UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1270

Overall Research Project Description Major extreme events, such as hurricanes, generate substantial amounts of debris—most of which is vegetative debris in the Florida Panhandle. This overwhelming volume often exceeds the capacity of local waste management systems, creating serious environmental and public health concerns. While sustainable strategies such as recycling and reuse are frequently proposed as alternatives, their implementation is limited by logistical challenges. Specifically, maximizing post-disaster material recovery requires separating debris by quality and condition at the collection site, prior to transporting it to staging areas. However, this process demands significantly more physical space for segregated material storage—space that most communities lack.

To address this constraint, this UROP project proposes a digital twin approach that synchronizes simulated on-site debris conditions and collection operations (modeled at a 1:14 lab scale) with a computer-based simulation of debris removal activities. As a pilot project (i.e., before implementing it to real-world debris operations), the integration of physical and digital environments in this project will demonstrate real-time communication between simulated field operations and virtual planning tools, allowing for more efficient management of limited staging area space and enhancing the feasibility of sustainable debris management practices.