I-Corps: Instant Sediment Grain Size Measurements

这个I-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是技术的发展，以快速确定粒度，从而设计，执行和评估工程工程，例如气候适应（即海滩营养），砂和砾石开采，海岸和河流工程以及河流修复。将探索四种商业应用。首先，海岸工程公司需要在海滩恢复过程中匹配当地的粒度，这就需要在现场和所有附近的沙资源（陆上和海上）进行粒度分析。随着气候的变化，这种性质的工程预计将在频率和规模上增加。其次，最近的研究表明，如果用碎橄榄石（一种天然矿物）代替沙滩沙子，那么在海滩营养过程中，二氧化碳会减少。二氧化碳去除的测量和验证需要监测橄榄石粒度的时间演变。使用这种技术可以快速完成。第三，初步工作主要集中在沿海地区，但河流恢复也必须符合目标粒度，以确保沉积物不会在洪水条件下立即被冲走，并且新的沉积物适合动植物的栖息地。第四，该设备对砂石和砾石的分类有潜在的用处。I-Corps项目的基础是开发一种基于手持相机的测量系统，该系统使用设备上的机器学习，不需要校准，并在1秒内提供准确的现场测量。地球的大部分地区都覆盖着一层可移动的沉积物。沉积物的大小决定了它在什么条件下会移动；更大的沉积物需要更大的力量来移动。粒度是地质、工程和其他土方活动的一级测量。测量沉积物粒度的标准技术是耗时的，并且只能在实验室环境中进行，而不能在现场进行。将样品带回实验室进行分析可能需要长达6个月的时间，即使表面颗粒大小可以在秒到分钟的时间尺度上变化。这项创新的重点是对现有设备的持续开发，该设备可以即时分析晶粒尺寸。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。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the development of technology to determine grain size quickly allowing for designing, performing, and assessing engineering works, for example climate adaptations (i.e., beach nourishment), sand and gravel mining, coastal and river engineering, and river restoration. Four commercial applications will be explored. First, coastal engineering firms are required to match local grain size during beach restorations, necessitating grain size analysis at the site and all nearby sand resources (onshore and offshore). Engineering works of this nature are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude as climate changes. Second, recent work suggests that carbon dioxide drawdown can occur during beach nourishment if crushed olivine (a naturally occurring mineral) is used instead of beach sand. The measurement and verification of carbon dioxide removal requires monitoring the time evolution of olivine grain size. This can be done quickly using this technology. Third, preliminary work has focused on coastal applications, but river restorations also must match a target grain size to make sure that the sediment does not immediately wash away in flood conditions, and that new sediment is suitable for habitat for flora and fauna. Fourth, this device is potentially useful for classifying sand and gravel for mining aggregates.This I-Corps project is based on the development of a handheld camera-based measurement system that uses on-device machine learning, does not require calibration, and provides accurate in-the-field measurements within 1 second. Much of the earth is covered with a veneer of mobile sediment. The size of this sediment determines under what conditions it will move; larger sediment requires larger forces to move. Grain size is a first order measurement for geologic, engineering, and other earthmoving activities. The standard techniques for measuring sediment grain size are time consuming and performed exclusively in laboratory settings, not in the field. Bringing samples back to the lab to be analyzed can take up to 6 months, even as surface grain size can change on the timescale of seconds to minutes. This innovation is focused on the continued development of an existing device that can analyze grain size instantaneously.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.