Master of Science, University of Akron, 2024, Civil Engineering

Compost blankets have been used as a management practice over highway slopes, especially with disturbed soils, to mitigate runoff and soil erosion. However, it is yet to be employed in Ohio due to lack of research and specifications. This research focused on efficiency of 1”, 1.5” and 2” of Biosolids and Yard-waste compost blanket over 6:1 and 4:1 slope of disturbed soil in a lab-scale rainfall simulation, followed by field study on 1.5” Biosolids and Yard-waste. The assessment of vegetation coverage showed that Biosolids significantly outperformed both Yard-waste and control treatments (p<0.05). Grass density and health were notably better in Biosolids, although increasing compost thickness did not proportionally improve vegetation growth. Both Biosolids and Yard-waste effectively reduced runoff generation, with 2” Biosolids performing the best by reducing runoff volume by 96% to 98%. Compost blankets reduced total suspended solids (TSS) significantly compared to controls (p<0.05), particularly 2” Biosolids, which released the least TSS with almost 99.99% reduction. For Soluble Reactive Phosphorus (SRP), 2” Biosolids were the most effective treatment in reducing losses by 92% to 96% than control cases. Nitrate loss was not significantly reduced by any treatments on the 6:1 slope, but 1.5” Yard-waste (98%-99% reduction) and 2” Biosolids (86%-95% reduction) performed better than other treatments on the 4:1 slope. Both Biosolids and Yard-waste showed reduced Total Nitrogen (TN) and Total Potassium (TK) release compared to controls. With 98% to 100% TN reduction, 1” Yard-waste performed better than other treatments in both slopes. For TK, 1.5” Yard-waste had the highest reduction of 91% in 6:1 slope, but for 4:1 slope it was 1” Yard-waste with 84% reduction. Field tests compared 1.5” Biosolids and 1.5” Yard-waste with vegetated and unvegetated control cases, which demonstrated healthy vegetation growth in Biosolids within six weeks, requiring trimming to adhere to guid (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Teresa Cutright (Advisor); Ala Abbas (Committee Member); David Roke (Committee Member); Nariman Mahabadi (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Experiments; Geotechnology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2024, Civil Engineering

As environmental concerns such as soil degradation and water quality become more pressing, compost blankets have been recognized as an effective solution to enhance roadside sustainability. This study evaluated the application of compost blankets on steep slopes, specifically 3H:1V and 2H:1V gradients, through detailed laboratory rainfall simulations and field experiments. The focus was on their performance in reducing runoff, Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Soluble Reactive Phosphorus (SRP), and Nitrate. The research specifically addressed the problem of increased surface runoff and soil erosion due to roadway construction, which reduces soil porosity and infiltration rates. The experiments aimed to determine the optimal thickness of compost blankets for these steep slopes. Key findings include significant reductions in runoff and TSS. For example, 1.5 inches of biosolids or yard wastes resulted in a 90% reduction in runoff and TSS on a 3:1 slope. While compost blankets inherently contain high nutrient levels, results showed that the amount of released nutrients mass was reduced due to much lower runoff volumes. Yard waste compost established better vegetation only in greenhouse conditions, whereas biosolids established better vegetation than yard waste and disturbed soil in both greenhouse and field conditions. Small-scale shake table tests suggested that the amount of moisture content played a crucial role in slope deformation, while the direct measurements of compost blanket effectiveness on slope deformation were not possible due to scale restrictions. However, compost blankets showed they can retain and absorb a considerable amount of water, which would help maintain the moisture content of the slope more consistently. Full-scale experiments and instrumentation are still needed to investigate the effectiveness of compost blankets on slope stability. The study recommends applying 2 inches of biosolids with 3B slope mix on 2:1 slopes and 1.5 inches of biosolids or (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Teresa Cutright (Advisor); Nariman Mahabadi (Advisor); Siamak Farhad (Committee Member); Ping Yi (Committee Member); Rachel Olson (Committee Member); Ala Abbas (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering

Master of Science, University of Akron, 0, Biology

Roadside interchange greenspaces are a target of habitat restoration efforts pollinators in the face of recent pollinator declines. Because plants often rely on pollinators for reproduction, establishing habitats that can foster healthy pollinator population is of great value. I investigated plant and pollinator communities in restored and traditionally managed interchanges to determine 1.) if restored sites supported increased bee and floral abundance and species richness, 2.) if bee and floral communities differed between site types and 3.) whether floral and nesting resources contributed to increased bee diversity. Bee communities were sampled using a combination of aerial netting and bowl traps within restored and traditional interchanges. Restored roadsides supported greater bee and floral abundance and species richness, with restored sites having roughly double the number of bees and more than ten times the number of floral units than traditional sites. Despite these differences, neither floral nor bee community composition were significantly different between site types. Neither bare ground nor woody nesting material differed between interchange types, suggesting that floral diversity has a stronger influence on bee diversity than nesting resource availability. My findings contribute to mounting evidence of the viability of roadsides as healthy habitats for pollinators. Though roads pose challenges to many taxa, interchanges should definitely be considered for the conservation of bees and other pollinators.

Committee: Dr. Randall Mitchell (Advisor); Dr. Jessie Novotny (Committee Member); Dr. Steve Weeks (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Ecology; Entomology

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 2020, Forensic Science

Oral fluid (OF) is rapidly becoming a new media for assisting law enforcement in determining if a subject is driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). Preliminary research shows that drugs can be identified in OF in conjunction with blood, and drug concentrations in OF and blood correlate. Despite availability of several roadside devices to test for drugs in OF, the roadside devices are considered a presumptive test. The results from these roadside tests must be confirmed with a validated liquid chromatography- mass spectrometer (LC-MS) instrumentation. A validated instrument for confirmation of OF results is important, and this study validates BGSU's Shimadzu 8050 LC-MS. For validation, the instrument must pass various guidelines set by Scientific Working Group for Forensic Toxicology (SWGTOX) Standard Practices for Method Validation in Forensic Toxicology and others for accuracy, precision, linearity, Limit of Detection (LOD) and Limit of Quantitation (LOQ), carryover, interference, stability, and matrix effects. Due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, only accuracy, precision, linearity, and LOD and LOQ were accessed. The validation studies were conducted over five days (not consecutive) with two runs being conducted during each 24-hour period for a total of 10 runs. A total of 83 different analytes were accessed. The 83 analytes covered a broad range of drugs with abuse potential. The results of the validation study showed that the instrument is highly precise for the vast majority of analytes, but the cannabinoids, particularly delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), were troublesome. Linearity for all analytes were accessed using the R^2 of the calibration curve, and all analytes were above the 0.95 limit. The LOD and LOQ study proved that the cutoff for each analyte is correctly higher than the factor of 2 limit for cutoff/LOQ.

Committee: Jon Sprague RPh, PhD (Advisor); Travis Worst PhD (Committee Member); Phillip Gibbs PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Chemistry; Molecular Chemistry; Organic Chemistry; Pharmaceuticals; Pharmacology; Pharmacy Sciences; Physical Chemistry; Statistics; Toxicology

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2019, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Intuitive discussions suggest the presence of canopy overtop the roadway can either be detrimental to pavement performance, can be beneficial to pavement surface, or both. As well, tree canopy can affect the condition of the pavement surface and subsequently cause surface condition to become a serious safety concern. This study – funded by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) – investigates the varying impacts of tree canopy overtop the pavement in terms of pavement condition, safety and maintenance. A detailed selection of road sections from within ODOT districts where canopy overtop the roadway is prevalent was performed. From these test sites (39 total) various data such as canopy coverage, pavement condition rating, surface moisture and temperature were collected and analyzed. To provide insight into the effect of the tree canopy on safety, a detailed before-after analysis of crash data is also performed. As is common to before-after crash studies, the lack of crash data is a concern and so surrogate measures of safety were collected and analyzed. The results from this study found that tree canopy overtop the roadway does cause moisture to remain on the pavement surface underneath for a longer time than is the case for open (no canopy). Tree canopy also reduces the temperature of the pavement surface underneath. Pavement condition was found to be relatively similar under varying canopy levels, but raveling was prevalent on the pavement surface under canopy. The safety analysis determined that trimming/pruning of trees does provide safety benefits. Finally, Surrogate Measures of Safety (speed and braking operations) did not provide any conclusive findings.

Committee: Bhaven Naik (Advisor); Issam Khoury (Committee Member); Deborah McAvoy (Committee Member); Charles Morgan (Committee Member); Shad Sargand (Committee Chair) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Transportation

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1967, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Economics

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Engineering and Applied Science: Civil Engineering

At a county level, the Ohio Department of Transportation is responsible for the maintenance of an estimated 43,000 miles of roadside. Currently, the Ohio Department of Transportation lacks the necessary workforce to maintain all of its ditches. Limited staff, equipment, and funding have put a strain on county garages, which are not only tasked with ditch maintenance, but also with guardrail installation, pavement repair, vegetation control, and snow removal, among others. With a wide selection of ditchers on the market, coupled with the introduction of GPS additives for machine control, there are opportunities for a better ditching solution that will increase production, reduce labor hours, and reduce costs. Combining newer, more specialized equipment and better erosion and sedimentation control techniques will also reduce the time between maintenance. This research was not meant to show that one particular manufacturer is better than the other, but to demonstrate that there is more specialized equipment than those currently being used. In the cases that data was able to be gathered regarding time, it was evident that all of these newer, more specialized equipment exhibited faster productivity rates than the traditional equipment. These faster productivity rates in turn translate to lower costs, as evidenced by this study. In order to facilitate the selection of erosion control products to go along with roadside ditch maintenance, a framework was developed for usage by ODOT maintenance personnel in order to select proper channel linings. This framework proposes the use of already available tools, such as ADOT's Rational Method Tool and the NRCS' Web Soil Survey, as well as the use of a spreadsheet for shear stress calculations, developed specifically for this project. By using these tools maintenance personnel should be able to properly select a channel lining that resists the erosive forces of the flow of water in their ditch. The increased usage of erosion con (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Hazem Elzarka Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Steven Buchberger Ph.D. (Committee Member); Jonathan Corey Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2000, Engineering : Engineering Mechanics

Impact simulation utilizing nonlinear FE analysis is rapidly becoming an effective tool in designing and evaluating roadside safety structures. The subject of this investigation is crashworthiness simulation of a highway guardrail system and implementation of a FE crash simulation code. In this study, a FE model is developed to accurately simulate a truck impacting a G4(1S) strong-post w-beam guardrail system, the most common system in the USA. A roadmap for simulation of highway safety structures is proposed and three major issues, which involve the use of springs to simulate component crashworthiness behavior, are investigated: rail to blockout bolt connection, soil-post-dynamic interaction, and effect of ends of guardrail. Both qualitative and quantitative validations of the crash simulation are presented and discussed. A systematic parametric study is consequently carried out to understand the effects of some parameters of the G4(1S) guardrail system for improvement of the system. Appropriate reduction of the embedment depth of the posts is anticipated to be a favorable approach for minimizing the risk of rollover of vehicles impacting the G4(1S) guardrail system. Since few attempts are described in the FE literature for modeling of 3-D nonlinear wood material and 3-D fracture processes, much effort in this dissertation is also focused on the implementation of a 3-D nonlinear wood material model and automated 3-D fracture procedure which are often needed in crash simulation of roadside safety structures. The DYNA3D explicit FE code is utilized in this study for implementation. The implemented 3-D wood model uses incremental-loading and curve-fitting techniques to trace the nonlinear behavior. User-defined nonlinear parameters are introduced to control the stiffness change based on the stiffness of previous iteration or initial stiffness. A modified Johnson rate dependent model is employed to account for the influence of strain rate. The model efficiently capture (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Ala Tabiei (Advisor) Subjects:

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2010, Engineering and Applied Science: Environmental Engineering

Carbon monoxide levels were monitored at intersections, bus stops, in enclosed parking garages, and in vehicles. Variation in CO levels was then compared with traffic variables. The effect of traffic volume, traffic delay, site location, time of day and meteorological variables were investigated during ambient testing. Incoming and outgoing vehicle volume as well as the effect of the time of day were studied during garage testing. Finally CO variation with vehicle speed, acceleration, road grade and vehicle specific power (VSP), a variable that measures a vehicles engine load per unit mass were investigated during in vehicle tests. The type of vehicle, the surrounding environment and time of day were also considered. Two studies were performed at two different locations. One study was done in Singapore during the fall of 2009 and one in Cincinnati where tests were done from the winter to the summer of 2010. Similar tests were performed at both locations. Ambient monitoring in Singapore was performed around the NUS (National University of Singapore) campus at bus stops within the campus and around the perimeter of the campus. Ambient testing in Cincinnati was done during winter and spring time at a large intersection. An enclosed parking garage was studied at both locations as well as in vehicle tests. Singapore buses were studied while personal vehicles and city buses were studied in Cincinnati. Consistent correlations between CO and traffic counts were not seen for the most part at ambient testing sites. A 5 minute interval was used and test periods were typically 1 to 2 hours long. Bus delay at busy bus stops showed consistent positive correlations with CO at the Singapore site. Vehicle delay counted by hand at intersections showed a positive correlation in some cases but was not consistently over each test period. The most consistent pattern around CO concentrations was a peak just after an acceleration period of a traffic cycle (after a green light for an appro (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mingming Lu PhD (Committee Chair); Anna Kelley BA (Committee Member); Heng Wei PhD (Committee Member); Timothy Keener PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Environmental Engineering

Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 1995, American Studies

This dissertation will examine the physical and architectural evolution of roadside lodging in America. It will trace the development of motorists' overnight accommodations from the beginning of automobile travel to the Interstate Highway era. Structures published in builder's and trade journals will be compared with the coverage roadside lodging received in architectural periodicals. This study will explore the conflicting building practices of applying ornament to conventional solid buildings and expressing or articulating a building's structural system in place of traditional applied ornament. The construction of accommodations began with the erection of platforms and frameworks at tent camps where auto travellers could camp. As this facility took on a more permanent nature, the cabin camp emerged. With the emphasis on camping replaced by the need for efficient, economical roadside lodging, the tourist court took form during the Depression era. In the post World War II era, the motel, combining the amenities of the hotel with the efficiencies of the tourist court, became the accommodation of choice on an increasingly decentralized landscape. As roadside lodgings grew in size and offered the traveller more amenities, their design became more sophisticated as well. The evolution of these facilities will be examined against a backdrop of the changing American landscape which provided the setting for these structures and in turn, influenced their architecture

Committee: Park Goist (Advisor) Subjects: American Studies

Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, 2007, Popular Culture

This thesis explores the role that a vernacular architectural form plays in the identity and economy of a small town. The vernacular form chosen for this paper is the kitsch-oriented roadside giant statue. The purpose of this study is to discern whether such an architectural form can become an identifier for a small town in the same way that grand structures such as buildings, bridges, and monuments serve as identity markers for large cities. Research for this paper was done in Mentone, Indiana. Mentone, with a population of roughly 900, is home to a 3,000 pound concrete egg statue that serves as a simulacrum of Mentone's egg production heritage. Interviews with Mentone residents addressed the egg's commercial value, as well as the variance among residents and tourists in regard to the statue's function as a semiotic marker. Observations and analysis of the town's annual Egg Festival, museum, and website, as well as locally produced books and articles about the town's history, provided insight into how the town understands and presents its heritage and its current identity. This thesis draws on concepts from the fields of sociology, folklore, marketing and popular culture to address the issues of community, identity, the commodification of small towns in a post-agrarian society, and the devaluation of kitsch. The reactions of Mentone's citizens to their egg statue are contrasted with the reactions of the residents of two other small towns containing roadside giants. This paper examines the functions of Winlock, Washington's giant egg statue and Collinsville, Illinois' giant catsup bottle. Unlike Mentone's egg, these giants function in both identity formation and local economy for their respective towns. This study demonstrates that Mentone's giant egg statue serves as an identity marker for the people outside of Mentone, rather than for the residents, who do not select the egg as an element of the collective community identity. The research also shows that Mentone c (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Marilyn Motz (Advisor) Subjects: