Digital Commons Network^™

Gas Turbine Blade Tip And Near Tip Heat Transfer With Film Cooling, Gregory Kramer

LSU Master's Theses

Gas turbine blade tips experience very high thermal loads due to high temperature combustion gases and tip leakage flows. This leads to the tip region being very susceptible to experiencing failures. To better understand these effects, experiments were performed in a suction-type low speed wind tunnel cascade to determine heat transfer coefficients and film cooling effectiveness distributions on a highly-loaded 2-D gas turbine blade model in the tip and near-tip regions. The blade shape was generated to match the pressure coefficients of the operating turbine blade design. The model featured multiple tip and pressure side film cooling holes and a …

Population-Level Responses Of The Mummichog, Fundulus Heteroclitus, To Chronic Nutrient Enrichment In A New England Salt Marsh, Konner Chadwick Lockfield

LSU Master's Theses

Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) responses to chronic whole-ecosystem nutrient enrichment were examined near Plum Island Sound, Massachusetts. Dissolved fertilizer was released into replicate salt marsh creeks over 6 growing seasons to simulate agricultural run-off (bottom-up effects). Density, biomass, secondary production, growth rate, and condition factor were estimated in fertilized and reference creeks. Mummichog densities were also used to determine if mummichog growth or health varied with density. Over 7,600 mummichogs were marked and released into the treatment and control areas to measure responses. Over 900 mummichogs were recovered. Mummichog abundance was higher (p = 0.055) in nutrient-enriched creeks than reference creeks …

V2o5-Wo3 Composite Films And Surface-Coated Licoo2 For Enhanced Li-Ion Intercalation Properties, Chuan Cai

LSU Master's Theses

We have investigated the enhanced Li-ion intercalation properties of two different materials, which are V2O5-WO3 composite and surface-coated LiCoO2. A simple and novel solution processing method is employed to prepare V2O5-WO3 composite films that demonstrate enhanced Li-ion intercalation properties for applications in Li-ion batteries or electrochromic displays. This solution processing method employs precursors that only contain the elements of V, W, O and H, which avoids impurity elements such as Na that has been commonly used in other solution methods (e.g. using precursors of sodium metavanadate and sodium tungstate solution). The V2O5-WO3 composite films show enhanced Li-ion intercalation properties compared …

Beating The Red Stick, Tracey Anne Duncan

LSU Master's Theses

My thesis explores the history of Roller Derby, its modern revival, and the way that it changes the lives of the women who play it. From October 2009 to March 2011, I conducted ethnographic research and interviews with the Red Stick Roller Derby in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My perspective is that of an observer turned player, and the piece centers around my own story of personal transformation. This work is part cultural history, part ethnography, and part memoir, written from an explicitly feminist perspective.

Foldable Substrates For Micro-Ultrasonic Transducers, Karthik Balasubramanian

LSU Master's Theses

Ultrasound has broad range of applications from underwater examination, nondestructive testing of materials and medical diagnosis and treatment. The ultrasonic transducer plays an vital role in determining the resolution, sensitivity, as well as other diagnostic capabilities of an ultrasonic imaging system. Current piezoelectric transducer which dominates the medical field has limited applications compared to the capacitive ultrasonic transducer. The capacitive transducer is easy to fabricate compared to the piezoelectric transducer. In this work, the fabrication of a foldable substrate for a capacitive ultrasonic transducer has been discussed. The foldable substrate was fabricated using an ultrathin silicon wafer which is 50 …

Of Reality: A Society Of Selves, Kelly C. Tate

LSU Master's Theses

Of Reality: A Society of Selves is a series of photographs that challenge the viewer’s perception of reality. Through digital image manipulation, costumed, multiplicitous self-portraits merge with handcrafted miniature environments. With the goal of illustrating the complexity of existing within society, the resulting images examine the psychological process of perception as it relates to social interaction and identity.

A Matter Of Time, Rebecca Kreisler

LSU Master's Theses

We frame our experiences as narratives, and associate the narrative with the book. My work takes the form of an immersive installation of printed, paper polyhedrons that act for me as non-traditional book structures. The planes of the polyhedrons function as pages without prescribing a certain order of events. The focus has been to blur the linear narrative into a body of visual work that represents my particular human experience, one full of memories and dreams, contradictions and juxtapositions, chaos and calm. What began as an objective examination of concepts of time in physics, philosophy, and psychology has developed into …

Course Over Ground, Kyle James Bauer

LSU Master's Theses

This exhibition, Course Over Ground, cohesively combines a metaphorical reference to maritime navigation with sculptural forms that convey balance, tension, and control. My mixed media sculptures are conceived with an adherence to the formalist perspective of objects. Each sculpture exists as an honest form. The work, and my intention in making it, is evidence of the process of breaking down selective images or objects into what I understand to be their purest representational forms, such as a squares, cylinders, pyramids, and rectangles. I allude to themes and the metaphor of a journey, which coupled alongside my continual quest for self-discovery, …

Family Supportive Organization Perceptions, Work Role Overload, And Burnout: Crossover Effects Of Burnout On Recovery, Suzanne Marie Booth

LSU Master's Theses

The present study is a dyadic examination of the effects individuals’ perceptions of their partners’ burnout have on the individuals’ burnout and their ability to recover from work demands. The effects of burnout were investigated in light of the presence of the buffer of family-supportive organization perceptions. The proposed model for the study was tested using statistical equation modeling (N = 300 cohabiting couples). Family-supportive organization perceptions were shown to mitigate the influence of work role overload on an individual’s burnout and positively relate to recovery from work. In the model, individuals’ perceptions of their partners’ burnout was driven by …

Assessing Attentional Bias And Cerebral Laterality In Specific Phobia Using A Dichotic Listening Paradigm, Whitney Shay Jenkins

LSU Master's Theses

Researchers have found fear to impact a variety of cognitive variables in individuals with specific phobia. Attentional bias is a cognitive variable that has received considerable attention in the specific phobia literature; however, the existing literature follows only one line of attentional bias—bias as encoded through images, words, or other content presented visually. This study aimed to expand on this area by assessing attention and cerebral laterality in individuals with specific phobia using a dichotic listening paradigm (i.e., via auditory means). Results indicated that participants with specific phobias do not significantly differ from controls in terms of the number of …

Obesity Treatment Alternatives: Foods To Surgery, Brooke Erwin Bayham

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of these studies was to explore the roles of dietary strategies and bariatric surgery in obesity treatment. The breakfast study was a randomized, crossover trial used to evaluate the role of egg proteins, and a retrospective chart review was conducted to obtain comparative information about two different bariatric surgeries. The breakfast study included 20 subjects who were randomized to receive an egg breakfast (EB) or a cereal breakfast (CB) matched for energy density and macronutrient composition but different protein quality for one week. Following a washout period, each subject was crossed over to receive the opposite breakfast for …

Exchange Rate Volatility And Bilateral Agricultural Trade Flows: The Case Of The United States And Oecd Countries, Kashi Ram Kafle

LSU Master's Theses

The abandonment of fixed exchange rate systems has caused exchange rate movements to become a major concern for traders, policy makers and researchers. During the previous four decades of floating exchange rates, numerous studies have been conducted to determine whether exchange rate volatility affected international trade flows. Researchers have not yet reached a general consensus as to the magnitude and direction of the impact of exchange rate volatility on trade flows. This study documents the effect of exchange rate volatility and real exchange rates on bilateral agricultural exports, imports and total trade flows between the United States and OECD countries. …

Discrete Element Modeling Of Cone Penetration In Jsc-1a Lunar Regolith Simulant, Mehmet Burak Cil

LSU Master's Theses

NASA plans to return back to the Moon for a long term presence and use of the Moon as a launch station for further space exploration to other planets. This scenario increases the importance of determining the geotechnical properties of the lunar surface. However, due to the limited availability of lunar regolith and its high scientific value, a simulant material which closely matches the composition and grain size distribution and other characteristics of the lunar regolith has become an indispensable need to benefit in hardware development as well as estimating lunar regolith properties. Therefore, JSC-1A lunar regolith simulant, which was …

Assessing The Suitability Of Various Feedstocks For Biomass Gasification, Akshya Sharma

LSU Master's Theses

Ten different types of feedstocks available in Louisiana were assessed for their suitability to produce SYNGAS in a down-draft biomass gasifier. The feedstocks tested for this research include: pine pellets, hardwood pellets, cypress mulch, pine bark nuggets, corn stover pellets, switchgrass pellets, sugarcane bagasse pellets, dairy manure pellets, and poultry litter pellets. The feedstocks were first analyzed for volatile & ash content, high heating value, moisture, and mass density. Feedstocks that met the analytical criteria and available in a form that is suitable for the down-draft gasifier at LSU were tested for gasification. The temperature profile within the gasifier and …

A Study Of The Scale-Invariant Feature Transform On A Parallel Pipeline, Phaneendra Vinukonda

LSU Master's Theses

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In this thesis we study the running of the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm on a pipelined computational platform. The SIFT algorithm is one of the most widely used methods for image feature extraction.

We develop a tile based template for running SIFT that facilitates the analysis while abstracting away lower-level details. We formalize the computational pipeline and the time to execute any algorithm on it based on the relative times taken by the pipeline stages. In the context of the SIFT algorithm, this reduces the time to that of running the entire image through a …

Solving Evolution Equations For Triad Interaction Of Shallow Water Waves, Qian Zhang

LSU Master's Theses

This study focuses on solving the evolution equations for triad interaction in shallow water waves. First, the evolution equations based on Boussinesq-type equations with Pad¨¦ approximant of the exact linear phase velocity using multi-scale perturbation analysis are derived. Next, methods of solving the complex equation directly, splitting the complex function into amplitude and phase functions, and splitting complex function into real and imaginary parts are implemented to solve the evolution equations. Then the fourth-order Runge-Kutta (RK4) numerical scheme is employed to solve the evolution equations, and corresponding numerical results of three wave interaction are presented demonstrating the sensitivity of the …

Evaluation Of Louisiana Asphalt Pavement Friction, Vivek Lal Das

LSU Master's Theses

This study aims to comprehensively investigate the effect of asphalt mix designs to address skid resistance. The current Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) specification for friction design considers only the friction rating of aggregate defined by the polished stone value (PSV) obtained by the British pendulum tester (BPT), which is associated with only the micro-texture of asphalt pavement surfaces. The objective of this study is to recommend an asphalt surface friction mix design guideline which is based on both micro- and macro-texture of the wearing course mix. The objective was achieved by evaluating four typical laboratory prepared Louisiana …

Transport Properties Of Nanometer-Sized Assemblies Through Nanofluidic Channels With Single Entity Electrical Detection, Franklin Ifeanyichukwu Uba

LSU Master's Theses

Recently, there have been reports on biological and solid-state nanopores that identify single biopolymers or their constituent monomers by analyzing changes in ionic current blockades when they block the flux of buffer ions while travelling through the nanopores. Nevertheless, there have been several limitations in their application, especially as DNA detectors; Poor confinement of the DNA strand within the nanopore (~0.1 % of a 10 kilobase (kb) DNA), poor signal sensitivity and random motion experienced by the DNA in solution that results in a large amount of noise in the signal. These have led to the development of nanochannel-based devices, …

Analysis Of Major Hydrologic Events In Ascension Parish, La, Jessica Irene Mason

LSU Master's Theses

Ascension Parish is located in Southern Louisiana and is characterized by low slope and low elevation. This combination allows for much hydrologic storage during a flood event. Because Ascension Parish is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the United States, it is necessary to accurately predict the hydrologic and hydraulic properties of flow and accurately model them. Several processes within a hydrologic model greatly influence the output flow hydrographs so selecting correct methods and parameters is important. Transform methods describe how excess precipitation is transformed into runoff. There are several methods that can be used as a transform …

A Systematic Study Of Xylella Fastidiosa Strains Isolated From Pecan, Grapevine, Oleander, And Sycamore In Louisiana, Rebecca Ann Melanson

LSU Master's Theses

Xylella fastidiosa causes disease in a number of economically important crops and landscape shrubs and trees including grapevine, citrus, oleander, and sycamore. In pecan, X. fastidiosa causes pecan bacterial leaf scorch (PBLS), which leads to defoliation and reduces nut yield. No economically effective treatments are available for PBLS. In order to improve PBLS management practices, it is necessary to determine the subspecies of X. fastidiosa strains that infect pecan so potential sources of inoculum can be identified. Multiprimer PCR and phylogenetic analyses using nucleotide sequence data from the 16S-23S rDNA intergenic transcribed spacer (ITS) region and pglA consistently identified strains …

Communiplaytion: Getting Our Hands Dirty Together, Brooke Tyson Cassady

LSU Master's Theses

CommuniPLAYtion: getting our hands dirty together is a weeklong installation of a collective ceramics studio implanted in Foster Gallery. It is a participatory and interactive exhibition that demonstrates how material play creates moments for personal reflection and contemplation, while also facilitating communication and social relations within a specific place. CommuniPLAYtion is an opportunity for an altruistic exchange among individuals in contrast to the monetary transactions that momentarily connect strangers. These engagements, similar to the “Do-It-Yourself Geopolitics” of other contemporary artists, empower individuals to develop modes of interaction that suit their interpersonal needs. The exhibition, communiPLAYtion enables the basic precursors that …

Comparing The Effects Of Ten Weeks Of Equipped Vs. Non-Equipped Training On Performance In Collegiate Powerlifters, Travis Michael Godawa

LSU Master's Theses

Advances in powerlifting equipment have enabled athletes in that sport to achieve lifts once thought impossible. The effect of training using specialized powerlifting gear on performance has not yet been studied. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of powerlifting equipment on performance measures before and after 10 weeks of training. It was hypothesized that equipped lifters would achieve higher total training volumes and greater performance gains in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. METHODS: Eighteen powerlifters between the ages of 18 and 26 were randomized into either a group that trained and competed in equipment (Eq), or trained and competed without …

Social Work Students' Attitudes Toward Teenage Pregnancy Prevention: The Importance Of Religiosity And Feminist Ideology, Pilar Thompson Borne

LSU Master's Theses

Effective teenage pregnancy prevention is a topic of debate in current literature. Religiosity is frequently examined in the research, and studies typically assess associations between behavior patterns and level of religiosity. Feminist ideology is another theme found in the teenage pregnancy prevention literature that mainly examines how feminist perspectives contribute to effective prevention approaches. The current study examined the interrelationships among religiosity, feminist ideology and attitudes toward teenage pregnancy prevention. A self-report survey instrument was used to collect data from 69 MSW students, a sample surveyed for the first with the current study. A significant positive correlation was found between …

Comparison Of Different Integral Histogram Based Tracking Algorithms, Sriharsha Atluri

LSU Master's Theses

Object tracking is an important subject in computer vision with a wide range of applications – security and surveillance, motion-based recognition, driver assistance systems, and human-computer interaction. The proliferation of high-powered computers, the availability of high quality and inexpensive video cameras, and the increasing need for automated video analysis have generated a great deal of interest in object tracking algorithms. Tracking is usually performed in the context of high-level applications that require the location and/or shape of the object in every frame. Research is being conducted in the development of object tracking algorithms over decades and a number of approaches …

The Creation Of "Echolalia: A Conversation" A Production Thesis In Acting, Olga Michele Guidry

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis, submitted to the Graduate School of Louisiana State University as partial requirement for graduation with the Master of Fine Arts degree in Theatre, follows the creation of a solo performance piece by Michele Guidry, called “Echolalia: A Conversation.” This solo project is an exploration of communication through the experience of autism from the perspective of parents, siblings, and therapists of children with autism, and the children themselves. The thesis includes topics of inspiration for creating this solo performance piece, interviews with experts and theatre artists who have personal experience with autism, a copy of the script with explanation …

Neutralizing Gender: Autonomy's Role In Disarming Gender Bias, Scott Szymanski

LSU Master's Theses

Figuring out what one’s identity means has always been an essential task of human life. Decidedly, our values, commitments, aspirations, and experiences all contribute to this identity. I submit that individuals have control over who they are and what they become by way of these attributes. As such, control over these characteristics gives us the power to define ourselves as we wish. In my thesis, I attempt to express how autonomy is imperative for this control. I take issue with traditional notions of autonomy, concluding that they do not take into account all that is necessary to ensure a person …

Costs And Benefits Of Induced Responses In Soybean, Amanda K. Accamando

LSU Master's Theses

Herbivorous insects are known to negatively impact plant fitness, such that plants have evolved defense strategies to reduce the preference and performance of herbivores on those plants. However, a plant’s investment in defense may be costly when herbivores are absent from the environment. Defense traits that are induced only upon herbivory can mitigate costs associated with defense maintenance. Although costs and benefits of induced responses are generally assumed, empirical evidence for them is equivocal. We examined the fitness costs and benefits of jasmonic acid-induced responses by soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) in the absence and presence of soybean loopers (Chrysodeix …

Animal Scavengers As Agents Of Decomposition: The Postmortem Succession Of Louisiana Wildlife, Audra Leigh Jones

LSU Master's Theses

Four adult pig carcasses were placed within a wildlife center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in order to determine what conditions animals utilize carrion and which animal species engage in scavenging. The cadavers were deposited without any protective covering and wildlife cameras were placed around the pigs in order to document animal scavenging. In two cases cameras showed that coyotes were the initial animal scavengers followed by opossums. In another case coyotes were inferred to have scavenged the pig due to discovering a similar pattern of disarticulation as compared to the previous two scenes. In the third case turkey vultures skeletonized …

The Contribution Of Implicit Stereotypes To The Overrepresentation Of African Americans In The Special Education Category Of Emotional Disturbance, Tai A. Collins

LSU Master's Theses

The overrepresentation of African Americans in special education is a problem that has plagued the field since its inception, yet very little progress has been made in alleviating the issue. The problem is especially troubling because of the host of negative outcomes associated with special education in general, as well as placing African American students into special education specifically. The current study sought to examine the contribution of implicit racial stereotypes to the overrepresentation problem. Participants were randomly assigned to conditions where they viewed vignettes about either an African American or Caucasian problem student, after which they completed a questionnaire …

Characterization And Utilization Of Rice Defense Associated With Partial Resistance To Bacterial Panicle Blight: An Emerging Rice Disease Problem In The Southeastern United States, Bishnu Kumar Shrestha

LSU Master's Theses

Rice is a staple food for much of the world’s growing population. Rice production is limited by a number of abiotic and biotic factors. These factors have direct effects on food security because less food is available to growing population. Bacterial panicle blight (BPB), caused by the bacterium Burkholderia glumae, is an emerging disease that causes grain rot, panicle discoloration, and unfilled grains in rice. Up to 70% of yield reduction has been reported in severely infected rice fields. No completely resistant rice cultivars have been identified, however, a medium-grain cultivar, Jupiter, showed a high level of partial resistance …