Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Does Drought Stress Eliminate The Benefit Of Elevated Co2,/Sub> On Soybean Yield? Using An Improved Model To Link Crop And Soil Water Relations, Wenguang Sun, David Fleisher, Dennis Timlin, Chittaranjan Ray, Zhuangji Wang, Sahila Beegum, Vangimalla Reddy

Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute: Faculty Publications

Crop simulation models are indispensable tools that facilitate studies to assess climate impacts and adaptation responses, but have not been adequately tested in terms of accurately predicting crop growth and water stress responses to high carbon dioxide concentrations [CO₂]. The soybean model, GLYCIM, previously modified with a coupled leaf-level gas exchange – energy balance model, was integrated with a two-dimensional convectivediffusive root growth module which linked soil and leaf water potentials with the regulation of stomatal conductance. We evaluated the accuracy of this modified GLYCIM using experimental data from a Free-Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) site, SoyFACE, and …

Assessment Of Bridge Pier Response To Fire, Vehicle Impact, And Air Blast, Chen Fang, Qusai Alomari, Daniel G. Linzell

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

Highway bridges exposed to intentional or unintentional fire followed by combined vehicle impact and air blast are at risk of significant damage and, possibly, collapse. Limited studies examining the complex effects of these extreme demands on bridge support elements and parametrizing their response and damage are found in the open literature. Research that is presented is part of an ongoing numerical investigation examining round, multi-column, reinforced concrete (RC), bridge pier behavior subject to multi-hazard scenarios involving fire, vehicle impact, and air blast. Detailed nonlinear finite element analysis models of single columns and multi-column piers supported by a pile foundation system …

Securing The Transportation Of Tomorrow: Enabling Self-Healing Intelligent Transportation, Elanor Jackson, Sahra Sedigh Sarvestani

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

The safety of autonomous vehicles relies on dependable and secure infrastructure for intelligent transportation. The doctoral research described in this paper aims to enable self-healing and survivability of the intelligent transportation systems required for autonomous vehicles (AV-ITS). The proposed approach is comprised of four major elements: qualitative and quantitative modeling of the AV-ITS, stochastic analysis to capture and quantify interdependencies, mitigation of disruptions, and validation of efficacy of the self-healing process. This paper describes the overall methodology and presents preliminary results, including an agent-based model for detection of and recovery from disruptions to the AV-ITS.

Development Of A Framework To Support Informed Shipbuilding Based On Supply Chain Disruptions, Katherine Smith, Rafael Diaz, Yuzhong Shen

VMASC Publications

In addition to stresses induced by the Covid-19 pandemic, supply chains worldwide have been growing more complex while facing a continuous onslaught of disruptions. This paper presents an analysis and extension of a graph based model for modeling and simulating the effects of such disruptions. The graph based model combines a Bayesian network approach for simulating risks with a network dependency analysis approach for simulating the propagation of disruptions through the network over time. The initial analysis provides evidence supporting extension to for using a multi-layered approach allowing for the inclusion of cyclic features in supply chain models. Initial results …

Sources Of Variability And Uncertainty In Food-Energy-Water Nexus Systems, Heydi Calderon-Ambelis, Deepak R. Keshwani

Department of Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

A nexus approach contributes to the strategic allocation of resources to secure food, energy, and water for the world population. Integrated models considering the complex interactions across food, energy, and water (FEW) enhance decision-making and strategic planning towards resilience. However, a significant number of the existing integrated models leave unaddressed the inherent variability and uncertainty present in the FEW sectors. Here, we review the importance of characterizing variability over spatial and temporal scales and the importance of decreasing the uncertainty present within a FEW nexus systems. The review also discusses existing modeling tools that address variability and uncertainty on single …

Exploring Blockchain Adoption Supply Chains: Opportunities And Challenges, Adrian V. Gheorghe, Omer F. Keskin, Farinaz Sabz Ali Pour

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

In modern supply chains, acquisition often occurs with the involvement of a network of organizations. The resilience, efficiency, and effectiveness of supply networks are crucial for the viability of acquisition. Disruptions in the supply chain require adequate communication infrastructure to ensure resilience. However, supply networks do not have a shared information technology infrastructure that ensures effective communication. Therefore decision-makers seek new methodologies for supply chain management resilience. Blockchain technology offers new decentralization and service delegation methods that can transform supply chains and result in a more flexible, efficient, and effective supply chain. This report presents a framework for the application …

Characterizing Students’ Engineering Design Strategies Using Energy3d, Jasmine Singh, Viranga Perera, Alejandra Magana, Brittany Newell

Discovery Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Research Internship

The goals of this study are to characterize design actions that students performed when solving a design challenge, and to create a machine learning model to help future students make better engineering design choices. We analyze data from an introductory engineering course where students used Energy3D, an open source computer-aided design software, to design a zero-energy home (i.e. a home that consumes no net energy over a period of a year). Student design actions within the software were recorded into text files. Using a sample of over 300 students, we first identify patterns in the data to assess how students …

Design And Modeling Of A New Biomimetic Soft Robotic Jellyfish Using Ipmc-Based Electroactive Polymers, Zakai J. Olsen, Kwang J. Kim

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Research

Smart materials and soft robotics have been seen to be particularly well-suited for developing biomimetic devices and are active fields of research. In this study, the design and modeling of a new biomimetic soft robot is described. Initial work was made in the modeling of a biomimetic robot based on the locomotion and kinematics of jellyfish. Modifications were made to the governing equations for jellyfish locomotion that accounted for geometric differences between biology and the robotic design. In particular, the capability of the model to account for the mass and geometry of the robot design has been added for better …

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The goals of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and legally feasible option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed MAR harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services modeling; and …

Monitoring And Evaluating The Influences Of Class V Injection Wells On Urban Karst Hydrology, James Adam Shelley

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

The response of a karst aquifer to storm events is often faster and more severe than that of a non-karst aquifer. This distinction is often problematic for planners and municipalities, because karst flooding does not typically occur along perennial water courses; thus, traditional flood management strategies are usually ineffective. The City of Bowling Green (CoBG), Kentucky is a representative example of an area plagued by karst flooding. The CoBG, is an urban karst area (UKA), that uses Class V Injection Wells to lessen the severity of flooding. The overall effectiveness, siting, and flooding impact of Injection Wells in UKA’s is …

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The aims of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and legally feasible option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed MAR harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services modeling; and …

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Roads, Keith Pierce

News Items

No abstract provided.

Reducing Equifinality Using Isotopes In A Process-Based Stream Nitrogen Model Highlights The Flux Of Algal Nitrogen From Agricultural Streams, William I. Ford, James F. Fox, Erik Pollock

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

The fate of bioavailable nitrogen species transported through agricultural landscapes remains highly uncertain given complexities of measuring fluxes impacting the fluvial N cycle. We present and test a new numerical model named Technology for Removable Annual Nitrogen in Streams For Ecosystem Restoration (TRANSFER), which aims to reduce model uncertainty due to erroneous parameterization, i.e., equifinality, in stream nitrogen cycle assessment and quantify the significance of transient and permanent removal pathways. TRANSFER couples nitrogen elemental and stable isotope mass‐balance equations with existing hydrologic, hydraulic, sediment transport, algal biomass, and sediment organic …

Water–Soil–Vegetation Dynamic Interactions In Changing Climate, Xixi Wang, Xuefeng Chu, Tingxi Liu, Xiangju Cheng, Rich Whittecar

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Previous studies of land degradation, topsoil erosion, and hydrologic alteration typically focus on these subjects individually, missing important interrelationships among these important aspects of the Earth's system. However, an understanding of water–soil–vegetation dynamic interactions is needed to develop practical and effective solutions to sustain the globe's eco-environment and grassland agriculture, which depends on grasses, legumes, and other fodder or soil-building crops. This special issue is intended to be a platform for a discussion of the relevant scientific findings based on experimental and/or modeling studies. Its 12 peer-reviewed articles present data, novel analysis/modeling approaches, and convincing results of water–soil–vegetation interactions under …

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The aims of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and permittable option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services …

Nres/Metr/Bsen 479/879: Hydroclimatology—A Peer Review Of Teaching Project Benchmark Portfolio, Francisco Munoz-Arriola

UNL Faculty Course Portfolios

Rising temperatures and extreme hydrometeorological and climate events are evidences of a changing climate. An increasing population together with their demands for food, energy and water make changes in climate evidence the need to train a new generation of multidisciplinary professionals with a clear understanding of the effects of a changing climate in their activities. Historically, climate sciences were used for scientific and weather operational contexts and engineers applied stationary assumptions for multi-term planning. My goal is to identify elements built from classroom experiences about (a) the suitability of a hydroclimatology course for engineers and scientists; (b) the multidisciplinary skills; …

Robust Modeling And Predictions Of Greenhouse Gas Fluxes From Forest And Wetland Ecosystems, Khandker S. Ishtiaq

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The land-atmospheric exchanges of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) are major drivers of global warming and climatic changes. The greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes indicate the dynamics and potential storage of carbon in terrestrial and wetland ecosystems. Appropriate modeling and prediction tools can provide a quantitative understanding and valuable insights into the ecosystem carbon dynamics, while aiding the development of engineering and management strategies to limit emissions of GHGs and enhance carbon sequestration. This dissertation focuses on the development of data-analytics tools and engineering models by employing a range of empirical and semi-mechanistic approaches to robustly …

In Need Of A Domain-Specific Language Modeling Notation For Smartphone Applications With Portable Capability, Hamza Ghandorh, Luiz Fernando Capretz Dr., Ali Bou Nassif Dr.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Publications

The rapid growth of the smartphone market and its increasing revenue has motivated developers to target multiple platforms. Market leaders, such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft, develop their smartphone applications complying with their platform specifications. The specification of each platform makes a platform-dedicated application incompatible with other platforms due to the diversity of operating systems, programming languages, and design patterns. Conventional development methodologies are applied to smartphone applications, yet they perform less well. Smartphone applications have unique hardware and software requirements. All previous factors push smartphone developers to build less sophisticated and low-quality products when targeting multiple smartphone platforms. Model-driven …

Interdisciplinary Modeling For Water-Related Issues Graduate Course, Laurel Saito, Alexander Fernald, Timothy Link

All ECSTATIC Materials

The science and management of aquatic ecosystems is inherently interdisciplinary, with issues associated with hydrology, atmospheric science, water quality, geochemistry, sociology, economics, environmental science, and ecology. Addressing water resources issues in any one discipline invariably involves effects that concern other disciplines, and attempts to address one issue often have consequences that exacerbate existing issues or concerns, or create new ones (Jørgensen et al. 1992; Lackey et al. 1975; Straskraba 1994) due to the strongly interactive nature of key processes (Christensen et al. 1996). Thus, research and management of aquatic ecosystems must be interdisciplinary to be most effective, but such truly …

Slides: Understanding The Impacts: Issues Of Research, Cindy Beeler

Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6)

Presenter: Cindy Beeler, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Denver, CO

10 slides

Fema Region Iii Coastal Flood Study - Hampton Roads Adaptation Forum, Robin Danforth

March 28, 2014: Addressing Current and Future Vulnerability through Floodplain Management

No abstract provided.

Engineering Collaborations In Medical Modeling And Simulation, Frederic D. Mckenzie, Salim Chemlal, Tom Hubbard, Robert E. Kelly, Roderick C. Borgie, David A. Besachio, Michel Audette

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Fifty years ago computer science was just beginning to see common acceptance as a growing discipline and very few universities had a computer science department although other departments were utilizing computers and software to enhance their methodologies. We believe modeling and simulation (M&S) is on a similar path. Many other disciplines utilize M&S to enhance their methodologies but we also believe that M&S fundamentals can be essential in making better decisions by utilizing the appropriate model for the problem at hand, expanding the solution space through simulation, and understanding it through visualization and proper analyses. After our students learn these …

Modeling Transport Properties Of Inhomogeneous Superconductor-Metal Composites, A Borroto, L Del Rio, M Arronte, Tom Johansen, E Altshuler

Australian Institute for Innovative Materials - Papers

We propose a model for a superconductor-metal composite that allows to derive intrinsic transport properties of the superconducting phase based on 2D images of its cross section, and a minimal set of parameters. The method is tested experimentally by using, as model composite, a "transversal bridge" made on a Bi₂Sr₂Ca₂Cu₃O_10+x (BSCCO)-Ag multi-filamentary tape. It is shown that the approach allows to predict the measured I−⟨E⟩ curves of the filaments. In addition, one can determine the critical current anisotropy between the longitudinal and transverse directions of the Ag-BSCCO tape, and also of …

Measuring Security: A Challenge For The Generation, Janusz Zalewski, Steven Drager, William Mckeever, Andrew J. Kornecki

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

This paper presents an approach to measuring computer security understood as a system property, in the category of similar properties, such as safety, reliability, dependability, resilience, etc. First, a historical discussion of measurements is presented, beginning with views of Hermann von Helmholtz in his 19th century work “Zählen und Messen”. Then, contemporary approaches related to the principles of measuring software properties are discussed, with emphasis on statistical, physical and software models. A distinction between metrics and measures is made to clarify the concepts. A brief overview of inadequacies of methods and techniques to evaluate computer security is presented, followed by …

Spatiotemporal Fluorescent Detection Measurements Using Embedded Waveguide Sensors, Mark C. Harrison, Andrea M. Armani

Engineering Faculty Articles and Research

Integrated waveguide biosensors, when combined with fluorescent labeling, have significantly impacted the field of biodetection. While there are numerous types of waveguide sensors, the fundamental excitation method is fairly consistent: the evanescent field of the waveguide excites a fluorophore whose emission is detected, either directly via imaging or indirectly via a decrease in power transfer. Recently, a sensor device was demonstrated which is able to back-couple the emitted light into the waveguide, allowing the signal to be detected directly. However, this previous work focused on the development of an empirical model, leaving many theoretical questions unanswered. Additionally, the results from …

Modeling A Sensor To Improve Its Efficacy, Nabin K. Malakar, Daniil Gladkov, Kevin H. Knuth

Physics Faculty Scholarship

Robots rely on sensors to provide them with information about their surroundings. However, high-quality sensors can be extremely expensive and cost-prohibitive. Thus many robotic systems must make due with lower-quality sensors. Here we demonstrate via a case study how modeling a sensor can improve its efficacy when employed within a Bayesian inferential framework. As a test bed we employ a robotic arm that is designed to autonomously take its own measurements using an inexpensive LEGO light sensor to estimate the position and radius of a white circle on a black field. The light sensor integrates the light arriving from a …

City Of Norfolk Coastal Flood Mitigation Program, Brian Joyner

March 13, 2013: Regional Sea Level Rise Assessment, Adaptation and Flood Mitigation Projects

No abstract provided.

Willoughby Spit Shoreline Improvement Project Of Ocean View Beach, Maura Boswell

March 13, 2013: Regional Sea Level Rise Assessment, Adaptation and Flood Mitigation Projects

No abstract provided.

Fema Region Iii Coastal Storm Surge Study, Mike Forte, Jeff Hanson, Michelle Hamor

March 13, 2013: Regional Sea Level Rise Assessment, Adaptation and Flood Mitigation Projects

No abstract provided.

Data-Driven Modeling And Analysis Of Household Travel Mode Choice, Nagesh Shukla, Jun Ma, Rohan Wickramasuriya Denagamage, Nam N. Huynh

SMART Infrastructure Facility - Papers

One of the important problems studied in the area of travel behavior analysis is travel mode choice which is one of the four crucial steps in transportation demand estimation for urban planning. State of the art models in travel demand modelling can be classified as trip based; tour based; and activity based. In trip based approach, each individual trips is modelled as independent and isolated trips i.e. no connections between different trips. In tour based approach, trips that start and end from the same location (home, work, etc) and trips within a tour are dependent on each other. In past …