Civil and Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Bacteriophage Inactivation As A Function Of Ferrous Iron Oxidation, Joe Heffron, Brad Mcdermid, Brooke K. Mayer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Iron-based disinfection has been promoted as a potential low-cost, low-byproduct means of virus mitigation. This research is the first to establish that virus inactivation due to ferrous iron is impacted both by the extent of iron oxidation (from ferrous to ferric iron) and the rate of iron oxidation. Log inactivation of bacteriophages increased linearly with ferrous iron concentration at low doses (< 3 mg/L Fe), but higher doses limited disinfection, likely due to floc formation. The rate of iron oxidation was controlled by independently varying pH and dissolved oxygen concentration. Bacteriophage inactivation increased with the inverse of ferrous oxidation rate, suggesting that slower iron oxidation rates allow better contact between viruses and reactive ferrous iron. Ferrous iron showed potential for disinfection in conditions of low pH and dissolved oxygen, though these conditions preclude effective iron coagulation/flocculation.

Safety Analysis For Shift Implementation, Reginald R. Souleyrette, Riana Tanzen, William Nicholas Staats, Eric R. Green, Mei Chen

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The Strategic Highway Investment Formula for Tomorrow (SHIFT) program research team evaluated the program’s 2018 safety component and developed a new methodology to rank the safety needs of 2020 projects. For the current year, the research team suggests replacing the SHIFT 2018 formulas (based on three naive crash measures) with a new metric, Excess Expected Crashes, formulated from the most current safety analysis guidelines available in the Highway Safety Manual. In addition, the research team developed a user-friendly network screening tool serving as a method to prioritize projects. Another automation tool was developed that will help safety professionals evaluate and …

Bs News July/August

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Cost-Effective Methods To Retrofit Metal Culverts Using Composites, Mahmoud Reda Taha, Susan Bogus Halter

Publications

One of the current pressing problems for all DOTs is the corrosion-oriented deterioration of existing metal culverts. These metal culverts typically are designed for a life of 50 years. However, corrosion is making them last no longer than 30 years. A Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymers (GFRP) pipe section has been evaluated as a fit-in GFRP profile liner for complete repair and rehabilitation of the corroded metal culvert with an expected life of 75 years. This is mainly because of the corrosion free nature of the GFRP material. A comprehensive rehabilitation methodology and laboratory scale three-point bending test was conducted to …

Modeling Particle Dispersal In Bedload Dominated Settings, Sanaz Borhani

Theses and Dissertations

Tracer particles are used to study bedload transport in gravel bed rivers. One of the advantages associated with their use is that they allow for direct measurements of particle entrainment rates in bedload transport and particle displacement. The main issue in field studies with tracer particles is the difference between tracer short term and long term behavior. This difference is due to the fact that particles undergo vertical mixing or move to less active locations such as bars or even floodplains. For these reasons the mean tracer velocity decreases over time. This phenomenon has been called tracer slowdown and it …

The Study Of Flow Hydrodynamics And Transport Processes Over Mixed Bedrock-Alluvial Reaches, Mohammad Sadegh Jafarinik

Theses and Dissertations

Research efforts on mixed bedrock-alluvial rivers primary focused on the bedrock incision and very few studies investigated the alluvial morphodynamics of such systems. To the best of my knowledge none of these models have been considered the spatial variability of the sediment grain size of the bed surface in mixed bedrock-alluvial reaches and very few models focused on the spatial changes in alluvial cover within these reaches. Furthermore, a perusal of the literature on mixed bedrock-alluvial river morphodynamics reveals that very little information is available on 1) bedform geometry and flow resistances and 2) sediment sorting patterns in presence of …

Damping In Transient Pressurized Flows, Sahad Salim Elyass Khilqa

Theses and Dissertations

Piping systems are commonly designed to withstand the first transient pressure peak, which is unaffected by dissipation. However, for multiple operations of control equipment, e.g., pump start-up following pump shutdown, load acceptance following load rejection on hydraulic turbines, etc., an accurate prediction of the dissipation of pressure oscillations is needed to determine a suitable time for the second operation. For this purpose, a method is presented to compute the dissipation of pressure oscillations in piping system following a simple procedure used for computing the dissipation of vibrations of bridges and other structures. Similar to structural engineering, this method is simple …

Sustainability Assessment Of U.S. Beef Processing And Its Antimicrobial Systems, Shaobin Li

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

With the increasing meat demand and awareness of sustainability, concerns have been raised regarding the sustainability of beef production and processing. However, scarce data and inadequate sustainability assessment frameworks for the U.S. beef processing industry limit the ability to develop new technologies and policies comprehensively without shifting sustainability burdens. To fill those gaps, various assessments of the U.S. beef processing industry were conducted from multiple perspectives regarding the environmental, economic, microbial effectiveness of its antimicrobial systems, and human health impacts from foodborne illness, occupational hazards, and environmental pollution.

First, process-level water and energy usage at a typical large-size beef processing …

Damage Evaluation Of Concrete Structures Using Acoustic Emission, Rafal Anay

Theses and Dissertations

The deterioration and aging of the infrastructure in the U.S. have become a crucial issue, especially for highway bridges and nuclear power plants. The reliability and safety of existing structures are affected by growing populations and limited resources. This issue has gained significant concern during the last two decades and efforts are being conducted to accelerate the improvement of nondestructive testing (NDT) and structural health monitoring (SHM) methods. Additional information regarding the condition of existing structures and the early detection of damage can aid in reducing overall maintenance costs. The studies presented in this dissertation employ acoustic emission (AE) as …

Health Monitoring Of Liquid Pipelines, Mohammed Hameed Sabhan Al-Tofan

Theses and Dissertations

The crude and refined oil, water, and other liquids are widely transported through pipelines over long distances within geographical boundaries of countries or beyond. Pipeline accidents, however, are frequent, affecting operation and reducing targeted performance. The frequency of these accidents presents a growing concern and necessitates the need for an effective health monitoring plan. This plan requires monitoring of flow conditions and warning of any changes or abnormal conditions. Abnormalities in the flow conditions include changes in the piping system performance due to defects, such as leaks and blockages. These changes can be located and quantified utilizing different approaches. Two …

Modeling To Predict The Salt Transport Between A Scale Model Estuary And The Unconfined Aquifer With Groundwater Flow, Abeer Ibraheem Khazaly

Theses and Dissertations

In many field studies, variation in fluid density may have important effects on controlling groundwater flow and solute transport processes. These studies include: Indian River Lagoon (IRL), a coastal estuary, located on the east coast of Florida, saline disposal basins, radioactive waste disposal and contaminant spills. In the environment, where the fresh groundwater region is in direct contact with the saline seawater region in coastal aquifers, dynamic equilibrium normally exists between these two regions, but there are numerous human and environmental factors that can adversely impact the equilibrium and lead to severe saltwater contamination of the freshwater region. Intrusion of …

Simulating The Impact Of Traffic Calming Strategies, Deo Chimba, Christian Mbuya

Transportation Research Center Reports

This study assessed the impact of traffic calming measures to the speed, travel times and capacity of residential roadways. The study focused on two types of speed tables, speed humps and a raised crosswalk. A moving test vehicle equipped with GPS receivers that allowed calculation of speeds and determination of speed profiles at 1s intervals were used. Multi-regime model was used to provide the best fit using steady state equations; hence the corresponding speed-flow relationships were established for different calming scenarios. It was found that capacities of residential roadway segments due to presence of calming features ranged from 640 to …

17-11 Evaluation Of Transit Priority Treatments In Tennessee, Deo Chimba, Sotonye Ikiriko

Transportation Research Center Reports

Many big cities are progressively implementing transit friendly corridors especially in urban areas where traffic may be increasing at an alarming rate. Over the years, Transit Signal Priority (TSP) has proven to be very effective in creating transit friendly corridors with its ability to improve transit vehicle travel time, serviceability and reliability. TSP as part of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) is associated with great benefits to community liveability including less environmental impacts, reduced traffic congestions, fewer vehicular accidents and shorter travel times among others.This research have therefore analysed the impact of TSP on bus travel times, late bus recovery at …

Experimental Study On The Effect Of Moisture On Bolt Embedment And Connection Loaded Parallel To Grain For Timber Structures, Henry Meleki Kiwelu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Connections are critical parts of timber structures, transmitting static and dynamic forces between structural elements. The ultimate behaviour of a building depends strongly on the structural configuration and the capacity of its connections. The complete collapse of a building or other less extensive accidents that may occur usually start as a local failure inside or in the vicinity of a joint. The main aim of this study has been to investigate if the short-term capacity of steel-wood dowel joints loaded parallel to the grain is affected by variations in moisture content associated with post fabrication drying or wetting of the …

Potential Use Of High Rate Algae Ponds For Resource Recovery In The Water-Food-Energy Nexus For Tanzania: A Review, Mary Kayombo

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The use of High Rate Algal Ponds (HRAPs) for the treatment of wastewater and resource recovery has raised interest in recent years. Treatment of wastewater through this technology has proved to have high efficiency in reducing the level of pollution, nutrients, dissolved solids as well as pathogens. HRAPs are more efficient than conventional Wastewater Stabilization Ponds (WSPs) due to their design approach that provides room for high rate bio-chemical processes, which increase the mechanisms of nutrients and pathogens removal as well as the rate of micro-algae production for purposes of resource recovery. This paper reviews the upgrading potential of existing …

Development Of Improved Characteristic Equations For Lake Rukwa In Tanzania, Patrick Valimba Dr

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Often Lake Rukwa characteristics have been misreported in literature giving different volumes and surface areas at similar water surface elevations. This study aimed at establishing reliable lake characteristics elevation-area-storage equations for Lake Rukwa by utilising all available data and information to define the bathymetry and derive characteristic equations. A procedure was developed that combines historical lake extents, spot heights from topographical maps and surveyed lake bathymetry to define refined bathymetry to levels it has never reached. It combined spot heights around the lake and selected 13,934 surveyed points (from 107,938 available) within the lake confined by the 820 m land …

Influence Of Tempering And Cryogenic Treatment On Retained Austenite And Residual Stresses In Carbonitrided 18crnimo7-6 Low Alloy Steel, Richard Katemi

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

This work investigated the influence of tempering conditions coupled with cryogenic treatment on thermal stabilization of retained austenite and residual stress distributions in carbonitrided 18CrNiMo76 low alloy steel samples. The carbonitriding conditions were set to enable attaining surface carbon and nitrogen content of 0.87 and 0.34 mass.-percent respectively. After carbonitriding, some of the samples were subjected to varying tempering conditions followed by cryogenic treatment at-120 °C using nitrogen gas. Analysis of both retained austenite and residual stresses was conducted using X-ray diffraction. In the as-quenched state, carbonitrided samples contained 52 mass.-percent. Samples that were directly subjected to the cryogenic treatment …

Assessment Of Surface Water Resources In Great Ruaha River Sub-Basin Tanzania: Application Of Weap Model For Water Allocation And Utilization Impacts Analysis, Deogratias Mulungu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

The Great Ruaha River (GRR) sub-basin is one of the most important waterways in Tanzania as it supports important economic activities. The sub-basin is progressively faced with an inevitable situation of increasing water demand among competing users while the quantity and quality of water is diminishing. The focus of this study was to assess allocation of existing (2012) and future (up to 2025) quantities of surface water in the GRR sub-basin with consideration of priorities given in the Tanzania Water Resources Management Act, 2009 in the order: domestic, environment, agriculture, livestock and non-domestic. Simulation of water allocation scenarios of irrigation …

Meshless Modeling Of Flow Dispersion And Progressive Piping In Poroelastic Levees, Anthony Khoury, Eduardo Divo, Alain J. Kassab, Sai Kakuturu, Lakshmi Reddi

Publications

Performance data on earth dams and levees continue to indicate that piping is one of the major causes of failure. Current criteria for prevention of piping in earth dams and levees have remained largely empirical. This paper aims at developing a mechanistic understanding of the conditions necessary to prevent piping and to enhance the likelihood of self-healing of cracks in levees subjected to hydrodynamic loading from astronomical and meteorological (including hurricane storm surge-induced) forces. Systematic experimental investigations are performed to evaluate erosion in finite-length cracks as a result of transient hydrodynamic loading. Here, a novel application of the localized collocation …

Analysis Of Factors Determining Efficiencyhead Leaving Stain Rays, A.E. Vorobev, Чекушена Т.В., Tcharo X

Gorniy vestnik Uzbekistana

The efficiency of irrigation of stacks is an important component, ensuring the intensification of the heap leaching process in the extraction of metals from poor ores. The study of the irrigation process in heap leaching should be aimed at improving the economic and technological efficiency of the applied irrigation methods. In this regard, the study of the factors affecting the evaporation of leaching solutions in HL will make it possible to make new and improved decisions regarding the devices and methods for the supply of solutions. The influence of coarseness and agglomeration on irrigation efficiency was also considered.

A Decision-Making Framework For Hybrid Resource Recovery Oriented Wastewater Systems, Nader Rezaei

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Water shortage, water contamination, and the emerging challenges in sustainable water resources management (e.g., the likely impacts of climate change and population growth) necessitate adopting a reverse logistics approach, which is the process of moving wastewater from its typical final destination back to the water supply chain for reuse purposes. This practice not only reduces the negative impacts of wastewater on the environment, but also provides an alternative to withdrawal from natural water resources, forming a closed-loop water supply chain. However, the design of such a supply chain requires an appropriate sustainability assessment, which simultaneously accounts for economic, environmental, and …

High‑Throughput Analysis Of Leaf Physiological And Chemical Traits With Vis–Nir–Swir Spectroscopy: A Case Study With A Maize Diversity Panel, Yufeng Ge, Abbas Atefi, Huichun Zhang, Chenyong Miao, Raghuprakash Kastoori Ramamurthy, Brandi Sigmon, Jinliang Yang, James C. Schnable

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Faculty Publications

Hyperspectral reflectance data in the visible, near infrared and shortwave infrared range (VIS–NIR– SWIR, 400–2500 nm) are commonly used to nondestructively measure plant leaf properties. We investigated the usefulness of VIS–NIR–SWIR as a high-throughput tool to measure six leaf properties of maize plants including chlorophyll content (CHL), leaf water content (LWC), specific leaf area (SLA), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). This assessment was performed using the lines of the maize diversity panel. Data were collected from plants grown in greenhouse condition, as well as in the field under two nitrogen application regimes. Leaf-level hyperspectral data were collected with …

Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling Of A Scroll Vortex Intake, S. N. Chan

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Scroll vortex intakes are vortex drop structures commonly used in water supply, drainage and sewerage systems, characterized by a vortex chamber with its wall curling inwards to the dropshaft and a horizontal bottom. The stormwater flows into the intake via an eccentrical approach channel, which imparts vortex motion to the flow, forming a swirling vortex flow with a stable air core through the center of dropshaft. Over past decades, much effort has been devoted to investigating the scroll intake vortex flow, yet the understanding and predictions of the vortex flow is still far from complete due to a lack of …

Large-Eddy Simulations Of T-Shaped Open-Channel Confluences With Different Downstream Channel Widths, Pedro Xavier Ramos, Laurent Schindfessel, João Pedro Pêgo, Tom De Mulder

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Confluences of open-channel flows are common in nature as well as in urban drainage networks and in hydraulic structures. The complex hydrodynamics is often studied in schematized, right-angled confluences. In this paper, the influence of the downstream channel width onto time-averaged and turbulent flow features will be investigated numerically, based on Large-Eddy Simulations. For one flow situation, i.e. flow ratio and downstream Froude number, two geometries will be compared: a discordant width case, which was studied experimentally by Yuan et al. (2016) in a flume with a wider downstream channel than the upstream mean and tributary channels, and the corresponding …

Spillway Debris Physical Model Study Morning Glory Spillway, Melissa Shinbein

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

In this 1:18 Froude scale physical hydraulic model study, woody debris was introduced into a reservoir upstream of a morning-glory spillway at different flow rates causing jams. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the frequency of woody debris clogs in the crest, mouth, transition, or a combination of the three in the morning-glory spillway over varying flow rates. Because of the random nature of debris loading into reservoirs (flux, density, species, length, diameter, branch complexity, etc.), a variety of woody species were used to represent prototype lengths of 10 feet to 35 feet and diameters of 0.5 feet …

Streamflow Regime Change In The Delaware River Basin, Travis Shoemaker, Madhav Bista, David Brandes

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

The combined impacts of hydroclimatic change and land development are widely expected to increase the frequency and magnitude of flooding in the northeast United States, with potential implications to floodplain infrastructure and mapping, hydraulic structures, land management, and flood losses. Additionally, shifting flow regimes pose a challenge for engineers and regulators of stormwater management, dams, and levees because design storms are commonly based on historical data, with the stationarity assumption that the future flow regime will mimic the past. Here, we examine selected long-term (40 to 114 years of data) streamflow records from watersheds of varying size in the upper …

Composite Experimental And Numerical Modeling Of Arced Labyrinth Weirs, Seth Thompson, Blake Tullis

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

Arced labyrinth weirs are a viable option for existing spillway retrofit due to their increased flow capacity. This study supplies additional arced labyrinth weir hydraulic design empirical data and uses this data to validate a numerical model (utilized Flow-3D) of the same experimental setup. The dimensionless discharge coefficient relationship is presented for the physical model, potential errors due to physical model crest referencing are discussed, and the relative and absolute errors along with a grid convergence study are given for the numerical model.

Comparison Of Modelling Approaches For Development Of Discharge Rating Curves For Spillway/Bridge Combinations, Nathan Young

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

When estimating spillway discharge rating curves, engineers can use a variety of methods such as empirical equations, one- (1D) or two-dimensional (2D) hydraulic computer models, or a combination thereof; however, conservative assumptions are often applied to such methods. The use of three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models is an alternative modelling approach that can often better estimate spillway discharge rating curves, especially for complex flow situations. In this study, the results of 3D CFD models are compared to estimates of spillway discharge rating curves developed with a combination of empirical equations and other hydraulic computer models for spillway/bridge combinations. …

Physical Model Testing Of Supercritical Flow Diversion For Combined Sewer Overflow Control, Tony Loeser

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

In this study, a 1:8 scale physical hydraulic model was used to demonstrate that a novel widening ramp concept was applicable for diverting supercritical inflows for a proposed regulator chamber and also to establish design dimensions for the proposed structure to meet project goals. The following conclusions were determined from the testing. The widening ramp concept proposed for this project was able to adequately pass the full range of design inflows of 0-425 MGD without experiencing undesirable flow conditions that would produce excessive water depths while meeting the diversion goals of the project. The proposed diversion conduit could adequately pass …

Numerical Study Of Froude Number And Submergence Ratio And Their Affect On Hydraulic Jump Flow Patterns For A Backward Facing Step, Kurt Smithgall

International Junior Researcher and Engineer Workshop on Hydraulic Structures

The surface recirculation region (SRR), or roller of a conventional hydraulic jump, can pose a safety hazard to recreational river users. In contrast, for an undular hydraulic jump (UHJ), the recirculation region lies submerged on the channel bed and does not pose the same risk. For a river engineer designing whitewater parks, it is crucial to know the conditions of undular hydraulic jump formation at instream structures; it can mean the difference between life and death for recreational river users. However, most existing literature has established conditions of UHJ formation only for the case of a plain bed rectangular channel, …