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Polypropylene as Partial Fine Aggregate Substitute in Concrete
Get PDFThe objective of this project is to discover a structurally effective method in repurposing recyclable plastic waste through its partial substitution for traditional fine aggregate in concrete.
Results obtained from analysis indicate a 25 percent compressive strength reduction with polypropylene at a 10 percent partial substitution for total sand content. This material successfully performed as an alternative, presenting a ductile mode of failure.
Three material alternatives - polypropylene, polyethylene, and rubber - were substituted for a percentage of sand. These materials underwent concrete cylinder crushing tests to determine their ultimate crushing strength, with the intent of identifying the most effective substitute.
A secondary set of concrete cylinder tests proportioned different percentages of the independent variable (polypropylene) as a substitute. Results obtained from these tests indicate the mix design for concrete cast beams, from which the analysis results are derived. This beam experienced a 10% reduction in flexural capacity compared to a similar beam made of typical concrete. The beam section remained tension-controlled, as required by ACI 318-19 9.3.3.1.
This alternative mix design promotes sustainable building practices and can be utilized as a reduced-strength concrete for beams, slabs, and foundations
AS-968-24 Resolution on Grade Forgiveness and Course Repeats Effective Fall Term 2026
Get PDFResolves that the Academic Senate of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo supports amending the policy for grade forgiveness/course repeat up to the maximum cited in the provisions of CSU Executive Order 1037 allowing for 16 semester-units for grade forgiveness and 12 semester-units for course repeat for a total of 28 semester-units; and further resolves that this provision become effective beginning with the Fall term of 2026
Timber Buckling Restrained Brace
Get PDFBuckling Restrained Brace Frames (BRBs) are a lateral force resisting system providing near equal compressive and tensile capacities through the mitigation of compression buckling. BRBs have traditionally existed in the steel building market, with limited use in wood construction. The proposal of a Timber Bucking Restrained Brace Frame (TBRB) presents a BRB option for the low-rise and mid-rise wood framed market, using readily available materials within the low/mid-rise construction cost bracket. Five previous TBRB iterations have been built and tested, with results showing promising results for further TBRB development and exploration. The sixth and current iteration of the TBRB builds upon the findings of previous iterations and presents two designs, one using rectangular confinement and sufficient per testing using the AISC 341 BRB testing protocol, and one using round confinement warranting further development. The findings from this research show the viability of timber as a confinement material for BRBs and leaves room for the further exploration of these designs in a professional testing facility
A Study of Commuting Conditions for Construction Professionals in the San Francisco Bay Area
Get PDFThis paper investigates the commuting experiences of workers in the San Francisco Bay Area, with a focus on construction industry professionals. Numerous scientific studies and reports have been done regarding both traffic congestion in the Bay Area and commuting conditions for construction workers. By comparing points of information on Bay Area workers like their job type, commute length and commute satisfaction, this study aims to uncover correlations and understand who is affected the most by traffic congestion. After extensive surveys and interviews of Bay Area workers, average commute times were calculated and reported for several industry subsets, along with averages for specific positions within the construction industry. It was found that construction industry workers have the worst commutes in the Bay Area, and trade workers like carpenters and electricians commute the most of any job type, regardless of industry. These conditions are brought on by the combination of high demand for construction professionals to develop real estate in the urban centers, suboptimal transit options, and a lack of available affordable housing. With millions of people already living there and more on the way, the sprawling San Francisco Bay Area faces a lack of transportation efficiency that must be addressed
Lab Exercise for CM 239: Ground Penetrating Radar
Get PDFThis senior project focuses on the utilization of ground penetrating radar in the Construction Management department’s course curriculum. The lab exercise detailed below will be incorporated into the curriculum to expose students to as many pieces of surveying equipment as possible. General surveying knowledge is a fundamental skill that employers look for in their new hires, and having an expansive knowledge base will help students succeed in the field. Being able to interpret underground radar scans will invariably benefit students entering all sectors of the construction industry. The piece of equipment that will be acquired by the CM department is the Leica DSX, a one-unit ground penetrating radar that will be operated by small student groups attempting to scan for underground utilities. This style, a one-unit mobile push radar, is probably the most common ground penetrating radar device students will see on a typical construction site. The students will be able to utilize the machine and compare the scans pulled from the machine to existing as-builts and see if they were able to accurately identify and differentiate between different underground utilities. This lab exercise will foster the development of essential jobsite skills
Engineering Student Learning and Identity: Development using Sociotechnical Analysis
Get PDFThis project examines the effect of sociotechnical thinking in the context of engineering core classes. Sociotechnical analysis is a problem-solving method that integrates social economic factors into a technical problem to mimic a “real world problem”. Our team analyzed 51 responses to a sociotechnical module from two Statics classes at Cal Poly. Responses were coded and themes identified using qualitative research methods and an online qualitative research software. Our team identified a relationship between engagement with the module and discussions of self, personal engineering identity, and thinking skills. Future goals will be focused on continued data collection and analysis, application of feedback, and collection of other relevant information about student demographics and identity perceptions that might influence findings
Enhancing Semantic Search with Human-Crafted Knowledge in Sentence Embeddings
Get PDFSemantic search plays a critical role in many domains, with numerous algorithms developed to address it. A common approach involves using sentence transformers to generate embeddings for both search queries and documents, allowing for the comparison of their vectors. While many different embedding models are widely used, our approach integrates these models with human-crafted knowledge in a novel way, resulting in an improvement in the Mean Average Precision (MAP) scores. Traditional embeddings often rely heavily on the specific words used in a query or document. Our technique mitigates this dependency by refining the vectors to capture the overall semantic meaning, shifting the focus from individual words to the broader concepts they represent. This approach highlights the importance of semantic understanding in search tasks. In our experiments, using 23 different sentence embedding models, we achieved a statistically significant improvement in MAP scores, with a p-value of 0.047
The Use of Augmented Reality (AR) Technology in Construction
Get PDFBuilding Information Modeling (BIM) has revolutionized construction by replacing traditional paper-based methods with advanced software, improving data management and project workflows. However, as projects become more complex, challenges like communication gaps and design errors persist, often leading to cost overruns. Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging technology that could address some of these issues by enhancing real-time visualization and collaboration, helping avoid costly rework. Despite its potential, AR remains underutilized in the construction industry. This paper explores the feasibility of integrating AR into modern construction workflows to complement BIM models and improve on-site project management. A literature review highlights AR’s potential to improve design clarity and issue resolution but also identifies key barriers to adoption, including high implementation costs, lack of standardization, and insufficient training. A survey of construction management professionals reveals a significant knowledge gap regarding AR, despite their familiarity with BIM. Respondents cited the lack of case studies demonstrating the practical benefits of AR as a major obstacle to its adoption. The paper recommends that AR training be incorporated into construction management curricula to address this knowledge gap. Equipping future professionals with AR skills could facilitate broader industry adoption and improve project outcomes
Development of a Pressure Sensing System Coupled with Deployable Machine Learning Models for Assessing Residual Limb Fit in Lower Limb Prosthetics
No full textLower limb amputations pose significant challenges for patients, with over 150,000 cases annually in the U.S., leading to a high demand for effective prosthetics. However, only 43% of lower limb prosthetic users report satisfaction, primarily due to issues with socket fit, which is critical for comfort, stability, and preventing injury. This study presents a deployable sensing system for potentially real-time monitoring of prosthetic socket fit by using pressure sensors and convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to analyze the pressure distribution within the socket. A novel CNN architecture, utilizing both dilated and strided convolutions, is proposed to effectively capture spatial-temporal patterns in multivariate timeseries data, which is processed as an image. The system was designed for edge deployment on the Sony Spresense microcontroller, maintaining a small model size while achieving high accuracy. Results show that the CNN models, particularly those optimized with the stochastic gradient descent (SGD), demonstrated robustness and high transferability. This system provides a cost-effective, portable solution to improve prosthetic fit, enhancing patient care and preventing gait-related injuries
