Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2024

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

The report's highlights updates including ongoing research, know your well, and the Nebraska master irrigator launch.

Classification Of Sow Postures Using Convolutional Neural Network And Depth Images, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Gary A. Rohrer, Sudhendu R. Sharma, Yeyin Shi

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The United States swine industry reports an average preweaning mortality of approximately 16% where approximately 6% of them are attributed to piglets overlayed by sows. Detecting postural transitions and estimating sows’ time budgets for different postures are valuable information for breeders and engineering design of farrowing facilities to eventually reduce piglet death. Computer vision tools can help monitor changes in animal posture accurately and efficiently. To create a more robust system and eliminate varying lighting issues within a day including daytime/ nighttime differences, there is an advantage to using depth cameras over digital cameras. In this study, a computer vision …

Performance Reliability And Safety Index For Region Vii Highways, Aemal J. Khattak, Mm Shakiul Haque, Li Zhao

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Roadway performance measures are used for operating, planning, and design purposes to improve services for road users. Simple statistics of the performance metrics such as measures of central tendency (e.g., mean, median) are often used for making operational and planning decisions. Even though such statistics are useful, they are, more than often, not comprehensive enough for making insightful operational and planning decisions. Consequently, performance reliability measures, which attempt to capture the day-to-day variability in performance, have the potential to benefit the areas of operation, planning, and design. Traffic data from Intelligent Transportation System facilitates the measurement of the reliability of …

Stage And Discharge Prediction From Documentary Time-Lapse Imagery, Kenneth W. Chapman, Troy E. Gilmore, Mehrube Mehrubeoglu, Christian D. Chapman, Aaron R. Mittelstet, John E. Stranzl Jr.

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Imagery from fixed, ground-based cameras is rich in qualitative and quantitative information that can improve stream discharge monitoring. For instance, time-lapse imagery may be valuable for filling data gaps when sensors fail and/or during lapses in funding for monitoring programs. In this study, we used a large image archive (> 40,000 images from 2012 to 2019) from a fixed, ground-based camera that is part of a documentary watershed imaging project (https://plattebasintimelapse.com/). Scalar image features were extracted from daylight images taken at one-hour intervals. The image features were fused with United States Geological Survey stage and discharge data as …

Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions In Maize No-Till Agroecosystems In Southern Brazil Based On A Long-Term Experiment, Guilherme Rosa Da Silva, Adam J. Liska, Cimelio Bayer

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Brazilian agriculture is constantly questioned concerning its environmental impacts, particularly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This research study used data from a 34-year field experiment to estimate the life cycle GHG emissions intensity of maize production for grain in farming systems under no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) combined with Gramineae (oat) and legume (vetch) cover crops in southern Brazil. We applied the Feedstock Carbon Intensity Calculator for modeling the “field-to-farm gate” emissions with measured annual soil N₂O and CH₄ emissions data. For net CO₂ emissions, increases in soil organic C (SOC) were applied as a proxy, …

Student Use Of Anchors And Metacognitive Strategies In Reflection, Anu Singh, Heidi A. Diefes-Dux

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Context: Self-regulation, a skillset involving taking charge of one’s own learning processes, is crucial for workplace success. Learners develop self-regulation skills through reflection where they recognize weaknesses and strengths by employing metacognitive strategies: planning, monitoring, and evaluating. Use of anchors assists learners’ engagement in reflection. Purpose or Goal: The purpose of this work was to gain insight into students’ use of anchors when reflecting on their learning. The two research questions: (1) To what extent do students link their self-evaluation and learning objective (LO) self-ratings to their reflections? and (2) What dimensions and level of metacognitive strategies do students use …

Classification Of Sow Postures Using Convolutional Neural Network And Depth Images, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Gary A. Rohrer, Sudhendu R. Sharma, Yeyin Shi

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The United States swine industry reports an average preweaning mortality of approximately 16% where approximately 6% of them are attributed to piglets overlayed by sows. Detecting postural transitions and estimating sows’ time budgets for different postures are valuable information for breeders and engineering design of farrowing facilities to eventually reduce piglet death. Computer vision tools can help monitor changes in animal posture accurately and efficiently. To create a more robust system and eliminate varying lighting issues within a day including daytime/ nighttime differences, there is an advantage to using depth cameras over digital cameras. In this study, a computer vision …

Machine Learning-Based Disease Classification In Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum) Plants = Klasifikasi Penyakit Berbasis Pembelajaran Mesin Pada Tanaman Tomat (Solanum Lycopersicum), Md Towfiqur Rahman, Sudipto Dhar Dipto, Israt Jahan June, Abdul Momin, Muhammad Rashed Al Mamun

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

English abstract

In Bangladesh, tomato cultivation faces significant challenges due to its susceptibility to various microorganisms, parasites, and bacterial infections. Typically, the early symptoms of these diseases first appear in roots and leaves, complicating timely detection. This study addresses the challenge of timely and accurate detection of diseases in tomato plants, crucial for effective plant protection management. Conventional manual inspection methods are time-consuming and subjective, resulting in delays in implementing necessary protection measures. Therefore, an image processing technique and machine learning algorithms were used for rapid and robust detection of diseases in tomato plant leaves, aiming to streamline the detection …

A Validation Of Wepp Water Quality Routines In Uniform And Nonuniform Agricultural Hillslopes, Ryan P. Mcgehee, Dennis C. Flanagan, Bernard A. Engel, John E. Gilley

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Nutrients in agricultural runoff may cause offsite environmental impacts. The objective of this investigation was to examine nutrient transport by overland sheet flow on sites containing swine slurry. Data examined in this study was collected during field rainfall simulation tests conducted on cropland sites in southeast Nebraska, USA. Inflow was added to the top of experimental plots in four successive increments to simulate runoff rates occurring at greater downslope distances. Runoff rates on the experimental sites ranged from 2.3 to 21.2 L min 1 and maximum equivalent downslope distances varied from 5 to 108 m. Phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) …

Characterization Of Recent Wild Pig‑Vehicle Collisions In Georgia, Usa, Jeremiah L. Psiropoulos, Emily Howe, John J. Mayer, Sophie C. Mckee

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Vehicle collisions with wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are reported almost everywhere this species is found. However, this is one of the least studied and characterized forms of damage that these invasive animals cause in the United States (US). We analyzed 518 wild pig-vehicle collisions (WPVCs) that took place statewide in Georgia between 2015 and 2021. From that dataset, we analyzed several parameters in order to better understand and characterize these accidents on a scale that had previously not been done in the US. Wild pig-vehicle collisions were reported from 105 out of the 159 counties in Georgia, increasing …

Effects Of Crate Size On Mortality And Postural Behavior In Post-Farrowing Sows, Md Towfiqur Rahman, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Gary A. Rohrer, Sudhendu R. Sharma, Yeyin Shi

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Preweaning mortality (PWM) is a economic and animal well-being issue for swine producers in the US. On average, producers face about a 16% pre-weaning mortality. A significant portion of this, around 6%, is because sows accidentally overlay their piglets in farrowing crates. The posture behavior of sow plays a vital role in overlaying piglets and this behavior has a significant effect on farrowing crate dimensions. This study aims to explore the interplay between farrowing crate size, mortality rates, and postural behavior in post-farrowing sows. This study employed three farrowing stalls: Traditional (T), Expanded creep area (C), and Expanded sow area …

Red Cabbage Juice-Mediated Gut Microbiota Modulation Improves Intestinal Epithelial Homeostasis And Ameliorates Colitis, Emily Jean Wilson, Nagabhishek Sirpu Natesh, Parsa Ghadermazi, Ramesh Pothuraju, Dipakkumar R. Prajapati, Sanjit Pandey, Jussuf T. Kaifi, John R. Dodam, Jeffrey Bryan, Christian L. Lorson, Aude A. Watrelot, Jason M. Foster, Thomas J. Mansell, Siu Hung Joshua Chan, Surinder K. Batra, Jeyamkondan Subbiah, Satyanarayana Rachagani

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and can potentially prevent IBD through microbial-derived metabolites, making it a promising therapeutic avenue. Recent evidence suggests that despite an unclear underlying mechanism, red cabbage juice (RCJ) alleviates Dextran Sodium Sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. Thus, the study aims to unravel the molecular mechanism by which RCJ modulates the gut microbiota to alleviate DSS-induced colitis in mice. Using C57BL/6J mice, we evaluated RCJ’s protective role in DSS-induced colitis through two cycles of 3% DSS. Mice were daily gavaged with PBS or RCJ until the endpoint, and gut microbiota composition …

Determining The Presence And Size Of Shoulder Lesions In Sows Using Computer Vision, Shubham Bery, Tami M. Brown-Bandl, Bradley T. Jones, Gary A. Rohrer, Sudhendu Raj Sharma

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Shoulder sores predominantly arise in breeding sows and often result in untimely culling. Reported prevalence rates vary significantly, spanning between 5% and 50% depending upon the type of crate flooring inside a farm, the animal’s body condition, or an existing injury that causes lameness. These lesions represent not only a welfare concern but also have an economic impact due to the labor needed for treatment and medication. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of computer vision techniques in detecting and determining the size of shoulder lesions. A Microsoft Kinect V2 camera captured the top-down depth and …

Study On The Combined Effect Of Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Bottom Ash Andwaste Shingle In Hot Mix Asphalt, Kyungwon Park, Behnam Golestani, Boo Hyun Nam, Juan Hou, Jongwan Eun

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This study investigated the positive effect of the combined use of recycled asphalt shingles (RASs) and municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) bottom ash (B.A.) in asphalt concrete, which contributes to enhanced sustainability in pavement engineering. In addition, unlike traditional approaches that employ individual recycling material in hot mix asphalt (HMA), the combined use of the two waste materials maximizes the mechanical performance of the asphalt mixture. The addition of RAS (with 30–40% aged binder) as an additive generally enhances the strength/stiffness of the asphalt mixture. The high porosity/absorption of MSWI BA results in an additional amount of liquid asphalt binder …

Deep Learning Models To Predict Finishing Pig Weight Using Point Clouds, Shiva Paudel, Rafael Vieira De Sousa, Sudhendu Raj Sharma, Tami M. Brown-Bandl

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The selection of animals to be marketed is largely completed by their visual assessment, solely relying on the skill level of the animal caretaker. Real-time monitoring of the weight of farm animals would provide important information for not only marketing, but also for the assessment of health and well-being issues. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a method based on 3D Convolutional Neural Network to predict weight from point clouds. Intel Real Sense D435 stereo depth camera placed at 2.7 m height was used to capture the 3D videos of a single finishing pig freely walking …

Deep Learning Models To Predict Finishing Pig Weight Using Point Clouds, Shiva Paudel, Rafael Vieira De Sousa, Sudhendu Raj Sharma, Tami M. Brown-Bandl

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The selection of animals to be marketed is largely completed by their visual assessment, solely relying on the skill level of the animal caretaker. Real-time monitoring of the weight of farm animals would provide important information for not only marketing, but also for the assessment of health and well-being issues. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a method based on 3D Convolutional Neural Network to predict weight from point clouds. Intel Real Sense D435 stereo depth camera placed at 2.7 m height was used to capture the 3D videos of a single finishing pig freely walking …

Impact Of Irrigation On Vulnerability Of Winter Wheat Under Extreme Climate Change Scenario: A Case Study Of North China Plain, Yulian Gao, Lin Wang, Yaojie Yue

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

An inadequate understanding of the impacts of adaptation countermeasures tends to exaggerate the adverse e􀀀ects of climate change on agricultural systems. Motivated by proposing reasonable climate change adaptation countermeasures, the present study applied the EPIC model to quantify the impacts of climate change and irrigation changes with future socioeconomic development on agricultural production. Winter wheat yield losses using dynamic irrigation parameters in the North China Plain (NCP) from 2010 to 2099 under a scenario coupling climate change and future socioeconomic development (RCP8.5-SSP3), and those under an extreme climate change scenario (RCP8.5), were simulated. Results show that EPIC model demonstrates superior …

Production Of Cast-In-Place Uhpc For Bridge Applications, Jiong Hu, George Morcous, Akbota Aitbayeva

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

This project presents a comprehensive overview of the essential aspects associated with the cast-in-place application of UHPC, including formwork requirements, surface preparation, mixing procedures, placing methods, curing techniques, grinding specifications, and mockup construction. Each section provides in-depth insights into specific guidelines and practices outlined by various regulatory bodies. The research team has developed training materials designed for a full-day workshop tailored to benefit both contractors and NDOT engineers. This workshop comprises key topics such as proportioning, batching, testing, and the placement of both non-proprietary and proprietary UHPC mixes, as well as hands-on experience in batching, testing, and placing UHPC. The …

Low-Cement Concrete Mixture For Bridge Decks And Rails, Soumitra Das, George Morcous Ph.D., Jiong Hu

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Right after construction, drying shrinkage of restrained concrete bridge decks and rails causes early-age cracking, insertion of water and chemicals, and corrosion of reinforcing steel that eventually leads to delamination and spalling of concrete. The main objective of this research is to control early-age shrinkage cracking by reducing cementitious material content in bridge deck and rail concrete mixtures. Several reduced cementitious materials concrete (RCMC) mixtures were developed by optimizing aggregate particle packing and conducting overall performance evaluation. This evaluation was carried out in three phases. The first phase investigated the feasibility of new RCMC mixtures by testing workability, compressive strength, …

Systematic Comparison Of Nonviral Gene Delivery Strategies For Efficient Co-Expression Of Two Transgenes In Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Tyler Kozisek, Luke Samuelson, Andrew Hamann, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are being researched for cell-based therapies due to a host of unique properties, however, genetic modification of hMSCs, accomplished through nonviral gene delivery, could greatly advance their therapeutic potential. Furthermore, expression of multiple transgenes in hMSCs could greatly advance their clinical significance for treatment of multifaceted diseases, as individual transgenes could be expressed that target separate pathogenic drivers of complex diseases. Expressing multiple transgenes can be accomplished by delivering multiple DNA vectors encoding for each transgene, or by delivering a single poly-cistronic vector that encodes for each transgene and accomplishes expression through either use …

Co2 Storage Capacity And Injectivity Of Stacked Carbonates Of The Pennsylvanian And Permian In Western Nebraska, Lateef Lawal

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Geological carbon storage (GCS) is a critical aspect of carbon capture and storage (CCS) in which captured CO₂ from power plants and industrial processes is injected and stored securely underground. Potential subsurface rock formations include saline aquifers, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, unmineable coal seams and volcanic rocks. GCS technology has been proven in the United States and many other parts of the world as a net-zero carbon emission strategy to mitigate the current climate crisis of our planet. Unlike other states such as Wyoming, GCS projects are still in the early phases in Nebraska. The goal of this …

Structural Performance And Resiliency Of Reinforced Concrete Bridge Pier Columns, Multi-Column Piers, And Bridge Systems Subjected To Multiple Hazards – Fire, Collision, And Air Blast, Qusai Abdulkarim Alomari

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Given their close proximity to traffic and improper employment of protective systems, bridges and bridge piers are vulnerable to multi-hazard events triggered by vehicle collisions coupled with correlated and cascading events, such as explosions and fires. Despite recent catastrophic incidents that have highlighted the profound consequences of these extreme demands, including substantial damage, adverse economic impact, and loss of life, there has been a notable lack of research investigating the performance of bridges and bridge structural components under the aforementioned multi-hazards. Furthermore, current bridge design codes do not address these events assuming that, after these destructive events, replacement of the …

Aicropcam: Deploying Classification, Segmentation, Detection, And Counting Deep-Learning Models For Crop Monitoring On The Edge, Nipuna Chamara, Geng (Frank) Bai, Yufeng Ge

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Precision Agriculture (PA) promises to meet the future demands for food, feed, fiber, and fuel while keeping their production sustainable and environmentally friendly. PA relies heavily on sensing technologies to inform site-specific decision supports for planting, irrigation, fertilization, spraying, and harvesting. Traditional point-based sensors enjoy small data sizes but are limited in their capacity to measure plant and canopy parameters. On the other hand, imaging sensors can be powerful in measuring a wide range of these parameters, especially when coupled with Artificial Intelligence. The challenge, however, is the lack of computing, electric power, and connectivity infrastructure in agricultural fields, preventing …

Determining The Presence And Size Of Shoulder Lesions In Sows Using Computer Vision, Shubham Bery, Tami M. Brown-Brandl, Bradley T. Jones, Gary A. Rohrer, Sudhendu Raj Sharma

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Shoulder sores predominantly arise in breeding sows and often result in untimely culling. Reported prevalence rates vary significantly, spanning between 5% and 50% depending upon the type of crate flooring inside a farm, the animal’s body condition, or an existing injury that causes lameness. These lesions represent not only a welfare concern but also have an economic impact due to the labor needed for treatment and medication. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of computer vision techniques in detecting and determining the size of shoulder lesions. A Microsoft Kinect V2 camera captured the top-down depth and …

Performing Motorized-To-Non-Motorized Crash Analysis Using Multi-Model Lbs Traffic Data Calibrated Through Random Forest Models, Nicholas Aldridge

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Traditionally, traffic prediction has been an engineering challenge due to insufficient quantities of data. In this thesis, the use of a new type of data called location-based service (LBS) data from StreetLight (StL) and a large database of multi-modal traffic counts are used to infer vehicle, pedestrian, and bicycle volumes on all road segments in Lincoln, Nebraska. Additional land use features are incorporated into the model from the EPA Smart Location Database (EPA-SLD). The use of random forest models provides strong measures of fit for all modes, with R² scores of 0.98 for both the bicycle and pedestrian modes …

Bridge Deck Overhang Design: Effective Vehicle Impact Loads, Ultimate Strength, And Implications On Bridge Rail Performance, Andrew Eric Loken

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

When an errant vehicle strikes a bridge railing on a typical girder bridge, impact loads are transmitted downward through the railing and inward through the deck overhang to the primary superstructure elements. In this research effort, design demands for deck overhangs supporting concrete railings were characterized using physical testing and complementary modeling in LS-DYNA. Physical test and modeling results were also used to better characterize the ultimate strength of overhangs supporting post-and-beam railings. Ultimately, a novel design methodology for deck overhangs was developed and proposed for adoption to the AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications (BDS).

For overhangs with solid concrete …

Measurements Of Azimuthal Anisotropy Of Nonprompt D0 Mesons In Pbpb Collisions At √𝑠Nn = 5.02 Tev, A. Tumasyan

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Measurements of the elliptic (𝑣₂) and triangular (𝑣₃) azimuthal anisotropy coefficients are presented for D⁰ mesons produced in b hadron decays (nonprompt D⁰ mesons) in lead-lead collisions at √ 𝑠_NN = 5.02 TeV. The results are compared with previously published charm meson anisotropies measured using prompt D⁰ mesons. The data were collected with the CMS detector in 2018 with an integrated luminosity of 0.58 nb⁻¹. Azimuthal anisotropy is sensitive to the interactions of quarks with the hot and dense medium created in heavy ion collisions. Comparing results for prompt and …

An Autoencoder‑Based Snow Drought Index, Sinan Rasiya Koya, Kanak Kanti Kar, Shivendra Srivastava, Tsegaye Tadesse, Mark Svoboda, Tirthankar Roy

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

In several regions across the globe, snow has a significant impact on hydrology. The amounts of water that infiltrate the ground and flow as runoff are driven by the melting of snow. Therefore, it is crucial to study the magnitude and effect of snowmelt. Snow droughts, resulting from reduced snow storage, can drastically impact the water supplies in basins where snow predominates, such as in the western United States. Hence, it is important to detect the time and severity of snow droughts efficiently. We propose the Snow Drought Response Index or SnoDRI, a novel indicator that could be used to …

Mechanisms And Opportunities For Rational In Silico Design Of Enzymes To Degrade Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (Pfas), Melissa Marciesky, Diana S. Aga, Ian M. Bradley, Nirupam Aich, Carla Ng

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) present a unique challenge to remediation techniques because their strong carbon−fluorine bonds make them difficult to degrade. This review explores the use of in silico enzymatic design as a potential PFAS degradation technique. The scope of the enzymes included is based on currently known PFAS degradation techniques, including chemical redox systems that have been studied for perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) defluorination, such as those that incorporate hydrated electrons, sulfate, peroxide, and metal catalysts. Bioremediation techniques are also discussed, namely the laccase and horseradish peroxidase systems. The redox potential of known reactants and …

Analyzing Major Elements Of Crash Injury Severity Involving Priority-I Detriments Of Vision-Zero Plan, Muhammad Umer Farooq, Cole Madson, Aemal Khattak

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

Road traffic crashes result in significant economic losses for individuals, their families, and entire nations. These losses stem from the expenses associated with injury treatment, as well as the productivity lost due to fatalities or disabilities caused by these injuries. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development set an ambitious target of halving the global number of fatalities and injuries from road traffic crashes by 2020 and achieving zero deaths by 2030, commonly referred to as the 'Target Zero Plan.' The Target Zero Plan prioritizes traffic safety issues into three distinct levels. The three priority levels are determined based on the …