Engineering Commons^™

Multi-Objective Conjunctive Use Optimization, H. C. Fayad, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a simulation/optimization model based on artificial neural networks and genetic algorithms for solving multi-objective conjunctive water use problems. The model simulates and optimizes water flows in a hydraulically connected reservoir-stream-aquifer system. It is a powerful tool to help water managers and authorities in developing conjunctive water management strategies and evaluating tradeoffs between conflicting goals.

Optimization Modeling For Groundwater And Conjunctive Use Water Policy Development, Richard C. Peralta, R. Shulstad

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Planners must sometimes decide how to restrict or reduce groundwater use to prevent unacceptable future problems. Often there are several alternatives (policies). Comparing policies can involve formulating a sustained groundwater yield optimization problem and computing an optimal groundwater pumping strategy for each. This is easy via the SOMOS simulation/optimization (S/O) model. Subsequent analysis can include: flow simulation to predict transient water level response to pumping; and economic evaluation to estimate costs and returns. Two examples predict the best consequences of potential physical and legal management policies for alluvial and valley basin fill aquifers hydraulically linked to surface waters. Results show …

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis With Probabilistic Risk Assessment For The Management Of Contaminated Ground Water, I. Khadam, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Traditionally, environmental decision analysis in subsurface contamination scenarios is performed using cost–benefit analysis. In this paper, we discuss some of the limitations associated with cost–benefit analysis, especially its definition of risk, its definition of cost of risk, and its poor ability to communicate risk-related information. This paper presents an integrated approach for management of contaminated ground water resources using health risk assessment and economic analysis through a multi-criteria decision analysis framework. The methodology introduces several important concepts and definitions in decision analysis related to subsurface contamination. These are the trade-off between population risk and individual risk, the trade-off between the …

Modeling And Control Of Vinyl Chloride In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, M Beardsley, Craig D. Adams

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In water distribution systems containing PVC pipe manufactured in the “early era” (prior to 1977), vinyl chloride can leach into drinking water resulting in vinyl chloride concentrations exceeding the 2 μg⋅L−1 maximum contaminant level. Field testing of dead-end segments of water distribution systems consisting of early-era PVC pipe was conducted to examine their initial intrapipe vinyl chloride monomer (VCM) concentrations based on a Fickian-diffusion-based leaching model. The experiments showed a wide range of VCM concentrations within early-era PVC pipe ranging from less than 50 to more than 600 mg⋅kg−1. Based on the diffusion modeling approach, a protocol was designed that …

Bie6110 - Sprinkle & Trickle Irrigation, Fall 2003, Gary P. Merkley

Biological and Irrigation Engineering - OCW

This is a course regarding technical design and evaluation of pressurized agricultural irrigation systems, including system layout, pipe sizing, water applicator selection, pumping system hydraulics, water filtration requirements, and water application uniformity and efficiency.

Applicability Of Risk-Based Management And The Need For Risk-Based Economic Decision Analysis At Hazardous Waste Contaminated Sites, I. Khadam, Jagath J. Kaluarachchi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Decision analysis in subsurface contamination management is generally carried out through a traditional engineering economic viewpoint. However, new advances in human health risk assessment, namely, the probabilistic risk assessment, and the growing awareness of the importance of soft data in the decision-making process, require decision analysis methodologies that are capable of accommodating non-technical and politically biased qualitative information. In this work, we discuss the major limitations of the currently practiced decision analysis framework, which evolves around the definition of risk and cost of risk, and its poor ability to communicate risk-related information. A demonstration using a numerical example was conducted …

Real-Time Image Analysis Of Living Cellular-Biology Measurements Of Intelligent Chemistry, J.C. Solinsky, Scott E. Budge, P.D. Majors, B. Rex

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper reports on the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) DOE Initiative in Image Science and Technology (ISAT) research, which is developing algorithms and software tool sets for remote sensing and biological applications. In particular, the PNNL ISAT work is applying these research results to the automated analysis of real-time cellular biology imagery to assist the biologist in determining the correct data collection region for the current state of a conglomerate of living cells in three-dimensional motion. The real-time computation of the typical 120 MB/sec multi-spectral data sets is executed in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) technology, which has …

Spatial And Temporal Considerations In Vehicle Path Tracking With An Emphasis On Spatial Robustness, Donald L. Cripps

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation researches the task and path management of an autonomous vehicle with Ackerman-type steering.

The task management problem was approached as a path training operation in which a human operator drives the desired path through an environment. A training trajectory is converted into a series of path segments that are driveable by the autonomous vehicle by first fitting a general path to the dataset. Next, transition segments are added to the general path to match the vehicle velocity and steering angle rate limit.

The path management problem has been approached by first deriving a kine- matic model of the …

Thermoacoustic Refrigerator, Nathan A. Hammond

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Thermoacoustic refrigerators have typically been designed to cool an isolated working fluid, necessitating a heat exchanging device to draw heat from the outside target fluid into the cooled working fluid. For example, a thermoacoustic refrigerator designed to chill air might utilize argon as an isolated working fluid, necessitating a heat exchanger to draw heat from the air to the argon. A second heat exchanger would be required to draw heat from the argon to a cold sink.

A design team at Utah State University has created a thermoacoustic refrigerator which uses air at atmospheric pressure as its working fluid. By …

Wright Flyer Project, John William Love

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The time is December of 1903. The place is Kitty Hawk, North Carolina; an inhospitable, barren, and windy wasteland. Yet, in this forsaken desert, something magical and historic was about to take place. Many people believed that the Wright Brothers were insane to even fantasize about flight. Man kind was not suppose to fly. The brothers were likened to the myth of Icarus, and warned that those who try to fly to close to the sun will meet an untimely demise. Luckily, the jeers were not enough to sway the Wright Brothers from believing. The home-built aircraft started down the …

Final Design Report Of Computer Controller Of Robotic Arm, Kurt Niederhauser

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

My Part of the project was to design the hardware. I assembled the TT8 microprocessor and designed the optocial isolation board for the input and output signals to the TT8 microprocessor. We had two boards. One board had the TT8 Processor and other chips used for regulating the affairs of the TT8 (This board I assembled), and then there was another board that had all the control signals for the TT8 (this board I had to design), which sent the signals letting the TT8 know when the robot arm had been extended or retracted as far is it could go. …

Short-Term Water Use Dynamics In Drainage Lysimeters, Musa V. Dlamini

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Turfgrass water use (seasonal turfET) and crop coefficients were determined and a mathematical soil-water balance model for non-weighing drainage lysimetcrs, which simulates the occurrence (timing and amount) of drainage, was developed. Pairs of non-weighing drainage lysimeters were used to determine crop coefficients for turfgrass in four locations in the state of Utah: Logan Golf and Country Club, Murray Golf Course, Brigham Young University (Spanish Fork) Experiment Farm, and Sunbrook Golf Course (St. George).

Daily weather data including air temperature, relative humidity, average wind travel, total solar radiation, precipitation, and average soil temperature were collected with an electronic weather station at …

A Sediment Transport Model For Incising Gullies On Steep Topography, Erkan Istanbulluoglu, David G. Tarboton, Robert T. Pack, Charles H. Luce

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

We have conducted surveys of gullies that developed in a small, steep watershed in the Idaho Batholith after a severe wildfire followed by intense precipitation. We measured gully length and cross sections to estimate the volumes of sediment loss due to gully formation. These volume estimates are assumed to provide an estimate of sediment transport capacity at each survey cross section from the single gully-forming thunderstorm. Sediment transport models commonly relate transport capacity to overland flow shear stress, which is related to runoff rate, slope, and drainage area. We have estimated the runoff rate and duration associated with the gully-forming …

Bit-Level Erasure Decoding Of Reed-Solomon Codes Over Gf(2/Sup M/), T.K. Moon, Scott E. Budge

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

The algorithms for bit-level erasure decoding of (n,k) Reed-Solomon codes over GF(2/sup m/) beyond the design erasure decoding distance of n-k are considered. Erasure decoding takes place in the (mk, nk) binary image code. When the number of erasures exceeds n-k, then additional parity check equations must be developed. We describe how these equations are obtained and some of their properties. Decoding algorithms are discussed which tradeoff decoding performance for computational complexity. Simulation results for several families of codes are presented which provide information about good binary image codes.

Water Management: Partnerships For Future Directions (Research And Testing Education Support Outreach), Mac Mckee

Reports

The UWRL is uniquely positioned to form collaborations with USU departments, other academic institutions and water centers, government, and private sector organizations involved in addressing water issues. The strong and consistent support of the State of Utah illustrates the importance of water and the creation of knowledge to manage water in Utah and the surrounding western states. The scope of projects ranges from multimillion dollar partnerships related to soil and groundwater remediation with national impacts, to small scale projects related to outreach to a specific city or county public sector audience. The UWRL mission, the strategy used to accomplish the …

Somos Simulation/Optimization Modeling System, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

SOMOS (Simulation / Optimization Modeling System) is a family of simulation / optimization (S/O) modules to aid in optimally managing water resources. SOMOS results from twenty years experience developing optimization models and applying them to real-world problems, including 11 pump-and-treat (PAT) systems and numerous water supply problems. SOMOS significantly improves water management or designs and saves money. Its user’s manual provides excellent training in principles of applying optimization to managing aquifer and stream-aquifer systems. It is being incorporated with powerful groundwater modeling and visualization packages.

Practical Simulation /Optimization Modeling For Groundwater Quality And Quantity Management, Richard C. Peralta, Ineke M. Kalwij, Shengjun Wu

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Software for mathematically optimizing groundwater management has improved significantly in recent years. The SOMOS code can readily handle large complex plume and water management problems. Most recently, it developed a least-cost $40.82M 30-yr pumping strategy for the 6.58 mile long Blaine NAD plume. That strategy was 19 percent better than the strategy developed simultaneously by an experienced consultant using normal trial and error simulation procedures. The management problem involved 60 stress periods, and well installation and pumping rates that could change every 10 periods. The optimal strategy employed 10 new wells. At a simpler site, SOMOS helped select robust strategies …

Optimal Pumping Strategies For Umatilla Chemical Depot Rdx And Tnt Plumes, Richard C. Peralta

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

We present optimal pumping strategies to address RDX and TNT plumes at Umatilla Chemical Depot (UCD). We provide strategies for four optimization problem formulations. Each strategy requires constructing 2 wells. New Well U-1 is in the same location for all strategies. The second well location can differ with formulation. The number in a strategy’s name refers to the formulation it addresses. Using optimization in design is normally an iterative process involving interaction between the designer and client after preliminary optimizations are performed. This project does not permit that. To compensate, we present a second strategy for Formulation 1 (Strategy USU1B), …

Finite Element And Pullout Test Performance Of Welded Wire Mats, Bradley C. Conder

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper reports on the pullout test performance of welded-wire reinforcing mats. A 126-foot high mechanically stabilized earth wall was constructed at Kennecott Utah Copper. In the lower half of the wall, single lengths of 50-foot long welded-wire mats were used. In the top half of the wall, two lengths of 50-foot mats were overlapped 10 feet to create 90-foot mats. This 10-foot "lap zone" was investigated in this study.

The finite element program Plaxis was used to investigate several pullout test parameters: overburden pressure, gap width, boundary effects, and horizontal spacing of transverse elements from the pullout box face. …

Evapotranspiration Using A Satellite-Based Surface Energy Balance With Standardized Ground Control, Ricardo Trezza

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study evaluated the potential of using the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) as a means for estimating evapotranspiration (ET) for local and regional scales in Southern Idaho. The original SEBAL model was refined during this study to provide better estimation of ET in agricultural areas and to make more reliable estimates of ET from other surfaces as well, including mountainous terrain. The modified version of SEBAL used in this study, termed as SEBAL_ID (lD stands for Idaho) includes standardization of the two SEBAL "anchor" pixels, the use of a water balance …

A Model Of Plasma Frequency Probes Utilizing Plasma Fluid Equations And Finite Difference Time Domain (Fdtd) Theory, Jeffrey D. Ward

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

As man continues to search the unknown, additional tools are needed to develop and analyze new probes. This thesis will present a full wave Finite Difference Time Domain model that is capable of analyzing radio frequency probes immersed in realistic ionospheric plasma. The five moment approximations, Maxwell's equations and the plasma fluid equations, are discretized using a finite difference time domain method. Balmain's and Adachi theories are used to validate the simulation at the gyro and hybrid resonance points. Finally, with the model developed, the simulation is used to analyze a microstrip patch plasma impedance probe immersed in hot collisional …

The Wright Stuff: A Redesign Of The 1905 Wright Flyer, Adam Richards, Ben Case, Eric Peterson, Nathan Holman, Wayne Goodrich, Amy Hintze, Carson Esplin, David Christensen, Jonathan Holfeltz, Nick Filimoehala, Nicholas Alley

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Thai Students' Attitudes And Concepts Of Technology, Kurt Henry Becker, Somchai Maunsaiyat

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

Of the eight major programs mentioned in Thailand's Eighth National Education Development Plan (1997-2001), one is aimed at developing human capability in the areas of science and technology. This is to address the fact that the teaching of technology in Thailand is lagging behind the technological changes of the last decade. Part of this reform effort is the development of conceptual based learning activities in science and technology for 12 to 15-year old students. These concepts are being introduced through the offering of a subject at the high school level. de Klerk Wolters (1989) indicated learning the concepts of technology …

Constructivism And The Use Of Technology, Kurt Becker

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Is There Synchronicity In Nitrogen Input And Output At The Noland Divide Watershed, A Small N-Saturated Forested Catchment In The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, H. Van Miegroet, I. F. Creed, N. S. Nicholas, David G. Tarboton, K. L. Webster, J. Schubzda, B. Robinson, J. Smoot, D. W. Johnson, S. E. Lindberg, G. Lovett, S. Nodvin, S. Moore

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

High-elevation red spruce [Picea rubens Sarg.]-Fraser fir [Abies fraseri (Pursh.) Poir] forests in the Southern Appalachians currently receive large nitrogen (N) inputs via atmospheric deposition (30 kg N ha(-1) year(-1)) but have limited N retention capacity due to a combination of stand age, heavy fir mortality caused by exotic insect infestations, and numerous gaps caused by windfalls and ice storms. This study examined the magnitude and timing of the N fluxes into, through, and out of a small, first-order catchment in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It also examined the role of climatic conditions in causing interannual variations in …

Design Of An Fpga-Based High-Speed Filter-Decimator For The Gifts Imaging Interferometer, Scott E. Budge, Charles R. O'Brien

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents the design of an FPGA-based frame filter-decimator for the geostationary imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (GIFTS). The decimator reduces samples from two 128/spl times/128 sample imaging arrays from 1638.4 fps to 102.4 complex fps for the long wave IR (LWIR) band and from 1638.4 fps to 204.8 complex fps for the medium wave IR (MWIR) band. The design uses a novel parallel pipeline architecture to handle the bandpass sampling and decimation of the 16 k array samples which arrive a frame-at-a-time. The design is challenging because of significant speed, size, weight and power restrictions for satellite implementation.

A Fast Full-Search Adaptive Vector Quantizer For Video Coding, Scott E. Budge, Christian B. Peel

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a novel VQ structure which provides very good quality encoding for video sequences and exploits the computational savings gained from a fast-search algorithm. It uses an adaptive-search, variable-length encoding method which allows for very fast matching of a wide range of transmission rates. Both the encoding quality and the computational benefits from the fast-search algorithm are presented. Simulations show that full-search tree residual VQ (FTRVQ) can provide up to 3 dB improvement over a similar RVQ encoder on video sequences.

Very Fast Tree-Structured Vector Quantization, Todd K. Moon, Christian B. Peel, Scott E. Budge

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Very fast tree-structured vector quantization employs scalar quantization decisions at each level, but chooses the dimension on which to quantize based on the coordinate direction of maximum variance. Because the quantization is scalar, searches are no more complex than scalar quantization - providing significant improvement in complexity over full-searched or even tree-structured vector quantization - but the method preserves the shape and memory advantages of conventional vector quantization. However, the space filling advantage of VQ is forfeited, since each Voronoi cell is a rectangular cuboid.

Design Of A Control System For Fmc Jetway Systems' Teleradial Bridge, Briclyn Jon Rogers

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

FMC Jetway Systems has been manufacturing and servicing airport products for over forty years. These products include passenger boarding bridges, pre-conditioned air units, potable water systems and solid-state 400 hertz converters. Components produced by Jetway can be found on over 190 airports across the world. Their Apron Drive Passenger Boarding Bridge (Fig. 1) is the most versatile and widely used boarding bridge in the world. Only recently has the company aimed at gaining a portion of the quickly expanding market of commuter flights.

Shear Wave Velocity Profiles At Sites Liquefied By The 1999 Kocaeli, Turkey Earthquake, Brady R. Cox

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This paper presents shear wave velocity profiles for 15 sites liquefied by the 1999 Kocaeli, Turkey earthquake. These profiles are used in order to evaluate each liquefaction site by the simplified shear wave velocity procedure. This procedure allowed for the identification of a potentially liquefiable region within the subsurface at each site. Locating this region at each site allowed for the separation of soils that were too stiff to liquefy from soils that were soft enough to liquefy. Once these soft regions had been identified, they were evaluated to separate granular soils expected to liquefy, from fine-grained soils expected not …