Engineering Commons^™

An Assessment Of The Accuracy Of The Euler-Bernoulli Beam Theory For Calculating Strain And Deflection In Composite Sandwich Beams, Qhinhon D. Ho

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on assessing the accuracy of the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory as computational bases to calculate strain and deflection of composite sandwich beam subjected to three-point and four-point bending. Two groups of composite sandwich beams tests results will be used for comparison purposes. Mechanical properties for the laminated skin are provided by researchers from University of Mississippi (Ellen Lackey et al., 2000). Mechanical properties for the balsa wood core are provided by Alcan Baltek Corporation. Appropriate material properties and test geometries are then used in the Euler-Bernoulli-based algorithm in order to generate analytical data for comparison to experimental data …

A Simulation Of The Mississippi River Salt Wedge Estuary Using A Three-Dimensional Cartesian Z Coordinate Model, Steven K. Ayres

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The stratified flow of the lower Mississippi River due to density gradients is a well documented phenomenon. This stratification of fresh and saline water manifests itself as a heavier wedge of saline water that extends upriver and a buoyant fresh water plume extending into the Gulf of Mexico past the Southwest Pass jetties. The maximum absolute distance of saltwater intrusion observed anywhere in the world occurred on the Mississippi River in 1939 and 1940 when saltwater was observed approximately 225 km upstream from the mouth of Southwest Pass. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers now prevents the wedge from …

Three Dimensional Nanowire Array Piezo-Phototronic And Piezo-Photo-Magnetotronic Sensors, Satish C. Rai

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Piezotronic and piezo-phototronic is a burgeoning field of study which emerges from the coupling of intrinsic materials properties exhibited by non-centrosymmetric semiconductors. In the past decade research efforts were mainly focused on the wurtzite family of 1D nanostructures, with major emphasis on ZnO nanowire nanogenerators, MS piezotronic transistors, LEDs and photodetectors mainly integrated on single nanowires. In view of previously known advantages of charge carrier separation in radial heterojunctions, particularly in type-II core/shell nanowires, it can be anticipated that the performance of photosensing devices can be largely enhanced by piezo-phototronic effect. Moreover, the performance metrics can be further improved in …

Developing And Testing An Anguilliform Robot Swimming With Theoretically High Hydrodynamic Efficiency, John B. Potts Iii

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

An anguilliform swimming robot replicating an idealized motion is a complex marine vehicle necessitating both a theoretical and experimental analysis to completely understand its propulsion characteristics. The ideal anguilliform motion within is theorized to produce ``wakeless'' swimming (Vorus, 2011), a reactive swimming technique that produces thrust by accelerations of the added mass in the vicinity of the body. The net circulation for the unsteady motion is theorized to be eliminated.

The robot was designed to replicate the desired, theoretical motion by applying control theory methods. Independent joint control was used due to hardware limitations. The fluid velocity vectors in the …

Electromechanics Of An Ocean Current Turbine, Vasileios Tzelepis

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The development of a numeric simulation for predicting the performance of an Ocean Current Energy Conversion System is presented in this thesis along with a control system development using a PID controller for the achievement of specified rotational velocity set-points. In the beginning, this numeric model is implemented in MATLAB/Simulink® and it is used to predict the performance of a three phase squirrel single-cage type induction motor/generator in two different cases. The first case is a small 3 meter rotor diameter, 20 kW ocean current turbine with fixed pitch blades, and the second case a 20 …

Field Study Of Electrochemical Disinfection Of Municipal Wastewater, Luis De Grau Vidal

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Research on electrochemical disinfection of municipal wastewater has been conducted at the University of New Orleans using a continuous flow electrochemical reactor connected to a direct current (DC) power supply changing its polarity and varying the electrode distance. Bacterial inactivation and chlorine production were the main parameters that were recorded.

After months of research, it was determined that the electrochemical disinfection reactor is efficient and has a great potential for the future. There is no need to use chlorine and it has low operation costs.

The following design recommendations for an electrochemical disinfection unit were given:

• A detention time of …

Dynamic Characteristics Of Biologically Inspired Hair Receptors For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Manohar Chidurala

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The highly optimized performance of nature’s creations and biological assemblies has inspired the development of their engineered counter parts that can potentially outperform conventional systems. In particular, bat wings are populated with air flow hair receptors which feedback the information about airflow over their surfaces for enhanced stability and maneuverability during their flight. The hairs in the bat wing membrane play a role in the maneuverability tasks, especially during low-speed flight. The developments of artificial hair sensors (AHS) are inspired by biological hair cells in aerodynamic feedback control designs. Current mathematical models for hair receptors are limited by strict simplifying …

Api-Based Acquisition Of Evidence From Cloud Storage Providers, Andres E. Barreto

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Cloud computing and cloud storage services, in particular, pose a new challenge to digital forensic investigations. Currently, evidence acquisition for such services still follows the traditional approach of collecting artifacts on a client device. In this work, we show that such an approach not only requires upfront substantial investment in reverse engineering each service, but is also inherently incomplete as it misses prior versions of the artifacts, as well as cloud-only artifacts that do not have standard serialized representations on the client.

In this work, we introduce the concept of API-based evidence acquisition for cloud services, which addresses these concerns …

Adaptive Online Transient Stability Assessment Of Power Systems For Operational Purposes, Hussain Hassan Al Marhoon

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Online stability assessment is an important problem that has not been solved completely yet. The purpose of this research is to tackle online transient stability assessment. Currently, most utility companies use step-by-step integration in order to set protective equipment so that they effectively work for critical contingencies. However, there are times an unforeseen contingency may occur which may cause the system to transit and the protective equipment to misoperate and does not isolate the disturbed part of the system. This research introduces a method that automatically determines a group of generators that participate in system separation and hence transient instability. …

Comparative Analysis Of Load Flow Techniques For Steady State Loading Margin And Voltage Stability Improvement Of Power Systems, Santosh Togiti

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Installation of reactive compensators is widely used for improving power system voltage stability. Reactive compensation also improves the system loading margin resulting in more stable and reliable operation. The improvements in system performance are highly dependent on the location where the reactive compensation is placed in the system. This paper compares three load flow analysis methods - PV curve analysis, QV sensitivity analysis, and Continuation Load Flow - in identifying system weak buses for placing reactive compensation. The methods are applied to three IEEE test systems, including modified IEEE 14-bus system, IEEE 30-bus system, and IEEE 57-bus system. Locations of …

Numerical Solutions Of Generalized Burgers' Equations For Some Incompressible Non-Newtonian Fluids, Yupeng Shu

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

The author presents some generalized Burgers' equations for incompressible and isothermal flow of viscous non-Newtonian fluids based on the Cross model, the Carreau model, and the Power-Law model and some simple assumptions on the flows. The author numerically solves the traveling wave equations for the Cross model, the Carreau model, the Power-Law model by using industrial data. The author proves existence and uniqueness of solutions to the traveling wave equations of each of the three models. The author also provides numerical estimates of the shock thickness as well as maximum strain $\varepsilon_{11}$ for each of the fluids.

Automatic Classification Of Fish In Underwater Video; Pattern Matching - Affine Invariance And Beyond, Madhuri Gundam, Madhuri Gundam

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Underwater video is used by marine biologists to observe, identify, and quantify living marine resources. Video sequences are typically analyzed manually, which is a time consuming and laborious process. Automating this process will significantly save time and cost. This work proposes a technique for automatic fish classification in underwater video. The steps involved are background subtracting, fish region tracking and classification using features. The background processing is used to separate moving objects from their surrounding environment. Tracking associates multiple views of the same fish in consecutive frames. This step is especially important since recognizing and classifying one or a few …

Computational Fluid Dynamics Applied To The Analysis Of Blood Flow Through Central Aortic To Pulmonary Artery Shunts, Carey Celestin Jr

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This research utilizes CFD to analyze blood flow through pathways representative of central shunts, commonly used as part of the Fontan procedure to treat cyanotic heart disease. In the first part of this research, a parametric study of steady, Newtonian blood flow through parabolic pathways was performed to demonstrate the effect that flow pathway curvature has on wall shear stress distribution and flow energy losses. In the second part, blood flow through two shunts obtained via biplane angiograms is simulated. Pressure boundary conditions were obtained via catheterization. Results showed that wall shear stresses were of sufficient magnitude to initiate platelet …

Three-Dimensional Ideal Gas Reference State Based Energy Function, Avdesh Mishra

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Energy functions are found to be a key of protein structure prediction. In this work, we propose a novel 3-dimensional energy function based on hydrophobic-hydrophilic properties of amino acid where we consider at least three different possible interaction of amino acid in a 3-dimensional sphere categorized as hydrophilic versus hydrophilic, hydrophobic versus hydrophobic and hydrophobic versus hydrophilic. Each of these interactions are governed by a 3-dimensional parameter alpha used to model the interaction and 3-dimensional parameter beta used to model weight of contribution. We use Genetic Algorithm (GA) to optimize the value of alpha, beta and Z-score. We obtain three …

Analysis Of Sedimentation Characteristics Of Dredge Sediment Used In Coastal Restoration And Marsh Creation Projects, Christine M. Mebust

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

There is a demand to reestablish a healthy coastal ecosystem by rebuilding wetlands with river diversion or dredged sediments in coastal Louisiana. Land building projects using dredged sediments from adjacent canals and river beds, can be used to protect the coastal properties and infrastructure systems from flood and storm surges. To predict the sediment’s long term behavior, math models require input parameters based on sediment engineering properties and material characteristics. Proper characterization is critical for accurate design of coastal restoration projects. The dredge material sedimentation characteristics and their effects on the settlement rate of suspended solid particles and underlying foundation …

A Balanced Secondary Structure Predictor, Md Nasrul Islam

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Secondary structure (SS) refers to the local spatial organization of the polypeptide backbone atoms of a protein. Accurate prediction of SS is a vital clue to resolve the 3D structure of protein. SS has three different components- helix (H), beta (E) and coil (C). Most SS predictors are imbalanced as their accuracy in predicting helix and coil are high, however significantly low in the beta. The objective of this thesis is to develop a balanced SS predictor which achieves good accuracies in all three SS components. We proposed a novel approach to solve this problem by combining a genetic algorithm …

Development Of A Quantitative Methodology To Forecast Naval Warship Propulsion Architectures, Brian S. Waller

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This paper is an investigation into a quantitative selection process of either a mechanical or electrical system architecture for the transmission of propulsion power in naval combatant vessels. A database of historical naval ship characteristics was statistically analyzed to determine if there were any predominant ship parameters that could be used to predict whether a ship should be designed with a mechanical power transmission system or an electric one. A Principal Component Analysis was performed to determine the minimum number of dimensions required to define the relationship between the propulsion transmission architecture and the independent variables. Combining the results of …

Photocatalytic Mineralization Of Phenol On Fluidized Titanium Oxide-Coated Silica Gel, Guillermo J. Rincon

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

A bench-scale tubular reactor with recirculation was built in order to study the efficiency of the photocatalytic oxidation of phenol on fluidized titanium oxide-coated silica gel beads. A UV-C lamp placed along the central vertical axes of the reactor was used as source of photons. A bed of silica gel beads was fluidized by means of fluid recirculation and forced to follow upward helical flow around the lamp. Anatase was successfully synthetized on silica gel particles of average diameters 224, 357 and 461 µm, as confirmed by scanning electron micrographs, through a sol-gel technique using a titanium (iv)isopropoxide / hydrochloric …