Statistical evaluation of testing conditions on the saturated hydraulic conductivity of Brazilian lateritic soils using artificial intelligence approaches.

The saturated hydraulic conductivity, ksat, is a crucial variable to describe the hydromechanical behavior of soils. The value of ksat of lateritic soils that are typically found in tropical regions is highly affected by the soil's structure, void ratio, and fine particle aggregation. As a result, the determination of ksat in the field or in the laboratory is complex and involves greater variability, depending on the type of test and on the spatial location of sampling. This paper presents a study of ksat values of lateritic soils, analyzing them using Statistic, Multilayer Perceptron Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Decision Trees (CHAID). This study aims to support decision-making regarding the type of test and depth chosen for sampling in laterite soils and understanding the factors influencing the permeability of such soils. An extensive literature review on the ksat values of lateritic soils was performed, providing data for the establishment of a database comprise of 722 registries. According to agronomic and geotechnical soil classifications, the Brazilian lateritic soils presents a "moderate" hydraulic conductivity. A significant variation of permeability values along the depth was identified, particularly for depths between 0.1 and 0.2 m. Regarding the importance of testing variables, the ANN indicated a high dependency on the type of test. The decision tree divided field test and laboratory test automatically, inferring the relevance of the type of test to the determination of ksat.

Uso do modelo HEC-RAS com base em informações de LiDAR para avaliação de inundações urbanas / Use of the HEC-RAS model based on LiDAR information for urban flood assessment

RESUMO O crescimento desordenado das cidades e o excesso de impermeabilização são problemáticas dos grandes centros urbanos, tendo como consequência principal a ocorrência de inundações e alagamentos. Nesse contexto, a modelagem hidrodinâmica pode ser uma importante ferramenta para a determinação de áreas inundáveis, permitindo estimar as cotas de inundação para diferentes cenários de tempos de retorno (TR) e chuvas de projetos, permitindo, assim, representar mais fielmente a realidade e minimizar erros decorrentes de projetos hidráulicos. Trabalhando em conjunto com o Sistema de Informações Geográficas (SIG), em que a geometria do canal é extraída por meio do Modelo Digital do Terreno (MDT) de alta precisão gerado por levantamento com técnica LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) e software de modelagem hidrodinâmica (Hydrologic Engineering Center — River Analysis System — HEC-RAS), foi possível avaliar diferentes cenários de inundações no trecho canalizado em concreto, no córrego Botafogo, em Goiânia, Goiás. Com os resultados da modelagem hidrodinâmica foi possível avaliar o comportamento da propagação das vazões geradas, constatando-se que para precipitações com TR de 50 anos ou mais, os limites da canalização não suportam os volumes gerados e transportados, provocando inundações em seis trechos críticos. Os dados obtidos pelo HEC-RAS puderam ser validados a partir de registros fotográficos divulgados pela imprensa local e levantamento topográfico dos locais inundados, de modo que a integração entre o SIG e a modelagem hidrodinâmica se mostrou eficiente para o estudo de áreas inundáveis.

ABSTRACT The disordered growth of cities and the excessive waterproofing are problematic of the large urban centers, having as a main consequence the occurrence of floods and overflows. Within this context, hydrodynamic modeling can be an important tool for the determination of floodable areas, allowing the estimation of flood quotas for different scenarios of return periods (TR) and project rainfall, thus allowing to more accurately represent reality and minimize errors arising from hydraulic designs. Working with Geographic Information System (GIS), where the channel geometry is extracted using the high precision Digital Terrain Model (DTM) generated by LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) survey and hydrodynamic modeling software (HEC-RAS), it was possible to evaluate different flood scenarios in the channeled concrete section, in the Botafogo Stream in Goiânia, Goiás. With the results of hydrodynamic modeling, it was possible to evaluate the propagation behavior of the generated flows, finding that for precipitation with TR 50 years or older, the plumbing limits do not support the generated and transported volumes, causing flooding in six critical stretches. The data obtained by HEC-RAS could be validated from photographic records released by the press and topographic survey of flooded sites, so that the integration between GIS and hydrodynamic modeling proved to be efficient for the study of floodable areas.

Use of Adsorbent Biochar from Pequi (Caryocar Brasiliense) Husks for the Removal of Commercial Formulation of Glyphosate from Aqueous Media

Abstract This study evaluated the capacity of adsorbent biochar derived from pequi husks to remove glyphosate (commercial formulation) in aqueous medium under three pH conditions (5.5, 7.0 and 8.0). This biochar presented a mean yield of 33.1% ± 2.66% and a high amount of surface particles of small dimensions endowing it with high surface area. The results showed that removal is proportional to pH increase in the range of 5.5 to 8.0. Adsorption assays performed at pH 7 and 8 fitted better to the Langmuir pseudo-first order kinetics model with fast adsorption in the first 15 to 30 minutes. The results for the acidic pH range fit none of the adopted models satisfactorily. The results obtained suggest that adsorbent can be used as an efficient and inexpensive alternative for the adsorption of glyphosate present in commercial formulations from aqueous matrices.