Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Quantifying The Role Of Karst Groundwater On Mountain River Discharge, Devon Hill

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

A primary objective of hydrological research is to anticipate the shifts in water supply due to climate change. These shifts are difficult to predict in karst areas like Logan Canyon because much of the water moves through large fractures and cave networks that transport groundwater quickly, but there are some groundwater fractions which move very slowly. Many studies in karst regions use spring dynamics to assess aquifer condition, but overlook other influences such as exchanges between a river and the underlying aquifer. In this study, we calculated the quantity and chemical makeup of these groundwater and surface water exchanges by …

Evaluating 1d And 2d Small-Strain Ground Response Analyses At The I-15 Downhole Array Using Recorded Aftershocks From The M5.7 2020 Magna, Utah Earthquake, Tyler S. Jackson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

As earthquake waves exit rock and travel up through softer subsurface strata on their way to the surface, the intensity of ground shaking is significantly influenced by the subsurface soil layering and often increases in areas with deeper, softer soil deposits. The soft soils present in Utah’s valleys, deposited during the era of Lake Bonneville, tend to amplify the energy and intensity of ground motion felt by people and structures alike. Thus, the first step to designing earthquake resilient infrastructure in Utah is understanding how the subsurface soil layers amplify and/or attenuate ground motions induced by an earthquake. Methods used …

Field Flow Measurements For Pipe Installations With Non-Ideal Conditions, Jake Douglas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Accurate flow measurement data is necessary to effectively manage water resources. The purpose of this research is to investigate options to improve field flow measurement by investigating alternatives for calibrating flow meters installed in non-ideal piping. Typically, to accurately measure a flow rate using most types of flow meters, it is recommended that a straight section of pipe be installed immediately upstream and downstream of the flow meter to avoid flow fluctuations at the meter location. However, in many cases, flow disturbances upstream of the meter are unavoidable.

The performance of field flow measurements in non-ideal piping scenarios were studied …

Pedestrian Crossing Environmental Impact Statement, Alyssa Gaither

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Logan, Utah is divided by US Highway 89/91, which bisects much of the city. This makes it difficult to pass to the other side without a vehicle. A pedestrian crossing has been proposed to connect the eastern and western sides of Logan without impacting traffic flow. The Environmental Impact Statement aims to look at reasonable alternatives and identify many resources that will be affected by its implementation. Four main alternatives were considered: an underpass, an overpass with an elevator, an overpass with a ramp, and the no-change alternative to be used as a baseline alternative. The underpass is the preferred …

Lessons From Immersive Online Collaborative Modeling To Discuss More Adaptive Reservoir Operations, David E. Rosenberg

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This work had the purpose to provoke discussion about more adaptive reservoir operations. This work created online collaborative modeling environments by using web spreadsheets (Google Sheets) during a video conference session. In each session, up to 6 collaborators immersed in water user roles. Then the collaborators consumed, saved, and traded water in response to their available water, other choices, and real-time discussion of choices. The collaboration was an alternative to prior offline or high-performance computing efforts that programmed water allocation rules to try to satisfy forecasted water demands across hydrologic scenarios. The collaboration also differed from prior efforts that excluded …

Examining The Impact Of Weather And Air Quality On University Commuters' Travel Behavior, Atul Subedi

Student Research Symposium

Introduction

• Understanding Transportation Choices: Essential for creating a compatible (socially and environmentally) transportation system.
• Role of Weather and Air Quality: Key factors affecting travel behavior.
• Commuting Options to Utah State University (USU): Diverse, including private, public and active modes (walking and bicycling)
• Research Aim: Investigate how weather and air quality influence university commuter choice decision.

Identify And Quantify The Adverse Effects Of Plastics In Water-Soil-Plant System, Junjie Tang

Student Research Symposium

Plastic pollution has become impossible to ignore.

- Within that roughly 20-year span, we have generated 2.5bn tonnes of plastic waste and each year we produce about 380 million tonnes. More.

- Plastic waste:

(1) beaches

(2) landfills

(3) fruits and vegetables

(4) human organ

Trip Production Models For Persons With Disabilities, Pouyan Saeidian

Student Research Symposium

People with disabilities constitute nearly 13% of the US population, with their mobility being more restricted compared to other groups. To provide equitable access to transportation facilities, it's crucial to delve deeper into their travel patterns and mobility. Our research examines their mobility patterns by comparing daily trip metrics with those without disabilities and modeling and analyzes factors influencing their travel frequency to inform policy enhancements

An In-Depth Investigation Into Factors Influencing Pedestrian Crash Severity: Comparative Analysis Of Generalized Ordered Probit, Stacking Ensemble Model, And Tabnet, Amir Rafe

Student Research Symposium

• Pedestrian Vulnerability: In 2021, there were 7,388 pedestrian deaths in the U.S., with urban settings, intersections, and dark lighting conditions being significant contributing factors.

• Prediction Models in Research: Pedestrian safety research employs a range of statistical, machine learning, and deep learning methods to assess factors affecting crash severity. TabNet, a novel deep learning model, is being used for the first time in the analysis of pedestrian crash severity.

Seasonal Shifts And Insights: Updating The Great Salt Lake Halogen Study (2022/24), Himalaya Sapkota

Student Research Symposium

Halogens compounds, particularly chlorine- and bromine-related species, may alter the photochemical reactions influencing local and regional air quality – including particulate formation (PM_2.5) and ozone (O₃) cycling.

Utilizing Hybrid Machine Learning Techniques And Gridded Precipitation Data For Advanced Discharge Simulation In Under-Monitored River Basins, Reza Morovati, Ozgur Kisi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

This study addresses the challenge of utilizing incomplete long-term discharge data when using gridded precipitation datasets and data-driven modeling in Iran's Karkheh basin. The Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLPNN), a rainfall-runoff (R-R) model, was applied, leveraging precipitation data from the Asian Precipitation—Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Toward Evaluation (APHRODITE), Global Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC), and Climatic Research Unit (CRU). The MLPNN was trained using the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm and optimized with the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II). Input data were pre-processed through principal component analysis (PCA) and singular value decomposition (SVD). This study explored two scenarios: Scenario 1 (S1) used in …

Bear Lake Session, Lawrence Culver, Ben Shaw, Wesley Matthis, Mario Harper

Spring Runoff Conference

No abstract provided.

Water Stress Index And Stomatal Conductance Under Different Irrigation Regimes With Thermal Sensors In Rice Fields On The Northern Coast Of Peru, Lia Ramos-Fernández, Maria Gonzales-Quiquia, José Huanuqueño-Murillo, David Tito-Quispe, Elizabeth Heros-Aguilar, Lisveth Flores Del Pino, Alfonso Torres-Rua

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In the face of the climate change crisis, the increase in air temperature negatively impacts rice crop productivity due to stress from water scarcity. The objective of this study was to determine the rice crop water stress index (CWSI) and stomatal conductance (Gs) under different irrigation regimes, specifically continuous flood irrigation treatments (CF) and irrigations with alternating wetting and drying (AWD) at water levels of 5 cm, 10 cm, and 20 cm below the soil surface (AWD₅, AWD₁₀, and AWD₂₀) in an experimental area of INIA-Vista Florida and in six commercial areas of the …

Experimental Investigation On Flexural Behavior And Energy Absorption Of Lightweight Sandwich Panels With Aluminum Honeycomb Core Embedded By Thin-Ply Carbon-Glass Fibers/Epoxy Face Sheets, Reyhanehsadat Kazemian, Nader Fanaie, S. M. Saleh Mousavi-Bafrouyi, Juhyeong Lee

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Generally, designing lightweight and thin-walled structures with high mechanical performance is one of the challenging issues for mechanical and civil engineering sciences. To this aim, sandwich panels which have been designed and analyzed in present research include aluminum honeycomb core (H) and UD-thin-ply carbon (C)/glass fiber fabric (G) composite facings and investigated the effect of hybridization and stacking sequence on their static and dynamic mechanical properties while keeping thickness constant. Hybrid face sheets panels with three lay-up configurations of [G₂C₂G₂H̅]_s, [GCG₂CGH̅]_s, [CG₄CH̅]_s and non-hybrid configurations …

Adaptively Managing Lake Powell Releases To Respond To Reservoir Inflow And Evaporation, Motasem Abualqumboz, Braden Chamberlain, David Rosenberg

Civil and Environmental Engineering Student Research

Across the Western U.S., reservoir levels are declining towards protection elevations because of aridity amplified by long-standing operations that release more water than inflow. This paper has the purpose to sketch the effects of reservoir operations that release less water than inflow and evaporation. We use the case of Glen Canyon Dam/Lake Powell on the Colorado River, U.S.A. We programed a new rule in the trusted basin simulation model maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The rule releases 95% of inflow in each time step. The 5% reduction is typically greater than reservoir evaporation. Lake Powell levels stabilize and …

Reproducibility Starts At The Source: R, Python, And Julia Packages For Retrieving Usgs Hydrologic Data, Timothy O. Hodson, Laura A. Decicco, Jayaram A. Hariharan, Lee F. Stanish, Scott Black, Jeffery S. Horsburgh

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Much of modern science takes place in a computational environment, and, increasingly, that environment is programmed using R, Python, or Julia. Furthermore, most scientific data now live on the cloud, so the first step in many workflows is to query a cloud database and load the response into a computational environment for further analysis. Thus, tools that facilitate programmatic data retrieval represent a critical component in reproducible scientific workflows. Earth science is no different in this regard. To fulfill that basic need, we developed R, Python, and Julia packages providing programmatic access to the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Information …

Impacts Of Area-Wide Air Pollution On Multimodal Traffic: Comparing Pedestrian, Motor Vehicle, And Transit Volumes In Utah, Prachanda Tiwari

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The impact of area-wide air pollution on multimodal traffic volumes has been underexplored. Thus, this research investigates the effect of area-wide air pollution on pedestrian volumes, motor volumes, and transit ridership across two urban areas in Utah for two years (2018 and 2019). The research employed multilevel modeling to study this effect. The model results showed an overall decrease in pedestrian volumes in both study areas, while driving volumes saw both increases and decreases in different locations. Transit ridership saw an increase during days with moderate air quality in one particular study area. Median income, vehicle ownership, and higher street …

Surface Water Hydrology Within The Great Salt Lake Basin, Madeline F. Merck

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

The Great Salt Lake (GSL) and its tributaries are ecologically and economically important resources for Utah. It is a highly saline lake, with salinity that is several times saltier than the ocean. Lake uses are heavily influenced by its salinity and lake level and, similarly, river uses by its streamflow quantity. Currently, the GSL Basin is experiencing changes that affect tributary inflows, lake level, and salinity. For my dissertation and in support of better lake management, I addressed important gaps in our understanding of the lake and the changes it is undergoing.

Chapter 2 is an examination of the distribution …

Comparing Scaling Approaches To Estimate Unimpaired Streamflow Timeseries And Seasonal Flow Metrics At Ungauged Streams, Karl Christensen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

River ecosystems are controlled in part by natural variation in the flow regime and streamflow alterations that impair these natural variations often have negative impacts for aquatic species. Flow metrics describing attributes of the natural flow regime can inform environmental water management goals to maintain and restore river ecosystems by mirroring critical aspects of the natural flow regime. However, unimpaired daily streamflow data needed to calculate these flow metrics is not always readily available. Statistical scaling approaches present an opportunity to estimate unimpaired flow metrics at ungauged locations to better address environmental water management objectives. This study evaluates a suite …

Development Of Large-Scale Pseudo-3d Shear Wave Velocity Models At The Garner Valley Downhole Array Site, Isabella Corey

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In order to design structures that can withstand anticipated earthquake loads, it is first necessary to understand the behavior of the subsurface when subjected to ground motions. To achieve this, different models and approaches have been proposed in recent decades, each with the aim of estimating how site-specific stratigraphy can amplify and/or scatter seismic waves. All of these methods require, to varying extents, information about the types of soil layers, their thickness, their stiffnesses (represented by a shear wave velocity profile), and lateral variability across the site. This last characteristic is often both difficult and costly to determine. Past research …

Laboratory Measurements At The Impact Point Of A Falling Jet, Garrett Richins

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dams and spillways play a vital role in managing water resources. Many of these hydraulic structures feature a falling jet when discharging downstream. Engineers design plunge pools to receive jets with enough water depth or a protective liner to protect the river bottom so that scour is avoided. Quantifying the pressures at the bottom of the falling jet is a key component to determining the potential for scour and the need for mitigation techniques.

In the laboratory setting, significant discrepancies have been observed between different measurement methods to measure mean and fluctuating pressures of a falling jet intercepting a solid …

Using Computational Fluid Dynamics For Predicting Hydraulic Performance Of Arced Labyrinth Weirs, Shelby J. Koldewyn

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Our world is dynamic and as hydrologic research continues, the magnitude of flood estimates used in hydraulic design for reservoirs has increased. Consequently, many existing spillways are now undersized and unable to meet discharge requirements. These spillways often have a fixed footprint, so nonlinear weirs (e.g., labyrinth weirs) are often a viable solution. For reservoir applications, arcing labyrinth weirs in plan view increases hydraulic efficiency because of better cycle orientation to the approaching flow from the reservoir. This study supplements available physical arced labyrinth weir hydraulic data by observing flow characteristics of two numerical models (α=16°; θ=10° …

Durability Of Wireless Charging Systems Embedded Into Concrete Pavements For Electric Vehicles, Pilaiwan Vaikasi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The interest in electric vehicles (EVs) has been growing around the world significantly. EVs run on electricity by charging power to their batteries. However, a concern in the operation of the EVs is raised because they have an insufficient battery charge to reach their destination. In-motion, inductive power transfer (IPT) embedded into the roadway for the EVs can ease the need to use a charging stationary. This project focused on the durability of the dynamic charging IPT electronics integrated into concrete pavements. This research collaborated with electrical and mechanical engineering colleagues from the Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway …

Long-Distance Recreational Travel Behavior And Implications Of Autonomous Vehicles, Sailesh Acharya

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Have you ever wondered how people travel long distances and how it could be affected by the emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs)? This dissertation aims to answer those questions by studying the current behavior of long-distance recreational travelers and their preference in the age of AVs. This dissertation has four main goals. First, it seeks to develop a reliable way to measure people’s satisfaction with long-distance recreational trips and understand the similarities and differences between long- and short-distance travel satisfaction. Second, it looks at the connection between how people travel, how satisfied they are with their travel experiences, and how …

Increasing The Impact Of Utah State University's Extension Water Check Program With 5-Second Metering, Mahmud Aveek, David E. Rosenberg, Camilo Bastidas, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Belize A. Lane, Kelly Kopp, Peter Mayer, Joe Fazio

Reports

Study Goal – Increase the volume of water saved by the Utah State University (USU) Extension landscape Water Check program because outdoor water use is the largest component of residential use with the largest opportunity to reduce use. We used 5-second water use data collected with Flume Smart Home Water Monitoring devices (Figure 1) at residential homes before and after a Water Check (Box 1; Figure 2) to answer four questions:

1. How much water did households save?
2. Which Water Check recommendations did participants implement?
3. Why did participants implement some recommendations and not others?
4. How to further reduce landscape water use?

Increasing The Impact Of Utah State University’S Extension Water Check Program With 5-Second Metering, Mahmud Aveek, David E. Rosenberg, Camilo Bastidas, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Belize A. Lane, Kelly Kopp, Peter Mayer, Joe Fazio

Reports

Study Goal – Increase the volume of water saved by the Utah State University (USU) Extension landscape Water Check program because outdoor water use is the largest component of residential use with the largest opportunity to reduce use. We used 5-second water use data collected with Flume Smart Home Water Monitoring devices (Figure 1) at residential homes before and after a Water Check (Box 1; Figure 2) to answer four questions:

1. How much water did households save?

2. Which Water Check recommendations did participants implement?

3. Why did participants implement some recommendations and not others?

4. How to further reduce landscape water use?

An Open-Source, Semisupervised Water End-Use Disaggregation And Classification Tool, Nour A. Attallah, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, Camilo J. Bastidas Pacheco

Outreach

Research Objective/Summary: Research on individual household water consumption is vital to water management and conservation approaches. Despite a significant number of papers published on end-use disaggregation tools, reproduction and further study of results on water-use behavior is difficult because the data and code are not easily accessible. In order to fulfill this need for open and reproducible tools, we present a new, semisupervised, non-intrusive water end-use disaggregation and classification tool.

Antimicrobial Efficacy And Hplc Analysis Of Polyphenolic Compounds In A Whole-Plant Extract Of Eryngium Campestre, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Shimaa Bashir, Abdallah E. Mohamed, Omaima A. Sharaf, Rokaia Nabil, Yiming Su, Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Said I. Behiry

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Due to the constant increase in the number of plant diseases and the lack of available treatments, there has been a growing interest in plant extracts over the past few decades. Numerous studies suggest that plant extract molecules possess valuable antimicrobial activities, particularly against fungi and bacteria. This suggests that these biomaterials could potentially serve as attractive therapeutic options for the treatment of phytopathogen infections. In the present study, we investigated and analyzed the methanolic extract of Eryngium campestre L. whole plant extract using HPLC. The analysis revealed the presence of several polyphenolic constituents, with benzoic acid, catechol, quercetin, vanillic …

Evaluation Of Temperature-Index And Energy-Balance Snow Models For Hydrological Applications In Operational Water Supply Forecasts, Tian Gan, David G. Tarboton, Tseganeh Z. Gichamo

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In the western United States, snow accumulation, storage, and ablation affect seasonal runoff. Thus, the prediction of snowmelt is essential to improve the reliability of water supply forecasts to guide water allocation and operational decisions. The current method used at the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center (CBRFC) couples the SNOW-17 temperature index snow model and the Sacramento Soil Moisture Accounting (SAC-SMA) runoff model in a lumped approach. Limitations in parameter transferability and calibration requirements for changing conditions with the temperature-index model motivated this research, in which new avenues were investigated to assess and prototype the application of an energy-balance snow …

Swietenia Mahagoni Leaves Extract: Antifungal, Insecticidal, And Phytochemical Analysis, Wael M. Khamis, Ahmed A. Heflish, Sarah El-Messeiry, Said I. Behiry, Abdulaziz A. Al-Askar, Yiming Su, Ahmed Abdelkhalek, Mohamed K. Gaber

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

In this study, we investigated the antifungal properties of an acetone extract derived from the leaves of Swietenia mahagoni (SMAL) against two isolated fungi, Fusarium equiseti (OQ820153) and Rhizoctonia solani (OQ820152), from rice sheath. The extract was effective in inhibiting the growth of both fungi at the highest concentration tested, 3000 μg·mL⁻¹. Laboratory tests on the LC20 of SMAL extract (49.86 mg·L⁻¹) versus pyriproxyfen 10% EC (1.96 mg·L⁻¹) were accomplished on Aphis gossypii Glover. The extract potently reduced the survival of the nymphs (49.58%) more than the other treatments. The longevity of nymphs treated …