Engineering Commons^™

Semantic Data Integration From Multi Linked Model Framework, Binh Thanh Nguyen, Gregor Kiesewetter, Wolfgang Schöpp

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Model integration is becoming increasingly important due to the requirements for multi-scale and multi-objective assessment and decision making. Moreover, instead of incorporating all complex related information system models that are relevant for different related aspects into one super-model, a multi linked model framework has been proposed to extract data and output from multiple linked models into the coherent data warehouse, which respects the interdependency of data from different model as well as additional knowledge already contained in its existing data cubes.

In this paper, first the multi linked model framework is defined in a very formal manner. The mathematical abstract …

Application Of A Comprehensive Integrated Assessment Tool For The Brussels Capital Region, Peter Viaene, Enrico Turrini, Claudio Carnevale, Marialuisa Volta, Roberta Gianfreda, Guiseppe Maffeis, Priscilla Declerck, Olivier Brasseur, Pieter Valkering

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

While in general air quality has improved in Europe over the past decades, there are still problems with exceedances of ambient air quality limit values in many urban areas. To design efficient Air Quality Plans to face these problems, methodologies and tools are required to assess the effects of possible abatement measures on local air quality. One such tool is RIAT+ (www.riatplus.eu). In this contribution to IEMSs, we’ll present an application of the RIAT+ tool to the Brussels Capital Region (BCR). Specific challenges for this application are the limited area of the BCR and the constraint that only emission abatement …

Modelling With Stakeholders: A Systems Approach For Improved Environmental Decision Making Under Great Uncertainty, Edoardo Bertone, Oz Sahin, Russell Richards, Anne Roiko

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In this paper an integrated participatory modelling approach is introduced for managing complex water resource systems under great uncertainty due to climatic and non-climatic factors. A number of case studies are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the methodology. The approach includes a range of stakeholders’ engagement activities throughout the modelling process. The first step consists of participatory problem scoping and model conceptualisation, where the modellers work closely with the stakeholders to establish the scope of the work, identify the key variables, determine the system boundaries, and develop an initial conceptual model. Secondly, a structural analysis technique is used to …

A New Framework For Global Sensitivity Analysis For Environmental Modelling, Saman Razavi, Hoshin Gupta, Amin Haghnegahdar, Razi Sheikholeslami

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is an effective tool for understanding the role and functioning of different model factors (e.g., model parameters, forcings, and boundary and initial conditions) in generating the model response. GSA can be helpful to improve the credibility and utility of environmental systems models, as these models are continually growing in complexity and dimensionality with continuous advances in understanding and computing power. However, conventional approaches to GSA suffer from (1) an ambiguous characterization of sensitivity, and (2) poor computational efficiency, particularly as the problem dimension grows. Here, we identify several important sensitivity-related characteristics of response surfaces that must …

Exploring Socio-Hydrological Dynamics With A Hybrid Hydrological Agent-Based Model, Anastasia Lobanova, Francesco Lamperti, Andrea Roventini, David Tabara, Stefan Liersch, Valentina Krysanova

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The rivers cannot be anymore analyzed as solely natural systems, because their hydrological dynamics is defined to a greater extent by strategic human decisions and management to meet social and economic water demands. The necessity of coupling local social dynamics with hydrological processes for river catchments analysis is around for a decade and more and more authors are speaking about the concept of human-natural systems and the ways to investigate their mutual effects dynamically. Following this idea, the studies on the impacts of climatic change on the hydrological systems has to incorporate the mutual effects of the socio-hydrological system to …

Local And Regional Contributions To Nitrogen Dioxide, Tim Oxley, Helen Apsimon, Rosalind O’Driscoll

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

An important application of models is source apportionment, distinguishing the contribution of different sources to pollutant concentrations at critical locations - something which is difficult to deduce from measurements. As illustrated in this paper the UK Integrated Assessment Model (UKIAM) has been developed with this in mind, with a facility to produce a detailed breakdown of source contributions, indicating clearly the sources to be targeted for abatement and where uncertainties and sensitivity studies may be most important. “Impact factors”, defined as the change in concentration/exposure per unit reduction in emission for each source, are also useful in development of effective …

Hydrological Water Resources Assessment Of Cega-Eresma-Adaja Watershed System Using Swat Model, David A. Rivas, Angel De Miguel, Bárbara Willarts

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In the hydrological assessment of water bodies, modeling is a key fact in water management strategies of watersheds and serves as a tool for decision making considering environmental issues as the core of sustainable development in the region. In this direction, SWAT model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) was used to assess the water availability related with agricultural management in the watersheds of the tributary rivers Cega, Eresma and Adaja of Duero’s River in Spain both in the current and future climate change scenarios. To define the HRUs, land use maps from remote-sensing processes were used, extracting the agricultural uses …

A Conceptual Framework For An Agricultural Agent- Based Model With A Two-Level Social Component: Modeling Farmer Groups, Tatjana Kuznecova, Alexey A. Voinov

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

In the last decade, collective actions within smallholder groups and cooperatives have been promoted by various development programs and projects. However, to develop appropriate programs and policies aimed at supporting cooperation among farmers, an approach may be required able to reflect the dynamics of an agricultural system resulting from decision-making and interactions between elements at different levels and scales.

In this study, we are focusing on the groups of smallholders organizing for collective crop production and/or marketing. Our aim is to provide an approach and a tool to gain a deeper insight in how cooperative groups emerge and perform under …

Design And Implementation Of Integrated Surveillance And Modelling Systems For Climate- Sensitive Diseases, Michael C. Wimberly, Justin Davis, Geoffrey M. Henebry, Michael B. Hildreth, Yi Liu, Christopher L. Merkord

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Climatic variations can have a multitude of impacts on human health, ranging from the direct impacts of extreme heat events to indirect effects on the vectors and hosts that transmit a multitude of infectious diseases. Infectious disease surveillance has traditionally focused on monitoring human cases, and in some instances tracking population sizes and infection rates of arthropod vectors and zoonotic hosts. For climate-sensitive diseases, there is potential to strengthen surveillance and obtain early indicators of future outbreaks by monitoring environmental risk factors using broad-scale sensor networks that include earth-observing satellites as well as ground stations. We highlight the opportunities and …

Simulating Structural Change In Agriculture: Modelling Farming Households And Farm Succession, Christian Troost, Thomas Berger

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The majority of European farms are family farms. Farm succession, i.e. passing over the responsibility from farm owner and manager to their heir, is an important element of structural change in agriculture. We present a model implementation capturing farming household evolution in an agent- based model and explore the consequences of farm household composition and farm succession on agricultural production, investment and participation in agri-environmental policy schemes.

A Dynamic Water Supply Portfolio Optimisation Approach, Michael G. Porter, Oz Sahin

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper examines the future water supply situation in Adelaide, a relatively dry city in South Australia, in the driest populated continent on earth. Using the Systems Approach, we analyse a diversified strategy with a new portfolio mix of core bulk water: (i) rainfall independent desalinated water from the ocean and (ii) rainfall dependent water from catchments including the Mount Lofty Ranges (MLR) and water piped from the Murray‐Darling Basin (MDB) including via the Mannum‐Adelaide Pipeline. Our focus is on the quantity, indicative costs and risks of water supply, and associated augmentation choices and trade‐offs, over the next century to …

Modelling Urban Transition: A Case Of Rainwater Harvesting, Adam C. Castonguay, Christian Urich, Md Sayed Iftekhar, Ana Deletic

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Cities are increasingly exposed to extreme climate events such as floods and droughts. Land use change is also expected to reduce the availability of green spaces and intensify extreme heat events. Given these pressures on the quality of life of urban dwellers, there is a great need to improve the integrated management of water to enable sustainable development of rapidly growing cities and improve human well-being. A promising way to make urban communities more liveable is to invest in green water technologies, that is, decentralised and low-energy water supply, wastewater and stormwater solutions, to foster the transition to more sustainable …

An Optimization Approach To Define Effective Air Quality Policies At Urban Scale, Helder Relvas, Ana Isabel Miranda, Joana Ferreira, Alexandra Monteiro, Enrico Turrini, Claudio Carnevale, Marialuisa Volta

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The use of modeling to support environmental authorities to plan air quality control policies is now quite widespread in Europe. At the sub-national level, the most common approach is based on a scenario analysis which uses Chemical Transport Models (CTM) to assess the impact of emission reductions on air pollution concentrations. In this work, a multi-objective approach based on RIAT+ (Regional Integrated Assessment Tool) is used to cost-efficiently define air quality improvement policies. Internal costs (due to the implementation of emission reduction measures) and external benefit gains (due to the reduction of population exposure to air pollution levels) are worked …

A Better Way To Build Plant Models, Dean Holzworth, Hamish Brown, Neil Huth

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

The plant modelling framework (PMF) in the next generation of APSIM enables plant models to be constructed in a novel, more reliable and robust manner. It provides a library of small processes that can be aggregated into bigger processes which in turn can be combined into larger constructs, ultimately forming a plant model. The user interface supports a workflow that allows the model builder to collate and store experimental data, construct the model (by process aggregation), create and run simulations of the experimental data and graphically view the performance of the model. The model builder can then iteratively modify the …

Towards Standard Variable Names For Environmental Chemistry: Semantic Mediation And Extensions To The Csdms Standard Names, Scott Dale Peckham

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

When a model needs to obtain the values of its input variables from another model or from a data file, it is necessary to reliably match the internal vocabularies of the coupled resources (e.g. models or data sets). In addition, spatial regridding, time interpolation and unit conversion may be required. In order to automate this semantic matching and variable exchange process in a model coupling framework, the internal vocabularies of the resources to be coupled must be mapped to a controlled vocabulary in a hub-and-spoke manner. The CSDMS Standard Names provide a domain-independent set of conventions and rules for constructing …

How Modellers Frame Uncertainty In Scientific Publications: Review And Reflections, Joseph H.A. Guillaume, Casey Helgeson, Sondoss Elsawah, Anthony J. Jakeman, Matti Kummu

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

Uncertainty is recognised as an essential issue in environmental modelling. As modellers, we notably use a variety of tools and techniques within an analysis, for example related to uncertainty quantification and model validation. We also address uncertainty by how we present results. For example, experienced modellers are careful to distinguish robust conclusions from those that need further work, and the precision of quantitative results is tailored to their accuracy. In doing so, the modeller frames how uncertainty should be interpreted by their audience. This is an area which extends beyond modelling to fields such as philosophy of science, semantics, discourse …

Modelling Combinations Of Economic Instruments To Eliminate Depletion In The Alto Guadalentín Aquifer (Se Spain), David Martínez-Granados, Javier Calatrava

International Congress on Environmental Modelling and Software

This paper analyses the cost-effectiveness of combining several policy instruments to address the problem of non-renewable pumping in the Alto Guadalentín aquifer in Southeast Spain, one of the most extreme cases of aquifer depletion in Europe. Their economic impact is assessed using a partial equilibrium non-linear mathematical programming model that maximises the farm net margin resulting from the use of the available water resources for irrigation in the area. Our results show that all the alternatives have significant economic impacts, although the future availability of desalinised resources would notably mitigate them, as farmers can substitute groundwater with desalinised water. …

Lifelong Housing Design: User Feedback Evaluation Of Smart Objects And Accessible Houses For Healthy Ageing, Matteo Zallio, Niccolò Casiddu

Conference Papers

According to the latest research by the European Community and ISTAT (Italian National Institute of Statistics) surveys, Europe has the highest average age for its population. According to those data, in the near future, it could be necessary to move from a welfare model based on the centralization of care systems, to a system based on the distribution of certain healthcare facilities [1]. This means that the ageing population is ever increasing, thanks to better lifestyles, innovative medical care and wider access to different services. This work seeks to observe and analyse key implications of architectural and interior design features …

Experimental And Numerical Evaluation Of A New Composite Pressure Pipe For A Trenchless Rehabilitation Technology, Xuanchen Yen

Doctoral Dissertations

The information presented in this dissertation is based on research work conducted at Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) at Louisiana Tech University. This work was performed through a contract with China University of Geoscience (CUG) for a gas company. China's gas pipelines need replacement or rehabilitation after 15 to 30 years of service. China's gas industry is looking for suitable techniques to transfer into their market.

When compared to conventional excavation pipeline renewal or replacement methods, there are obvious advantages of TRT for gas pipelines that can impact the triple bottom-line of economic, social and environmental benefits. An introduction of TRT …

The Experiment And Analysis Of Active Mechanisms For Enhancing Heat And Mass Transfer In Sorption Fluids, Ziqi Shen

Durham School of Architectural Engineering and Construction: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This project was funded by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE RP-1462). It is a three years’ research, including the literature review, labs construction, experiments and data analysis.

In this thesis, first of all, we conducted literature review of mechanism motion influence on heat and mass transfer and additive effect in absorption chiller. This part helps us understand the basic idea of how mechanism motion affects the heat and mass transfer of sorption fluids and gives us reference on how to select the experiment instrument and the experiment operation range.

In the second part, the instrument selection …

Correlating Interlaminar Fatigue Fracture Behavior To Nde Parameters In Carbon/Epoxy Composites Containing Voids And Delamination, Issa Hakim, Norbert Meyendorf, Steven L. Donaldson, René Laquai, David Walter, Bernd Müller, Paul Graja

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Carbon fiber composites have been increasingly used in aerospace, military, sports, automotive and other fields due to their excellent properties, including high specific strength, high specific modulus, corrosion resistance, fatigue resistance, and low thermal expansion coefficient. Delamination, or interlaminar fracture, is a serious failure mode leading to a loss in composite stiffness and strength. Manufacturing process defects such as voids degrade the fatigue life and delamination resistance of the composite. This study investigates the effect of voids on fatigue interlaminar fracture behavior of carbon fiber composites. Samples with different vacuum levels: 0%, 50% and 100% were fabricated by varying the …

Global Sensitivity Analysis Of Mat Foundation Behavior By Using Finite Element Modeling, Yang Zhao

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Mat foundation is used mostly for high-rise buildings and, since the demand for high- rise buildings is growing, having extensive understanding of mat foundation behavior leads us into more efficient structural design. Mat foundation behaviors are affected mostly by soil’s materials properties, foundation size, and thickness and loading conditions. In this study, the sensitivity of mat foundation structural responses to some of the design parameters are evaluated. Sobol decomposition, which is a variance-based technique, is used to perform the global sensitivity analysis. In this study, Patran, a finite element-based software, is used for modeling and simulations.

Approximate flexible method is …

Bs News July/August

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

A Tool For Downscaling Weather Data From Large-Grid Reanalysis Products To Finer Spatial Scales For Distributed Hydrological Applications, Avirup Sen Gupta, David G. Tarboton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

A downscaling tool was developed to provide sub-daily high spatial resolution surfaces of weather variables for distributed hydrologic modeling from NASA Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications reanalysis products. The tool uses spatial interpolation and physically based relationships between the weather variables and elevation to provide inputs at the scale of a gridded hydrologic model, typically smaller (∼100 m) than the scale of weather reanalysis data (∼20–200 km). Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) measures greater than 0.70 were obtained for direct tests of downscaled daily temperature and monthly precipitation at 173 SNOTEL sites. In an integrated test driving the Utah Energy …

Cfd Study Of Decay Function Of Wall Shear Stress With Scour Around Complex-Shape Bridge Pier, Chen Li

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Pier scour problem is close related to the safety of bridges. The Federal Highway Administration of the United State also has a great interest in studying the relation between hydraulic loadings and scour depth. The current technological problem of directly measuring hydraulic loadings on a dynamic bed using physical experiments and the weak capacity to simulate the real scour processes with CFD methods inspired the development of a hybrid approach by combining them to study pier scour.

This research specifically focuses on the CFD part of the hybrid method. A series of three-dimensional (3-D) CFD models were developed with unsteady …

Automated Device To Measure Slurry Properties In Drilled Shafts, Miles Patrick Mullins

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Slurry is the fluid within a drilled excavation that is introduced when an excavation is deeper than the water table or where additional stability is needed for loose sandy dry soils. Although construction practices vary greatly throughout the country and the world, slurry levels should be maintained above the existing ground water level by a suitable margin. The most widely used slurry type is mineral slurry formed by mixing dry clay powder with water; either bentonite or attapulgite powder may be used (attapulgite being used in saline water conditions). Regardless of whether the slurry material is mineral, polymer or natural, …

Modeling Human-Structure Interaction Using A Controller System, Albert Ricardo Ortiz Lasprilla

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of human loads on structures are difficult to predict because they depend on the type of activity people are performing. However, models for typical activities such as standing, sitting and jumping have been proposed in the literature. Traditional models represent the human body as a system of lumped masses, dampers and springs arranged in a system with multiple degrees of freedom. Arguably, these models might not fully represent the human body because lumped masses, dampers and springs cannot add energy to the overall system. Furthermore, people could react differently to different levels of excitation and other environmental conditions. …

Multiscale Modeling Of Water Transport And The Influence Of Water Quality Parameters On Membrane Processes, Linkel Kwabena Boateng

Theses and Dissertations

Membrane-based desalination processes have become a viable means of producing potable water to meet water resource needs in both industrialized and developing nations. Extensive experimental investigation, in conjunction with computational modeling is critical in the development of sustainable and cost-effective desalination technologies. The overall goal of this dissertation is to develop a multiscale modeling framework to elucidate water and salt transport mechanisms and the influence of water quality parameters on membrane processes. The key tasks involved in this study are: establish a criterion for estimating water flux using Bayesian inference; develop a multiscale framework to connect molecular dynamics (MD) simulations …

Evaluation Of Spillway Stilling Basin Performance And Reservoir Sediment Flushing In A Physical Model Case Study: Due Hydroelectric Project In Ecuador, Ali Habibzadeh, Brian Hughes, Hernan Barahona

International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures

The Due Hydroelectric Project is a proposed 50 MW run-of-river hydroelectric project being developed by Hidroalto SA. The project will be located on the Rio Due in Ecuador. The civil works of the intake facility will be comprised of a 133.45 m wide diversion weir, with two overflow spillways and six gated sluice channels; a four bay intake structure with sediment excluder; and, a fish bypass facility. Northwest Hydraulic Consultants (NHC) evaluated the initial design of the Due intake and spillway facilities using a 1:35 Froude-scaled physical model for river discharges ranging from the intake design discharge of 57.2 m3 …

Decision-Making Through Sustainability, F. Pardo-Bosch, A. Aguado

International Symposium on Hydraulic Structures

From immemorial time, dams have contributed significantly for the progress of civilizations. For this reason, nowadays, there is a vast engineering heritage. Over the years, these infrastructures can present some ordinary maintenance issues associated with their normal operation or with ageing processes.

Normally, these problems do not represent an important risk for the structure, but they have to be attended. To do it, owners of dams have to finance many ordinary interventions. As it is impossible to carry out all of them at the same time, managers have to make a decision and select the most “important” ones. However, it …