No description available.

No description available.

This creative project will develop a planning method for implementing concepts of ecologically sensitive recreational community design in America's southeastern low country (the coastal regions of South Carolina and Georgia). The first step in developing the method will be identifying a list of indicators measuring the ecological impact of recreational community design in the area. Secondly, the environmental impacts of planning methods if recreational communities in the low country will be analyzed and the most effective planning techniques relative to minimal environmental impact will be cultivated and integrated to formulate a single planning method. This method will subsequently be used to design a recreational community on Hutchinson Island, located on the Savannah River in Savannah, Georgia. The Hutchinson Island recreational community design will then be measured against the set of ecological indicators, and the results will then be compared against the aforementioned existing recreational communities.In the past thirty years, the popularity of the southeastern low country as both vacation destination and place of residence has increased dramatically due to a combination of factors, a beautiful environment with a favorable year-round climate, landmark developments in the area of recreational community design, and a steady growth in the wealth of our nation. As developers continue to meet the demand for housing and amenities (both recreational and commercial) in the area, the ecology, rich in biodiversity and aesthetic character is being compromised. Since development of the area shows no sign of slowing, there is a need for a planning and design methodology that is accountable for its impact on the natural environment. To thoroughly investigate the ecological realm of recreational community planning, this creative project will be limited to that area, although it is recognized that effective community planning addresses social and economic sustainability, as well as that of the environment. / Department of Landscape Architecture

published_or_final_version / Ecology and Biodiversity / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

Improving the efficiency of traffic operations along arterials is currently a priority for many agencies as their roadway infrastructure is built out to the largest possible capacity within the urban environment. Many advanced systems are being implemented to optimize traffic signal timing. Air quality is typically not a consideration when these decisions are made. The relationship between exposure to air pollution and traffic signal timing has not been fully explored by other researchers. This study is the first research effort to combine detailed traffic signal timing data (at 5 second intervals) and air pollutant exposure data. Results show that longer green time along the busy arterial reduces pollutant levels, while increased volume per cycle increases pollutant levels. This research quantifies the factors that contribute to pedestrian, bicyclist, and transit user exposure at a busy intersection along an urban arterial. The factors include traffic signal timing, weather related variables, traffic volumes, and heavy vehicle and bus presence. Additionally, the impact of an adaptive traffic signal system on air quality is assessed to understand the implications of signal timing on air pollutant exposure.

This study presents the results of a modeling effort to explore the role that sustainable roofing technologies play in impacting the rooftop energy balance, and the resultant net sensible heat flux into the urban atmosphere with a focus on the summertime urban heat island. The model has been validated using data from a field experiment. Roofing technologies explored include control dark membrane roof, a highly reflective (cool) roof, a vegetated green roof, and photovoltaic panels elevated above various base roofs. Energy balance models were developed, validated with experimental measurements, and then used to estimate sensible fluxes in cities located in six climate zones across the US. To evaluate the impact on urban air temperatures, a mesoscale meteorological model was used. Sensible flux profiles calculated using a surface energy balance were used as inputs to the mesoscale model. Results for a 2-day period in Portland, OR are analyzed. Average findings indicate that the black roof and black roof with PV have the highest peak daily sensible flux to the environment, ranging from 331 to 405 W/m2. The addition of PV panels to a black roof had a negligible effect on the peak flux, but decreased the total flux by an average of 11%. Replacing a black roof with a white or green roof resulted in a substantial decrease in the total sensible flux. Results indicate that if a black membrane roof is replaced by a PV covered white or a PV covered green roof the corresponding reduction in total sensible flux is on the order of 50%. Mesoscale modeling results indicate peak daytime temperature reduction of approximately 1°C for both white and green roofs. However, there is a nighttime penalty on the order of 0.75°C for the green roof case, which has been attributed to the additional thermal storage of a green roof. Findings also reveal that the addition of PV panels to a roof has a nighttime cooling effect. This is most pronounced on a white roof, with magnitudes of 1°C. The methodology developed for this analysis provides a foundation for evaluating the relative impacts of roof design choices on the urban climate and should prove useful in guiding urban heat island mitigation efforts.

No description available.

Bibliography: leaves 166-180. Determines the effect of chromium on the soil microbial community and its activity, the biotic-abiotic mechanisms involved in chromium oxidation, and phytostabilization of chromium using plants and organic amendment in tannery-waste contaminated soil.

As a result of rapid product development, the product life cycle has become shorter, and thus the amount of waste from discarded industrial products has risen dramatically. An awareness of the world???s environmental problems has stimulated researchers to explore the opportunities to reuse, recycle and remanufacture end-of-life products. Disassembly is a systematic approach to separating products into components or subassemblies in order to facilitate recovery of components or materials. However, the full disassembly of a product tends to be unproductive due to technical and cost constraints and product conditions after usage. Therefore, selective disassembly has been introduced as a more practical approach, where only a limited number of disassembly paths that lead to selected parts with recovering potential are considered. This research focuses on the development of a selective disassembly methodology by reversing an assembly sequencing approach. The methodology uses a step-by-step approach to generate a disassembly sequence diagram. This involves listing all the parts within the product, generating a liaison diagram to illustrate part relationships and then establishing precedence rules describing prerequisite actions for each liaison. This is followed by segregating disassembly paths that lead to the removal of selected parts or subassemblies. Then a winnowing process is applied to these paths to eliminate invalid disassembly states and transitions. The last step is to select the optimal disassembly path by using the time requirement as the main selection criterion. In order to shorten the time for carrying out the sequencing process, a javabased program that is capable of performing the first three steps has been created. The program requires three basic inputs in forms of precedence rules, and user-required part (s) and disassembly rules, prescribing which liaison (s) should be done subsequent to a particular liaison. The viability of the methodology and the program is proved through seven case studies conducted on a fishing reel, a single-hole punch, a kettle, an entire washing machine and three washing machine subassemblies. The application of the program allows the users to determine an optimal disassembly sequence in a very short time and with only basic product information as the input.

Bibliography: leaves 166-180. / 180, [4] leaves : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Determines the effect of chromium on the soil microbial community and its activity, the biotic-abiotic mechanisms involved in chromium oxidation, and phytostabilization of chromium using plants and organic amendment in tannery-waste contaminated soil. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Soil and Water, 2002