Engineering Commons^™

A Multicriteria Based Quantitative Framework For Assessing Sustainability Of Pile Foundations, Aditi Misra

Master's Theses

ABSTRACT

Civil Engineering is the major instrument of anthropocentric development over centuries through ever expanding infrastructure, cities and facilities. Civil engineering processes are both resource and fuel intensive. The building industry alone, during the construction stage, uses about 30-40% of the total resources used in the industrialized countries. There is a growing consensus that delivering a sustainable built environment starts with incorporating sustainability thoughts at the planning and design stages of a project. Geotechnical engineering is most resource intensive although this intensive consumption of energy goes unnoticed mainly because of the indirect nature of the energy used in the …

Sustainable Practices And Related Performance Measures At State Highway Agencies, Lenahan O’Connell

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

This report identifies seven ways in which an SHA can harm the environment: (1) excessive consumption of virgin materials; (2) unnecessary levels or amounts of storm water runoff; (3) release of environmental contaminants by SHA employees and contractors; (4) inadequate environmental training of employees and contractors; (5) wasteful use of energy by SHA employees and contractors; (6) the promotion of excessive driving by the public and concomitant release of green house gases; and (7) inadequate oversight mechanisms and procedures to prevent unsustainable practices. The report then identifies the sustainable practices and related performance measures SHAs can use to prevent or …

Identifying Barriers To Address During The Delivery Of Sustainable Building Renovation Projects, Corey Cattano

All Theses

Architects, engineers, and contractors are continuously searching for tools and methods to reduce the unique risks associated with the delivery of construction projects. Since national policies to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption will require drastic improvements to the existing building stock, one specific area in need of such tools is the sustainable renovation of existing buildings. The purpose of this research is to identify the barriers to address during the delivery of sustainable renovation projects and offer solutions that overcome these barriers. For example, typical renovation projects do not coordinate energy retrofits with building system renovations, resulting in poor …

Frameworks For Systemic And Structural Analysis Of Financial Innovations In Infrastructure, Ali Mostafavi, Dulcy M. Abraham

Infrastructure System-of-Systems (I-SoS ) Research Group

Financial innovations have emerged globally to close the gap between the rising global demand for infrastructures and the availability of financing sources offered by traditional financing mechanisms such as fuel taxation, tax-exempt bonds, and federal and state funds. The key to sustainable innovative financing mechanisms is effective policymaking. This paper discusses the theoretical framework of a research study whose objective is to structurally and systemically assess financial innovations in global infrastructures. The research aims to create analysis frameworks, taxonomies and constructs, and simulation models pertaining to the dynamics of the innovation process to be used in policy analysis. Structural assessment …

Slides: Drilling Waste, Blake Scott

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

Presenter: Blake Scott, Scott Environmental Services, Inc.

24 slides

Balancing Limiting Factors & Economic Drivers For Sustainable Midwestern Us Agricultural Residue Feedstock Supplies, Wally W. Wilhelm, J. Richard Hess, Douglas L. Karlen, Jane M. F. Johnson, David J. Muth Jr., John M. Baker, Hero T. Gollany, Jeff M. Novak, Diane E. Scott, Gary E. Varvel

David J. Muth

Advanced biofuels will be developed using cellulosic feedstock rather than grain or oilseed crops that can also be used for food and feed. To be sustainable, these new agronomic production systems must be economically viable without degrading the soil and other natural resources. This review examines six agronomic factors that collectively define many of the limits and opportunities for harvesting crop residue for biofuel feedstock in the midwestern United States. The limiting factors include soil organic carbon, wind and water erosion, plant nutrient balance, soil water and temperature dynamics, soil compaction, and off-site environmental impacts. These are discussed in relationship …

Balancing Limiting Factors & Economic Drivers For Sustainable Midwestern Us Agricultural Residue Feedstock Supplies, Wally W. Wilhelm, J. Richard Hess, Douglas L. Karlen, Jane M. F. Johnson, David J. Muth Jr., John M. Baker, Hero T. Gollany, Jeff M. Novak, Diane E. Scott, Gary E. Varvel

Douglas L Karlen

Advanced biofuels will be developed using cellulosic feedstock rather than grain or oilseed crops that can also be used for food and feed. To be sustainable, these new agronomic production systems must be economically viable without degrading the soil and other natural resources. This review examines six agronomic factors that collectively define many of the limits and opportunities for harvesting crop residue for biofuel feedstock in the midwestern United States. The limiting factors include soil organic carbon, wind and water erosion, plant nutrient balance, soil water and temperature dynamics, soil compaction, and off-site environmental impacts. These are discussed in relationship …

Increasing The Structural Engineer’S Influence Over Sustainability By Using Integrated Design Teams, Mary Elizabeth French

Masters Theses

Sustainability is quickly becoming a “buzz word” in today’s environmentally conscious world from political leaders to building professionals to design experts to consumers as they rethink their impact on current healthy, efficient indoor/outdoor environments as well as long term benefits to future generations.

This paper seeks to investigate ways to increase the structural engineer’s influence over the sustainability of the building industry by using integrated design teams. It explores current practices within the building industry, in particular the housing industry and the ways in which the integrated design team differs from most current practices. It strives to promote the positive …

Teaching Sustainability Analysis In Electrical Engineering Lab Courses, David Braun

Electrical Engineering

Laboratory courses represent an incompletely tapped opportunity to teach sustainability concepts. This work introduces and evaluates a simple strategy used to teach sustainability concepts in electrical engineering laboratory courses. The technique would readily adapt to other disciplines. The paper presents assessment data and a wiki containing student sustainability analyses.

A Sustainable Business Proposition For Selling Irrigation Pumps In Ndola, Zambia, Robert Hosbach

Biomedical Engineering

Robert Hosbach is proposing a sustainable business plan to bring a small‐scale irrigation pump to rural Ndola, Zambia. With hundreds of thousands of citizens living in poverty and semi‐annual starvation, Ndola is in need of a means to grow crops effectively in the rainy season. Their current agricultural practices rely solely on the inconsistent rainfall during this time. My pump will be constructed from locally‐available aluminum cans, epoxy, glue, and fasteners (refer to Appendix B for technical drawings of the pump). The business will employ only a small number of Zambians, but will bring a means of food and income …

Energy And Nutrient Recovery From Anaerobic Treatment Of Organic Wastes, Christian-Dominik Henrich

All Dissertations

The objective of the research was to develop a complete systems design and predictive model framework of a series of linked processes capable of providing treatment of landfill leachate while simultaneously recovering nutrients and bioenergy from the waste inputs. This proposed process includes an 'Ammonia Recovery Process' (ARP) consisting of: 1) ammonia de-sorption requiring leachate pH adjustment with lime or sodium hydroxide addition followed by, 2) ammonia re-absorption into a 6-molar sulfuric acid spray-tower followed by, 3) biological activated sludge treatment of soluble organic residuals (BOD) followed by, 4) high-rate algal post-treatment and finally, 5) an optional anaerobic digestion process …

Developing A Protocol For An Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Plus (Epp+) Program At Nasa Glenn Research Center, Amarin Kongtawelert

ETD Archive

EPP+ or Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Plus is a Environmentally Preferable Purchasing program with incorporated a unique Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) scoring system which implemented at NASA, Glenn Research Center. A protocol has been developed to aid in selecting among products based on principles of Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The protocol has been developed for use at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) but is intended to benefit anyone wishing to make sustainable purchasing decision. The protocol was designed as a web-based application which evaluates the life cycle factors, affirmative procurements, price, and performance of products that …

A Systematic Optimization And Operation Of Central Chilling Systems For Energy Efficiency And Sustainability, Zhenjun Ma, Shengwei Wang

Faculty of Engineering - Papers (Archive)

This paper presents an optimization strategy for optimal control and operation of building central chilling systems in order to minimize their energy consumption and provide improved control performance. The strategy is formulated using a systematic approach, in which the characteristics and interactions among the components and subsystems in the central chilling system are considered. The simplified models of major components are used in the strategy as the performance predictors to estimate the system energy performance and responses to the changes of control settings and working conditions. To ensure the models to provide reliable estimates when the working condition changes, the …

The (Statistical) Science Of Sustainability, Noel A. Cressie

Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences - Papers: Part A

I take as a basic law of nature that "trees do not grow to the sky". In fact, the tree metaphor is very useful as we try to impose a science on the vaguely defined term, "sustainability." Trees make up forests and forests grow and recede according to many factors. Trees develop from seeds to saplings to mature trees, using nutrients and water in the soil and C02, O2 and light from the atmosphere to grow. They do not grow to the sky, and they eventually dies. Forests do not cover the earth; but they grow, recede, and are potentially …

Water Resources, Health, And The Sustainability Of Interventions To Achieve Water And Sanitation Targets Of The Millennium Development Goals In A Changing World, Lauren M. Fry

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open

This dissertation addresses sustainability of rapid provision of safe water and sanitation required to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Review of health-related literature and global statistics demonstrates engineers' role in achieving the MDGs. This review is followed by analyses relating to social, environmental, and health aspects of meeting MDG targets.

Analysis of national indicators showed that inadequate investment, poor or nonexistent policies and governance are challenges to global sanitation coverage in addition to lack of financial resources and gender disparity. Although water availability was not found to be a challenge globally, geospatial analysis demonstrated that water availability is a potentially …

Integrating Bioprocesses Into Industrial Complexes For Sustainable Development, Debalina Sengupta

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this research is to propose, develop and demonstrate a methodology for the optimal integration of bioprocesses in an existing chemical production complex. Chemical complex optimization is determining the optimal configuration of chemical plants in a superstructure of possible plants based on economic, environmental and sustainable criteria objective function (triple bottomline) and solves a mixed integer non linear programming problem. This research demonstrated the transition of production of chemicals from non-renewable to renewable feedstock. A conceptual design of biochemical processes was converted to five industrial scale designs in Aspen HYSYS® process simulator. Fourteen input-output block models were created …