Civil Engineering Commons^™

Characteristics And Hydraulic Behavior Of Adsorptive Media For Use In Permeable Reactive Barriers, Shelby Rocha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Cargill ditch is located on the property of Se7en Wetlands, a 1600-ac treatment wetland system in Lakeland, Polk County, Florida. The Se7en Wetlands property was previously utilized for phosphate mining prior to the construction of the system. Nonpoint nutrient sources derived from remnants of abandoned phosphate mines – known as “legacy phosphorus” – become mobilized by stormwater runoff and impair surface water bodies by promoting harmful algal blooms (HABs). Thus, the Cargill ditch likely conveys nutrient rich flow resulting from legacy phosphorus and is thought to be one contributing factor in the occurrence of HABs within the treatment wetland …

Rehabilitation Technologies To Abate Infiltration In Sanitary Sewers, Steve Youssef

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In urban coastal environments, sewer infrastructure is plagued by infiltration which seeps into aging and compromised pipes. Infiltration increases pumping costs, reduces treatment efficiency, and may trigger release of partially treated wastewater at water reclamation facilities. To restore pipes and abate infiltration, local utilities rely on structural and non-structural trenchless rehabilitation technologies. These methods are commonly used throughout the United States and the world due to their numerous benefits compared to traditional open-cut construction. However, limited data is available regarding their efficacy in reducing infiltration in sewer systems. In this study, we analysed infiltration in a small urban sewershed in …

Assessment And Prevention Of Bacterial Regrowth In Stored Household Water In Eastern Coastal Madagascar, Lauren Judah

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

As of 2020, diarrheal diseases were the leading cause of death in Madagascar. A major cause of diarrheal illness is contaminated water, and one crucial aspect of preventing contaminated water is safe household storage. Bacterial regrowth between point-of-collection and household storage has been well established in literature. A frequently implicated source of regrowth is the storage container’s biofilm, which is a community of varying bacteria enclosed in a “slimy” extracellular polymeric substance that forms on surfaces in wet environments and anchors bacteria to those surfaces. The overall goal of this thesis was to quantify and control bacterial regrowth in household …

Evaluation Of Aluminum Dissolution, Current Density, And Pitting Patterns During Electrocoagulation, Monica Castro Carias

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Electrocoagulation (EC) is a sustainable water treatment process involving the generation of coagulants on-site through the application of a voltage on metal (usually aluminum or iron alloys). The factors that impact EC system performance have been well researched, however further research is needed on the factors that impact anodic dissolution of aluminum electrodes, especially when the technology is transferred to full-scale applications. Electrode fouling is one of the factors that can impact dissolution of the anode during EC due to the formation of a protective oxide/hydroxide layer on the electrode surface. Previous studies have addressed electrode fouling by reversing polarity, …

Implementation Of Large-Scale Anaerobic Digestion Of Food Waste At The University Of South Florida, Karamjit Panesar

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Food waste represents a major sustainability issue in the United States. Food waste represents 18% of landfill space and is the largest contributor of landfill methane emissions. US EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy recommends alternatives to landfilling food waste, including source reduction, food donation and anaerobic digestion.

The Student Green Energy Fund (SGEF) Food Recovery Project aims to follow suggestions outlined by the US EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy to encourage the University of South Florida (USF) to become a zero-waste campus. A multi-disciplinary approach aims to source reduce wasted food, look for opportunities for source reduction and anaerobically digest any remaining …

Bamboo As A Sustainable Engineering Material: Mechanical Properties, Safety Factors, And Experimental Testing, Lorena Sánchez Vivas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With exponential global population growth occurring and associated environmentally destructive consumption of natural resources, alternative materials that are fast growing and sustainable are being sought out to satisfy human needs. One material that is fast growing and sustainable that can be used to meet most basic needs of humans (i.e. shelter, food, tools) is the plant bamboo, of the grass family Poaceae. Bamboo was used in the past by native peoples who lived in the environment where bamboo natively grows (all continents except Europe and Antarctica) with proven success for uses such as shelter, piping, tools, wells, food, fencing, baskets …

Underground Stormwater Treatment Performance In Urban Coastal Catchments: Case Study Of Baffle Boxes In The City Of Tampa, Awet Eyob Tsegay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In coastal urban regions, underground stormwater treatment units are suitable infrastructure options because they take less space where premium land is expensive. Even then, they should be accessible and ideally small enough to fit into existing stormwater networks. Since 2003, the City of Tampa and Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) have installed 47 baffle boxes into the city’s stormwater pipe networks. Baffle boxes are underground stormwater treatment structures designed to capture sediments and floating debris. Since their deployment, many challenges regarding their practical sediment capturing performance was raised by the city.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the …

Mechanism Of Cathodic Prevention Of Carbon Steel In Concrete, Krittin Rattakham

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this work, I aim to clarify the mechanism that allows steel to attain higher chloride threshold as it is cathodically polarized. Specifically, I seek to provide empirical information on whether an intrinsic (predominantly interfacial effects of polarization) or an extrinsic (predominantly concentration changes due to polarization) mechanism may be dominant in the beneficial effect of polarization. I carried out this experiment with 12 identical concrete specimens, each with a cast-in steel plate, constantly exposed them to high-chloride environment. The specimens were divided into 4 triplicates and polarized at 4 different level from OCP, -200, -300 to -400 mV_{SCE …}

Modeling The Extent Of Virus Removal In Waste Stabilization Ponds To Support Reuse Of Wastewater, Kelly James Vannoy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) are one of the most prevalent types of domestic wastewater treatment technologies employed worldwide, and global stressors such as urbanization, population growth, climate change, and water scarcity have increased the demand for reusing treated wastewater. The safe reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture can ease water scarcity, aid in food production, and reduce environmental degradation from the discharge of wastewater effluent to surface waters. The ability to predict virus concentrations in wastewater effluent is an important criterion for determining whether wastewater is suitable for discharge to the environment or for reuse in agriculture. However, many uncertainties …

Modeling Food Security, Energy, And Climate And Cultural Impacts Of A Process: The Case Study Of Shea Butter In Sub-Saharan Africa, Colleen Claire Naughton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Millions of people in the world, particularly women and people in sub-Saharan Africa, suffer from hunger and poverty. Three of the major 2015-2030 United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to eliminate hunger through food security and sustainable agriculture, eradicate poverty, and achieve gender equality through women’s empowerment. Shea trees and their associated fruit and butter can play a major role in each of these three SDGs for women and their families throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Shea trees are located over a wide expanse stretching more than 5,000 kilometers across over eighteen countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These trees produce fruit that …

Evaluation And Modeling Of Internal Water Storage Zone Performance In Denitrifying Bioretention Systems, Thomas Joseph Lynn

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nitrate (NO3) loadings from stormwater runoff promote eutrophication in surface waters. Low Impact Development (LID) is a type of best management practice aimed at restoring the hydrologic function of watersheds and removing contaminants before they are discharged into ground and surface waters. Also known as rain gardens, a bioretention system is a LID technology that is capable of increasing infliltration, reducing runoff rates and removing pollutants. They can be planted with visually appealing vegetation, which plays a role in nutrient uptake. A modified bioretention system incorporates a submerged internal water storage zone (IWSZ) that includes an electron donor to support …

Low-Cost Household Groundwater Supply Systems For Developing Communities, Michael Maccarthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

Self-supply is widely reported across various contexts, filling gaps left by other forms of water supply provision. This research assesses low-cost household groundwater supply technologies in markets in developing country contexts of sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, with a focus on the potential for improving Self-supply technology implementation and markets in sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, a mature and unsubsidized Self-supply market for Pitcher Pump systems (suction pumps fitted onto hand-driven boreholes) is studied in an urban context in Madagascar, EMAS low-cost water supply technologies are assessed in Bolivia, and a technical comparison is completed with manual EMAS Pumps and family …

Diffuse Nutrient Pollution From Residential Catchments, Melissa Rachelle Butcher

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Nonpoint source nutrient pollution is diffuse pollution lacking discrete origin and conveyance. This thesis synthesizes and critically reviews research on residential nitrogen and phosphorus loss to stormwater runoff and leaching. The evaluation pulls from research covering influential socio-demographic indicators, such as use of lawn maintenance services and homeowner fertilizer practices. The extent to which such social and economic factors may influence the prevalence and fate of diffuse nutrients in stormwater runoff from residential areas has not been adequately established. Understanding the source and influencing factors of diffuse nutrient pollution is important in order to effectively protect surface and groundwater resources. …

An Assessment Of The Emas Pump And Its Potential For Use In Household Water Systems In Uganda, Jacob Daniel Carpenter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rural improved water supply coverage in Uganda has stagnated around 64% for a number of years and at this point more than 10 million rural people do not have access to an improved drinking water source. It has been recognized that progress toward improved water supply coverage and increased service levels may be gained through Government and nongovernmental organization (NGO) support of private investment in household and shared water supplies, commonly known as Self-supply. Self-supply can be promoted by introducing and building local capacity in appropriate and affordable water supply technologies such as hand-dug wells, manually drilled boreholes, low-cost pumps, …

Numerical Simulation Of Flow In Ozonation Process, Jie Zhang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the last two decades, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has shown great potential as a powerful and cost-efficient tool to troubleshoot existing disinfection contactors and improve future designs for the water and wastewater treatment utilities.

In the first part of this dissertation two CFD simulation methodologies or strategies for computing turbulent flow are evaluated in terms of the predicted hydraulic performance of contactors. In the LES (large eddy simulation) methodology, the more energetic, larger scales of the turbulence are explicitly computed or resolved by the grid. In the less computationally intensive RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes) methodology, only the mean component of …

Evaluation Of Hand Augered Well Technologies' Capacity To Improve Access To Water In Coastal Ng[Oumlaut]Be Communities In Panama, Sarah Hayman

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Amid the global efforts surrounding United Nations' Millennium Development Goal Target 7c to improve access to safe and sustainable drinking water among populations who lack this resource, it has become essential to monitor and evaluate progress. Development initiatives working to achieve improved drinking water access often introduce appropriate technologies designed to be sustainably owned and operated by populations in rural areas suffering from water related hardships. It is valuable to thoroughly examine the degree to which these technologies satisfy intended objectives and affect user experienced water access. The accurate reflection of impact and progress can be complex, as the evaluation …

Towards Rans Parameterization Of Vertical Mixing By Langmuir Turbulence In Shallow Coastal Shelves, Nityanand Sinha

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Langmuir turbulence in the upper ocean is generated by the interaction between the wind-driven shear current and the Stokes drift velocity induced by surface gravity waves. In homogenous (neutrally stratified) shallow water, the largest scales of Langmuir turbulence are characterized by full-depth Langmuir circulation (LC). LC consists of parallel counter-rotating vortices aligned roughly in the direction of the wind. In shallow coastal shelves, LC has been observed engulfing the entire water column, interacting with the boundary layer and serving as an important mechanism for sediment re-suspension.

In this research, large-eddy simulations (LES) of Langmuir turbulence with full-depth LC in a …

Flexible Urban Drainage Systems In New Land-Use Areas, Jochen Eckart

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Urban drainage systems are influenced by several future drivers that affect the performance as well as the costs of the systems. The uncertainties associated with future drivers and their impact creates difficulties in designing urban drainage systems sustainably. A review of the different future drivers for urban drainage systems illustrates that no sufficient future predictions for the long operational life spans of the systems are possible. This dissertation contends that to deal with future uncertainties, flexibility in urban drainage systems is necessary.

At present, profound insights about defining, measuring, and generating flexible urban drainage systems do not exist. This research …

Optimization Of An Advanced Water Treatment Plant: Bromate Control And Biofiltration Improvement, Dustin William Bales

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility (DLTWTF) serving the city of Tampa, Florida is an advanced drinking water treatment facility consisting of coagulation/flocculation, ozonation, granular activated carbon biofiltration, and disinfection by chloramine. New regulations and the recent economic crisis pushed the facility to investigate methods to decrease costs and meet regulatory requirements easier.

The two major issues identified as priorities for investigation were the optimization of the biofiltration system and the use of a novel process to reduce the formation of bromate during ozonation.

Optimization of the biofiltration system is needed to remove more of the assorted particles that …

Design Of Small Scale Anaerobic Digesters For Application In Rural Developing Countries, Laurel Erika Rowse

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The high incidence of upper respiratory diseases, contamination of waterways due to pathogens and nutrients from human and animal wastes, unsustainable deforestation, gender disparities in burden of disease due to unequal exposure to indoor air pollutants, and carbon black emissions from the burning of solid fuels are interrelated problems in many developing countries. Small scale anaerobic digestion provides a means of alleviating these problems by treating livestock waste onsite to produce biogas (methane and carbon dioxide) in rural areas in developing countries. Fuel can then be used for cooking, lighting, and heating. Methane fuel is an alternative to traditional three-stone …

Biodegradation Of Bisphenol-A And 17b-Estradiol In Soil Mesocosms Under Alternating Aerobic/Anoxic/Anaerobic Conditions, Won-Seok Kim

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soil-aquifer treatment (SAT) has been proposed as a method for reusing treated municipal wastewater. SAT is characterized by alternating cycles of aerobic and anaerobic conditions in the subsurface, in response to alternating cycles of flooding and drainage of a surface impoundment. It is not yet known how these alternating redox conditions affect the removal of potentially harmful endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) from treated effluent.

The overall objective of my doctoral research is to determine the fate of EDCs in alternating aerobic/anoxic/anaerobic conditions under simulated SAT conditions. To assess the fate of EDCs in simulated SAT conditions, I first had to develop …

Effectiveness Of In-Line Chlorination Of Gravity Flow Water Supply In Two Rural Communities In Panama, Kevin Orner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

It is well established that water quality is directly linked to health. In-line chlorination is one technology that can be used in the developing world to potentially inactivate pathogens and improve water quality. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Panamanian Ministry of Health's in-line PVC chlorinator under three different operating conditions in a rural water supply system. Free and total chlorine were measured entering the storage tank, leaving the storage tank, and at three households along the transmission line of the water system in the two rural indigenous communities of Calabazal and Quebrada Mina …

Comparison Of Safety Performance By Design Types At Freeway Diverge Areas And Exit Ramp Sections, Hongyun Chen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety performance of different freeway exit types used in current practical designs. More specific, the research objectives include the following two parts: 1) to compare the safety performance of different design types at freeway diverge areas and exit ramp sections; and 2) to identify the impact factors contributing to the crashes happening at these two specific segments.

The study area includes four subjects, the freeway widely-spaced diverge areas; the freeway closely-spaced diverge areas; the left-side off-ramps and the exit ramp sections. For the freeway diverge areas, design types were defined …

The Green And Ampt Infiltration Model Accounting For Air Compression And Air Counterflow In The Shallow Water Table Environment: Laboratory Experiments, Yuliya Lukyanets

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water infiltration into the unsaturated zone especially in a shallow water table environment is affected by air compression ahead of the wetting front and air counterflow. Neglecting air compression in infiltration modeling can overestimate infiltration and infiltration rates, whereas not accounting for air counterflow can underestimate infiltration and infiltration rates due to unrealistic buildup of air pressure resistance ahead of the wetting front. A method, derived on the basis of the Green and Ampt (1911) infiltration model, is introduced to simulate air compression and air counterflow during infiltration into a shallow water table. The method retains the simplicity of the …

A Roof Runoff Strategy And Model For Augmenting Public Water Supply, Robert Carnahan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water is the essential resource that is becoming extremely scarce worldwide. The 21st century will further stress all available water resources through the growth and expansion of developing nations. It is not only the quantity of cheap water that is being depleted, but the quality of these waters is being endangered. Florida is an example where rapid development and an exploding population are competing for shrinking groundwater resources. Current water use does not address the use of alternative supplies and reuses in the United States.

The objective of this research was to determine a strategy for augmenting existing water supplies …

Enhancement Of Predictive Capability Of Transit Boardings Estimation And Simulation Tool (Tbest) Using Parcel Data: An Exploratory Analysis, Tejsingh Rana

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

TBEST is a comprehensive third generation transit demand forecasting model, developed by the FDOT Public Transit Office (PTO) to help transit agencies in completing their Transit Development Plans (TDPs). The on-going project funded by FDOT, related to TBEST, aims at further enhancing the capabilities of the TBEST model based on additional opportunities identified by the research team. The project focuses on enhancing TBEST’s capabilities in following areas: 1) Improving the precision of socio- demographic data by using property appraisal data (parcel data) and, 2) Improving the quality of data regarding trip attraction. Based on the improvement areas, this study aims …

An Analysis Of The Travel Patterns And Preferences Of The Elderly, Sujan Sikder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The number of elderly is increasing; to meet their transportation needs, it is important to clearly understand their travel patterns and preferences. Since travel patterns and preferences depend on socio-demographic and other factors, it is essential to identify these factors first to understand the travel behavior of the elderly. The main purpose of this thesis is to analyze the travel patterns and preferences of the elderly age 65 and above using 2009 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) data. This thesis presents a detailed descriptive analysis of 2009 NHTS data to understand the travel patterns of the elderly. Along with a …

Ecotourism And Water Quality: Linking Management, Activities And Sustainability Indicators In The Caribbean, Ken Darrie Thomas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ecotourism from its genesis and founding theories has been set out to conserve and preserve the environment through sustainable operation that includes surrounding communities in efforts to reduce their poverty levels. Over the years ecotourism has been hypothesized to have departed from this ideal with several researchers, through social, qualitative analyses, have said that these non-sustainable ecotourism operations are simply due to poor management. This work sought to test this central hypothesis as a first approach to quantitatively linking ecotourism activities to management with surface water quality as the key indicator of sustainable ecotourism as a complex system through systems …

Polarization Of Galvanic Point Anodes For Corrosion Prevention In Reinforced Concrete, Margareth Dugarte

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The polarization performance of two types of commercial galvanic point anodes for protection of reinforced steel around patch repairs was investigated. Experiments included measurement of the polarization history of the anode under constant current impressed by galvanostatic circuits and in reinforced concrete slabs. The tests revealed, for both types of anodes, a potential-current function (PF) indicating relatively little anodic polarization from an open circuit potential at low current levels, followed by an abrupt increase in potential as the current approached an apparent terminal value. Aging of the anodes was manifested by a continually decreasing current output in the concrete tests, …

Mercury In The Environment: Field Studies From Tampa, Bolivia, And Guyana, Joniqua A'Ja Howard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tampa (US), Guyana (SA), and Bolivia (SA), are geographically, socially, economically, and politically unique which make them ideal sites to study issues of mercury and sustainability. Mercury’s innate ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems poses a severe threat to both human and environmental health. The most vulnerable populations affected by mercury consumption include coastal communities, children, women of child-bearing age, the indigenous poor and persons with high environmental/occupational exposure factors. Communities in the regions of Florida, Bolivia, and Guyana whose diets are high in fish and are environmentally/occupationally exposed to mercury may be at a higher …