Research & Economic Development
Modeling Analysis and Simulation
Research Focus Area Leader: Dr. Alfred Kalyanapu, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Current research in this area is focused on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) applications, modeling and simulation in watershed sciences, computational hydrology and water resources engineering. Currently, researchers from various disciplines including water resources and environmental engineering, biology, agriculture and computer sciences are active in this research focus area of enabling technologies and tools.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT: DRONES
Gathering streamflow information during flooding events is essential to many aspects of watershed management; however, data collection can be very dangerous. Key flood measurements for water and wildlife managers, as well as emergency first responders, are measures of flood magnitudes that exceed the riverbanks and flow into the adjoining floodplains. Unmanned aerial vehicles (commonly known as drones) are becoming more available and less expensive. People have been using drones for various recreational activities, and some have recently started using these for research purposes. In this project, researchers from Tennessee Tech's Water Center and Penn State University are investigating the use of drones in measuring streamflow in rivers and streams, so that streamflow during floods can be measured at a lower risk. The initial tests were conducted on measuring streamflow along the Cumberland, Caney Fork and Obion rivers, in middle and western Tennessee.
- Faculty
- Dr. Tania Datta, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Dr. Alfred Kalyanapu, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Dr. Peter Li, Earth Sciences
- Dr. Justin Murdock, Biology
- Students
- Awards and Recognition
- Water Center Ph.D. student John Brackins (Civil and Environmental Engineering), advised by Associate Professor Alfred Kalyanapu, was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship for his work studying hurricane storm surges.
- Students of environmental engineering associate professor Tania Datta recently won honors. Alisa Danielle Kirkpatrick received the 2018 KY/TN Water Environmental Federation Scholarship; Grace McClellan received the 2018 KY/TN American Water Works Association Scholarship; and Joseph Brockwell received the Civil and Environmental Engineering Graduate Award for his poster at the 2019 Tennessee Tech Research and Creative Inquiry Day.
- Datta earned the 2017 Tennessee Tech University Distinguished Service Learning Award for extraordinary contributions by a faculty member in the area of service learning and was selected as a finalist for the 2017 Outstanding Faculty Award for Professional Service sponsored by Home Instead Senior Care.
- John Thomas Brackins, civil engineering student advised by Dr. Kalyanapu, was selected to participate in the National Water Center Innovators Program Summer Institute of 2018. The Summer Institute provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with national leaders in hydrology, modeling, and decision support, and with top graduate students in the field.
- Projects
- Developing of Flood2D-GPU Modeling for Titan HPC Environment
Alfred Kalyanapu/UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory - DSS-WISE Modeling for Dam Breach Analysis
Alfred Kalyanapu/Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation - Watershed-Based Environmental Justice in Tennessee
Peter Li/U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Developing of Flood2D-GPU Modeling for Titan HPC Environment
- Publications/Presentations
Journal Articles (Fiscal Year 2018-2019)
- Ahmadisharaf, E.A., A.J. Kalyanapu, and P.D. Bates. 2018. "A Probabilistic Framework for Floodplain Mapping Using Hydrological Modeling and Unsteady Hydraulic Modeling," Hydrological Sciences Journal, doi:10.1080/02626667.2018.1525615.
- Ahmadisharaf, E.A., A.J. Kalyanapu, J.R. Lillywhite, and G. Tonn. 2018. "A Probabilistic Framework to Evaluate the Uncertainty of Design Hydrograph: Case Study of Swannanoa River Watershed," Hydrological Sciences Journal, 63(12), 1176-1790.
Presentations (Fiscal Year 2018-2019)
- Adjovu, G.E., R. Gamble, and A.J. Kalyanapu. "Development of HEC-HMS Model for the Cane Creek Watershed," presented at the 28th Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, Montgomery Bell State Park, Tennessee, April 2019.
- Bhuyian, M.N., A.J. Kalyanapu, T. Papanicolaou, S.M. Ghaneeizad, B. Abban, and C.G. Wilson. "Predicting Future Flood Risk in an Agrarian Watershed in Northwest Tennessee," presented at the 2018 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington D.C., December 2018.
- Bhuyian, M.N., T.T. Dullo, A.J. Kalyanapu, S. Gangrade, and S.-C., Kao. “Application of Geomorphic Correlations for River Bathymetry Correction in Two-Dimensional Hydrodynamic Modeling for Long-Term Flood Risk Evaluation,” presented at the 2019 World Environmental and Water Resources Congress, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2019.
- Bhuyian, M.N., and A.J. Kalyanapu. “Assessing DEM Error in Major River Basins of the World,” presented at the 28th Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, Montgomery Bell State Park, Tennessee, April 2019.
- Brackins, J.T., and A.J. Kalyanapu. “Comparison of Parametric Rainfall Models of Tropical Cyclone Rainfall for Flood Risk Studies,” presented at the 28th Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, Montgomery Bell State Park, Tennessee, April 2019.
- Davis, A.J., and A.J. Kalyanapu. “Developing an Early Warning System for Floods for Window Cliffs State Natural Area, Putnam County, Tennessee,” presented at the 28th Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, Montgomery Bell State Park, April 2019.
- Dullo, T., S. Gangrade, A.J. Kalyanapu, S.-C. Kao, S.K. Ghafoor, and K. Evans. “Reconstruction of Hurricane Harvey Riverine Flooding for Harris County, TX, Using a GPU-Accelerated 2D Flood Model,” presented at the 2018 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington D.C., December 2018.
- Islam, M., T. Cunningham, N.J. Snigdha, and A.J. Kalyanapu. “Reservoir Routing Model for Cane Creek Lake, Cookeville, Tennessee,” presented at the 28th Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, Montgomery Bell State Park, Tennessee, April 2019.
- Jackson, C., A.J. Kalyanapu, and C. Cervone. “Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Velocimetry Estimation,” presented at the 2018 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, Washington D.C., December 2018.
