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Articles 2161 - 2190 of 5444

Full-Text Articles in Engineering

From Deficit Thinking To Counter Storying: A Narrative Inquiry Of Nontraditional Student Experience Within Undergraduate Engineering Education, Angela Minichiello Jul 2018

From Deficit Thinking To Counter Storying: A Narrative Inquiry Of Nontraditional Student Experience Within Undergraduate Engineering Education, Angela Minichiello

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This paper reports on narrative inquiry research conducted with nontraditional undergraduates as they pursued a common goal of becoming engineers. Participants were enrolled in a two-year engineering transfer program offered in the evenings, via synchronous broadcast distance instruction, by a public, land-grant university situated in the western United States. The purpose of the research was to understand the experiences of nontraditional students during the two-year program, which they accessed at regional campuses within or near their local communities, and later as they transitioned to the four-year university campus located in another city away from these communities. In this paper, personal, …

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Biomass-Derived Renewable Energy: Prospective Pathways And Key Barriers To Advanced Bio-Fuels, Mohammad Sadra Sharifi Jul 2018

Biomass-Derived Renewable Energy: Prospective Pathways And Key Barriers To Advanced Bio-Fuels, Mohammad Sadra Sharifi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Student Research

This paper provides a short review on recent advances in production of renewable energy through thermochemical processes followed by upgrading techniques such as hydrodeoxygenation, esterification, and steam reforming. Pyrolysis, gasification, and hydrothermal liquefaction have been the main processes of interest for the production of biomass energy for the past decades. However several challenges such as high capital cost due to high energy utilization for thermal processes and hydrogen consumption make these processes less competitive with the existing fossil fuel energy. Further processing of the raw bio-oil is required to improve its fuel properties such as energy density, octane number, and …

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Catalytic Augmentation Of An Arc-Ignited Hydrogen Peroxide/Abs Hybrid Rocket System, Stephen A. Whitmore, Christopher J. Martinez Jul 2018

Catalytic Augmentation Of An Arc-Ignited Hydrogen Peroxide/Abs Hybrid Rocket System, Stephen A. Whitmore, Christopher J. Martinez

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The authors have collaborated with an industry partner to develop a prototype upper stage for a dedicated nano-launch vehicle. In addition to providing sufficient impulse for orbit insertion, the unique motor system also provides capability for multiple restarts; allowing operation as an orbital maneuvering thruster. The hybrid motor design uses 85%-90% hydrogen peroxide solution and 3-D printed ABS as propellants. In the original system design the peroxide catalyst bed was completely removed and a patented arc-ignition system thermally ignited the propellants. The thermal ignition system was effective but resulted in a combustion latency of approximately 1-second, reducing overall performance and …

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Usu College Of Engineering Lights Up Salt Palace At Education Conference, Usu College Of Engineering Jun 2018

Usu College Of Engineering Lights Up Salt Palace At Education Conference, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Utah State University was center stage at the Salt Palace Convention Center earlier this week during a major event for engineering education.

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What Does Hidden Curriculum In Engineering Look Like And How Can It Be Explored?, Idalis Villanueva, Laura Gelles, Marialuisa Di Stefano, Buffy Smith, Renetta G. Tull, Susan M. Lord, Lisa Benson, Anne Therese Hunt, Donna M. Riley, Gery W. Ryan Jun 2018

What Does Hidden Curriculum In Engineering Look Like And How Can It Be Explored?, Idalis Villanueva, Laura Gelles, Marialuisa Di Stefano, Buffy Smith, Renetta G. Tull, Susan M. Lord, Lisa Benson, Anne Therese Hunt, Donna M. Riley, Gery W. Ryan

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This work in progress paper describes the initial stages of a project which aims to characterize the mechanisms of hidden curriculum (HC) in engineering and identify methods for exploring this phenomenon. To effectively study the complex nature of HC, this work brings together researchers with a range of expertise (sociology, engineering education, engineering, statistics, policy analysis, curriculum and instruction) to develop a holistic approach to explore HC in engineering. This work describes the process of gathering input from this multidisciplinary team as well as the literature to develop a mixed-method instrument and model to explore the mechanisms behind HC in …

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Beyond Metrics? The Role Of Hydrologic Baseline Archetypes In Environmental Water Management, Belize A. Lane, Samuel Sandoval-Solis, Eric D. Stein, Sarah M. Yarnell, Gregory B. Pasternack, Helen E. Dahlke Jun 2018

Beyond Metrics? The Role Of Hydrologic Baseline Archetypes In Environmental Water Management, Belize A. Lane, Samuel Sandoval-Solis, Eric D. Stein, Sarah M. Yarnell, Gregory B. Pasternack, Helen E. Dahlke

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Balancing ecological and human water needs often requires characterizing key aspects of the natural flow regime and then predicting ecological response to flow alterations. Flow metrics are generally relied upon to characterize long-term average statistical properties of the natural flow regime (hydrologic baseline conditions). However, some key aspects of hydrologic baseline conditions may be better understood through more complete consideration of continuous patterns of daily, seasonal, and inter-annual variability than through summary metrics. Here we propose the additional use of high-resolution dimensionless archetypes of regional stream classes to improve understanding of baseline hydrologic conditions and inform regional environmental flows assessments. …

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River Channel Geometry And Rating Curve Estimation Using Height Above The Nearest Drainage, Xing Zheng, David G. Tarboton, David R. Maidment, Yan Y. Liu, Paola Passalacqua Jun 2018

River Channel Geometry And Rating Curve Estimation Using Height Above The Nearest Drainage, Xing Zheng, David G. Tarboton, David R. Maidment, Yan Y. Liu, Paola Passalacqua

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

River channel geometry is an important input to hydraulic and hydrologic models. Traditional approaches to quantify river geometry have involved surveyed river cross-sections, which cannot be extended to ungauged basins. In this paper, we describe a method for developing a synthetic rating curve to relate flow to water level in a stream reach based on reach-averaged channel geometry properties developed using the Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) method. HAND uses a digital elevation model of the terrain and computes the elevation difference between each land surface cell and the stream bed cell to which it drains. Taking increments in water …

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A Cybergis Integration And Computation Framework For High‐Resolution Continental‐Scale Flood Inundation Mapping, Yan Y. Liu, David R. Maidment, David G. Tarboton, Xing Zheng, Shaowen Wang Jun 2018

A Cybergis Integration And Computation Framework For High‐Resolution Continental‐Scale Flood Inundation Mapping, Yan Y. Liu, David R. Maidment, David G. Tarboton, Xing Zheng, Shaowen Wang

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

We present a Digital Elevation Model (DEM)-based hydrologic analysis methodology for continental flood inundation mapping (CFIM), implemented as a cyberGIS scientific workflow in which a 1/3rd arc-second (10m) Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) raster data for the conterminous U.S. (CONUS) was computed and employed for subsequent inundation mapping. A cyberGIS framework was developed to enable spatiotemporal integration and scalable computing of the entire inundation mapping process on a hybrid supercomputing architecture. The first 1/3rd arc-second CONUS HAND raster dataset was computed in 1.5 days on the CyberGIS ROGER supercomputer. The inundation mapping process developed in our exploratory study couples HAND …

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College Of Engineering’S Leslie Buxton Named New Advisor Of The Year | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering Jun 2018

College Of Engineering’S Leslie Buxton Named New Advisor Of The Year | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Faculty, staff and students in USU’s College of Engineering extend their congratulations to Leslie Buxton who received the USU 2018 Outstanding New Advisor award.

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How Useful Is Travel-Based Multitasking? Evidence From Commuters In Portland, Oregon, Patrick A. Singleton Jun 2018

How Useful Is Travel-Based Multitasking? Evidence From Commuters In Portland, Oregon, Patrick A. Singleton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

As research on travel-based multitasking—doing other things while traveling—becomes more common, some studies also investigate the quality or value of activity participation during travel. This idea of travel usefulness is a component of the positive utility of travel concept; understanding the benefits of travel-based multitasking is important for calculating accurate economic values trading-off travel time and other variables. This study analyzed travel usefulness and its potential determinants using a 2016 survey of about 650 commuters in the Portland, Oregon, area. Ordered logit models identified factors associated with subjective assessments of the overall usefulness of activity participation while on a recent …

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The Ray Joins World Class Sustainable Electrified Transportation Center | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering May 2018

The Ray Joins World Class Sustainable Electrified Transportation Center | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

The Ray is excited to announce a new partnership with Sustainable Electrified Transportation (SELECT) Research Center, led by Utah State University.

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Computer Science Master’S Graduate Chronicles Her Journey At Usu | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering May 2018

Computer Science Master’S Graduate Chronicles Her Journey At Usu | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Mounika Arukala joined the master’s of computer science program at Utah State University in August 2016.

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Assessing Subjectivity In Environmental Sensor Data Post Processing Via A Controlled Experiment, Amber Spackman Jones, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, David P. Eiriksson May 2018

Assessing Subjectivity In Environmental Sensor Data Post Processing Via A Controlled Experiment, Amber Spackman Jones, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, David P. Eiriksson

Publications

Collection of high resolution, in situ data using environmental sensors is common in hydrology and other environmental science domains. Sensors are subject to drift, fouling, and other factors that can affect the quality of the measurements and their subsequent use for scientific analyses. The process by which sensor data are reviewed to verify validity often requires making edits in post processing to generate approved datasets. This quality control process involves decisions by technicians, data managers, or data users on how to handle problematic data. In this study, an experiment was designed and conducted where multiple participants performed quality control post …

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Hydrotreating Of Guaiacol: A Comparative Study Of Red Mud-Supported Nickel And Commercial Ni/Sio2-Al2o3 Catalysts, Hossein Jahromi, Foster Agblevor May 2018

Hydrotreating Of Guaiacol: A Comparative Study Of Red Mud-Supported Nickel And Commercial Ni/Sio2-Al2o3 Catalysts, Hossein Jahromi, Foster Agblevor

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Upgrading of bio-oil through catalytic hydrotreating was investigated with guaiacol as a model compound. A nickel supported on red mud (Ni/RM) hydrotreating catalyst was developed and compared to the standard Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 catalysts under similar experimental conditions. The Ni/RM catalyst was characterized by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), BET specific surface area, and temperature programmed reduction (TPR). The effects of reaction temperature (300, 350, 400 °C) and initial hydrogen pressure (4.83 MPa (700 psi), 5.52 MPa (800 psi), and 6.21 MPa (900 psi)) on products distribution …

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New Insights Into The Glycosylation Steps In The Biosynthesis Of Sch47554 And Sch47555, Ozkan Fidan, Riming Yan, Gabrielle Gladstone, Tong Zhou, Du Zhu, Jixun Zhan May 2018

New Insights Into The Glycosylation Steps In The Biosynthesis Of Sch47554 And Sch47555, Ozkan Fidan, Riming Yan, Gabrielle Gladstone, Tong Zhou, Du Zhu, Jixun Zhan

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Sch47554 and Sch47555 are antifungal compounds from Streptomyces sp. SCC‐2136. The availability of the biosynthetic gene cluster made it possible to track genes that encode biosynthetic enzymes responsible for the structural features of these two angucyclines. Sugar moieties play important roles in the biological activities of many natural products. An investigation into glycosyltransferases (GTs) might potentially help to diversify pharmaceutically significant drugs through combinatorial biosynthesis. Sequence analysis indicates that SchS7 is a putative C‐GT, whereas SchS9 and SchS10 are proposed to be O‐GTs. In this study, the roles of these three GTs in the biosynthesis of Sch47554 and Sch47555 are …

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Multispectral Remote Sensing For Yield Estimation Using High-Resolution Imagery From An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Mahyar Aboutalebi, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Niel Allen May 2018

Multispectral Remote Sensing For Yield Estimation Using High-Resolution Imagery From An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Mahyar Aboutalebi, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Niel Allen

AggieAir Publications

Satellites and autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are two major platforms for acquiring remotely-sensed information of the earth’s surface. Due to the limitations of satellite-based imagery, such as coarse spatial resolution and fixed schedules, applications of UAVs as low-cost remote sensing systems are rapidly expanding in many research areas, particularly precision agriculture. UAVs can provide imagery with high spatial resolution (finer than 1 meter) and acquire information in visible, near infrared, and even thermal bands. In agriculture, vegetation characteristics such as health, water stress, and the amount of biomass, can be estimated using UAV imagery. In this study, three sets …

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Bridge Inspection: Human Performance, Unmanned Aerial Systems And Automation, Sattar Dorafshan, Marc Maguire May 2018

Bridge Inspection: Human Performance, Unmanned Aerial Systems And Automation, Sattar Dorafshan, Marc Maguire

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have become of considerable private and commercial interest for a variety of jobs and entertainment in the past 10 years. This paper is a literature review of the state of practice for the United States bridge inspection programs and outlines how automated and unmanned bridge inspections can be made suitable for present and future needs. At its best, current technology limits UAS use to an assistive tool for the inspector to perform a bridge inspection faster, safer, and without traffic closure. The major challenges for UASs are satisfying restrictive Federal Aviation Administration regulations, control issues in …

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Implications Of Sensor Inconsistencies And Remote Sensing Error In The Use Of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems For Generation Of Information Products For Agricultural Management, Mac Mckee, Ayman Nassar, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Mahyar Aboutalebi, William Kustas May 2018

Implications Of Sensor Inconsistencies And Remote Sensing Error In The Use Of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems For Generation Of Information Products For Agricultural Management, Mac Mckee, Ayman Nassar, Alfonso F. Torres-Rua, Mahyar Aboutalebi, William Kustas

AggieAir Publications

Small, unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) for remote sensing represent a relatively new and growing technology to support decisions for agricultural operations. The size and power limitations of these systems present challenges for the weight, size, and capability of the sensors that can be carried, as well as the geographical coverage that is possible. These factors, together with a lack of standards for sensor technology, its deployment, and data analysis, lead to uncertainties in data quality that can be difficult to detect or characterize. These, in turn, limit comparability between data from different sources and, more importantly, imply limits on the …

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Sdnet2018: A Concrete Crack Image Dataset For Machine Learning Applications, Marc Maguire, Sattar Dorafshan, Robert J. Thomas May 2018

Sdnet2018: A Concrete Crack Image Dataset For Machine Learning Applications, Marc Maguire, Sattar Dorafshan, Robert J. Thomas

Browse all Datasets

SDNET2018 is an annotated image dataset for training, validation, and benchmarking of artificial intelligence based crack detection algorithms for concrete. SDNET2018 contains over 56,000 images of cracked and non-cracked concrete bridge decks, walls, and pavements. The dataset includes cracks as narrow as 0.06 mm and as wide as 25 mm. The dataset also includes images with a variety of obstructions, including shadows, surface roughness, scaling, edges, holes, and background debris. SDNET2018 will be useful for the continued development of concrete crack detection algorithms based on deep learning convolutional neural networks, which are a subject of continued research in the field …

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Four-Wavelength Lidar For In-Situ Speciation Of Aerosols, Michael Wojcik, Alan Bird, Jason Wooden, Jim Peterson, Morgan Davidson, Monte Frandsen May 2018

Four-Wavelength Lidar For In-Situ Speciation Of Aerosols, Michael Wojcik, Alan Bird, Jason Wooden, Jim Peterson, Morgan Davidson, Monte Frandsen

Space Dynamics Laboratory Publications

The system and mechanical design of a four-wavelength lidar system is described. The system is designed to be maximally adaptive to deployment scenario in terms of both size/weight/power and detection application. The wavelengths included in the system are 266 nm, 355 nm, 1064 nm, and 1574 nm – all generated from Nd:YAG based pump laser sources. The system is designed to have a useful range from 400 meters to 5,000 meters, depending on the wavelength and atmospheric conditions.

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Planning Of Fast-Charging Stations For A Battery Electric Bus System Under Energy Consumption Uncertainty, Richard T. Lyons, Ziqi Song, Yi He May 2018

Planning Of Fast-Charging Stations For A Battery Electric Bus System Under Energy Consumption Uncertainty, Richard T. Lyons, Ziqi Song, Yi He

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Battery-powered electric buses are gaining popularity as an energy-efficient and emission-free alternative for bus fleets. However, battery electric buses continue to struggle with concerns related to their limited driving range and time-consuming recharging processes. Fast-charging technology, which utilizes dwelling time at bus stops or terminals to recharge buses in operation employing high power, can raise battery electric buses to the same level of capability as their diesel counterparts in terms of driving range and operating time. To develop an economical and effective battery electric bus system using fastcharging technology, fast-charging stations must be strategically deployed. Moreover, due to the instability …

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Providing Professional Development To Educational Professionals For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs) In Agriculture., Ashley Cromer, Tyson Sorensen, Kelsey Hall May 2018

Providing Professional Development To Educational Professionals For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs) In Agriculture., Ashley Cromer, Tyson Sorensen, Kelsey Hall

Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education Student Research

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also called drones, have been used commercially since the early 1980s. Today however, practical application for UAVs are expanding faster than ever in a variety of industries. UAV technology has given the agriculture industry the possibility of a technological makeover. Specifically, UAVs give the opportunity for improved crop supervision, soil and field analyses, and the ability to more closely and timely monitor crops (Mazur & Wisniewski, 2016). In order to keep up with increasing demands, agriculture has to utilize every technology available to the industry. Based on a global report published by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), the market …

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Utah Agriculture Teachers’ Perceptions Of Teaching Urban And Non-Traditional Agriculture Content, Ashlee Cromer, Kelsey Hall, Tyson Sorensen, David Francis, Joshua Dallin May 2018

Utah Agriculture Teachers’ Perceptions Of Teaching Urban And Non-Traditional Agriculture Content, Ashlee Cromer, Kelsey Hall, Tyson Sorensen, David Francis, Joshua Dallin

Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education Student Research

While agriculture teachers may focus on guiding students into agricultural and natural resource career pathways, many have expressed the need to prepare existing and upcoming agricultural educators with a more extensive set of skills and knowledge to better prepare students for a broader scope of career opportunities in agriculture. Agricultural education programs are expanding across the country, including more programs in urban areas, but agricultural education teachers often have little exposure or experiences related to less traditional agricultural careers that might be found in urban areas. Furthermore, agriculture teachers are often prepared to teach agricultural content through coursework that is …

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Utah State University Names New Engineering Dean | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering May 2018

Utah State University Names New Engineering Dean | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Longtime Utah State University professor and administrator Jagath Kaluarachchi has been selected as the new dean of USU’s College of Engineering.

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Usu Researcher Receives Major Grant To Improve Aerial Imagery | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering May 2018

Usu Researcher Receives Major Grant To Improve Aerial Imagery | College Of Engineering, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Our bird’s-eye view is about to get much sharper.

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Rocky Mountain Power Comes To Usu To Celebrate A New Partnership | Utah State University Power Electronics Lab, Usu College Of Engineering May 2018

Rocky Mountain Power Comes To Usu To Celebrate A New Partnership | Utah State University Power Electronics Lab, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

Monday, May 14th marked a new partnership with Rocky Mountain power to provide Electric Vehicle chargers for public access.

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Making Strides: State Of The Practice Of Pedestrian Forecasting In Regional Travel Models, Patrick A. Singleton, Joseph C. Totten, Jaime P. Orrego-Oñate, Robert J. Schneider, Kelly J. Clifton May 2018

Making Strides: State Of The Practice Of Pedestrian Forecasting In Regional Travel Models, Patrick A. Singleton, Joseph C. Totten, Jaime P. Orrego-Oñate, Robert J. Schneider, Kelly J. Clifton

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Much has changed in the 30 years since non-motorized modes were first included in regional travel demand models. As interest in understanding behavioral influences on walking and policies requiring estimates of walking activity increase, it is important to consider how pedestrian travel is modeled at a regional level. This paper evaluates the state of the practice of modeling walk trips among the largest 48 metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) and assesses changes made over the last 5 years. By reviewing model documentation and responses to a survey of MPO modelers, this paper summarizes current practices, describes six pedestrian modeling frameworks, and …

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Ribbon Cutting Marks Growing University-Industry Partnerships, Usu College Of Engineering May 2018

Ribbon Cutting Marks Growing University-Industry Partnerships, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

The College of Engineering at Utah State University invites students, faculty, staff and members of the community to a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, May 14 at the USU Electric Vehicle & Roadway (EVR) Research Facility & Test Track.

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Congratulations 2018 Graduates, Usu College Of Engineering May 2018

Congratulations 2018 Graduates, Usu College Of Engineering

College of Engineering News

The College of Engineering at Utah State University congratulates all students who graduated May 4-5.

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Utah Salt Storage Facilities Guidelines And Best Management Practices, Weston Bellon May 2018

Utah Salt Storage Facilities Guidelines And Best Management Practices, Weston Bellon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

An environmental analysis was conducted at the Utah Water Research Laboratory of samples gathered from Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) salt storage facilities retention ponds across the state. The analysis indicated high levels of TSS largely made up of minerals directly associated with the deicing solution currently used by UDOT in roadway applications. As a companion to that analysis, best management practices have been identified and compiled to provide a resource for the proper management of salt storage facilities in the state of Utah. Topics included as best management practices include locating new storage facilities, proper salt storage, proper salt …

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