Engineering Commons^™

Visualization Of Real-Time Displacement Time History Superimposed With Dynamic Experiments Using Wireless Smart Sensors And Augmented Reality, Marlon Frank Agüero Injante

Civil Engineering ETDs

Wireless Smart Sensor (WSS) process field data and inform structural field engineers and owners about the infrastructure health, condition, and safety. Engineers acquire the data and investigate changes on displacements under loads to make informed choices and prioritize decisions concerning maintenance, required repairs, and infrastructure replacements. However, reliable data collection and access to displacement information in the field in real-time under loads remains a challenge. The displacement data provided by the WSS in the field undergoes additional processing, and it is seen at a different location, at the decision-making headquarters. If inspectors were able to observe structural displacements in real-time …

Chemical Interfacial Reactions Affecting The Speciation And Solubility Of Uranium In Organic-Rich Environments, Carmen A. Velasco

Civil Engineering ETDs

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the interfacial reactions between uranium (U) and natural organic matter NOM) affecting the solubility, adsorption, and precipitation of U in organic-rich environments. The chemical interactions between U and NOM are not well understood, which justified the following research objectives: 1) Identify the effect of pH on U speciation and the organic functional chemistry in mineralized deposits from the Jackpile Mine.; 2) Identify the precipitation of U(VI) and NOM as a function of pH (2, 4 and 7); 3) Identify changes in DOM chemistry due to the reaction of NOM and U at …

Evaluating Public Transit Accessibility In Albuquerque, New Mexico: A Fixed-Route Bus Service Analysis, Risa E. Gutierrez

Civil Engineering ETDs

This research analyzed how residential accessibility to fixed-route bus service in Albuquerque, New Mexico varies by distance, income level, and headway. A literature review investigated components of travel that might deter people from using public transit such as travel distance, sidewalk condition or availability, bus headway, lack of active travel in today’s society, personal and traffic safety, and access equity. Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping was used to determine if low-income neighborhoods have better or worse access to ABQ Ride bus stops relative to medium- or high-income neighborhoods. Residential land use was divided into three economic classes based on 2018 …

Thermal Mapping And Evaporation Estimation Of Cochiti Lake Using Landsat 8 Imagery, Claudia Jimenez Arellano

Civil Engineering ETDs

Satellite remote sensing (RS) techniques have revolutionized the study of spatial and temporal processes in environmental science and water resources engineering. This study was focused on advancing the understanding of RS techniques to provide estimates of spatial variability of surface water temperature and corresponding evaporation rates for open water.

Evaporation plays a crucial role in water budgets, which is critical knowledge for water management, especially in arid environments. However, there are few methods to estimate its spatial variability, which is relevant because water does not evaporate equally everywhere on a large waterbody. Hence, we cannot assume the calculations of evaporations …

Effect Of Membrane Aging And Operating Conditions On The Rejection Of Trace Organics For Potable Reuse, Jose Pedro Hernandez

Civil Engineering ETDs

The aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of the effect that membrane degradation and operating conditions have on the removal of selected organic compounds via reverse osmosis (RO). Originally, the study included laboratory experiments in which ESPA2-LD membranes from Hydranautics were to be chemically damaged and the passage of the suite of trace organics through the membranes was to be evaluated. Unfortunately, the degradation experiments were cut short due to lab closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The study then changed direction to provide insight into the role operating conditions have on the removal of trace …

Introducing The Self-Cleaning Filtration For Water Quality Sensors (Sc-Flawless) System, Aashish Sanjay Khandelwal

Civil Engineering ETDs

Sensor-based, semi-continuous observations of water quality parameters have become critical to understanding how changes in land use, management, and rainfall-runoff processes impact water quality at diurnal to multi-decadal scales. While some commercially available water quality sensors function adequately under a range of turbidity conditions, other instruments, including those used to measure nutrient concentrations, cease to function in high turbidity waters (> 100 NTU) commonly found in large rivers, arid-land rivers, and coastal areas. This is particularly true during storm events, when increases in turbidity are often concurrent with increases in nutrient transport. Here, we present the development and validation of …

Spatial Analysis Of Bias Corrected Rainfall Data Sets Within Albuquerque, New Mexico Metropolitan Area, Cassy Scarlott- Mcclintock

Civil Engineering ETDs

The Next Generation Radar (NEXRAD) was implemented as one of the first network-wide operational radar- estimated precipitation products in the United States in 1988. The algorithms within this system bring drastic advancements to operational flood forecasting when compared to prior radars and even rain gage systems. The objectives were; (1) to determine how radar plays a role in estimating precipitation by comparing rainfall accuracy to other sources such as calibrated radar data and gage data within Albuquerque, New Mexico and (2) to determine if distance from the radar affects estimation of rainfall. The sets of data compared were from: (1) …

Post-Wildfire Geomorphic Stream Response In Six New Mexican Watersheds, Aljaz Praznik

Civil Engineering ETDs

Wildfire causes severe physical changes to watersheds, which then leads to geomorphic changes in the burned watersheds. In New Mexico and the southwestern U.S., flooding is a common response after a wildfire, due to higher water runoff from the hillslopes and sediment erosion rates. These flood events change the erosion and deposition characteristics of a stream, which can result in the deposition of a large amount of sediment near the communities living downstream. The objective of this research was to analyze and compare post-fire geomorphic stream response caused by six different wildfires in New Mexico with the goal to create …

Biogeochemical Processes Affecting Arsenic (As) Release And Bioavailability Near Abandoned Mine Wastes, Cherie L. Devore

Civil Engineering ETDs

The aim of this dissertation was to investigate the biogeochemical processes affecting the mobilization and bioavailability of arsenic (As) from mining-impacted sediments to surface water sources and plants. The Cheyenne River Watershed has been affected by mining legacy for several decades. The biogeochemical cycling of As on tribal land is not well understood, which justified the following research objectives: 1) Investigate the effect of competing anions on the release of As from sediments exposed to oxidizing conditions; 2) Evaluate chemical and microbiological processes affecting the release of soluble As, Fe, and Mn from contaminated sediments under laboratory controlled aerobic and …

Combining High-Frequency Sensor Data And Nutrient Addition Experiments To Identify Uptake Dynamics In Streams, Justin Rae Nichols

Civil Engineering ETDs

Nutrient enrichment has led to impaired waterways across the globe with an estimated 90% of waterways in the U.S. being negatively impacted from anthropogenic sources. In the past 30 years, there has been significant focus on studying nutrient uptake within fluvial systems. However, there are still critical knowledge gaps about the controls of nutrient dynamics and how these processes scale. This study combined the results from traditional instantaneous nutrient addition experiments and sensor data averaged over ±5 days from the time of addition to determine mechanisms that affect nutrient dynamics in two contrasting streams within the same watershed, over almost …

Resilience Engineering: Theory And Practice, Michaela Jones

Civil Engineering ETDs

Civil and environmental engineering works at the interface of humans and the natural environment, making the environment hospitable for people and limiting adverse anthropogenic impacts on the ecosystem. Such socioecological systems are often complex and highly interconnected, and traditional engineering interventions focused on optimizing system elements result in unanticipated consequences. Resilience engineering utilizes a holistic methodology grounded in systems analysis and adaptation. This work broadly explores the concept of resilience engineering and contextualizes the approach using the case study of the Rio Chama. The resilience of the watershed is characterized in terms of its response to both traditional and resilience …