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2019　Advanced Topics in Civil Engineering I

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Academic unit or major
Graduate major in Civil Engineering
Instructor(s)
Gaillard Jean Francois  Yoshimura Chihiro 
Class Format
Lecture     
Media-enhanced courses
Day/Period(Room No.)
-
Group
-
Course number
CVE.N531
Credits
1
Academic year
2019
Offered quarter
2Q
Syllabus updated
2019/4/15
Lecture notes updated
-
Language used
English
Access Index

Course description and aims

< Computational Chemodynamics >
The primary focus of this class is to present various modeling approaches that have been used to describe environmental systems. The course design aims at promoting discussions, building and solving simple models, performing simulations, and presenting results using high quality graphics. The concepts and modeling skills developed within the course should be valuable for working either in an environmental consulting firm or performing independent investigations in a research group. The computational aspects rely on using Python as a programming language and the Jupyter notebook interface.

Student learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Build simple models to simulate environmental processes.
2. Apply numerical methods to solve the distribution of chemicals.
3. Use an interactive computing environment where one can combine code execution, with rich text, graphics ready for publication.
4. Be introduced to the field of data science.

Keywords

Models, simulation, computer programming, box models, partitioning

Competencies that will be developed

✔ Specialist skills Intercultural skills ✔ Communication skills ✔ Critical thinking skills ✔ Practical and/or problem-solving skills

Class flow

Lectures with weekly quizzes, homework, final project

Course schedule/Required learning

  Course schedule Required learning
Class 1 Introduction Python & Jupyter: coding & markdown
Class 2 Chemical Equilibria Apply the bisection method to solve for pH for simulating either photosynthesis or respiration reactions in aquatic media
Class 3 Transport Processes Understand how to use the finite difference method to solve for the advection-diffusion reaction method
Class 4 Box Models Use linear algebra principles to solve for the chemical cycle of an element through the various Earth reservoirs: e.g., Atmosphere, Ocean, sediments/rocks.
Class 5 Reaction Kinetics Solve reaction networks using a numerical solver for dealing with systems of non-linear ordinary differential equations.
Class 6 Partitioning Understand the principles governing the partitioning of metals and organics between solution and solids
Class 7 Food Webs Understand the structure of trophic webs and the transfer of contaminants through the biological species in order to assess a bioaccumulation and biomagnification
Class 8 Exam. -

Textbook(s)

None required, lecture notes will be provided.

Reference books, course materials, etc.

1. Environmental Chemodynamics: Movement of Chemicals in Air, Water, and Soil 2nd Edition, by Louis Thibodeaux, (1996), Wiley, ISBN-13: 978-0471612957
2. Chemodynamics and Environmental Modeling: An introduction by Stefan Trapp and Michael Matthies, (1998), Springer, ISBN-13: 978-3-642-80431-1, DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-80429-8

Assessment criteria and methods

30% for quizzes based on lecture material, 40% for homework, and 30% for final project.

Related courses

  • CVE.G310 ： Water Environmental Engineering
  • CVE.G401 ： Aquatic Environmental Science
  • CVE.G403 ： Water Chemistry
  • CVE.G402 ： Environmental Statistics

Prerequisites (i.e., required knowledge, skills, courses, etc.)

Linear algebra, differential equations, introduction to computer science, general chemistry.

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