Environmental Engineering Commons^™

Community-Scale Water Treatment Systems In The Dominican Republic, Jonathan Racey, Annabelle Papai, Elise Fischer, Becca Johnson

Engagement & Service-Learning Summit

Engagement and Service-Learning Summit: Reciprocal and Sustainable Partnerships

Accumulation Of Lead By Biofilms In Drinking Water Distribution Systems, Kaleb Oren Belcher

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recent crises, such as the one in Flint, MI, indicate that lead exposure from drinking water is a major health concern in the United States. Over six million lead service lines are still in use in the United States, and a universal protocol to safely remove these lead service lines from drinking water distribution systems has not yet been established. This paper calls to attention the potential hazard that biofilms pose as a source of lead in distribution systems, even after the removal of lead pipes. This study used a simulated water distribution system containing a lead source pipe and …

Enabling Robust Distributed Real-Time Hybrid Simulation Method And Expanding Its Applications In Floating Wind Turbine Systems, Mehmet Cinar

Masters Theses

Real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS), which integrates physical experiment and numerical simulation, plays an essential role in understanding the time-dependent behavior of structures when subject to hazardous loadings. On the other hand, RTHS might not yield accurate results for complex structural systems due to experimental and computational limitations. Distributed real-time hybrid simulation (dRTHS), which takes the advantage of distributed laboratory facilities using network communications, was proposed and proven to address some limitations in RTHS. During dRTHS, Internet delay due to the network communication is added to the actuator delay in RTHS, which may cause inaccurate results or even unstable tests. To …

Evaluation Of A Centrifuge Consolidation Technique To Determine The Effects Of Temperature And Time On Kaolinite Properties, Esteban Miranda Pinzon

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

The effects of time and temperature on the moisture content and unit weight profiles, as developed during a centrifuge consolidation process, were observed during the research program that is described herein. Specifically, a Beckman-Coulter Model J6-MI centrifuge with a six-place JS-4.2A swinging bucket rotor was utilized to consolidate kaolinite slurry samples. The consolidation procedure utilized specially designed slurry consolidometers, made from acrylic tubes with inside diameters of 2.63 inches (6.67 cm) and heights of 5.13 inches (13.04 cm). The tested kaolinite slurry samples were created by mixing 400 grams of dry kaolinite clay powder with 200 grams of de-aired …

Electroósmosis: Un Método Para Mejorar El Suelo, Yenni Mariana Ramírez Mazo, Juan Pablo Osorio, Sergio Agudelo Florez

Articles

El suelo, ese que pisamos, recorremos, sobre el que construimos nuestras casas, escuelas, calles… ese en el que nos dicen que pongamos los pies cuando estamos algo distraídos, es más que simplemente tierra.

Evaluating Policy And Climate Impacts On Water Resources Systems Using Coupled Human-Natural Models, Hassaan Furqan Khan

Doctoral Dissertations

Extensive human intervention in the terrestrial hydrosphere means that virtually every river basin globally reflects the interaction between human and natural hydrologic processes. Thus, sustainable watershed management needs to not only account for the diverse ways humans benefit from the environment but also incorporate the impact of human actions on the natural system. Informed policy making to address our water challenges requires a comprehensive understanding of these feedbacks and how they might be affected by future changes in climate. This work develops coupled human-natural models for improved surface water and groundwater management in water-scarce regions under future changes in climate. …

Evaluation Of The Erodibility Of Soft Clays And The Influence Of Biopolymers, Pamela Judge

Doctoral Dissertations

Erosion of silts and clays is less well understood than erosion of sands. Further, current and anticipated climate change impacts along coastlines compel consideration of new approaches to coastal protection measures; seawalls and breakwaters designs now include natural and nature-based measures. The first research topic consists of the Adaptive Gradients Framework which was a theoretically-informed facilitation tool. The framework was intended to aid a collaborative and interdisciplinary decision-making process to encourage inclusion of natural and nature-based measures in coastal protection planning and design. This research is the culmination of a series of workshops and fieldtrips executed by the Sustainable Adaptive …

Coir Fiber Reinforced Concrete, Jose De La Serna, Moses Karakouzian

AANAPISI Poster Presentations

This poster exhibits the testing and research done on general Portland Cement Concrete with the addition of coir (coconut) fibers as reinforcement. Using the fundamental constituents of cement (water, cement, fine and coarse aggregate) and processed coir fiber, concrete specimens were batched to test for compressive and flexural strengths (per appropriate ASTM standards). Cylindrical and rectangular beam specimens were subjected to loadings until failure occurred. The capacity and modes of failures of the specimens were observed. It was determined that:

• The addition of processed coir fibers decreases the overall strength of general Portland Cement Concrete. • The tested concrete’s …

Prediction Of Flood Hydrograph In Small River Catchments Using System Modelling Approach, Ahmed Nasr, Zeinab Bedri, Loreta Ramanauske

Conference papers

Floods remain to be one of the natural catastrophic disasters with serious adverse social and economic implications on individuals and communities all around the world. In Ireland, frequency of flood events have increased dramatically during the last forty years and is expected to continue to rise primarily due to changes in rainfall and temperature patterns as a result of the global climate change. Small river catchments are usually vulnerable to different types of flooding particularly those associated with “monster” rainfall events, which are characterised by short durations and high intensities. Therefore accurate prediction of flood hydrographs resulting from these rainfall …

Causal Loop Development Activity, Ali Mirchi

All ECSTATIC Materials

Students will work in groups to develop a causal loop diagram (CLD) to illustrate the structure and expected behavior of the fictional water short state of Nevizonato facilitate qualitative discussion of expected outcomes of a proposed water management strategy. This activity requires familiarity with systems thinking and system dynamics modeling. CLDs are introduced as a fundamental systems thinking tool for conceptual modeling.

Measuring Landscape Performance: Case Study Investigation, Hannah Michelle Lopresto, Brandon Zambrano, Catherine De Almeida

UCARE Research Products

Participating in the Landscape Architecture Foundation’s 2018 Case Study Investigation has been an incredibly informative experience for our research team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. We are eager to shine a spotlight on the landscape performance of two Great Plains projects: P Street Corridor, a revitalized downtown streetscape in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Tom Hanafan River’s Edge Park, a waterfront redevelopment in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Working on the post-occupancy study of both projects has been extremely beneficial in understanding how reclaiming underutilized sites can create high-performing landscapes. Both are public projects in urban settings with primary goals of transforming formerly unpleasant, …

Purdue Air Sense: A Methodology For Improving The Accuracy Of Ambient Aerosol Mass Concentration And Size Distribution Measurement With Low-Cost Optical Sensing Techniques, Rishabh Ramsisaria, Satya Sundar Patra, Brandon Emil Boor

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

There is a global lack of a means for monitoring air pollutant levels at a local level due to expensive and bulky instrument requirements. It is important to monitor toxic gas levels, as well as particulate matter levels, in the atmosphere to study their effects on human health and to further develop city- and community-level air pollution solutions. In this study, with the means of a Raspberry Pi, low-cost Alphasense Optical Particle Counter and gas sensors, and methodical calibration techniques, we built a portable 3-D printed module powered by clean electricity generated by an on-board Voltaic solar cell that measures …

Indoor Premise Plumbing: The Relationship Between Water Stagnation, Chlorine Decay, And Total Organic Carbon Levels, Emerson M. Ringger, Andrew J. Whelton, Tolulope Odimayomi, Maryam Salehi

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Drinking water safety is critical to the health of populations worldwide, and modern plumbing infrastructure can influence drinking water chemical characteristics. Inside residential and commercial buildings however, water use and contact with different plumbing components can vary. For example, water can endure lengthy stagnation periods and residual disinfectant agents like chlorine can decay, leaving the water vulnerable to microbial growth. Plastic cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) pipes have become popular and have shown to influence water quality. While several studies have been carried out on chemical leaching from PEX piping, none were found that examined the role of pipe diameter in relation …

Computer Modeling Of Close-To-Ground Tornado Wind-Fields For Different Tornado Widths, Mohammadhossein Kashefizadeh

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tornadoes induce different wind forces on buildings than straight-line (SL) winds. The tangential velocity (Vθ) of tornados is the main parameter that causes damage to the buildings. In-field tornado measurements cannot evaluate the tornado’s Vθ at less than 20m above ground level (AGL). The laboratory tornado simulators suggest that the Swirl ratio (S) and the radius (ro) are the most influential factors affecting Vθ. However, due to scaling problems, laboratory simulators cannot report the Vθ for elevations less than 10m AGL. Well refined computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models can evaluate the Vθ at less than 10m AGL. However, the CFD …

Biogas Quality Improvement Using Water Wash And Phosphorus Recovery As Struvite In Jones Island Wwtp, Md Abul Bashar

Theses and Dissertations

Raw biogas from anaerobic digestion has a methane content of 50 to 60% and a carbon dioxide content of 40 to 50% on a molar basis (Bortoluzzi, Gatti, Sogni, & Consonni, 2014). Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)’s Jones Island Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) uses the biogas supplied from South Shore WWTP in drying Milorganite, a slow-release phosphate fertilizer. But with only 45% methane, the gas cannot be used for sophisticated purposes. To maximize its potential as energy source, the methane content must be upgraded to its market competitor natural gas. Based on simulation results from Aspen Plus software - …

My Catalyst, Gabrielle Gambino Lyon

Celebration of Learning

Over the course of my internship and shadow program with Pepper Lawson Construction and Ziegler Cooper Architects, I was able to explore the various career paths involved in the design, construction, and civil engineering fields. My work on the construction site of a high-rise apartment building located in the heart of Houston, TX allowed me first-hand experience working and learning alongside project engineers, contractors, building developers, and the construction team.

This project was the perfect confluence of my main areas of interest: structural, mechanical, civil, and environmental engineering, as well as architecture. My daily work consisted of on-site walk throughs, …

A 3d Model For Earthquake-Induced Liquefaction Triggering And Post-Liquefaction Response, Arash Khosravifar, Ahmed Elgamal, Jinchi Lu, John Li

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

A constitutive soil model that was originally developed to model liquefaction and cyclic mobility has been updated to comply with the established guidelines on the dependence of liquefaction triggering to the number of loading cycles, effective overburden stress (Kσ), and static shear stress (Kα). The model has been improved with new flow rules to better capture contraction and dilation in sands and has been implemented as PDMY03 in different computational platforms such as OpenSees finite-element, and FLAC and FLAC3D finite-difference frameworks. This paper presents the new modified framework of analysis and describes a guideline to calibrate the input parameters of …

Design Of Low Impact Development And Green Infrastructure At Flood Prone Areas In The City Of Miami Beach, Florida, Usa, Noura Alsarawi

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the effectiveness of Low Impact Development Infrastructure (LIDI) and Green Infrastructure (GI) in reducing flooding resulting from heavy rainfall events and sea-level rise, and in improving stormwater quality in the City of Miami Beach (CMB). InfoSWMM was used to simulate the 5, 10, and 100-year, 24-hour storm events, total suspended solids (TSS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) loadings, and in evaluating the potential of selected LIDI and GI solutions in North Shore neighborhood.

Post-development results revealed a decrease of 48%, 46%, and 39% in runoff, a decrease of 57%, 60%, and 62% in …

Comparative Study Of One Parameter Budyko Model Index And The Scs Curve Number, Cihad Ayberk Doner

LSU Master's Theses

This study investigates two water balance models from different levels of complexity to recognize the impacts of climate change on water resources. The main objective is to examine the capacity of future runoff calculations of a parsimonious simple water balance model compared to a more complex model under the climate change variables. The selected water balance models are the simple one-parameter Budyko-type model using the Zhang’s equation with single parameter (a) and the more complex model (HELP3) applying Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number method to calculate future runoff predictions. The study has a twofold focus, first on explaining the …

Wave Attenuation By Constructed Oyster Reef Breakwaters, Jason M. Chauvin

LSU Master's Theses

Biloxi Marsh, located along the shoreline of Eloi Bay in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana has experienced significant shoreline erosion in recent years. The Living Shoreline Demonstration Project, completed in November 2016, constructed three miles of living shoreline structures to attenuate waves and thus combat marsh edge erosion along the shoreline of Eloi Bay. Several types of constructed oyster reef breakwaters were installed for this demonstration project. Due to the experimental nature of these products, available performance characteristics are limited.

This research measures wave attenuation across the constructed oyster reef breakwaters using bottom-mounted pressure gauges. Seven pressure gauges were deployed to …

Underground Stormwater Treatment Performance In Urban Coastal Catchments: Case Study Of Baffle Boxes In The City Of Tampa, Awet Eyob Tsegay

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In coastal urban regions, underground stormwater treatment units are suitable infrastructure options because they take less space where premium land is expensive. Even then, they should be accessible and ideally small enough to fit into existing stormwater networks. Since 2003, the City of Tampa and Florida’s Department of Transportation (FDOT) have installed 47 baffle boxes into the city’s stormwater pipe networks. Baffle boxes are underground stormwater treatment structures designed to capture sediments and floating debris. Since their deployment, many challenges regarding their practical sediment capturing performance was raised by the city.

The objective of this research was to evaluate the …

Characterization And Removal Efficiency Comparison Of Bioretention Soil Media Mixtures, Nathan T. Hanson

Master's Theses

Bioretention cells have become a commonly used green infrastructure technique to help infiltrate and remove contaminants from stormwater runoff. Bioretention cells are constructed from a layered or heterogeneous soil mixture designed to optimize their ability to infiltrate influent stormwater and remove contaminants carried by the water as it filters through the soil media. The soil mixture, composition, and planting vary depending the local regulatory agencies. As urbanization occurs across the United States, more natural land is converted from pervious surfaces, such as grasslands and forests, to impervious surfaces such as asphalt and concrete, to help reduce the impact of the …

Effects Of Using Clay Nanoparticles As A Soil Amendment To Remove Nitrate From Stormwater, Megan P. Abutin

Master's Theses

Development of urban areas continues to increase, disrupting the natural ecosystem and the pathways for water to drain into downstream water bodies. As the amount of impervious area increases, pollutants can accumulate on the surface and enter the water cycle by stormwater. In most cities, the stormwater flows into a storm drain that is discharged into a water body. Low Impact Development technology has been developed to treat stormwater prior to discharge downstream. A bioretention cell is used to treat stormwater pollutants such as nitrate, phosphorus, total suspended solids, and metals. Past research has indicated that the removal efficiency of …

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

Utah Salt Storage Facilities Guidelines And Best Management Practices, Weston Bellon

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

An environmental analysis was conducted at the Utah Water Research Laboratory of samples gathered from Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) salt storage facilities retention ponds across the state. The analysis indicated high levels of TSS largely made up of minerals directly associated with the deicing solution currently used by UDOT in roadway applications. As a companion to that analysis, best management practices have been identified and compiled to provide a resource for the proper management of salt storage facilities in the state of Utah. Topics included as best management practices include locating new storage facilities, proper salt storage, proper salt …

Solar And Rain Catching Canopy. Urban Oasis, Afolabi Ibitoye, Langston Clark, Elena Zimareva, Evan Banks, Alexander Aptekar

Publications and Research

The Urban Oasis is designed to work within existing “pocket parks” in New York City as a combined rainwater collector, personal electronics charging station and resting designation for New Yorkers. Intended to not only lessen the demand on the city power grid by using renewable energy to charge devices, the urban oasis is also intended to mitigate grey water overfill in New York’s combined sewer system and, in general, serve as a model for responsible environmental stewardship in urban areas.

The important technical aspects of the canopy specifically analyzed were:

a) how much rainwater could the canopy be expected to …

Development Of A Hydraulic Conductivity Placement Window Using Centrifuge Techniques, Greg Thomas

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

A centrifuge soil testing device, currently operated by researchers at the University of Arkansas, was used to develop a technique to determine a hydraulic conductivity placement window. The purpose of this research was to develop a placement window by means of a centrifuge instead of by means of a panel board. Soil specimens were created at standard PRcotor energy and at 50 percent of Standard Proctor energy at -3 percent of optimum, -1.5 percent of optimum, two specimens at optimum, +1.5 percent of optimum, and +3 percent of optimum water content. Values of hydraulic conductivity for the respective specimens were …

Assessment And Optimization Of Environmental Systems Using Data Analysis And Simulation., Milad Ebrahimi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For most environmental systems, specifically wastewater treatment plants and aquifers, a significant number of performance data variables are attained on a time series basis. Due to the interconnectedness of the variables, it is often difficult to assess over-arching trends and quantify temporal operational performance. The objective of this research study was to provide an effective means for comprehensive temporal evaluation of environmental systems. The proposed methodology used several multivariate data analyses and statistical techniques to present an assessment framework for the water quality monitoring programs as well as optimization of treatment plants and aquifer systems. The developed procedure considered the …

Introduction To Infrastructure - The Influence Of Natural Disasters On Infrastructure, Tri Tam Nguyen, Sean M. Raday, Daniel Leverick

STEM Student Research Symposium Posters

In this paper, three major hurricanes in 2017 were examined to determine the damage these hurricanes have done to the infrastructure. Infrastructure has an important role in the nation’s sustained economic development. Infrastructure consists of two main types which are “hard” infrastructure and “soft” infrastructure. Hard infrastructure is the physical networks which include transportation, power, etc. while soft infrastructure is institutions and human capital. Inadequate and inefficient performance of “hard” or “soft” infrastructure would prevent economy from achieving full growth. In the past decades, a significant increase in the number of natural disasters has had great impact on infrastructure systems. …

Rainwater Harvesting System Scenario Analysis On Runoff Reduction Potential In Surabaya, Indonesia: A Geospatial Analysis For Brantas Hilir Watershed, Putri Sukmahartati

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

Global warming has become an environmental concern over the past several decades and its impact on the water cycle is very crucial to the well-being of the human population. In the hydrological cycle, water evaporates by the heat of the sun and atmosphere, where it is accumulated in the atmosphere via clouds and it then falls as rain. With warmer temperatures, more intensive evaporation and downpours occur. In addition, impervious surfaces are increasing as a result of urban development. Those surfaces cause more water to flow faster into open water bodies, creating more extensive flooding, and additionally reducing water quality. …