Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Tracing Geochemical Sources And Health Risk Assessment Of Uranium In Groundwater Of Arid Zone Of India, P. Pandit, Atul Saini, Sabarathinam Chidambaram, Vinod Kumar, Banjarani Panda, A. L. Ramanathan, Netrananda Sahu, A. K. Singh, Rohit Mehra

Nebraska Water Center: Faculty Publications

Water quality degradation and metal contamination in groundwater are serious concerns in an arid region with scanty water resources. This study aimed at evaluating the source of uranium (U) and potential health risk assessment in groundwater of the arid region of western Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The probable source of vanadium (V) and fluorine (F) was also identified. U and trace metal concentration, along with physicochemical characteristics were determined for 265 groundwater samples collected from groundwater of duricrusts and palaeochannels of western Rajasthan and northern Gujarat. The U concentration ranged between 0.6 and 260 μg L⁻¹ with a mean …

Understanding Ch4 Emissions From Compostables: An Exploration Of Local Ch4 Emissions From Landfilled Compostables And The Efficacy Of Emission Mitigation Via Anaerobic Biogas Digestion, Jordan-Yoosuf Aljbour

University Honors Theses

Methane (CH₄) is the second most abundant anthropogenic greenhouse gas within the atmosphere, comprising ~16% of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas composition on Earth. It has an ~12-year lifetime relative to its eventual oxidation via reaction with tropospheric hydroxyl radicals (OH), and has a 100-year indirect global warming potential (GWP) approximately ranging between 28-36 [Environmental Protection Agency, 2021]. In recent years, the observed average global concentration of atmospheric CH₄ has increased by ~11.0% from 2020 (~15.3 ppb) to 2021 (~17.0 ppb) [Dlugokencky et al., 1994; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2022]. With …

Single-Pass Inline Pipeline 3d Reconstruction Using Depth Camera Array, Zhexiong Shang, Zhigang Shen

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

A novel inline inspection (ILI) approach using depth cameras array (DCA) is introduced to create high-fidelity, dense 3D pipeline models. A new camera calibration method is introduced to register the color and the depth information of the cameras into a unified pipe model. By incorporating the calibration outcomes into a robust camera motion estimation approach, dense and complete 3D pipe surface reconstruction is achieved by using only the inline image data collected by a self-powered ILI rover in a single pass through a straight pipeline. The outcomes of the laboratory experiments demonstrate one-millimeter geometrical accuracy and 0.1-pixel photometric accuracy. …

Effects Of Experimental Scale On The Adsorption Of Two Pharmaceutical Drugs Detected In Municipal Wastewater Effluent, Michael Moore

Master's Theses

Pharmaceutical drugs are being produced and consumed in increasing quantities every year and are poorly treated by conventional wastewater treatment processes, leading to increasing detection of such compounds in surface water, groundwater, and municipal drinking water. Soil aquifer treatment (SAT) is a promising method for treating these emerging compounds through combined adsorption and degradation of target compounds in soil. This thesis examines the consistency of results from typical studies like adsorption isotherms and soil columns utilized in analysis of SAT performance, across varying experimental scales. The adsorption behavior of two pharmaceuticals was investigated as a function of experimental scale and …

Planning Methodology For Alternative Intersection Design And Selection, Liran Chen

Dissertations

The recent publication of the 6th Edition of the Highway Capacity Manual included a chapter on Ramp Terminals and Alternative Intersections that introduces various alternative intersection designs and assesses the performance of Median U-turn, Restricted crossing U-turn and Displaced left-turn intersections. Missing from the literature is an alternative intersection selection tool for identifying whether an alternative intersection would be successful under local conditions. With limited information of organized alternative intersection research, most planners must rely heavily on their personal judgement while selecting the most suitable intersection designs. As appealing as alternative intersections are, there is no comprehensive methodology for planners …

A Self-Learning Intersection Control System For Connected And Automated Vehicles, Ardeshir Mirbakhsh

Dissertations

This study proposes a Decentralized Sparse Coordination Learning System (DSCLS) based on Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) to control intersections under the Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) environment. In this approach, roadway sections are divided into small areas; vehicles try to reserve their desired area ahead of time, based on having a common desired area with other CAVs; the vehicles would be in an independent or coordinated state. Individual CAVs are set accountable for decision-making at each step in both coordinated and independent states. In the training process, CAVs learn to minimize the overall delay at the intersection. Due to the …

Reactive Iron Mineral Coatings In Redox Transition Zones Of A Site With Historical Contamination: Abiotic Attenuation, Xin Yin

Dissertations

Reactive iron mineral coatings are found throughout reduction-oxidation (redox) transition zones and play a significant role in contaminant transformation processes. In this study, an 18.3-meter core is collected, subsampled, and preserved under anoxic conditions to maintain its original redox state. Screening analyses are conducted at sampling increments of 5.08 cm in depth for the following: elemental concentrations with X-ray fluorescence (XRF), sediment pH, sediment oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), total volatile organic carbon (TVOC) in the sample headspace, and abundant bacteria (16S rRNA sequencing). Using the Fe and S gradients correlated with microbial data, five RTZs are delineated. To characterize iron mineral …

Integrating Deep Learning And Hydrodynamic Modeling To Improve The Great Lakes Forecast, Pengfei Xue, Aditya Wagh, Gangfeng Ma, Yilin Wang, Yongchao Yang, Tao Liu, Chenfu Huang

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

The Laurentian Great Lakes, one of the world’s largest surface freshwater systems, pose a modeling challenge in seasonal forecast and climate projection. While physics-based hydrodynamic modeling is a fundamental approach, improving the forecast accuracy remains critical. In recent years, machine learning (ML) has quickly emerged in geoscience applications, but its application to the Great Lakes hydrodynamic prediction is still in its early stages. This work is the first one to explore a deep learning approach to predicting spatiotemporal distributions of the lake surface temperature (LST) in the Great Lakes. Our study shows that the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network, …

An Injury Severity Prediction-Driven Accident Prevention System, Gulsum Alicioglu, Bo Sun, Shen-Shyang Ho

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Traffic accidents are inevitable events that occur unexpectedly and unintentionally. Therefore, analyzing traffic data is essential to prevent fatal accidents. Traffic data analysis provided insights into significant factors and driver behavioral patterns causing accidents. Combining these patterns and the prediction model into an accident prevention system can assist in reducing and preventing traffic accidents. This study applied various machine learning models, including neural network, ordinal regression, decision tree, support vector machines, and logistic regression to have a robust prediction model in injury severity. The trained model provides timely and accurate predictions on accident occurrence and injury severity using real-world traffic …

Hydrodynamic Limitations To Mangrove Seedling Retention In Subtropical Estuaries, Kelly M. Kibler, Christian Pilato, Linda Walters, Melinda Donnelly, Jyotismita Taye

Flow-biota Interaction and Natural Infrastructure Design

Mangrove forest sustainability hinges upon propagule recruitment and seedling retention. This study evaluates biophysical limitations to mangrove seedling persistence by measuring anchoring force of two mangrove species (Rhizophora mangle and Avicennia germinans). Anchoring force was measured in 362 seedlings via lateral pull-tests administered in mangrove forests of two subtropical estuaries and in laboratory-based experiments. Removal mechanism varied with seedling age: newly-established seedlings failed due to root pull-out while seedlings older than 3 months failed by root breakage. Anchoring force of R. mangle seedlings was consistently and significantly greater than A. germinans (GLM: p = 0.002), however force to …

A Circular Economy Approach To Improve E-Waste Recycling In California: Economic Potential And Policy Options, Kripa Shah

Master's Projects and Capstones

The higher consumption rates of electronic devices along with their short life cycles and few repair options poses a huge challenge for E-waste industries to manage them effectively. E-waste comprises of hazardous materials and toxic constituents that can affect the environment and public health through improper disposal. However, they also contain few valuable materials that, if recovered, can reduce the dependence on virgin raw materials. Circular economy has the potential to utilize these valuable materials and gain environment and socio-economic benefits. The research explains how the adoption of a circular economy approach can help improve the E-waste recycling in California …

Impact Of Climate Oscillations/Indices On Hydrological Variables In The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer., Meena Raju

Theses and Dissertations

The Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the United States. The main objectives of this research are to identify long term trends and change points in hydrological variables (streamflow and rainfall), to assess the relationship between hydrological variables, and to evaluate the influence of global climate indices on hydrological variables. Non-parametric tests, MMK and Pettitt’s tests were used to analyze trend and change points. PCC and Streamflow elasticity analysis were used to analyze the relationship between streamflow and rainfall and the sensitivity of streamflow to rainfall changes. PCC and MLR analysis …

Development And Evaluation Of Seasonal, Continental-Scale Streamflow Forecasts, Elissa Marie Yeates

Theses and Dissertations

Methods of forecasting streamflow using atmospheric ensembles and hydrologic routing have greatly improved over the past decades. These forecasts anticipate the timing and magnitude of streamflow peaks, enabling early warning of floods. Recent advances in atmospheric modeling have enabled production of forecasts months ahead, which are less precise but give a useful sense of trends.

The purpose of this study is to produce and evaluate a seasonal streamflow forecast model using a Muskingum routing hydrologic model coupled with runoff from a land surface model, and atmospheric input from a medium-term atmospheric and precipitation model. To evaluate the skill of the …

The Living Breakwaters Pdr Efforts: Conceptual Scheduling, Calvin O. Walters Jr.

Publications and Research

On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy caused nearly $19 billion in damages in New York City including 69,000 residential units across the five boroughs. This disaster precipitated a post-disaster-rebuilding (PDR) project including roughly $4.2 billion in a Community Development Block Grant allocated towards PDR projects. A portion of the grant was used to construct a living breakwater in Tottenville, Staten Island, consisting of a resiliency approach to risk reduction through erosion prevention, wave energy attenuation, and enhancement of ecosystems and social resiliency to improve resistance to storms for the community of Tottenville. The ridges of each breakwater are designed with …

Fate And Transport Of Toxoplasma Gondii Oocysts In Saturated Porous Media: Effects Of Electrolytes And Natural Organic Matter, Christian Pullano

All Theses

Toxoplasma gondii is a pathogenic microorganism that is currently a threat to public health. Understanding the fate and transport of T. gondii through the soil and groundwater is vital in determining the risk it poses to water resources and human health. The physico-chemical interactions between the groundwater and the bio colloid within an aquifer will dictate its mobility and its ability to infect humans. This research examines how various naturally occurring groundwater chemistries containing organic compounds and monovalent and divalent salt solutions will alter the fate and transport of T. gondii. Solutions containing various concentrations of humic acid, fulvic …

Exploring The Effects Of Varied Land Use On Elemental Concentrations Within Streams, Logan Jennings

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

It is well documented that human activity influences the chemistry of surrounding waters. As such, it is possible that there is a link between land use within a watershed and the chemical composition of the stream. The objectives of this study are to determine if varied land use does affect the concentrations of macronutrients and trace elements present in the streams of Northwest Arkansas, and if so, to determine what extent urban and agricultural development are responsible for these changes. Water samples were collected across 19 streams in the Northwest Arkansas region between January and March of 2022. Water samples …

Data-Driven Framework For Understanding & Modeling Ride-Sourcing Transportation Systems, Bishoy Kelleny

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Ride-sourcing transportation services offered by transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft are disrupting the transportation landscape. The growing demand on these services, along with their potential short and long-term impacts on the environment, society, and infrastructure emphasize the need to further understand the ride-sourcing system. There were no sufficient data to fully understand the system and integrate it within regional multimodal transportation frameworks. This can be attributed to commercial and competition reasons, given the technology-enabled and innovative nature of the system. Recently, in 2019, the City of Chicago the released an extensive and complete ride-sourcing trip-level data for …

Electrochromic Windows: Return On Investment Analysis, Thomas Michael Caprio

Construction Management

In recent years, sustainability in construction has become a topic of undeniable interest. With sustainability certifications becoming more prominent and desirable, members of the construction industry have begun to seek alternatives for standard systems to keep up with market trends. One of the main issues that the construction industry faces is accessibility of technology. While there are new products and technologies being released frequently, members of the construction industry lack knowledge on the specific details and implications of working with newer systems. One piece of technology that was recently introduced is electrochromic glass, or smart glass. Electrochromic windows analyze sunlight …

Hydrologic Modeling Study To Determine Hydrologic Impact Of Resacas On The Lower Laguna Madre Watershed, Antonio L. Reyna

Theses and Dissertations

During a high intensity storm events, a series of catastrophic events occur. These catastrophic events include flooding and destruction of infrastructure. Engineers have determined a method to design for high intensity storms based off hydrologic analysis of previous storms. With this data engineers can determine the outflow of major rivers and streams that may impact infrastructure. By determining the watershed engineers can predict the flow of the water and as well as the location of the outfall. In the Rio Grande Valley, water quality is very important because after rain events stormwater from cities is carried out towards the Laguna …

Water Quality Monitoring To Assess Pollutant Loadings In Brownsville Ship Channel Watershed, Ivan Rene Santos Chavez

Theses and Dissertations

The Brownsville Ship Channel (BSC) was listed as an impaired waterway from 2010 to 2018 due to screening levels of bacteria concentration. This study aims to address water quality at the three main tributary ditches draining into Brownsville Ship Channel to model present along with future pollutant loads within Brownsville Ship Channel Watershed. Load Duration Curves (LDCs) and Spatial Explicit Load Enrichment Calculation Tool (SELECT) models were developed to determine if current pollutant loads meet water quality standards stablished by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and to estimate average daily potential E. Coli loading contribution from sub-watersheds within …

Floating Treatment Wetlands For Brackish Waters: Plant Selection And Nutrient Uptake Potential., Andrea Landaverde

All Theses

Brackish water bodies in coastal regions provide critical ecosystem services that support human and environmental health. Anthropogenic activities such as agricultural and industrial activities, construction, urban settlements, and tourism contribute to increased inputs of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in brackish coastal ecosystems. Excess nutrients can lead to impaired water quality and affect marine organisms. Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are a vegetated-base technology used to remove contaminants from water column, that has been mainly studied and applied in freshwater systems. Application of FTWs in brackish systems requires further investigation, as high salinity in brackish waters could result in toxicity to …

Wetland Uranium Transport Via Iron-Organic Matter Flocs And Hyporheic Exchange, Connor J. Parker

All Dissertations

Uranium (U) released from the M-Area at the Department of Energy Savannah River Site into Tims Branch, a seasonal wetland and braided stream system, is estimated to be 43,500 kg between 1965 and 1984. The motivation for this work is the uranium’s persistence in the wetland for decades, where it is estimated that 80% of the U currently remains in the Tims Branch wetland. U has begun to incorporate into wetland iron (Fe) and carbon cycles, associating with local Fe mineralogy and deposits of rich wetland organic matter (OM). The objective of this work is to characterize the chemical phases …

Characterization Of Water Flow And Solute Transport Driven By Preferential Flow In Soil Vadose Zone, Abdullah Al Mamun

All Dissertations

The vadose zone acts as a buffer zone between the ground surface and the aquifers underneath and controls the transmission of infiltrating water and contaminants, for example, pesticides and chemical spills. Therefore, understanding the flow and transport processes that dominate the vadose zone is important. Macropores are ubiquitous and particularly found in abundance in the vadose zone. These macropores facilitate preferential flow, through which water travels rapidly deep into the soil, bypassing most of the porous matrix. Preferential flow and transport have environmental significance as their processes impact hydrology, ecology, agriculture, subsurface contamination, and waste management sectors. Thus, the overall …

The Effect Of Changing Land Use On Streamflow Statistics And Flood Flows Across Select Gages In Northwest Arkansas, Timothy Mcmullen

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Since 1901, heavy rainfall events have increased in the United States in both intensity and frequency, and population in the United States has increased, resulting in significant land use changes. Both of these trends could explain an increase in observed flood magnitude and frequency. In order to determine if a relationship exists between land use/land cover and changing stream flows in northwest Arkansas, this study analyzed temporal changes in various flow statistics for fourteen stream gages and compared the rates of change in flow statistics from gages on streams with watersheds that have varying land uses, i.e. urban, agricultural, and …

Powering A Sustainable Electric Vehicle Future, Harmony Ruth, Jordan Brickman

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Electric vehicle sales account for roughly 20% of total sales world wide and are projected to be 80% by 2050. China's electric vehicle market holds a 13.3% market share. China exported 550,000 electric vehicles in 2021. China represents a 54% share of the world's coal consumption as of 2020. Why study China on this issue? China is a major player in the World Economy.

Foam-Based Floatovoltaics: A Potential Solution To Disappearing Terminal Natural Lakes, Koami Soulemane Hayibo, Joshua M. Pearce

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

Terminal lakes are disappearing worldwide because of direct and indirect human activities. Floating photovoltaics (FPV) are a synergistic system with increased energy output because of water cooling, while the FPV reduces water evaporation. This study explores how low-cost foam-based floatovoltaic systems can mitigate the disappearance of natural lakes. A case study is performed on 10%–50% FPV coverage of terminal and disappearing Walker Lake. Water conservation is investigated with a modified Penman-Monteith evapotranspiration method and energy generation is calculated with an operating temperature model experimentally determined from foam-based FPV. Results show FPV saves 52,000,000 m3/year of water and US$6,000,000 at 50% …

Evaluating Climatic Influences On The Technical Performance Of Built Infrastructure Assets, Sarah L. Brown, Steven J. Schuldt, Michael N. Grussing, Michael A. Johnson, Justin D. Delorit

Faculty Publications

Asset performance evaluations serve as a benchmark that can be used to make asset manufacturer selection decisions, i.e., choosing the brand of manufacturer that provides the highest performance among all brand competitors. Understanding the environmental conditions to which assets are subjected provides facility managers another data point to understand asset performance. This research builds upon a previously published performance-based manufacturer selection metric by investigating the linkage between asset performance and exposure to local climate, using chiller and air handler data from 20 United States Air Force installations. The link between environmental factors such as Heating Degree Days (HDD); Cooling Degree …

Design, Development, And Characterization Of Highly Efficient Colored Photovoltaic Module For Sustainable Buildings Applications, Mohammad Khairul Basher, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam, Momtazur Rahman, Steven Hinckley, Kamal Alameh

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system is one of the contributors which has enormous potential to reach the goal of net-zero energy buildings (NZEB) that significantly reduce the use of fossil fuels that contribute to global warming. However, the limitations of the visual and aesthetic appearance of current BIPV systems make this aspiration unlikely. This study investigates the limitations of the single-color-based PV modules that are dull in appearance and have low photo-conversion efficiency (PCE). In order to solve this issue, we designed, developed, and characterized micro-patterned-based multicolored photovoltaic (MPCPV) modules which are applicable to net-zero building and development. Our …

Using Remote Sensing Technologies In Relocating Lubrak Village And Visualizing Flood Damages, Ronan Wallace

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As weather patterns change across the world, there are communities impacted by climate change that are left unnoticed. In the Himalayan mountain range, communities have suffered, experiencing an increase in flash flooding and droughts. For Lubrak Village in Lower Mustang, the community faces the threats of flash flooding. Over the last ten years, the amount of flash flooding has increased, occurring more than once each monsoon season. After every flood, concrete-like sediment is left behind, hardening across the riverbed and increasing its elevation. As the riverbed elevation increases, this sediment encroaches on Lu-brak Village’s agricultural fields and ancient mud buildings, …

Application Of Machine Learning To Predict The Performance Of An Emipg Reactor Using Data From Numerical Simulations, Owen Sedej, Eric G. Mbonimpa, Trevor Sleight, Jeremy Slagley

Faculty Publications

Microwave-driven plasma gasification technology has the potential to produce clean energy from municipal and industrial solid wastes. It can generate temperatures above 2000 K (as high as 30,000 K) in a reactor, leading to complete combustion and reduction of toxic byproducts. Characterizing complex processes inside such a system is however challenging. In previous studies, simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) produced reproducible results, but the simulations are tedious and involve assumptions. In this study, we propose machine-learning models that can be used in tandem with CFD, to accelerate high-fidelity fluid simulation, improve turbulence modeling, and enhance reduced-order models. A two-dimensional …