Matching Items (18)
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- All Subjects: Civil Engineering
- All Subjects: water treatment
- Creators: Fox, Peter
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
The rising need for water reuse in the Southwest United States has increased awareness of the quality of wastewater. This need is caused by an increased population having basic water needs; inefficient water use, such as overwatering lawns and leaking pipes; and recent drought conditions all over the southwestern US. Reclaimed water is a possible solution. It's used for a variety of non-potable, or non-drinkable, reasons. These uses include: cooling power plants, concrete mixing, artificial lakes, and irrigation for public parks and golf courts. Cooling power plants utilizes roughly 41% of the total water consumed by the United States, which makes it the highest user of water in the US. The attention is turned to optimizing mechanical processes and reducing the amount of water consumed. Wet-recirculating systems reuse cooling water in a second cycle rather than discharging it immediately. Cooling towers are commonly used to expose water to ambient air. As the water evaporates, more water is withdrawn while the rest continues to circulate. These systems have much lower water withdrawals than once-through systems, but have higher water consumption. The cooling towers in wet-recirculating plants and other warm machinery have two major limitations: evaporation of pumped water and scale formation in the components. Cooling towers circulate water, and only draw as it evaporates, which conserves water. The scale formation in the components is due to the hardness of the water. Scale occurs when hard water evaporates and forms solid calcium carbonate. This formation can lead to reduced flow or even clogging in pipes, fouling of components or pipes, and reduced cooling efficiency. Another concern from the public over the use of reclaimed water is the possibility of there being fecal contamination. This fear stems from the stigma associated with drinking water that essentially came from the toilet. An emerging technology, in order to address these three issues, is the use of an electromagnetic device. The wires have a current flowing through which induces a magnetic field perpendicular to the direction of the flow, while the electrical field is proportional to the flow velocity. In other words, the magnetic and electrical fields will create an effect that will concentrate cations at the center of the pipe and anions at the wall of the pipe or the other way depending on the direction of the flow. Reversing the field will then cause the cations and anions to move toward one another and increase the collision frequency and energy. The purpose of these experiments is to test the effects of the electromagnetic device on the aforementioned topics. There are three tests that were performed, a surface tension test, a hardness test, and a microbial test. The surface tension test focused on the angle of a water droplet until it burst. The angle would theoretically decrease as the bond between water molecules increased due to the device. The results of this test shows a lower angle for the treated water but a higher angle for the untreated one. This means the device had an effect on the surface tension of the water. Hard water is caused by calcium and magnesium ions in the water. These ions are dissolved in the water as it travels past soil and rocks. The purpose of this test is to measure the free calcium ion amount in the water. If the free calcium number lowers, then it can be assumed it collided with the carbonate and formed calcium carbonate. This calcium carbonate causes a reduction in hardness in the water. The result of the test showed no correlation between ion concentrations in the treated/untreated system. The e. coli test focused on testing the effects of an electromagnetic device on inhibiting fecal contamination in water/wastewater at a treatment facility. In order to detect fecal contamination, we test for bacteria known as fecal coliforms, more specifically e. coli. The test involved spiking the system with bacteria and testing its concentrations after time had passed.The e. coli results showed no trend in the inactivation of the bacteria. In conclusion, the device had varying results, but multiple steps can be taken in the future in order to continue research.
ContributorsHernandez, Andres Victor (Author) / Fox, Peter (Thesis director) / Abbaszadegan, Morteza (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This honors project combines the capstone component of CEE: 486 Integrated Civil Engineering Design and the Barrett, The Honors College requirement by combination of Due Diligence report and Street Improvements and Quantities, respectively.
Overall, this project report provides due diligence for a proposed development project, Bella Vida Estates, designed by Red Rock Engineering. This proposed project is located in the southwest portion of the City of Phoenix, in the Laveen Village community.
Bella Vida Estates is a proposed 560-acre mixed-use development whose composition includes single family residential, commercial, recreational park and greenspace, a preparatory charter school, and water storage and wastewater treatment facilities. The subject property is confined east of the new Loop 202 – South Mountain Freeway Extension, south of W. Dobbins Road, north of W. Elliot Road, and west of S. 51st Avenue.
The Due Diligence report is comprised of relevant information needed to develop these parcels of land, including a Property Overview, Land Development Plan, Development Considerations, Sustainability and Value Add components, and Costs.
To provide a more comprehensive due diligence package for the proposed project, street improvement quantities were estimated and then presented via a Construction Documents Exhibit and an Opinion of Probable Costs document.
The Construction Documents Exhibit was created according to City of Phoenix Standards using AutoCAD Civil 3D. The exhibit includes four sheets: Cover Sheet, Exhibit Sheet, Cross Sections, and Appendix. The purpose of this exhibit is to provide a visual representation of the streets to be improved upon, with proper hatching (based on type of cross section), dimensioning, and annotations to aid in presentation.
The Opinion of Probable Costs tabulates Onsite Development costs, which includes Paving, utilities in the form of Water, Sewer, and Storm, Earthwork/Grading, and Lump Sum costs. In addition to the onsite costs, Contingency, General Conditions, General Contractor Fee, and Taxes are included to provide a comprehensive overview of estimated costs.
Red Rock Engineering is excited to propose this promising, sustainable development as a place of residence, commerce, and recreation to the residents of the Laveen Village community.
Overall, this project report provides due diligence for a proposed development project, Bella Vida Estates, designed by Red Rock Engineering. This proposed project is located in the southwest portion of the City of Phoenix, in the Laveen Village community.
Bella Vida Estates is a proposed 560-acre mixed-use development whose composition includes single family residential, commercial, recreational park and greenspace, a preparatory charter school, and water storage and wastewater treatment facilities. The subject property is confined east of the new Loop 202 – South Mountain Freeway Extension, south of W. Dobbins Road, north of W. Elliot Road, and west of S. 51st Avenue.
The Due Diligence report is comprised of relevant information needed to develop these parcels of land, including a Property Overview, Land Development Plan, Development Considerations, Sustainability and Value Add components, and Costs.
To provide a more comprehensive due diligence package for the proposed project, street improvement quantities were estimated and then presented via a Construction Documents Exhibit and an Opinion of Probable Costs document.
The Construction Documents Exhibit was created according to City of Phoenix Standards using AutoCAD Civil 3D. The exhibit includes four sheets: Cover Sheet, Exhibit Sheet, Cross Sections, and Appendix. The purpose of this exhibit is to provide a visual representation of the streets to be improved upon, with proper hatching (based on type of cross section), dimensioning, and annotations to aid in presentation.
The Opinion of Probable Costs tabulates Onsite Development costs, which includes Paving, utilities in the form of Water, Sewer, and Storm, Earthwork/Grading, and Lump Sum costs. In addition to the onsite costs, Contingency, General Conditions, General Contractor Fee, and Taxes are included to provide a comprehensive overview of estimated costs.
Red Rock Engineering is excited to propose this promising, sustainable development as a place of residence, commerce, and recreation to the residents of the Laveen Village community.
ContributorsGrgantov, William (Author) / Fox, Peter (Thesis director) / Farrell, Trey (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Turbidity is a known problem for UV water treatment systems as suspended particles can shield contaminants from the UV radiation. UV systems that utilize a reflective radiation chamber may be able to decrease the impact of turbidity on the efficacy of the system. The purpose of this study was to determine how kaolin clay and gram flour turbidity affects inactivation of Escherichia coli (E. coli) when using a UV system with a reflective chamber. Both sources of turbidity were shown to reduce the inactivation of E. coli with increasing concentrations. Overall, it was shown that increasing kaolin clay turbidity had a consistent effect on reducing UV inactivation across UV doses. Log inactivation was reduced by 1.48 log for the low UV dose and it was reduced by at least 1.31 log for the low UV dose. Gram flour had a similar effect to the clay at the lower UV dose, reducing log inactivation by 1.58 log. At the high UV dose, there was no change in UV inactivation with an increase in turbidity. In conclusion, turbidity has a significant impact on the efficacy of UV disinfection. Therefore, removing turbidity from water is an essential process to enhance UV efficiency for the disinfection of microbial pathogens.
ContributorsMalladi, Rohith (Author) / Abbaszadegan, Morteza (Thesis director) / Alum, Absar (Committee member) / Fox, Peter (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The following report followed three separate construction crews at a construction site at ASU and performed labor productivity analysis to quantitatively measure the efficiency of the workers performing specific tasks. These crews were tasked with electrical wiring, concrete pouring, and drywall sanding. Crew balance measured the down time of individual crew members compared to the overall time spent on a task, and the results of these observations were calculated, and suggested improvements given.
ContributorsScollick, Evelyn (Author) / Grau, David (Thesis director) / Lamanna, Anthony (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The purpose of this experiment was to determine how effective electromagnetic waves could be at reducing calcium hardness in a body of water as well as see how the makeup of the water (free calcium levels, total calcium levels, pH, alkalinity, and surface tension) were affected over the span of testing. A vary of four different nominal calcium hardness levels, ranging from 80 mg/L \u2014 240 mg/L of calcium in terms of calcium hardness were tested over a span of thirty minutes with samples being taking once every ten minutes. Data collection indicates that there is a noticeable decrease in free calcium, total calcium, and pH over a span of thirty minutes using the electromagnetic device, however, no noticeable trend can be made for the alkalinity and surface tension. Errors can be stated to be caused by lack of protocol for calcium hardness creation as well as needed updates for procedures such as alkalinity and surface tension testing. It can be deduced that the process is favorable, but it cannot be concluded as to whether to not this device can become a sustainable alternative to salt-based water softeners.
ContributorsNnorom, Njideka Cynthia (Author) / Fox, Peter (Thesis director) / Atkinson, Ariel (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This report analyzes the potential for accumulation of boron in direct potable reuse. Direct potable reuse treats water through desalination processes such as reverse osmosis or nanofiltration which can achieve rejection rates of salts sometimes above 90%. However, boron achieves much lower rejection rates near 40%. Because of this low rejection rate, there is potential for boron to accumulate in the system to levels that are not recommended for potable human consumption of water. To analyze this issue a code was created that runs a steady state system that tracks the internal concentration, permeate concentration, wastewater concentration and reject concentration at various rejection rates, as well as all the flows. A series of flow and mass balances were performed through five different control volumes that denoted different stages in the water use. First was mixing of clean water with permeate; second, consumptive uses; third, addition of contaminant; fourth, wastewater treatment; fifth, advanced water treatments. The system cycled through each of these a number of times until steady state was reached. Utilities or cities considering employing direct potable reuse could utilize this model by estimating their consumption levels and input of contamination, and then seeing what percent rejection or inflow of makeup water they would need to obtain to keep boron levels at a low enough concentration to be fit for consumption. This code also provides options for analyzing spikes and recovery in the system due to spills, and evaporative uses such as cooling towers and their impact on the system.
ContributorsDoidge, Sydney (Author) / Fox, Peter (Thesis director) / Perreault, Francois (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
In the recent past, Iraq was considered relatively rich considering its water resources compared to its surroundings. Currently, the magnitude of water resource shortages in Iraq represents an important factor in the stability of the country and in protecting sustained economic development. The need for a practical, applicable, and sustainable river basin management for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Iraq is essential. Applicable water resources allocation scenarios are important to minimize the potential future water crises in connection with water quality and quantity. The allocation of the available fresh water resources in addition to reclaimed water to different users in a sustainable manner is of the urgent necessities to maintain good water quantity and quality.
In this dissertation, predictive water allocation optimization models were developed which can be used to easily identify good alternatives for water management that can then be discussed, debated, adjusted, and simulated in greater detail. This study provides guidance for decision makers in Iraq for potential future conditions, where water supplies are reduced, and demonstrates how it is feasible to adopt an efficient water allocation strategy with flexibility in providing equitable water resource allocation considering alternative resource. Using reclaimed water will help in reducing the potential negative environmental impacts of treated or/and partially treated wastewater discharges while increasing the potential uses of reclaimed water for agriculture and other applications. Using reclaimed water for irrigation is logical and efficient to enhance the economy of farmers and the environment while providing a diversity of crops, especially since most of Iraq’s built or under construction wastewater treatment plants are located in or adjacent to agricultural lands. Adopting an optimization modelling approach can assist decision makers, ensuring their decisions will benefit the economy by incorporating global experiences to control water allocations in Iraq especially considering diminished water supplies.
In this dissertation, predictive water allocation optimization models were developed which can be used to easily identify good alternatives for water management that can then be discussed, debated, adjusted, and simulated in greater detail. This study provides guidance for decision makers in Iraq for potential future conditions, where water supplies are reduced, and demonstrates how it is feasible to adopt an efficient water allocation strategy with flexibility in providing equitable water resource allocation considering alternative resource. Using reclaimed water will help in reducing the potential negative environmental impacts of treated or/and partially treated wastewater discharges while increasing the potential uses of reclaimed water for agriculture and other applications. Using reclaimed water for irrigation is logical and efficient to enhance the economy of farmers and the environment while providing a diversity of crops, especially since most of Iraq’s built or under construction wastewater treatment plants are located in or adjacent to agricultural lands. Adopting an optimization modelling approach can assist decision makers, ensuring their decisions will benefit the economy by incorporating global experiences to control water allocations in Iraq especially considering diminished water supplies.
ContributorsAhmed, Ahmed Abdulrazzaq (Author) / Mays, Larry W. (Thesis advisor) / Fox, Peter (Thesis advisor) / Mascaro, Giuseppe (Committee member) / Muenich, Rebecca (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
One of the two objectives of this dissertation is an investigation into the possible correlation between rainfall events and increased levels of E. coli and Mycobacterium using an existing data set. The literature states that levels of microbial concentrations do increase after rainfall events, but there are no studies to indicate this correlation applies in any Arizona water systems. The data analyzed for the bacterial concentrations project suggested the possibility of a correlation along one river but it is not conclusive to state that any correlation exists between rainfall events and the microbial concentration for many other sites included in the analysis. This is most likely due to the highly engineered water delivery systems that are not directly impacted.
The secondary objective was to determine if there are environmental variables collected from an ongoing project which would be a good candidate for making predictions about any of the project data parameters. Of the 79 possible opportunities for the model to accurately predict the dependent variable, it showed strong statistical favorability as well as experimentally favorable results towards Dissolved Organic Carbon as the best dependent variable from the data set, resulting in an accuracy of 41%. This is relevant since Dissolved Organic Carbon is one of the most important water quality parameters of concern for drinking water treatment plants where disinfection by-products are a limiting factor. The need for further analysis and additional data collection is an obvious result from both studies. The use of hydrograph data instead of rainfall would be a logical new direction for the heavily engineered water delivery systems.
The secondary objective was to determine if there are environmental variables collected from an ongoing project which would be a good candidate for making predictions about any of the project data parameters. Of the 79 possible opportunities for the model to accurately predict the dependent variable, it showed strong statistical favorability as well as experimentally favorable results towards Dissolved Organic Carbon as the best dependent variable from the data set, resulting in an accuracy of 41%. This is relevant since Dissolved Organic Carbon is one of the most important water quality parameters of concern for drinking water treatment plants where disinfection by-products are a limiting factor. The need for further analysis and additional data collection is an obvious result from both studies. The use of hydrograph data instead of rainfall would be a logical new direction for the heavily engineered water delivery systems.
ContributorsBuell, Andrew (Author) / Fox, Peter (Thesis advisor) / Abbaszadegan, Morteza (Thesis advisor) / Alum, Absar (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Flooding is a critical issue around the world, and the absence of comprehension of watershed hydrologic reaction results in lack of lead-time for flood forecasting and expensive harm to property and life. It happens when water flows due to extreme rainfall storm, dam breach or snowmelt exceeds the capacity of river system reservoirs and channels. The objective of this research was to develop a methodology for determining a time series operation for releases through control gates of river-reservoir systems during flooding events in a real-time using one- and/or two-dimensional modeling of flows through river-reservoir systems.
The optimization-simulation methodology interfaces several simulation-software coupled together with an optimization model solved by genetic algorithm coded in MATLAB. These software include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers HEC-RAS linked the genetic algorithm in MATLAB to come up with an optimization-simulation model for time series gate openings to control downstream elevations. The model involves using the one- and two-dimensional ability in HEC-RAS to perform hydrodynamic routing with high-resolution raster Digital Elevation Models. Also, the model uses both real-time gridded- and gaged-rainfall data in addition to a model for forecasting future rainfall-data.
This new model has been developed to manage reservoir release schedules before, during, and after an extraordinary rainfall event that could cause extreme flooding. Further to observe and control downstream water surface elevations to avoid exceedance of threshold of flood levels in target cells in the downstream area of study, and to minimize the damage and direct effects in both the up and downstream.
The application of the complete optimization-simulation model was applied to a portion of the Cumberland River System in Nashville, Tennessee for the flooding event of May 2010. The objective of this application is to demonstrate the applicability of the model for minimizing flood damages for an actual flood event in real-time on an actual river basin. The purpose of the application in a real-time framework would be to minimize the flood damages at Nashville, Tennessee by keeping the flood stages under the 100-year flood stage. This application also compared the three unsteady flow simulation scenarios: one-dimensional, two-dimensional and combined one- and two-dimensional unsteady flow.
The optimization-simulation methodology interfaces several simulation-software coupled together with an optimization model solved by genetic algorithm coded in MATLAB. These software include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers HEC-RAS linked the genetic algorithm in MATLAB to come up with an optimization-simulation model for time series gate openings to control downstream elevations. The model involves using the one- and two-dimensional ability in HEC-RAS to perform hydrodynamic routing with high-resolution raster Digital Elevation Models. Also, the model uses both real-time gridded- and gaged-rainfall data in addition to a model for forecasting future rainfall-data.
This new model has been developed to manage reservoir release schedules before, during, and after an extraordinary rainfall event that could cause extreme flooding. Further to observe and control downstream water surface elevations to avoid exceedance of threshold of flood levels in target cells in the downstream area of study, and to minimize the damage and direct effects in both the up and downstream.
The application of the complete optimization-simulation model was applied to a portion of the Cumberland River System in Nashville, Tennessee for the flooding event of May 2010. The objective of this application is to demonstrate the applicability of the model for minimizing flood damages for an actual flood event in real-time on an actual river basin. The purpose of the application in a real-time framework would be to minimize the flood damages at Nashville, Tennessee by keeping the flood stages under the 100-year flood stage. This application also compared the three unsteady flow simulation scenarios: one-dimensional, two-dimensional and combined one- and two-dimensional unsteady flow.
ContributorsAlbo-Salih, Hasan Hadi Kraidi (Author) / Mays, Larry W. (Thesis advisor) / Fox, Peter (Committee member) / Mascaro, Giuseppe (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
This dissertation presents a new methodology for the sustainable and optimal allocation of water for a river basin management area that maximizes sustainable net economic benefit over the long-term planning horizon. The model distinguishes between short and long-term planning horizons and goals using a short-term modeling component (STM) and a long term modeling component (LTM) respectively. An STM optimizes a monthly allocation schedule on an annual basis in terms of maximum net economic benefit. A cost of depletion based upon Hotelling’s exhaustible resource theory is included in the STM net benefit calculation to address the non-use value of groundwater. An LTM consists of an STM for every year of the long-term planning horizon. Net economic benefits for both use and non-use values are generated by the series of STMs. In addition output from the STMs is measured in terms of sustainability which is quantified using a sustainability index (SI) with two groups of performance criteria. The first group measures risk to supply and is based on demand-supply deficits. The second group measures deviations from a target flow regime and uses a modified Hydrologic Alteration (HA) factor in the Range of Variability Approach (RVA). The STM is a linear programming (LP) model formulated in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) and the LTM is a nonlinear programming problem (NLP) solved using a genetic algorithm. The model is applied to the Prescott Active Management Area in north-central Arizona. Results suggest that the maximum sustainable net benefit is realized with a residential population and consumption rate increase in some areas, and a reduction in others.
ContributorsOxley, Robert Louis (Author) / Mays, Larry (Thesis advisor) / Fox, Peter (Committee member) / Johnson, Paul (Committee member) / Murray, Alan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015