MRI Consortium: Development of CCPflex – A multi-function, modular platform for next-generation Conductivity Concentration Profilers

该合同将开发下一代电导率浓度分析器（CCPflex）系统，用于监测地球表面和海岸、海洋和海洋环境中的表面动态变化。这些仪器将被安置在北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校（UNCW）和特拉华大学的海岸工程设施中，通过一个经过验证的共享使用模式，供研究界在现场和/或实验室应用中使用。设计、测试和制造将通过与定制海洋仪器和软件开发的行业领导者合作来执行。最先进的印刷电路板制造技术将用于生产小型化测量探头。该项目将使一系列主题的变革性新研究成为可能，包括沿海风暴影响、沿海含水层和环境监测。利用CCPflex系统进行的研究所获得的知识将有助于改进沿海洪水预测地图，在沿海风暴之前更好地通知疏散命令，并有助于发展有弹性的沿海社区。该项目将通过本科生参与UNCW（一个以本科生为主的机构）的发展过程，培养下一代应用工程师和科学家。项目团队将积极招募STEM领域历史上代表性不足的群体的学生。涉及CCPflex的单元将被纳入研究人员的STEM高中推广项目“在教室里制造波浪”，以帮助用户了解沉积物如何在海滩上移动。CCPflex系统利用电导率直接测量流体-沉积物混合物的孔隙度，这与沉积物浓度成反比。CCPflex将能够量化高度集中的近河床区域的海岸沉积物运输过程，这对海岸附近的整体地貌变化有重要贡献。突破性的模块化“即插即用”设计为最终用户提供了广泛的部署和采样配置，大大拓宽了应用范围。设计标准是由沿海科学家的多样化社区的需求驱动的。开创性的探针设计将包括同步界面跟踪能力，用于海洋表面动力学和地下水研究的扩展应用。在毫米垂直分辨率下，高达50赫兹的瞬时近床沉积物浓度曲线将促进对湍流（例如，在破碎波下）如何促进沙滩整体沉积物运输的理解。CCPflex系统将适用于从粒度沉积物输送、小型实验室研究到高能野外活动（例如飓风登陆）的各种条件。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award will develop next-generation Conductivity Concentration Profiler, CCPflex, systems for monitoring changes in the Earth's surface and surface dynamics in coastal, ocean, and marine settings. The instruments will be housed in the coastal engineering facilities at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) and the University of Delaware, available to the research community through a proven shared-use model for use in field and/or laboratory applications. Design, testing, and manufacturing will be executed via partnerships with industry leaders in custom oceanographic instrumentation and software development. State-of-the-art printed circuit board manufacturing technologies will be utilized to produce the miniaturized measurement probes. This project will enable transformative new research across a range of topics including coastal storm impacts, coastal aquifers, and environmental monitoring. Knowledge gained from research conducted using CCPflex systems will lead to improved predictive coastal flood mapping, better inform evacuation orders ahead of coastal storms, and aid in the development of resilient coastal communities. This project will train the next-generation of applied engineers and scientists through undergraduate involvement during the development process at UNCW – a predominantly undergraduate institution. The project team will actively recruit students from historically under-represented groups within STEM fields. Units involving CCPflex will be incorporated into the researcher’s STEM high school outreach program, “Making Waves in the Classroom,” to assist users in understanding how sediment mobilizes on the beach.The CCPflex system uses electrical conductivity to directly measure the porosity profile of a fluid-sediment mixture, which is inversely related to the sediment concentration profile. CCPflex will be capable of quantifying coastal sediment transport processes in the highly concentrated near-bed region, which is known to contribute significantly to the overall geomorphic change near the coast. The breakthrough modular “plug-and-play” design provides a wide array of deployment and sampling configurations to the end-user, significantly broadening the scope of applications. The design criteria are driven by the needs of a diverse community of coastal scientists. Groundbreaking probe design will include simultaneous interface tracking capabilities for extended applications in ocean surface dynamics and groundwater studies. Instantaneous near-bed sediment concentration profiles at up to 50 Hz at millimeter vertical resolution will advance the understanding of how turbulent flow (e.g., beneath a breaking wave) contributes to the overall sediment transport at sandy beaches. CCPflex systems will be suitable for deployment in conditions ranging from grain-scale sediment transport small laboratory studies to highly energetic field campaigns (e.g., hurricane landfall).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.