Department of Civil Engineering Graduate Theses
Recent Submissions
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Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Stability of Horizontal Boreholes during Horizontal Directional Drilling
This thesis focuses on the stability of horizontal boreholes in sand and saturated clay during Horizontal Directional Drilling. For saturated clay, new criteria for distinguishing tensile and shear failure were developed ... -
Wave Characteristics of Tsunamis Generated by Landslides of Varying Size and Mobility
Landslide generated tsunamis are a natural phenomenon, capable of causing catastrophic consequences at the site of impact as well as some kilometers away. In order to increase understanding of these hazards, a series of ... -
Hydraulic Performance of Geosynthetic Clay Liners (GCLs) in Containment of Brine and Landfill Applications
The interface transmissivity (θ) and hydraulic conductivity (k) of conventional and multicomponent geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs) were examined for a range of normal stresses (i.e., 10 kPa, 25 kPa, 50 kPa and 150 kPa) ... -
Agent-Based Modelling as a Decision Support Tool for Water Resources Planning and Management
The research presented in this thesis focuses on developing a water-use forecasting method using an agent-based model. The novelty of this method is that it allows for a given population to be represented heterogeneously ... -
Using Free Water Surface Constructed Wetland for the Mitigation of High PH Secondary Effluent From Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant
Wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs) are considered to be the most sustainable technology for small, rural and remote communities in North America. However, due to the configuration of WSPs and limited control over these ... -
The Role of Algae in Disinfection Processes in Wastewater Stabilization Ponds
This thesis is an investigation of pathogen removal in wastewater stabilization ponds (WSPs). WSPs are sustainable alternatives to conventional wastewater treatment, requiring minimal energy input and low costs. They have ... -
Simulations of Nottawasaga River Plume
Water quality degradation, in the form of undesirable algae, occurs near the Nottawasaga River mouth and along Wasaga Beach, located in southeastern Georgian Bay, Ontario. Runoff from fertilized agricultural areas, in the ... -
Performance of Geomembranes to Contain PCBS, Brine and Reverse-Osmosis Water
Accelerated ageing tests are used to examine the performance of geomembranes in three applications. The thesis examines a broad range of geomembranes produced over a time span of 30 years and highlights the progress made ... -
Application and Evaluation of Non-Destructive Testing Methods for Buried Pipes
This thesis investigated and evaluated non-destructive condition assessment methods for both cast iron water pipes and large diameter sewer and culvert systems. A state-of-the-art review of Non-destructive Testing (NDT) ... -
The Effects of Bio Content and Type of Resin on FRP Wet Layup Tensile and Bond Strength to Concrete and Durability Under Freeze-Thaw Cycles
This study focused on replacing conventional unsustainable resins currently used in the fabrication of externally bonded Fibre Reinforced Polymers (FRP) with bio-based resins. The first two phases of this study explored ... -
Characterization and Prediction of Hyporheic Flow Induced by Bars in Gravel Streams
Hyporheic flows induced by bars in gravel streams are vital to the overall health of a river but can also be the primary mechanism for contamination to fish habitats. It is therefore of primordial importance to characterize ... -
Evaluation of Passive Reduction of Salts and Nutrients from Greenhouse Effluent using Vegetated Bioreactors
The discharges from greenhouse operations (greenhouse effluent) in Ontario contain elevated concentrations of salts as well as nutrients such as nitrate and phosphate. The untreated release of this effluent can threaten ... -
Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) Internally Reinforced Concrete Slabs in Fire
During the past two decades, the civil engineering community has shown interest in applications of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) reinforcement in concrete structures as an alternative to steel reinforcement because of ... -
Leakage Phenomena of Tailings Overlying a 1 cm Diameter Circular Geomembrane defect
Leakage phenomena for two types of tailings overlying a 1 cm diameter geomembrane defect were studied. The first type of tailings was a Silty Sand. Various underliners (DF15/DB85=5.6 to 13.5) not meeting typical retention ... -
Assessment of Steel Truss Bridges Using Distributed Strain Measurements
Steel truss bridges are an important component of the railway network across North America. A majority of this infrastructure has already exceeded its 100 year service life, making the monitoring of these structures critical ... -
Gas Production and Mass Transfer During Electrical Resistance Heating of Clay Lenses
The objective of this study was to develop a mechanistic understanding of remediation in clay lenses in sand by electrical resistance heating (ERH). Clay lenses are areas of accumulation for dense non-aqueous phase liquid ... -
A laboratory study of the effectiveness of thermal remediation on creosote impacted soil
Groundwater can be impacted by many types of contaminants, some of which are difficult to remediate, such as dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs). DNAPLs can exist for long periods of time in the subsurface and may ... -
A Streamlined Energy Efficiency Indicator for Water Distribution Systems
The conveyance of water through centralized water distribution systems is energy intensive. With growing urban populations and deteriorating buried infrastructure, these costs are expected to increase. Energy indicators ... -
ADVANCEMENT, ASSESSMENT, AND APPLICATION OF NOVEL LANDSLIDE MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES
Slopes are often monitored by measuring deformation rates, or the factor of safety is estimated through the use of limit equilibrium stability models to evaluate the risk of failure. In this thesis, three novel landslide ... -
PARALLEL-TO-GRAIN WITHDRAWAL RESISTANCE OF STRUCTURAL SELF-TAPPING SCREWS IN CANADIAN TIMBER
This thesis investigates the withdrawal capacity of self-tapping screws (STS) inserted parallel-to-grain. An experimental study was conducted with 100 screws tested in total. The experimental program includes two main test ...
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