CE495Spring2024

  Revolutionary design allows building to keep itself cool without air conditioning: ‘We’re in triple-digit heat’ (msn.com)

Greetings, Several years ago one of our Honors College students prepared a video on the Tollgate Wetland as an Honors Option project for ENE 483.  I thought this video might be helpful:  https://youtu.be/sKyiMS1a3Bk?si=-HrPHUJlkMPlxYD4 This report is a bit old but will give you some information about the Tollgate project:  http://tc3060.pbworks.com/f/FINAL+RPT+TOLLGATE.pdf Dr. Masten 

I've had numerous questions about water demand calculations. I provided this information to two of the ENE students. I'm sharing this to all now.  I wish I had more precise values, but I've checked with an engineer who has been in the field for many years and he thought this is reasonable. I've been trying to wrap my head around this too as we've been given so little information.  I would say that if there are 50 trucks in use, then you likely have 100 employees (2 people on a truck) out in the community at any one time.  I'd assume they arrive, put on their uniforms, perhaps use the restroom, and head out on the road.  Come back at lunch time to eat in the lunchroom, then leave and return at the end of the day, change out of their uniforms, perhaps use the restroom, head home. If this is the case then you would likely have a peak usage of water in a short time (you could make an assumption of number of flushes, if you wanted to go down to that level)....

2/15/2023 The Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) is currently accepting applications for Scholarship program. The deadline to apply is March 1st. EREF is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that advances scientific research and creates educational pathways enabling innovation in sustainable materials management practices. To further our mission, we award scholarships to support the academic pursuits of exceptionally talented graduate students whose degrees focus on waste management and sustainability research. Qualified applicants are graduate students (or will be next year) who are working on solid waste, materials management, or sustainability related research. Scholarship awardees receive: ● Monthly stipend through graduation ● Support from EREF Staff ● Access to EREF’s network ● Potential to attend industry events & visit waste management facilities & com...

Greetings, I thought I would do another update since we do not have class this Tuesday. I heard through the grapevine that there were some concerns/frustration/thoughts among the ENE students. I thought I would try to address them.  I think much of the challenge is that the ENE roles depend greatly on the other specialty areas.  Here's an example - I believe the transportation specialists are planning to put the truck entrance on N. Canal Road just south of the "restricted construction" area in the north west corner of the site.  However, this puts the entrance much closer to the area zoned as residential and thus has the potential to compromise the health, safety, and well-being of the public.  I would argue that the transportation specialists should be working with the ENEs to find a location that is suitable and protective of the public. Jack Cooper Transport is located across the street from the CS site on Billwood Highway and the county has already agre...

I had mentioned the 35' height restriction in class. Here's where I got the 35' restriction: http://www.windsortwp.com/wp-content/uploads/Ordinances/WindsorTownshipZoningOrdinance2012.pdf The 40' is documented here: https://library.municode.com/mi/windsor_charter_township,_(eaton_co.)/codes/zoning?nodeId=PT110_110.000ZOORORNO25_ARTX_110.1000DE_110.1002DE If any of your buildings are to be greater than 40' in height, the owner will need to apply for a variance.  This document provides general information but hopefully this helps to explain the process: https://www.acgov.org/cda/planning/ordinance/documents/Variance.pdf . From what I've seen by serving on the Meridian Township Environmental Commission, this is accurate.  The code document I gave you should also help: see section 110.402, 110.404.  You can also try to see if there are other 2+ story buildings in Windsor Township.  From my experience, if the township has...

Greetings and Happy Saturday!  I hope you are all doing well. Dr. Li, Chenyang, and I visited the site on Thursday. I've created a blog (as I've done previously in other classes).  I've also created a map of the site and embedded photos. I've linked that to the post about the site visit.  The blog contains information about the site, answers to recent questions, and process information about the wastewater treatment plant.   I can continue to update the blog throughout the semester. https://ce495sp2024.blogspot.com/ As a reminder, we do not have class this Tuesday.  I will be in my office (EBE 3505) from 3-5 PM in case anyone would like to meet.  The second deliverable is due Thursday 2/15 at 11:59 PM. I would like to visit the Tollgate Project in Lansing with the ENE water quality/air quality students. Let's tentatively plan on meeting there at 3:30 PM on 2/20/2024. I'll send out details of where to meet next week. This will give us enough time to ...

Q: B y using the Commerical Energy Calculator (Union Power) to estimate energy demands, how would those energy demands be used to calculate the electricity load for the REopt program? Would the monthly averages be scaled to the electric load that's given in the REopt Program?  I was also wondering what the basic model includes for the first memo and if it is just the energy demands and REopt program information?    A: To make an electric load profile, we are concerned about three factors: Total Energy consumption/demand Seasonal/monthly variation Hourly variation in one day  The sample model in REopt provides reasonable hourly load data for office buildings; you need to modify it to fit the actual demand. If Union Power only provides the monthly load and total consumption, you may keep the hourly variation and scale it to fit the monthly and total load. But if you have better hourly load data, surely you can replace the entire load data.   ...

If we are using the stormwater collected from the green roof for the irrigation of the greenery, do we have to treat the water further? No, you don't need to treat that any further if you are using it to irrigate the property (not the Part 303 wetland). When it comes to placing the retention pond, can this be placed near a wetland/ incorporated into an existing wetland to just enhance its ability to hold the water?  See the post about the site visit.  Basically no, you cannot. How detailed do you want the site plan to be for the final memo? Originally you said it could be a very basic design, but our feedback makes it seem like our entire team should have their design finished.    You definitely don't need to have a final site plan.  We fully expect that you will have to modify it throughout the sem...

On Thursday, 8 February, 2024, Dr. Li, Chenyang and I visited the site with township supervisor, Kern Slucter. I've made a map of the site and embedded the photos I took in the map: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=12z9_g9LaPdDhLdt669FZ4x-ZNqkm3Fs&usp=sharing There are several issues of note: The site drains to the east to a private drain (you can see this on the map and the photos).  The drain is private and was constructed decades ago when the site was agricultural. It is not under the jurisdiction of the Eaton County Drain Commission and since the subdivision does not have a homeowner's association it is unmaintained. The water flows from the site into the drain and discharges into the Grand River. The plan is to upgrade Billwood Highway to a Class A road. This means adding at least 2" of asphalt. This apparently has been worked out with the County. There is a sanitary sewer that is on the site.  It is in the ground but not hooked up. We can build on it accord...

The Dimondale/Windsor Township Wastewater Treatment Plant treats wastewater from Dimondale and Windsor Township. The plant is located on Walnut Highway. The plant also accepts waste from septic haulers.  The township contributes about 1/3 of the flow to the plant. It treats approximately 150,000-200,000 gal per day (~0.18 MGD). The plant consists of bar screens -> grit chamber. The grit is sent to the Granger landfill.  Wastewater is then sent to oxidation ditches (3, although only two were in operation when we visited).  There are no VFDs, DO is controlled by raising/lowering the liquid level.   Alum is added to precipitate phosphate. Effluent from the oxidation ditches is sent to a clarifier.  WAS is sent to aerobic digesters. From there the digested waste is sent to storage and then eventually land applied. The supernatent from the storage tanks is sent back to the headworks. Effluent from the clarifiers is sent to the UV disinfection units and then d...

Good morning, I hope you are all doing well and class meetings on Tuesday were helpful.  I have uploaded a document on D2L with a list of the deliverables for the semester and due dates. You should be able to see the assignment submission links on D2L also for all nine deliverables. I am working on developing grading rubrics for Dr. Li, Chenyang, and me to use for your assignments and will post those as soon as they are finalized.  More details on the assignment due next week (Thursday at 11:59 PM) are provided on the submission link and the document mentioned above. There is a group submission and an individual submission.  The ENE (water/air quality) specialists asked to have a Google drive to share documents.  All of the nine ENE (water/air quality) specialists should have access through their MSU Google drive. If not, please let me know.  If the other specialists would also like to have a shared drive, just let me know and I will facilitate th...

Greetings, I hope you are all well.  You should have received an email today with a link to our comments on your report.  Chenyang will be adding his comments related to the energy aspects of the project, if he hasn't done so already. We would like to meet with all of you before requiring the submission of the revised Memo 1.  As such, here is the schedule for Tuesday's meeting: 3-4 PM All ENE/Hydrology students in 1538 EB 4-5:50 PM Hydrology students in 1538 EB 4-5 PM ENE students in 1300 EB (if we need to meet longer we can try to find a room) 4-5:50 PM Sustainability students in Trans Lab In your revised memo, you need to explain the proposed conceptual design and how the different elements work together to achieve your overall design objectives. Your plan must be executable with "complete" details, in terms of the types of system objects to be included, layout, and connections.  To assist you in achieving your goals, you will be required to also submit ...