MS, Kent State University, 2019, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

This study was undertaken to compare discontinuity orientation data collected by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), terrestrial LiDAR (light detection and ranging), and transit compass methods at two study sites in the state of Virginia. These included a cut along state route 629 in Deerfield Township, Augusta County (Site 1) and an abandoned shale quarry at the foot of Cove Mountain in Wythe County, near Interstate 77 (Site 2). Transit compass measurements and UAV and LiDAR scans were taken at both field sites. Scans from both remote sensing methods were used to create 3D point cloud models using Pix4DMapper Pro software for UAV data and Cyclone software for LiDAR data. These 3D point clouds were imported into Split-FX to identify and extract discontinuity orientation data for use in Dips 7.0, RocPlane 3.0, and Swedge 6.0 computer programs. Orientation data from all three methods was used to generate stereonet plots, statistical plots and tables, and to perform kinematic analysis. In addition to structural data analysis, laboratory investigations were performed to determine engineering properties of the rock from each site. Statistical evaluation of the three data collection methods reveals that results from Site 1 UAV and LiDAR data do not match those of the transit compass data, and thus are not accurate. Site 2 results indicate that UAV data are more accurate than LiDAR data when compared to compass data. Compass data indicate the presence of four principal discontinuity sets (PDS) for Site 1 and three PDS for Site 2. In comparison, UAV data indicate three PDS for Site 1 and four PDS for Site 2; none of the Site 1 PDS centers match those of the compass data, but two of the Site 2 PDS centers do. LiDAR data indicate three PDS at Sites 1 and 2. The Site 1 PDS centers do not match those of the compass data, but one of the Site 2 PDS centers do. Results of kinematic analysis from compass data indicate that the main failure type present at both Sites 1 and 2 is plane (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Abdul Shakoor (Advisor); Neil Wells (Committee Member); Chester "Skip" Watts (Committee Member) Subjects: Engineering; Geological; Geology

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2014, Civil Engineering

Landslides and slope failures occur frequently every year to have major impact on the operational safety of roadways and to add financial burden to the highway agencies for slope repairs and maintenance. In this dissertation, a reliability-based computational algorithm is developed for design of a row of equally spaced drilled shafts and/or anchors to stabilize an unstable slope while achieving the required target reliability index with minimum volume of drilled shafts. The Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) technique is used in the previously developed deterministic computational program, in which the limiting equilibrium method of slices is modified to incorporate the arching effects of the drilled shafts in a slope. Uncertainties of soil parameters in the slope are considered by statistical descriptors, including mean, c.o.v., and distribution function. Model errors of the semi-empirical predictive equation for the load transfer factor for characterizing the soil arching effects are considered by statistics of bias. A PC-based program has been developed based on the above methodology. In order to dealing with small probability events in the drilled shaft/slope system and reduce the large number of MCS calculations, a more advanced methodology, importance sampling technique (IST), is proposed to determine the probability of failure and the reliability index of a drilled shaft/slope system. The performance function and the design point are determined by the ordinary method of slices (OMS) with the accompanying load transfer factor. To permit system reliability analysis for an anchor/slope system considering the effects of stochastic corrosion, the Monte Carlo simulation technique is used in conjunction with the modified limiting equilibrium method of slices. Meanwhile, the time-dependent deterioration of bond capacity of corroding soil anchors is developed in this methodology due to the attack of chlorides. The importance of using a system reliability–based (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Liang Dr. (Advisor); Lan Zhang Dr. (Committee Member); Anil Patnaik Dr. (Committee Member); Guo-Xiang Wang Dr. (Committee Member); Chien-Chung chan Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Engineering; Geotechnology

MS, Kent State University, 2014, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

During the morning of October 8, 2011, a massive landslide caused severe damage to State Route 14 (SR 14) in Cedar Canyon, eight miles outside Cedar City, Utah. The landslide detached approximately 1.5 million cubic yards of material from the south side of the canyon, displaced parts of the road and covered the remainder of a 1200 ft (365 m) stretch of SR 14 under more than 100 ft (30 m) thick debris. The stratigraphy of the canyon where the landslide occurred includes the cliff-forming Tibbet Canyon Member of the Straight Cliffs Formation (limey sandstone) and the underlying slope-forming Tropic Formation (shale) and Dakota Formation (mudstone and sandstone with coal horizons), all Cretaceous in age. The landslide initiated in the Straight Cliffs Sandstone and propagated as a translational slide along the contact between the colluvial soil and the underlying bedrock. Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) drilled three borings through the landslide material, placed slope inclinometers in the borings, and conducted a geophysical survey from the crest to the toe of the slide. I used detailed line survey and window mapping methods to collect orientation data for 186 discontinuities within the Straight Cliffs and Dakota Sandstones. Stereonet plots of discontinuity orientation data, generated by the DIPS software, revealed the presence of three principal joint sets that contribute to slope instability at the site. Samples of the colluvial soil and the bedrock were tested in the laboratory to determine relevant engineering properties including natural water content, density, and shear strength parameters (cohesion and friction) of soil, bedrock, and soil-bedrock contact. The SLIDE software program and data generated in the laboratory were used to perform a stability analysis which indicated a factor of safety of 0.8 to 1.2 for the dry conditions and 0.3 to 0.4 for fully saturated conditions (water table at ground level). A sensitivity analysis was performed by adjustin (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Abdul Shakoor (Advisor) Subjects: Geology; Geotechnology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2010, Civil Engineering

In order to reduce air pollution resulting from the combustion of coal in electric utility boilers, utilities that operate coal-fired power plants have installed air pollution control technologies. While airborne pollution has been significantly curtailed, these methodologies have significantly increased the amount of solid byproducts generated, most of which are currently landfilled. In the Appalachian region of the US, a large number of abandoned coal mines exist, many with dangerous highwalls and pits. These abandoned highwalls pose a safety risk and many are sources of acid mine drainage that can compromise the quality of the ground water and nearby streams. In this thesis, the above two issues are addressed and the utilization of coal combustion by-products in mine reclamation work has been studied. This study is focused on the use of FGD (Flue Gas Desulfurization) gypsum in the reclamation of abandoned coal mine highwalls. The main objective of this research is to investigate the potential use of FGD gypsum (in the combination with fly ash and lime) as a backfill material for reclaiming abandoned highwalls. FGD gypsum and a mixture of FGD gypsum, fly ash, and lime are studied as a potential highwall backfill material. Several laboratory tests (e.g. compaction, strength, permeability, and solubility) are performed. The substitution of FGD gypsum with fly ash did not appreciably change the permeability or strength of the FGD gypsum. However, the addition of lime to the mixture of FGD gypsum and fly ash reduced the permeability and increased the strength by an order of magnitude. Solubility of the FGD gypsum mixes studied was found to be low. In order to check the stability of a reclaimed highwall backfill, the factor of safety was evaluated using a commercial analyses program for a demonstration site close to the Conesville power plant. The slope stability analyses indicated that FGD gypsum or a mixture of FGD gypsum and fly ash gives a factor of safety more (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Wolfe PhD (Advisor); Tarunjit Butalia PhD (Advisor); Fabian Tan PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Environmental Engineering; Geotechnology

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2010, Civil Engineering

Typical limit equilibrium analyses used to determine static slope stability rely on the use of peak shear strength parameters which may overestimate the stability of a slope. This is especially possible in landfill slopes which are composed of layers of many different materials and often incorporate geosynthetic liner systems. The materials that compose these liner systems perform well in tension; however, other materials present in landfills, such as CCBs, have been shown to be very weak in tension. In this study, a strain compatibility analysis was performed for four cross-sections of the AEP Conesville Generating Station residual waste landfill for three fill conditions. The stability of the landfill was modeled using strain compatible constitutive relationships by first performing a finite element analysis with the program SIGMA/W to determine the appropriate strain field and displacements. These values were then used in conjunction with laboratory test data to determine the strength values mobilized in each material at the corresponding strain and displacement values that were determined. The mobilized strength values then were used in the program SLOPE/W to perform the strain compatibility stability analysis. This thesis illustrates that, in addition to providing more information about the materials present in the slopes considered, the strain compatibility method of stability analysis gives a more accurate determination of the stability of slopes than the traditional limit equilibrium method.

Committee: William E. Wolfe PhD (Advisor); Pedro J. Amaya (Committee Member); Ethan Kubatko PhD (Committee Member); Fabian Tan PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2009, Civil Engineering

As part of the Ohio Department of Transportation's (ODOT's) ongoing effort to solve engineering problems for the Ohio transportation system through research, The Ohio State University has undertaken a Bio-Engineering for Land Stabilization study under the direction of Professor Patrick J. Fox and Professor Emeritus T. H. Wu. Bioengineering is the use of vegetation for slope stabilization and has been used with success throughout the world; however, not much work on this topic has been performed in the mid-western United States. The aim of this study is to identify bioengineering methods to address ODOT's land stabilization needs in response to the all too common occurrence of shallow landslides. Bioengineering methods offer environmentally and economically attractive alternatives to traditional approaches to remediate and prevent such landslides. This research plans to achieve several objectives through the construction of three field demonstration projects: (1) to identify important factors that control success or failure of bioengineering methods, (2) to develop installation techniques and designs for successful application of bioengineering methods, (3) to provide thorough documentation to guide future work in bioengineering for ODOT, and (4) to develop new monitoring and testing methods that may be required for bioengineering projects. To date, research demonstration sites have been selected in Muskingum, Logan, and Union Counties and design and construction efforts are underway. Initial results of the project indicate that bioengineering installations, such as live willow poles, can be effective for the stabilization of shallow slides if the vegetation can be established.

Committee: Patrick Fox PhD (Advisor); Tien Wu PhD (Committee Co-Chair); William Wolfe PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2010, Civil Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

Electrical Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) and Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) were utilized to monitor a zone suspected to have a slope stability problem on SR 690, 7.8 miles east of the city of Athens, in southeast Ohio. Two pairs of cables – one coaxial (electrical TDR) and one fiber optic (OTDR) in each pair – were installed at the suspected location. The cables were installed in pairs to facilitate a comparison of the results from the two methods. The data from the coaxial cables were acquired using TDR100 unit, whereas a Yokogawa AQ7275 OTDR system was used to acquire that data from the fiber optic cables. After assessment of the electrical TDR and OTDR results and no evidence of movement of the slope at the suspected zone, the site was further investigated to determine the possible causes of the embankment failure. A comprehensive geostratigraphic profiling of the site was conducted using a cone penetration test (CPT). Weak layers of soils that are prone to consolidation, at depths of up to 6 ft, and layers of over-consolidated fine-grained soils, at depths of below 6 or 7 ft, were seen that potentially contributed to settlement of the road embankment and development of cracks in the pavement structure. A new method of cable installation using a heavy-duty CPT truck was developed and practiced successfully in this study. The coaxial and fiber optic cables were pushed along with the cone rods by the hydraulic system integrated with the CPT truck. A disposable tip--unable to carry tension along the axes of the rods--for the cone rods was designed and built to stay at the desired depth of installation holding the cables after the cone rods are pulled out.

Committee: Shad Sargand PhD (Advisor); Deborah McAvoy PhD (Committee Member); Munir Nazzal PhD (Committee Member); Gaurav Sinha PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering

MS, Kent State University, 2011, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

This study was conducted to examine the use of remote sensing techniques in the collection of discontinuity data for statistical and slope stability analyses. Two study areas where selected in Pulaski and Montgomery counties in central Virginia. Terrestrial LiDAR (light detection and ranging) and a transit compass were used to collect data at an abandoned quarry in the vicinity of Claytor Dam and Interstate 81 southwest of Christiansburg, Virginia. These data were used in a statistical analysis to compare both datasets and in a slope stability analysis for the adjacent section of Interstate 81. Digital photogrammetry was used to collect data on slopes along Interstate 81 northeast of Christiansburg. The digital photogrammetry dataset was qualitatively compared with the LiDAR dataset to illustrate differences and possible limitations of these remote sensing methods for the collection of discontinuity data. The objectives of this study were as follows: 1) compare the use of LiDAR and transit compass methods in collecting discontinuity orientation data through graphical and statistical analyses; 2) compare the kinematic analyses for both LiDAR and transit compass methods to determine the differences in the results; 3) compare LiDAR and photogrammetry methods to evaluate any limitations therein; and 4) compare the use of LiDAR and transit compass methods in the design of cut slopes along a portion of Interstate 81. For the comparison of the LiDAR and transit compass datasets, results show that the two datasets have similar mean orientation values for the corresponding discontinuity sets and are graphically similar when plotted on stereonet plots. However, the two datasets are not statistically derived from the same population. More importantly, a joint set was identified in the transit compass dataset that was either not detected or has a different mean orientation in the LiDAR dataset. These differences affected the kinematic analysis results and, therefore, the cut sl (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Abdul Shakoor PhD (Advisor); Donna Witter PhD (Committee Member); Dahl Peter PhD (Committee Member) Subjects:

MS, Kent State University, 2008, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

Engineering properties of a rock considered suitable for rock toe benches in highway embankments are different than the properties required for fill material. A method of evaluating toe-bench material is needed to assess various rock strata that are encountered during preliminary site investigations for highways so that easy distinctions can be made between rock preferred for toe benches, rock favored for use as fill material, and rock that is not suitable for either. Rock quality is assessed on the basis of absorption, density, slake durability, unconfined compressive strength, freeze-thaw durability, and L.A. abrasion loss. These are considered important properties in defining the integrity of the rock, and provide for a basis for systematic evaluation of rock material. A rating classification for evaluating rock material from Carboniferous strata of western Pennsylvania for use as toe-bench material is presented herein. A series of laboratory tests were performed on three sandstone and two limestone rock units for differentiation on the basis of strength, durability, and overall usefulness as a fill material. Samples were collected from five Mississippian-Pennsylvanian strata consisting of low to high durability rock. Typically, low durability rock units such as shales, claystones, and siltstones, etc., are neglected considering their infrequent use as durable rock fill. Specifications for acceptance of rock toe material do not currently exist within state and federal construction manuals. Therefore, research was conducted to determine the commonly specified engineering property values for rock fill applications in highway construction. These engineering properties were then used to determine rational cutoff boundary values for acceptance of rock material for use within a rock toe structure. Values for various properties tested range from 0.26-4.7% for absorption, 2.46-2.67 for specific gravity, 154-170 pounds per cubic foot (pcf) (2.47-2.72 Mg/m3) for bulk dens (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Abdul Shakoor PhD (Advisor); Peter Dahl PhD (Committee Member); Ernest Carlson PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Engineering; Geology

Master of Science, University of Akron, 2006, Civil Engineering

The analysis and design of failing slopes and highway embankments requires an in-depth understanding of the failure mechanism in order to choose the right slope stability analysis method. The main difference between the limit equilibrium analysis methods is the consideration of the interslice forces and the overall equilibrium of the sliding mass. The effectiveness of any slope failure remediation method depends on the analysis method. Understanding the limitations of the limit equilibrium methods will help in designing more stable slopes and will help in developing more rigorous analysis methods that can accurately predict the slope behavior. The objectives of this thesis are several fold: (1) Perform a literature review to study the theoretical background of the most widely used 2D and 3D slope stability methods, (2) perform comparison between 2D and 3D analysis methods, (3) evaluate the effect of ignoring the side forces in 2D and 3D analysis methods, (4) evaluate the effect of using advanced slip surface searching techniques on the selection of the most critical slip surface. Theoretical limitations of the slope stability methods were discussed. In addition, the limitations were assessed using numerical examples. The studied slope stability methods included 2D and 3D slope stability methods using limit as well as finite element analysis methods. Based on the results, more rigorous limit equilibrium slope stability methods should be used which should consider the side resistance of the sliding mass and the searching technique for the most critical slip surface.

Committee: Daren Zywicki (Advisor) Subjects: Engineering, Civil