evaluates the number of simulation trials necessary, and therefore the computational effort, for a planning agency to reach stable model outcomes. The microsimulation tool used to complete this research is the Transportation Analysis and Simulation System (TRANSIMS). The requirements for initiating a TRANSIMS simulation are described in the paper. Two analysis corridors are chosen in the Metropolitan Phoenix Area, and the roadway performance characteristics volume, vehicle-miles of travel, and vehicle-hours of travel are examined in each corridor under both congested and uncongested conditions. Both congested and uncongested simulations are completed in twenty trials, each with a unique random number seed. Performance measures are averaged for each trial, providing a distribution of average performance measures with which to test the stability of the system. The results of this research show that the variability in outcomes increases with increasing congestion. Although twenty trials are sufficient to achieve stable solutions for the uncongested state, convergence in the congested state is not achieved. These results indicate that a highly congested urban environment requires more than twenty simulation runs for each tested scenario before reaching a solution that can be assumed to be stable. The computational effort needed for this type of analysis is something that transportation planning agencies should take into consideration before beginning a traffic microsimulation program.
ContributorsZiems, Sarah Elia (Author) / Pendyala, Ram M. (Thesis advisor) / Ahn, Soyoung (Committee member) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
Pavement surface temperature is calculated using a fundamental energy balance model developed previously. It can be studied using a one-dimensional mathematical model. The input to the model is changed, to study the effect of different properties of pavement on its diurnal surface temperatures. It is observed that the pavement surface temperature has a microclimatic effect on the air temperature above it. A major increase in local air temperature is caused by heating of solid surfaces in that locality. A case study was done and correlations have been established to calculate the air temperature above a paved surface. Validation with in-situ pavement surface and air temperatures were made. Experimental measurement for the city of Phoenix shows the difference between the ambient air temperature of the city and the microclimatic air temperature above the pavement is approximately 10 degrees Fahrenheit. One mitigation strategy that has been explored is increasing the albedo of the paved surface. Although it will reduce the pavement surface temperature, leading to a reduction in air temperature close to the surface, the increased pavement albedo will also result in greater reflected solar radiation directed towards the building, thus increasing the building solar load. The first effect will imply a reduction in the building energy consumption, while the second effect will imply an increase in the building energy consumption. Simulation is done using the EnergyPlus tool, to find the microclimatic effect of pavement on the building energy performance. The results indicate the cooling energy savings of an office building for different types of pavements can be variable as much as 30%.
ContributorsSengupta, Shawli (Author) / Phelan, Patrick (Thesis advisor) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Calhoun, Ronald (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The residential building sector accounts for more than 26% of the global energy consumption and 17% of global CO2 emissions. Due to the low cost of electricity in Kuwait and increase of population, Kuwaiti electricity consumption tripled during the past 30 years and is expected to increase by 20% by 2027. In this dissertation, a framework is developed to assess energy savings techniques to help policy-makers make educated decisions. The Kuwait residential energy outlook is studied by modeling the baseline energy consumption and the diffusion of energy conservation measures (ECMs) to identify the impacts on household energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
The energy resources and power generation in Kuwait were studied. The characteristics of the residential buildings along with energy codes of practice were investigated and four building archetypes were developed. Moreover, a baseline of end-use electricity consumption and demand was developed. Furthermore, the baseline energy consumption and demand were projected till 2040. It was found that by 2040, energy consumption would double with most of the usage being from AC. While with lighting, there is a negligible increase in consumption due to a projected shift towards more efficient lighting. Peak demand loads are expected to increase by an average growth rate of 2.9% per year. Moreover, the diffusion of different ECMs in the residential sector was modeled through four diffusion scenarios to estimate ECM adoption rates. ECMs’ impact on CO2 emissions and energy consumption of residential buildings in Kuwait was evaluated and the cost of conserved energy (CCE) and annual energy savings for each measure was calculated. AC ECMs exhibited the highest cumulative savings, whereas lighting ECMs showed an immediate energy impact. None of the ECMs in the study were cost effective due to the high subsidy rate (95%), therefore, the impact of ECMs at different subsidy and rebate rates was studied. At 75% subsidized utility price and 40% rebate only on appliances, most of ECMs will be cost effective with high energy savings. Moreover, by imposing charges of $35/ton of CO2, most ECMs will be cost effective.
The energy resources and power generation in Kuwait were studied. The characteristics of the residential buildings along with energy codes of practice were investigated and four building archetypes were developed. Moreover, a baseline of end-use electricity consumption and demand was developed. Furthermore, the baseline energy consumption and demand were projected till 2040. It was found that by 2040, energy consumption would double with most of the usage being from AC. While with lighting, there is a negligible increase in consumption due to a projected shift towards more efficient lighting. Peak demand loads are expected to increase by an average growth rate of 2.9% per year. Moreover, the diffusion of different ECMs in the residential sector was modeled through four diffusion scenarios to estimate ECM adoption rates. ECMs’ impact on CO2 emissions and energy consumption of residential buildings in Kuwait was evaluated and the cost of conserved energy (CCE) and annual energy savings for each measure was calculated. AC ECMs exhibited the highest cumulative savings, whereas lighting ECMs showed an immediate energy impact. None of the ECMs in the study were cost effective due to the high subsidy rate (95%), therefore, the impact of ECMs at different subsidy and rebate rates was studied. At 75% subsidized utility price and 40% rebate only on appliances, most of ECMs will be cost effective with high energy savings. Moreover, by imposing charges of $35/ton of CO2, most ECMs will be cost effective.
ContributorsAlajmi, Turki (Author) / Phelan, Patrick E (Thesis advisor) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Huang, Huei-Ping (Committee member) / Wang, Liping (Committee member) / Hajiah, Ali (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The built environment is responsible for a significant portion of global waste generation.
Construction and demolition (C&D) waste requires significant landfill areas and costs
billions of dollars. New business models that reduce this waste may prove to be financially
beneficial and generally more sustainable. One such model is referred to as the “Circular
Economy” (CE), which promotes the efficient use of materials to minimize waste
generation and raw material consumption. CE is achieved by maximizing the life of
materials and components and by reclaiming the typically wasted value at the end of their
life. This thesis identifies the potential opportunities for using CE in the built environment.
It first calculates the magnitude of C&D waste and its main streams, highlights the top
C&D materials based on weight and value using data from various regions, identifies the
top C&D materials’ current recycling and reuse rates, and finally estimates a potential
financial benefit of $3.7 billion from redirecting C&D waste using the CE concept in the
United States.
ContributorsAldaaja, Mohammad (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Buch, Rajesh (Committee member) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The major challenge for any pavement is the freight transport carried by the structure. This challenge is expected to increase in the coming years as freight movements are projected to grow and because these movements account for most of the load related distresses for the pavement. Substantial effort has been devoted to identifying the impacts of these future national freight trends with respect to the environment, economic growth, congestion, and reliability. These are all important aspects relating to the freight question, but an equally important and often overlooked aspect of this issue involves the impact of freight trends on the physical infrastructure. This study analyzes the impact of future freight traffic trends on 26 major interstates representing 68% of the total system mileage and carrying 80% of the total national roadway freight. The pavement segments were analyzed using the Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide software after collecting the relevant traffic, climate, structural, and material properties. Comparisons were drawn between the expected pavement performance using current design standards for traffic growth and performance predictions that incorporated more detailed freight projections which themselves considered job growth and six key drivers of freight movement. The differences in the resultant performance were used to generate maps that provide a bird’s eye view of locations that are especially vulnerable to future trends in freight movement. The analysis shows that the areas of greatest vulnerability include segments that are directly linked to the busiest ports, and surprisingly those from Atlantic and Central states that provide long distance connectivity, but do not currently carry the highest traffic volumes.
ContributorsNagarajan, Sathish Kannan (Author) / Underwood, Shane (Thesis advisor) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Mamlouk, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
Transportation systems in the U.S. are in a poor state of disrepair. A significant investment is needed to replace or rehabilitate current transportation infrastructure. Currently, transportation investments are lackluster with the recession of 2008 heavily impacting transportation spending, inciting deficits and budgetary cuts at state and federal government levels. As a result, policy makers and public officials are increasingly looking for innovative financing and alternative delivery methods to supplement traditional financing and delivery for transportation projects. Subsequently, the number of public-private partnerships (PPP or P3) has increased substantially over the last two decades.
There is a growing need to quantify the project performance and financial benefits of PPP. This dissertation fills this gap in knowledge by performing a comprehensive quantitative analysis of PPP project performance and financial sources for transportation projects in the U.S. This study’s specific research objectives are:
(1) Develop a solid baseline for comparison, comprised of non-PPP projects;
(2) Quantify PPP project cost and schedule performance; and
(3) Quantify private versus public financing sources of PPP.
A thorough literature review led to the development of a structured data collection process for PPP and comparable non-PPP projects. Financing data was collected and verified for a total of 133 ongoing and completed projects; while performance data was verified for a subset of 81 completed projects. Data analysis included regression analysis, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and non-parametric statistical tests.
The results provide benchmarks for PPP project performance and financing sources. For the performance results, non-PPP projects have an average cost change of 8.46 percent and an average schedule change of -0.22 percent. PPP projects have an average cost change of 3.04 percent and average schedule change of 1.38 percent. Statistical analysis showed cost change for PPP projects were superior to that of non-PPP; however, schedule change differences were not significant. For the financing results, private financing totaled 44.5 percent while public financing totaled 55.5 percent. This result shows private financing can be used to leverage public financing with close to a one-to-one ratio and that PPP has the potential to double the amount of infrastructure delivered to the public.
There is a growing need to quantify the project performance and financial benefits of PPP. This dissertation fills this gap in knowledge by performing a comprehensive quantitative analysis of PPP project performance and financial sources for transportation projects in the U.S. This study’s specific research objectives are:
(1) Develop a solid baseline for comparison, comprised of non-PPP projects;
(2) Quantify PPP project cost and schedule performance; and
(3) Quantify private versus public financing sources of PPP.
A thorough literature review led to the development of a structured data collection process for PPP and comparable non-PPP projects. Financing data was collected and verified for a total of 133 ongoing and completed projects; while performance data was verified for a subset of 81 completed projects. Data analysis included regression analysis, descriptive statistics, inferential statistics and non-parametric statistical tests.
The results provide benchmarks for PPP project performance and financing sources. For the performance results, non-PPP projects have an average cost change of 8.46 percent and an average schedule change of -0.22 percent. PPP projects have an average cost change of 3.04 percent and average schedule change of 1.38 percent. Statistical analysis showed cost change for PPP projects were superior to that of non-PPP; however, schedule change differences were not significant. For the financing results, private financing totaled 44.5 percent while public financing totaled 55.5 percent. This result shows private financing can be used to leverage public financing with close to a one-to-one ratio and that PPP has the potential to double the amount of infrastructure delivered to the public.
ContributorsRamsey, David Wayne (Author) / El Asmar, Mounir (Thesis advisor) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Gibson, Jr., G. Edward (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The fatigue resistance of asphalt concrete (AC) plays an important role in the service life of a pavement. For predicting the fatigue life of AC, there are several existing empirical and mechanistic models. However, the assessment and quantification of the ‘reliability’ of the predictions from these models is a substantial knowledge gap. The importance of reliability in AC material performance predictions becomes all the more important in light of limited monetary and material resources. The goal of this dissertation research is to address these shortcomings by developing a framework for incorporating reliability into the prediction of mechanical models for AC and to improve the reliability of AC material performance prediction by using Fine Aggregate Matrix (FAM) phase data. The goal of the study is divided into four objectives; 1) development of a reliability framework for fatigue life prediction of AC materials using the simplified viscoelastic continuum damage (S-VECD) model, 2) development of test protocols for FAM in similar loading conditions as AC, 3) evaluation of the mechanical linkages between the AC and FAM mix through upscaling analysis, and 4) investigation of the hypothesis that the reliability of fatigue life prediction of AC can be improved with FAM data modeling.
In this research effort, a reliability framework is developed using Monte Carlo simulation for predicting the fatigue life of AC material using the S-VECD model. The reliability analysis reveals that the fatigue life prediction is very sensitive to the uncertainty in the input variables. FAM testing in similar loading conditions as AC, and upscaling of AC modulus and damage response using FAM properties from a relatively simple homogenized continuum approach shows promising results. The FAM phase fatigue life prediction and upscaling of FAM results to AC show more reliable fatigue life prediction than the fatigue life prediction of AC material using its experimental data. To assess the sensitivity of fatigue life prediction model to uncertainty in the input variables, a parametric sensitivity study is conducted on the S-VECD model. Overall, the findings from this research show promising results both in terms of upscaling FAM to AC properties and the reliability of fatigue prediction in AC using experimental data on FAM.
In this research effort, a reliability framework is developed using Monte Carlo simulation for predicting the fatigue life of AC material using the S-VECD model. The reliability analysis reveals that the fatigue life prediction is very sensitive to the uncertainty in the input variables. FAM testing in similar loading conditions as AC, and upscaling of AC modulus and damage response using FAM properties from a relatively simple homogenized continuum approach shows promising results. The FAM phase fatigue life prediction and upscaling of FAM results to AC show more reliable fatigue life prediction than the fatigue life prediction of AC material using its experimental data. To assess the sensitivity of fatigue life prediction model to uncertainty in the input variables, a parametric sensitivity study is conducted on the S-VECD model. Overall, the findings from this research show promising results both in terms of upscaling FAM to AC properties and the reliability of fatigue prediction in AC using experimental data on FAM.
ContributorsGudipudi, Padmini Priyadarsini (Author) / Underwood, Benjamin S (Thesis advisor) / Kaloush, Kamil (Committee member) / Mamlouk, Michael (Committee member) / Neithalath, Narayanan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016