Engineering Commons^™

High Temperature Resistant Crosslinked Phenol, O-Chlorophenol And Formaldehyde Copolymer Fiber, Suh Joon Han

Theses

Phenolic copolymer fibers which possess clearly distinguishable physical and chemical properties from other synthetic and natural fibers were prepared. Acid catalyzed condensation polymerization of phenol, formaldehyde and o-chiorophenol was carried out by a two-stage polymerization. Initially, phenol-formaldehyde and o-chlorophenol-formaldehyde oligomers were separately prepared by refluxing the corresponding monomers at 100°C under strong agitation. At the second stage, these two oligomers were combined and vacuum-distilled to form a block copolymer which was then melt spinned into fibers and subsequently cured by succinyl chloride in a mineral spirit. Using a flame test and thermogravimetric analysis, it was found that these cured fibers …

A Computer Program On The Economics Of Collection And Sortation Of Recyclable Materials In Municipal Solid Wastes, Ara Nigogos Kahyaoglu

Theses

The first version of the economic of recyclable materials in municipal solid waste analysis program was developed in interpretive BASIC by Rutgers the State University of New Jersey. Since BASIC is a line interpretative language several restrictions were encountered, the major one being the language size restriction.

The first objective was to obtain a truly portable program that would not be dependent on specific compilers and operating systems. The second objective was to generate a program that had the capability for expansion.

The C language was used over other high level languages such as PASCAL and FORTRAN because it had …

Reactor Design For Hazardous Waste Treatment Using Immobilized Phanerochaete Chrysosporium, Ikram Ul Haq

Theses

The degradation of 2-Chlorophenol by Phanerochaete chrysosporium, a white rot fungus, was studied in three different reactor configurations, namely a batch reactor, a chemostatic reactor with the fungus immobilized on a silica based porous biocatalyst, and a packed bed reactor utilizing balsa wood chips as packing.

Preliminary experiments indicated that the use of porous solid support improved the degradation rate in batch reactor and chemostatic reactor. However, the packed bed configuration was found to be superior, and was studied in greater detail. The apparent Michaelis-Menten kinetic constants were obtained for the packed bed reactor.

Thermal Decomposition Of 1,1,1-Thrichloroethane-Methane-Oxygen Mixture In Tubular Flow Reactor, Yo-Ping Wu

Theses

The thermal decomposition of 1,1,1-trichloroethane in methane/oxygen mixtures and argon bath gas was carried out at 1 atmosphere total pressure in a tubular flow reactors. The thermal degradation of 1,1,1-trichloroethane and methane were analyzed systematically over temperature ranges from 500 to 800°C, with average residence times in the range of 0.05 to 2.5 seconds. Five reactants ratio sets in three different size flow reactors were studied.

It was found that the complete decay (99%) of the 1,1,1-trichloroethane at 1 second residence time occurs at about 600°C for all the reactants ratio sets. The major product for 1,1,1-trichloroethane decomposition are 1,1-dichloroethylene …

Environmental Impact Assessment For Water Resources Projects : Planning Procedure And Analytical Methods, Mahadesh C. Tumkur

Theses

This thesis presents a state of the art review of environmental impact assessment procedures utilised in the water resources projects which have evolved over the past two decades. The methodologies employed and some of their limitations which exist and are inherent in both the planning and assessment phases of analysis are identified. The above was supplemented by an investigation of the various views of professionals currently employing the above methodologies. The review effort summarizes the relevant information obtained from the literature which is rather dynamic because of the ever evolving nature of the field. One conclusion drawn from this study …

A Robot Vision System For Determining 3-D Coordinates Of Object Points, Tea-Quin Kim

Theses

A stereo disparity algorithm is implemented on an industrial robot vision system. One camera manipulated by an industrial robot is used to obtain stereo images of an object. After a pair of stereo images are processed, the points of interest are selected from each image. The similarities of three types of feature characters are used to assign initial weights of the, matching probabilities to a set of point candidates. Then a relaxation method, which is based on probabilities of local connectivity, similarity of feature characters, and smoothness of matching, is used iteratively to improve the initial probabilities of image matching. …

Management Of Construction Jobsite Productivity : A Self Assessment Approach, Nicos Poliviou Nicolaou

Theses

A critical component of construction project management is the improvement of jobsite productivity. This paper proposes a procedure for use by project managers to assess jobsite productivity performance. The methodology provides a framework which when applied will identify specific aspects of the jobsite where potential productivity improvement is possible. A major feature is its systematic approach which will direct the project manager to the specific resources which when better managed will lead to lower construction costs.

A Non-Invasive Technique For Burn Area Measurement, Jong-Daw Yu

Theses

The need for a reliable and accurate method for assessing the surface area of burn wounds currently exists in the branch of medicine involved with burn care and treatment. The percentage of the surface area is of critical importance in evaluating fluid replacement amounts and nutritional support during the 24 hours of postburn therapy. A noninvasive technique has been developed which facilitates the measurement of burn area. The method we shall describe is an inexpensive technique to measure the burn areas accurately.

Our imaging system is based on a technique known as structured light. Most structured light computer imaging systems, …

The Evaluation Of Polysulfone Composites As Structural Implants In Orthopaedic Surgery, Howard L. Scalzo

Theses

Two polysulfone composites were evaluated to determine their use as structural implants in orthopaedic surgery. The first composite, carbon fiber reinforced polysulfone (C/PS), was evaluated for environmental degradation in an in vivo and in vitro study. The C/PS composites were implanted subcutaneously in the abdomen of rabbits for the in vivo study and immersed in saline solution at 32° C for the in vitro study. The second composite, hydroxylapatite coated polysulfone (HA/PS), was evaluated for bone ingrowth in an in vivo study, and for attachment strength between the HA and the PS in an in vitro study. Also, two surface …

Prediction And Correlation Of Liquid-Liquid Equilibria, Jose Simonetty Jr.

Theses

The NRTL, LEMF, and UNIQUAC models are used in the prediction and correlation of liquid-liquid equilibrium data for ten type I systems. The results indicate that best predictions are obtained with the LEMF equation, with an overall average absolute percentage error in distribution coefficients of 19.5 as compared to 23.0 and 24.7 with the NRTL and UNIQUAC equations, respectively. Good correlation of liquid-liquid equilibrium data alone is obtained with all three models; the LEMF equation is slightly better with an overall average absolute percentage error in distribution coefficients of 5.5 as compared to 6.7 and 5.9 for the NRTL and …

Mathematical Model Of A Continuous Sterilization System For Fermentation Media Containing Suspended Solids, Mark A. Leskowicz

Theses

A mathematical model has been developed for a continuous sterilization system where the role of suspended solids on the overall degree of sterilization achieved is taken into account. Evaluation of a "typical" commercial continuous sterilization system showed the role of suspended solids to have little effect on the overall sterilization obtained. For continuous sterilization systems operating in a total residence time of less than one minute, the role of solids may become important and should be evaluated.

Adsorption And Desorption Of Chromium On Clayey Soils, Ker-Shu Tan

Theses

Chromium residue waste was produced during sixties in the chromium production process. It was used as construction fill. Problems associated with chromium waste sites include structure distress and surface and groundwater contamination.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the adsorption and desorption of chromium on soil. In order to achieve this purpose, experiments were conducted to study the effect of pH, type of chromium compound, and type of soil on adsorption and desorption.

Experiments were performed on kaolinite, bentonite and sand. In our study, it was found that sand had almost no adsorption for chromium. Kaolinite had less …

Reduced Complexity Receivers For Trellis Coded Modulations Via Punctured Trellis Codes, Bonchul Koo

Theses

We introduce a new concept, called matched punctured trellis encoding, that simplifies the complexity of Maximum Likelihood Sequence Estimation (MLSE) receivers for combined trellis encoding and modulations with memory. Matched punctured trellis encoding is applied to tamed frequency modulation (TFM) which is a bandwidth efficient correlative - FM scheme. TFM finds applications in satellite, microwave radio, and mobile communications.

Our approach is based on puncturing a rate - 1/2 matched convolutional code to obtain a rate - 2/3 mismatched code. A matched code is one that produces trellis coded modulations of minimum complexity. Puncturing these codes to obtain mismatched codes …

Design Of A Gear Driven Anti-Twister Mechanism For A Seal-Less Blood Processor, Ajit Nachiket Dastane

Theses

This thesis presents the design of a gear driven anti- twister mechanism for a blood cell separator. The anti- twister mechanism allows for continuous feed and discharge lines that are rigidly attached to the rotating centrifuge head, thus eliminating the need of rotating seals. It is anticipated that the device using a gear driven anti-twister mechanism will have smoother power transmission and closer rpm tolerances.

In addition, a procedure for the dynamic analysis of the existing device, which uses a belt-driven anti-twister mechanism, is developed. The experimental values obtained from the device are compared with the theoretical values obtained by …

Recirculation Flow Bioreactor For The Synthesis Of Nitroxide And N-Oxide Pharmaceuticals, Douglas Lischick

Theses

An investigation of the properties of calcium alginate immobilized hog liver microsomes, rich in FAD-containing mixed function oxidase, was performed. Studies involving catalyst storage, immobilization of cofactors within the matrix, and alginate gel concentration were performed using a 1.8 ml mixed flow micro assay reactor. A recirculation flow reactor was designed and used for the biochemical production of 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-oxazolidine-l-oxyl, a potentially useful MRI contrast agent.

The activity of the immobilized microsomes was found to increase over time when stored in CaCl₂ or in buffer at 4-8°C. The increase in activity is a result of the removal of inherent inhibitors …

The Influence Of Aggregate Grading With Two Different Binders On Mechanical Strength Of Polymer Concrete, Pei-Yuan Gao

Theses

The scope of this research is to study the influence of grading of the aggregate on the mixing design and the strength of polymer concrete .

Also, the curing conditions, the modification of polymer and the application of coupling agent were investigated.

Based on the experimental results, two numerical methods were developed to be used in combining the aggregates to obtain the desired specific surface area and the grading of the aggregate.

A computer program was developed for one of the methods to give all the possible compositions of the aggregate.

Theoretical explanation is offered and a numerical example is …

Thermodynamic And Leaching Studies Of Various Systems, Satya D. Rami

Theses

The group contribution approach is a reliable and fast method for the prediction of liquid phase activity coefficients in none lectrolyte, nonpolymeric mixtures at low to moderate pressures and temperatures between 300 and 425 K. It has become widely used in practical chemical engineering applications in cases where little or no relevant experimental information is available.

The two group contribution methods examined in the course of this work, are the Knox and & UNIFAC models. Group interaction parameters are evaluated for each of these models and results compared. Although the results for both models are similar when sufficient data are …

Molecular Modeling In Anatoxin And Other Semirigid Agonists, Wen-Chung Shang

Theses

Conformational search and molecular mechanics calculations were combined to investigate the structural flexibility of isoquinolone, the anatoxin series, and the ferruginine series. Ring searching allow all rational conformations to be generated.

Isoquinolone shows conformational similarity to isoarecolone but is much less potent which suggests that the proximity of the methyl group beta to the carbonyl groups affects the bioactivity of isoquinolone. The very active agonist-anatoxin, without a similar conformation as isoarecolone, shared a similar electrostatic potential contour in the vicinity between the two atoms connected to the electro-positive nitrogen and hydrogen bonding site. These phenomena were not found in ferruginine …