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In the Spring 2013 and Fall 2013 semesters, a survey was taken of students enrolled in the principal undergraduate civil engineering structures course, CEE 321: Structural Analysis and Design, to assess both the prevalence of technology in the lives of the students and the potential ways this information could be

In the Spring 2013 and Fall 2013 semesters, a survey was taken of students enrolled in the principal undergraduate civil engineering structures course, CEE 321: Structural Analysis and Design, to assess both the prevalence of technology in the lives of the students and the potential ways this information could be use to improve the educational experience. The results of this survey indicated that there was a considerable demand for additional online resources outside of the formal classroom. The students of CEE 321 requested online lecture videos in particular, and so a project was launched at the start of the Spring 2014 semester to deliver a large body of academic instructional videos. In total, a collection of 30 instructional videos which covered all key topics covered over a semester of CEE 321 was published. The driving interest behind this creative project is to increase the level of understanding, comfort, and performance in students enrolled in the class. Although the quantity of initial student feedback is relatively small, the reactions are distinctly positive and reflect an improvement in understanding amongst the responding students. Over the course of upcoming semesters, qualitative and quantitative assessments of the impact of the videos are expected to provide a better indication of their quality and effectiveness in supporting student comprehension and performance in CEE 321. Above all, the success of these videos is directly tied to their ability to function as living, adaptable resources which are continuously molded and improved by student feedback.
ContributorsReasor, Drew Donn (Author) / Rajan, Subramaniam (Thesis director) / Hjelmstad, Keith (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-05
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Description
Currently conventional Subtitle D landfills are the primary means of disposing of our waste in the United States. While this method of waste disposal aims at protecting the environment, it does so through the use of liners and caps that effectively freeze the breakdown of waste. Because this method can

Currently conventional Subtitle D landfills are the primary means of disposing of our waste in the United States. While this method of waste disposal aims at protecting the environment, it does so through the use of liners and caps that effectively freeze the breakdown of waste. Because this method can keep landfills active, and thus a potential groundwater threat for over a hundred years, I take an in depth look at the ability of bioreactor landfills to quickly stabilize waste. In the thesis I detail the current state of bioreactor landfill technologies, assessing the pros and cons of anaerobic and aerobic bioreactor technologies. Finally, with an industrial perspective, I conclude that moving on to bioreactor landfills as an alternative isn't as simple as it may first appear, and that it is a contextually specific solution that must be further refined before replacing current landfills.
ContributorsWhitten, George Avery (Author) / Kavazanjian, Edward (Thesis director) / Allenby, Braden (Committee member) / Houston, Sandra (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Teaching methods in the present day are beginning to transition from the traditional lecture style to the flipped learning style. The flipped classroom, also known as an engaged learning classroom, follows the model where students are presented with lecture material prior to attending class. Instead of being lectured in class,

Teaching methods in the present day are beginning to transition from the traditional lecture style to the flipped learning style. The flipped classroom, also known as an engaged learning classroom, follows the model where students are presented with lecture material prior to attending class. Instead of being lectured in class, they work on applications of the material with the help of their peers and the instructional staff. One component that many engaged learning environments have in common is lecture videos for the students to view prior to attending class. An undergraduate civil engineering course at Arizona State University is modeled using an engaged learning environment; however, it does not provide lecture videos for the students. Many students in this course are seeing an engaged learning environment for the first time and need guidance on how to prepare for the course, how to approach course material, and how to interpret feedback, in addition to getting help in the technical concepts. This project aims to create supplemental lecture videos based on the concepts that students in the class identified as needing more information, as well as topics that will help students make this transition to an engaged learning environment. A series of sixteen videos were created and posted for the students to view prior to attending recitation periods. The feedback from the students regarding the videos was studied and implementation techniques for future semesters were tested.
ContributorsFlys, Victoria Pilar (Author) / Hjelmstad, Keith (Thesis director) / Baisley, Amie (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
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Description
Zero-Valent Metals (ZVM) are highly reactive materials and have been proved to be effective in contaminant reduction in soils and groundwater remediation. In fact, zero-Valent Iron (ZVI) has proven to be very effective in removing, particularly chlorinated organics, heavy metals, and odorous sulfides. Addition of ZVI has also been proved

Zero-Valent Metals (ZVM) are highly reactive materials and have been proved to be effective in contaminant reduction in soils and groundwater remediation. In fact, zero-Valent Iron (ZVI) has proven to be very effective in removing, particularly chlorinated organics, heavy metals, and odorous sulfides. Addition of ZVI has also been proved in enhancing the methane gas generation in anaerobic digestion of activated sludge. However, no studies have been conducted regarding the effect of ZVM stimulation to Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) degradation. Therefore, a collaborative study was developed to manipulate microbial activity in the landfill bioreactors to favor methane production by adding ZVMs. This study focuses on evaluating the effects of added ZVM on the leachate generated from replicated lab scale landfill bioreactors. The specific objective was to investigate the effects of ZVMs addition on the organic and inorganic pollutants in leachate. The hypothesis here evaluated was that adding ZVM including ZVI and Zero Valent Manganese (ZVMn) will enhance the removal rates of the organic pollutants present in the leachate, likely by a putative higher rate of microbial metabolism. Test with six (4.23 gallons) bioreactors assembled with MSW collected from the Salt River Landfill and Southwest Regional Landfill showed that under 5 grams /liter of ZVI and 0.625 grams/liter of ZVMn additions, no significant difference was observed in the pH and temperature data of the leachate generated from these reactors. The conductivity data suggested the steady rise across all reactors over the period of time. The removal efficiency of sCOD was highest (27.112 mg/lit/day) for the reactors added with ZVMn at the end of 150 days for bottom layer, however the removal rate was highest (16.955 mg/lit/day) for ZVI after the end of 150 days of the middle layer. Similar trends in the results was observed in TC analysis. HPLC study indicated the dominance of the concentration of heptanoate and isovalerate were leachate generated from the bottom layer across all reactors. Heptanoate continued to dominate in the ZVMn added leachate even after middle layer injection. IC analysis concluded the chloride was dominant in the leachate generated from all the reactors and there was a steady increase in the chloride content over the period of time. Along with chloride, fluoride, bromide, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and sulfate were also detected in considerable concentrations. In the summary, the addition of the zero valent metals has proved to be efficient in removal of the organics present in the leachate.
ContributorsPandit, Gandhar Abhay (Author) / Cadillo – Quiroz, Hinsby (Thesis advisor) / Olson, Larry (Thesis advisor) / Boyer, Treavor (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019