Civil Engineering Commons^™

Laser Particulate Counter Calibration To A Micro-Orifice Uniform-Deposit Impactor, Benjamen Fredrich Seely

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

In semi-arid regions, like southwest Idaho, snowmelt is a significant source of water. Anthropogenic activities continue to increase demand for this vital natural resource. Water resource managers must be able to quantify both the timing and quality of snowmelt. Atmospheric contaminants can deposit on the snow, altering its physical properties. For example, deposition of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) can cause snow to darken, thereby increasing radiative forcing on the snowpack, potentially causing a change in snowmelt timing.

This research is to calibrate a laser particulate counter (LPC) to a federal reference standard. The LPC provides real-time PM concentration data and …

Multiscale/Multiphysics Modeling Of Concrete Structures, Yang Lu

Yang Lu

Concrete structure modeling is not easy. Cement concrete has a complex microstructure, which is still not completely elucidated. A lot of study has been carried out in cement concrete materials and structures modeling. The microstructure of concrete contains random features over a wide range of length scales, from nanometers to millimeters, with each length scale presenting a random composite. In its engineering uses, concrete is considered as a uniform material at the length scale of meters. Concrete research topics include complex failure processes, such as, atomic scale cementitious hydration, micro-pore structure formation and moisture transport in microstructure, calcium ion transport …

Assessing The Surface Energy Balance Components In The Snake River Basin, W Thilini Ajanthik Jaksa

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the interaction of land-surface processes and vegetation in both natural ecosystems and irrigated agricultural lands in a semiarid region using the Noah land surface model (LSM) in combination with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. This study was conducted in the semiarid Snake River plains of south central Idaho comprising of both natural vegetation and agricultural lands. This area is characterized by warm, dry summers with irrigation being the main moisture source during the growing season. In order to properly represent the conditions of agricultural lands and also to investigate the effects of irrigation on land-surface …

Relating Climatic Attributes And Water Resources Allocation: A Study Using Surface Water Supply And Soil Moisture Indices In The Snake River Basin, Idaho, David J. Hoekema, Venkataramana Sridhar

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Climate change forced by anthropogenic activities has been ongoing since at least the beginning of the industrial revolution. Part of the recent warming in the western United States has been attributed to anthropogenic climate change. This research seeks to answer the basic question of how declining streamflow, increasing temperatures, and fluctuation in precipitation have impacted water resource allocation in the Snake River Plain over the past 35 years (1971-2005). Understanding how changes in climatic attributes have historically impacted water allocation should help water managers better understand how projected climate change may influence allocation. Annual and monthly diversion trends from 62 …

Climate Change Impacts: An Assessment For Water Resources Planning And Management In The Pacific Northwest Of The U.S, Venkataramana Sridhar, Xin Jin

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Assessing the hydrological impacts of climate change in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the United States is important. Many global circulation models (GCMs) have a wide range of temperature and precipitation predictions for the PNW region (Bureau of Reclamation, 2011). Numerous studies have reported that decreasing snow pack, increasing temperatures and decreasing streamflow for many basins. For instance, Mote (2003) indicates that annual average temperatures in the Northwest rose faster than the global average during the 20th century. This warming occurred mostly during the winter and spring. The predominance of winter and spring warming, especially in regard to extreme …

Electromagnetic Waves In Contaminated Soils, Arvin Farid, Akram N. Alshawabkeh, Carey M. Rappaport

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Soil is a complex, potentially heterogeneous, lossy, and dispersive medium. Modeling the propagation and scattering of electromagnetic (EM) waves in soil is, hence, more challenging than in air or in other less complex media. This chapter will explain fundamentals of the numerical modeling of EM wave propagation and scattering in soil through solving Maxwell’s equations using a finite difference time domain (FDTD) method. The chapter will explain how: (i) the lossy and dispersive soil medium (in both dry and fully water-saturated conditions), (ii) a fourth phase (anomaly), (iii) two different types of transmitting antennae (a monopole and a dipole), and …

Effects Of Coupling In Understanding The Surface Energy Balance In The Snake River Basin, Idaho, Thilinl Jaksa, Kevin Nuss, Venkataramana Sridhar

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

An accurate estimation of surface fluxes and evapotranspiration is critical in understanding the hydrological and meteorological processes linking the land and the atmosphere. Due to difficulties in obtaining extensive and timely field measurements, land surface and atmospheric models are widely employed in estimating such fluxes. This study focuses on testing the ability of Noah LSM to simulate the surface fluxes both in an uncoupled mode and coupled within an atmospheric model. An agricultural area in the Snake River Basin in Idaho and its surrounding natural vegetation regions are the study area. Two model improvements are tested in this investigation: modification …

The Adaptability And Sustainability Of Surface Water Diversions Along The Main Stem Of The Snake River In Southern Idaho, David J. Hoekema, Venkataramana Sridhar, Xin Jin

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Agriculture in southern Idaho depends heavily on the conversion of snowpack into spring runoff. The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) has developed a Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) as a tool to predict whether or not forecasted runoff and reservoir storage will be adequate to meet irrigator’s needs at a basin scale. This research by comparing SWSI to diversions for individual canals advances the use of SWSI to develop a Surface Water Supply Metric (SWSM) that can be used to estimate the reliability and sustainability of diversions under historic and projected time periods. An historic analysis of diversions during three …

A System Dynamics Approach For Climate Change Impact Analysis In The Snake River Basin, David Jerome Hoekema

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Warming temperatures throughout the Western United States due in part to human-induced climate change caused by the emission of greenhouse gases has been found to be responsible for 60% of the hydrologic change in the Western United States over the last half century. The hypothesis of the research is that climatic change will make planning and management based on historic climate conditions less reliable in the future. Therefore, there is a need for water management planning tools that capture feedback loops within the water-resource system so that management plans are developed that perform optimally under a wide array of inputs. …

Investigation Of Concrete Sealer Products To Extend Concrete Pavement Life, Justin Nielsen

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Portland cement concrete pavements (PCCP) are susceptible to deterioration and decreased service life caused by the ingress of water. Water can dissolve and transport deleterious chemicals such as de-icing salts, carbon dioxide, dissolved oxygen, and sulfates into PCCPs through cracks and the concrete surface. These chemicals and water itself all have the potential to degrade PCCP by chemical and/or physical processes. Surface-applied concrete sealers have demonstrated the ability to increase service life of PCCPs by limiting the ingress of water and deleterious chemicals into concrete.

Concrete sealers are being increasingly used by the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). However, little has …

Effects Of Electromagnetic Stimulation On Soil’S Hydraulic Conductivity, Jonathan Rocha, Arvin Farid, Jim Browning

College of Engineering Poster Presentations

Our research involves the identification of the different effects that electromagnetic (EM) stimulation has on varying soil properties; properties such as hydraulic conductivity. This work could prove to be of importance in furthering our understanding of the effects of EM stimulation with regard to the hydraulic conductivity of soil. A positive correlation between EM stimulation and an increase in hydraulic conductivity could have broad applications for environmental contaminant mitigation in soils and for various geotechnical construction applications such as minimizing soil setup during pile driving operations. EM waves can be used to enhance soil and groundwater remediation in a way …

Fracture Energy Method For Determining Stiffness In Polymer Modified Asphalt Binders Using The Single Edge Notched Beam, Alejandro Rosales

McNair Scholars Research Journal

Transverse cracking is a prevalent problem that occurs in asphalt pavement binders in cold climates and diminishes the integrity of the road as well as shortens the life span of the road leading to premature failure. Current specification for testing asphalt pavement binders for transverse cracking fails to accurately model the behavior of modified asphalt binders because it does not take into account the effects of physical hardening. Furthermore, current specification, which employs the use of the bending beam rheometer (BBR) and direct tension tests, was developed through the use of unmodified asphalt pavement binders and so it does not …

Canal Structure Automation Rules Using An Accuracy-Based Learning Classifier System, A Genetic Algorithm, And A Hydraulic Simulation Model. I: Design, J. E. Hernandez, G. P. Merkley

Jairo E. Hernández

Using state-of-the-art computational techniques, a genetic algorithm (GA) and an accuracy-based learning classifier system (XCS) were shown to produce optimal operational solutions for gate structures in irrigation canals. An XCS successfully developed a set of operational rules for canal gates through the exploration and exploitation of rules using a GA, with the support of an unsteady-state hydraulic simulation model. A computer program which implemented the XCS was used to develop operational rules to operate all canal gate structures simultaneously, while maintaining water depth near target values during variable-demand periods, and with a hydraulically stabilized system when demands no longer changed. …

Canal Structure Automation Rules Using An Accuracy-Based Learning Classifier System, A Genetic Algorithm, And A Hydraulic Simulation Model. Ii: Results, J. E. Hernández, G. P. Merkley

Jairo E. Hernández

An accuracy-based learning classifier system (XCS), as described in a companion paper (Part I: Design), was developed and evaluated to produce operational rules for canal gate structures. The XCS was applied together with a genetic algorithm and an unsteady hydraulic simulation model, which was used to predict responses to gate operation rules. In the tested cases, from 100 to 2,000 XCS simulations, each involving thousands of hydraulic simulations, were required to produce satisfactory rules. However, the overall fitness of the set of rules increased monotonically as XCS simulations progressed. Initial fitness started at an arbitrary value, and rules increased in …