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The determination of bed shear stress plays a pivotal role in understanding the fluid dynamics in both natural and engineered channels. The commonly employed logarithmic law provides a mathematical formula to compute the bed shear stress in open-channel flows. However, its applicability in flow through...
A theoretical framework is developed for applying the material point method (MPM) to problems of modeling natural hazard effects on several representative geometries. Following an outline of the general methodology, in which the structural system is replaced by a combination of integrated Lagrangian...
Bridge scour evaluations are often performed using streamflow estimates from regional regression relationships. This approach relies on the accuracy of the relationships and does not consider the effects of flow variations. Alternatively, a complete hydrograph can be obtained from a watershed model and...
Urban traffic networks consisting of partially blocked roads often need to remain open to traffic before, during, and after disasters because of their vital roles to hazard preparation, emergency response, and recovery of urban communities. Conducting effective traffic planning of disrupted transportation...
The objective of this study was to simulate the stress-displacement behavior of a flexible debris-flow mitigation structure with a three-dimensional finite element model (FEM). Flexible, steel ring-net structures are becoming state-of-practice for debris-flow mitigation in mountainous terrain. These...
Hydrologic analyses are used for dam safety evaluations to determine the flow a dam must pass without failing. They are also used to evaluate bridge and culvert designs. Many current guidelines model flood runoff solely by an infiltration-excess mechanism. Saturation-excess runoff and subsurface stormflow...
When designing transportation infrastructure, stormflow hydrographs are commonly estimated using synthetic unit hydrograph (UH) methods, particularly for ungauged basins. Current synthetic UHs either consider very limited aspects of basin geometry or require explicit representation of the basin flow...
Due to the current limitations on seismic forecasting, there is a high chance that a considerable number of vehicles would remain on a bridge when an earthquake occurs. In traditional seismic analyses, traffic loads were often ignored. Existing mode-based bridge-traffic interaction analysis usually cannot...
The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) currently has a Finite-Element Surface-Water Modeling System for Two-Dimensional Flow (FESWMS-2DH) and Research Management Associates 2 (RMA2) Both programs have the capability to model two-dimensional (2D) flow around structures. The department must...
Concrete bridge decks are directly exposed to daily traffic loads and may experience some surface cracking caused by excessive stress or fatigue accumulation, which requires repair or replacement. Among typical bridges in North America, bridge decks are considered the most expensive component to construct...