Engineering Commons^™

Window Thermal Performance Optimization In The Government Built Emirati Family House-Abu Dhabi Emirate., Tareq I.A Abuimara

Theses

Presently, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has one of the world’s largest energy consumption per capita, with the building sector accounting for 70% of the consumed energy, primarily used for cooling. In the last three decades, the UAE government launched several housing programs that fit the needs of Emirati beneficiaries while recently targeting also energy efficiency.

This study aims at optimizing the window thermal performance in relation to orientation in a typical house within a representative governmental housing program. Often enough, housing orientation is governed by urban planning layout, where windows rarely show any adapted heat control treatment in relation …

Biodegradation Of Cresols Using Pseudomonas Putida Immobilized In Poly Vinyl Alcohol (Pva) Gel, Riham Mohamed Sorkatti Abu Bakr

Theses

The characteristics and viability of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a support material for biomass immobilization and utilization for the biodegradation of cresols have been evaluated. PVA gel pellets were prepared by repeated freezing-thawing method using different PVA compositions. The porous structures of the PVA pellets were examined using a Compound Microscope and SEM and revealed that the matrix structure and pore size distribution were affected by PVA composition. Mechanical properties of the PVA gel were also characterized to evaluate the PVA integrity as a matrix for immobilizing microbial cells and found to be dependent on the PVA mass composition. The …

Physicochemical Characterization Of Safranal-Β-Cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes Prepared By Supercritical Carbon Dioxide And Conventional Methods., Sanaz Abbaszadegan

Theses

Saffron (Crocus sativus. Linn) has attracted much attention over the last decade because it has a large number of potent and biologically active compounds such as crocin, crocetin, picrocrocin and safranal. Researchers have shown that safranal has high antioxidant and cytotoxicity activities against several types of tumour cells (e.g., hepatocellular carcinoma) both in-vitro and in-vivo. However, the low aqueous solubility of safranal prevents using it as a therapeutic or preventive agent.

β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) inclusion complexes are being used in pharmaceutical applications to alter physicochemical properties (e.g., solubility, volatility, stability, chemical reactivity, and bio-availability) of poorly water soluble drugs. Thus the …

Conductive Polymer Blends And Their Use In Memory Devices, Mohammad Yousef Al-Haik

Theses

The aim of this project is to synthesize and characterize conductive polymers made out of blending nonconductive polymers with ionic liquids. An application to demonstrate the use of these novel conductive polymers is to create an organic memory device.

Attempts to synthesize conductive polymers have been reported in the literature; several of these approaches include doping a polymer with arsenic or iodine based dopant. In this work, ionic liquids, known as plasticizer, are sued as the dopant for non-conductive polymers. There are several advantages of employing the ionic liquids over other dopants, including the maintenance of organic based blends (both …

Performance Of Reinforced Concrete Beams Strengthened With Mechanically-Fastened Composite System Under Corrosive Environment, Amna Zaid Suwaid Al Nassibi

Theses

This study examines the effects of corrosion exposure on the flexural response of reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with a powder-actuated fastened (PAF) composite system. Twenty-one RC beams were constructed and tested to failure under four-point bending. The corroded beams were subjected to 30, 60, and 100 days of accelerated corrosion that corresponded to measure tensile steel mass losses of 6, 11 and 18% respectively. Other test parameters included width of fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) composite strip, fastener length, and number of fasteners rows.

For the non-corroded beams, the PAF-FRP system resulted in up to 24% increase in beam flexural …

A Data Link Layer Protocol For Hybrid Vehicular Sensor Networks Using Practical Mobility Models With Real Maps, Sarah Madi

Theses

Safety applications in Hybrid Vehicular Sensor Networks (HVSN) require robust transmission of messages in order to deliver safety to roads and drivers as intended. Since moving vehicles are equipped with wireless sensors that utilize and share the unreliable wireless channel for communication, the transmission of safety messages must be coordinated to minimize or completely eliminate collision of exchanged packets. The first step on the way of achieving that is through the Media Access Control (MAC) layer which is responsible for managing the access to the shared media safely and without collisions.

This thesis aims at designing and implementing a HVSN …

Enzymatic Production Of Biodiesel From Fats Extracted From Lamb Meat Using Supercritical Co2, Hanifa Easa Taher

Theses

Due to the reduction in fossil fuel reserves and associated environmental impacts from using petroleum fuels, biodiesel has been presented as a feasible alternative because it is sustainable and environmentally friendly. In this study, it is proposed to investigate the feasibility of enzymatic production of biodiesel from waste animal fats using supercritical fluid technology for the extraction and reaction. The operating conditions that resulted in the optimum extraction and biodiesel production yield were identified. To the best of my knowledge of the investigators, the waste animal fat extracted by supercritical CO₂ (SC-CO₂) for the production of biodiesel …

Nanocluster Production For Solar Cell Applications, Haila M Aldosari

Theses

No abstract provided.

Preparation, Characterization And Catalytic Activity Study Of Transition Metal Doped Porous Γ-Alumina, Seham Nasser Al Hadrami

Theses

Transition-metal ions -doped γ-alumina composites with various dopant concentrations (Cr³⁺, Fe³⁺, Ce³⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, V²⁺ and Cu²⁺) were prepared by straightforward tempIate-free sol-gel method. They were characterized by XRD, FTIR, SEM, NMR and N₂ adsorption-desorption isotherm technique. The presence of dopant metal ions, generally, enhanced the gel formation and their behavior was dependent on the nature of the metal ion and its concentration. Certain ions, especially Fe³⁺, resulted in rapid formation of a transparent gel upon hydro lysis. The presence of the acetylacetonate …

A Methodology To Consolidate Transit Stops For Enhancing Transit Users Travel Times, Mohammad Nurul Hassan

Theses

This study develops a methodology to consolidate transit stops. It develops a mathematical model and a program which takes stop consolidation decision(s) according to users travel time savings and desired accessibility. The model iterates until the users travels time savings are maximized. The study tests this mathematical model in different hypothetical scenarios. Six factors (distance between stops, passengers’ activity, average cruising speed, and maximum walkable distance, frequency of service and percentage of decreased passengers) with multiple levels were set to build the scenarios. Three responses (percentage of consolidated stops, percentage of travel time savings and percentage of operating …

Investigation Of The Mechanical Behavior Of I-Shaped Steel Beams Strengthened By Mechanically-Fastened Frp Laminates, Hothifa Nayef Rojob

Theses

Retrofitting and strengthening of steel structures have gained significant importance due to the highly increasing number of deteriorated steel structures in many places around the globe. The conventional method of retrofitting or strengthening of steel structures by replacing steel members or attaching additional external steel plates are usually time-consuming, corrodible, and a cumbersome task. Many of the drawbacks of the conventional retrofitting systems can be overcome through the use of Fiber Reinforced Polymers (FRP) due to their high strength-to-weight ratio. Furthermore, FRP materials are corrosion resistant, which makes them more durable especially when environmental deterioration is a concern. In recent …