Engineering Commons^™

Evaluation Of Sweep Efficiency Of A Mature Co2 Flood In Little Creek Field, Mississippi, Didem Senocak

LSU Master's Theses

CO2 displacement is the most widely used EOR process, but poor sweep efficiency and large CO2 utilization rates are limitations to the economic and technical success of CO2 floods. Developing a methodology to maximize the sweep efficiency and minimize the CO2 utilization rate would greatly improve the economics of these fields. This thesis evaluates the sweep efficiency of a successful, late-in-life, continuous injection CO2 flood at the Little Creek Field, Mississippi. In this work, we evaluate several heterogeneity measures in terms of recovery efficiency and utilization rate. Core studies available from 41% of the wells in the field were used …

Development Of An Algorithm For Switching Compensator Control Based On The Currents' Physical Components Theory, Samuel Pearce

LSU Master's Theses

Development of a three-phase switching compensator algorithm, based on the Currents’ Physical Components (CPC) power theory and capable of performing in real time, is the subject of this thesis. The compensator algorithm could be implemented to control a PWM Inverter, which would perform as a shunt switching compensator of harmonic, reactive and unbalanced currents or a customizable combination of the three. The hardware used to demonstrate the ability of the algorithm to perform within the restraints or real time operation is a Motorola DSP56F807 evaluation mode DSP board and a set of voltage and current sensors. The Evaluation Board was …

Experimental Investigation Of Unsaturated Soil Stiffness, Ananth Bukkapatnam Tirumala

LSU Master's Theses

Soil stiffness is a strain dependent non-linear parameter. Stiffness is the measure of soil deformation under a particular working load. It can used for predicting ground deformation in engineering earthworks such as highway embankments and foundations. Non-linear analyses for ground behavior have been widely used for developing models to predict the small –strain characteristics of the soil (Atkinson, 2000). This thesis provides a new insight into the behavior of soil stiffness. We used the wave propagation technique to determine the stiffness and term it as the small strain shear modulus (Gmax) of the soil. The objective of the thesis was …

Photocatalytic Oxidation Of Ethanol Using Macroporous Titania, Gibert Merle Magpantay

LSU Master's Theses

Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) using TiO2 is a potential means of remediating poor indoor air quality that is attributed to low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOC). In this work, ethanol is chosen as a simple compound representative of VOC’s. The aim of this research is to establish a baseline for the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 in ethanol PCO as well as the photonic efficiency of the photoreactor. The PCO conversion could then be enhanced by using photocatalyst having a macroporous structure. A flat plate photoreactor, UV light delivery and a flow system was designed in this work to accomplish ethanol …

Design, Fabrication, And Testing Of A Micro Fuel Injection Swirler For Lean Premixed Combustion In Gas Turbine Engines, Anthony Louis Giglio

LSU Master's Theses

Due to growing energy demands and the need for increased fuel consumption efficiency, environmental protection agencies are imposing more stringent emissions regulations on gas turbine combustion systems with emphasis on NOx emissions reduction. Emerging technological combustion schemes to reduce NOx commonly employ lean premixed combustion. Decreases in NOx are globally obtained by flame temperature decrease and locally improved by homogeneity of the reacting mixture. A new micro fuel injection swirler, capable of providing efficient and rapid mixing over a short distance, is presented in this thesis. The conception of the Micro Fuel Injection Swirler (MFIS) was motivated by the need …

Quasi-Static And Impact Characterization Of Sandwich Structures With An Iso-Grid Stiffened Syntactic Foam Core, Venkata Sandeep Chakka

LSU Master's Theses

In this study, a novel hybrid sandwich structure with an integrated, iso-grid stiffened syntactic foam core was fabricated and evaluated by impact test and static test. Sandwich beams with different grid cell areas were prepared using a pin-guided dry weaving process. Low velocity impact test on different locations (rib, node, and bay) was conducted with varying hammer weight and impact velocities by an instrumented impact testing machine. Ultrasonic C-scan was utilized before and after impact to identify the damage induced by impact. Scanning Electron Microscopy observation was also implemented to visualize the impact damage at micro- length scale. Compressions after …

Magnetic Field Effects On Diffusion Flames, Diego F. Gonzalez

LSU Master's Theses

Magnetic field effects in combustion is an area of study that has previously been overlooked. The influence of magnetic fields on flames has only recently been explored and is of interest both from a scientific and a practical standpoint. This study provides theoretical, numerical and experimental evidence that combustion can be affected with the use of suitable magnetic fields. This thesis focuses on four different types of magnetic field: homogeneous, gradient, oscillating and pre-combustion. For the homogeneous field case, the Gibbs Free Energy method was used to determine the mole fraction of product species. It was found that homogeneous fields …

Impact Damage Between The Collision Of A Vessel And Protective Fender Systems, Paul Joseph Kocke

LSU Master's Theses

Vessel collision with bridge pilings can cause a catastrophic event and are occurring at an alarming rate. Such events can lead to the collapse of a bridge, causing deaths, shutting down a primary route of transportation and costing millions of dollars in repairs. Today, the AASHTO Bridge Code gives designers a methodology toward designing bridge pilings to withstand the impact of an errant vessel. However, bridges designed before this code was written require a protective system that is capable of redirecting a colliding vessel without causing severe damage to the pilings or the vessel. This research will look into three …

Modeling The Relationship Among Occupational Stress, Psychological/Physical Symptoms And Injuries In The Construction Industry, Omosefe Osarieme Abbe

LSU Master's Theses

The construction industry has one of the highest incidents of fatal and non-fatal accidents/injuries every year. As a high risk industry, there is a need to investigate factors that affect the occurrence of these accidents to be able to protect workers. Traditional approaches to workers’ safety in the construction industry have focused on the physical and biomechanical aspects of work by improving tools, equipment and task completion methods. However, the impact of psychosocial factors, specifically stress as experienced by construction workers is an area of growing research. Research in the area of occupational stress in the Construction Industry is yielding …

Nanoclay Syntactic Foam Composites, Sameer Leo Peter

LSU Master's Theses

Syntactic foams are composite materials in which the matrix phase is reinforced with hollow particles called microballoons. They possess low moisture absorption, low thermal conductivity and high damage tolerance because of their compositions. Traditionally, syntactic foams are used in many high strength applications such as in aerospace and marine industries, thus there is a need to achieve both high compressive strength and high fracture strain with minimal increase in density. This research studies the effect of nanoclay on the high strain rate mechanical properties of syntactic foams. Nanoclay reinforced syntactic foams are fabricated by adding 1, 2 and 5% volume …

The Design And Fabrication Of Pentacene Acoustic Charge Transfer Devices, Hua Shao

LSU Master's Theses

Acoustic charge transport (ACT) devices are used to transfer electrical signals by surface acoustic waves (SAW), which are generated by interdigital transducers (IDT) on piezoelectric crystal substrates. In order to reduce fabrication cost, pentacene ACT is desired to transfer charge packages because of its reduced cost in. As some researchers reported, pentacene is a p type organic semiconductor, and can get high carrier mobility by growing in very pure crystalline structure under some specified growing conditions. In this project, charge transfer channel was made of crystal pentacene to form and carry the charge packages following SAW propagation. The pentacene ACT …

Voltage Dip Mitigation For Motor Starters Using An Adaptive High Speed Relay Protection On The High Voltage Transmission System, Cesar Alberto Rincon

LSU Master's Theses

Currently, the aging state of the protection systems for industrial facilities is calling for a system-wide review of the equipment and the protection schemes used in all these places, calling for a new approach in the design and implementation of these systems. Some of these facilities house critical processes that can be seriously affected by a misoperation of equipment or a disturbance in the system, aspects ranging from safety of plant workers to millions of dollars in loss of production. In this thesis different contingency situations were explored for problems in the utility transmission system that could affect large industrial …

Modeling Of Solute Transport And Retention In Upper Amite River, Hoonshin Jung

LSU Master's Theses

Streams play an important role in a solute transport through a stream network. Transient storage is one of the important processes that control mass exchange between a main stream and transient storage zones because of increase in the residence time of solute. In order to take account of the effect of transient storage on solute transport in streams, a variable residence time (VART) model was developed. The model is characterized by several features: (1) actual varying residence time was used, (2) no-user specified residence time distributions (RTD) were required, (3) less calibration parameters were involved as compared to existing models, …

An Investigation Into Fuel Cells And Flow Cytometers Optimal Design, Etim Sunday Udoetok

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The aim of the fuel cells part of this project was to investigate the performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells and closely related fuel cell types like the Alkaline Fuel Cells and Phosphoric Acid Fuel Cells. The investigation involved understanding the performance of fuel cells, addressing the shortcomings of currently used designs, and finding new methods for improving the performance of fuel cells. CFD was used to study flow channels and information learned from the study was used to design a new and improved flow channel. A prototype of the new design was fabricated, tested and found to perform …

Freezing Processes In Cell Suspensions Evaluated Using Cryomicroscopy, Tathagata Acharya

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis aims at evaluating the freezing response of three different cell types, Pacific Oyster embryos, Jurkats and Helas, using the technique of cryomicroscopy. The choice of cells was primarily based on supporting ongoing research work at the Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. On a secondary basis, the cells were chosen based on their contrasting nature. While Pacific Oyster being a favorite food in USA calls for successful techniques of cryopreservation of their embryos in order to keep up with the growing demand, Jurkat and HeLa are undesired malignant human cells that …

Characterization And Development Of Axle Load Spectra To Enhance Pavement Design And Performance On The Basis Of New Mechanistic-Empirical Design Guide In Louisiana, Bharath Kumar Sridhar

LSU Master's Theses

For pavement design practices, several factors must be considered to ensure good performance of the pavement over the anticipated life cycle. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the type of paving materials, traffic loading characteristics, prevailing environmental conditions, and others. Traditional pavement design practices have followed the standards set by the American Society of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) which require the use of an equivalent single axle load (ESAL - 18 kip single axle load) for design traffic input. Recently, a new mechanistic-empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) was developed to improve pavement design practices. The guide …

Reservoir Characterization Using Seismic Inversion Data, Subhash Kalla

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Reservoir architecture may be inferred from analogs and geologic concepts, seismic surveys, and well data. Stochastically inverted seismic data are uninformative about meter-scale features, but aid downscaling by constraining coarse-scale interval properties such as total thickness and average porosity. Well data reveal detailed facies and vertical trends (and may indicate lateral trends), but cannot specify intrawell stratal geometry. Consistent geomodels can be generated for flow simulation by systematically considering the precision and density of different data. Because seismic inversion, conceptual stacking, and lateral variability of the facies are uncertain, stochastic ensembles of geomodels are needed to capture variability.

In this …

Vibrations For Improving Multiphase Contact, Yogesh G. Waghmare

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Present work demonstrates the use of vibrations to enhance performance of two multi-phase contacting systems: a bubble column for gas-liquid contacting (physical absorption) and a Piston Oscillating Monolith Reactor (POMR) for gas-liquid-solid contacting (catalytic reactions). In a bubble column reactor, enhancements of mass transfer coefficient and gas hold up were experimentally studied for the air-water system. Mass transfer coefficient enhancements up to 500% and gas hold-up improvements up to 200% were achieved under the application of low amplitude (0.5-2.5 mm) vibration at low frequencies (0-25 Hz). A fundamental theory was developed from first principles to explain these enhancements. The theory …

Enhancing Security In Quantum Cryptography, Partha Basuchowdhuri

LSU Master's Theses

Quantum Key Distribution was named as one of the top ten emerging technologies by Technology Review Journal in 2003 in their annual edition. The growth in quantum cryptography since the beginning of the millennium has been expedited by new theories and ideas. The introduction of practical quantum cryptosystems offered by USA based company MagiQTech and its European rival idQuantique has changed the face of cryptography. With active experimental research in USA, Europe, Japan and Singapore, the scope of quantum cryptography seems to be growing daily. When Bennett and Brassard proposed their BB84 protocol in Bangalore in 1984, no one would …

Degradation And Water Quality Dynamics Of Sugarcane Residue In South Louisiana, Jose Roberto Deras

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

PURPOSE: This research was conducted to assess methods to manage the residue blanket to avoid open field burning in sugarcane. Experiments were conducted in the state of Louisiana to evaluate methods to asses and potentially reduce water quality issues. METHODS: Concentrations and frequencies of biological compost tea were sprayed on sugarcane combine-harvester residue blanket to increase degradation rate and reduce potential for runoff water to transport nutrients and sediments that may impair water bodies, while sustaining suitable sugarcane yield. Carbon dioxide evolution rate (mg CO2-C) and CO2 fluxes were measured in laboratory and in open field conditions; as an index …

Numerical Modeling Of Continuous Flow Microwave Heating - Coupling Of High Frequency Electromagnetism With Fluid Flow And Heat Transfer, Deepti Salvi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study focused on numerical and experimental investigation of continuous flow microwave heating. A numerical model was developed to predict the temperature of a liquid product heated in a continuous-flow focused microwave system by coupling electromagnetism, fluid flow, and heat transfer in two different software packages (ANSYS Multiphysics 9.0 and COMSOL Multiphysics 3.4). The temperature and energy distributions simulated in ANSYS were verified against other numerical studies published in the literature. Comparison of the simulated temperature in ANSYS with experimental data for salt water of two different salinities showed good agreement. To simulate the experimental conditions more accurately, a comprehensive …

A Study Of Regret And Rejoicing And A New Mcdm Method Based On Them, Xiaoting Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is one of the most widely used decision methodologies in the sciences, business, and engineering worlds. MCDM methods aim at improving the quality of decisions by making the process more explicit, rational, and efficient. One controversial problem is that some well-known MCDM methods, like the additive AHP methods and the ELECTRE II and III methods, may cause some types of rank reversal problems. Rank reversal means that the ranking between two alternatives might be reversed after some variation occurs to the decision problem, like adding a new alternative, dropping an old alternative or replacing a non-optimal alternative …

Pilot-Scale Study On Anaerobic Digestion Applied To A Saline Industrial Waste Activated Sludge, Changjiang Shen

LSU Master's Theses

In the field of municipal wastewater treatment, anaerobic digestion is a well-established, effective process for stabilization of organic sludge with the attractive features of low operating costs and production of methane as a useful by-product. Application of anaerobic digestion for the treatment of saline industrial wastewater sludge, however, has not been well established. The studies described in this thesis were conducted with the overall goal of assessing the feasibility of mesophilic anaerobic digestion processes for treatment of waste activated sludge (WAS) containing moderate salinity (approximately 3% m/v). Experiments employed two 30-gallon conical-bottom HDPE reactors. In the first phase of testing, …

Stochastic Demand Forecast And Inventory Management Of A Seasonal Product A Supply Chain System, Mohammad Anwar Ashek Rahman

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Estimation of seasonal demand prior to an active demand season is essential in supply chain management. The business cycle of the seasonal demand is divided into two stages: stage-1, the slow-demand period, and stage-2, the peak-demand period. The focus here is to determine an appropriate demand forecast for the peak-demand period. In the first set of forecasting model, a standard gamma and an inverse gamma prior distribution are used to forecast demand. The parameters of the prior model are estimated and updated based on current observation using Bayesian technique. The forecasts are derived for both complete and incomplete datasets. The …

Experimental Study Of A Foam Flow In Horizontal Pipes: Two Flow Regimes And Its Implications, Miodrag Bogdanovic

LSU Master's Theses

Although foam has been widely used in many scientific and engineering applications, the current understanding of foam rheology in pipes is still very limited because of its complex nature. This experimental study, for the first time, investigates the flow rheology of foams in pipes by placing a special emphasis on two distinct foam flow regimes. A wide range of experimental conditions are examined in this study, which include five different surfactant formulations (Cedepal FA-406, Petrostep CG-50, Stepanform 1050, Aquet TD-600, and Ultra-Palmolive), three different surfactant concentrations (0.1, 1, and 5 wt %), two different pipe diameters (0.5 and 1 inch …

Optimization Of Treatment Of Chlorinated Volatile Organic Compound Mixtures In Constructed Wetlands: Vegetation And Substrate Effects, Stephen Emmanuel Mbuligwe

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Microcosm and mesocosm scale experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of vegetation and substrates on the performance of engineered wetland systems (EWSs) meant to treat mixtures of volatile organic compounds (cVOCs). The experiments were conducted with a view to optimizing contributions of these wetland components. Phragmites communis and Typha latifolia, the commonest wetland plant species, were compared in mesocosm scale EWSs. Eight common wetland plant species were compared using microcosm experiments based on the potential of their rootmatter to enhance treatment of cVOC mixtures. Twelve common wetland plants were similarly compared but on the basis of their aboveground …

Experimental And Numerical Investigation Of Fluid Flow And Heat Transfer In Microchannels, Wynn Allen Phillips

LSU Master's Theses

Microchannels are of current interest for use in heat exchangers where very high heat transfer performance is desired. Microchannels provide very high heat transfer coefficients because of their small hydraulic diameters. In this study, an investigation of fluid flow and heat transfer in microchannels is conducted. A review of the literature published regarding fluid flow and heat transfer in microchannels is provided in this study. A thorough background on the theory of internal convective heat transfer is provided as well. A critical analysis of some of the published heat transfer experiments on microchannels is also given. It was found that …

Replication Of Metal-Based Microscale Structures By Compression Molding: A Combined Experimental And Finite Element Analysis Study, Jing Jiang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Fabrication of microscale Ta mold inserts by micro-electrical-discharge-machining (ìEDM) is reported. Morphology, chemistry, and structure of the near-surface region of as-machined Ta blanks have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. A TaC surface layer forms on as-machined Ta surfaces. This altered surface layer was removed by electro-chemical-polishing. Further modification of Ta insert surfaces was accomplished by deposition of a conformal Ti-containing hydrogenated carbon coating. We demonstrate successful replication of high-aspect-ratio microscale structures (HARMS) in Al and Cu by compression molding with such surface-engineered Ta mold inserts. In addition, a hybrid microfabrication technique, combining …

Cryopreservation Of Adipose Derived Adult Stem Cells And Multidimensional Cell Sheets, Sreedhar Thirumala

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Human adipose tissue provides a uniquely abundant and accessible source of adult stem cells. In response to chemical, hormonal or structural stimuli, these human adipose-derived adult stem (ASCs) cells can differentiate along multiple lineage pathways, including adipocytes, chondrocytes, myocytes, neurons and osteoblasts. Successful cryopreservation of scientifically and commercially important ASCs would revolutionize the tissue engineering and regenerative medicine industry. In this research, we have investigated the water transport phenomenon during freezing of several passages of adipose derived adult stem cells and generated the membrane permeability parameters in the presence and absence of cryoprotective agents. These measured permeability parameters were then …

Thermomechanical Interaction Analysis Of Bodies Subjected To Oscillatory Heat Source, Jun Wen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Surface heating by application of a moving heat source is a common problem in most manufacturing processes as well as in many tribological applications. The existing literature on studies of moving heat source problems primarily concentrates on unidirectional moving heat sources. Yet, a more complete analysis requires understanding of thermal behavior of bodies in relative sliding contacts subjected to oscillatory heat sources and thermomechanical interaction. In this dissertation, two analytical models are developed for rapid evaluation of the transient temperature in solids undergoing oscillatory heat source. In the first model, an analytical technique is presented to treat oscillatory heat source …