Equipment: MRI: Track 2 Acquisition of a Hydraulic and Sediment Recirculation Flume to Advance Fundamental Research in Urban Stormwater and Fluvial Processes

随着暴雨和洪水等极端天气事件在美国和世界范围内的频率和强度的增加，迫切需要新的实验和计算工具来促进所需的基础科学和工程知识，以表征、了解和减轻暴雨和洪水对水质和可获得性的不利影响。这项NSF MRI Track 2奖将使维拉诺瓦大学(VU)获得一种单向泥沙供给倾斜式水槽(USTF)。这一新工具将使弗吉尼亚大学及其学术、市政和工业合作伙伴能够就城市绿色雨水基础设施、河流演变、城市洪水缓解以及对已建成城市环境的影响开展亟需的研究。USTF将促进与伙伴机构在两个主要主题上的合作研究和教育：1)绿色城市雨水基础设施，以及2)河流过程和对城市环境的影响。收购USTF还将支持本科生、研究生和专业人员在水资源工程、地质环境工程、地球化学和地貌学方面的教育和培训，并促进研究合作并增加与学术、市政和行业合作伙伴的接触。随着暴雨和洪水等极端天气事件的频率和强度增加，城市雨水管理已成为美国许多城市面临的严峻挑战。暴雨会加剧与洪水、泥沙、营养物质和污染物运输有关的环境影响，这些都会对城市环境和公众健康造成不利影响。绿色雨水基础设施(GSI)为城市和城市地区的雨水管理提供了前景看好、成本效益高的解决方案。GSI由土壤、水和植物系统组成，这些系统拦截雨水，将一部分雨水渗透到地下，然后缓慢地将一部分雨水释放回下水道系统。这项NSF MRI Track 2奖将使维拉诺瓦大学能够获得一种带有定制插件以模拟GSI的单向沉积物-进料倾斜式水槽(USTF)系统。USTF将用于研究城市雨水基础设施、河流演变、城市洪水缓解以及对已建成城市环境的影响，这些都是仅通过实地研究或计算模型无法获得的。该项目的合作性质将使来自维拉诺瓦大学、坦普尔大学、俄亥俄州立大学、马里兰大学、德雷塞尔大学、新泽西学院、宾夕法尼亚州立大学哈里斯堡分校和丹尼森大学的学生能够在项目上合作，进一步增进他们的教育和研究经验。该项目还将涉及与公用事业公司(费城水务部门)和工程公司的合作/伙伴关系，包括Aterra Solutions、Herbert、Rowland&GRUBIC、NTM Engineering、普林斯顿水电、施纳贝尔工程和WSP Global。该奖项由NSF MRI和CBET环境工程计划联合资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

As the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heavy rains and floods increase in the United States and worldwide, there is an urgent and critical need for new experimental and computational tools to advance the fundamental science and engineering knowledge needed to characterize, understand, and mitigate the adverse impact of heavy rains and floods on water quality and availability. This NSF MRI Track 2 award will enable Villanova University (VU) to acquire a Unidirectional Sediment-feed Tilting Flume (USTF). This new instrument will enable VU and its academic, municipal, and industrial partners to carry out critically needed research on urban green stormwater infrastructure, fluvial processes, urban flood mitigation, and impacts on built urban environments. The USTF will facilitate collaborative research and education with the partner institutions in two major themes: 1) green urban stormwater infrastructure, and 2) river processes and impacts on urban environments. The acquisition of the USTF will also support education and training at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels in water resources engineering, geo-environmental engineering, geochemistry, and geomorphology, as well as facilitate research collaborations and increase engagement with academic, municipal, and industry partners. Managing urban stormwater has emerged as a critical challenge for many cities in the United States as the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as heavy rains and floods increase. Stormwater worsens environmental impacts related to flooding, sediment, nutrient, and pollutant transport that adversely impact the urban environment and public health. Green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) provides promising and cost-effective solutions for managing stormwater in cities and urban areas. GSI consists of integrated soil, water, and plant systems that intercept stormwater, infiltrate a portion of it into the ground, and release a portion of it slowly back into sewer systems. This NSF MRI Track 2 award will enable Villanova University to acquire a Unidirectional Sediment-Feed Tilting Flume (USTF) system with custom inserts to simulate GSI. The USTF will be used to study urban stormwater infrastructure, fluvial processes, urban flood mitigation, and impacts on built urban environments that are otherwise unattainable through field studies or computational models alone. The collaborative nature of this project will enable students from Villanova, Temple University, Ohio State University, University of Maryland, Drexel University, The College of New Jersey, Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg, and Denison University to work together on projects, furthering their educational and research experiences. The project will also involve collaborations/partnerships with a public utility (Philadelphia Water Department) and engineering firms including Aterra Solutions, Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, NTM Engineering, Princeton Hydro, Schnabel Engineering, and WSP Global.This award was jointly funded by the NSF MRI and the CBET Environmental Engineering programs.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.