Environmental Engineering Systems

AIMS

This subject concerns the fundamental science of fluid flow relevant to a range of engineering applications, and is essential for specialisations relating to Chemical, Civil and Environmental Engineering.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

Topics covered include - Fluid statics, manometry, derivation of the continuity equation, mechanical energy balance, friction losses in a straight pipe, Newton’s law of viscosity, treatment of pipe roughness, valves and fittings; simple pipe network problems; principles of open channel flow; compressible flow, propagation of pressure wave, isothermal and adiabatic flow equations in a pipe, choked flow. Pumps – pump characteristics, centrifugal pumps, derivation of theoretical head, head losses leading to the actual pump head curve, calculating system head, determining the operating point of a pumping system, throttling for flow control, cavitation and NPSH, affinity laws and pump scale-up, introduction to positive displacement pumps; stirred tanks- radial, axial and tangential flow, type of agitators, vortex elimination, the standard tank configuration, power number and power curve, dynamic and geometric similarity in scale-up; Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, Multi-dimensional fluid flow-momentum flux, development of multi-dimensional equations of continuity and for momentum transfer, Navier-Stokes equations, application to tube flow, Couette flow, Stokes flow.

AIMS

This subject introduces transport processes in biomedical systems, complementing and reinforcing material learned in related biology subjects. Students will be introduced to the process of developing engineering models and simple conceptual designs in the context of biological systems. The subject covers fundamental concepts of diffusion and conservation within momentum, heat and mass transport. Within momentum transport, specific topics include Newton’s law of viscosity, viscosity of gases and liquids, conservation of momentum, velocity distributions in simple laminar flows, boundary layer concepts and turbulence and the Reynolds number. Within heat transport, Fourier’s law of conduction is covered. Within mass transport, specific topics include Fick’s first and second laws of diffusion, diffusivities of gases, liquids and solids, binary mixture diffusion and conservation of mass, concentration distributions in simple binary systems including identifying appropriate boundary conditions, concentration boundary layer concepts, Schmidt and Sherwood numbers, definition and use of mass transfer coefficients.

Students will examine transport of molecules and cells in biological systems to describe various key processes, such as cell migration and provision of cell nutrition. The role of transport processes in biological systems and employed in clinical applications, such as dialysis, will be described using simple engineering models.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

Topics covered include momentum transport, viscosity, turbulence, heat transport, mass transport, diffusion in binary systems, unsteady state mass transfer, and modelling biological transport processes.

AIMS

This capstone subject involves an investigation and problem-solving project which will require students to apply a broad knowledge to realistic problems typical of what would be expected with employment in the environmental engineering industry. The subject revolves around the engineering education framework - CIDO: conceive, design, implement, operate, with the addition of 'monitor and evaluate'. Students will apply skills developed in other subjects to a single overarching project that will run through the entire semester. The project will require the students to develop a conceptual and quantitative model of a small-scale environmental engineering system (e.g. a biofiltration system). The students will then build and operate these systems and undertake monitoring and analysis of their behaviour to provide a critical appraisal of the original model. Having characterised the system, interpretation and evaluation of the impacts of a scaled up system on associated human and non-human stakeholders will form part of an evidence based report. Students will also be expected to critically evaluate the quality of their model, assumptions, data and analysis. The subject will be supported by specialised lectures and workshops.

Systems Modelling and Design is a capstone subject including components from hydrology, hydraulic engineering and geotechnical engineering. This subject contains a design project capsulising knowledge from all three areas. Students will be given briefings on related topics in hydrology, hydraulic engineering and geotechnical engineering in lectures and tutorials; but the emphasis is on self-learning and problem-solving. Students will gain an understanding of the principles governing the flow of water through soil and its consequent impact on failure of soil structures such as what occurs in landslides. Computer models to investigate these areas and laboratory experiments illustrating these phenomena will also be conducted. Students will also learn how to use the systems approach to solve engineering design problems. The application of the systems approach is illustrated via the major design project and complemented with optimisation techniques.

To complete the capstone design project, students are required to apply their knowledge in hydrology, hydraulics and geotechnical engineering to solve a number of design problems while considering multiple and sometimes conflicting design criteria. Students are required to prepare a technical report that documents the designs, relevant data, and result analysis. Both the technical knowledge (e.g. catchment modelling, water distribution system design, and seepage and slope modelling) and transferable skills (e.g. systems approach for problem solving, optimisation, trade-off analysis, data management, communication) obtained through this subject will prepare them for employment in the industry, as well as future study or research.

This subject builds on knowledge gained in subjects such as Engineering Mathematics, Fluid Mechanics and Earth Processes for Engineering and assumes a familiarity with concepts of sustainability and engineering systems. This subject also delivers introductory material for engineering graduate coursework subjects including Geotechnical Engineering, Civil Hydraulics and Quantitative Environmental Modelling.

INDICATIVE CONTENT

Stresses in soils, permeability and seepage, flow nets, the effect of seepage on stability, slope stability principles, surface runoff, landslides, design and remediation, trade-off analysis in engineering design, optimisation techniques, the use of computer simulation models to solve engineering design problems.