UK HND Courses - Honk Kong College of Engineering
MetaWorld Civil Consulting, LLC was responsible for
creating lecture notes and class presentations for
several courses related to "Construction and the Built
Environment" for the Hong Kong College of
Engineering (HKCE).
HKCE is a respected trade
school That enjoys several international
accredidations, including those required for a United
Kingdom Higher National Degree (HND). All of the
courses prepared by MetaWorld Civil were courses
required of students who wish to obtain said degree.
These courses are highly involved courses where the
students are not issued text books. That means that
the lecture notes and presentation were the only
resource the students have available to them; making
the notes and presentations all the more important to their development.
Each course consisted of 10 individual 90 minute
lectures, every aspect of which was prepared by MetaWorld Civil Consulting.
Some of the courses prepared included Structural Analysis and Design, Advanced Civil Engineering, Conversion and Adaption of Buildings, Management Principles and Application for Construction and the Built Environment, Engineering Economics, Site Surveying Procedures, Engineering Geology and Soil Mechanics, amongst others.
Sustainable Solutions Research Grant - Central Utah
In addition to consulting the Utah Power Company regarding the application of their saline wastewater (please see the Environmental Consulting Link under Engineering), MetaWorld Civil staff obtained grant funds of nearly $1M in order to fully research and document the findings of the data found during the monitoring process. Detailed documentation of these finds are needed to evolve the practice of sustainable development.
The irrigation season data at this experimental site show that variability in the weather conditions (air temperature, atmospheric moisture, radiation, wind, precipitation, etc.) have resulted in distinctly different ETa and ETp from year to year. By careful collection of weather data and evaluation of ETa and proper management of irrigation (amount, time and duration of irrigation), it has been shown that surface runoff and deep percolation have been avoided. These practices should be continued to prevent surface and groundwater pollution.
The effect of salt accumulation on the transpiration of alfalfa and other forage crops, modeling of plant-soil-water-atmosphere interactions for use in predicting Farm longevity, and developing a data base for model validation are being studied by another group of researchers based on the research recorded for this grant. Their studies thus far have shown that alfalfa yield and ET are likely to decrease only slightly for the coming years if saline wastewater continues to be used for irrigation. The results of the animal project conducted at the Farm have shown that the meat products are safe for human consumption, because the harmful levels of certain elements, characteristics of the water, are removed by filtering mechanisms in the crops and cattle.
The data discovered during this research is constantly being used to understand the many different aspects of our environment from irrigation practices, to soil properties, to crop capabilities, to wastewater management, etc. The information resultant from the constant monitoring of this application of wastewater is a valuable contributor to the advancement of sustainable development.
Wind and Solar Energy Harvesting Grant - Central Utah
This grant was a $775,000 grant entitled "Atmosperic surface layer turbulence and environmental science test facility." It was funded by the National Science Foundation, Utah State University, the University of Utah and Dugway Proving Ground. MetaWorld Civil staff served as the Primary Investigator for this research grant.
Among the objectives of this project were harvesting of solar and wind energies. Analysis of the incoming solar radiation at the playa shows, on the average, about 19.6 MJ m-2 d-1 solar energy throughout the 397 days of the experiment. Assuming that only one third of this energy can be available using photovoltaic solar cells, we have about 6.5 MJ m-2 d-1 = 1.5 * 102 J m-2 s-1 (Watt) = 5.4*102 kWh from each solar collector (average day length = 12 h). This available energy is higher during summer and lower during winter.
Unlike solar power, wind power is not restricted to daytime generation of energy. Our study of wind data over the playa showed that the calm conditions occurred only about 3 % of the time throughout the experimental period of one full year. A single wind turbine with an efficiency of 40 % and R = 10 m (installed at 20 m), and U20 = 4.6 m s-1 (average wind speed in playa at 20 m) would yield about 6.1 * 103 W = 2.2 * 104 kWh. The maximum (gust) wind speed of 25.5 m s-1 occurred around 1900 local time on 19 March 2000. To prevent destruction of the turbine in winds greater than 10 m s-1, the blade can be designed to gradually feather (reduce their angle of attack) as wind speed increases.
The combination of solar and wind energies is a promising approach to alleviate current energy demands. Our study showed that the Great Basin playa could be a suitable area to harvest renewable solar and wind energies. This research project has set the stage for future feasibility studies of the area, and could lead to great leaps forward in sustainable development.
Cloud Formula Calibration Grant - Logan, UT
MetaWorld Civil staff secured funds of $30,000 for this project entitled "Evaluation of effective atmospheric emissivity, and parameterization of cloud at local scale." The project was funded by the Utah State University Vice President for Research.
The study measured the radiation components continuously over a partially cheatgrass-covered area and compared the measured incoming longwave (atmospheric) radiation with that computed by Brutsaert's formula. Data analysis showed very good agreement between the measured and computed atmospheric radiation during cloudless periods.
During cloudy conditions the measured atmospheric radiation is greater than that computed by Brutsaert's formula. The additional longwave radiation during the cloudy skies comes from clouds in the waveband which the gaseous emission lacks, i.e. from 8 to 13 μm (the so-called atmospheric window).
Upon analysis of the data, MetaWorld Civil staff proposed an approach which uses thermodynamic concepts and some climatic parameters to parameterize cloud at local scale. Based upon the proposed method, the cloud base height, cloud base temperature, and percent of sky covered by cloud can be evaluated continuously for any location without introducing any empirical and local constants. In effect the study calibrated the Brutsaert's formula to account for clouds.
Educational Text Editing - Several Languages
In the 1980's and early 90's, Dr. Malek was a keystone researcher in the education and research of a practice generally known today as "Rainwater Harvesting". Dr. Malek has been involved in three text books in the field, some of which were translated into different languages: Effective Rainfall in Irrigated Agriculture in 1983, Consumptive Use of Water and Irrigation Water Requirements in 1986, and Knowledge and Measurement of Climatic Factors Affecting Agriculture in 1994.
Effective Rainfall in Irrigated Agriculture is a 120 page text which discusses the fact that the primary source of water for agricultural production for most of the world is rainfall. Three main characteristics of rainfall are its amount, frequency and intensity, the values of which vary from place to place, day to day, month to month and also year to year. Precise knowledge of these three main characteristics is essential for planning its full utilization. Information of the amount, intensity and distribution of monthly or annual rainfall for the most important places in the world is generally available. Published by the Shiraz University Press.
Consumptive Use of Water and Irrigation Water Requirements was a 309 page book discusses the water cycle and one of its components as evapotranspiration ET (the amount of water consumed by crops). This book has 8 chapters which cover an introduction, the soil-plant-atmosphere system, Energy and water balances, evapotranspiration, engineering requirements for the evapotranspiration data, measurement of ET, evaluations of different methods for the measurement of ET, and application of the data for irrigation planning, water right, etc. Published by the Shiraz University Press.
Knowledge and Measurement of Climatic Factors Affecting Agriculture is a 239 page book describes acquaintances with the climatic factors and how they affect agriculture. This book has 9 chapters and among the climatic factors described are: solar and terrestrial radiation and energy balance at the surface; conduction of heat to the ground; convection of heat to the air; wind; atmospheric moisture; precipitations; evapotranspiration and the weather stations. Theories and instrumentations are mentioned in each chapter. Published by the Shiraz University Press.
The texts written by MetaWorld Civil staff are a clear indication of their dedication to sustainable development and an environmentally responsible thought process through decades. It must also be recongnized that the ability to create a text book that is translated across languages is testament to the validity of their content.
