Engineering Commons^™

Physical Water Scarcity Metrics For Monitoring Progress Towards Sdg Target 6.4: An Evaluation Of Indicator 6.4.2 “Level Of Water Stress”, D. Vanhama, A. Y. Hoekstra, Y. Wada, F. Bouraoui, A. De Roo, Mesfin Mekonnen, W. J. Van De Bund, O. Batelaan, P. Pavelic, W. G.M. Bastiaanssen, M. Kummu, J. Rockström, J. Liu, B. Bisselink, P. Ronco, A. Pistocchi, G. Bidoglio

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Target 6.4 of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) dealswith the reduction ofwater scarcity. To monitor progress towards this target, two indicators are used: Indicator 6.4.1 measuring water use efficiency and 6.4.2 measuring the level of water stress (WS). This paper aims to identify whether the currently proposed indicator 6.4.2 considers the different elements that need to be accounted for in a WS indicator.WS indicators compare water use with water availability.We identify seven essential elements: 1) both gross and net water abstraction (or withdrawal) provide important information to understand WS; 2) WS indicators need to incorporate environmental flow requirements …

Revealing Casual Pathways To Sustainable Water Service Delivering Using Fsqca, Kate E. Gasparro, Jeffrey P. Walters

Faculty Publications - Biomedical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering

This study aimed to build on theory and practice regarding the combinations of conditions that influence water service sustainability when external partners are involved. The study investigates 26 well projects that have been implemented in developing countries with the assistance of Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA). Using past literature on sustainable water service delivery in developing communities, emergent coding techniques with project documents, and surveys with EWB-USA team members, this study identifies a set of project conditions to conduct fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Findings show that the presence of a water committee cannot alone account for project sustainability. Additional conditions, …

Rice Hull Bioreactor For Recirculating Aquaculture, Marlon A. Greensword

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The engineering of floating media biofilters has been optimized over the years. The backwashing process has made them more energy and water efficient. Likewise, moving bed bioreactors (MBBR) are gaining interest and popularity because they are relatively affordable to build. Yet, developing countries’ aquaculture production remains largely excluded from the advances made in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). This discrepancy is partially driven by the high costs of media such plastic beads and Kaldnes (KMT) media, commonly used in MBBR.

This dissertation evaluates the usability and profitability of rice hulls (RH), an abundant by-product in many developing nations, as a sinking …

A Barge Fleet Composition For An Industrial Dry Bulk Transportation : Operating Between River Wharf And Coastal Floating Transshipment Platform, Boyu Jin

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Biofuels From Crop Residue: Soil Organic Carbon And Climate Impacts In The Us And India, Adam Liska

Adam Liska Papers

The transformation of crop residue to soil organic carbon and CO₂ is a conserved process that occurs globally. Due to the mathematics of carbon intensity calculations found in government regulations, the amount of CO₂ emitted from crop residue per unit of energy in biofuel is largely independent of the amount of residue removed and the location of its removal, as shown by results from the US and India.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) levels are at equilibria determined by carbon inputs from plant material (+I_c) and loss from oxidation to CO₂

Are the US results relevant …

Technology To Manufacture Oriented Pvc (Pvc-O) Pipes, Purdue Ect Team

ECT Fact Sheets Archive

The development of Molecor´s technology, which is based on the application of a Molecular Orientation process, has delivered a significant turning point in the pipelines sector. With this technological development, the company has begun to manufacture TOM® PVC-O pipes, the most eco-friendly pipes on the market. The Molecor technology enabled eradicating many of the existing disadvantages of thermoplastic pipes.

This technology delivers a clear objective; to provide the water industry with a solution for pipes carrying pressurized water in an environmentally friendly, yet cost efficient manner. This also extends a service life compared to pipeline materials currently in use.

The …

Purdue Airsense: An Affordable Way To Measure And Study Air Pollution, Stephane Junior Nouafo Wanko, Shadi Tariq Azouz, Ruihang Du, Brandon Boor, Greg Michalski

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Air pollution is a major health hazard worldwide, accounting for one-eighth of all deaths in 2012 (World Health Organization). Globally, there is a severe lack of ground-based spatiotemporal monitoring of gaseous and particulate air pollutants, particularly in Africa, South and Central America, and the Middle East. This is in great part due to the high costs of air quality instrumentation that meet accuracy and reliability criteria set by monitoring agencies. The air quality data that is available is often not presented to the public in a user-friendly manner. Taking advantage of recent developments in low-cost sensing technologies, an integrated sensor …

Decision Support System For Container Port Selection Using Multiple-Objective Decision Analysis, Rivelino De Icaza

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Ports are essential for maritime transportation and global supply chains since they are nodes that connect the sea- and land-based modes of transportation. With containerization and supply chains stimulating global trade, ports are challenged to adjust to changes in the market to create value to their customers. Therefore, this dissertation research focuses on the container port selection decision analysis to provide information to help shipping lines select the best port for their shipping networks. Since the problem is complex, dynamic, and involves multiple and conflicting criteria, the research proposes to use the multi-objective decision analysis with Value-Focused Thinking approach. The …

Subsurface Characterization Of Flexible Pavements Constructed Over Expansive Soil Subgrades And Selection Of Suitable Rehabilitation Alternatives, Kazi Moinul Islam

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Expansive soils present significant engineering challenges, with annual costs associated with repairing structures constructed over expansive soils estimated to run into several billion dollars. Volume changes in expansive soil deposits induced by fluctuations in the moisture content can result in severe damage to overlying structures. A flexible pavement section near the Western Border of Idaho has experienced recurrent damage due to volume changes in the underlying expansive soil layer; traditional stabilization methods have provided partial success over the years. The main objective of this research effort was to characterize the problematic soil layer contributing to the recurrent pavement damage and …

Interannual Variability And Seasonal Predictability Of Wind And Solar Resources, Nir Krakauer, Daniel S. Cohen

Publications and Research

Solar and wind resources available for power generation are subject to variability due to meteorological factors. Here, we use a new global climate reanalysis product, Version 2 of the NASA Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2), to quantify interannual variability of monthly-mean solar and wind resource from 1980 to 2016 at a resolution of about 0.5 degrees. We find an average coefficient of variation (CV) of 11% for monthly-mean solar radiation and 8% for wind speed. Mean CVs were about 25% greater over ocean than over land and, for land areas, were greatest at high latitude. The correlation …

Time Varying Parameter Models For Catchments With Land Use Change: The Importance Of Model Structure, Sahani Pathiraja, Daniela Anghileri, Paolo Burlando, Ashish Sharma, Lucy Marshall, Hamid Moradkhani

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rapid population and economic growth in South-East-Asia has been accompanied by extensive land use change with consequent impacts on catchment hydrology. Modelling methodologies capable of handling changing land use conditions are therefore becoming ever more important, and are receiving increasing attention from hydrologists. A recently developed Data Assimilation based framework that allows model parameters to vary through time in response to signals of change in observations is considered for a medium sized catchment (2880 km²) in Northern Vietnam experiencing substantial but gradual land cover change. We investigate the efficacy of the method as well as the importance of the chosen …

Development Of Adjustment Factors For Mepdg Pavement Responses Utilizing Finite-Element Analysis, Osman Erman Gungor, Imad L. Al-Qadi, Angeli Gamez, Jaime Hernandez

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

The Mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) provides theoretically superior methodology, as compared with its predecessor, for the design and analysis of pavement structures. The mechanistic part refers to simulating pavement–tire interaction to calculate critical responses within pavement. The empirical part means prediction of pavement distress propagation over time using transfer functions that link a critical pavement response to a particular pavement distress. The mechanistic part of MEPDG simulates tire–pavement interaction in three steps: subdivision of pavement layers; complex modulus calculation at the middepth of each sublayer, considering velocity and temperature; and running the multilayered elastic theory (MLET) software, …

Restoration Of Historic Buildings In Zanzibar, John K. Makunza Jkm

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Looking at current state of most repaired historic buildings in Stone Town of Zanzibar, it is quite clear that the repair attempts made have not been very successful. Modern materials and techniques introduced in the repair works have often proven to be incompatible with the original materials causing accelerated deterioration of buildings fabric. This shows that, there is no comprehensive study undertaken so far on identifying the appropriate materials and restoration techniques. To solve this problem, a study has been made with the main objective of developing the means of restoring historic buildings by using materials existing in Stone Town …

Optimum Injury And Illness Prevention Cost For U.S. Construction Projects, Sathyanarayanan Rajendran, Morgan Bliss, Dominic Klyve

Mathematics Faculty Scholarship

Worker injuries and illnesses can affect the profitability of an organization. Regardless of the regulatory requirements for safety and health, many organizations prefer to see positive returns (i.e., better safety metric performance) on their safety investments (i.e., project costs associated with injury and illness prevention programs). Understanding the relationship between costs associated with an injury and illness prevention program of a construction project and project safety performance is critical to the future success of construction organizations in the United States. In evaluating this relationship, the authors’ goal was to identify an equilibrium point of injury and illness prevention program investment …

Increasing Probability Of Mass-Mortality During Indian Heatwaves, Mojtaba Sadegh

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rising global temperatures are causing increases in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves. Here, we analyze changes in summer temperatures, the frequency, severity and duration of heatwaves, and heat-related mortality in India between 1960 and 2009, using data from the India Meteorological Department. Mean temperatures across India have risen by more than 0.5 °C over this period, with statistically significant increases in heatwaves. Using a novel probabilistic model, we further show that the increase in summer mean temperatures in India over this period corresponds to a 146% increase in the probability of …

Garbage Beam, Paula Back, Mariela Murillo

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Senior Theses

Located in a hot desert climate area prone to strong winds, Egypt is made up of many homes with little to no roofing leaving civilians exposed to the harsh elements. The overarching goal of this project is to provide these homes with efficient and affordable roofing using concrete with common garbage materials as reinforcement. Through preliminary testing and tensile testing it was possible to narrow the focus down to two reinforcement materials: fish netting and plastic grocery bags. From there final beam testing and pull out testing successfully demonstrated the promise of these materials. With this, however, it is still …

A Fuzzy Ahp Approach To Compare Transit System Performance In Us Urbanized Areas, Xin Li, Yingling Fan, John W. Shaw, Yunlei Qi

Journal of Public Transportation

Public transit systems in the United States often face multiple policy objectives. Typically, stakeholders desire frequent service on an extensive network, but funding and other resources are constrained, creating complicated relationships between service effectiveness goals and business efficiency goals. Using data from the National Transit Map (NTM), this study evaluated the general performance of transit systems across 294 Urbanized Areas (UZAs) in the US, which were stratified into six peer groups based on population. Transit efficiency and effectiveness were compared by developing a composite business efficiency index score and a composite service effectiveness index score for each urbanized area. The …

Multivariate Copula Analysis Toolbox (Mvcat): Describing Dependence And Underlying Uncertainty Using A Bayesian Framework, Mojtaba Sadegh, Elisa Ragno, Amir Aghakouchak

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

We present a newly developed Multivariate Copula Analysis Toolbox (MvCAT) which includes a wide range of copula families with different levels of complexity. MvCAT employs a Bayesian framework with a residual-based Gaussian likelihood function for inferring copula parameters and estimating the underlying uncertainties. The contribution of this paper is threefold: (a) providing a Bayesian framework to approximate the predictive uncertainties of fitted copulas, (b) introducing a hybrid-evolution Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach designed for numerical estimation of the posterior distribution of copula parameters, and (c) enabling the community to explore a wide range of copulas and evaluate them relative …

Women’S Aquaculture Cooperative Program: A Humanitarian Project Through Journeyman International, Dalton Crump

Construction Management

The Women's Aquaculture Cooperative Program (WACP) is a partnership between the humanitarian platform Journeyman International (JI) and the African energy company Afritech Energy, who aims to provide sustainable, affordable energy to the most remote regions of Africa. The WACP is in the Bihongora region of Rwanda, which currently has no electricity or infrastructure. Afritech plans to build the 5,000 kW Bihongora Hydroelectric Power Plant and create Lake Bihongora in order to power and operate the aquaculture. The project will provide women in the region with the education needed to fully run, operate, and profit from the aquaculture "micro-business." The project …

A Time-Series Forecasting Model For Windhoek Rainfall, Namibia, Godfrey T. Pazvakawambwa

Andrews Research Conference

The objective of the study was to use time series forecasting techniques to model Windhoek rainfall based on secondary monthly data from 1891 to 2011. Descriptive summary statistics in the form of measures of centrality and dispersion, time series plots, and autocorrelation functions were generated using R time series statistical software. The Box Jenkin’s ARIMA modelling procedure (model identification, model estimation, model validation) was used to determine the best models for the data. Model diagnostics based on residual analysis were performed to assess the adequacy of the identified models. The final model was then used to forecast monthly rainfall for …

Impacts Of Ozone Dose And Empty Bed Contact Time On Bulk Organic Removal And Disinfection Byproduct Mitigation In Ozone-Biofiltration Systems, Mayara Aquino

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

In areas where water shortages have compromised water supplies, potable reuse is a promising solution. However, additional research is needed to identify and/or optimize cost-effective treatment technologies to demonstrate compliance with potable reuse regulations. Treatment trains employing reverse osmosis (RO) and advanced oxidation, a combination known as ‘full advanced treatment’ (FAT), are required by the California Division of Drinking Water (CDDW) for surface water augmentation and direct injection of recycled water into local aquifers. A maximum concentration of 0.5 mg/L of wastewater-derived total organic carbon (TOC) is also required by CDDW in all groundwater recharge applications. This appears to be …

The Sustainability Of Ion Exchange Water Treatment Technology, Adib Amini

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research investigated using a life cycle environmental and economic approach to evaluate IX technology for small potable water systems, allowing for the identification and development of process and design improvements that reduce environmental impacts and costs. The main goals were to evaluate conventional IX in terms of life cycle environmental and economic sustainability, develop a method for improving designs of IX systems from a environmental and economic sustainability standpoint, evaluate potential design improvements, and make the research findings accessible to water professionals through user-friendly tools and frameworks that take into account their feedback. This research provides an understanding, from …

Solid Waste Management In The Developing World: The Role Of Local Government In Kisumu, Kenya, Rachel Schlueter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As the world becomes more urbanized, more waste is being produced. According to United Nations projections in 2014, 66% of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050 with the majority of growth occurring in African cities. Managing urban waste in lower-middle income countries, such as Kenya, poses a particular challenge as income levels rise, municipal capacities are stretched, and foreign loans complicate accountability. This project sought to assess the practical role of local government when managing solid waste in the context of long-term development strategies. The objectives of this study are to first establish the current role …

Persistent Organic Pollutants In The Atlantic And Southern Oceans And Oceanic Atmosphere, Jenna L. Luek, Rebecca M. Dickhut, Michele A. Cochran, Renee L. Falconer, Henrik Kylin

Civil & Environmental Engineering

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) continue to cycle through the atmosphere and hydrosphere despite banned or severely restricted usages. Global scale analyses of POPs are challenging, but knowledge of the current distribution of these compounds is needed to understand the movement and long-term consequences of their global use. In the current study, air and seawater samples were collected Oct. 2007–Jan. 2008 aboard the Icebreaker Oden en route from Göteborg, Sweden to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Both air and surface seawater samples consistently contained α-hexachlorocyclohexane (α-HCH), γ-HCH, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), α-Endosulfan, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Sample concentrations for most POPs in air were higher …

Quality Of Water In Relation To Diarrheal Disease Incidence In Obunga, Tianna Herman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Kenyan cities are experiencing a serious dilemma in dealing with the large influx of people from rural parts of the country to the cities. Most people come to the city in pursuit of better opportunities and jobs. Rapid urban growth with little planning and preparation by the national and county governments has led to the development of informal settlements. These informal settlements are characterized by poor environmental conditions that predispose their residents for poor health conditions. Because of their illegal status, most residents of informal settlements in Kenya do not receive government services such as water, drainage, sewerage, and rubbish …

Influence Of Internal Variability On Population Exposure To Hydroclimatic Changes, Justin S. Mankin, Daniel Viviroli, Mesfin Mekonnen, Arjen Y. Hoekstra, Radley M. Horton, Jason E. Smerdon, Noah S. Diffenbaugh

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Future freshwater supply, human water demand, and people’s exposure to water stress are subject to multiple sources of uncertainty, including unknown future pathways of fossil fuel and water consumption, and ‘irreducible’ uncertainty arising from internal climate system variability. Such internal variability can conceal forced hydroclimatic changes on multi-decadal timescales and near-continental spatial-scales. Using three projections of population growth, a large ensemble from a single Earth system model, and assuming stationary per capita water consumption, we quantify the likelihoods of future population exposure to increased hydroclimatic deficits, which we define as the average duration and magnitude by which evapotranspiration exceeds precipitation …

In-Plane Shear Wall Performance As Affected By Compressed Earth Block Shape, Steven Ellis Ambers

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the in-plane shear performance of full-scale walls made from compressed earth blocks. Compressed earth blocks are a type of masonry where the blocks are composed of compressed soil and typically dry-stacked without mortar. Prior research has demonstrated that the in-plane shear strength of these blocks falls far short of capacities predicted by conventional masonry building codes, requiring new testing to develop effective and safe designs for seismic conditions. This thesis specifically studies the effects of block type and the use of grouted shear keys at the block head joints.

Three full-scale walls were constructed and tested under …

Adhesion Evaluation Of Asphalt-Aggregate Interface Using Surface Free Energy Method, Jie Ji, Hui Yao, Luhou Liu, Zhi Suo, Peng Zhai, Xu Yang, Zhanping You

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The influence of organic additives (Sasobit and RH) and water on the adhesion of the asphalt-aggregate interface was studied according to the surface free energy theory. Two asphalt binders (SK-70 and SK-90), and two aggregate types (limestone and basalt) were used in this study. The sessile drop method was employed to test surface free energy components of asphalt, organic additives and aggregates. The adhesion models of the asphalt-aggregate interface in dry and wet conditions were established, and the adhesion work was calculated subsequently. The energy ratios were built to evaluate the effect of organic additives and water on the adhesiveness …

Implementation Strategy Report, G Jager, M Musariri

Policy

In essence the Implementation Strategy provides a plan for implementing and maintaining an optimal South African Water Resources Monitoring Network. As such the Strategy includes a number of key aspects considered for each of the surface water, groundwater and water quality monitoring programs, as summarized below:

Finalizing the optimal monitoring network design, including the location, the variables/constituents being monitored, the frequency of observations, as well as the implementation priority for each monitoring site.

Identifying opportunities for the integration of processes involved in the implementation process, such as the coordinated development or upgrading of monitoring sites based on physical location and …

Changes In Temporal Variability Of Precipitation Over Land Due To Anthropogenic Forcings, Goutam Konapala, Ashok Mishra, L. Ruby Leung

Publications

This study investigated the anthropogenic influence on the temporal variability of annual precipitation for the period 1950–2005 as simulated by the CMIP5 models. The temporal variability of both annual precipitation amount (PRCPTOT) and intensity (SDII) was first measured using a metric of statistical dispersion called the Gini coefficient. Comparing simulations driven by both anthropogenic and natural forcing (ALL) with simulations of natural forcing only (NAT), we quantified the anthropogenic contributions to the changes in temporal variability at global, continental and sub-continental scales as a relative difference of the respective Gini coefficients of ALL and NAT. Over the period of 1950–2005, …