Browsing by Author "Farewell, Timothy S."
Now showing 1 - 20 of 22
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Analysis of cold weather patterns over the period 1991-2012(2013-01-22T00:00:00Z) Farewell, Timothy S.; Hallett, Stephen H.; Truckell, Ian G.Within the context of an observed increase in the numbers of burst pipes associated with colder winters in the Anglian water region, we have analysed temperature data for England and Wales from the period 1991-2012 to identify cold winter periods. To do so, we have calculated the annual accumulated temperature below 1 °C for each MORECS square over the winter period. The resulting data has been mapped for both the whole of England and Wales as well as just for the Anglian Water region. The data shows that the four winters between 2008-2012 were considerably colder than the preceding eleven winters. Additionally, for the winter of 2011-2012, the average temperature for all England of Wales was warmer than the 1991-2011 period average. However locally, in the Anglian Water region, the average temperatures were colder than the 1991-2011 average. The available MORECS data shows that while there are some periods of time with warmer winters (e.g. 1997-2008) and periods with colder winters (1990-1994, 1995-1997 and 2008- 2012), the lengths of these periods are considerably variable. From the MORECS data for the period 1991-2012, there does not appear to be a cyclical or predictable pattern in determining the harshness of the winter period.Item Open Access Enhanced visualization of the flat landscape of the Cambridgeshire Fenlands(Wiley, 2015-09-15) Pritchard, Oliver G.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Hallett, Stephen H.The Fenlands of East Anglia, England, represent a subtle landscape, where topographic highs rarely exceed 30 m above sea level. However, the fens represent an almost full sequence of Quaternary deposits which, together with islands of Cretaceous and Jurassic outcrops, make the area of geological importance. This feature discusses the advantages of using 3D visualization coupled with high-resolution topographical data, over traditional 2D techniques, when undertaking an analysis of the landscape. Conclusions suggest that the use of 3D visualization will result in a higher level of engagement, particularly when communicating geological information to a wider public.Item Open Access How the impacts of burst water mains are influenced by soil sand content(European Geosciences Union (EGU) / Copernicus Publications, 2018-11-09) Farewell, Timothy S.; Jude, Simon; Pritchard, Oliver G.Society relies on infrastructure, but as infrastructure systems are often collocated and interdependent, they are vulnerable to cascading failures. This study investigated cross-infrastructure and societal impacts of burst water mains, with the hypothesis that multi-infrastructure failures triggered by burst water mains are more common in sandy soils. When water mains in sandy soils burst, pressurised water can create subsurface voids and abrasive slurries, contributing to further infrastructure failures. Three spatial data investigations, at nested scales, were used to assess the influence that soil sand content has on the frequency and damage caused by burst water mains (1) to roads in the county of Lincolnshire, (2) to other proximal water mains in East Anglia and (3) to other proximal infrastructure and wider society across England and Wales. These investigations used infrastructure network and failure data, media reports and soil maps, and were supported by workshop discussions and structured interviews with infrastructure industry experts. The workshop, interviews and media reports produced a greater depth of information on the infrastructure and societal impacts of cascading failures than the analysis of infrastructure data. Cross-infrastructure impacts were most common on roads, built structures and gas pipes, and they occurred at a higher rate in soils with very high sand contents.Item Open Access Improving pipe failure predictions: Factors effecting pipe failure in drinking water networks(Elsevier, 2019-07-29) Barton, Neal A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Hallett, Stephen H.; Acland, Timothy F.To reduce leakage and improve service levels, water companies are increasingly using statistical models of pipe failure using infrastructure, weather and environmental data. However, these models are often built by environmental data scientists with limited in-field experience of either fixing pipes or recording data about network failures. As infrastructure data can be inconsistent, incomplete and incorrect, this disconnect between model builders and field operatives can lead to logical errors in how datasets are interpreted and used to create predictive models. An improved understanding of pipe failure can facilitate improved selection of model inputs and the modelling approach. To enable data scientists to build more accurate predictive models of pipe failure, this paper summarises typical factors influencing failure for 5 common groups of materials for water pipes: 1) cast and spun iron, 2) ductile iron, 3) steel, 4) asbestos cement, 5) polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and 6) polyethylene (PE) pipes. With an improved understanding of why and how pipes fail, data scientists can avoid misunderstanding and misusing infrastructure and environmental data, and build more accurate models of infrastructure failure.Item Open Access The influence of soil on the impacts of burst water mains on infrastructure and society: A mixed methods investigation(European Geosciences Union (EGU) / Copernicus Publications, 2017-12-12) Farewell, Timothy S.; Jude, Simon; Pritchard, Oliver G.Society relies on infrastructure, but colocation and interdependencies make infrastructure systems vulnerable to cascading failures. This study investigated cross-infrastructure and societal impacts of burst water mains, with the hypotheses that (1) burst main-triggered cross-infrastructure failures are more common in sandy soils and (2) mixed-methods approaches are more beneficial than pure data analysis for understanding the wide-ranging impacts of these events. When water mains in sandy soils burst, pressurised water can create sub-surface voids and abrasive slurries, contributing to further infrastructure failures. To investigate the role of soil in hosting cascading infrastructure failures, maps of soil sand content for England and Wales were created. Analysis of the infrastructure impacts arising from burst mains combined; (1) spatio-temporal clustering and analysis of infrastructure failure data, (2) meta-analysis of web-based media reports of burst mains impacting on other networks, and (3) workshop discussions and structured interviews with infrastructure industry experts. The workshop, interviews and media reports produced a greater depth of information on the infrastructure and societal impacts of cascading failures than the spatio-temporal data analysis. Cross infrastructure impacts were most common on roads, built structures and gas pipes, and occurred at a higher rate in soils with very high sand contents.Item Open Access Innovative methods for soil parent material mapping(Cranfield University, 2010-01) Farewell, Timothy S.; Mayr, T.Soil parent material exerts a fundamental control on many environmental processes. Nevertheless, resulting from the separate mapping programmes of the geological and soil surveys, parent material is currently poorly mapped in the United Kingdom. This research develops and tests four methods of predicting soil parent material using three study areas in England. The qualities of desirable parent material maps were stated, and then used to create new map value metrics to assess the success of the four methodologies. Firstly, translations of surface and bedrock geology maps to parent material maps were tested, using international and national parent material classifications. Secondly, qualitative expert knowledge of parent material, captured from published literature, was formalised into inputs for a corrected probability model. Parent material likelihood was predicted using three map evidence layers: geology, slope and soil. Thirdly, extensive data mining was used to create fully quantitative inputs for the same probability model, and the results were compared. The final method provided a quantitative framework for the expert knowledge model inputs by the incorporation of sparse data sampling. The expert knowledge method created parent material maps of higher value than those created by the translation of geological maps. However, the inputs derived from qualitative expert knowledge were demonstrated to benefit from the addition of quantitative sample data. The resulting maps achieved overall accuracies between 60% and 90% and contained numerous detailed classes with explicit probabilities of prediction. Extensive parent materials were shown to be predicted well, and physically and chemically distinctive parent materials could be effectively predicted irrespective of their extent. Parent material class confusion arose between units where the evidence datasets were unable to provide the sufficient geographic or descriptive detail necessary for differentiation. In such cases, class amalgamation was used to overcome consistent misclassification. Recommendations are provided for the application of this research.Item Open Access The mapping of landscapes, geology and soils of Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire(2011-12-08T00:00:00Z) Farewell, Timothy S.; Friend, Peter; Whiteley, Martin; Zawadzka, JoannaLandscapes and their component landforms have formed during the long-term geological history of an area, and may have been influenced by many factors. These include, a) the materials present just below the Earth's surface, b) movements of the Earth's land or sea surface, and c) the action of ice, rain, wind and living organisms. This study has been concerned particularly with ways of analysing and presenting topographical information, so that members of the general public can gain new insights into the stories that have resulted in their landscapes and landforms.Item Open Access Probabilistic soil moisture projections to assess Great Britain's future clay-related subsidence hazard(Springer, 2015-09-05) Pritchard, Oliver G.; Hallett, Stephen H.; Farewell, Timothy S.Clay-related subsidence is Great Britain’s (GB) most damaging soil-related geohazard, costing the economy up to £500 million per annum. Soil-related geohazard models based on mineralogy and potential soil moisture deficit (PSMD) derived from historic weather data have been used in risk management since the 1990s. United Kingdom Climate Projections (UKCP09) suggest that regions of GB will experience hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters through to 2050. As a result, PSMD fluctuations are expected to increase, exacerbating the shrinkage and swelling of clay soils. A forward-looking approach is now required to mitigate the impacts of future climate on GB’s built environment. We present a framework for incorporating probabilistic projections of PSMD, derived from a version of the UKCP09 stochastic weather generator, into a clay subsidence model. This provides a novel, national-scale thematic model of the likelihood of clay-related subsidence, related to the top 1-1.5m soil layer, for three time periods; baseline (1961-1990), 2030 (2020-2049) and 2050 (2040-2069). Results indicate that much of GB, with the exception of upland areas, will witness significantly higher PSMDs through to the 2050’s. As a result, areas with swelling clay soils will be subject to proportionately increased subsidence hazard. South-east England will likely incur the highest hazard exposure to clay-related subsidence through to 2050. Potential impacts include increased incidence of property foundation subsidence, alongside deterioration and increased failure rates of GB’s infrastructure networks. Future clay-subsidence hazard scenarios provide benefit to many sectors, including: finance, central and local government, residential property markets, utilities and infrastructure operators.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st Apr - 30th Jun 2009(2011-10-14) Keay, C. A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Rayner, A. P.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st April - 30th June 2011(2011-07-26T00:00:00Z) Keay, C. A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Younas, A.; Hallett, Stephen H.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st April - 30th June 2010(2010-08-04T00:00:00Z) Keay, C. A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Rayner, A. P.; Hallett, Stephen H.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st Jan - 31st Mar 2010(2010-04-29T00:00:00Z) Keay, C. A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Rayner, A. P.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st Jan - 31st Mar 2009(2009-04-16T00:00:00Z) Keay, C. A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Rayner, A. P.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st Jan - 31st Mar 2011(2011-04-06T00:00:00Z) Keay, Caroline A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Younas, Adnan; Hallett, Stephen H.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st Jul - 30th Sep 2009(2011-10-14) Keay, C. A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Rayner, A. P.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st Jul - 30th Sept 2010(2010-10-14T00:00:00Z) Keay, Caroline A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Rayner, A. P.; Hallett, Stephen H.Item Open Access Report of Activity for LandIS Support Quarterly Progress Report 1st Oct - 31st Dec 2009(2010-02-02T00:00:00Z) Keay, C. A.; Farewell, Timothy S.; Rayner, A. P.Item Open Access Soil and climatic causes of water mains infrastructure bursts(2012-10-15T00:00:00Z) Farewell, Timothy S.; Hallett, Stephen H.; Truckell, Ian G.Anglian Water plc. have recorded a recent rise in the number of bursts to water mains, impacting on the reportable serviceability of the network to the regulator. Cranfield University National Soil Resources Institute were asked to investigate and advise on potential environmental causes for this. This report Soil and Climatic causes of water mains infrastructure bursts forms a part of the contractual obligations entered into by Cranfield University with Anglian Water plc. and is provided for Anglian Water plc., submitted as a deliverable for Cranfield University project WU33701V as part of the wider Anglian Water plc. Burst mains and climate factors project.Item Open Access Soil geohazard mapping for improved asset management of UK local roads(Copernicus Publications, 2015-05-08) Pritchard, Oliver G.; Hallett, Stephen H.; Farewell, Timothy S.Unclassified roads comprise 60% of the road network in the United Kingdom (UK). The resilience of this locally important network is declining. It is considered by the Institution of Civil Engineers to be “at risk” and is ranked 26th in the world. Many factors contribute to the degradation and ultimate failure of particular road sections. However, several UK local authorities have identified that in drought conditions, road sections founded upon shrink–swell susceptible clay soils undergo significant deterioration compared with sections on non-susceptible soils. This arises from the local road network having little, if any, structural foundations. Consequently, droughts in East Anglia have resulted in millions of pounds of damage, leading authorities to seek emergency governmental funding. This paper assesses the use of soil-related geohazard assessments in providing soil-informed maintenance strategies for the asset management of the locally important road network of the UK. A case study draws upon the UK administrative county of Lincolnshire, where road assessment data have been analysed against mapped clay-subsidence risk. This reveals a statistically significant relationship between road condition and susceptible clay soils. Furthermore, incorporation of UKCP09 future climate projections within the geohazard models has highlighted roads likely to be at future risk of clay-related subsidence.Item Open Access Soil moisture content measurement using optical fiber long period gratings(SPIE - International Society for Optics and Photonics, 2017-04-23) Hallett, Stephen H.; Partridge, Matthew; James, Stephen; Tiwari, Ashutosh; Farewell, Timothy S.; Tatam, Ralph P.The use of an optical fibre long period grating (LPG) as a soil moisture sensor is reported. Characterization of the device in both clay and sandy soils revealed a sensitivity to moisture levels in the range 10-50%, and the results were compared with the output from a Theta probe, the standard soil moisture sensor, which measures the impedance of the soil. © (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.