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Nebraska Water Center Annual Report 2017-2018, The Nebraska Water Center

Nebraska Water Center: Administrative Materials

Contents

Introduction: Foreword • Director’s Letter by Chittaranjan Ray • Nebraska Water Center Overview and Timeline • Nebraska’s Top 10 Water Challenges

Research: Water Sciences Laboratory Overview • Nebraska Vadose Zone Program • Novel Nitrate Leaching Reduction • Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project (OWCAP) • Nebraska Water Productivity Report • USDA-NIFA Water End-User Grant • U.S. Geological Survey 104b Projects

Extension & Outreach: Bazile Groundwater Management Area • Platte River Basin Ecosystem Symposium • Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS) • 2018 National Institutes for Water Resources Regional Symposium • Water Quality + Citizen Science • Nebraska Water and Natural Resources …

Assessing Impact And Blast Resilience Of Polymer Coated Cementitious Materials, Murtaza Nalwala, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Yong-Rak Kim

UCARE: Research Products

RESEARCH MOTIVATION The bridge piers are highly vulnerable to the impact and blast loads. The position in which they are constructed makes it difficult to install protective devices around them. By the current AASHTO standard, it is possible to under-design bridge piers for commercial vehicle impacts and other events such as blast.

OBJECTIVE To improve impact and blast resilience of bridge piers using polymeric coatings.

CONCLUSION Polymer coating of Portland cement concrete can be achieved with a good bonding. ü The polymeric coating seem to improve impact resilience of Portland cement concrete by increasing absorbed impact energy (i.e., area underneath …

Evaluation Of Nebraska’S Aggregate Reactivity By The Miniature Concrete Prism Test Method – Aashto T380, Lieska Halsey, Wally Heyen

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The evaluation of nine different aggregates shows the viability of the T380 test method as an alternative to the standard C1293 test method. The T380 assesses the Alkali-Silica Reaction potential of aggregates with the same reliability as C1293 and correlates well with the C1293 test method. Results are obtained within 56 days by T380 compared to 365 days required by C1293. The T380 method at 56 days appears to characterize the aggregate reactivity similarly to C1293 for all the aggregates evaluated in this study. Therefore, T380 will be part of the Department test method for approval of interground/blended cements along …

Patellar Tendon Morphology In Trans-Tibial Amputees Utilizing A Prosthesis With A Patellar-Tendonbearing Feature, Kai-Yu Ho, Michelle Harty, Jessica Kellogg, Kelly Teter, Szu-Ping Lee, Yu-Jen Chang, Gregory Bashford

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

A patellar-tendon-bearing (PTB) bar is a common design feature used in the socket of trans-tibial prostheses to place load on the pressure-tolerant tissue. As the patellar tendon in the residual limb is subjected to the perpendicular compressive force not commonly experienced in normal tendons, it is possible for tendon degeneration to occur over time. The purpose of this study was to compare patellar tendon morphology and neovascularity between the residual and intact limbs in trans-tibial amputees and healthy controls. Fifteen unilateral trans-tibial amputees who utilized a prosthesis with a PTB feature and 15 age- and sex- matched controls participated. Sonography …

Assessing Impact And Blast Resilience Of Polymer Coated Cementitious Materials, Murtaza Nalwala, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Yong-Rak Kim

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

RESEARCH MOTIVATION: The bridge piers are highly vulnerable to the impact and blast loads. The position in which they are constructed makes it difficult to install protective devices around them. By the current AASHTO standard, it is possible to under-design bridge piers for commercial vehicle impacts and other events such as blast.

OBJECTIVE: To improve impact and blast resilience of bridge piers using polymeric coatings.

CONCLUSION • Polymer coating of Portland cement concrete can be achieved with a good bonding. • The polymeric coating seem to improve impact resilience of Portland cement concrete by increasing absorbed impact energy (i.e., area …

Validation Of The Highway Capacity Manual Urban Street Travel Time Reliability Methodology Using Empirical Data, Ernest Tufuor, Laurence Rilett

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The 6th edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM-6) includes the concept of travel time reliability (TTR), which attempts to determine the distribution of average trip travel times over an extended period. TTR is an inherent part of travelers’ route choice decisions and is used by traffic managers to better quantify operations rather than simply using average travel times. The focus of this paper is on the HCM-6 urban street TTR methodology contained in Chapter 17. The approach uses historical data (e.g., weather and volume fluctuations) and simple empirical data (e.g., 1-day volume count) to provide the user with average …

Mechanical Response Of He- Implanted Amorphous Sioc/ Crystalline Fe Nanolaminates, A. Zare, Q. Su, J. Gigax, T. A. Harriman, M. Nastasi, L. Shao, D. A. Lucca

Nebraska Center for Energy Sciences Research: Publications

This study investigates the microstructural evolution and mechanical response of sputter-deposited amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC)/crystalline Fe nanolaminates, a single layer SiOC film, and a single layer Fe film subjected to ion implantation at room temperature to obtain a maximum He concentration of 5 at. %. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy indicated no evidence of implantation-induced phase transformation or layer breakdown in the nanolaminates. Implantation resulted in the formation of He bubbles and an increase in the average size of the Fe grains in the individual Fe layers of the nanolaminates and the single layer Fe film, but the bubble …

Pawnee Dam Inflow Design Flood (Idf) Update And Stage-Frequency Curve Development Using Rmcrfa, Jennifer P. Christensen, Joshua J. Melliger

United States Geological Survey: Water Reports and Publications

Pawnee Dam is one of the ten Salt Creek Dams designed and built in the 1960s to mitigate flooding in Lincoln, Nebraska. This short paper illustrates the update of the Pawnee Dam inflow design flood (IDF) through calibration to recent high flow events and the development of its stage-frequency or hydrologic loading curve with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Risk Management Center Reservoir Frequency Analysis (RMC-RFA) model. The IDF update follows Engineering Regulation 1110-8-2, Inflow Design Flood for Dams and Reservoirs, including unit hydrograph peaking and two antecedent pool elevations. Background information on the original design of the dam …

The Impact Of Extreme Virtual Elevation Above Grade On Construction Workers' Physiological Responses, Physical Responses, And Task Performance, Mahmoud Habibnezhad

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

On average, in every two work hours, one person dies from work-related injuries at construction sites. Most incidents are due to falling from elevated surfaces. Slips, trips, and loss of balance are the main causes. Studies suggest that instigating visual mismatch and physiological changes are among the most important reasons behind falling from narrow elevated surfaces. By using advanced virtual reality models, this dissertation aims to highlight some of the possible effects of a destabilizing environment (i.e., elevation above grade) on workers’ physiological responses and task performance. More specifically, this dissertation strives to find potential effects of elevation above grade …

Effect Of Moisture Condition On Concrete Core Strengths, Wally Heyen, Lieska Halsey

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The main purpose of this study was to determine if there would be any major differences between curing methods of cores taken for acceptance testing from a highway slab on a project. The comparison provided data to determine the effect of the moisture gradients created by these different curing treatments on core strength and core permeability. The strengths were measured of moist cured cores and sealed plastic bag cured cores from the day cores were obtained (14, 21 and 26 days) until they reached 28 days. Permeability was also measured at 26, 28 and 32 days. According to ASTM C42, …

Investigating The Interaction Of Ndot Hot-Pour Pcc Joint Sealant And Penetrating Concrete Sealers, Bruce Barrett, Dale Byre, Wally Heyen, Lieska Halsey, David Hansen

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

Based on the field observations on NE-83, PCS potentially impacts the bond between the concrete and hot-pour sealant after application. If penetrating sealers break the interfacial bond after application, concrete pavements could become compromised and subject to freeze-thaw damage, chloride attack, and other deleterious effects.

The results show that discoloration occurred when applying the five PCS products to the NE-3405 hot-pour sealed testing blocks. All three test methods of application; spraying, 1-min, and 5-min soaks, caused discoloration. The level of discoloration increased with the duration of contact with the PCS. Despite discoloration, none of the five PCS products caused de-bonding …

Research On High-Rap Asphalt Mixtures With Rejuvenators - Phase Ii, Hamzeh Haghshenas, Gabriel Nsengiyumva, Yong-Rak Kim, Kommidi Santosh, Soroosh Amelian

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

A previous study by the authors have demonstrated effectiveness of three rejuvenators: R1 (triglyceride/fatty acid: agriculture-tech based), R2 (aromatic extract: petroleum-tech based), and R3 (tall oil: green-tech based) on rejuvenating properties of the aged binder. In that study, it was observed that the rejuvenators made high-RAP mixtures softer and more compliant, which may increase the rutting potential, while they simultaneously improve cracking resistance of the high-RAP materials. Research outcomes and findings from the previous study resulted in consequential research needs for more specific investigation of high-RAP mixtures with rejuvenators in order to achieve realistic implementation into future high-RAP paving projects …

Validation Of The Mechanical Rocker Test Method For Ice Melting Capacity (Mrt-Imc), Lieska Halsey, David Hansen

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The anti-icing and deicing industry has interest in the development of an objective, repeatable test procedure for the evaluation and comparison of anti-icing and deicing products. Pursuant to this goal, the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) funded research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) to investigate methods for evaluating deicing products, beginning in 2011[1]. Researchers at UNL developed the procedure for the Mechanical Rocker Test for Ice Melting Capacity (MRT or MRT-IMC) in 2014[2].

From 2017-2019, NDOT evaluated the MRT-IMC procedure for validity and suitability as a standard test procedure for assessing deicer performance. NDOT also explored opportunities to improve …

Cpt-Based Pile Design, Chung R. Song, Seunghee Kim, Binyam Bekele, Jingtao Zhang, Alex Silvey

Nebraska Department of Transportation: Research Reports

The geotechnical design of a pile foundation is concerned with the determination of the safe magnitude of an external load that the foundation can carry without jeopardizing the stability of the supported structure. In recent years, in-situ sounding tests are becoming a more attractive method to predict pile capacity due to the rapid development of testing instruments, improved understanding of their mechanics and interpretation, and cost efficiency. The cone penetration test (CPT) and its upgraded version, the piezocone penetration test (PCPT), are the most widely used in situ sounding tests to predict pile capacity. This research report compared eight CPT-based …

Actual Evapotranspiration And Crop Coefficients Of Irrigated Lowland Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Under Semiarid Climate, Koffi Djaman, Daran R. Rudnick, Yonnelle D. Moukoumbi, Abdoulaye Sow, Suat Irmak

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Lowland irrigated rice is the predominant crop produced in the Senegal River Valley characterized by very low annual rainfall, high temperatures, and low relative humidity. The Senegal River is shared by Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, and Guinea, and serves as the main source of irrigation water for the adopted double rice cropping system. Developing appropriate resource management strategies might be the key factor for the sustainability of rice production in the region. This study aims to estimate rice seasonal evapotranspiration (ETa), irrigation water requirement, and to develop rice growth stage specific crop coefficients (Kc) to improve rice water productivity. Field experiments …

Metabolic Compounds Within The Porcine Uterine Environment Are Unique To The Type Of Conceptus Present During The Early Stages Of Blastocyst Elongation, Sophie C. Walsh, Jeremy R. Miles, Linxing Yao, Corey D. Broeckling, Lea A. Rempel, Elane C. Wright-Johnson, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The objective of this study was to identify metabolites within the porcine uterine milieu during the early stages of blastocyst elongation. At Days 9, 10, or 11 of gestation, reproductive tracts of White cross‐bred gilts (n = 38) were collected immediately following harvest and flushed with Roswell Park Memorial Institute‐1640 medium. Conceptus morphologies were assessed from each pregnancy and corresponding uterine flushings were assigned to one of five treatment groups based on these morphologies: (a) uniform spherical (n = 8); (b) heterogeneous spherical and ovoid (n = 8); (c) uniform ovoid (n = 8); (d) heterogeneous …

Post-Earthquake Assessment And Numerical Modeling Of Freestanding Heritage Structures, M. Khalid Saifullah, Christine E. Wittich

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Historic and heritage structures are particularly vulnerable to earthquakes, where damage or collapse can not only lead to loss of a structure but also the loss of irreplaceable heritage. Many heritage structures can be classified as freestanding (detached) structures, including unreinforced masonry walls, classical multi-drum columns, and statue-pedestal systems. However, the seismic response of freestanding structures (sliding, rocking, rock-slide, overturning) is poorly predicted by existing methods due to geometric non-linearities as well as sensitivity to interface conditions and modeling parameters. Previous studies have focused on analytical modeling of simplified systems and/or experimentation under controlled laboratory conditions. In contrast, this paper …

Post-Fire Damage Geospatial Assessment Via Point Clouds Of A Highway Bridge Structure, Yijun Liao, M Ebrahim Mohammadi, Richard L. Wood, Christine E. Wittich

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

This paper discusses the quantitative post-fire damage assessment of a steel girder bridge via point clouds. In this case study, the point cloud was collected using light detection and ranging (lidar) for a detailed geometric and shape analysis. The out-of-plane deformation was analyzed to locate and quantify buckling across the length of the steel girders.

Efficient Intensity Measures Of Slide-Rocking Structures For Precariously Balanced Rocks, Taylor J. Knickerbocker, Christine E. Wittich

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Faculty Publications

Precariously balanced rocks (PBRs) and other fragile geologic features are important in both the engineering and seismological communities since they are indicative of the maximum ground motion at a site over the rock’s lifetime. Precariously balanced rocks are individual or stacks of freestanding rocks that tend to respond in rigid body modes when subject to seismic excitation – namely, rocking, sliding, slide-rocking, and free-flight, which can lead to overturning. The seismic response of freestanding structures, such as PBRs, is known to be extremely sensitive to small changes in geometry, position, and earthquake excitation. As such, deterministic methods are limited in …

Fuzzy Control System For Variable Rate Irrigation Using Remote Sensing, Willians Ribeiro Mendes, Fábio Meneghetti U. Araújo, Ritaban Dutta, Derek M. Heeren

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Variable rate irrigation (VRI) is the capacity to spatially vary the depth of water application in a field to handle different types of soils, crops, and other conditions. Precise management zones must be developed to efficiently apply variable rate technologies. However, there is no universal method to determine management zones. Using speed control maps for the central pivot is one option. Thus, this study aims to develop an intelligent fuzzy inference system based on precision irrigation knowledge, i.e., a system that can create prescriptive maps to control the rotation speed of the central pivot. Satellite images are used in this …

Design Of Plant Protection Uav Variable Spray System Based On Neural Networks, Sheng Wen, Quanyong Zhang, Xuanchun Yin, Yubin Lan, Jiantao Zhang, Yufeng Ge

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Recently, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have rapidly emerged as a new technology in the fields of plant protection and pest control in China. Based on existing variable spray research, a plant protection UAV variable spray system integrating neural network based decision making is designed. Using the existing data on plant protection UAV operations, combined with artificial neural network (ANN) technology, an error back propagation (BP) neural network model between the factors affecting droplet deposition is trained. The factors affecting droplet deposition include ambient temperature, ambient humidity, wind speed, flight speed, flight altitude, propeller pitch, nozzles pitch and prescription value. Subsequently, …

Free Polyethylenimine Enhances Substrate-Mediated Gene Delivery On Titanium Substrates Modified With Rgd-Functionalized Poly(Acrylic Acid) Brushes, Amy Mantz, Alice Rosenthal, Eric Farris, Tyler Kozisek, Eva Bittrich, Saghar Nazari, Eva Schubert, Mathias Schubert, Manfred Stamm, Petra Uhlmann, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Substrate mediated gene delivery (SMD) is a method of immobilizing DNA complexes to a substrate via covalent attachment or nonspecific adsorption, which allows for increased transgene expression with less DNA compared to traditional bolus delivery. It may also increase cells receptivity to transfection via cell-material interactions. Substrate modifications with poly(acrylic) acid (PAA) brushes may improve SMD by enhancing substrate interactions with DNA complexes via tailored surface chemistry and increasing cellular adhesion via moieties covalently bound to the brushes. Previously, we described a simple method to graft PAA brushes to Ti and further demonstrated conjugation of cell adhesion peptides (i.e., RGD) …

Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Of A Camelina Sativa Spring Panel, Zinan Luo, Jordan Brock, John M. Dyer, Toni Kutchan, Daniel P. Schachtman, Megan Augustin, Yufeng Ge, Noah Fahlgren, Hussein Abdel-Haleem

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

There is a need to explore renewable alternatives (e.g., biofuels) that can produce energy sources to help reduce the reliance on fossil oils. In addition, the consumption of fossil oils adversely affects the environment and human health via the generation of waste water, greenhouse gases, and waste solids. Camelina sativa, originated from southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia, is being re-embraced as an industrial oilseed crop due to its high seed oil content (36–47%) and high unsaturated fatty acid composition (>90%), which are suitable for jet fuel, biodiesel, high-value lubricants and animal feed. C. sativa’s agronomic advantages include …

Nucleic Acid Delivery To Mesenchymal Stem Cells: A Review Of Nonviral Methods And Applications, Andrew Hamann, Albert Nguyen, Angela K. Pannier

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that can be isolated and expanded from many tissues, and are being investigated for use in cell therapies. Though MSC therapies have demonstrated some success, none have been FDA approved for clinical use. MSCs lose stemness ex vivo, decreasing therapeutic potential, and face additional barriers in vivo, decreasing therapeutic efficacy. Culture optimization and genetic modification of MSCs can overcome these barriers. Viral transduction is efficient, but limited by safety concerns related to mutagenicity of integrating viral vectors and potential immunogenicity of viral antigens. Nonviral delivery methods are safer, though limited …

The Development Of The Infews-Er: A Virtual Resource Center For Transdisciplinary Graduate Student Training At The Nexus Of Food, Energy, And Water, Luis F. Rodriguez, Anna-Maria Marshall, Dan Cotton, Richard K. Koelsch, Jacek Koziel, Deanne Meyer, Dan Steward, Jill Heemstra, Anand Padmanabahn, John Classen, Nathan J. Meyer, Benjamin L. Ruddell, Sean M. Ryan, Ximing Cai, Emad Habib, Peter D. Saundry

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Problems at the nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (FEWS) are among the most complex challenges we face. Spanning simple to complex temporal, geographic, social, and political framings, the questions raised at this nexus require multidisciplinary if not transdisciplinary approaches. Answers to these questions must draw from engineering, the physical and biological sciences, and the social sciences. Practical solutions depend upon a wide community of stakeholders, including industry, policymakers, and the general public. Yet there are many obstacles to working in a transdisciplinary environment: unfamiliar concepts, specialized terminology, and countless “blind” spots. Graduate education occurs in disciplinary ‘silos’, often …

Water Effects On Optical Canopy Sensing For Late-Season Site-Specific Nitrogen Management Of Maize, Tsz Him Lo, Daran Rudnick, Brian Krienke, D. M. Heeren, Yufeng Ge, Tim M. Shaver

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The interpretation of optical canopy sensor readings for determining optimal rates of late-season site-specific nitrogen application to corn (Zea mays L.) can be complicated by spatially variable water sufficiency, which can also affect canopy size and/or pigmentation. In 2017 and 2018, corn following corn and corn following soybeans were subjected to irrigation×nitrogen fertilizer treatments in west central Nebraska, USA, to induce variable water sufficiency and variable nitrogen sufficiency. The vegetation index-sensor combinations investigated were the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), the normalized difference red edge index (NDRE), and the reflectance ratio of near infrared minus red edge over near …

Narrow Grass Hedge Effects On Microbial Transport Following Variable Applications Of Beef Cattle Manure, Lisa M. Durso, John E. Gilley, Dave B. Marx, Brian L. Woodbury

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

The effectiveness of a 1.4 m wide grass hedge in reducing microbial transport following manure application was examined in this study. Beef cattle manure was applied to 0.75 m wide by 4.0 m long plots established on an Aksarben silty clay loam located in southeast Nebraska. Manure was added at rates required to meet none or the 1-, 2-, or 4-year nitrogen requirements for corn. The transport of phages, total coliforms, E. coli, and enterococci was measured for three 30 min simulated rainfall events, which were separated by approximately 24 h intervals. The narrow grass hedge reduced total counts of …

Minimal Interspecies Interaction Adjustment (Miia): Inference Of Neighbor-Dependent Interactions In Microbial Communities, Hyun-Seob Song, Joon-Yong Lee, Shin Haruta, William C. Nelson, Dong-Yup Lee, Stephen R. Lindemann, Jim K. Fredrickson, Hans C. Bernstein

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

An intriguing aspect in microbial communities is that pairwise interactions can be influenced by neighboring species. This creates context dependencies for microbial interactions that are based on the functional composition of the community. Context dependent interactions are ecologically important and clearly present in nature, yet firmly established theoretical methods are lacking from many modern computational investigations. Here, we propose a novel network inference method that enables predictions for interspecies interactions affected by shifts in community composition and species populations. Our approach first identifies interspecies interactions in binary communities, which is subsequently used as a basis to infer modulation in more …

Principal Variable Selection To Explain Grain Yield Variation In Winter Wheat From Features Extracted From Uav Imagery, Jiating Li, Arun-Narenthiran Veeranampalayam-Sivakumar, Madhav Bhatta, Nicholas D. Garst, Hannah Stoll, P. Stephen Baenziger, Vikas Belamkar, Reka Howard, Yufeng Ge, Jiating Li

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Background: Automated phenotyping technologies are continually advancing the breeding process. However, collecting various secondary traits throughout the growing season and processing massive amounts of data still take great efforts and time. Selecting a minimum number of secondary traits that have the maximum predictive power has the potential to reduce phenotyping efforts. The objective of this study was to select principal features extracted from UAV imagery and critical growth stages that contributed the most in explaining winter wheat grain yield. Five dates of multispectral images and seven dates of RGB images were collected by a UAV system during the spring growing …

Agenator: An Open Source Computer-Controlled Dry Aging System For Beef, Soon Kiat Lau, Felipe Azevedo Ribeiro, Jeyamkondan Subbiah, Chris R. Calkins

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Dry aging of beef is a process where beef is exposed to a controlled environment with the ultimate goal of drying the beef to improve its quality and value. Comprehensive investigations into the effects of various environmental conditions on dry aging are crucial for understanding and optimizing the process, but the lack of affordable equipment focused on data collection makes it difficult to do so. The Agenator was thus developed as an open source system with a suite of features for investigating dry aging such as: measuring and recording relative humidity, temperature, mass, air velocity, and fan rotational speed; precise …